Friday, September 11, 2009

I Found These Quotes Today and Liked Them

I found some quotes that I thought were funny. There is some inappropriate language (one word) in one of them, so beware. All of these quotes are from Denis Leary born in 1957.


This would be my luck:
“Most people think life sucks, and then you die. Not me. I beg to differ. I think life sucks, then you get cancer, then your dog dies, your wife leaves you, the cancer goes into remission, you get a new dog, you get remarried, you owe ten million dollars in medical bills but you work hard for thirty-five years and you pay it back and then -- one day -- you have a massive stroke, your whole right side is paralyzed, you have to limp along the streets and speak out of the left side of your mouth and drool but you go into rehabilitation and regain the power to walk and the power to talk and then -- one day -- you step off a curb at Sixty-seventh Street, and BANG you get hit by a city bus and then you die. Maybe.”


Racism isn't born, folks, it's taught. I have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates? Naps! End of list.


Why hate someone for the color of their skin when there are much better reasons to hate them.


I would never do crack... I would never do a drug named after a part of my own ass, okay?


Did you ever notice they never take any fat hostages? You never see a guy coming out of Lebanon going: I was held hostage for seven months and I lost 175 pounds, I feel good and I look good and I learned self-discipline. That's the important thing.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

New Calling

OK....what would be the BEST calling for someone who is pretty much unemployed? Any guesses??? How about Ward Employment Specialist? Yep, that is my new calling. I'm still teaching in Relief Society. I get to have 2 callings. So, I'm hoping I can find myself a job, as well as others. I'm excited to help others. I'm meeting with the Stake Employment Specialist on Sunday after church, and next weekend I will be attending a 2-day career workshop at the church. I'm excited to learn what I need to do to help others and myself. It's also nice to "get" to worry about someone other than me, if that makes sense. However, I'm sad that I will be turning 31 in 2 months and will probably be kicked out of the University Ward. I really like the callings that I have right now, the people in my Ward, and the Bishop. Oh well, as some say, "Life sucks and then you die."

School Fool

Yep, I'm in school again. I'm going to Lansing Community College this semester, and taking two classes, Medical Terminology and Health Unit Coordinator. The Health Unit Coordinator course starts on Thursday, September 17th. It's been nice to only have 1 class the last 2 weeks. It's helped me get back into the swing of things with school. So far I have really enjoyed my Medical Terminology class. I don't really care for the teacher (she's kind of a ditz, deaf, and doesn't talk loud enough for the class to hear here), but I do like the book and learning new things. Upon passing these two courses, I will obtain a Health Unit Coordinator Certificate (9 credits). I am also wanting to get Certificates in Medical Insurance Billing and Coding (17 credits), Medical Transcription (19 credits), and Medical Office Administration (33 credits). Lucky for me, there are some classes that are required for multiple certificates, so I don't have to take the full 78 credits. I'll only end up having to take 61 credits to complete all 4 certificates. I'm pretty excited to be completing something that will hopefully get me a job....a real job, that is. I haven't decided what I will be taking next semester, but it will probably be Medical Insurance Billing/Coding I and something else. I'll just have to see what will work with my schedule. Hope all the kiddies are enjoying school. If they start complaining, just let them know that Aunt Robyn (or Robyn if you're not family) is in school too.

My Visit to Utah

More to come later when I have my camera handy.

Long Time, No Post

Well, I'm thinking that I'm not very good about this blogging thing. It's almost been 2 months since my last post, and of course, things have happened and changed in my life. I went to Utah to visit, lost a job, started school, and got a new calling. To be continued.....

