Outsomniac’s Occurrences Day 1: Grocery Store, Goodwill, and an Undone Kitchen
Grocery Store
I’ve been out of a job for almost a month and a half now. I ended my 3 month adventure with Safeway (the grocery store) on May 20th. The reason I left was not what I have been putting on my applications for other jobs. I have been saying the reason was that I was only scheduled as part time at a maximum of 25 hours a week and that I am looking for full time hours. This isn’t true though (oops). The real reason is that working there was a nightmare. For starters, management was corrupt. None of the managers that I had talked to were actually happy working there. While I wanted to stay as a Cashier the store manager constantly kept trying to get me to become a Night Manager, and that’s just didn’t fly with me. The no-pay increase to Night Manager from Cashier where I would have to stay until after midnight and deal with angry people all day was not appealing and simply unfair. So, that made me overall nervous going in to work every day knowing that they wanted me to be something that I didn’t want to be. I at least enjoyed talking to most of the customers that came through my lines. Another situation that was unpleasant was when during almost every shift I was asked to stay 2 hours later than I was scheduled to for that day (with no break). I understand that I am on a flexible schedule and they need me, but 2 hours every day? The store manager refused to hire anyone new so this made it hard on all of the Cashiers when someone would take a surprise sick day with no notice…4 DAYS IN A ROW! Safeway is not a part of my life anymore.
Goodwill
I have been throwing around my resume and filling out applications in hopes that something will stick. Even though I have a college degree, almost everyone knows that they only get you so far. The job market is so tough and competitive nowadays, especially with how far technology has come and how many more people today are getting degrees than ever before. Thankfully, I have a good amount of experience under my belt, so that gives me a leg up over a lot of people. One of the most promising places I have applied to so far is Goodwill. I love what Goodwill is about and how many people across the globe that they are able to reach a hand out to and help who truly need it. I enjoy going into a Goodwill and seeing all of the cool and interesting things that they have on for sale. You never know what you’ll find in there, and that’s exciting for a lot of people. Goodwill actually offers a higher starting wage than any other place I’ve applied to thus far, so that’s a win! It’s been two days since my application went through and I am anxiously waiting for them to email me back, so as soon as I know you will know.
Undone Kitchen
I’d like to have my own place someday but the rent in this area is pretty high compared to how much money I make each month (not a lot at all). I’ve been staying in a townhouse since the beginning of March, and I enjoy it a lot. It’s owned by an older couple from Nepal who stays in the room next to mine. They work all the time and are generally pretty quiet so they aren’t bothersome at all, and that’s a huge plus. The kitchen, where I spend a decent amount of time because I prepare/cook all of my meals, has been undergoing repair recently. The tiles needed replacing so a contractor has been in and out for the past 5 days. This has been an inconvenience to me because 3 of those 5 days I was unable to use the kitchen. This is when you have to get creative and work around obstacles. The whole kitchen was blocked off and tore apart. But I didn’t let that stop me. I’d sneak in and make food and have leftovers for the next day so that all I would have to do is sneak in again while the contractor is out for lunch and throw my food in the microwave. As of yesterday the kitchen is completely finished, but something as simple as this happening puts things in perspective and makes me feel glad to even have access to store and cook food.