Tag: Cheerleading

Posted on

22. Jobs of the past.


Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success! – David O. McKay

WOW! Okay, so I have been EXTRA busy with work since my last post, but -omggggg- do I LOVE MY JOB!! Seriously, I couldn’t be happier working with the people that I do, helping the people that {we} do. I am SO passionate about what this company has done for me, that I am just thriving being a part of the team! I know that it has been a [huge] adjustment for my husband, as I am now busy at times I didn’t used to be… ie: mornings before school, dinner/bedtimes for the kids, Sundays. But you know what? It’s a temporary adjustment and then it’ll become the norm, to an extent…

See, I joined the team at an interesting time. It was a month before things got busy with our final two launches of the year. I had a lot of training hours and then bam, the biggest event of the year + 2 major course launches. It’s all hands on deck and my hours are ALL over the place. For now. BUT that’ll slow down and kind of regulate as things change for the new year. And as busy as I am, I FREAKING LOVE IT! There are 6 of us and while I know 2 of them are technically my bosses, it feels like I just talk to my best friends all day! 🙂

With all of that said, I thought that this was a good opportunity to talk about my previous work history. Also due to the nature of my job, I tend to use a lot of exclamation points… I foresee that crossing over into my blog. Just putting it out there.

I remember my very first job interview like it was yesterday! I found it a little weird as I was interviewing with a boy {you’ll understand in a minute} but I remember I was wearing a jean skirt, a pink and yellow striped, capped sleeve with a sweetheart neckline t-shirt, and my cowrie shell necklace, that was in the shape of a star. WOW!! I mean, I know that I’m writing a blog with memories that date back over 30 years, but to remember my exact outfit 18 years later? Daaaaang even I’m impressed with my memory. Ha ha. Anyway, the reason why I find it so odd that a guy was interviewing as well, is the fact that I was interviewing for the most girliest girl stores ever! I mean, I don’t know about you, but as a little girl, I LOVED and spent literal hours inside one store, just marveling over -all- of the things! Can you guess what store that may be, given those facts? Yup, that’s right – good ol’ Claire’s!!

I absolutely loved everything about working at Claire’s! The people, the music, the merchandise, the mall. At the time when I started, Kristina was Manager, Amy and Tracey the Assistant Managers, and Kayla (a carbon copy of Melissa Joan Hart!) as 3rd Key a.k.a. part-time assistant manager. Then there was Megan, Bailee, Jamie and I as the remaining associates. We were all the same age, though Megan was a grade a head of the rest of us.

Claire’s was an easy target for delinquents trying to get away with stolen goods, or so they thought! I was incredible at catching thieves and I have zero problem tooting my own horn over it. Though I have to say, we all made a great team. There is one instance that really stands out in my mind, because I had an unexpected surprise, on a day that I really wished I hadn’t. Ha, ha. See, remember back in [09. First Love] I discussed the heartbreak and drama that came between Kevin and I, because of Beau? Yeahhh… So Beau was moving to Ohio with our mutual friend, to get a fresh start while our friend went to school. It only lasted maybe 4 months but that’s besides the point. He wanted to say goodbye and I knew work was probably the safest bet. Had Kevin known I had made plans to see him, it would have caused a lot of issues and I wanted to avoid that. But let’s be honest, I wanted to see Beau and say goodbye just as much as he did. While I respected Kevin’s feelings, I still had to respect my own, and seeing someone in a public setting, such as a store in a mall, isn’t something one always has control over. Right? Right. Irony is, Kevin decided to show up and surprise me that day. ::ofcourse:: Nope, I certainly didn’t have control over seeing someone in a public setting, such as a store in a mall. <- Why do I feel anxious just thinking about it? Oh, memories. Anyway, that day I had walked right past Kevin, not even noticing him (which is -incredibly- difficult to do, given he was nearly 6’10”!) following two girls as they left the store. Not even three stores down they had stopped, started laughing and pulling their loot out of their pockets – just in time to see me standing there, with my hand out, asking them to follow me. It was such a rush of excitement, I felt like a badass; which is not me at all! Ha. As we were walking back Kev was just leaning there against the glass outside Claire’s. I was in total shock!! He laughed and said he wondered how long it was going to take me to see him. I went from the rush of catching shoplifters, to holy shit what if Beau shows up and Kevin sees him? Helllllllo anxiety. Kev ended up hanging around the mall until my shift was over, and I was both mad and disappointed. Disappointed that Kevin was there, and mad he hung around, causing me such anxiety and guilt over “getting caught” – even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong! Oh, and disappointed by the fact that Beau never showed up. Or so I thought… No, as it turns out Beau did in fact show up, but when he got there, he had seen my surprised reaction to Kevin being there and walked right past us as I was giving Kevin a kiss. Seriously?! Is my life a movie? It feels like it has to be, some things are just that unbelievable, even to myself! Man.

