Originally published January 31, 2020
Change. I'm not talking about coins. I'm talking about a difference in your life. Some people like change, others hate it. I'm more towards the hate it. I am a creature of habit and routine, and I like going to the same job year after year, having the same friends, living in the same place. Although that hasn't always been the case.
Last year I got this new job. That was a big change for me. It was my first new job in over a decade. Crazy, right? But after ten years, it was time to move on. I stayed at my previous job for ten years because I just didn't want to change it, and for the majority of the time there, I didn't have a reason to.
Changes happen in my personal life all the time, too. One of my best friends moved away to Spokane last year, and I have not seen him since last April, although we chat on occasion. I worked with him at my retail job, and I got used to seeing him on an almost daily basis. He has talked about moving back, but nothing has been set in stone yet.
One odd thing I thought I'd point out: The places I spent most of my adolescence have all been torn down and rebuilt with something else. My elementary school, junior high school, and high school all went through those massive renovations. My childhood home until I was 10 got torn down and rebuilt into a larger home. I guess it's only a matter of time before my other childhood home gets torn down, which my parents moved out of last August, and they moved a bit further away from me. That was a home I spent about 15 years of my life in. I guess that's just how life goes. You could ask anyone up that's up in years what happened to the schools they went to and their childhood home(s), and chances are they'd say they a majority of them (if not all) are no longer standing.
After my friend and parents moved last year, it will be my turn to move this coming year. Our apartment lease expires at the beginning of April. We will not be able to renew our lease again, because our lease management is completely renovating every single apartment unit. We could move to an already renovated unit, but if we're moving, might as well go somewhere a bit more affordable. I won't get into the details, but we're also not a huge fan of a lot of the changes they've made to the complex and how they still haven't changed other things.
So last year, a new job, and this coming year a new place to live. Honestly, I don't hate changes, I just really like routine and habit and feeling comfortable in my day-to-day life. Changes can also be some of the most stressful times in our lives. I try to reduce the amount of stress in my life as much as possible; hence why I try to avoid change. But change is often inevitable, and it's better to roll with the tide than to try to go against it.
If I want to continue this trend of major changes happening in consecutive years, next year I might get a new car. I've had my current car for almost 9 years now. It's served me well, but I am ready for something different. I'd like to own a truck or SUV, even if that means parking gets tougher to do. I'd just like to have the ability to move furniture for myself or others if need be. I'd also like to be able to comfortably drive in the snow when we get that in the winter. Heck, I might not even wait until next year. Time will tell.
Life is about changes. No one person in western civilization has the same exact routine their entire life. People get new jobs, cars, homes, friends, and partners all the time. I really only enjoy change once the thing you've gotten used to has become monotonous or your current lifestyle requires an upgrade. Change can be stressful, but it can also be fun. It's a topic of conversation with anyone in your life, from friends, family and co-workers to even making small talk with people you barely know. If you never go through change, there's not really much to talk about in regards to your life.
Showing posts with label Move. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Move. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
The many ways I've helped people
Originally published September 27, 2019
As I stated earlier in my "I'm Happy to Help" post, I like being helpful and I am happy to help with basically anything. There's not much that if I'm asked to do, I will turn down. To me, it's one of the greatest joys you can achieve in life, depending on how you helped someone and how much in need they were. I not only enjoy helping people at my place of work, but also friends and family outside of work.
Most recently, I helped my parents move. They used a couple "Pods", which are portable storage units that you load up and the Pod company transports it to your new address. In a lot of ways, they are more convenient than using a moving truck. I helped my parents load theirs and unload theirs at their new place. I did this over at least six different days, with the longest being the final bit of loading their pod, taking 5 hours. What gave me the incentive besides making my parents happy was the fact that moving is not something that happens very often. My parents moved for the first time in 20 years, and they moved out of my childhood home. It was my last chance to see the home I grew up in, so I had to take advantage of that. I have also helped one of my best friends move, going as far as to get him a moving truck (he doesn't drive) and helping him load and unload the truck. As you can tell, I do not mind helping people that I know move.
At my past job, I enjoyed helping customers. I always liked making someone's day better and getting paid to do so. One experience that sticks out in my mind is helping out a couple who wanted a certain type of ice cream that we were out of on the shelf. I was already in the middle of something else, but I agreed to help nonetheless. I checked the back freezer, and unfortunately for me, the ice cream backstock was all the way in the back against the wall, and there were full pallets of frozen load in the way as the frozen load had recently gotten there and been put away. Most people in this situation would have either told the customer we didn't have any or told the customer that it was buried in the back and there was no way of getting to it. Not me. I had a good feeling that we had it, so I ended up getting a step-stool and literally climbing over the pallet to get to the ice cream. Low and behold, we had the flavor they wanted. I brought it out to them and they were very happy. I stocked the rest that they didn't want. Yes, I could have hurt myself; maybe the pallet wasn't stacked well and it could have collapsed. But that's me: I will seriously risk myself to help others.
