I know many of you have been praying for me, so I just wanted to update everybody and let you know that I got a job. It’s not glamorous, but it pays the bills (some of them at least!). I am learning to clean carpets. I work 12-14 hour days, five days a week (which will probably hinder my blogging ability). The job pays $10 an hour, but it is all I could get right now.
The company I am working for is called ZeroRez, and it is state-of-the-art, zero residue, green carpet cleaning. It doesn’t use soaps and chemicals, and it removes 95% of the moisture (others cleaners only remove about 70%) so it dries faster. And to top it off, there is no other carpet cleaning company in the world that cleans as well OR as green. If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and want to get your carpets cleaned, go with ZeroRez. Of course, wait until I become a tech, so I will be able to come out and do it for you.
The most exciting thing about the job is who I am working with. Most of them are Mormons. As I rode around in the truck today, I was able to talk for two hours or more with a great young guy named Seth. We talked about the beliefs and popular misconceptions regarding Mormonism, and I look forward to talking with him more.
AWESOME!!!!!
Isn’t God faithful~!!! We can always count on Him. Thanks Jeremy for reminding me again just how good He is!!!
Diane
🙂
that’s great jeremy, wow, andy and i have quite a few mormon friends so we’re always having conversations about mormons and many a conversation with mormons….they are..interesting
i’d love to hear about some of your talks with them
That is great Jeremy! Jenn and I may have you come over before long. You may have your hands full with our carpet. They are pretty bad. I don’t know why a landlord would put off white carpet in a rental apartment.
Will you keep your house?
Carpet cleaning! You will quickly discover why people really should always remove their shoes at the door.
Daniel, I know white carpets can get marked, but actually white carpets do make sense.
Not only do dark carpets make your house look like a cheap hotel, but they can actually end up looking just as dirty as white ones. You see a lot of the dirt in your house is light in colour, so it stands out horribly against a dark carpet.
The best way to protect carpets is of course to always remove your shoes when you enter the house and ask any visitors to do the same.
God Bless
Matthew
Bro. Jeremy
God is good and he’s always on time. It’s good to know that your in the flooring industry we always welcome good honest folks. Always wear clean socks and stay dry, I miss your teachings at West Cliff, OBTW send me a price list!!!
Your Brother in Christ
Gabe
Jeremy,
That’s great news! We’re rejoicing with you here. When the discouraging days come (and brother, believe me, they will!) remember: Moses herded sheep and Paul made tents. It’s all part of the tapestry.
His forever,
Tim
Hi all,
Thanks for the comments. I will let you know when/if I become a ZeroRez tech.
Based on all the glowing comments, I think I may have sugar-coated the post… I’m glad to have a job (which is more than many people can say), but it still is only $10 an hour…which, since I’m working about 60-70 hours per week, comes to about $30,000 a year (With NO benefits, so we have to pay for our own health insurance, etc).
Try putting together a budget for a family a five on $30,000. And don’t forget that I have to pay about $5000 a year toward my seminary debt. I think we will be moving into a cardboard box under the overpass in a week or two.
The ironic thing is that most of the guys I’m working with don’t even have college degrees, and I have a 4-year Master’s degree.
I really struggle with why God brought me down to Texas (away from a place, a church, and people I LOVED), to get into major debt, just so I can make $10 an hour at a job that any high school kid can get.
I think I know why…He had to topple an idol in my life, which He did back in January. This idol of mine would have stayed up on it’s pedastal if I had remained in Montana as a pastor.
It was a hard, painful, and expensive truth to learn, but I’m glad I now see the idol for what it was.
So now I am trying to figure out what God is teaching me through a $10 an hour job that doesn’t pay all the bills, and at the same time, keeps me from spending time with my wife and three little girls.
I think it is totally unfair that an employer can make people work those kind of hours.
And it stinks that you have to pay huge sums of money for health insurance too.
I am glad I live in the UK where people get treated with decency.
Wow. There are NO people in the UK who work long hours or multiple jobs to feed their families? What a paradise. And the free health care, too. Imagine.
Too bad I know people who live there. It’s a nice story, though.
🙁
It still sucks to have to work for that little. I had that as a temp in NYC. At least they were office jobs. I’ll never forget the day I was removing staples from about a thousand reports, adding a page (to the back!) and then restapling them. I looked up at the receptionist (also a temp) and said, “I went to college.” *STAPLE*
And you have to have a car, too. Ugh.
Is there a reason you can’t go home?
There are some people who work very long hours. In theory at least, you cannot be made to work more than 40 hours without giving consent. Sure, I am sure some people come under pressure to do give consent. But at least that is not the norm.
And free healthcare is a great thing too. You might have to wait a bit longer for operations, than in the US, but if you can afford it, you go private. I have never had to wait for more than a few hours to see a doctor. The advantage is that you do not have to pay a major part of your income on medical insurance.
I’m not sure how I feel about free health care. I have heard horror stories from our good friends to the North in Canada. Some of them have taken to coming down here into the states and paying for the medical attention they need.
The job is time and a half for everything over 40 hours, so that’s good. This week I worked about 65 hours.
Once I become a tech, and if I’m a decent “salesman” I’ll make more money. We’ll see how that works out.