Saturday, August 9, 2008
Oregon
I am leaving in the morning to go see Maddie in Oregon. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S FINALLY HERE. Maybe I will update when I'm there, Maybe I won't. But pretty much I am telling you that the promised Kelly/Carrie blog is postponed, but I already have been working on it, it is safely saved in my drafts haha. So peace out California.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Summer Camp
This year was pretty sweet. I'll be honest, I kinda didn't want to go to camp once the date actually came upon me, because I had been really sick and had just got back from the OC the day before camp. But as soon as I got there I remembered last year and I was pumped and had a lot of fun. And my girls were cool and a few of them rededicated their lives to Christ so that was an awesome feeling. So to recap, I am going to make a list of likes and dislikes of camps that the other female counseler and I talked about throughout the week haha.
Things I Like About Camp:
My girls. I love seeing where they end up at the end of the week, especially when I didn't even know them before. Also listening to them goofing off reminds me of the good ol' days. Also they actually seemed to really genuinely like me this year and that's a good feeling. They wanted me to go on the high adventure ropes course with them and they also begged to see me get blobbed.
The staff. They are always hilarious and run this camp like a machine. Plus half of them go to Biola hahahaha
Hanging Out Whether it's with the kids or the other counselors from our church, I'm pretty sure the joking around is my favorite part.
The band. I love camp worship, it's always amazing. And it was better than last year I think.
The music. Everytime we walk into chapel, they have amazing songs playing like the Mai A Hi (by the Moldovian pop band, O-Zone. I had to look that up on my favorite website Wikipedia haha and by doing so I found out the song is actually called Dragostea Din Tei. I learn so much from that website).
The Vitamin Water vending machine! Seriously. I have never seen on of these anywhere else. I WANT ONE IN MY DORM, I would provide all the business!
The theme. Robots? How cool is that?
Recreation. Seems like something I would not like. So I don't know why I do. How much fun is it to throw DYE at a bunch of kids and get all wet? Except the 'wash out' dye definitely did not wash out of my shirt yet. And one of my girls threw a cup of dye into my left ear, which I now think is infected so THANKS FOR THAT. Also, one night, the counselors got to run around and hit the kids with socks filled with bean bags or something. Like full on smack them. Too bad I had a headache during that game but that was fun to watch. I also loved the night game where the counselors had to hide throughout camp. I was one of the few that was never found so that was fun. I also ended up participating in the bellyflop competition because the guy from our team never showed up. Leave it to me to have to do it not once, but TWICE in front of hundreds of people. By the second flop, the only pain I felt was the embarrassment from it all haha. Oh, and the boys on our rec team were really good this year so we were in 2nd place at one point. So it felt good to be competitive this year, because I think we came in last place last year haha.
The Staff vs Counselor Kickball Game. Loved it last year, love it this year. We won.
Sleep In Day. Enough said.
The Fashion. This sounds weird but I love camp because you can wear anything you want and get away with it. Within dress code obviously. My friends know how I looove dress codes. But at camp, it's nice to go carefree and wear weird stuff, like bandanas, backpacks, and boardshorts.
Thing I Do Not Like About Camp.
Drama. Why do girls fight so much? "I can't sleep in that cabin because of her" and "Those girls said I was fat" and "So and So was being mean" and "This girl stole my money". SERIOUSLY. I can't count how many times a day one of these problems arose. Everytime I returned to our cabin, a different girl was crying. A joke the other female counselor and I had was 'uh oh, I can't find my shirt, I bet somebody STOLE it" because these girls just decide that if they can't find something, it was stolen, even though everything turned up at the end of the week. I do NOT remember fighting with my friends like that when I was in junior high. So much attitude! I can't handle it. Also, I had a few girls just DISSAPEAR throughout the week and I had to go search for them. Not ok. It was hard keeping them where they were supposed to be.
The Food. I understand cooking for hundreds is difficult. Really, I do. But I think they could do better. I lost 5 pounds just because of my lack of interest in the food. WHICH IS RARE, for me.
