Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Chief Patrick Oliver

Most of my friends know that I've recently ventured away from the giant cornfield of Indiana to another state of Ohio. I'm sitting in my dorm room here in Cedarville University writing because there's something I believe I may need to say.

Facebook: Saint or Sinner?

You may not think of this right away, this morning when I thought of it, I felt the same way. Facebook? There's no way that I can get stalked because of that. I was always told to not put up too much information on social networking sites because it could lead to some awful stuff like stalkers, murderers, rapists, etc. Are you serious? Who could possibly want to do any of those to me? Apparently, there's other dangers involved. Have any of my readers been in a criminal justice position? So far, I haven't known any officials young enough to have myspace or facebook as a teenager, so I didn't know this monstrous pressing danger.

There is a man very dear to my heart after a day and a half listening to him, joking with him and learning from him. Chief Patrick Oliver, a great man of God and a great Professor. He tought me on the first day of class the importance of one main aspect of a career. Job Security.

There's a lot of things I've put on Facebook, including quizzes saying all the stupid stuff I've done in the last year. Some of that stuff I could have made up, and a future employer could see that. What would they think if they saw I had done something I really hadn't? My myspace is filled with junk that I can't believe I actually put on there. I have done some stuff before my Revival into a Christian life of constant growth. I have many downfalls fairly often, but I'm getting better, and I don't want a future employer to see that without seeing all the new things that have happened in my life. I'm not too keen on having so much of my immature, and immoral, life exposed. How can i expect job security from that?

Why did I put those up there? Why was I so childish?

I want to firmly encourage you friends to make sure you as people, and most Children of God, to not post anything that you wouldn't see a grandparent or a boss seeing. I haven't lived by this, but because of my recent strive to work in the criminal justice field, I've finally realized what can happen by those "on-a-whim" decisions.

And to those of you who may not agree with my thoughts, write back. Tell my how this isn't immature, and tell me why a future employer would think it's cute, funny, charming, etc.

And to those of you who will just ignore the warning of some "punk kid," background checks are real, and facebook owns the information, pictures, videos and notes. You don't. Sorry broseph.

Jolly Jon.

Friday, June 5, 2009

I'm a Working Man Now!

As most people in my life know, I currently have my first job at Southway Animal Hospital; a job which i got mainly due to the fact that my mother is a Veterinarian at the clinic. I figured I could give a pretty basic rundown of my co-workers that I come into the most contact with during the day. I haven't gotten to know them all yet, but there's quite a few quirks to the place!

Dr. Dave Pence:
The Strong Silent Leader
Dr. Pence reminds me of Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. Don't get me wrong, but knowing him a long time, there are basics that I've always known about him. First, if you wear IU clothing while in the clinic, you will get at least one wise crack out of him about it. Second, he buys you stuff at Christmas if your mom works with him. As far as I knew, He was a Purdue Pete in a Santa's costume. This is false. After working with him, I found out that he is quiet, and needs a good worker. He isn't perfect, like you expect every doctor to be (yet all fall short), but if my animal had a problem, I would entrust this man with it. He knows what he's doing, and he is good at it. I have complete faith in his abilities. He leads us with a steady hand, and still has a sense of humor through it all. He is quite possibly the ideal boss, and definitely the ideal first boss. I can be late, and he won't mind as long as i get the job done. He's a great man, and I'm glad to work for him.

Dr. Beth Davis:
The Old Cat Lady
Now don't think for a second that she's one of those older women who keeps a million cats and loves them more than life itself! This is completely wrong. She's my mom, and I know for a fact that cats aren't her favorite. She loves dogs and horses, but she seems more like she tolerates a feline existance and wishes the best for every cat that strolls into the clinic. I call her the Old Cat Lady because as a part of my job i sweep the clinic and mop, and whenever i get to her office, I can find many many balls of cat hair beneath her desk and lying around. I swear I found at least 5 cats mixed in that hair so far. In all seriousness, she attracts more patients that have cats. Dr. Pence will take care of them, but he is a tall man, and just seems to be more of a dog person. Dr. Davis (mom) is a shorter lady, and gives off a more "cat-friendly" vibe. If I ever had a cat, which i pray I'm not that unlucky, I would choose her over anyone, and hope I don't have to sweep up her office the rest of my life. I think she likes watching me work for her...

Jodi:
The Scary One
Jodi is the kind of woman you take in a biker bar with you. No, not the kind of woman who wears leather chaps and drinks beer after beer, but the kind of woman you would trust to take down a biker. :) She could kick my butt with one leg and no arms. If I didn't know she had such a big heart, especially for family, friends, and her pets, I'd probably be scared of her. This isn't a bash on how she looks at all. In fact, the only reason about her as to why I would be scared at all is her bark! She talks tough, but I think that's about it. She's an ol' softie on the inside... I think.

Lisa:
The Funny One
At least to me, Lisa is the funny one out of the group. Her sense of humor isn't always intentional I don't think, but she still makes it funny most of the time. I have had a couple instances of her coming around a corner and me just dying laughing on the inside. Today I was supposed to be off, but there is a girl, with the same job as I do on days I don't work, whose name is Andrea. Lisa expected her to be working and walked around the corner. No greetings were swapped, just an exclamation: "You're not Andrea!" I turned and gave my polite response: "You caught it that fast, didja?" I'm glad I have a co-worker I can joke around with and make the day a little more fun than not, even though everyone has some sense of humor.

Amy-
The Watchful Eye
Amy is a wonderful woman. She is always on top of her job, the other receptionists' jobs, Jodi and Lisa's jobs, and especially my job! By saying this, I don't mean to say she's worrisome, but more than anything, dependable. She's the person that's not on time to work, but she's ten minutes early. She leaves after I do as well. She makes sure everything's ready for another day before leaving, and knows the place inside, outside, upside and downside. If I have a question, I'll avoid anyone to get to Amy. She's always around to help, and she's a blessing.

Now that I've mentioned some of my co-workers, which I know I haven't listed them all, but these are the ones i know best, there are other regulars that need mentioned. These include pets. Mainly Socks and Sheila's dog, whose name I can't recall. It's too late.

Socks is a gray cat who is afraid to come out of the cage. I took him out a couple times, as i look at my hand, one of the cuts has finally healed into a scar. He HATES being out, and can still maintain a healthy weight. Our outside cats are fat...

Sheila's dog, whose name left my mind, which I'll remember tomorrow morning.. SOPHIE! It's Sophie! Right, well Sophie is a great little tiny dog. Sophie and I are good friends at this point. She will bark her foolish head off at anyone that comes into the back save a couple. One of the two or three she will spare is me. Andrea and her don't get along, but I get along with her. So if I have a spare 5-10 minutes while working, I will sit on the floor outside Sophie's cage and open it. She will dart out and just leap to my lap. Then I take her into the break room and will sit down and pet this dog forever if I could. Her personality is incredible if you get to know her well, which I have now done. Probably my favorite dog that can fit in a 5 gallon bucket.

This is my job, and these are my fellow Southwaynians. I'm glad I'm there, and I hope to get to know the rest very well.

Peace.