Unemployed

I didn't sleep until 4AM this morning. I was extremely stressed out and experiencing major anxiety all week. I was so overwhelmed that 1.5 Ambien and 2 Percocet didn't put me sleep. Why was I so stressed you might be wondering? Well, Doba terminated my loyal employment of almost 4 years on Tuesday, my 25th birthday no less. 

Doba decided that they were no longer going to be able to continue the relationship because I used all of my Paid Time Off (PTO) for sickness and accidents. I am devestated by this, but oddly relieved. For the better part of a year I have been through many health trials (8 months of chronic migraines, 6 root canals, torn up knee, food poisoning, shoulder dislocation, etc.) and through them all I never felt like I had the opportunity to clear my head and fully recover because I was always worried about my job. I no longer have that concern so hopefully I can focus on getting my mental and phsyical issues in order again. I've got 3 different doctor appointments scheduled already for next week. 

I am trying my best to have a positive outlook, to see the silver lining, but I just can't right now. I know I will find something else, I'm just so overwhelmed. I am so overwhelmed with the events of this past week and year that I went to the doctor yesterday and got some anti-anxiety medication (Xanax) it seems to be helping, but right now I can hardly type I am so nervous and scared feeling that I have zero direction in my life. I ended up taking two last night (or this morning rather) to help me relax so I could get a few hours of shut eye before my long last day of working at Doba. :( I am so sad. I loved my job, truly I did. I just don't understand, I had a rough year health-wise and emotionally, things that are out of my control, and I get fired for it.

So, the next seven days are going to be all about me. I am going to do the things that I want, things that make me happy. Spend time with my dog, sleep in late, tan, and work out. Tie up a bunch of loose ends I haven't had the time or energy to deal with until now. After my "all about me vaca" my aggressive job search begins! I hope I am able to find something that helps me grow as an individual and work well with a group of similarly open minded people. I may also look into returning to school. I would probably qualify for some grants or assistant since I am unemployed. This may be the route I need to take.

If anyone knows of any HR, administrative assistant type jobs in Utah-County I would appreciate the information on them. I need at least $40,000/year to stay in my current living conditions. I have a resume ready to send, just shoot me an email with directions and the job description. Also, I've updated my email address to meagenridley at gmail .com. I'll check the other one regularly but I'm trying to get everything moved over ASAP.

I asked Holli to move in with me for a few months until the end of the year. I'm excited for the time we'll get to spend and that she will be able to help me a bit with rent and the Tonka-monster. I love her so much more than I could ever put into words. She has been staying with me in some compacity for the last month and I am so very grateful for this. She helps tremendously with Tonka and she cleans and makes me not feel so lonely. She and Madi are my very best friends and I need their support right now. My parents are very loving and supporting and I know they will do their best to keep me a float until I find something new.

Since I know a lot of my Doba coworkers read my blog, I wish each of you the very best. Please stay in touch via email (above or the link to the right) and Facebook. I have a feeling I will be either offline for the next few days to week or online a ton looking for jobs. We'll see. Enjoy your weekends and I will do my best to make good use of the time off I unexpectedly have. 

Summer of 2009

It has been a little rainy the last few days and as I was walking from my car to my house I smelled it, fall. Fall is in the air and it makes me quiet sad. While this summer was low on my list of favorite ones, it was still summer. And a sucky summer is better than the best fall or winter. So here's a little picture recap of memorable events.

Treats

1. Blue Bunny Birthday Cake Ice Cream 2. Otterpops 3. Walmart Cheesecake 4. Frazil

Sports

1. UV Thunder Game 2. Salt Lake City Bees Game 3. Orem Owlz 4. Orem Owlz Season Ticket book

Love

1. Hootz & Holly Wedding 2. Kelvin Kyler Love 3. Mom & Dad 25th Anniversary 4. Tonka

Pain

1. Three rounds of steroids 2. Dislocated shoulder 3. Four root canals 4. Fluid in inner ear

Crafts

1.Fruit Stripe Beanie 2.Blueberry tube scarf 3.Rock magnets 4.Wood frame
Randoms

1.Balloons in the Jeep 2.Angels hat 3.Work pool party 4.77,777 miles on the Jeep

School Supplies Drive

There's something magical about a box of crayons! And Doba and it's employees are donating over 500 of them to Geneva Elementary! We put together a school supplies drive for our community service project this year and it went really well. Employees brought in supplies for over 3 weeks and at the end of the drive a few people made cash donations which Doba matched dollar for dollar. I headed to Walmart with over $500 and bought more supplies. Monday I'll take everything to the elementary school. Check out all this stuff!

500+ boxes of crayons

300+ glue sticks

300+ spiral notebooks

150 pocket folders, 750 pencils, 75 scissors, 500 erasers, 100 rulers, 250 pens

100 colored pencils, 60 markers

This is the cool sign I made to track our progress.
We used gold stars to represent each item donated!

New Office Digs

We are leasing out the 3rd floor of our building at work so I moved offices today! I like the new scenery and I needed a change of pace. I didn't realize how much stuff I had though. I think it took me like 50 trips up and down the stairs/elevator moving it all. I got it all but one load of books and I have no idea where they will go. Tomorrow I start moving everything from storage rooms on the 3rd floor to the 2nd. I'll be moving stuff all week I think!