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Approved to Work More Hours

Hello All -

So, my 3 weeks of training is over, and I was approved to work up to 40 hours a week. To be approved to work more hours than 16 hours per week, we have to be above -0.2 on how well we did compared to the rest of the room. My number was 0.6, so I was above the -0.2. I was really excited about my number and that it was above the -0.2 number, so I could work more hours. Working for the American Cancer Society, via Manpower, 30 hours a week is considered full-time and eligible for benefits. I really need the benefits, so I will be working as much as I can to get 30 hours a week. The shifts at the ACS are a little odd. The call center is open Monday through Thursday 9 AM to 2 PM and 5 PM to 11 PM, Friday 9 AM to 11 PM, and Saturday 9 AM to 8 PM. I have learned that at the end of a 4 hour shift on the phones, I am hating the phones and wanting to leave. This week I will be trying to work as much as I can at the American Cancer Society. I will also be working Wednesday and possibly Thursday mornings at the mission home. I'm not sure if you guys all know, but the MTC got the swine flu. The new missionaries who were supposed to come 2 weeks ago are coming on Tuesday this week instead. Then my other part-time job with Paula, I will be working on Monday and Wednesday nights. I am still applying for other full-time jobs, because I would like to go somewhere that will utilize my skills and where I can learn new things.

School starts on August 20th which is a Thursday, so my first classes will be on Monday, August 24th and Wednesday, August 26th. I'm really excited to go to school and obtain something more. I really can't believe I'm actually writing and thinking this way, but I am. We shall see how I feel once school actually starts though.

I started an Institute class for the summer. I'm taking Teachings of the Prophets on Wednesday nights. I haven't taken an Institute class in a long time, so I decided that I should take advantage of the opportunity since I have so much free time. :-)

I'm still a teacher in Relief Society. Today I got to teach about "The Power of Forgiveness". It was a great lesson (the one in the book...not necessarily me giving it), and one that I definitely needed to hear and teach. I love the lessons in the Joseph Smith manual this year, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn and teach them. I know that I get a lot more out of them by teaching them than I would from just listening to them. I love the Gospel and the blessings that come to me because of it.

Hope all of you are doing well. I love you all tons.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Updates.....Updates.....Updates

Well, I am no longer at the job in St. Johns. I got a total of 3 paychecks, and all of them were shorted. I was shorted about 19 hours total. Nice place to work with wonderfully honest people.....or just the opposite. I have never worked anywhere quite like this place, and hope to never work at another place like it. In general, they were just very dishonest and did not take any responsibility for their actions. They liked to blame things on anyone else but themselves.

On to better and brighter news.


I started a new job last Thursday with Manpower working for the American Cancer Society. I am a telemarketer....yes, I know.....doesn't sound all that wonderful, but it really isn't that terrible. We call past donors and ask for donations. Today was my most successful day yet. I got a $100 donation from someone. I was amazed at the generosity. About an hour later, a girl on the floor had a call for a $200 donation (she was supposed to ask for another $200 donation), and the person gave a $1,000 donation. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! I really like knowing that I am doing this for a good cause. I'm not badgering people for money for some stupid reason....The American Cancer Society is a great organization and helps alot of families. The job starts out with 3 weeks of training working only 16 hours a week. After my training, I can work full-time which is only 30 hours to get benefits. I got the cleaning job at the Mission Home back and I'm still working for Paula as a personal assistant for her Lia Sophia business.


I also obtained financial aid for the 2009-2010 school year. I was pretty excited about that. I have registered for 2 classes in the Fall, Medical Terminology and Intro to Microsoft Office. I have decided to go back to get some certificates. My hope is to get a certificate in Health Unit Clerk, Medical Billing and Coding, Medical Office Administration, and Medical Transcription, hopefully in that order. I know that seems like alot, but I couldn't decide what I wanted to do (imagine that....not being able to decide? I never have problems with that). So, I've decided to start with all of them and see what I like. The Health Unit Clerk certificate only takes two classes to get. I'm taking one of them in the Fall (Medical Terminology). I wasn't able to take the other one too, because it was all full (bummer). So, I'm doing a class that is required for both the Medical Office Administration and Medical Transcription certificates. I'm hoping it will be very easy for me, because I've worked with Office for many years and took Microsoft Office in Utah at New Horizons. Hopefully I will be able to learn something new too though. I'm kind of glad that it (hopefully) will be easy, because I think I will have to work pretty hard on the Medical Terminology course. I'm very excited though to start school again. I've been out of school for about a year and a half (once the semester starts in the Fall).


