I haven’t been updating this blog as often as I should, and now I have not just an update-post to write, but an update-book. A lot has happened to me in the last almost-year since my car accident, so below the cut there’s a long, long post that shares my recent story.

I’m now working for Northern Life, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.

November 2008 – Car Accident

I had my first ever car accident, totalling out my brand-new car. I hit a rock cut twice and just missed hitting a transport. Needless to say, it was one of the scarier experiences in my entire life, one I never, ever want to repeat. It’s also the last thing I really chronicle on my blog, so I suppose I don’t need to go into it.

December 2008 – Lose job, start new job

I lost my job on December 1st, exactly a week after my car accident. It also happened on the snowiest day of the year, in which I had to drive my mom’s car through precariously unplowed streets to see my chiropractor. Who wasn’t there, because he couldn’t get in through the snow. I never did see the chiropractor, since my insurance went ta-ta along with the job.

I accepted a job offer from AYR1.com, formerly known as All Your Retail and All Your Furniture. I knew something was hinky when I was called the same day that I sent out my resume, and got the job the day I did the interview. The sad fact was, however, it was full time and the same wage as what I was making before – actually a tiny bit better. I went into the job hoping and optimistic.

January 2009

I turned 28 (I feel so old now), and moved into my own apartment. It was a large basement apartment on Southview drive, a nice and secure area just down the street from where my Grandmother had lived. The bus route was horrific, though, and I constantly ran into trouble getting to work as the bus couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be early or late.

On the job front, I had been hired as a customer service type agent, but had promptly been placed at reception as I had no clients assigned to me. I received no training in how to do my job except for a few hours here or there, when people could be spared. Isolated away from those who did the same job as me, I only learned what I learned thanks to Chris H., who actually would answer his phone when I called.

February – April 2009

Had my moving in party and the girls from my family joined me in a really lovely night. Got presents even though I told people to not bring me any. Found out a few days later that the landlord is selling the house and I may have to move.

Work is hell. I was informed quite “nicely” by the CEO that as I lacked a college diploma or university degree, I was not qualified for the position I had been hired for. I watched them give my job to a guy named Gabe, with whom I have no personal issues, but was not qualified either. They just liked him more as he gave them hours of unpaid overtime, and I won’t abuse myself that way.

Attendance is becoming an issue for me, as I’d rather kill myself than go to work. Also very sick and stressed because of the situation at home.

Keeping my place spotless 24/7 is wearing on me. People coming through constantly is wearing on me. Spend a week away from work because of people coming through my apartment after several of my belongings are stolen by people viewing my apartment.

April – June 2009

Work has shunted me into outbound sales. I prefer to work Tier 1 since I don’t have to sell anything, and instead simply collect e-mail addresses. Know this venture is going to fail but keep my mouth shut so I don’t get fired. Start going on job interviews as I try to find a job where people don’t think me worthless shit because I don’t have a college diploma.

Spent a week doing data integrity, where I am informed first that I am too slow, then later that I do not have accuracy. Back to sales.

Sales department eliminated (surprise), and I am fired. I should have been laid off as the entire department is eliminated, but I am fired due to ‘attendance’ issues.

Challenge this with EI when I file my papers, as AYR1.com fired me for having “too many doctor appointments” – their words, in their letter accompanying my ROE. Explained that I had approval for those days off. EI agrees with me, but wants documentation from my doctor that my RA doesn’t prevent me from working.

Doctor closes practice QQ.

June – September 2009

The job hunt is on. For every job interview I get, I send out at least five resumes. I interview with some really high quality places, including the accounting firm that handles AYR1.com. In fact, I got that job, but the person I was replacing changed her mind and decided to not leave the company, so my job wasn’t available anymore.

I was also almost hired by Cambrian Insurance, but I lacked an RIBO licence and they wanted someone with it. They chose someone else because of that.

I interviewed with the Hilton Homewood suites, Financial Decisions Inc., McLelland Crawford Topp LLP, Tutti Fruiti, Chartwells, Toppers Pizza, and Cambrian Insurance. Finally, I landed a job interview with Northern Life.

I wanted this job. I would kill for this job. I never completed my journalism diploma and I regret that, but this job was a combination of journalism work and internet work – facebook, twitter, website maintenance, etc.

On top of that, I had spoken with the person interviewing me for the position two years prior, when she had interviewed me for a story. So now I had the interview – and I rocked it. But I didn’t get the job. No one did, as they decided that the economic issues were pressing at the moment.

I wrote back and joked that I’d work for free. I got a second interview. This one was with the publisher, Abbas, and it went badly. It felt like it did, anyways. I got home, dejected, and then fired off an e-mail with a ‘news story’ I wrote about my accident. One of the concerns was my lack of writing experience.

I got the job.

I am ecstatic. Thrilled. Crazy out of my head.

September – now, November 2009

My job is fantastic. Everyone is very nice, the workplace is healthy and employees are treated very well. My lack of experience and knowledge doesn’t seem to bother anyone as they train and teach me. It’s impossible to compare Northern Life to AYR1.com because the workplace is so different. If AYR1.com could have the sort of environment I find here, they would have a much higher employee happiness ratio, which would lead to increased happiness.

I really feel for my friends working there, as I know they are also secretly looking for work elsewhere.

I also broke a leg at work and got H1N1 and missed a week, but they let me work from home during the time. Hopefully I won’t have any other attendance issues, because I don’t want the sickness I experienced at AYR1.com to be common here. My RA is behaving itself for the most part, and part of me wonders if the toxic environment at AYR1.com also influenced the flare-ups?