Friday
Tuesday
Sunday
It was a shit job.
[I found this in my drafts folder, I don't know why I never posted it, but I wrote it on 11/20/06]
Just over two years ago, right around the time we found out Heidi was pregnant, I was unemployed. I had been looking for a job for a few months after having been canned from my less than cushy job at Starbucks and just happened to talk with a guy from my Community Group. He said that he had gotten a promotion, but he couldn't move up until they had filled his position, yet they would pay him for the new job until then. After talking with him awhile I decided that I would call his boss at his recommendation and apply for a job as a janitor.
I knew it was going to be hell, but all of a sudden I had this urge to work my ass off no matter what kind of job I was doing. I met with the guy, sucked at the interview, and as he told me that he wanted to me to go home and think about why I wanted to get into this field I started to have a small panicky feeling grow in my chest. I asked him what I had said that made him turn me away, he told me I didn't seem enthusiastic enough for him (no shit, I was going to be a janitor). So I turned on the charm and talked my way into a job, convincing him that I'd be great no matter what I was doing. I felt confident because the job requirements were fairly few; upright, had eyes, and that was about it.
I started that following Monday. Met my friend Andy, who proceeded to train me in all things "Day Porter" (Fancy for janitor). It involved sweeping a small parking garage first thing in the morning, which was nice because it was empty and I could take my time walking from the top of the building to the bottom. Then I had to go clean the window sills and windows in the main walkway of the medical building I was in charge of. Then I could sit.
I started around 7 in the morning, parking garage, walkway, parking lot, check the bathrooms and around 8, go to the property manager's office and pick up a pager and cell phone. Then I'd walk back to the main building, sweeping a bit, and find my closet and sit and read until around 11 or so. Then I'd have to check the bathrooms again, which took 15-30 minutes, then I'd be back in the closet, sitting on my butt until 12 when I'd take a nice long hour lunch. When lunch was over I'd check the bathrooms again, this time it took less time. So I'd sit in my closet and read again, until around 2:30 or 3, then I'd have to check the bathrooms in the other building, which had nobody in it save for a handful of people, so it'd take me another 15 minutes.
At this point in the day I'd have less than an hour until I got off, so I sat and read. I smoked a lot too, but only when I wasn't busy doing all these super tasks.
Needless to say, I started looking for a job soon after I got this one that would be better suited to my desire to not sit in a closet, but it took a little while. In the mean time I proved to my boss and the prop. manager how good of a worker I was, which I'm still baffled as to how, I didn't think anyone could have worked less than I did. But, they liked me, so much that when the company that hired my company decided to go with another cleaning service, one of the contract points was that the new company would have to offer me a job. When my boss found out about this he quickly gave me a promotion and moved me to a building closer to home, yet now I wasn't working days. Instead I'd have the honor of servicing a giant building from 6pm to 2:30am. And I would now be second in command at this building.
The promotion was nice, I went from having to sit in a closet and actually do work 3 or so hours a day, to sitting in a break room and having to do 1-2 hours of work a night. Plus I got a great 50 cent raise.
Monday
Sweet Child of Mine
I currently have two daughters. One is Eve (pictured) the other is Dorothy. Just recently Dotty started walking with help (video below). They both make me very happy and have given me some insight into how much God loves me. Evelyn likes to push everything as far as she can.
I was sitting in my chair reading the mail. I had opened a bill and set it down on the table next to me. Eve walked up and grabbed the bill. I asked her to put it down and told her it was an important piece of paper that daddy needed. I then asked her not to touch it again. She knows what the consequences are when she disobeys. So she set it down, and stepped back a little. Then she smiled, looked me in the eyes and put her hand on the table, about 6 inches from the bill. She looked at her hand, the bill, then back at me, and picked her hand up and moved it closer, 5 inches. She repeated this, each time with a huge smile.
I sat there, watching her, knowing that she was going to grab it, but really not wanting her to. I wanted her obedience, I wanted to not have to punish her for what was quickly become the inevitable. 2 inches.
At this point, I grabbed her hand, looked her in the eye, and said something to the effect of "I asked you not to touch it, and you're trying to see how far you can go before I do something." As soon as I let go, her cute little hands couldn't help themselves and grabbed the paper. Such a small thing was such a disappointment. Now I had to follow through and give her a little swat for touching a stupid piece of paper.
After I did, I held her and asked her if she knew why she got punished. Of course she confused the action she had taken with her heart's desire to sin, and answered "Me touch paper." This was true, she got disciplined for touching the paper, but the bigger picture I wanted to give her was that she got disciplined because her heart didn't want to obey her daddy.
I can't begin to imagine how much I do this to God. Sometimes I catch myself in prayer asking for His forgiveness for an act I did, not really wanting to face my sin. I think, "If I'm going to be forgiven for something, it should be my rudeness to my wife, and not my lack of wanting to obey my Daddy."
It also comes out when I get pissed about a situation, say, at work, and begin to get defensive or stressed instead of going to God and asking for some clarity in the situation so I can get a bigger picture of what is going on. Then approaching the party involved and being able to walk through it with them seeing not the tasks in front of me, but the idea behind it.
When I get asked to create a complex email set up for a customer that will stop emails going to their boss and have them come to them, unless said emails are from user x, y, and z, I get bogged down with tasks. I pray that God will help me continually step back and see that what I am doing, these simple yet time consuming steps, isn't vanity. This will help the users involved be better at their job, and their job isn't pointless either, it's Gospel work, spreading the story of Christ. The most important job one can have, and God has given me the opportunity to be part of that.
Sunday
The Story of Aadom
It's one of those legacy things you need to explain to people sometimes. Like the email address you had 10 years ago that you thought was clever at the time, but over the years you lose interest in said cleverness and want something easier. Or, when you have a name that is pretty common so you come up with something original so when you Google your name you can be one of the top hits.
9 years ago I moved to Cannon Beach to go to Ecola Bible School. While there, I met quite a few people that I was going to remain great friends with throughout the years (of course I've lost contact with almost all of them). The two key players in this story, other than myself, are Josh Duff and Erin Johnston so I won't mention the ancillary players.
Josh and I became friends over a stellar map puzzle, Back to the Future, and punk rock. We would drive around the little town in his rebuilt (by him) Scout. Often times we'd jump in his main car, a little '83 Honda Accord hatchback and drive to Portland or Seattle to see a show.
Erin was a girl that I became interested in (this is the part of the story that I am glad is in my past). The problem with Erin, though, was the fact that she was dating a guy from her home town named, of all things, Aaron.
In the years after I left Ecola I did stay in touch with both Josh and Erin for a while. When I moved to Seattle in the fall of '01 I met up with Erin and restarted our friendship. I knew she had broken up with Aaron and was now available. I took this opportunity to reattempt a relationship with her. I soon came to find out that she had entered into a new relationship just recently. I inquired as to the guy's name to which her response was "Aaron."
When I relayed this story back to Josh, who was rooting for me to hook up with Erin, he punned that I should change my name to Aadom. And, thus, the name took on a life of its own.
Like I've said, this isn't a great story. Nor is it one I am proud of. But, I have gotten a good amount of use out of "Aadom" and will continue to use it. Not as a link to a failed relationship with Erin (which I am forever happy about), but as a link to a good friend named Josh, and a reminder to myself about how foolish I was and can easily be. Furthermore, given the theme of this blog as of late, it is fitting to explain it once for all.
