So much for the writing more…
So many things have happened these 501 days. I come on here almost daily and read everyone, but don’t write. Partly because I don’t have a laptop anymore and writing from a smartphone seemed …wrong. But mainly, I’ve lead quite the boring life and the things that I do feel like writing about are all dreary and depressing, and I didn’t want to come on here just to be sad.
So, with that being said- I’ll talk about my job, which starts out sad.
My grandfather died on April 20th, 2013. I have never felt sadness like that. We had put him in a home on April 10th for a ten day respite. He wasn’t well and wasn’t taking care of himself, despite our best efforts. So we applied for respite, which removed him from the home for ten days so the family can take a “break”. We mainly needed it to get into his room to clean it and make it a nicer place as that’s where he spent 90% of the day. I took him there and stayed with him for most of that first day. I returned the day after that to bring him some things he was asking for, and to visit. When I got there, his lunch was just sitting there. So we sat together and talked, and I made him eat a little. I went to the nurses and asked that if he didn’t want to eat to please call me. If he needed anything, to please call me. We were living out of town at that time, a 45 minute drive on a good day with no traffic. On the 20th, I received a call from my mother telling me that I needed to come down to the home. So, Patrick and I flew out of bed, I put on the nearst thing I could find and we hauled out towards Calgary. I didn’t want to listen to the radio on the way there, I knew in my heart something was wrong and I didn’t want any music associated with that day. We were doing about 150km/hr on the side hiway towards Calgary. By the time we hit Airdrie, he had died. I was absolutely crushed. By the time we got to the home, I was puffy, my sweater was wet and covered in snot. My mother met me at the door of the home, when I walked in I just fell, sobbing. I finally made my way to his room, and there he was. I spent a little time in there, but couldn’t bear seeing him …like that.
We had applied for ten days respite and he died on the ninth day. Which also happened to be my fathers birthday. So, needless to say it was more than emotional. It was bizarre and surreal. The days following that were nothing but a blur. There is of course family drama that went along with it all, but I don’t want to write about that just yet. At this point, you’re proabably wondering what the hell this all has to do with my job, right?
When he died, I was working a temp job at a big oilfield company. I only took off the three days grievance that is allowed by the province. When I went back to work, all the coworkers were very lovely and respectful. However, the temp company I worked for was not. The temp contract I signed didn’t cover grievance, therefore I wasn’t getting paid. That was enough to make me start looking for a job. So, on the 24th I started looking. I always had a system. There were several companies within my industry that I wanted to work for, and I always randomly checked to see if they were hiring. After I checked the main ones, with no luck, I just went typical job websites and nothing. I wanted back in my industry, if that wasn’t going to happen then I was going to bide my time. I don’t like bouncing from one job to the next. But then it hit me, there was one company I hadn’t checked. I had always wanted to work where my grandfather did. It was my industry and it was his past. So, I typed in their website. They have such a good pension plan, RRSP package and wages that it’s hard to get in because no one ever leaves. I searched through their job ads, and there it was. The job was posted on April 21st, for a position that I’ve always wanted. So, I applied.
At this point the dates are all fuzzy. A few days later, I followed up with the company because I didn’t get a callback. They put me through to their HR/Hiring department and I spoke with someone there. They asked about my job history I told them about the previous job I held for six years, at their competitors. All of a sudden, they were extremely interested. The next day, I got called into an interview.
I was so nervous. I showed up an hour early and sat a block away, just looking at the building. There it was, the place where he worked. The place he took me to as a child on weekends to play with the big equipment. By the time I had to go in, I was on the brink of tears, shaking and blushing all at the same time.
Enter typical interview questions, which I answered pretty good (I think). At the end of the interview they asked how I found out about the job. I explained that my grandfather had worked here, and that I always checked the site to see if anything came up. The boss asked my who my grandfather was and when I told him, he started laughing. He said that if I was old enough to apply for this job then he felt damn old. He worked with my grandfather as a mechanic, and knew him well. At the end of the interview, he told me to say hi to my grandfather for him. I don’t know why I did it. I planned on saying nothing about his recent death, but there was something about the bossman. It just came out. I let him know that he recently died, but thank you. There was legit sadness in his eyes and he apologized. I really didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t want them to give me the job based in the fact that he had just died. I wanted them to give me the job because I was qualified. So when I left, I thought I blew the interview by telling him he died.
Turns out, I didnt.
I got a callback the next day with an offer, which I gladly took and started working there in the beginning of May.
So, here I am almost two years later. Working where he worked. It’s the best damn job I’ve ever had. The team we have is incredible. My boss, is the best boss I’ve ever had. He has complete faith in me and has handed a department over to me to take care of, which are the cranes I love. I’ve recently been promoted and given a raise. I’ve gained more respect within the two years I’ve been here, then all the six years I was at the previous job. I’m on the fast track to becoming what I’ve always wanted to be, which is a service manager and really see that happening in the future.
I love going to work.
To the point where I don’t mind overtime, or working Saturdays when I’m really busy. I get complete satisfaction at the end of everyday. Of course, there are some bad days in there but all in all, I could see myself staying here until retirement. I work with two people that knew my grandfather and have worked with him. I work with an older guy that teaches me the mechanics of cranes (I even get to go and operate them once in a while, which is so much fun) and people who are investing in me and not just seeing the girl side in me. It’s still an old boys club, I’m just invited to join this time. I’m constantly in a place where I think of my grandfather everyday and smile because I know, he’s beside me. This all came to pass because of him
Plus, I am my grandfathers prankster. When the battles started, my boss made a joke that I was just like my grandfather. I’ve never been more proud to be his granddaughter.
Now, if only my family life would catch up.
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