The Seven Year Ache

The Seven Year Ache

By Robert G Parent

 

            Omnicare, I thought that I would retire there.  I delivered medications to nursing homes throughout the state of New Hampshire.  Who knew how it would end for not just me but all of Omnicare's drivers because we all got laid off.  After I got laid off, I tried working for Velocity, the company that took over the driving contracts.  I thought it would be okay and maybe interesting because I haven't been self-employed.  I did learn stuff and I needed to do something.  However, my time with Velocity would be short mostly because what they did with the settlement checks, deducted thirty percent. Velocity said the reason they did this was that they figured out the settlement checks wrong.  I couldn't afford to work there anymore so eight months later – I quit. 

            After months, I started at a local school bus company.  It wasn't too bad to work 20 hours a week earning about $250.  My rent was at least paid. I couldn't afford cable and my food budget was small, but then the Summer came. There is no school during Summer which means no work. So, I had to do something.  I found a full time job at a cleaning company, who cleaned nursing homes.  I started at $500 every two weeks and worked my way up to management to have my own building.  I was proud of my success and tried hard to do my best, but I was not prepared for the situation that happened.  I got demoted and moved back to the original building that I started, which I couldn't handle it well; I blamed it on the training that I received.  I had to do something. So after much pondering,  I enrolled in the Interior Design Program at Manchester Community College.  I figured after two years of studying; I could quit the cleaning job and start a new career.  Well, life had something else in store for me.  So after I got fired, I started looking for another job while going to school.

 

            I found a housekeeping job cleaning businesses for ten hours per week at $10 per hour.  I had to keep looking for another job.  A few months later, I found a job driving a 16 foot truck delivering medications and post office stuff on a route.  I was finally making a good paycheck.  It was still every two weeks, but the money was good.  I had thought that I found a job where I could caught up on my bills and continue going to school for my Associates Degree in Interior Design.  One year later, the accident happened and I got fired.

             I've been out of a steady job since October 2014.  I've been trying my best to survive.  It's now February 2015.  It's cold and snowy.  I still have my apartment and my car.  I'm finishing my schooling, English class and my Internship class.  And of course, I'm still looking for a job.  Every night as I go to bed, I think, what is next to do?