My year....
Alot of things started way before 2014 began. March of 2013, my aunt, her co-worker and I were all on our way to work on a Thursday morning. While sitting at a stop light, where a young lady decided it was more important to look down at her phone rather than the road and hit the back of the car we were in. She didn't try to stop herself which means she wasn't even paying attention to what she was doing. When asked what she was doing, she stated that she looked down for a second and when she looked up she was in back of us. Now I am not a professional or anything, but I know that one it was longer than a second, and two you are suppose to be looking at the rode at all times. We were all shaken up but we could walk away. We all went to Urgent Care to be sure nothing was broken. Nothing was broken but thanks to her careless act I will be jacked up for the rest of my life. After visiting our lawyer and going to see the Dr. for physical therapy I still couldn't get right. And so my HELL began.
I worked far from where I lived and I used public transportation. Which means no matter how hard I tried I couldn't allow my body to rest. This lead to me having to work from home two days a week because of my aherinated bulging disc in my lower back. This feeling is not like any pain I have ever experienced. No matter how much physical therapy I had nothing was working. I was in constant pain. Finally my Dr. advised that I go and get steroid shots in my back. It wasn't a comfortable feeling on my back or my pockets. It gave me relief for a brief moment, but of course I am back to how I felt at first.
February 27, 2014
Alot of things changed for me this year. Starting with my Mom having a heart-attack on Feb. 27th of this year. Every morning I text my Mom and say good morning, and like usual she responded back. Later on during the day my sister calls me and asked me did anyone call me. I said No, and she proceeded to tell me my Mom was at the hospital and that she had a heart-attack. My heart sank. I am all the way in Reston, and all I could think of is how am I going to get to her? How do I even get out of this area? Who do I tell that I need to leave? My co-worker noticed that something was wrong and instantly jumped on it to find out. I explained what happened and she instantly dropped what she was doing and drove me to the hospital. I thank her every day for that. She took me to my Mom and my family knowing I had no way to get there.
My Mom is recovering wonderfully. We stayed with her that first night, and bought her home and we all took turns with Dr.'s visits and helping her with the house. I didn't want to return to work, because I wanted to be sure I was close by if something would have happened again. It did. The reaction to the medication caused severe nose bleeds which scared her more than having a heart-attack. While staying at home that first week, like a good employee I still worked everyday so that my work wouldn't fall behind. Thank goodness for working from home, so I thought. My Mom is good now, its still a struggle. It's hard to break old habits, but she is trying.
March 12, 2014
The company that I worked for at the time I had been there for 8 years. In that time, I had developed relationships with my co-workers, we were like family. I met want of my best friends there, so we were all really close. We all had about the same interest and we would all sit and talk through out the day. So on this day nothing seemed different. We were all working early that morning, noticing that some things seemed slow, but it happens so we just kept it moving. Then out of the blue the CEO of the company sends a email saying it was a mandatory meeting at 10:30 in the break room. Now to most that wouldn't seem odd, but to those who have been there for 8-10 years, we clearly knew something was up. See, we always have mandatory meetings, that was part of working there....but this meeting, was different, normally our meetings would be scheduled a week in advance, not the same day. Something was wrong, and the whole office knew it. Instantly speculations starting coming across the office. Questions, what do you think is going on? See we had been through issues where they would do lay-offs, but it was never an issue of us all being in one room.
This day was different and we all knew something was up. Something didn't feel right. 10 comes and we all walk in the room together, the uncertainty is killing us. We all sat and waited for the CEO to come in the room, and with a smile, yes a smile on his face he stated that there was somethings changing with the company. With that being said, the office doors were closing, that day. We were all asked to pack our things and we would have to exit the building. We are all sitting there in confusion, but before anyone could asked anything, he then stated that, the company was bankrupt and any money that the company had in the bank, the bank took. That money was payroll. THE HELL!!!! Payday was literally that Friday. Really? So no money to even hold you up until unemployment kicks in. At the time no one could really comprehend what he was saying, I think we were all numb at this point. He did make sure we signed a piece of paper stating that we received docs to let our creditors know what was going on.
Most of us are crying, not just because we are out of a job, but the faces we see everyday, we wouldn't see. We were asked to leave and it was hard to process it all. Especially when you know it wasn't your fault as to why they company doors were closing. We all said our goodbyes. And again, the young lady who took me to see my Mom was also the one I was walking out the front door with, she was taking me home. That had to be the longest car ride of my life. We are both crying and trying to piece together what had happened and her phone rings. It's one of our team members from overseas asking why he couldn't get into any of the systems. It's heartbreaking, because again we have to relive what we had just gone through and explaining to him what happened because the powers that be didn't tell them (sad).