Lack of Sleep. First night is always the worst. Last year they woke up at 3am, this year they woke up at random intervals to whisper and hang out. This makes it very hard to force myself to be enthusiastic throughout the day, when usually I am not feeling that way haha.
Dirt. Everywhere. I hate breathing it. I would shower and never feel clean because it's impossible to walk back to your cabin without getting your feet dirty in sandals.
Bugs. Everywhere. I had one girl find a bug on her bed and then she started sobbing and refused to sleep in her bed. She had to sleep in another bed. And I thought I was bad.
Sunscreen. Being out in the sun all day means SUNSCREEN is crucial. But I hate it because my allergies make my eyes itch constantly so I always end up rubbing it in my eye which is THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING EVER. Can't even keep my eyes open and tears are streaming down my face haha. I had to close my eyes for thirty minutes to get rid of the stinging. So I stopped wearing sunscreen on the 2nd day and for some weird reason, didn't even get tan.
My Watch.Long story short. I needed a watch at the last minute so I went to Wal Mart ten minutes before I needed to be at the church. My choices in the $5 watch bin were butterflies, frogs, monkeys, or Barbie. I almost got Barbie but it was digital and I don't like setting those. So I picked butterflies and decided I would look like a 6 year old all week. But this watch was crazy with a capital C. It was either super fast or super slow so I never knew what the REAL time was.
Being Mean. The time comes every year where I have to be mean and I hate it haha. It's usually the first night when they won't sleep. But this year went better and I told them I don't like being mean so by the end of the week, I had THEM saying "you guys, Debbie doesn't like being mean so let's go to sleep". Haha. Oh yeah, this is how they ended up calling me Debbie:
Camper-"What should we call you?"
Me-"Well most my friends call me Deb, or Deborah is fine."
Camper-"What about Debbie?"
Me-"Umm well no one really calls me that actually."
Camper-"Ok Debbie!"
The Busride.I am never one to get bus sick. But when the driver drives super fast up the winding road to the mountain, I feel icky the rest of the day. Also, it's unavoidable that kids will throw up on the way back. Last year there were tons, but this year there were only 2. Bleh.
Being Sick. I don't know HOW I got so sick the last day because I am the QUEEN of Germ-x, especially while at camp. But I caught a horrible head cold and by the last night, I was moaning in bed, trying to get the girls to pack so we could go to sleep, and I had to be really mean to show them I did not feel well haha. As soon as I got home, I went straight to Longs and loaded up on tons of cold medicine because there was enough pressure in my head to power the Good Year blimp. The worst part was because of my congestion, my left ear never popped on the way down the mountain so I was deaf ALL FREAKING DAY. Worst feeling ever.
Other Counselors. Most are great, but there are always the few I can't stand. For example, day one: We were in line to sign our girls up for the high ropes course that they really wanted to do. This other girl cut in front of us to sign her girls up because other staff from her church were in line ahead of us. This is not ok because she got to sleep in and just join the line while we were standing in the cold, looking horrible because of our early morning. I made a joke that they would probably run out of spots as soon as they got to us BECAUSE of that girl cutting. That is exactly what happened. I got to the table and there was one spot left. Telling my girls that they couldn't do the ropes course was definitely one of the worst parts of my week. Also, I can't stand the super competitive that will stop at nothing to win. That is not what camp is about.
Walking. So much walking. I was sore from walking so much. I need to exercise more.
Did I Say Food? Can't emphasize this anymore haha.
The Speaker. Halfway through the week we had to have a new speaker take over because ours was speaking for over an HOUR every night. Not ok for junior highers, not even ok for me haha. He also was going in about 12 different directions and was impossible to follow. He also showed a scene from The Passion Of The Christ without any warning, that was way too intense for them. I had 3 of my girls come to me crying after seeing it. My whole cabin was upset that night that they had had to see that when their parents wouldn't allow them to at home. I feel so bad for him because he had too much going on to be a good speaker at the time. But we did have the amazing speaker from last year take over and everything worked out.
Ok so it looks like there is a lot of bad, but I am planning on going again next year so what does that tell you? It tells you that you're missing out because it's tons of fun.
