Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Return to Tobacco Road

Today marks the beginning of vacation (even though I've only been working a little over 2 weeks).  Tomorrow I will be flying to Oregon to see my half-sister graduate high school.  But first, I had to get through a long day of work.  Got in the office at 6:30 AM as always and began working.  Struggled to get to lunch, but time flew by after work, even including the hour of overtime, and I was out the door.  Threw all my stuff in my car, and southbound I headed.  It was a 6 hour drive which was a little rough, but I made good time and somehow kept myself occupied. 

I stopped at Dave's by JMU which has the best food ever for a gas station.  Got my favorite Gyro (for all you shoobies out there, it's pronounced yee-row, not as it looks) and was back on the road.  Needed the help of an energy drink to stay awake, and those things make me a little loopy.  So as I was driving, I was going a little crazy.  But with the help of my favorite CD ever, Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker's Greatest Hits, some Lady Gaga (The Edge of Glory is one of the best songs ever), and a few random Virginia radio stations, I made it home with all my sanity.  It was really great seeing my mom, and I look forward to spending some time with her tomorrow before I leave.

It was cool when I was driving, because three times I passed equipment that JLG (the company I work for) manufactures.  The first was an Arial Work Platform (see previous blog with pictures if you don't know what these things are), the second was an M-ATV (which is the new government humvee, extremely badass), and then a telehandler, which I have been working with directly.  I would have never noticed these if it wasn't for the internship, and it gave me a sense of pride to see these being shipped to various customers.  During orientation, they said how much the employees of JLG took pride in their products and jobs, and how it showed in the end result.  This has become very apparent through first hand experience.  I find it very important that your career is something you truly enjoy, and most employees feel this about JLG.  I am not sure if this is where I want to work after I graduate, due to the location, but this has shown me how important loving your job is.  If you do not have a passion for what you are doing day in and day out, you will not be happy and it will show in your work.  There are too many people without jobs now-a-days, and companies cannot afford to pay someone who is not taking pride in their work.  If I am not happy wherever I am working post-graduation, I hope I have the courage to just leave and find somewhere that will give me the chance to be happy.  There is a sticker on every JLG machine that says
"made with pride in the USA."  It is my favorite part of the machine, and it is 100% the truth.

My quote for the night comes from my favorite song of all time, "Just like Heaven," by The Cure.  Not entirely sure what it means, but I think it is great.  This comes to mind as it was one of the last songs I listened to on the way home. haha  I've attached a link to it below.  The quote comes from the end of the song.  I have listened to this song so many times I could never begin to count.  I will occasionally just leave it on repeat, because I always find something new when I listen to it.  I think that is the mark of a great song.  You may not like it, but music hits us all in different ways.  For whatever reason, this song hits me.

"You stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me"

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