I got rear-ended about a week and a half ago (Tuesday). It put a nice large dent in my bumper and shifted it down a bit, but nothing big....at least that's what I thought. I took it in last Wednesday, and got a rental to drive (a 2009 Chevy Aveo with manual everything except transmission). When they told me what the damage was, I was very thankful to have good insurance. Because it was not my fault, I didn't have to pay a deductible (which I would have been able to pay anyway, so that a good thing). The total damage was $1874.32......youzers!!!! That's a lot of money. The frame was bent a bit, but it was able to be bent back into place they said. I got my car back yesterday, and I'm so happy to get it back. They made a mess out it by putting all the stuff from the truck into the backseat. So, last night I cleaned it out and vacuumed it. I love my car.


Well, other than that, life isn't too exciting.....church, work, and school soon to come.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

My First Paycheck

Well, yesterday was my first pay day. I was excited to get a regular paycheck........until I compared the hours on the paycheck to the hours I actually worked on my time sheet. I was shorted 7.5 hours....that's $60!!! So, of course, Darlene, the owner of the business, handed out the checks and left for the Lansing office. I was NOT happy. I am usually not happy when people mess with my money. Once I finally figured out my check was wrong, the Assistant Director, Theresa, came in and asked what was going on. I told her my issue. The other girl who got paid yesterday, Holli, had a shorted check too. RAGE!!!!!

So, last night at about 7:30 PM, I got a phone call from Darlene. Theresa told her that I was not happy with my check, which was fine with me. I explained why I was upset, and she told me that she had taken out time for my "lunches". Well, I didn't take any lunches except for 1 day. She told me that I was to rotate lunches with the other girls in the office. Ok....well, the first week I was there, there was no one to run the office if I went to lunch. So, Darlene said she forgot about that (of course) and that I should add 5 hours to the next time sheet. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lunch on 2 of the other days either. That's 2.5 hours of work that I will not get paid for. Not sure where the .5 hour came from, but oh well. MADDENING and illegal!!!

I have definitely got to find something else. If anyone knows of a job with benefits, honest employers, and pays a decent wage (something $12 or more an hour), please let me know. I'll go anywhere for a decent job. I have the worst luck.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

New Job For Robyn

Well, for those of you who don't know, I am no longer working at the hospital as a Medical Receptionist. My last day was February 23rd. I started sending resumes out to anything I thought I was qualified for and even to things that might be a stretch. I started with a small radius of just around the Lansing area. I quickly broadened my search to include Grand Rapids (big city to the West), Detroit (big city to the East), Traverse City (medium city to the North), and the Indiana border. I was "willing" to travel 3 hours to get to work. Luckily, I received a job offer in St. Johns, MI which is only 20.1 miles from where I live. It takes me about 25 minutes to get there.....longer than my job in Charlotte, but still reasonable. So, I started working at a counseling service on April 2nd. This place does individual counseling such as couples therapy. We also have probationed and paroled clients come in for drug and alcohol tests. I never thought I would have a job watching someone pee in a cup or almost pass out from breathing into a breathalyzer machine. It's definitely a learning experience.

Let's just say the pay stinks, there are no benefits, and I'm looking for something else. I'm thankful to have income; however, this job, unfortunately, will not pay my bills. I am still working for Paula, the Lia Sophia lady, part-time. I had to quit my cleaning job though to take this full-time job in St. Johns. Here's hoping I'll find something that will pay all of my bills.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

New Addition To The Family


My brother and sister-in-law, Jared and Mandy, had a little girl on January 30, 2009 at 1:08 PM. They named her Miriana Jean Holcomb....Mia for short. She was 8 lbs. 4 ozs and 20 1/4 inches long. She is my 3rd niece. I was very excited to learn Jared and Mandy were having a girl this time around.




Here is Jaden holding Mia for the first time.


They are just so cute. Jared and Mandy say Mia looks just like Jaden did when he was a baby. It's just so fun to have new additions to the family. I love you Mia!!! I'm so glad you are part of our family.