A working man’s valentine

I had settled into my volunteering assignment doing data entry at Crosby Street and didn’t think the temporary work that had been talked about since December would materialize. After all, I had the double whammy of not being chosen for the permanent position of Donation/Dispatch Associate and finding out it was put “on hold”.  I thought it would be the end of the story.

Or that’s what I thought through the morning of January 24th. I get a phone call from the call center supervisor saying that the temporary work was back on and if I was still interested. I couldn’t jump on the opportunity fast enough. But there were still several steps left to complete. And it would all come to a head the following week. That Tuesday before I went to Crosby Street, I stopped by the 13th Street Health Clinic as I needed to get my TB clearance prior to beginning. Two days later, I was at Human Resources at Willoughby Street in Brooklyn to fill out the paperwork and then I went back to 13th Street to get my TB clearance. A little after 1PM as I was walking home from the East Elmhurst library, I got the phone call that I was able to start working. I was given the option to start on 1/31 but as it was a hectic week and wanted to catch my breath, I opted to start on Monday the 3rd of February.

That decision was the only one I’d regret.  It snowed that Monday but driven by my resolve to see this job through to its end, I made it through the snow and arrived at the PDC a little bit after 8AM.  It seems like three months away did not dampen the enthusiasm of my co-workers in welcoming me back. I take one look outside the door and I saw the massive pile of Donation Receipts that had piled up and it was up to me to get it all squared away. It took me 2 1/2 days but the pile was gone. Those envelopes had been there since November and new boxes had to be made for each store to put everything in. The staff gave it a fair go, but eventually even they gave up on it.

After getting the receipts under control, it was time go deeper into what a Dispatch/Donation Associate would do. I was shown how to use Salesforce, the software they use to track everything. I was a bit rusty at first as I’d only used it one time last summer. But as time wore on, I got the hang of things. This would also apply to typing out certificates of insurance and handling web inquiries. I was a bit rusty at everything but as the first week came to an end, it started to become second nature to me as every day went by. Although, my phone manner isn’t nearly as good as the rest of my co-workers and the stammer I have doesn’t help matters.  That Friday was the first pay date listed on the sheet I was given by HR. It was late in the day and I saw the rest of the staff get their envelopes and I was worried that since I recently started, I’d have to wait for the next date in two weeks to get paid. But I got my white envelope and I should get a fuller check at the next pay date. I felt nervous about how I would handle now that I was going from intern to employee but the first week went off without many hitches. At the end of the week I was exhausted yet proud of myself for all that I was able to get done. When I came into work on Monday, we were really short staffed and I tried to help the best I could without getting in the way.

The most important part of the second week came mid-week.  I had to go down to the organization’s headquarters in Brooklyn for a two-day orientation as every new employee does within their first month.  The first day was a generalized orientation, the second day was Gender Sensitivity and Customer Service training. The one negative about the training is that it is a LONG way to get there from East Elmhurst and even though I didn’t want to be late both days, I was and ended up sitting in the back of the room. Thankfully, it was lively enough during both days to make it worth the trouble coming down there and it didn’t hurt that the person sitting next to me was a beautiful blonde girl working within the medical side of the organization.  I acted like a spaz trying to find out more about her  but she didn’t say much as she paid more attention to her iPhone than to me.   There was also one more thing I had to make sure to get done, I stayed at the computer lab after my e-mail was set up to complete the mandatory trainings online that had to be done withing the first thirty days of employment and get 70 percent on each quiz.  As a good chunk of the information was picked up on orientation sessions for my last two volunteer stints, I was able to finish up everything within an hour, some subjects scored like fire safety higher than others. During the Customer Service training, we were asked to introduce ourselves and as I was at the back of the room, I was the last one. And I started stammering as soon as I tried to begin speaking as we had to say where we were located, who we were and what customer service meant to us. As Wednesday came to an end, the sky changed from blue and sunny to grey and cloudy, which meant only one thing.

I came back to work on Thursday morning and as was the case last Monday and Wednesday mornings, it snowed. But I was able to come in on time as I left ten minutes before 7AM.  With my new e-mail address in tow, I was able to help out in greater capacity. I was shown how to respond to handle the phones considering that the delivery trucks were not able to make pickups and donors needed to be called regarding re-scheduling. I felt apprehensive on the phone in comparison to the rest of my co-workers who were naturals at it. But I shined in answering web inquiries given an idea of what to say, I was able to pick out the addresses that were outside NYC, those who had items they didn’t pick up.  I even ended up with my own e-mail signature: Oswald Perez, Donation/Dispatch Associate, you have no idea how happy that made me.  As the day came to an end, the big question was still in the air: what would happen to me after the two weeks ended. I walked to the subway with my supervisor and found out that the shop manager specifically requested these two weeks and that any more time has to get approved by those higher up the ladder. On the subway ride home, reality set in. After two months of chasing this, it would almost be over as the next day was my last.

The fact that the job was ending on Valentine’s Day, was not lost on me. I have a love/hate relationship with this day since I was a child. I love all my friends who are coupled but hate that fact that I’ve not experienced my first love.  It snowed the day and night before but this time you know it was different when my dad couldn’t get his car backed out. He had to shovel out his car before he could drive off to work.  Walking to the bus stop was an adventure as the parts of the sidewalk that wasn’t snow covered were iced over. My supervisor text me that I had her permission not to come in but when I saw it, I was already getting on the Q 49 heading to Roosevelt Avenue.  And I still made it to work on time. Today was split between transcribing messages off another co-worker’s phone and answering a few web inquiries as it was a half day due to a previously scheduled appointment.  At 1:15PM, I said goodbye again to co-workers but without any of the fanfare that came the first time I left last October. After I got out of my therapist’s office around 2:35PM, I was walking toward Roosevelt Avenue when the 7 train passed overhead and a huge chunk of snow fell to the ground bellow below and I got out of the way just in time.

All things must pass, and this is no exception. But I now have the first steady and paid job for my resume and I got to spend two weeks in a happy place with people I hold dear. I took to the new skills I learned quickly, to the point that if they get new time approved and need the help, I am on call to them as they couldn’t offer me a permanent job.  I wish by some grace I could’ve stayed longer but it wasn’t meant to be.  I want to thank and can’t thank enough my supervisor for bending over backwards to help me get here and help me every step of the way during the time spent here. I also want to thank my fellow co-workers in the call center for making me feel welcome even if it was only for a brief period of time.  As I move on from here in trying to find a job and who knows if our paths will cross again at some point, this experience proved invaluable. You only get your first job only once and this chapter  has concluded.