Our lives have been crazy the last month or so. It seemed like everything happened all at the same time: I got a new job, Zak lost his job, we decided to move, my aunt passed away, my brother came to visit, I went home for a few days, Zak got unemployment benefits, Zak got a new job, we moved, finals week for Zak....It's hard to believe that it's May, and we are in our new place that we just love. April absolutely flew by and we are still trying to maintain any semblance of normalcy and structure in our lives.
Let's see, I've already talked about my new job, which is still going well. I've mostly got the hang of things, but I'm constantly learning something new every day. But I enjoy it for the most part, and it's a good job, so can't really complain.
Zak was told he was let go from his job about two days after I got the final word about my job. I was pretty shocked, and so were all our friends. We initially suspected it was because of Zak's numbers lately, and he had been pretty apathetic for the past few months while he was focusing on finding a job more related to his field and school. I was pretty annoyed, because the company is run so poorly that if it was because of his numbers, why wouldn't they have given him a months' notice or something? Surely, a man who has spent 2 years at the company, got certified in diamonds and gemstones and has been a foundation to the store is worth the company's time. But, nope. And what even angered me further is that Zak's boss, and our ex-friend Mat seemed not to even care or have fought for Zak at all. And Zak was always supporting Mat, defending him when other co-workers complained. Zak was a great friend who always had Mat's back. But it seems like Mat didn't feel the same way.
Well, after a week or so, Zak was contacted by one of the Department of Labor workers, who notified him of the real reason he was let go: Harry Ritchie's claimed he stole about 5 - 6 books of stamps. Ridiculous. True, Zak has used stamps in the past for personal letters, but it wasn't a big deal--even Mat and the former manager were fine with that practice, everyone has used company supplies for personal reasons at one time or the other. It turns out that a few days before Zak was let go, Mat accused him of taking the books of stamps, he said there should be 5 or 6 books and that there were only 2. Zak was closing that night and took a picture of all the 6 books of stamps, and a piece of paper with the date and his signature, and asked the new girl to witness the picture. He sent it to Mat and it wasn't brought up again. So, having found out the real reason Zak was let go, the agent told him if he could get some letters from former co-workers verifying the use of stamps for personal use now and then, he would do his best to get Zak his unemployment benefits. Luckily, we have awesome friends who wrote some great letters backing up Zak, saying he would never steal from the company, and all of that. Two days later unemployment was granted, BOOM. What we think happened is that the branch manager and Mat conspired to get Zak fired, which is actually something they would do. Mat has no back bone and has completely changed in the two years we've known him. Obviously, we are no longer friends with him or Erika, as I am still in rage mode whenever I think about this. They have been crappy friends for the past year and we don't need them. The friends we do have would never betray us and in short are awesome.
So then the day after Zak got unemployment benefits he got the word that he got a job! It is at a seedling nursery that is an extension of the U of I, and will be great for his future career. He'll be growing and taking care of trees and doing forestry-related things. I'm really excited for him. The nursery is about 2 miles out of town, but he will be able to ride his bike there, in normal clothes, so that is good news. They will also be able to work with his school schedule for the fall so he can work part-time. His first day is the 14th and we are really excited!
This past week we moved (I will expand on a different post) so it was another week of craziness for us. We were able to move a day before, so we actually slept at our new place a night before our lease started. We mostly spent the next day cleaning our old place. It's funny how this move has affected me and Zak differently, he was much more relaxed and for some reason, I was really stressed. I think it was because I couldn't control a lot of the packing and cleaning since I was gone all day, but I knew he would do a good job. He did do a good job and I was so glad he took care of most everything. It's like releasing a big breath, unpacking and setting up our home. I can actually go through boxes and get something. I'm still adjusting to everything, mostly the kitchen and bathroom, but I love it here. We both do. I think I did like, 5 loads of laundry our first night, I am so stoked to have the washer and dryer! Pictures and further elaboration will come later this week.
In short, we are in a happy and good place right now. Things have started looking up and it's a good feeling to not have so many things hanging over our heads. Things to look forward include: actual spring weather (beautiful skies, but with wind and 50 degrees simply doesn't cut it in May), bbq with our friends this weekend, Zak starting work and ending school, and planting things in our backyard! Hope this update helped fill the gap in your hearts for information about our lives!
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