On Making Friends 3...

Off I trot to the local shopping centres, CV in hand. I'm looking for any full time work to get me some money. I buy the local newspapers. I look through all the job adds and apply for a couple of jobs. What do I want to do with my life? What career do I want?
I get an interview. My first ever interview. It's with a food manufacturing company in their laboratory, checking for bacteria and testing the food before it is passed onto quality control. I was petrified before the interview but something must have gone right as I was offered the job. The boss was horrible and kept disappearing to play squash with another manager. The other lab assistant was someone I had known from school. She had been in the year above, but a friend of my longest standing friend so I knew her a bit. What a relief.

What was the job like? I hated it. You had to test the workers hands for bacteria, but through interpreters. When there was a problem we had to retest to try and pass everything. How long did I last? 3 months. I left. I couldn't bear it. Not the people, even though the manager was obnoxious, I ignored him. It was the work, environment and atmosphere.

So I signed on. Luckily for only 6 weeks. I spent my time visiting shopping centres again and scouring the newspapers. I got another interview. This time in a video shop. It was small with a staff of only 4. I would be part time but it was work. Within a few months I was made full time and given the opportunity to be on the experienced crew training new staff and opening a new flagship store in Lakeside. I enjoyed the work, but couldn't fit in with the team as well as I did in the smaller store.
I missed my friends and got into my head that someone else was taking them from me and taking my job. I could never warm to her. Was I jealous or insecure? Not sure. I did this for 3 months and then moved back to my original store.
I started applying for assistant manager posts. I must have come through the worst of things. I wanted more responsibility, more money and was actually enjoying my job. I was socialising with the rest of the team. I got a promotion to another store and fitted in well. I loved my job. I got married and things were looking great.

Only to find that they started closing the stores down. They were not renewing the leases as they were expiring.  Uncertainty crept in again. I didn't want to start again. I was finally happy and wanted the feeling to last forever. I didn't want to have to deal with change again. What was I to do? Where was I to go?


BASHFUL