So, today we visited Andy’s grandma in Lohman, and when we got back to our apartment there was a message on the machine from Barry at Bridges, offering me the job that he originally thought would be open in April, as a Coordinator. So, now I will be in charge of about 10 staff and all of their paperwork, hiring and firing them, and making sure they’re doing all of the things they need to do for their clients as of the 22nd. I’m really excited about my promotion before I’ve even started and can’t wait to get going, even though I still have 8 days left at HTC. Hopefully, the next 2 weeks will go by without incident and I’ll have more news for you soon!
Wal-Mart…saving the world again…
Who’d have thought it? As some of you may have noticed when buying light bulbs at Wal-Mart recently, they’re starting to make a big push to sell more compact fluorescent bulbs (linked from a New York Times article…you may need to log in…). From the article:
“A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance.
“As a result, the bulbs have languished on store shelves for a quarter century; only 6 percent of households use the bulbs today.
“Which is what makes Wal-Mart’s goal so wildly ambitious. If it succeeds in selling 100 million compact fluorescent bulbs a year by 2008, total sales of the bulbs in the United States would increase by 50 percent, saving Americans $3 billion in electricity costs and avoiding the need to build additional power plants for the equivalent of 450,000 new homes.”
Now that Brooke and I have moved to a new apartment, and since AmerenUE is trying to hike electricity rates in Missouri, we’re going to try using compact fluorescent bulbs wherever we can. We got a set of 10 from Sam’s Club a few months ago for $15 (give or take…) and, personally, that seems like a pretty reasonable price to me. That, and I don’t really see much of a difference in the light emitted from them.
Anyway, if you’ve never used the bulbs before, you ought to give them a try. While I generally dislike Wal-Mart, they are certainly a “force of nature” when it comes to retail, so hopefully this push of theirs will result in more people using the bulbs and maybe make some kind of difference in global warming. As the article goes on to discuss, Wal-Mart basically told their suppliers “we’re going ahead with this, so come along or be left behind”…a few of those companies were very much against changing their manufacturing to make more of these “more expensive” bulbs. Maybe if we all start buying these bulbs, such manufacturers will get the idea, eh (cue light bulb going off above their respective heads)?
Yay!!
Well, it looks that way, anyway. So, I had a spur-of-the-moment interview today with a company called Bridges Community Support Services. It went really well, and at the end of the conversation, the CEO/owner offered me a job as a Community Support Worker. Basically, I’ll be going into mentally and physically disabled people’s homes to make sure that they’re safe, healthy, organized, and successful. So far, the position sounds nearly perfect (except for a small pay cut)….but at this point, just about anything would be better than DYS. The guy I met with today was really nice and seems genuinely interested in putting people who want to make a difference into jobs where they can do so. There’s also a pretty good chance of advancement pretty quickly, which is also a huge improvement over where I am now. So, I’ll be starting as soon as I have a starting date and can give my notice at Hillsboro Treatment Center. Let the questions begin…