Well now; it's been a while. Just after that last post I got a job at a local electrician's office; Jamieson Electric. It has been a wild ride with them. Lovely people; very typical Islanders in some ways; kind, generous, caring and very very very resistant to change. Having had that trait beaten out of me at Chapters, I find it overwhelmingly frustrating by times.
Bobby the owner is a mix of crazy and sweet, being extremely ADHD so therefore very demanding when a thought occurs. However, he would do anything for his employees and tells the funny stories at times.
They've been doing the same things for the last 30 years with the same problems and on going complaints and of course when I came in making suggestions about changing things it was met with great resistance. Then we had a computer system crash that wiped out 2 months worth of data and the nightmare began. Of course Bobby acted as though it should have been fixed within a week or so; so there was very little support offered to Jane and I while we struggled to put the info back in and keep up with day to day work as well. Then Alinda (wife and dispatcher) went away for almost a month and we had to help with that. Then to make it even more interesting Jane was off for 10 days nursing her husband through cutting off his toe with a lawn mower.
There were days I was ready to throw in the towel and run screaming from there. The pressure was enormous; not just to get the work done but to try to get these suspicious, resistant change-a-phobic islanders to treat me with any trust or respect while trying to clean up the mess and learn the business. There were many days when I felt like they thought I was a complete idiot because I couldn't give them the answer they wanted and because they were worrying about things they had had Jenny to worry about for them for 30 years they were at times so hard to deal with. I understood their questions and worries; I'm not sure I got the same courtesy back and it made for some interesting arguments between Bobby and I; and Jane and I.
However, things are slowly falling into place and going smoother which is a god send.
As for outside work. Still struggling with the loneliness and lack of friends. Don't speak with Cheryl any more (long story and not very interesting at that) but I have begun spending time with a woman from Zumba; Dominique. Very interesting person with a colourful past and a different outlook on life.
I am off to Ottawa on the 20th of this month and can't wait to see all my family and friends. I'm fairly certain that I will be back there permanently before the next year passes because I'd rather be not doing what I dreamed there, then here all alone. Jay is very little help in the company department, despite numerous discussions and the knowledge that this loneliness will eventually separate us. I've given him every chance to connect with me but I don't believe he is capable.
I care for him but I'm so unhappy here.
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