What’s new?!?

Hm… Well. I guess I’ll go with the biggest thing:

I called my uncle earlier this week. I was so nervous. I was on my lunch break sitting on the outside patio by BajaFresh. My finger was on the call button for like.. 3 minutes before I actually did it. But, I did. And it was a good thing that I did. I talked to Ray and asked if he knew of any place that was hiring. If his company was or if his wife’s company was. And asked if he would be willing to help me try to find a better paying, more secure job. He said he was going out of town for a few days but to meet him at the SouthPoint casino at around 9:30 Friday morning.

I was thrilled that it went as smooth as it did. I got my resume together and had Justin print me a copy at the station. Friday came and I woke up a bit too early.. but made my way down to the SouthPoint. The drive is a bit much, nearing an hour or so, but I wanted to for sure give myself enough time just in case traffic was heavy or the car had trouble. So anyway, I got there and was about 45 minutes early.. so I stuck a 20 in the slots. I ended up being about $15 up. Neat. Helped me to calm my nerves and relax a bit.

9:15 rolls around and I figure, what the heck. I’ll just get over there. Better to be early than late. I walked over to where he said to meet him. I asked for him and I must have been blind. If I had actually looked, I would have recognized him. He looks almost identical to my grandpa, only with darker hair. He shook my hand and said to hold on a minute. He came back with an application. He asked to look at my resume. He sat me down and read it over and thought it looked pretty good. Neat. I started working on the application with his name as a reference. While I was doing that, he took off and got me a bottle of water and was doing something else. He came back with a few extra copies of my resume.

He looked over my application and attatched one of my resumes to it. Then he started talking about a couple of opportunities for me. He said his wife knows a lady at Harrah’s who is looking for a Starbucks manager. I said I’d never done any sort of food service type work (or beverage) but that I’d be willing to give it a go. I knew the company was good as one of Justin’s cousins works for a Starbucks back in Sioux Falls.

Then he said that his old company, that he had previously worked for for 12 years, might be looking for ticket writers. He gave me their information and a contact to talk to when I go down to fill out the application.  Great. He said this position probably isn’t the best paying. Close to what I am making now, actually. But that there is a possibility that I could make around $1,000 extra every two weeks in tips alone. WHOA. Incredible. Seriously. Brandon and I are going to head down that way next Tuesday, I believe.

Finally, he said that the SouthPoint wasn’t officially hiring, but that with his name attatched, it wouldn’t hurt to turn it in anyway. He also said he kept a copy of my resume to make some more copies of so he can give them to specific people there. We walked down to Human Resources. A bigger man followed us and started talking to Ray. Turns out this was the owner of the cainso. Whoa. Cool.  Anyway, we got to Human Resources. I turned it in and talked to the lady. He seems pretty well respected. She asked if I wanted anything specific as they weren’t actively hiring, it would be better to put something down so they can file it correctly. I put down Gift Shop/ Reservations because those are the two areas I’d be most comfortable. The lady in HR asked Ray if he knew such and such at Reservations. Later he told me that was a good sign, and probably meant that she was looking for someone. That was one of the people he was going to give my resume to personally anyway. Good.

SO: Meeting my uncle was a really good experience. He must have taken some time to really think about helping me out and where he could help me get a job. I appreciated that more than he understands. I am hoping that I hear back about any of the jobs soon enough, but it would also be cool to sit down for supper or something with Ray and his wife. Let’s not get carried away, though. This was a great start.

On the other hand of the job hunt. I am so happy where I am at Payless. The only downfall is that there hasn’t been any possibility of moving up. Last week was the DM visit for the month. I guess there is a sudden possibility. But with the recent job finds (thanks to Ray), I can’t just stop looking because they think I might be moving up soon. I mean.. I’ve waited for so long. And as soon as I start looking for something else is when they start thinking about me. It’s a bit frustrating.
Anywho… THat was my quick update for today. I have to get going and shower. I should probably try to eat something and take some ibuprofin before I go to work, too. Blah. Cramping is no fun.

I’ll try to get back here soon and let you all know what else is going on in the life of Jackie.

Much love,
Jackie

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