Also at my last job I did a lot of unusual things to help customers. I helped a few different people jump start their cars because theirs wouldn't start for whatever reason. I helped old and disabled people into the electric mart carts. I helped countless customers out to their cars to load their cars for them. Each time I really did not mind; mainly because I was getting paid for it, but also because it made me happy to make them happy. I also helped countless people with hard-to-reach items on the shelf. Now I'm pretty short for a guy, so that usually involved me going to the back and getting a stool. As long as they were patient enough to wait, I was willing to help.
This willingness to help people comes from my parents, not just in how they raised me but by the examples they set. On one road trip we took when I was a kid (I was maybe 10 years old), my dad saw someone on the side of the road trying to change their tire. He pulled over and helped them change their tire. This was at least 20 years ago, but it has always stuck with me. It showed me that helping others who are in need really warms the heart and can really on occasion change someone's life for the better. If you have the time and the ability and it does not hurt you much or at all, why not help?
I have also helped people financially as well, mainly my sister. My sister needed to make a down payment to purchase a condominium, but didn't quite have enough, so I loaned her money so she could do that. She also had one of her cats need emergency surgery she couldn't afford right at the moment, so I loaned her money for that as well. I agreed to loan my parents money so they could afford to have enough in their bank account to purchase a new house, but they ended up getting the money from my grandparents instead. But the fact I was willing to my parents really appreciated.
As you can tell, I enjoy helping people. After I'm gone from this world, that's one of the main ways I would like to be remembered: That I liked helping people and rarely said no to a legit need for help. I feel guilty whenever I choose not to help someone, even if it's as simple as picking up something a person dropped. So I will continue to be helpful throughout my life because that is what makes me feel good deep down in my heart.
As I stated earlier in my "I'm Happy to Help" post, I like being helpful and I am happy to help with basically anything. There's not much that if I'm asked to do, I will turn down. To me, it's one of the greatest joys you can achieve in life, depending on how you helped someone and how much in need they were. I not only enjoy helping people at my place of work, but also friends and family outside of work.
Most recently, I helped my parents move. They used a couple "Pods", which are portable storage units that you load up and the Pod company transports it to your new address. In a lot of ways, they are more convenient than using a moving truck. I helped my parents load theirs and unload theirs at their new place. I did this over at least six different days, with the longest being the final bit of loading their pod, taking 5 hours. What gave me the incentive besides making my parents happy was the fact that moving is not something that happens very often. My parents moved for the first time in 20 years, and they moved out of my childhood home. It was my last chance to see the home I grew up in, so I had to take advantage of that. I have also helped one of my best friends move, going as far as to get him a moving truck (he doesn't drive) and helping him load and unload the truck. As you can tell, I do not mind helping people that I know move.
At my past job, I enjoyed helping customers. I always liked making someone's day better and getting paid to do so. One experience that sticks out in my mind is helping out a couple who wanted a certain type of ice cream that we were out of on the shelf. I was already in the middle of something else, but I agreed to help nonetheless. I checked the back freezer, and unfortunately for me, the ice cream backstock was all the way in the back against the wall, and there were full pallets of frozen load in the way as the frozen load had recently gotten there and been put away. Most people in this situation would have either told the customer we didn't have any or told the customer that it was buried in the back and there was no way of getting to it. Not me. I had a good feeling that we had it, so I ended up getting a step-stool and literally climbing over the pallet to get to the ice cream. Low and behold, we had the flavor they wanted. I brought it out to them and they were very happy. I stocked the rest that they didn't want. Yes, I could have hurt myself; maybe the pallet wasn't stacked well and it could have collapsed. But that's me: I will seriously risk myself to help others.
Also at my last job I did a lot of unusual things to help customers. I helped a few different people jump start their cars because theirs wouldn't start for whatever reason. I helped old and disabled people into the electric mart carts. I helped countless customers out to their cars to load their cars for them. Each time I really did not mind; mainly because I was getting paid for it, but also because it made me happy to make them happy. I also helped countless people with hard-to-reach items on the shelf. Now I'm pretty short for a guy, so that usually involved me going to the back and getting a stool. As long as they were patient enough to wait, I was willing to help.
This willingness to help people comes from my parents, not just in how they raised me but by the examples they set. On one road trip we took when I was a kid (I was maybe 10 years old), my dad saw someone on the side of the road trying to change their tire. He pulled over and helped them change their tire. This was at least 20 years ago, but it has always stuck with me. It showed me that helping others who are in need really warms the heart and can really on occasion change someone's life for the better. If you have the time and the ability and it does not hurt you much or at all, why not help?
I have also helped people financially as well, mainly my sister. My sister needed to make a down payment to purchase a condominium, but didn't quite have enough, so I loaned her money so she could do that. She also had one of her cats need emergency surgery she couldn't afford right at the moment, so I loaned her money for that as well. I agreed to loan my parents money so they could afford to have enough in their bank account to purchase a new house, but they ended up getting the money from my grandparents instead. But the fact I was willing to my parents really appreciated.
As you can tell, I enjoy helping people. After I'm gone from this world, that's one of the main ways I would like to be remembered: That I liked helping people and rarely said no to a legit need for help. I feel guilty whenever I choose not to help someone, even if it's as simple as picking up something a person dropped. So I will continue to be helpful throughout my life because that is what makes me feel good deep down in my heart.
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