I finally got home and tried to piece my life together, What do I do next? No pay check on Friday, bills are due. It's crazy. When you are sitting there trying to figure out what to do next, the day starts to play through your mind. You know what, you get pissed. No warning that your life was going to change forever. Especially when you know they knew longer than that day. I would never forget this day for as long as I live.
I have been laid off before, but I knew it was coming, I was given time to prepare. To leave loyal employees broke and confused like that was devastating and it pissed me off. Not knowing what you are going to do next....it's hard. Thank God for Family!!!!
Now
After all of that it is over 6 months later of not working. Unemployment has run out, I still don't have my settlement from the accident (it's almost 2 years). I have to email my lawyer every other week to make sure that he is productive. He is not. I have never seen a lawyer who is not aggressive at all. I get that I am not his only client, but damn. I have to email him 3 and 4 times a week before I can get a response, and for a person like me....that's not good. I want results. Only time he is contacting the agent from State Farm (she sucks) is if I ask him has he heard from her. Every time he calls she is out of the office for this date, and will be back on this date. Damn, how many vacations does she need? Why wouldn't you finish your work, or go through your contacts before vacation? That's just me. Finally getting back to us with an offer, she hits with a low ball number.... $6100. Oh yeah... After medical bills that leaves me with nothing.. Uh what about my time I had to be away from work with NO PAY... YES NO PAY, because I wasn't allowed to work from home during that time (petty HR)? Really? He sent it back to her for a different offer. And I wait.. again... Tired of waiting...
My job search is what it is. I promise y'all since March 12th I have been applying non-stop. Everyday I am online applying for jobs. There are some jobs I may have applied to 3 and 4 times.. I think I am a job stalker....LOL... If anyone has ever been unemployed you know the struggles that it is to find a job. Phone interviews, face to face interviews, the wait....the rejection... it's way too much for one person to handle. But I have people around me who keep me going. It's nothing like going for an interview for a job you know you are qualified for and the interview goes great. You get home and you wait.. You send thank you emails to the hiring manager for meeting with you... and you wait.
Not to long ago, I applied for a job and the recruiter who worked really hard for me sent all my paperwork to this company. He contacted me and said hey I sent your paperwork and they are reviewing it. You should hear something from me the first week of October.... awesome. When I didn't hear anything, I emailed the recruiter and he called back saying he was still waiting for a decision. After not hearing from him for a week I assumed that I didn't get the position. I kept applying while I waited and a company contacted me regarding my resume. The recruiter sent my resume to the company who was hiring. He asked if it would be OK for them to contact me... sure would.. After speaking to the person from the company I found out this wasn't just a normal Customer Service position. This was me, the job I wanted. It combined customer service with my fraud researching skills into one.. I was interested, I wanted to interview. I set up a day to interview, and while waiting for that day to come along, I got a call from the first recruiter, asking me was I still interested in the position... YESSSSS!!!! he says good, they offered it to you.. WHAT? When I was in shock and didn't know what to say but OK. LOL.... Oh but wait, the place that I wanted to interview with, what happens when they offer me the position.... decisions.. I still wanted to go and see what they were talking about...
Finally that day came. I was nervous but not to nervous. I got a new suit, my Mom said I needed... LOL... I took the ride all the way there, and it was perfect, Metro accessible, literally when I walked out of the station it was there. My interview went great.. I was on cloud 9, this is my job I thought. The recruiter contacted me and asked how did it go. I explained that it went great, and I told him what we went over. He says the company loved my interview and that they would be coming to a decision by the end of the day (Friday). Monday morning I should hear something, right? NOPE nothing. Tuesday nothing, Chris (my recruiter) whats going on? He responds on Wednesday, sorry I was out of the office but I am going to find out whats up. He gets no response from the company but he keeps me informed as to what is going on.. By that Friday, they never said anything, so in his eyes he was done, and basically forget about it.. I am still curious as to what happened. Why didn't they contact the recruiter to at least let him know as to what their decision was..... You know rejection like that hurts. But I knew that I already had a offer on the table just waiting on the docs.
With all being said, GOD test you daily to see if you can handle what he has planned for you. I am not sure what the plan is but my faith has kept me strong. Yes rejection and break you down and make you feel unwanted but if you believe all will get better, it eventually will. My cousin told me everyday my blessing is coming. I BELIEVE IT!!! I know that everything would is going to be alright. I pray that it will.
I wanted to share this long story with you guys (I know it's all over the place), because I was sitting here thinking this has been a hard year for me. Hopefully all my paperwork will be processed soon and I will be working before the end of the month.. I got bills.. LOL
I try and stay positive but it's hard... Honestly, worrying constantly drains the energy and creativity out of you. I am starting to get my mojo back...
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