I'M MOVIN' ON
I have been looking for a job for the longest time and have not gotten even one little nibble to my applications ... until... to give you the long version of where I am at today as opposed to 4 months ago... get a cup of coffee and sit back... I am telling it all!
I am trained for the position of USDA HACCP Quality Assurance Inspector Level Two... sounds fancy huh? Wrong!
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point... and this means at the level two position that I am responsible for every freaking thing that comes off the end of a line and gets put into the freezer to be sold to the public, to eat.
Metal detection, temperature, sanitation of food and line workers, wearing of safety equipment, the labels on the boxes and the weight of the boxes... how they stack them on the pallet, the quality of the product in alignment with the specifications set down by USDA and the customer in regards to product weight, length, thickness, and then the cooking of the product to make sure it gets done in the time allowed on cooking instructions to get thoroughly done, the uniform appearance of the product, and if they are reworking something.. and mixing it in with the product running down the line.. the date it was put in the freezer and if it is still good. and.... the strength and availability of the disinfectant used on everything.. air temperature must be controlled at no more than 45 degrees, maintenance carried out on the line in case of breakdown and the way they work on things to maintain sanitary conditions or they have to shut it down and wash everything down and then disinfect with me hanging over everything they do cause they got in trouble with me and I had to write them up..
Yeah.. I work my ass off... but it is the most worthwhile thing I think I ever did to earn money.. protecting the public from ptomaine poisoning is a pretty worthwhile task.
Okay now to explain what this has to do with anything.. anything at all.. I used to raise broiler chickens with my broiler houses contracted out to Tyson Foods. Then things went wacko crazy with my life and I had to quit doing that... and went back to public work.. needless to say.. I have had two jobs since shutting down my farm and the first one was in my hometown painting fishing lures.. loved it .. absolutely loved it!
Was like doing arts and crafts with a detail spray gun compared to what I had been doing for fourteen years being a chicken farmer!
This place had been in the town for over thirty years.. I went to work there and was happy as a clam and they closed that division of the plant after I had been there 2 and a half years, so onward I plodded toward the unemployment line and the amount of money I could draw would not feed my dogs let alone me!
This led to getting the QC job and I was there for around 2 years when I got pneumonia and that led to me being sick so badly all the time I finally quit and have not worked since.
Since I have the training, and that is about all I can lay claim to being professional.. when I started looking for a job recently, I checked on the Tyson website and sure enough there was a position open!
YEAH!....
hey wait a minute..
in the Little Rock Plant...
ohhhhh.... nooooo...
200 miles from here!
I figured with my age being 51 and 7/8 the chances of me being called for an interview were slim to none.. Tyson pays its QC department very very well... and the benefits are too fantastic to believe coming from a chicken plant!
Imagine my surprise when a couple weeks later I got a call from the QC night supervisor to see if I wanted to interview for the position. I thought.. why the heck not.. might enjoy the drive since I have never gone by myself and always had so guy driving me. Have gone to a concert at Alltel Arena in the past and had grandmother in the UofA Research and Teaching hospital at one time.
The day we set up for me to go was raining.. I mean never let up kind of rain all the way down there and back! The interstate driving was not to bad till I hit Conway and the traffic backed up and I thought I was going to run my mustang up under a big truck for sure if something didn't give pretty quick.. thank goodness .. we came to an utter standstill .. on the interstate.. never had that happen before. They tell me it is a daily occurrence at rush hour no matter the weather.. Mental note.. DO NOT plan a trip to coincide with rush hour.. ever!
The good thing was that rush hour was over in Little Rock too ... thank goodness! Still yet I managed to get off on the wrong exit and ended up stopping at two liquor stores to get directions.. that second time it was hard not to just get a bottle of Boones Farm and let Mr. Boone take me away from it... but I didn't.
I found the plant rather easily after I just slowed down and called them to tell them I was a wee bit lost.. which got me a smile in the voice of the HR Manger.
