Month: December 2008

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Happy New Year Everyone

I can’t believe it’s already New Years Eve.  Some of the guys from work are getting together at one of their houses and invited me to come.  They said there won’t be a lot of drinking but there will be food so I guess I’ll go for awhile anyway.  it’ll be good to see some of the guys somewhere other than work.

People are different sometimes when they’re away from work.  I am lucky enough to work with a pretty good bunch of guys that are all doing what ever they can to help me learn and I sure appreciate all they are doing.  Like today, I was helping put ceramic tile in.  I think I could even do it myself next time.  They have taught me how to replace a toilet, put in a new bathroom vanity, sink and faucet.  I have learned how to put in a new bathtub, corner shower and even a Jacuzzi tub.  I have learned a lot from them.

It has been a year full of surprises.  Not all of them good but most of them have been.  I can’t wait to see what the new year brings so bring it on 2009!!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

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Best Christmas of my life

I told you I had great people that I rent from.  Well for Christmas, they gave me a months free rent.  That means I don’t have to pay any rent until February 1st.  I went to church with my landlord and the church gave me a box full of food too.  I guess Mrs. Thomas told them about me being young and out here alone.  I don’t know but now I have enough food to last for about a month I bet.

The after Christmas sales are really helping me get everything I need.  Most stores didn’t do as good before Christmas as they thought they would so they really marked stuff down a lot after Christmas.  I got a new pair of work boots at 40% off.  I got some jeans for work at 25% off.

That allowed me to buy a mattress and box springs that are new at a local thrift store so I now have a bed.  I don’t have a headboard or dressers but I have a bed.  I got a set of sheets too.  Luckily I have a blanket and pillow.  I’m getting there.

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Had to work half a day today

Well the boss told us to come in for half a day today.  I didn’t mind since I didn’t have anywhere else to be and that man really blew me away today.  He gave me a gift card for $100 to Lowe’s so I could get me some tools I’ll need for work and then gave me a whole box full of canned foods, a ham and all kinds of fruit.  He gave everyone a box of food like he did me but I don’t know if he gave everyone else a gift card or not.  I’m not asking because if he didn’t, I sure don’t want to have anyone get mad at him.

Everyone has been so very good to me since I moved out here.  I finally found a place where I feel like I am welcome and needed.  I have had a blessed Christmas and it’s not even Christmas Day yet.  I think I’ll go to an evening service at one of the churches around here and make sure I give thanks properly.  I sure hope you and your family have a very blessed Christmas too!!

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Sent out Christmas Cards

I can’t afford anything but Christmas Cards this year for my family members.  I sent them out today.  I sure hope they get them before Christmas Day.  They should get them by Christmas Eve.  I have gotten several Christmas Cards from friends and family.  What I didn’t expect was that most of them had a little money in them.  One card from my grandmother had $100 in it.  Grandma’s always looking out for me.

I have kind of raked up so far.  I have gotten money in 7 different cards and have a total of $210.  That’s really going to come in handy.  I need some clothes for work and some better work boots too.  I was wondering how I was going to afford some and now I don’t have to worry about it at all.  I’ll have to remember to sent each of them that sent money a little ‘Thank you’ note.  I feel very blessed right now.

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I didn’t know it got so cold in Arizona

I came out here in June.  I knew it got hot but it’s a different type of hot here.  The humidity isn’t a factor like it is back home so when it hits a hundred degrees here, it’s more like eighty-five back home, or where home used to be.  What has really surprised me is how darn cold it gets here.  I thought it stayed kind of warm here year around.  Oh well, I don’t mind the cold that bad.

I got a comment from an old friend back home on my first blog.  How cool is that?  I was surprised because she’s an old flame from a couple years ago.  It would be nice if she does come visit.  I do miss some of the people back home but I love it here and have made some great friends.

I’ve decorated for Christmas as best as I can on a tight budget.  My Christmas Tree is more of a Charlie Brown type of tree because it really is a twig I got from where someone cut some off of their tree.  I did spend a little money on some lights for it but I made the decorations for it.  I went to a local thrift store and they had some ornaments for fifty cents.  So I have a Christmas tree!!  I think it’s great personally. I won’t be sending out any Christmas cards through the mail because I can’t afford it but there are plenty of cards you can send online and that  will have to work this year.

My landlord told me about a 15 year old kid up the street that is in need of some guidance.  His father left them a couple years ago and his mother has to work two jobs so there’s no one home to keep him out of trouble.  I have become his ‘big brother’ more or less.  I’m trying to get him a Game Boy for Christmas if I can scrape up enough money.  He comes by every day when I get off work and helps me do what ever I’m doing that day.  He’s a pretty neat kid and if I can help him stay out of trouble, then I’ve done something good.

