Apr 19, 2019
It's Up to Us
Things weren't a mess yet, but it was getting close. I had walked out of a loving, secure situation into a broke-with-no-plan environment. I chose a large university town with a big hippy population and liked the friendly vibes around me. It was fall, so the tree-lined streets were beautiful with fall colors and it was safe enough to take evening walks to enjoy the calm, soft air, and embrace the fact that for the first time in my life I had no one to take care of but myself, no demands/orders from anyone. Yes, I was broke and eating top ramen noodles once a day and getting skinny, but I had talked my way into renting a small studio apartment and could not stop smiling. It was the first time in my 40 years I could do anything I wanted. The lady who managed the rental units stood there listening when I told her I had enough money for the first months rent, but no deposit, and yes I was broke and unemployed but I promised I would have a job soon! She stood there looking at me and for some reason said: "I will take my chances", and handed me a key. Now to find a job. I didn't even have a telephone but had the desire to work. And I knew very well if a person wants something bad enough they can make something happen. That old saying: Where there is a will, there is a way? That was mine.
About a block behind my apartment unit there was a very small neighborhood grocery store and laundromat with, what was common back then, a nice public 'pay phone'. I retyped my resume and listed that phone number as the one to call to hire me. "Call the number listed between 3pm and 6pm." And off I went. I got up every morning, dressed well, fixed my hair and make up, put on a smile, made a list of where I was going that day, and 'hit the bricks'. If a person treats looking for a job as a job, about anything can happen. I knew jobs, I had had a lot of them. I knew all the ins and outs and knew if you toss the right bait in the water you will eventually catch something. I went to dozens and dozens of retail stores, answered ads in the paper, smiled, handed out my resume and every day from 3PM to 6PM I parked in front of the pay phone in front of the laundromat waiting for my job to call. I don't know why, but for some reason, even though all I had with me were my clothes, not even a pillow or blanket, I felt relaxed. It was one of the first times I had the occasion to listen to my instincts! No one else was telling me what to do!
One day I decided to hit the large shopping mall in town. It was nice. I still felt lucky and went in with an armful of resumes going from store to store. One lady working at one of the shops said: "We are not hiring, but I think I know who is!" She pointed down the mall toward another store. I said thank you with a grateful smile and literally ran to the other store. It was one of those greeting card /gift shops that were popular back then. You could buy just about any kind of greeting card, knick knack, sticker, or doo dad that you wanted. It was nice, not too big, not too small, and had a short little man with a company name tag standing next to the check-out stand. I took a breath and zeroed in on him. I stood too close to him and smiled and said: "I am here to work". [No matter what we are told, all women know that men think different than we do. We all know there are things that work and things that don't.] He smiled and said: "I will get you an application."
I laughed and blinked, and stepped here and there, said the right things, took the application to the mall cafe next door and while drinking a soft drink wrote what my instinct said was needed. When I took it back, LittleMan was standing in the front of the store waiting for me. We went to his office and talked. He never stopped grinning as he looked at me and then at my application. After the interview I drove over to the pay phone and stood next to it. I pretended to be using it and would not allow anyone else to touch it. But then 6:00 PM arrived and it had not rung.
I was feeling sad as I slowly walked back to the car thinking: Maybe tomorrow.... Then the phone rang! It was Short Man! He said: "I hope its not too late!" I said: "Oh heavens no!" He said: "The district supervisor is going to be here the day after tomorrow, will you come for an interview?" Of course I said yes! But thought: district supervisor for a shop-keeper job? Something said stay alert, and a few days later when I found myself standing in a tiny, crammed office/storage room with cute, smiling Short Man and a tall, handsome supervisor I have to admit I was not a all sure what was going on!
The supervisor said: "will you help us organize this storage room?" I didn't feel any danger around me so I said: "Sure! Organizing is my 'thing'." So the three of us started digging things out of the boxes, cleaning and arranging them on the storage shelves while we talked! It was one of the strangest 'interviews' I ever had, but jumped in like I had been doing it all my life! About an hour later we had made a great dent in that storage room/office. The supervisor stopped, turned to me and said: "Will you go to work for us as the Assistant Manager of this store?"
Instincts! Did I say listen to them? Of course I accepted the offer and agreed to start work the next day! I drove back to my apartment, ran into the managers office and yelled: "I got a job! I am Assistant Manager!" She and I yelled and laughed and danced around the office. She said: "I knew I could expect you to succeed!" The next four months were amazing. We got through Christmas and I absorbed the management training like it was part of me. It was a fit. Little Short Man manager was thrilled. He no longer had to worry about anything. I was the one who came in at 5:00 AM to stock shelves and arrange the storage room and do the paperwork. I worked long hours, I checked out customers, did the books and deposits, I loved every minute of it. I was in charge and even though there was a manager and a company procedure of how we did things, I found that if certain places were arranged in certain ways business improved. I was in my element.
I paid back those I had borrowed from, bought a pillow and blanket....I had even been asked out on a date! My life was feeling so good... Then.... one day, the supervisor came to the store and said: "We have a store we want you to manage in Seattle, do you want the job." I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Four months ago I had been living on noodles and using my coat as a blanket. Manager? My own store!? You better believe it.. A month later I drove away....again... Headed north to the next stop in my free life....
You may contact StarzAstroWand at: https://starzpsychics.com/starzastrowand
Reproduction of all or any part of material of StarzAstroWand©, including previous posts, without the express written
permission from Planet Starz, Inc. is strictly forbidden.
All violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
All Rights Reserved
Image: www.depositphotos.com/# 133466182 Date: Nov 30, 2018
Share this article with friends!
Tags:
#life#stories#starzastrowand,starzpsychics.com,starz#advisors
