Starbucks

Since June of last year I have been working for Starbucks Coffee Co. I am a certified Barista and I love this job! This is the only job that I have ever had that, when I "don't feel like going to work today" and I go to work anyway, I have a great time and am glad I went to work. My fellow Partners (Manager, Asst. Manager, Shift Supervisors and fellow Baristas) make working fun, even when it is crazy busy. They even know my wife, Jamie's, drink...(a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte) before she even orders it. :)

As a result of working at Starbucks, My wife and I have decided to taste all of the different coffee blends that Starbucks offers. That way, if a customer ask what a particular blend taste like, I can give them my own personal opinion. We purchased a coffee grinder and a French Press and we have started working our way through the blends. We have already tried...

Red

Organic Blue Java

Organic Shade Grown Mexico

100% Kona

Komodo Dragon

and Cafe Estima.

We are currently drinking the 2010 Starbucks Anniversary Blend.

I have even added a Coffee of the Day gadget to my page, so you can keep up with what we are currently drinking. My favorite so far is Organic Shade Grown Mexico. Jamie's Favorite has been the Organic Blue Java.

We are also working our way through the different flavors of Tazo Teas. My favorite flavor is Vanilla Rooibos.

I will be sad to leave Starbucks, if my new full-time job (coming soon) does not give me the chance to continue working enough hours.

I am so Sore

I started my new, part-time, job yesterday. I now work for Mardel Christian Stores. We are in the process of opening a new store in Longview. We hope to open the doors on May 4th. We are currently putting together and setting up all the display shelves and unloading large heavy pallets from the supply trucks. It is a lot of heavy lifting. My poor muscles haven't worked that hard in a long time and they are sore. It is a good kind of sore though; after all I am working for the Lord in all that I do. 

I still hope to get a job in the school district my kids go to, but until then I am working hard for Mardel. 

I Am Now Currently Unemployed.

I went to work this morning expecting to do what I always do, make as many contacts as possible to try and fill marriage education classes with couples waiting to get married or couples who seek to improve their marriages. I came to work despite the fact that on Monday I found out that I would no longer be a full-time employee for Twogether in Texas, or the Longview Wellness Center (soon to be called Wellness Pointe), at the end of the month. 

At 8:50 a.m. I was called into my Program Director's office and told that I am being let go NOW. Why? The reason I got was that I had just shown signs of "losing heart and the desire to finish out my job in a proper fashion." What the .....? What do you mean I have lost heart. I just added three more couples to a class yesterday. I even spoke to another potential provider. 

They said because I had started organizing my files and e-mailing them to my Project Director, with more than a week left before I was supposed to be let go, it showed that I was already showing signs of trying to let other people do my job for me. I thought I was just being courteous and trying to give people a "heads up" to things they may want to be aware of after I left. I was still keeping those files updated and correct and I would have until the last day I was working there. Apparently that day was today. 

They were also upset that I had already taken some steps to start trying to help myself find another job. They found out that I had signed up to take a test to try and get certified to teach Math and that it played a part in me not accepting a part-time paid consultant job they offered me in lieu of not being able to keep me full-time. You were letting me go right? I do have the right to try and make myself as marketable as possible to help me find another job, right?

So, I turned in my computer, cell-phone, and my last pay-check will be mailed to me next week. They at least told me they would not contest me filing for unemployment and they would write letters of recommendation for me. I am waiting to fill out the exit-interview form before I write something very ugly on it. 

I still think very highly of marriage education and what the mission statement is for Twogether in Texas. I, at least at the moment, do not think very highly of how the past few days have transpired. I never lost my desire to do my job to the fullest, I think they just couldn't stand to see me there taking any more money than I had to when they could use it somewhere else.

Now I am sitting at home, looking over job openings in the Longview area and beyond. I plan to make job hunting my new career after I return from the Easter weekend visit to my in-laws and LTC in Dallas. Wish me luck! 