Things I Like About Camp:
My girls. I love seeing where they end up at the end of the week, especially when I didn't even know them before. Also listening to them goofing off reminds me of the good ol' days. Also they actually seemed to really genuinely like me this year and that's a good feeling. They wanted me to go on the high adventure ropes course with them and they also begged to see me get blobbed.
The staff. They are always hilarious and run this camp like a machine. Plus half of them go to Biola hahahaha
Hanging Out Whether it's with the kids or the other counselors from our church, I'm pretty sure the joking around is my favorite part.
The band. I love camp worship, it's always amazing. And it was better than last year I think.
The music. Everytime we walk into chapel, they have amazing songs playing like the Mai A Hi (by the Moldovian pop band, O-Zone. I had to look that up on my favorite website Wikipedia haha and by doing so I found out the song is actually called Dragostea Din Tei. I learn so much from that website).
The Vitamin Water vending machine! Seriously. I have never seen on of these anywhere else. I WANT ONE IN MY DORM, I would provide all the business!
The theme. Robots? How cool is that?
Recreation. Seems like something I would not like. So I don't know why I do. How much fun is it to throw DYE at a bunch of kids and get all wet? Except the 'wash out' dye definitely did not wash out of my shirt yet. And one of my girls threw a cup of dye into my left ear, which I now think is infected so THANKS FOR THAT. Also, one night, the counselors got to run around and hit the kids with socks filled with bean bags or something. Like full on smack them. Too bad I had a headache during that game but that was fun to watch. I also loved the night game where the counselors had to hide throughout camp. I was one of the few that was never found so that was fun. I also ended up participating in the bellyflop competition because the guy from our team never showed up. Leave it to me to have to do it not once, but TWICE in front of hundreds of people. By the second flop, the only pain I felt was the embarrassment from it all haha. Oh, and the boys on our rec team were really good this year so we were in 2nd place at one point. So it felt good to be competitive this year, because I think we came in last place last year haha.
The Staff vs Counselor Kickball Game. Loved it last year, love it this year. We won.
Sleep In Day. Enough said.
The Fashion. This sounds weird but I love camp because you can wear anything you want and get away with it. Within dress code obviously. My friends know how I looove dress codes. But at camp, it's nice to go carefree and wear weird stuff, like bandanas, backpacks, and boardshorts.
Thing I Do Not Like About Camp.
Drama. Why do girls fight so much? "I can't sleep in that cabin because of her" and "Those girls said I was fat" and "So and So was being mean" and "This girl stole my money". SERIOUSLY. I can't count how many times a day one of these problems arose. Everytime I returned to our cabin, a different girl was crying. A joke the other female counselor and I had was 'uh oh, I can't find my shirt, I bet somebody STOLE it" because these girls just decide that if they can't find something, it was stolen, even though everything turned up at the end of the week. I do NOT remember fighting with my friends like that when I was in junior high. So much attitude! I can't handle it. Also, I had a few girls just DISSAPEAR throughout the week and I had to go search for them. Not ok. It was hard keeping them where they were supposed to be.
The Food. I understand cooking for hundreds is difficult. Really, I do. But I think they could do better. I lost 5 pounds just because of my lack of interest in the food. WHICH IS RARE, for me.
Lack of Sleep. First night is always the worst. Last year they woke up at 3am, this year they woke up at random intervals to whisper and hang out. This makes it very hard to force myself to be enthusiastic throughout the day, when usually I am not feeling that way haha.
Dirt. Everywhere. I hate breathing it. I would shower and never feel clean because it's impossible to walk back to your cabin without getting your feet dirty in sandals.
Bugs. Everywhere. I had one girl find a bug on her bed and then she started sobbing and refused to sleep in her bed. She had to sleep in another bed. And I thought I was bad.
Sunscreen. Being out in the sun all day means SUNSCREEN is crucial. But I hate it because my allergies make my eyes itch constantly so I always end up rubbing it in my eye which is THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING EVER. Can't even keep my eyes open and tears are streaming down my face haha. I had to close my eyes for thirty minutes to get rid of the stinging. So I stopped wearing sunscreen on the 2nd day and for some weird reason, didn't even get tan.
