What changes in the last year

The last year has seen so many changes in my life that I can't even begin to summarize them. The economy, and life in general have thrown so many bones my way, but, as always I have lived through it all, and lived to tell the story. Let's see, where do I begin?

-March 2009 - I lost my job of 5 years (laid off)

-March 2009 - I came out to my parents and immediate family

-May-July 2009 - I spent most of the summer looking for jobs in my field with NO luck whatsoever

-July 2009 - I began seeing a pshychologist and a psychiatrist

-July 2009 - I worked for one day at a Chicago Public School and then got screwed on pay

-August 2009 - I stopped seeing said pshychologist and psychiatrist because it was way over the top

-August 2009 - I met my fabulous boyfriend, Joe, and spent tons of time with him getting to know him

-August 2009 - I worked part time at a call center until late nights

-September 2009 - I worked for a scam artist for 2 weeks and never got paid (but got good excercise cold calling all around the city)

-October 2009 - I began working full time at Macy's Watertower Place in the Men's department

-October 2009 - My fabulous boyfriend, Joe, moved in with me

- November 2009 - I finally became more comfortable being "me" around my family

-December 2009 - I was promoted at Macy's as a cosmetics counter manager

-March-December 2009 - I totally settled down. No more going out drinking (ok maybe like once a month), no more dinners out night after night, no more meeting boys at the bars. I'm too old for this stuff now!! I'm happy, I'm healthy, I can afford to live in this pricey-ass city. And that's really all I can ask for in this day and age.

In summary, I never, ever, would have seen myself working in cosmetics at a department store, or working for scam artists, or working at a school. But we do what we can to survive these tough times. We live through it, and we keep moving forward. This past year has been so difficult for everyone, and I'd be very interested to hear what changes have taken place in everyone elses life.

CTA woes...again

Wah, wah, wah. CTA service is being cut on a ton of bus routes. The postings on the subway do not confirm by how much, but there are at least 80 routes on which service is being cut. By how much? We apparently won't find out until February 7 when the cuts are scheduled to take place. As if the busses aren't packed enough as they currently run every 10 minutes or so, if they are running in more like 15-20 minute intervals, this makes me a heck of a lot less confident I will be able to fit my slim body onto the bus to get out or get home. And, of course, all of my northside routes are set to be cut: the 22, 36, 147, 151, and 155 will all be cut. At least they are not cutting the subway routes. Thank god for that. I can get to work like normal, but if I want to go anywhere on the north side (by which I normally take the bus) I will be waiting longer in the cold than I ever have before.

And, yes, it is darn cold these days of January. I may have to invest in some hand warmers, or, better yet, some of the elusive battery-operated heated clothing like I have seen numerous signs for on the subway. Are these things really true, or are they a joke? Who knows?

Time will tell.

Hugs,

Abe

What a B$%@&

So I was happy I didn't have to wait for the subway to get home from work tonight. One pulled in just as I got to the bottom of the steps...and it was PACKED to the gills, but I squeezed on with my face smashed against the door. I was starving, I was cranky from the slow day at work, and all I wanted to do was sit down and relax my old bones and muscles. After 8 or so stops a seat opened up and I moved towards it as the girl got up. She smiled and moved towards the door. No sooner had I begun to sit down, when I got a sharp push on my back pushing me out of the way and nearly knocking me over as I tripped over millions of feet competing with mine. "Excuse me," I said sharply. "No, excuse me," she yelled back. "I was waiting in line for that seat." "I don't see a line, and that makes two of us waiting for it," I shouted back, as she scrunched down in the seat. So I stood over her and stared at her for the entire ride home. She was not pregnant, she was not elderly, she was younger than me, and boy did she have a mouth on her.

Short post, but I feel much better now that I am sitting down on my couch at home.

Union Business Solutions is a JOKE

A public service announcement. Do not ever look for jobs on craigslist. Every single job I got on Craigslist has yet to pay me. And these were over the summer of 09.

Craigslist Strike #1
The first one was a high school job in June 2009. The job I got was to be administrative assistant for $100 a day. Great, I thought! I was hired on the spot after my second interview. So I worked all day. Doing some creative design work, some spreadsheet work, and some typing. I finished everything really fast. At the end of the day everyone left, so I left too. An hour and a half and 3 trains to get home. No one told me what time to show up the next morning. So I showed up at 8AM. And I sat there. And sat there. And sat there. Thank god it was nice and sunny. Finally the Dean (who interviewed me) showed up and says to me, "oh we don't need you today, the principal is out today." Disappointed that I had wasted my morning traveling here to turn around and head back home, I thanked him and left. The next morning I showed up again, at 8AM. Once more the Dean showed up and said I would not be needed. Stunned, I just left. Later on, after thinking this whole thing through I decided to call the school and find out when the need me and what time I'm supposed to show up. Two key pieces of information that, one would think, would be the first things out of their mouth when I was hired.

So I called, and spoke with a teacher (who I had never met). With some aggravated tone to my voice I described the situation to her, and said that I need to be told when to show up to work. To this she replied, "Oh, we won't be needing you anymore." "EVER?" I yelled back. "Nope." She said, and hung up the phone.