Favorite Responsibility

So I am in charge of the mail and our office supplies at work and I know this may sound dumb, but I totally get excited when the Staples catalogs come with our big monthly coupons!! Because of our ordering status with them, we are Platinum Members' they send us certain discount/coupons to use on future orders. But they are always huge coupons. So anyway, ordering and keeping track of office supplies is probably one of my favorite things to do for Doba. I absolutely love office supplies! Staples is to me like Toys R Us is to kids.

So today, I go to our storage room see what we are low on, things we need to restock, and then I add that to the list of things employees have requested. So I compile all of these lists and then login to www.Staples.com and get to ordering! It's great! In my account they keep track of frequently purchased items for easy reordering and if your cart is more than $50 you get free shipping!

So I placed a rather large order today, but then added all of my coupons and free gifts and I just watched the prices drop! It was great. Oh and the order will be here tomorrow morning! Perfect! I love Staples.com!

Pool Party

We had a pool party today for work. It was more fun that I thought it would be. I love the sun. Seriously, love. And now I'm sunburned and I took the top off on the Jeep this morning (thanks Dad)! Summer is goooood. :)

Doba Day 2008

Christmas Cards

So each year Doba gets an abundance of Christmas cards from our suppliers, partners, and other service providers. Some are addressed to specific people, but most are addressed just to "Doba". So they end up in my pile of mail, delivered to my desk by Jayni. I tape them to my door so the whole office can enjoy them throughout the holiday season. My question is what does everyone else do with these?

My Mom, the creative queen, used to save them, take them apart and make scrapbook pages, new cards, or other various things out of them. I don't want to sound like a Scrooge, (my sisters would argue that not only do I sound like him but I am in fact, Scrooge himself) but I'm guessing most look at the card and then immediately put it in the garbage. Is this true? And if it is why on earth do we even send them?

I did some research and according to what I found the first Christmas card was created and sent in 1843. John Calcott Horsely painted the first Christmas card for Sir Henry Cole, a British businessman who had so many Christmas greetings to send hand writing them seemed impossible. The card depicted a typical English family drinking wine together and said "Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to You". 1000 cards were printed and sold for 1 shilling each. Eventually the trend was set and now the whole world sends them.

Anyway, despite what my sisters think, I am not Scrooge and one day when I have a family of my own we'll send out Christmas cards with pictures to everyone! And none of you better throw them away! ....until New Year's, then you have my permission.

Secret Santa

Ruth Ann started the Secret Santa tradition with all of the girls at Doba. Even though Ruthy moved home we kept the tradition alive! Today was our gift exchange! Everyone gathered in Jill's office and brought food and their gifts. I had Ashlee Toney and I helped her Disney DVD collection with Tarzan. Jayni gave me Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and a chocolate orange!!! I LOVE my presents, thanks Jayni!!!

All of the girls

My presents!


Me and J

Sundance Syrup

Today I went to the annual Doba management retreat in the Wasatch room at Sundance. Every December we gather up there to discuss how the year went and our initiatives for the next. It's basically a big review/brainstorm with really good food. Anyway, for breakfast we had apricot french toast, fruit, bacon, sausage, and cereal. Good food, but nothing super special. What was special however, was the tiny little bottles the syrup came in! They were so cute! Yeah, yeah, I know I am easily amused.

Also, as much as I hate the snow and cold, I really love Sundance this time of year. It's beautiful year round, but it's gorgeous with the snow! It's really nice to be able to get away up there, even if it is only 20 minutes from home. These pictures really don't do the snow and trees any justice because they were taken with my cell phone.

Doba Christmas Party

The Doba Christmas party was up at Sundance last night. Here are a few cute pictures of the girls courtesy of Jayni. The party was really fun and I won a one year Netflix subscription in the raffle. That's all I need, more movies.

Jill, Ashley, Jayni, and Me

Good luck Ruth Ann!

Ruth Ann and I became good friends while working at Doba. And she is awesome! I just love her. She has recently decided to move back to her hometown of Pinedale, Wyoming to be a dental assistant and I'm so happy for her! She's going to be a great dental assistant. Today was her last day of work at Doba and we had a good-bye lunch for her at Thai Chili Gardens. We had lots of people there, but unfortunately, this was the only picture I got and it was back at the office. I'm really going to miss her! She is one of the happiest people I know and I'm grateful she's my friend. Good luck Ruthy!!

Doba Day 2007

Oct 19- Doba Day! Doba Day this year was tuned down a bit compared to last year. Jayni and I spent a few hours the day before making signs, hanging balloons, and streamers. The girls Ashlee T, Ashley S, Jayni, Ruth Ann, Jill, Crissi, and I went as Team Doba football players.

It was a really fun day! There was lots of craziness. Sidwell came as a punk rocker and was awarded the Doba Day Champion. Wes was the Doba Priest and everyone was blessed with green water. We played Jer pool and ate green pizza! Im excited to see what the next Doba Day brings.