I found I liked this fella quite a bit.. he took one look at me, got me a cold can of coke, and had me sit for a minute or two before he told me, there was no way I would stay down there if he hired me. Too far from home at my age to stay. I looked at him and grinned and said,"Well why don't you give me the opportunity to make you out a liar on that deal".
He grinned back.
The night supervisor had come down with the stomach virus that I rode out during Christmas, and I was given my entrance exam by the day supervisor and the Plant manager.
That was fun... NOT!
Before I left Mr. Fletcher called the other Tyson Plants closer to me and set up an email interview with them for me. I left out appreciative for the time they took with me and figured that would be the last I heard from them. I went home and emailed the other plants and got back the reply that they were all on budget cuts and downsizing instead of hiring, but that they would keep me in the files for a while.. umm humm..
Well a week or so went by and I was in my email and ran across one of the emails between Amanda and I and so I thought, "What the heck" and emailed her to ask what I had scored on the test and if the posit on was still open to put in my two cents worth of "PICK ME!" I was amazed when she responded within an hour and said it would be after Christmas before they hired anyone and after the first of the year before they put them into the plant.. I replied.. "Sounds Perfect!". She told me I aced the test and that to hold tight and she would get back to me one way or another by the following Tuesday.. after Christmas.
Imagine my surprise when on Monday evening Mr. Fletcher called and offered me the position!!
YEEEHAAAWW! " I ACCEPT!"
Then panic began to set in...
I am moving to the states capitol.. with skyscrapers, and traffic, and roads that have more lanes than all the roads put together that I have been using for all these years. I won't know anyone there... I have to pack up all my important stuff and rent an apt., and...
OMG!
I GOT THE JOB!!!
HOW IN THE HELLO DID THAT HAPPEN?
DIVINE INTERVENTION...
ONLY THING THAT MAKES
ANY SENSE AT ALL!!
I saw the stack of resumes that were submitted to get that job.. and most of them from people younger, and certified which I am not.
The only thing that makes sense to me is God wants me there. This time I am not going to fight Him.. I am just getting it together and I am going!!
Have to be there on the 11th for a physical, so I have been apt shopping online, setting up some apts. to tour, and pick one that will not put me right in the middle of the gang related violence that happens down there.. but won't make me have to work 80 hours a week to pay for it.. not easy to do folks!
I start work on the 18th, so I am going to do my best to be in my place by Wednesday of next week.
This cold weather has hampered all efforts to do anything in the way of getting a storage unit, and getting things put out of sight till I can have an estate sale in the spring. sigh..
I hope this all works out... cause if it doesn't.. I am going to the UAE and live with my friend PD..
Oh!.. Gee... Seems I might have forgotten to tell him about that decision I made..
LOL..!!
Just teasing!
There is a slide show I created, to give me a send off.
The limited knowledge I have of this new software I got to produce SWF slide shows has me guessing more than doing things like they should be .. and I don't have the time to be the perfectionist I usually am with my stuff.. soooooo...
Rather than upload it to Multiply, I just uploaded it as a file attachment to this blog. When you click onto the link at the bottom of this blog, It will open up another tab in your browser and then you have to wait for it to download the slide show completely before it starts. No streaming media today!
The music will start first and when you see the pictures come up .. mouse over the bottom of the screen to find the on and off buttons. It is pretty long.. but I just went with what I thought meant something to me.. you may think I am a bit of a weirdo...
but then you would be absolutely right!
You see...
Today is the the first day of the rest of my life..
Bunny Hugs!
Okay I think I got this figured out with the slideshow.. I have no idea why some can see it and some can't.. but I have uploaded it to a hosting site .. only thing is they will not embed
it because it has its own player and they will have to convert it to something or another.. either way.. my sweet friends.. here is a download link that will download and open in your browser for you and you will get the entire full screen.. it will play the song twice so don't get to thinking your done when it stops the first time.. lol.. told you I was posting it all didn't I?
This will take you to the download page.
Lockerridge's Slideshow I'm Moving On
lockerridge
Attachment: Im Moving On.swf