Well son-of-a-bitch. I was just fired over the phone by someone I don't even know, and barely started work with. So I called the Dean and left a message that I don't know what happened but I expect to be paid for the one day I did work. I have seen nothing, and this was 6 months ago. I have contacted him 3 times since them to try and collect my money.

Craigslist strike #2
This one I actually did get paid for. It was a nighttime call center position in which I was placed by a placement agency. One day they just called me and asked me not to come back. No explaination at all. I believe it's because the manager did not like me because I don't let people walk all over me. We were in training for a few weeks, and we would literally be sitting there for an hour and a half every night without starting anything. That's a major waste of time. When I brought this up to her, she flew off the handle at me. I told her it was a waste of time, and she wouldn't listen.

Craigslist strike #3
This was another one where I was hired on the spot, with the important sounding title of "Vice President of Marketing" for Union Business Solutions. That should have been the first giveaway that this guy was a joke and taking all of us for a ride. Basically we were doing cold calling trying to set up appointments with our businessmen to close loans, or "deals" as Thomas Brooks called them. I signed a letter that I would be paid $3000 a month if I did my job. And I did my job. To a T. After a week we were told that in one year we would all be millionaires. Um, yeah, right. That was the second giveaway that this guy is blowing smoke. Then he told us that if we didn't close the "deals" none of us would be paid. WHAAAAAAT'S that you say? So my team met for coffee to brainstorm. Everyone was aggrivated, upset that we had been taken by this guy and had wasted 2 weeks working for him. So the five of use decided to resign. Immediately. My resignation was in the form of an email with the entire group copied on it. The next day Thomas Brooks (President of Union Business Solutions - yeah right) called me and yelled at me for being unprofessional and sending an email to everyone regarding my immediate resignation. Why couldn't I come in and talk it over in person? Excuse me? This is almost 2010, sir, and I think it's only professional. All I could think to say was, "I'm sorry, but I can't think of wasting any more of my time with you." And I hung up the phone. So I never got paid for my 2 weeks on the job. And I never got reimbursed for my business cards I paid for (which he said he'd happily reimburse me for). At least we all got some good excercise running around the city all day, hauling papers and files, and business cards! And everytime I walk by this guys building above Union Station, I flip him a nice bird. Just to make myself feel better. I have done some research on Thomas Brooks, and found that he has called his company by three different names in the past 5 years. And everyone knows he's a scam. Should have done that all first and saved myself some heartache.

So there you go. Three jobs from Craigslist and three disasters.
Bottom line: Thomas Brooks of Union Business Solutions is a scam artist and should be ashamed! Do not give this man the time of day!

A male who does cosmetics?

Oh, how I love my new job in Philosophy cosmetics at Macy's. It's totally different from the Men's Department on 8. No more fitting room clean up, no more putting away piles and piles of new clothes on the cash wrap every morning. No more folding all day long. Not that I minded that at all. It is a job, after all. Cosmetics is much more relaxed. I can wear a sweater vest and shirt/tie combo, as long as the outside is black. It's a good thing I'm a neat freak, because our counter has to be spotless. The shelves have to be straightened and stocked every morning. And I have to print out our daily report every morning to see where we ended up, dollar-wise, yesterday. So there I am by my counter, saying, "Would you like to try our Amazing Grace fragrance today? It's amazing?" I also give facials with our oxygen peel. While we wait for that to work, I do the microdelivery peel on one hand, and then compare it to the other, untreated hand, and everyone (including myself) is amazed at the difference it makes when you remove all of the dead skin. And then I do makeup. It's very intimate, up-close relationship with this person who is a stranger. But I really enjoy it.

As counter manager I have to plan at least two events per month. We are calling it "Amazing Grace Sundays." We have to build up a clientele list so we can call people and let them know our event is coming up, with free samples, and a demonstration. And I have to do the books every night. Comparing todays sales with last year on the same date, calculating tomorrow's goal, and determining the days items per transaction (IPT).

And I can't go in on my days off like I could in Men's, which was commission only, since this is hourly pay plus commission. No overtime.

So all in all, I do love it. It's a challenge, and I live off of challenges both personally and professionally. They keep me going. What are your challenges in life and career?

Hugs,

Abe

Secret secret, I got a secret II

So I can finally tell everyone the secret that I've been dying to burst the bubble on...and that is that I got the position today as Counter Manager in Philosophy cosmetics at Macy's!! This has been a long process interviewing with 4 people, and waiting to hear, and losing sleep over the potential. But this morning I had my last interview, and I nailed it!! When my manager in men's called me down to the HR office, I was so excited. I knew it was good news because I could hear it in her voice. Then I got down to HR and Tim, who my manager asked me to come speak with greeted me with a huge smile and took me into his office. I couldn't wait to hear what I'd be receiving today...my fabulous new job. It's an important title. I have to meet my sales goals, and I have to get a high IPT (items per transaction), and a high SPH (sales per hour), but as friendly as I am, I should have no problems collecting customers. Philosophy is a very young company, and we need to get our name out there...although Oprah LOVES it. So come check us out at Macy's Watertower Place. You'll love our line. We have products for men and women.

Awesome coat!!!!

I look awesome in muh marijuana leaf print coat