Long time bloggers, long time indeed.

Boy have I missed the world of blogging! I was working crazy hours but things have slowed down for me since I quit the 2nd job. That's right folks, i up and quit after only 5.5 weeks!! I did not handle myself well, and would have handled myself worse had I quit in a "mature fashion". How did I do it? I sent Emily a text message stating that i was not only not coming in that day, but never coming back. I told her that it was nothing she or her daughter had done (slight falsehood) but that I wasn't getting enough rest (true) and not taking care of myself the way I should (very true! I am now finishing up meds for a UTI). I have not worked there in a week, and I do not miss it one teensy tiny bit.
She had the nerve to complain about me getting paid for 20 hours and not working 20 hours each week. I had told her not to pay me for that time, when she was making out the hours. She actually had the nerve to suggest that I give her daughter the money of the hours I didn't come in since "she will have to do what you're not here to do". By that point my fate, for that job at least, was sealed. Let me explain:
Her daughter, at 12, would not do what most normal, sane people consider chores. She does not wash dishes, clean up her mess in the bathroom, clean her room, do a load of laundry, run the vacuum, take out the trash, feed AND water the dog (i got her to feed him, but she would not give him fresh water) nor take him out to potty, put her clean laundry away, or help with the cooking. I am not saying i expected her to do all of those things, all the time. However, over the weekends when I was not there, dishes should have been washed and put away, a load of laundry could have been thrown in the washer, the vacuum could have been run, etc. Nothing too strenuous or difficult. Her mother did not require her to do anything, and since she had help coming (and has had this help for quite some time) her daughter is a Low-Middle Class "Prima-Donna" expecting to be treated as a princess, with little or no responsibility for her own life and actions. I didn't buy into that idea, and throughout the week, when i was there, I made her put her laundry away, take out the trash, sort the dirty clothes etc. Again, nothing too strenuous. She is 12. She should be able to handle those simple tasks. It would be different if she were very involved with things at school. If she got straight As, or was involved with some extra-curricular something. None of those things apply, especially the straight A thing (she's failing nearly every class).
So being asked to hand over a portion of my hard earned money because I hadn't met the "time requirement" for the week to a girl who did nothing around the house except be waited on hand and foot was to me, revolting. The very notion insulted my sense of humanity.
Also, the woman was impossible to please. IMPOSSIBLE!!!! She wanted dry, dry turkey meat from the deli. I bought her dry, dry turkey (as dry as they had) and "the stuff at Tic-Toc up the street is better" (for all those out of the USA or not from the OH-PA region, Tic-Tocs are your usual "corner store" convenient stores. Over priced junk food and the occasional hot food item, some stores specialize in certain hot foods (pizza, hot dogs, etc) and are occasionally a part of gas stations). So I bought her the turkey from Tic-Toc. She liked that even less, and actually made me return it. On another occasion, she wanted me to "peel a few potatoes" for a soup she was going to make the next day. I said I didn't mind, and she then proceeded to tell me which bowl to fill up ( a mid-sized mixing bowl). When i requested help from her daughter, who is a "Prima-Donna" after all, she whined "I don't want to learn how to peel potatoes" and Emily said, "she's too tired to help". When I went in and asked how the soup was, i was told, "it was ok, but there were too many potatoes, that's alright, you'll do better next time" I very nearly jumped across the table, took her tongue from her mouth, wrapped said tongue around her neck, and strung her from the ceiling.
So when I sent her a text, declaring I was through with her, it was to save me from nearly killing the woman.
After a little over a month of only having 2 days off total in that entire span, spending over $200 in gas to go nowhere except home and both jobs, working 15+ hour days 5 days a week, and getting a UTI (urinary tract infection. very, very painful. especially since i didn't have any normal syptoms such as burning while using the loo...i'm thinking I had the infection at least 3 weeks) from not taking care of myself the way I should have, I quit.
Now i'd like to explain why the daughter doing nothing frustrates me so. Growing up, I have always had chores. At the age of 7, we started doing dishes. In the 2nd grade, I started washing my own laundry because I had a bad habit of throwing clean clothes in with the dirty. So essentially, by the age of 8 and 1/2 I was sufficient in cleaning up after myself. By the age of 12, I could do everything i can now, with the exception of cooking. I don't think any person can actually cook until forced to do so, aka moving away from home. I was active in church and with my homeschool group. I got good grades, and was able to sew, iron clothes, and clean efficiently. I helped make food, just never a whole meal. Plus I helped out with childcare, as I am the oldest of 4 girls in my family. I also know what it's like to have to get up and take care of animals. We grew up with cows, pigs, and chickens (although never at the same time) and had to take care of them (along with our dogs and cats). We also had to do yard and garden work. Don't get me wrong, I was not by any means abused or mistreated by being forced to do some (or most) of those things against my will. I am a much more mature adult, especially one from my generation, because I know how to do those things.
On top of all these things, I could not help but compare this girl with my own sisters, especially the younger two. They are increasingly active at school (choir, honors chorus, big sister mentoring program (as a big sister themselves, not as a little sister) student council, the musical, NHS, Spanish club, Drama club, Youth Alive, Track, Cross Country, to name a few) they get stellar grades (one sister has over a 4.3 GPA), are extremely active in our youth group at church, and they have chores. They're required to do a week of dishes, a week of garbage detail, and a week of taking care of the dog. Plus they do laundry when necessary, clean their bathroom, and take care of their rooms.
If anyone deserves a break from chores, it's them. Not the 12 year old who is too lazy to get off the computer to let the dog back in the house in the midst of a blizzard from going potty while i bathed her mother. She needs chores and set regular ones at that, with timed expectations to acheive a sense of responsiblity. I wanted to set that up for her but I knew they would not be enforced when i was not there.

Oh well. In other news: I read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre in a total of 3.5 days. May I just say, it was AMAZING!!! I have never read it before, and plan on reading it again. I cannot give any of it away, but the you-know-what secret of Mr. Rochester was never forseen on my part. I thoroughly enjoyed it's descriptive nature and love the rhythm of both Bronte sisters' writing. I felt sorrow through much of it, but true happiness at the outcome of this book, and encourage you to read it!

Upon reading this first post of my 2 week separation, I have concluded that it is sufficiently long enought to bore even the most loyal of my readers and therefore must sign off from here. Waiting on the guy that makes me a little nutty!!!

Mandy