These Last Two Years, Part 2

[For part one, click here.]

In the last part, I discussed what went on with my life in 2009. Now, I'm going to discuss 2010.

For one thing, this was the first year that I started blogging. In January, I started my very first blog RAB-PIA (Read a Book, Pass It Along). It would not be until Feburary when I would begin the blog that you are reading right now. (So far, this is my most frequently updated one.) I would start three more throughout the year.

Another thing I started doing was the "Read the Bible throughout the year" program that the Baptist church I had been attending since my return to Kansas had going. Basically, it's where there are bookmarks each month which list the date and suggested Bible chapters to be on in order to be on the right track to have it read in a year. There were days when I got behind, but I'd make up for it.

I had initially planned to resume my job search the week after New Year's. However, the weather was such at the time that I was told in no uncertain terms not to go anywhere unless I had to. The next week or so after putting in job applications, I still had no luck finding a job.

I don't recall how many days of the week I generally spent on the job search. However, there was one day that I had to take off in February to attend the funeral of my step-great-grandmother on my mom's side of the family. (One of the things that deaths on my mom's side of the family have in common is that they tend to occur in the winter. Not only was it cold on the day of the funeral, but there was snow on the ground.) I think it was that month that I also started attending a Job Seekers seminar. (This lasted until August or September as attendance had gotten low.)

Despite my best efforts, there was only so much I could do towards my job search at one time. Even when I did follow-ups to whatever applications I had out, I was only able to do those so frequently, and there was still some waiting involved. And was it giving me anything to work with to help build my resume? Of course not. So, I applied as a volunteer for Doggie Bag.  This would help fill up some of my time and not to mention build upon some retail experience that I had. I have been working there since. Depending on what needed done that day and whether or not there was someone else to run the register, I would either be on register or in and out of the back room.

During the month of February, my dad finally finished his recovery. Originally, he had thought that after his recovery, he would need me to return from him, and I would not have been surprised if I would have needed to remain with him for as long as he and I were both still alive whether I wanted to or not. Around Christmas time of last year, I got an email from him saying that it was questionable as to whether or not it would be feasible for me to live with him again. Ultimately, he moved into a one-bedroom apartment. He said that the way it appeared then, he would be there for a year before he would be able to move into something big enough to accommodate both of us. However, it would be up to me as to whether or not I moved in with him when that time came.

In March, I started cutting back on my shoe-wearing at home. Up until then, I was the kind of person who'd dress all the way to shoes every day with or without any intention of going anywhere. Shortly before I have moved to St. Louis, my mom had talked about the possibility of having a shoes-off rule. I was not keen on that idea at first, but after a combination of soul searching and visits to a blog advocating the exclusion of shoes from the private home, I decided to take a shot at not always being in shoes at home. Besides, when/if my mom did decide to have that rule, the less I wore shoes around the house, the less of a shock it would be for me to have to not wear my shoes around the house anymore. However, as I wasn't really into be barefooted or sock-footed when up and about, especially in connection to household chores, I bought some ballet flat slippers and started wearing those around the house whenever I was in regular clothes but had not intention of going anywhere for a while. The no shoes rule still has yet to happen, but depending on weather and/or whatever else I'm wearing, I'll usually wear either one of my pairs of ballet flat slippers or my blue "at home" flip-flops which have a fuzzy detail at the V-strap.

It was either March or April when I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. However, it was in April that I turned 25. During the day on my birthday, I had my shift at the Doggie Bag. That night, though, I had dinner with my mom, stepdad, and sister and went out for drinks with my sister. I had some rounds of Bourbon in Dr. Pepper, which I got drunk on.

The next day, I had gotten an email from my dad reprimanding me for not having my voicemail set up yet. He had noticed this when he had tried to call me the previous night. (I've had the number that I do since October of last year, and my mom had reminded me a couple of times to set up my voicemail.) He stressed  the importance of doing that and said that I could've missed a job opportunity or two as a result of a prospective employer not being able to reach me. Even after I had set my voicemail up, I was VERY remorseful about having put it off in the first place. I expressed said remorse in a forum for a club I was involved in, calling myself a "bad grownup" and expressing my fears of red flags I'd be raising in the eyes of a prospective employer and/or prosprective husband, not to mention how horrible it must look to God/Jesus. I think I also expressed my remorse when I responded to my dad and said how grossly immature it was for me to do that.  (One of the standards he holds me to is that I "act my age" which apparently means that I had better not make mistakes that I could have VERY easily prevented at the time. To this day, I can't make such a mistake and not practically hate myself for it.)

During the summer, I took a break from my job search and the Doggie Bag in order to go babysit my nephew. When I returned to the Doggie Bag in August, it turned out there were changes to the store, such as the break room being turned into a room devoted to children's clothing and toys. It also turned out that someone else took over as manager and most of the people that had seniority over me when I had started were gone. (As it turned out, a lot of people, including the manager that we had since I had started my work at the Doggie Bag, quit during the summer for some reason. There were new staff members after that.) My responsibilities were mostly to inspect, tag, hang up, and price clothing. (Later, that particular manager decided she wanted to take over pricing.) I was put on a co-existing schedule with that manager, and the only time I was on register was when she needed to step out for a bit or run an errand.

In September, the manager we had since this summer got sick one day, so I ended up running the register for the full day.  Some of the people that (so I had heard) walked out during the summer came back to reclaim some stuff that had allegedly been left behind. I found out later from the person who normally did the window display that those people had no right to take that stuff, that surely if they had left it behind, they wouldn't have waited so long to reclaim it.  A few days later, the manager we had since this summer resigned for personal reasons, and our window display specialist took her place. (Supposedly, the latter had worked with the Doggie Bag off and on in the last eight years and even managed the place before.)  The manager that left us this summer now runs a thrift store in which the proceeds (so I had been told) go to private animal rescue shelters or something like that.

As it is at this point, I STILL have no paid job despite all of the applications I've sent out at various times. I'm still with the Doggie Bag though.I'm generally in and out of the back room depending on what needs done on any given day. It's gotten to the point where between that and my sister's house, I'm not sure which I most consider to be my second home. Let's just say I've gotten to a point where I expect more out of myself at that place.

As for my dad, the last time I had seen him was when I moved to Kansas last year (though we have kept in touch since then). There was talk about me possibly going to St. Louis for Christmas this year, but that ended up not happening. I don't know when it is I will see him again, as out the luxury of out of town trips aren't as feasible for me as they used to be. I still haven't heard back about when he will be able to move to a bigger apartment, but I probably won't move in with him unless there's a pressing reason for me to do so.

I don't know exactly what 2011 will bring for me. Maybe I'll get a job. Maybe I'll have a boyfriend. Maybe something else will occur for me altogether. We'll just have to wait and see.

There you have it, my memoirs of the last two years. For my last night of 2010, when my mom and stepdad get home, we will have lobster for dinner. After dinner, I will update my manicure and pedicure (the latter consisting of a pattern of polishes that I got for Christmas this year) and drink the three shots of alcohol that were in my stocking this year.  I hope you all have a Happy New Year, and I will be back in tomorrow, God willing.