At work today I must of dealt with 50-75 people. All except 5 spoke only spanish. There is something wrong with that. Why don't they speak english? Because they're immigrants and they haven't assimilated into our culture. Stay in your own country.
Then I was helping some ass clown and he goes - what are you doing here? I work here. No you don't. You got white collar hands. You haven't worked a day in your life. Go fuck yourself, asshole. Then he proceeded to tell me how patient and kind I was and that I shouldn't be doing this.
At closing today I was informed by cash drawer was off my 100 dollars.
This is my 3rd week at this job. My cash draw has been off more often than not because the cash handling policies at this company are awful. Like WTF. Who runs a business this way.
Earlier today my boss asked me how the day was going? I said terrible. Why? Because I'm a minority in this country and I speak English. He then says - I've been telling my boss that people working in this store need to be bilingual. Well no shit. So while I only speak English, the spanish girl was using all 4 computers helping 4 people and flip flopping among them. While I stood there with my teeth in my mouth.
Either the world has changed or me and my dad were some sort of anomaly. Back in the 70s and 80s we used to fix our own cars at frequently visited auto parts stores. We knew the people that worked a two of them name. DIY car repair continued for us until the early 90s. I again picked it up when I drove BMWs and again when I got my corvette. Working on the corvette led me to Austin DIY shop where you could rent a bay and tools for an hourly rate. The owner was reasonable and advertised on groupon. Eventually he informed me that groupon redemptions costed money and he told me he would be happy to honor the groupon rate verbally without having money go through groupon. Fair enough.
Now that my "rebound job" is working at an auto parts store. Very few white people fix their own cars with the exception of enthusiasts and the few that enjoy maintaining their own machine. Predominant customers are hispanic. They often prefer to deal with their own kind; would rather not deal with the gringo in the store. Fine. Assimilate with the new country and abandon the culture of the old. That does not happen.
Anyway, it begs the questions.... were we poor? Or were times different back then? My ancestors taught me to try and fix something broken by yourself. If successful, you save yourself the repair or replacement parts if successful. If it's still broken after an attempted repair, then you spend the money to have it fixed. I didn't perceive it as frugal behavior. I viewed it was accepting the challenge to resurrect a dead item. Everything is disposable now. Or too complicated
Burn every one of our political institutions to the ground. DJT can take his America 250 celebration and shove it up his ass. There's nothing worth celebrating here. Move along.
Citizens are used by the government. Our money is stolen through Taxation, immigration dilutes resources and regulation drives cost. elected officials do whatever they want with little regard to current citizens. It's about everyone else is this god forsaken shithole of a world besides the US tax payer. Fuck Uncle Sam. Fuck Congress. Fuck the justice system. Fuck America.
Her mom is missing and it's a national news headline. WGAF? I am sick of celebrities and their problems being newsworthy. These pieces of shit are not special. They're boring and ordinary. Yet they keep getting put on a pedestal. Their fame is created by the industry they work. Not by the deeds the do or the relationships they build. They're twat waffles on tv. Who cares?!?!?
A movie with George Clooney about a guy that fires people for a living. A new hire with the firm he works with decides it is better to start firing people via Teams (video call). Quite a poignant film at this stage of my life. Having essentially been threatened via Teams call to leave previous employer or face the challenge of having to competitively interview to keep your job for the privilege to do the work of 4 other people. That's the world we live in now. If I was unsuccessful in landing the job I had with nearly 20 years with the company and couldn't find another job within the company I would have been fired due to job being eliminated. Instead of getting myself into a position I didn't see any way to be successful I took an opt out package. Technically the company has never laid anyone off. Instead, they motivate you to leave. It worked for me. I'm a sucker. I should have been an asshole and dared them to fire me. Bygones.
Perhaps in hindsight I should have stayed and forced their hand. However, I thought it would be a great time to go do what I always wanted to do - which was work in auto repair. I wanted to start my own business. Pursued multiple avenues to break into opening an auto repair shop. And you know what? I didn't have the stomach to bankroll a company until it became profitable.... with no guarantee as to when or if it would turn a profit. Sure there's the "support" of a franchiser. After much consideration, I decided the franchise model basically uses the capital of the franchisee to fund their expansion. Then I thought I would go it alone and start my own business and hire people to work for me. That freaked me out because I felt like I would be naked and afraid. Totally exposing myself and my family to financial ruin if the business did not take off. Could not put the financial security of my family into something that had no guarantee of being successful. I didn't want to end up a statistic of entrepreneurial ventures that failed. Statistically more businesses fail than succeed. I had 400,000+ dollars to "invest" and I chickened out. That sum of money would basically open the doors with nothing left to cover operational cost until profitability reached.
Then I thought I would become a service advisor. Getting hired without automotive repair shop experience proved to be a dead end road with many applications submitted and nothing to show for it.
There is a scene from the movie with JK SImmons of "whiplash" fame:
The way George Clooney framed the termination is how I framed my departure in my mind. What I really got was the reality of JK Simmons initial reaction. Bamboozled myself. Loser.
Getting a new job has been a slog. Having been out of a job for 5 months, I took the ONLY job I was offered. The reinvention has not gone according to plan. Will the plan get back on track?
A dear friend suggests I go work at Costco. Voted the *best* place to work by Glassdoor. Will be reaching out to my only acquaintance to inquire about a referral.
Another friend suggests I stop this fantasy of reinventing myself. I've been in aviation for two decades. I know the business inside and out. My friend thinks I should just suck it up, apply for a legacy carrier and take whatever job I am offered. To get my life back on track.
I don't want to play airplane anymore. I spent 20 years of my life doing it. Do you know how many family events I've missed being a company man for a company (any company) over the last 20 years. I've missed my kids weekend birthday parties. We've alternatively celebrated holidays due to work "obligations" instead of doing it on the designated day like the rest of the world. Maybe it's a pipe dream. The damage is done. 16 years getting up at 0230 to be at the airport by 0400. The same number of years going to bed at 2000 but often not getting to sleep until 2200. Essentially 4 hours of sleep a night for a decade and a half. Who does that?
I guess I played the roll of dad. I used my paycheck to give my wife and kids opportunity that I wasn't able to participate in. Rather they got the supposed benefit of me being at work.
One thing I've noticed as I've aged and dealing with my parents reaching their expiration date on earth. Typically women age gracefully. And when I see old men. They're old and torn up. They can barely walk or talk. They're in slow motion. Having given the best of themselves to their jobs so their family can have it good. I guess that means success? Unsure as to what success really is.
I feel like I'm getting old and torn up. Some days I feel like I'm in slow motion. Testosterone is GONE. Weight gain is ON. Who is going to see value in or hire a level headed 55 year old with vast experience, maturity and wisdom? Based on my average of applications - 5% chance of interview, 1% chance of being hired. Discouraging.
Tomorrow - applications for banks and visit to costco. Must persevere. There's gotta be something better out there than what I've got. Is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? Keep the faith.
The American experiment is now a failure. Our strengths have turned into weaknesses. America lasted measles 249 years. Couldn't maker it to the big two-five-o. We are a nation of anything goes and do whatever you want. Congratulations. It's ruined. How long before everyone else realizes America is just another third world banana republic shithole? American exceptionalism is dead.