A Very Long Day

Today I am going to do something either very generous or very insane. I am about to teach a couple an 8 hour Marriage Education Class, starting at 3:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. This will put me home around 11:30 p.m. or so. To top is off I have been fighting a cold since last Thursday, and I am still coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose often. I hope my couple has lots of LYSOL.

This couple is getting married on Sunday the 28th and I was only person who was willing to teach them on short notice for that time of day. If they complete my class (and they better), they will get a certificate to save $60.00 when applying for their marriage license.

I am going in to work today at 12:00 noon, in order to flex some hours off and I am going to work at 9:00 tomorrow. I am flexing the rest of the overtime hours off on Wednesday so I can leave at 12:00 noon to spend Christmas Eve with my family.

Here and Gone Again

Friday afternoon I returned from a business training at the WB Ranch in Whitney, TX. It was a great training. There were Elk, White-Tail Deer and Fallow Deer everywhere. The team I was on won the culinary challenge event. We made Stir-Fry Beef, Currey Chicken and a Vegetable Soup.

Saturday my family and I met my sister and my niece to take some pictures to give to my parents for Christmas. We had a good time walking around through the woods at a friend's place looking for perfect spots to take pictures of the kids.

The sad part about finally being home after three days, is that I have to leave again tonight to go to Arlington, TX for another three days of marriage curriculum training. As soon as I get home from church worship this afternoon, I have to mow my yard. Then around 5:00 I need go away from my family again. : (

An interesting part of this trip is that I will be staying at the same hotel Jamie and I stayed at on our Honeymoon, a little over 16 years ago. It won't be the same without Jamie though.

It's been a busy week!

This past week has been a little hectic and I'm sure it's not over yet.


The week started with a good worship service at church. The lesson and the song worship fit together nicely making for a wonderful worship experience with God.

Monday I had to meet with a couple of County Clerks to explain the in's and out's of our Healthy Marriage Program. It made for a 10 Hour work day with lots driving.


Tuesday, after a 4 Hour staff meeting at work, it was off to pick up school schedules and "Meet the Teacher" for my son Caleb. Jamie had already met Rachel's teachers and picked up her schedule earlier that day. The "Meet the Teacher" event at Caleb's school, Pine Tree Jr. High, started as a total nightmare. The school tried to funnel over 400 people down two different narrow hallways to pick up the 7th Grade and 8th Grade schedules. I'm not sure how 7th Grade did, but the 8th Grade hallway was shoulder to shoulder for almost an hour, as parents, the students and other family members attempted to get into the cafeteria to pick up their child's schedule for the year. Poor Rachel was hot and irritated, Caleb was having trouble breathing the sweaty, hot air, and I was a little "put off" at the poor planning of the situation. After much shuffling, we got Caleb's schedule and we headed off down various hallways to find his classes and meet the teachers. His teaches seemed very nice, but of course they all had their own list of school supplies they wanted our son to bring to school. Finally, we escaped the crowds and headed home.

Wednesday, I had another meeting with a county clerk. This one was cranky and had a know-it-all attitude. After putting another 96 miles on my car, I made it home to find out Jamie had purchased all of Caleb's school supplies. The small fortune of supplies reminded me of the size and weight of Caleb's backpack last year and I felt for him as he prepares to lug around a 45 pound backpack again this year on his barely 80 pound body frame. Why do teachers need students to have a 1 1/2 or 2 inch notebook for every class? When I was in school we survived with just one notebook for all subjects. After watching Caleb sort through all his supplies I had to pack a suitcase to head out to Austin, TX for another training.

Thursday started with some good news. There was a pay check sitting at my work station. I thought I wasn't going to get paid until Sept. 5, but I had miscalculated the times. Cool, I have money to deposit into the bank. After stuffing the check into my suitcase, my supervisor and I headed for Rusk, TX to meet with another County Clerk before heading to Austin. The trip to Austin seemed to take a long time because it rained heavily the entire time. We still managed to make Austin before nightfall, and we decided to go watch "The Largest Urban Bat Colony in the United States" head out for their nightly feeding. (Here are a couple of links to read about the Bats. http://austin.about.com/cs/bats/p/bats.htm and http://www.austincityguide.com/content/congress-bridge-bats-austin.asp) Because of the overcast skies the bats were a little "disoriented" about exactly when sunset was, so they came out later than normal. It was impressive to see millions of bats flying out from under a bridge. I tried to take pictures and short videos from my cell-phone but the view was obscured by the growing darkness and the skyline of Austin in the background.