ANYway, for 6 months everything was going great, until a new district manager was hired and [dramaaa] began. I’ll never forget the night Kristina locked up the store, and then threw her keys back into the store, through the medal gate! She was -done-… That was how she quit. My manager. ::sideShiftyeyes:: Amy was moved up to interim Manager with hopes of making it perminate. Megan was then made a 3rd Key, and things were good for a while. But unfortunately, drama continued and one by one we all left the store. It really was a sad moment in my life, especially since Kevin and I weren’t in a great place at that time. Not to mention I was STILL recovering from my second knee surgery. Annnd it was also around that time that I started getting really, really sick, and the new district manager had major attitude over it!! My mother went with me the day that I quit, as my anxiety over it was making me physically ill (I hate letting people down). Well, that and the fact I still couldn’t drive with my knee in a brace. I had NO idea that the new DM was going to be there that night, but I still needed to follow through. She didn’t even allow Amy the option of giving me my final 2 weeks; I was {done}.

A few months later when I was really sick and doing homebound schooling, my Uncle Dave agreed to give me a sense of purpose, and gave me a job part-time doing data entry for my grandfather’s insurance agency, Associated Group Underwriters. I was only able to sit at the computer a few minutes at a time, but it gave me something to do and I didn’t feel as useless as I had been feeling. It was short lived but it was something!

Once my health started to stabilize and I was able to get back out in the [real world], Amy – my old a.m./manager at Claire’s, got me an associate’s position at the clothing store, Charlotte Russe. She was the assistant manager there, but was also trying to get the managing position back at Claire’s, as higher management had an overhaul. Eventually she did and left Charlotte Russe, with promises that she’d bring me back as soon as she could! During my short stint at Charlotte Russe, I really only befriended one co-worker. I feel absolutely terrible about this, but I for the life of me cannot remember her name… ::HoldsHandsOverEyes:: It started with an M and was very unique. We only hung out a few times outside of work for her to do my hair. She had finished beauty school but hadn’t taken a full-time job in the field yet. So, she did my hair in her parent’s basement, ha, ha. I made a promise to myself when I was 10 years old, that I wanted long hair for Senior pictures, and then would donate my hair sometime after that. WELL that time had come, I donated 14.5 inches and went back blonde, with some fun magenta peek-a-boos! I enjoyed working at Charlotte Russe, but one of the things that I really didn’t like about working there, was the seniority set up. That and the fact that I had gotten Jessie [06.HS/11.Childhood Friendships+] a job there, only for it to backfire, as it was right at the time of her self sabotaging. Then there was a holiday hire that just brought gut punches of painful memories. She was a former cheerleader at Salem [06.HS/Diagnosis] with me, but on a higher ranked squad. We never really interacted too much, but she always had that typical, ‘I’m hot and better than you’ attitude. Kevin also started hanging out with her during school lunches, towards the end of things, before we actually broke up. SOOOooo needless to say, I did -not- like this girl and yet, that seniority set up required me to be the one to train her. Good grief did I need Amy to find me a spot, STAT!

Once back in charge, Amy first brought Kayla back as her assistant manager, and then brought Megan on as a 3rd key, again. At the time, there was another 3rd key named Ashley, and 2 associates, Kristin and Shebon. Due to only having 2 associates, who were both highschool students, Amy needed someone else full-time, which meant another assistant manager. SO, Megan got moved up to a.m., and to my surprise, Amy wanted me to be a 3rd key, instead of an associate. ::eeek::  Again, to explain the differences, a 3rd key is a part-time assistant manager. They have all the same duties such as opening/closing the store, bank deposits, making managing decisions- just less hours and no benefits. FINE by me! I was SO excited to be back with 3 of the original crew, we really were like a family! Remember, Megan and her cousin, Shannon [11.Childhood Friendships+] brought me a giant handmade card, wishing me luck when I had to go to the Mayo Clinic.[06.HS/Diagnosis] Things were going great!

