2008-12-22

G-d is Good

According to this morning's (Yogi) tea tag, "Gratitude is the open door to abundance." That being said, I feel it is unfair to complain if I don't share the resolutions to my problems.

A good thing about working at the airport is having a security badge. This means that when friends are in town on a layover, you can actually visit them. Or, if you're picking someone up from the airport, you can actually meet them at their gate. Very nice. So, when I found out that W3 and his family were flying through, and had a three hour layover on Saturday, I jumped at the chance to say hey in person. Since closing, we've maintained our unique friendship, and we probably talk more often now than we used to. Oh, the irony.

So Saturday morning, I met the Ws at the coffee shop in the airport where my husband works. W3 spent his pre-Java years working for his father-in-law's company at the airport, and it would seem that EVERYONE (except people in the company I work for, of course) know and love him. After coffee, we walked through the airport to their next gate, and it was great not just to see the Ws, but also their interactions with the rest of the world. We walked into a busy airport cafe a few stores down from M's coffee shop, and they were given free breakfast by the very warm manager. Apparently, the cafe is part of W3's FIL's company.

Ironically enough, their flight was flying out of the concourse I work on, which of course, having just been there a few hours prior, and having to go back a few hours later, I was not thrilled about. My boss, the jerk, was at work, and W3 was very interested in seeing him. When his son, W4 saw him, he said, "He looks like The Grinch! Only he's not green." W3 agreed, "Yeah, he does look kind of Grinchy!" Unfortunately, I've yet to see any heart-growing.

I have never stayed in the airport longer than absolutely necessary, and discovered when I was walking with the Ws that ours is probably the most beautiful concourse. There's wonderful art throughout the gates, and it has a much sleeker look than the rest of the airport.

We hung out at their gate, playing MadGab for a while. Having had such little sleep (okay, four hours in two days), I pulled off the laid-back attitude VERY well [usually very hard for me to do upon seeing the Ws], but I was so happy just to be there with them. The boys have grown up so much, it's not funny. They are so cute and smart. W3 told me that when he'd been waiting for me at M's coffee shop, the head of M's company came in, and he and W3 chatted a bit. W3 had recommended M. to the company when we closed, so when he and the owner were talking, the owner was talking about what a great job M. was doing, and told him he was planning on giving him a promotion soon. I was overjoyed to hear that news, since that's something we've really been hoping for.

I knew the Ws were going on vacation with W3's in-laws, but since they live in LA, I was surprised to find they were in town, and they were all flying out together. I was even more surprised when Mr. D, W3's FIL, walked up, saw me, and said "Hey! What are you doing here?" I was kind of surprised he remembered me (by sight), since we've only seen each other briefly a few times, and not in over a year. I said hello and asked how he was, and he surprised me again by saying, "Someone was just talking to me about you the other day. She took a [smoothie concept] class with you last week, and was telling me about you. I didn't know you were [working] at the airport! How long have you been here?" I replied, "August." He said, "You're working at [my company], right? We can't have you working for the competitors! Are you happy there?" Still surprised, I was like, "Um, not really." He said, "I didn't think so. Do you remember [another owner of their company]? Hold on, let me call him." He then proceeded to call said owner [who is a super sweet guy I've had the pleasure of meeting a few times before, when we were supposed to open a Java in the airport], and then handed the phone to me. [The other owner] said, "Hey [me]! Do you remember me? You were the one that . . . right? Yeah, listen, I'm at [the cafe W3 grabbed breakfast at], I want you to give me a call on Monday. Here's my number. Talk to you soon!"

I was floored. Only a few days ago, I was getting slapped in the face by my company, and now a company I'd much rather be working for was practically offering me a job. [Note: I originally had no intention of working at the airport, otherwise I would have applied with them first. I came upon this job by a somewhat deceiving cr@igslisting, that mentioned nothing about the airport.] Furthermore, assuming I do get a job with this company, like W3, I will be working for Mr. D. For me to be enthusiastic and have a positive outlook about my job, I need to feel connected and like I'm a part of something. Obviously, if I'm working for Mr. D, whom I believe to be W3's mentor, these needs will be met!

Exactly after this conversation, their flight began boarding, and we hugged and said our goodbyes. By 'we', yes, I mean me and the W's AND the D's. I floated out of the airport, shocked into happiness. And suddenly it felt like Christmas.

I don't think I could ask for a better [realistic] Christmas gift. My heart just about broke with gratitude.

A year ago, I attended a church service that seemed to speak directly to me, entitled 'Don't Hate the Detour.' As in, "God has a plan for you, and it's not always going to go the way you expected. There are detours along the way, and sometimes it's not what you expected or would want, but it's part of the plan. Don't hate the detour. You'll see why it was necessary when you get to the other side, just hang on."

When Java closed, I was confused and hurt, and I wondered if all of Java wasn't a detour (which I don't think it was). Then I had a hard time finding a job, and I was so depressed that it took me several months to remember to search [email protected], despite the fact that as an employer, I had posted jobs there! I didn't have a good feeling about working at the airport in general, and that feeling didn't change when I interviewed for the company I'm with now. In my first interview, I was asked about what I had been doing, and I talked about Java, and the guy who turned out to be my boss's boss actually said, "Well I never heard of you. I guess that's why you closed!" and laughed derisively. Had I not needed the money so badly, that alone would have turned me off from this job.

Now, however, I can't even be mad about my time here. Thanks to this job, I have not only seen what NOT to do as a person of authority [thanks, jerks!], but more importantly, I've been trained to be able to handle such a high-volume environment. [Hello, our airport is the busiest in the world!] If I'd started with Mr. D's company straight out of Java, I would have looked at least a little like a clown. But now I may better represent myself, all thanks to the horrific months I've had here.

On a sour note, I realized this morning that I will be working at the smoothie concept on New Years' Eve . . . closing. I am none too pleased about this, wanting my new year to have NOTHING to do with this company.

Well, I need to get some rest and some shopping taken care of before we leave for my parents' today. Given that my mom hung up on me when I asked she make sure that whichever room we're staying in be vacuumed, dusted, and have a door to keep the cats out (my husband is allergic), we are considering getting a hotel room, but that may make things even more tense. I can just imagine my mom saying "Oh, you don't want to stay with me, but you want Christmas gifts?!" In her mind, everything is directly related to her. Which, I suppose in this case, it is. Her cats make my husband not able to breathe. Due to that and her irrational temperament, I'm not keen on sleeping under the same (cramped) roof during the day and a half that's our Christmas break (um, before Christmas, because The Jerk has me off Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but working Wednesday?!). I don't really want to be that stressed out or cramped during this time, but I have a feeling that feeling tense may be unavoidable.


However, as we know, God is good, and as soon as one door closes, another opens. Hopefully Christmas will go just as wonderfully as my visit with the Ws - although I'm not holding my breath.

aigre-douce at 5:08 a.m.

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