Friday was spent mostly in training to prepare us for the upcoming changes in Texas laws regarding marriage licences and how our program can help couples take advanages of healthy marriage education to receive waivers on marriage licences fees and to help County Clerks with any questions they may have about the changes. At least the meeting ended a little early and my supervisor and I managed to make it home to Longview with just a little bit a daylight left.

This morning I woke up the news of an Obama-Biden Democratic ticket for President and Vice-President. Interesting choice Obama, interesting. For more information check out Obama's official campaign website. I wonder who McCain will pick? Now am blogging, waiting to get a shower and go deposit my paycheck, before heading out to Howe, TX to pick up my kids; who have been staying at Jamie's sister's home while I was in Austin and Jamie was attending the Women of Faith conference in Dallas. This will be another 5 hour road trip (there and back) but it will be worth it to have the kids home.

Next week, plans on being just as busy as we have meetings at work and as we prepare for the new marriage license laws to take effect in Texas. The kids also start school on Monday. Caleb will be in 8th grade and Rachel will be in 6th.

Job Hunt 2008 -- Update

My recent efforts to secure a new job have not yet produced fruit. I have applied for thee different school districts in the area and have looked for open positions in several areas outside of education. So far, zip, Nada, nothing! The only jobs outside of education that I find even remotely interesting or I am qualified for are, on-line survey taker or selling insurance. Selling insurance requires a lot of traveling around the area, that I currently cannot afford to do. The teaching jobs I have applied for have not yet called me for an interview. I know this process can take a while for schools, but I really want to know where I will be working at the end of July.

My wife and I have even considered looking into jobs in the Dallas metroplex area. Irving and some communities in Northern Dallas have nice school districts and communities to live in. The cost of living is higher though. Plus, our kids would have to start all over making new friends.

My only options are at this moment are to take two or more part-time jobs until something else comes along. I used to be a waiter and I did work some retail, so that's a start right? Will they hire a 41 year old guy to do that?

Keep praying that God works quickly! I still have faith.

"Stinkin" Bored at Work

Today has been a very boring day at work. It started off just dandy; I was teaching Math (Volume and Area of Irregular Shaped Objects to be specific), when suddenly The Stench hit! It stopped class entirely and ruined a perfectly good work day. The stench was the smell of hot tar and other chemicals that are being used to repair the roof of the building I work in. The smell is apparently sinking down though our air conditioning vents. Pee-Eww! It is awful. Not only does it stink, it was making some of my students and me a little sick. Our eyes were watering, we had to go outside often to try and get some fresh air, and our stomachs were upset. I am still a little ill as of now.

All of the students have gone home now, my co-teacher is off today at the doctor, my supervisor is out of town on a conference, so here I sit with not much to do. I have caught up on all my work load and am even ahead on few things. As you can tell I have been spending some of my free time blogging. I have spent some spare time looking up a bunch of useless trivia about the next few movies coming to my home from Netflix. Being a person who suffers from OCD, I have also started a "list" in my head about stuff that needs to be done, when I get home or this weekend.

Provided I feel better from the upset stomach, nausea, and headache given to me by the Stink, I do plan on going to church tonight. My Wednesday night class has been looking at verses in the Old Testament that indicate Jesus was actually appearing in human form in the OT itself. Cool Huh! These appearances are called, "theophanies."

If your looking for a good book to read...read John Grisham's "The Innocent Man." Not only is the book a good crime novel. It's just so happens to be true. (That was random!)

