Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006
Woe Is Me
Last week, most of my time was spent visiting with my sister before she left to go back to college. We went to the movies, then out to dinner afterwards at an awful, little diner where I ordered an icecream sundae because it looked like the safest thing on the menu to even try to attempt eating. Maybe I jinxed everyone by telling them that I once found a cochroach in my BLT, but after our meals were eaten, Megan, as well as her friends said that they were not feeling very well. Maybe some of them felt sick because of 'power of suggestion', but I really doubt that was the case with Megan. For the next two days she layed on the couch at my parents' house, alternating between sleeping, watching tv, popping advils, and throwing up. Me, however, still wanted to hang out with her despite the fact that she was probably contagious. I rarely get the chance to see her; at least, not as often as I'd like to.
On Sunday around noon, we all went out to dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate my birthday (which is on the 13th) and my dad's birthday (on the 28 of this month) while Megan was still home. It was great because the restaurant wasn't too crowded. We were able to visit and talk to one another nicely. The majority of the meal was spent joking around with each other. While we were sitting there, I thought to myself,"I take times like these for granted." I wished things could have stayed like that for just one more day. When I was younger, my family did everything together....we went for walks, out to eat, swimming, bowling, etc. Then, as my sister and I got into our teenage years, we no longer wanted to hang out with our parents as much. Now, as we're getting more mature, we'd like to see each other more often, but usually it is geography that prevents us from doing so.
My younger sister Madison, who just turned eight years old at the end of December, wanted to get her ears pierced this week so I told her that I'd take her on Wednesday (yesterday). I received a call from my mother on Monday who told me that Madison just could not wait until Wednesday; she wanted to do it immediatly that Monday night. The three of us went to the mall and into the piercing boutique. The earrings that Madison picked out where called 'Pink Ice'. I could tell that she was very proud of the choice she had made. Throughout the piercing, she sat as still as could be and did not even flinch when the needle went through her tiny ear lobes. She admired them in the mirror the entire way home. She kept saying,"I can't wait to show dad and Megan. They are gonna be surprised!"
Like Madison, I had some good news of my own to tell everyone. Earlier that Monday, a woman from human resources called from the bank and we set up an interview for the following day (yesterday). She called promptly at one o'clock like she said she would and we began the interview. She told me about the company and asked me many sets of questions such as how I heard about their company, why I think I would be put into a good environment if I were to get the job, what other jobs did I ever have that would relate to working in a bank, etc. Then, she asked me a question that sort of caught me off guard. She asked,"What is your most greatest accomplishment?" I think I stuttered a little, thought about it for a moment, then made up some bullshit about having won first place in horse show competitions. Yes, I actually have won several first place ribbons, but is that my most greatest accomplishment? It seems so insignificant. I've still been pondering over that question and the interview was two days ago. If I do not hear back from anyone at the bank within one week, I am supposed to call the woman who gave me the interview so she can do a followup. My interview went well in my opinion, so I hope I receive a call back welcoming me to work there. I would be getting almost the same pay as I did my other job and there are chances for advancement. Vacation days start after 90 days and benefits start after 30 days. The perks are better than at my old job and it sounds like a more organized run business. I know that this is the first interview I've had since I was laid off, and I don't expect getting a new job to be easy, but this was something I was most interested in when I put in applications so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Don't they usually say that with good news usually comes bad news too? Well, it's true in this particular instance. It's hard to write about, even though it is happening to Adam and not me. I don't even think that I can mention what exactly it was that he did, but I will say this: He is 99.9% sure that he is losing his job. Technically, for what he did, he should be fired, but since he came forward and confessed, his bosses will write it off as a lay off. For the other guilty party involved who did not confess, shit will be going down. It is very possible that the cops will be coming to the bar during her shift and she will be prosecuted. I'm proud of Adam and not proud of him at the same time. I'm proud of him for coming forward and telling the truth because that took guts. It is never easy to admit something you've done wrong; especially something this big. Then, on the other hand, I'm not proud of him. He should never have done what he did and should have known it would catch up with him sooner or later. Sometimes it just seems easier to do the wrong thing, but eventually, justice will be served I guess. I told him that everyone is fucked up; everyone makes mistakes sometimes and the only thing you can do about it is to learn from them. I said to him last night,"You just need to move forward and start looking for a new job. Sometimes things have funny ways of working out and you just have to keep thinking positively." I believe my words too. It's not just something I was saying to make him feel better. Worser things have happened and I know he'll / we'll get through this. It's difficult to get through tough situations that life throws at us, but like most things, it will just take some time.
I know that everything will eventually work out, but I am a little bummed out because we were supposed to go away this weekend for my birthday. Now we won't have enough money to do so. Really, I don't mean to complain, but I thought that just for once I would have the perfect birthday. I was actually excited about it where as usually, I don't even want to acknowledge getting another year older. Sometimes the best laid plans all go to shit at the drop of a hat. I know, I know .... woe is me.