My Watch.Long story short. I needed a watch at the last minute so I went to Wal Mart ten minutes before I needed to be at the church. My choices in the $5 watch bin were butterflies, frogs, monkeys, or Barbie. I almost got Barbie but it was digital and I don't like setting those. So I picked butterflies and decided I would look like a 6 year old all week. But this watch was crazy with a capital C. It was either super fast or super slow so I never knew what the REAL time was.
Being Mean. The time comes every year where I have to be mean and I hate it haha. It's usually the first night when they won't sleep. But this year went better and I told them I don't like being mean so by the end of the week, I had THEM saying "you guys, Debbie doesn't like being mean so let's go to sleep". Haha. Oh yeah, this is how they ended up calling me Debbie:
Camper-"What should we call you?"
Me-"Well most my friends call me Deb, or Deborah is fine."
Camper-"What about Debbie?"
Me-"Umm well no one really calls me that actually."
Camper-"Ok Debbie!"
The Busride.I am never one to get bus sick. But when the driver drives super fast up the winding road to the mountain, I feel icky the rest of the day. Also, it's unavoidable that kids will throw up on the way back. Last year there were tons, but this year there were only 2. Bleh.
Being Sick. I don't know HOW I got so sick the last day because I am the QUEEN of Germ-x, especially while at camp. But I caught a horrible head cold and by the last night, I was moaning in bed, trying to get the girls to pack so we could go to sleep, and I had to be really mean to show them I did not feel well haha. As soon as I got home, I went straight to Longs and loaded up on tons of cold medicine because there was enough pressure in my head to power the Good Year blimp. The worst part was because of my congestion, my left ear never popped on the way down the mountain so I was deaf ALL FREAKING DAY. Worst feeling ever.
Other Counselors. Most are great, but there are always the few I can't stand. For example, day one: We were in line to sign our girls up for the high ropes course that they really wanted to do. This other girl cut in front of us to sign her girls up because other staff from her church were in line ahead of us. This is not ok because she got to sleep in and just join the line while we were standing in the cold, looking horrible because of our early morning. I made a joke that they would probably run out of spots as soon as they got to us BECAUSE of that girl cutting. That is exactly what happened. I got to the table and there was one spot left. Telling my girls that they couldn't do the ropes course was definitely one of the worst parts of my week. Also, I can't stand the super competitive that will stop at nothing to win. That is not what camp is about.
Walking. So much walking. I was sore from walking so much. I need to exercise more.
Did I Say Food? Can't emphasize this anymore haha.
The Speaker. Halfway through the week we had to have a new speaker take over because ours was speaking for over an HOUR every night. Not ok for junior highers, not even ok for me haha. He also was going in about 12 different directions and was impossible to follow. He also showed a scene from The Passion Of The Christ without any warning, that was way too intense for them. I had 3 of my girls come to me crying after seeing it. My whole cabin was upset that night that they had had to see that when their parents wouldn't allow them to at home. I feel so bad for him because he had too much going on to be a good speaker at the time. But we did have the amazing speaker from last year take over and everything worked out.
Ok so it looks like there is a lot of bad, but I am planning on going again next year so what does that tell you? It tells you that you're missing out because it's tons of fun.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Hume Lake
here I come for a week at Meadow Ranch Junior High summer camp. This is my 2nd year as a counseler so I'm excited for the returning kids, as well as the new ones. Last year was a lot of fun, except during rec time when none of my girls would play so that meant I had to get in the pool on water day. That was no fun. It was cold and cloudy, I remember. Another thing that was no fun was that my cabin woke up at 3am the first night. Nope, not went to bed at 3am, but WOKE UP at 3am, even though we went to bed at midnight. They just hung out and chatted it up and I wanted to kill myself haha. But then I had to lay down the law and be mean and the rest of the week went a little better as far as sleeping. Those are the only two bad memories I have of camp, there are way more good ones than bad ones so I am excited for this year. Even though I am still getting over a horrible stomach flu that sucked the life out of me. I barely have an appetite yet and I am going to eat camp food for a week, WOO. Yey-uh let's do this.
Remind me to write about my crazy adventures in Azusa canyon at one in the morning haha. I am so glad to be alive.
