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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.

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Hello world!

Well here I am on the Internet.  I sure hope Mrs. Daye happens across this.  She believed in me when no one else did.  I would love for her to see that I kept my promise to her and I am making something of myself.  Growing up on the streets makes you tough in a lot of ways.  Some ways you wish you weren’t so tough in and she helped me see that it’s okay to care about something or someone just because.

She asked me to promise that even if I didn’t finish high school, that I would at least get my GED, which I did and moved to Arizona.  I had always dreamed of living here.  It’s about as far away from my family as I can get and I love the dessert.  I had worked odd jobs in the housing industry and now I work for a company that builds houses and I absolutely love the style of houses out here too. I’m sort of a jack of all trades and the master of a couple anyway.

I guess maybe there’s a little bit of adventurer in me too since I moved out here not knowing anyone or anything about the area other than there were desserts here.  I can’t see myself anywhere else now.  I hope you stop by from time to time.