The following summer there was a Borders Books opening up in Canton and I thought, why not? I mean, we all know that I was {not} the biggest reader at the time, but the store was super close, huge, and they needed a ton of employees to fill all the different positions. So, I applied. And I got the job. And I was working full-time between working there and at Claire’s, and going to school part-time that fall. OH, and that fall was also when I found out about Christopher getting married. [13.Survivor] <- That would be alot for any healthy person, but someone who was chronically ill, and not too far out from the biggest flair of their life, it probably wasn’t the wisest of choices… But how was I supposed to know? I was newly diagnosed, on the right meds, and was -so- unprepared in the understanding that chronic health issues are a lifelong battle of ups and downs, flares and remissions. My body started to fight back. There was an instance while working at Claire’s when it was just an associate and I one evening, she was taking her break so I was alone in the store, annnnnd I passed out… I happened to be in the back corner of the store, so it’s a damn good thing it was a weekday evening, for the mall was practically empty!! I have no idea how long I was out but a nice older couple was fussing around me as I came too. I really don’t remember too much about the incident other than that. ::doeeyes:: And the decision to leave Claire’s was starting to take form. I was devastated to quit working there, but I was barely getting any hours and it wasn’t worth the gas to get there. Plus, I made more money at Borders.

I’ll never forget my interview with Borders, either. I met with the G.M. first, and when I introduced myself he thought that I said, “Jella”… huh? How? That was the first time anyone had ever thought that’s what I was saying; though, oddly enough, it wasn’t the last! What? How? Ha, ha. I just don’t understand. ::shrugsshoulders::

I loved working at Borders! It’s where I was first introduced to T. Swift, and the rest is history. Though, they wouldn’t play her C.D. for me often, bastards. However, they did make up for it by playing the soundtrack to “Across the Universe” often, just for me. There is just something about that soundtrack! I know I’ll probably get backlash for this, but I so prefer the movie’s versions over the originals. ::sorrynotsorryBeatlesfans:: I made so many good friends working there, some of whom I’m still in contact with today, even if only through social media, just like my Claire’s girls! <3 Korrin, Amanda, Trevor, Holly, Shannon, Neidee, Lisa, Maureen, Jeff, Tim – there really are so many more people that I could name in which I just simply adored! Korrin, Amanda and Holly were my closest friends, though. Amanda and I were exceptionally close and even at each other’s weddings, years after working at Borders together. I never considered myself a bad influence, but I did sneak her into a different country, just so she could drink legally, when she turned 19. I don’t know if her parents ever found out that we went to Canada but it sure was fun! Ha, ha. <- OOOMG sitting here writing this, I realized that I completely forgot a whole other friendship to discuss!! Actually, a few.. Goodness!!! What triggered my memory was thinking about the first time I went to Canada to drink. I’ll have to address my poor choices on that subject at a later date. ::turnsRedandLooksaway::

I’m not exactly sure where this falls in the timeline, but I was still at Borders so it’ll fit here appropriately. Marion’s mom [10.Twin Flame] was the principal at a small private elementary school. She asked me if I’d be interested in being a cheer coach for a short season, teaching the girls the basics, and then having them put on a performance to wrap up the season. Uh, YES! I was so excited, nervous because I was in charge of 15 or so kids, ages 5-10, teaching them the sport that triggered my health to decline, but still excited nonetheless. Not to mention, I really wasn’t a kid person. But oh my goodness, I was like a proud mama bear; they did SO well!! They all loved it and their parents’ praised my efforts. The whole thing brought up a lot of emotion for me, but overall I’m glad I had that experience. Wow, sitting here reflecting back, I feel like I’ve lived 20 something different lifetimes! There are so many aspects about myself that I don’t even recognize.

Anyway, tearful memory lane is over. Although, can I really say that memory lane is over when I’m continuing to write about my past? Details, am I right?… As Igor [14.Forever&Always] and I were getting closer and it was evident that an engagement was on the cusp, I started looking at jobs closer to White Lake. As previously mentioned, there was a good 30/40 minute drive between us on a typical day. I was still going to school about halfway between us and it just made sense, since I was more than likely going to be moving in with him, once we were engaged. -Spoiler Alert- I didn’t. And no that’s not really a spoiler alert, just see [12.Life Detour]. Since my psychic abilities were packed, hidden away in the depths of my consciousness, I didn’t foresee that detour, and I ended up quitting Borders. I applied to be a bank teller just up the road from Igor’s condo, but ultimately decided against it and wanted to put my focus on finishing school. Oh Universe, you’re so good at making jokes, even if they’re not always funny. In the slightest. At all.