PS. Fourth of July is my favorite. It is absolutely everything I love: heat, swimming, crazy friends, the most food EVER, and beautiful explosions in the sky haha. The true essence of summer. I absolutely love it and I wish I had that feeling all year long.
Remind me to write about my crazy adventures in Azusa canyon at one in the morning haha. I am so glad to be alive.
PS. Fourth of July is my favorite. It is absolutely everything I love: heat, swimming, crazy friends, the most food EVER, and beautiful explosions in the sky haha. The true essence of summer. I absolutely love it and I wish I had that feeling all year long.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Ok I knew the air in my hometown (Visalia, California) was bad. But this shocked me! The cities in BOLD are very very close to Visalia. so keep that in mind. Woo go Central Valley!
U.S.City Air Quality Ratings
Every year, the American Lung Association uses air-quality-index data from the EPA to rank the air in U.S. cities from most to least hazardous.
Bad Air-Highest in ozone (ranked in descending order):
Bakersfield, California
Los Angeles, California
Visalia, California
Fresno, California
Merced, California
Houston, Texas
Sacramento, California
Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas
New York City
Philadelphia
Highest in particulate matter (ranked in descending order):
Los Angeles, California
Bakersfield, California
Pittsburgh
Visalia, California
Fresno, California
Detroit, Michigan
Hanford, California
Cleveland
Birmingham, Alabama
Atlanta
Good Air-Lowest in ozone*:
Colorado Springs
Daytona Beach, Florida
Des Moines, Iowa
Honolulu
Lakeland, Florida
Palm Bay, Florida
Port St.Lucie, Florida
Salem, Oregon
Salinas, California
Spokane
Lowest in particulate matter (ranked in descending order):
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Honolulu
Great Falls, Montana
Tucson
Anchorage
Farmington, New Mexico
Bismarck, North Dakota
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rapid City, South Dakota
*A sampling of the most populous cities on the EPA’s list, unranked.
You know what? I still love this city. I wouldn't have wanted to be raised anywhere else.
U.S.City Air Quality Ratings
Every year, the American Lung Association uses air-quality-index data from the EPA to rank the air in U.S. cities from most to least hazardous.
Bad Air-Highest in ozone (ranked in descending order):
Bakersfield, California
Los Angeles, California
Visalia, California
Fresno, California
Merced, California
Houston, Texas
Sacramento, California
Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas
New York City
Philadelphia
Highest in particulate matter (ranked in descending order):
Los Angeles, California
Bakersfield, California
Pittsburgh
Visalia, California
Fresno, California
Detroit, Michigan
Hanford, California
Cleveland
Birmingham, Alabama
Atlanta
Good Air-Lowest in ozone*:
Colorado Springs
Daytona Beach, Florida
Des Moines, Iowa
Honolulu
Lakeland, Florida
Palm Bay, Florida
Port St.Lucie, Florida
Salem, Oregon
Salinas, California
Spokane
Lowest in particulate matter (ranked in descending order):
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Honolulu
Great Falls, Montana
Tucson
Anchorage
Farmington, New Mexico
Bismarck, North Dakota
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rapid City, South Dakota
*A sampling of the most populous cities on the EPA’s list, unranked.
You know what? I still love this city. I wouldn't have wanted to be raised anywhere else.
Friday, June 27, 2008
HOT HOT HOT
I'm going to PALM SPRINGS this weekend. My uncle used to have a condo there so I've been there a couple times when I was 8 or so. I went again in January for Youth Retreat at church. And now I'm going again for Senior trip at church. Except they already left and guess who had to stay here and close at work. ME. So as soon as I get off here in twenty minutes, me and a couple guys who couldn't make it earlier are driving all the way to Palm Springs. It's going to be like 120 degrees there and I'm going to LOOOOVE IT. Good times to come. We were supposed to go to Disneyland today but that didn't work out and I'm pissed cause I can't go again until August but oh well I guess. Leaving for the heat beats staying at my cousin's house BORED OUT OF MY FREAKING MIND. No computer, nothing to do except watch Veggie Tales with the baby. This my friends, is a whole other post for next time. Peace Out.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The work blog.