I guess I'd better get back to work. I'm sure if I look/try hard enough I could find "something" useful to do. Maybe I could practice some grammar? Then maybe my blog would get above a High School reading level. I guess I could make a few copies I will need for Friday, but that's no fun, when I can do it tomorrow. I just hope the Stink is gone.

One more random thought before I go! When I published my posts, it looks like it says Published by Mr. Eat @ whatever time. I never noticed this until Big Doofus pointed it out to me. Maybe I should change the name of my blog to Thoughts from Mr. Eat!?

I'll Give A Dollar to Anyone Who Can Find My Voice!

Last Wednesday after work I noticed my throat starting to get sore. When I woke up Thursday my voice was hoarse and was starting to disappear. I took a couple of over the counter cold remedies and went to work anyway. By the time I got home from work my voice was practically gone. Later that evening, I was sitting on the couch attempting to talk to my family. I jokingly said, "I'll give a dollar to anyone who can tell me where to find my voice!"

My daughter, in a somewhat serious voice said, "Go lay down in the bed and go to sleep and you will find you voice in the morning!"

Good answer. She wanted to know if I would really give her a dollar if it worked. I told her I would. Unfortunately for her, when I woke up this morning, my voice was even worse than before. As I type, I have no voice at all, just a few squeaks.

It did give me a chance to show a movie to my adult students at work though. Since I couldn't speak, I showed them the classic movie, Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant.

The younger students laughed at the fact the movie was black and white. Some of them refused to watch and chose to go our study lab to work on other topics. I gave them a fairly difficult writing assignment about, {Which famous person from history they would most want to spend the day with, and why?}, instead. For those who stayed, they got to enjoy the film, and then write a short GED style essay about. {Would you protect someone you loved from going to jail for murder?}. Good Huh! The younger students who stayed to watch the film actually enjoyed the show even though it was in "black and white."

Work Evaluation

Today was my first "Official" evaluation of my work performance with my new job. Everything went pretty much as expected. I am Meeting All Expectations and Exceeding in a few. There are a few areas of Needs Improvement, but those are expected from someone new to Adult Education. My supervisor was please with my "improved work ethic" since returning from the Christmas Break, and hopes that this continues. I got good reviews from the majority of my students who rated me. So all seems to be well in education land!

Upcoming Road Trip

Next week I will be taking a road-trip with some of my co-workers to Corpus Christi, TX. We will be attending a conference there from Wednesday the 27th until Saturday March 1st. This means a 9 hour drive there and another 9 hour drive back! Yuck!

What makes this trip interesting is; 1) It is the day after my birthday (but that is another blog), and most importantly 2) I will be taking the trip with three older women. Not only are these ladies at least 10 years my senior, they are all originally from different countries. Each has their own unique accent when they are speaking. They also have the ability to not get along so well with each other.

The first lady is originally from Poland. She has a very thick Polish/Slavic accent and she is very talkative. She goes into much detail about everything and it tends to be a little over dramatic. The second lady is from Puerto Rico. I know it's not really another country, but her accent is a very thick and proper Spanish accent. She tends to be the "Diva" of our group and she can be very judgemental about others, especially our Polish co-worker. The third lady is originally from St. Lucia, which is a island nation in the Caribbean. Her accent is also a little tough to understand and she is also a no nonsense kind of person. She dosen't like to mess around with anyone. She is very direct and says what she means.

As for me, I am the designated driver. They have chosen me to drive the entire length of the trip. That is fine with me, because I don't want to talk to them much. They are nice to talk to when they are seperate from each other, but all together...AHHH! I think I will just plug my wife's I-Pod into my ears and just drive. Plus, there is just the fact I am the only guy going, already makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I have told them to just tap me on the arm when they need to take a potty break or it is time to eat. I will have my directions and map with me and I plan on getting there and back as fast as (5 miles over the speed limit) I can!

Pray they don't drive me crazy and I don't drive them crazy either. I'm sure the trip will be fine, I just think it will be interesting to travel with such diverse cultures in the van. Who knows, maybe they will get along and I will learn more about each of them. Think Positive!

If you don't get any new posts from me next week you will know why.