Anyways last month, through my new agency, I was hired by the Salvation Army to be their Assistant Property Manager at one of their Senior Affordable Housing Programs in Wahiawa. When I was given the offer, honestly I just accepted it out of desperation. Carl and I are financially needy right now and paychecks save lives - seriously! So anyway, after the almost 45-minute phone interview with the Asst. Regional Director and HR Manager who were in California and 3 days of waiting for the background check to come through, I was finally offered the job and I accepted it without even knowing how to get to the property by bus. (These all happened when TheBus was making route changes!)
On my first day, I took the bus 55 Kaneohe Circle Island and went pass the beautiful Northshore until I got to Wahiawa. I couldn't sleep while on board because I didn't even know my exact bus stop. Interestingly enough, my bus stop was the last stop before the bus travels non-stop to Mililani - that's a bus stop you don't want to miss on your first day on the job! So I got off the bus, followed my google maps direction (thanks Google!) and found myself in a residential area. I eventually found the property, buzzed in through the intercom system, and led to the property's management office by the Building Superintendent. I was 15 minutes early and my property manager wasn't in yet. As I sat on the chair, I was dumbfounded - seriously. I couldn't believe I was actually inside an apartment unit converted into a "home office" to serve as the management office. I didn't know what to expect but I geared up myself for the unexpected - especially when I saw piles of paper work and disorganized shelves, plus bearing in mind all the stuff I was told during my interview about the manager's challenges with the residents (imagine hard of hearing + poor english = total misunderstanding).
When my manager came in, she gave me a brief orientation (you bet it was brief), assigned me my desk and my computer and showed me where things were... and then she started to run down the reasons why they hired me - I was a bilingual Filipino with a Psychology background and they thought the residents would be more comfortable with somebody "local" and maybe I can use my psyche skills to deal with the challenges of our old folks. I wanted to fall off my seat - I had the most unusual workplace compared to all the jobs I had, but now I finally have a job that expects a lot from me.
Couple of weeks into the job, I started to get the feel of how things were in our property. When the Asst. Regional Director came to visit for two weeks, the residents had a meeting with her. They had all sorts of complaints especially about my manager - that she didn't have people skills and was rude and inconsiderate to the old folks. I was sitting in the community room and I so wanted to speak for my manager - she has the kindest heart. All she wants is the best for the residents. She's been placed in the property in September and was without an assistant until i got on board 5 weeks ago! It was so unfair to her because they don't know or maybe understand the burden and the workload she has. For Pete's sake, she haven't gotten a day off since Day 1 - even when her daughter and grandkids visited her from the mainland. And everyday, I see her and I hear her work her butt off to make sure the welfare of our seniors were given top priority.
I always tell Carl this has been my best job ever since I moved on from BYU-H. Not only do I get to work at my convenient hours (9am til 2pm, sometimes 4pm) and see the beautiful Northshore every bus ride to work, but everyday I am inspired by the kind hearted people serving the one sector of our community who are often forgotten. A couple of weeks ago, one of our contractors came in to fix the flooring in our lobby because some residents have almost tripped upon entering the front door - HE DID IT FOR FREE. Last week, the Calvary Chapel provided an Easter Luncheon for our residents. Last Wednesday, Aloha Harvest brought in free food for our old folks. They brought mashed potato, spare ribs, chicken, pasta, pastry, salad, musubi - all kinds from their friends from KFC and Umeke Market among others. Yesterday, a retired military lady came in to deliver free meals to some of residents who were benefiting from Lanakila's Meals on Wheels. The resident wasn't there and instead of giving her food to someone else (like she has been instructed), she brought the packages to the office and asked us to inform the resident about it. We talked for a while and she told me she's not being paid for it and she doesn't claim for her mileage reimbursement. FYI - she goes CIRCLE ISLAND.
But I guess the most inspiring day I had at work so far was on Wednesday when students from the Christian Academy came to our property and sang and danced for our residents. Those kids were awesome. I saw one of our residents crying while the kids did a little pantomime about turning our hearts to God and the joy of having been lost and being now found. It was heartwarming - I was glad my manager decided that we close the office for the meantime and be with the residents while the kids were doing their thing. Before they left, one of their teachers/pastor offered a prayer. In his prayer, he specifically asked the Lord to give my manager a special blessing that she may continue to be strong amidst all the trials she's having with her job responsibilities. He also asked that the residents be blessed with more love and understanding towards my manager that they may feel her love and concern for their welfare. As he was saying those words, I thought to myself - How inspired that pastor was! How the heck did he know all the challenges were facing to the point that he could be that specific with his plead to the Lord? He must have the light of Christ in him - he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and he was at the right place at the right time.
I love going to work everyday. Today is a company holiday - it's our Employee Recognition Day. Seriously, I know non-profits don't pay that much (though honestly, this has been my highest paid job ever LOL) because they don't have much either. They couldn't even afford to have me work 40hours/wk because of budget issues. But who cares? I mean, yes I don't get paid big bucks - but the perks I get are stuff that money can't buy.
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
- Matthew 25:40
How can it be more fulfilling than that!
im so happy you found a job that makes you happy.....that's what everyone's lives should be about...in pursuit of happiness!!happy happy joy joy!
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