I am starting this new blog now even though I have been blogging on Xanga since the ripe age of 13. You can check that out if you want, it's like my whole life on file. It's probably really embarrassing actually if you keep going farther and farther back into my teenage years. www.xanga.com/this_light_shines. Just seems like all my friends are going with this blog now and I like to comment! And no one reads my xanga anymore. Sad day, yes. I know. I'll still keep it updated though, do not worry.
This is basically going to be something for me to do at work because it will keep me busy. I am excited to start fresh on this blog. Xanga can be my TEEN blog and now I am in my twenties (ugggggh i hate saying that) so this is way cooler. (I've matured so much, can you tell?) Right now, all I am doing in life is working full time and living at my cousin's house in Buena Park, across the street from Knott's Berry Farm. I hear screaming tourists non-stop. Not because they are being attacked, but because they are riding the rides hahahaha.
Let me talk about work some more so people can know my life. I know you care. I work at an Insurance office in La Palma. I'll never know how I got this job because my resume was pathetic. I worked for 2 days at Aeropostale, I had been hired to sell knives but quit once I found out THAT's what I would be doing, and worked for a month at a boutique in downtown Visalia with my friend. OH and can't forget working on campus at the beloved Eagle's Nest restaurant at Biola. I hated that job with a passion, but now I can say I have served my duty in the food service industry. So somehow I got this job because they were looking for a girl from Biola (they wanted a Christian girl obviously). So I've been here since August 2007. Almost a year. I started out hating it because I thought it was boring. But then realized that I was getting paid to sit in an AC office and work a computer. The phone rings in random intervals and not frequently. So when I discovered that since I have my own office here, I could go online and do whatever I wanted, life was great. Now I know tons about insurance and am learning everything there is to know about running this office. My resume has gained so much haha. My daily ordeals include but are not limited to:
-Answering the phone and consoling angry customers. (also trying not to lose my cool when they yell at me. also trying not to laugh when they yell at me hahaha).
-Talking on the phone. Mostly to the insurance headquarters and finance companies. I verify coverage on certain clients and make sure their policies are up to date. Things get very complicated.
-Taking lots and lots of messages. DETAILED messages. I learned this the hard way.
-Answering many questions about money, coverage, billing, and finance companies.
-Faxing. Lots and lots of faxing. I am a pro faxer. Mostly to finance/mortgage companies.
-Scanning. Lots and lots of scanning documents. Also a pro.
-Handling money. Making receipts. Applying payments to certain policies. This is one of the hardest things because it is VERY easy to miss one of the policy numbers or the credit card number and I have gotten in major trouble a couple times. But I think I do great for a rookie secretary.
-Printings lots and lots of documents to send out to customers.
-Typing letters to customers. (and forging my bosses signatures haha. If I asked them to sign something everytime, I would never sit down.)
-Making birthday cards every Friday. (this takes HOURS to address every freaking envelope).
-Sending out handwritten reminders about late payments and expired policies.
-Putting stamps and labels on EVERYTHING.
-And making sure I keep track of the stamps. Seriously. Each boss has their own stamps. If I don't keep track of who's is who's, then chaos ensues. We go through tons.
That sounds like a lot but it's only about an hour's total worth of work a day. So that leave the rest of my hours free to pretend I'm busy and do what I want until the phone rings again and I get another task. My bosses are teaching me how to give quotes for Auto, Home, and all the other insurance policies. It's scary, I don't want to do that but I guess I should know. I love my bosses, they make me crack up. They went to Master's college so they like to make fun of me since I go to Biola.
Anyways, I am talking about work so much because it's my whole life right now. I went home for the summer for a couple weeks thinking I had lost this great job due to the fact I didn't have a place to live. But I was praying to get called back here because I was miserable at home. With allergies and my family not wanting me around. I was also out of money big time. And my car registration is due next month. I also knew that if they called me back, that means they didn't hire someone else so that means I HAVE THIS JOB AGAIN ONCE FALL COMES. It is great because it is flexible. It's when I can come in everyday and get the work done. I feel ok asking for days off and leaving early. It's perfect for college. No working nights or weekends either.
