It's rough trying to find time to blog. Honestly, I do not mind it itself. It is just where do you find time? I work from 7 am to 4 pm. Talk to executives all day (Or try to) then when I get home, I want to crash out and not talk to anyone. Now before you say well, that's not fair to your wife, I talk to her all the time at work. She is good about finding out what kind of day it is early on and playing it by ear from there. Anyway, I should address some things for you others.
First of all ASU is not that good this year. Being and living in AZ I have heard it all and have told several people Oregon is the 2nd best team in the country. They are a great program this year. Don't get down Devils, this is Erickson's first year. NEXT year you guys will be smoking good. I hope you guys make a BCS bowl. GO DEVILS.
Next up, family. This can be a rough subject since most of our family reads each others blogs. How about I just lay it all out on the line here? Before I start, Britney has no clue I am typing this. She is putting the kids to bed and reading something online. First of all, little Jake gets the blame for everything. He should be treated like all the other kids. That means before you go blaming him for anything investigate. I do it here at home. Most of the time it is Tyler that does what ever it is and Jake is just in the room. Listen to Jake. He is very honest. During Thanksgiving I would like to talk to everyone about Jake and who he is. I am still learning. But I do know he is VERY honest and will admit when he does something. You just have to ask the kid. Teach your kids about Jake. Go online and read about autism. I would encourage EVERYONE to watch Mozart and the Whale. Josh Harnett is in it. Great movie based on someones life that has what Jake does. Don't think for a second that Jake is not smart. I have seen him blow peoples minds. He knows things some others don't. I know, all kids are the smartest. Ok, I get it. Just don't under estimate him. Treat him with respect. Show him the same love you do all the other kids. He will test you with his ADHD. He test me everyday. Just keep in mind he is not doing it to annoy you. He is just being Jake. Without him, my family would not be complete. He is our number genius. I don't know of many 5 year olds that can speak semi fluent sign language and count to over 100. Maybe I just don't know many kids. Jake is the man. This isn't pointed at any one person. If it was, I would call you out. It is just a reminder to all. Most importantly, Ive watched kids play with Jake. They all ask him whats wrong. Why is he not normal. And Ive seen them push him away. That breaks my heart. I remember once at a Halloween party he went to play with 3 kids. All about 5 years old. They pushed him down and started kicking him. Why? Because Jake wanted to play with them and they didn't understand, he is normal. He just has a social disorder.
Next topic, Work. Man Do I love my job. I have been told not to talk about it to much. I can go on and on. What do I do? I WORK FOR A COMMERCIAL COLLECTION AGENCY. Booo yaaa. How can I be so excited? Well, I love what I do. Best part is, I am ok at it. I know most of you would never admit to doing my line of work if you did. But think of it this way, I am not the one who is placed for collections. I'm not even the collector. I am just a sales rep who makes friends on a daily basis. I look at it like I am the middle man in a exchange of money. That's all. Its nice to be good at what you do, paid alright for it and like what you do. Those are 3 hard qualities to find.
I don't blog topics like everyone else. I just go with the mood. I was listening to something calm for the Jake blog and now its RUSH, LIMELIGHT. Not bad....
I was asked by a client recently how I ended up in commercial collections. That brought up a good story. I will post it. Grab a pillow....
I met my wife at 19, back then she wasn't my wife though. Amazing, I know. Things with the family, well, didn't go so well. DON'T HOLD IT AGAINST ME!!!!! I love my in laws. All of them. Great people with all kinds of personalities. anyway....
So I was working at a HVAC company. Well I ended up doing something stupid and lost my job. So I worked at a club. That sucked and I wasn't making any money. Britney ended up moving in with me and I needed a job. Britney picked up the new times or employment guide and found a place called Starwood. I went in for a interview and it was setting appointments to view timeshares. I took the job. Within 2 weeks I was the #1 rep in the company. Held that title for 18 months. Then my brother in law got me a job at a IBM outsourcing place. I ended up landing 2 big accounts. Georgia Pacific and Coca Cola. Moved to Texas after a year there to do Leasing. Was the #1 rep there and the company didn't pay there bills so moved back to AZ. Went back to the IBM outsourcing place and didn't like it anymore. Britney once again finds a place called VeriCore. I go in for a interview and thought "Collections?" I'm better then this. Britney said to do it anyway. I got along great with the 2 people who interviewed me. They spoke about football. I was in love with the company from the first NFL sentence.
So I joined up with them. 3 MAJOR players in my branch ended up moving into management or going to start there own firm. I landed some solid accounts and went on commission 11 months after I started. Haven't looked back and am now ranked #1 in primary sales and #3 in fee. This is out of about 50 reps. Not bad.
Reading over this I am thinking you all with think wow this guy is cocky. It is not that, I just want you guys to know who I am. I do not talk much. I am pretty much to myself. Give me a phone and Ill stand anyone up. That's when I am most comfortable. Well folks, kinda a serious email but hey, I hope you all got to know me. GOT? Wow, pathetic!
Later,
Tom
2 comments:
Its nice to see you have a new post-I think your priorities are out of wack. Its blogging first then family. haha. I hate to say it, but Ohio really isnt that good either-can you say OVERRATED!!! At least we lost to the #2 team not an unranked. (Bill is making me talk trash, sorry)
I wouldnt take things so personal when it comes to Jake. I think when you are the parent that goes through it, your a little over sensitive and over tuned in to what others might think. We and im sure no one else has ever treated Jake any differently because he is autistic. He only just got diagnosed with this-he still is the same Jake we have all known. He is a kid and all kids are crazy. Mine are for sure. I dont think kids treat him different because he is autistic, I think he just has too much energy for some-kids are kids and they are truthful-dont take it personal. My kids get treated like that all the time. Kids are cruel. Thats just how it is. Dont teach Jake that just because he is different, he has to be treated as such. He will learn to pick his own battles and one of these times, he will fight back. We love Jake and always have. Tyson thinks Jake is his best friend and we are all excited to come visit.
Hey Tom... Great post... I'm going to have to agree with Shelly on this one... It's blog first then Family!!! Hahahaha... not really. But it sure is nice to keep in touch with everyone and get some perspective on how each other's family is doing.
I love how open and honest you are in the blog. It's very refreshing. I think we as parents should inform our kids about Autism and what it means. I know Jake doesn't want to be treated differently. He loves interaction and you just have to play along with him and he's as happy as can be. He's a great kid and we love him to death. So do all his cousins.
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