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Six months later

Okay, now it’s six months later and I have a nice place to live, a job with some great guys that I work for and they’re even teaching me to do electrical work.  All in all, I’m not doing too darn bad for a 20 year old.  I’m slowly getting my apartment fixed up the way I want it.  Every time I do something to improve it, like lay ceramic tile in the bathroom and kitchen, they give me something off of my rent even though they know the materials come from the dumpsters on the job.

They are great people.  Mrs. Thomas is always asking if I want something they had left over at dinner.  I think she cooks extra just so she can give me some.  She’s a great cook too.  They let me wash my clothes in their laundry room which is a room off from the garage I live over.  They keep trying to get me ‘fixed up’ with a young lady but I have more important things to do with my time and money right now.  I have to take care of myself first and then maybe I’ll start looking around to see what’s available.  At any rate, I like my life right now and don’t need any complications.

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I can’t believe my luck!

I bought a Sunday paper and was sitting outside my room enjoying the weather when the owner of the motel walked up and asked how I liked it there.  I told him that I was trying to find a small apartment to rent because I needed something more than just a motel room.

Well he told me that his neighbor had a small apartment over their garage that had just come open two days ago. The guy that had rented the place had really trashed it and it needed some repairs before they could rent it again.  That started me thinking.  I asked where it was and if he thought it would be okay to go by and see the place.  He gave his neighbor a call and said to be there in 45 minutes.  It was only about 2 miles from where I work.

When I got there, they told me not to expect too much and took me up to see the apartment.  Yeah, that guy had trashed the place pretty bad and these were elderly people that had rented to him.  I made them an off they didn’t refuse.  I offered to do all the clean-up and repair what he had messed up for the deposit and at least the first months rent.  They agreed!!

Most of the stuff I would need to make the repairs I could get off of the job site from the dumpsters.  It was scraps mostly but they had already told me that if there was something I needed, it was okay to take it.  I HAD AN APARTMENT and guess what else, it was furnished.  Some of the furniture was messed up but nothing I couldn’t live with or fix.

It was a one bedroom, one bathroom and a living room, dining room, kitchen combination.  The power was included in the monthly rent and it was only $350 a month.  Man am I lucky or what?

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I got paid today

I was really surprised when they handed me a check today.  The pay period runs from Wednesday to Wednesday with overtime available for those who want or need it.  I’m working all they will let me.  I have to get out of that cheap motel and into an apartment of my own.  At least I have a roof over my head and what I made will cover the room for next week.

I’ll probably pick up a Sunday paper and check out apartments around here.  All I want is a small place.  It doesn’t have to be furnished.  I can sleep on the floor until I can find a bed or at least a mattress to throw on the floor.  I sure hope they have yard sales and flea markets here like they did back home.  I don’t mind second hand until I can afford better and I will have better some day soon.

Well I gotta find a place to wash my clothes and pay for my room so I have clean clothes and a roof over my head for next week.  Check ya later.

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Arizona, here I come

When I got here, all it took was one look at this small town and I knew I was home.  All I had done was took a picture of Arizona, cut it out and threw a dart at it.  Where ever it stuck, that’s where I headed.  It took me 3 days to get there from South Carolina but I made it.

I got a motel room, a news paper and a burger and started plotting my course.  The first thing I looked for was a job.  There was an ad in the paper for a carpenters helper.  It didn’t start you off very well but it did say that the pay rate was dependant on what you could show them that you could do.  I got a good nights sleep and was at their door at 6:30 a.m.  I didn’t know the ad had just come out that very day I got the paper.  I was hired by 7:30.

I was on my way!!  They told me what time to be back in the morning and introduced me to the guy I would be working with.  He was a pretty nice guy and we got along great the whole week we worked together.  He stuck me on every odd job he could find just to see what I could do.  I must have passed the test because I got a $5 an hour raise the next week.  I felt like I was on top of the world.

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I started young

I had my first job at 12.  I carried out trash for a local small restaurant back home.  They paid me $10 a day to carry out the trash and pick up the parking lot.  I would do this about 3 to 4 times a week.  I was making up to $40 a week and thought I was on top of the world.  Finally I could buy some nice tennis shoes like everyone else wore.  I could get myself a skate board like everyone else had and I could even buy some clothes that were more like everyone else’s.

See, there were three of us kids and I was the youngest.  The oldest was my brother and had a sister between us.  I got my brothers hand-me-downs mostly to wear.  Since he was 6 years older than I am, some of his clothes weren’t what the other kids were wearing at that time.  You know what I’m saying?  I looked different and felt different too.  I was a very angry kid and rightfully so most of the time.

I hated school.  Then one day I walked into Mrs. Daye’s class and things began to change.  On not overnight by any means but every time I was sent to her, she always told me she had faith in me.  She knew I was going to make something out of myself.  Because of her, that’s what I began to believe too.

So here I am working 50 hours a week doing anything from laying block for the foundation, roofing, framing and anything else they need help with.  I’m learning new things all the time and reaching higher and higher so I can be someone I can be proud of.