So see, it made me very happy at the time. but now I am bored out of my mind because after work everyday, I go back to my cousin's house and do nothing. I need to start making those kids from my youth group here hang out with me.
This is basically going to be something for me to do at work because it will keep me busy. I am excited to start fresh on this blog. Xanga can be my TEEN blog and now I am in my twenties (ugggggh i hate saying that) so this is way cooler. (I've matured so much, can you tell?) Right now, all I am doing in life is working full time and living at my cousin's house in Buena Park, across the street from Knott's Berry Farm. I hear screaming tourists non-stop. Not because they are being attacked, but because they are riding the rides hahahaha.
Let me talk about work some more so people can know my life. I know you care. I work at an Insurance office in La Palma. I'll never know how I got this job because my resume was pathetic. I worked for 2 days at Aeropostale, I had been hired to sell knives but quit once I found out THAT's what I would be doing, and worked for a month at a boutique in downtown Visalia with my friend. OH and can't forget working on campus at the beloved Eagle's Nest restaurant at Biola. I hated that job with a passion, but now I can say I have served my duty in the food service industry. So somehow I got this job because they were looking for a girl from Biola (they wanted a Christian girl obviously). So I've been here since August 2007. Almost a year. I started out hating it because I thought it was boring. But then realized that I was getting paid to sit in an AC office and work a computer. The phone rings in random intervals and not frequently. So when I discovered that since I have my own office here, I could go online and do whatever I wanted, life was great. Now I know tons about insurance and am learning everything there is to know about running this office. My resume has gained so much haha. My daily ordeals include but are not limited to:
-Answering the phone and consoling angry customers. (also trying not to lose my cool when they yell at me. also trying not to laugh when they yell at me hahaha).
-Talking on the phone. Mostly to the insurance headquarters and finance companies. I verify coverage on certain clients and make sure their policies are up to date. Things get very complicated.
-Taking lots and lots of messages. DETAILED messages. I learned this the hard way.
-Answering many questions about money, coverage, billing, and finance companies.
-Faxing. Lots and lots of faxing. I am a pro faxer. Mostly to finance/mortgage companies.
-Scanning. Lots and lots of scanning documents. Also a pro.
-Handling money. Making receipts. Applying payments to certain policies. This is one of the hardest things because it is VERY easy to miss one of the policy numbers or the credit card number and I have gotten in major trouble a couple times. But I think I do great for a rookie secretary.
-Printings lots and lots of documents to send out to customers.
-Typing letters to customers. (and forging my bosses signatures haha. If I asked them to sign something everytime, I would never sit down.)
-Making birthday cards every Friday. (this takes HOURS to address every freaking envelope).
-Sending out handwritten reminders about late payments and expired policies.
-Putting stamps and labels on EVERYTHING.
-And making sure I keep track of the stamps. Seriously. Each boss has their own stamps. If I don't keep track of who's is who's, then chaos ensues. We go through tons.
That sounds like a lot but it's only about an hour's total worth of work a day. So that leave the rest of my hours free to pretend I'm busy and do what I want until the phone rings again and I get another task. My bosses are teaching me how to give quotes for Auto, Home, and all the other insurance policies. It's scary, I don't want to do that but I guess I should know. I love my bosses, they make me crack up. They went to Master's college so they like to make fun of me since I go to Biola.
Anyways, I am talking about work so much because it's my whole life right now. I went home for the summer for a couple weeks thinking I had lost this great job due to the fact I didn't have a place to live. But I was praying to get called back here because I was miserable at home. With allergies and my family not wanting me around. I was also out of money big time. And my car registration is due next month. I also knew that if they called me back, that means they didn't hire someone else so that means I HAVE THIS JOB AGAIN ONCE FALL COMES. It is great because it is flexible. It's when I can come in everyday and get the work done. I feel ok asking for days off and leaving early. It's perfect for college. No working nights or weekends either.
So see, it made me very happy at the time. but now I am bored out of my mind because after work everyday, I go back to my cousin's house and do nothing. I need to start making those kids from my youth group here hang out with me.
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