Borders was my last official, on the record, money making, taxes paying job – until The Sisters Enchanted. ::mindblown:: 13 years. It took me 13 years to land a job that actually paid money… We know this was not by choice, but holy cow! Borders may have been my last official job, but I did have my externship at an ER/Urgent Care cross over. It was originally an offsite, lower level ER, but they were in the process of turning it into an urgent care. It was reaaaallly weird that as a medical assisting student, I was considered more qualified and able to do more with patients, than former medics. At the urgent care, they were essentially only allowed to be patient care techs, while I was able to administer medication, give shots, draw blood, start IV’s, and assist with minor procedures. I still don’t understand how, but I’m grateful I could! I saw some >wicked< things while working there, let me tell ya! I’ll spare you details, but let’s just say maggots and degloving for funsies. Did that just gross you out? Imagine living it… ::turnsgreen&cheekspuffed:: gahhhh!

It was after my externship had ended and I was awarded my certification by the AAMA, that I got sick again, thus leading to the past 13 years without a “real” job. I swear as I’m writing that I’ve already shared things; I have to keep going back to previous entries to see, only to discover that I haven’t, and I just don’t understand how I havent? Maybe I’m just thrown off as I’m not writing regularly at this present time, and jumping around? Lost my groove of telling my story in order. I have no idea, but I [know] that I’ve written about things before, now I just have to figure out where, if not here… ::handToChinAsIthink:: I’m so confused right now. Ha, ha. Maybe that’s my cue to end things here. Trusting my intuition, check!

Posted on

06. High School/Diagnosis

“I don’t want my pain and struggle to make me a victim. I want my battle to make me someone else’s hero.” — Unknown

Bring on high school! Starting my freshman year we had three, yes 3, high schools on one campus (4 buildings in all) and we had classes in all three schools. You were assigned a “home” school in which your locker would be, where you’d play sports for and graduate from. If you were fortunate enough to have time to use your locker, seeing your counselor could have been the only time you’d even enter your “home” school. I went to Salem but one semester I didn’t have a single class there! It’s nuts. They call it an Educational Park, but in reality it’s a small college campus for teenagers. In retrospect it’s smart because certain elective courses are only offered in certain schools, so they don’t need multiple teachers teaching the same thing throughout the district. But having only 10 minutes to get from one corner of one school to the farthest corner of another, makes for an exhausting day going back and forth between classes! There is no [break]… it would wear anyone down, but especially someone already battling extreme fatigue.

By mid-semester I had become full blown lethargic and negative mono test after negative mono test left nearly everyone calling me lazy and depressed to the 90th degree. With the help of a note from my orthopedic surgeon I was able to get out of running in gym class, but unfortunately my absences and doctor’s notes didn’t help me for swimming and I failed half the semester. Such a confidence boost, let me tell ya!

By the end of freshman year I was starting to do better and tried out for the Cheer Team: GO ROCKS! After having to give up dance, cheerleading became my love. I was so powerful and strong that I quickly became main base. I was determined to succeed and my team nickname was: “Miss Powerhouse.” Unfortunately, being a base leaves you open to getting kicked in the head by your flyer, resulting in a sprained neck. 

That sprain changed everything!    –

The trauma my body experienced triggered a response within my autonomic nervous system that would influence the rest of my life.  Remember the pneumonia I had when I was six and all the fevers with extreme growing pains? That goes with this, as do the mysterious stretch marks and migraines… I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, an autosomal dominant genetic condition that affects my connective tissue supporting my skin, bones, blood vessels and many other organs. If it wasn’t for that sprained neck and what followed, who knows how old I would have been when I found out. Secondary to EDS, I have Dysautonomia – an umbrella term used to describe the dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is what controls everything your body does without your thinking, ie: breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, ect. 

There is no way to say with 100% certainty, however it is believed that the pneumonia triggered me to develop a mild form of Dysautonomia, hence the inability to regulate my temperature. Then with puberty, the migraines and extreme fatigue. However, it wasn’t until after spraining my neck did things go downhill fast. I started passing out and blacking out left and right. I developed tachycardia and palpitations with plummeting blood pressure. Fatigue to the point I can only describe as sleep comas. Dangerously low blood sugar and drastic weight fluctuations; we’re talking losing 25lbs in 2 weeks and gaining 50lbs back 2 weeks later! I was getting winded just talking let alone walking. I was in literal Hell!

Doctor after doctor, test after test – I was left without answers, suffering, because you know… “depression”. Not only was my health suffering but so was my social life. I had to quit the Cheer team letting everyone down just weeks before regionals. My pediatrician; the only doctor on my side doing everything she could, very bluntly told me that I must step back if I wanted to survive to regionals. I had no answers from “specialists” and she was genuinely scared for me…

Now, I’m sure you can imagine how that betrayal to my team ended. All of my so-called [friends] were now shunning me. Instead of worrying for my well being, in true stereotypical high school cheerleading fashion, the squad was more important than anything and I was now an outsider. However, the good thing about going to school with SO many kids (6,000+), is that while there were cliques and groups of friends, there were entirely way too many for the standard “cliques” and I wasn’t left completely alone. None of my best friends were on the team and my boyfriend was a star basketball player for a rival team/school.

As time went on I only got sicker and lost my friends because they didn’t understand. They were in HS, a time for fun – not to be tied back with a sick friend. My boyfriend’s family felt my health was too serious of an issue; they didn’t want me holding him back and we eventually broke up. I missed so much school it’s a wonder my mom wasn’t served papers! By mid-junior year I was homebound and school consisted of independent work and a weekly visit from the district’s homebound teacher. But you see, the problem with homebound schooling is that I was only allowed one credit a semester instead of the traditional three. So not only did I have to deal with being sick with a mysterious illness, loss of my friends and boyfriend, having a teacher stage an in class intervention accusing me of an eating disorder (when I lost all that weight so quickly) and another teacher literally talking bad about me (belittling and making fun of the situation to the class in my absence), I had to do school from home only to not be able to graduate on time even though I had a 3.6 G.P.A. 

In May of that year I ended up going to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Mayo is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It is one of the leading diagnostic hospitals in the world and I spent over a week there on my first visit. 

Random fun facts: My great uncle, Dr. Arnold Kadish, used to work at Mayo and it’s rumored that he dated, possibly was even engaged at one point, to one of the founder’s daughters. Arnold also invented the first diabetic insulin pump in 1963!

While at Mayo they put you through the ringer with test after test, more in depth than ever before. It was there that I was finally diagnosed with the previously mentioned Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Dysautonomia. During my first visit I didn’t qualify for an official diagnosis for P.O.T.S. – Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome but I was treated as though I did. In order to get an [official] diagnosis my heart rate needed to jump 30 bpm upon standing and mine only went 28. Medical logistics are ridiculous sometimes but I was officially diagnosed 20 months later at my second visit. Prior to Mayo, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroid disease at 15, Fibromialgia (which Mayo ruled out and changed the diagnosis to EDS), Sports Asthma (which was also ruled out, turns out that because of the EDS causing blood pooling, I get pooling in my lungs which makes it difficult to breathe.), and any psychological issues in question were found to be completely normal given all of the stress I had been under!!!

FINALLY some answers and validation. Some…

I ended up [dropping out] senior year. And by dropping out I mean I was essentially kicked out. I even tried summer school to catch up but they made it impossible. So, I made the gut wrenching decision to get my GED, but in order to do so before my class had graduated I needed someone from the HS to sign off. It was impossible to get an appointment with the principal and everyone else we tired meeting with said they weren’t authorized to do so. We ended up going straight to the principal’s office where of course his secretary told us he was unavailable. Shortly after she said that he started to walk out of his office and we asked if we could speak to him. He told us he was on his way to a meeting and to schedule something with his secretary. Of course. My friend Jessie was with us and while she may be tiny, she sure is mighty! She used her sass, politely – but direct – and convinced him to give us three minutes, just enough time to sign off on my early GED slip.

Here’s the kicker, he had zero idea who I was or what I had been dealing with. All of these school administration meetings over the past four years, not once was he filled in. WTF?!! He could not believe the way his staff had treated me and handled my case. He ended up having his secretary cancel his meeting so that he could get more detailed information from us. Without any hesitation he signed my slip and even made sure that my official record didn’t say that I was a “drop out”. Instead, he wrote that I was [transfering] and that I was continuing my education at the local community college where I was getting my GED. He apologized on behalf of his staff and wanted to assure that I still had some dignity. 

Having to get my GED sucked, but I kicked that test’s ASS and all of my scores were in the 90th+ percentiles! What made the situation suck a little less is that I technically started college early. Silver lining?