Monday, July 31, 2006
Miracle Whip vs. Mayo
So Friday night, my sister was over helping me put away groceries when I realized that I had just bought a 5 lb bag of potatos and my husband had bought a 5lb bag of potatos earlier that week. What in the world were we going to do with 10 lbs of potatos!!! I called my Grandma because she is literally known for her amazing potato salad. I figured it was the only logical thing to do - make potato salad and bring it on our weekend trip to Michigan. Dennis was still out at his brother's helping him with some flooring so I called and asked him to please bring me a large can of Miracle Whip and a dozen eggs when he came home. I stressed the fact that I needed Miracle Whip for my grandma's recipe. Well at about midnight, he comes wandering in with the largest jar of mayonnaise I have ever seen and no eggs. Since we were leaving by 9am for Michigan the next morning, there wasn't really time to go back to the store and get the ingredients I needed. Needless to say, I still have 10 lbs. of potatos. My argument is that he just didn't listen to me. His argument is that miracle whip and mayo are the same! Please tell me that is the nuttiest thing you have ever heard. I for one HATE mayonnaise and LOVE miracle whip. He thinks I am crazy now. Since the "grandfather sized" mayo cost about $8.00 I have sent him to return it and get the money back. I don't think I will ever use that much mayo in my entire life. yuck!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
The Myers Group - They Say "Julie's new husband doesn't want her to work - she retired!" Here is the real story.
So as many of you know, I started a new job back in May. It was something I had been considering doing for a while and was given the final abrupt push when I was fired in early May from The Myers Group Inc. DBA Management Recruiters of Kankakee County. Since I have never been fired in my life, you would think it would have been a bad experience, but really it turned out to be the answer to my prayers. The Myers Group was nothing more than a shotty company with shotty management run by an owner who knows nothing more than greed and intimidation. I was sick of the constant lies he pumped into his staff, sick of the astronomical turnover, sick of the hidden agenda, and sick of his attempts to mentally beat me up. I cannot begin to tell you how many times this jerk asked me to write letters to him about why I deserved to keep my job, told me I was worthless and naieve, and constantly pointed out that I was lucky to have the opportunity to work for his "world-class" company.
I'm sorry, but in my book a "world-class" company does not exist when you have a regualr staff of about 6 people and you turn-over at least 10-12 employees a year. A "world-class" company listens and reacts to the needs of it's employees. A "world-class" company doesn't micromanage every breath you take and find every opportunity to tell you how worthless you are. A "world-class" company doesn't advertise that they are members of a particualr organization in order to secure clients, when in reality they stopped paying dues 2 years prior." A "world-class" company also doesn't lie about invoices and AP/AR and threaten their office manager to never discuss when receivables came in the mail. The only reason I stayed for nearly 3 years was because I absolutely loved my actual job, and due to a ridiculous non-compete I signed, I didn't think I would be able to work anywhere else.
In my attempt to find a way to get out of this living hell, I talked with other ex-Myers Group employees. Believe me, there are probably over 100 of us out there, and I discovered that the owner actually attempted to sue some of them for continuing to work as recruiters after they left. I spoke with lawyers and I pulled the public-record court cases and found that he lost every case and also was counter-sued. In every case I was told that his "non-compete" was an illegal contract and could not be considered binding. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I also had some dirt to prove that the company was unethical and that I was treated unfairly time and again in terms of being paid my commissions on time. One of the last things I found was that we had been advertising that we were members of AMSA - The American Moving and Storage Association - since 1999. We stopped getting AMSA's newsletter a while ago. When I asked my boss why, he told me that AMSA stopped publishing a newsletter. In a later google search I found the newsletter was still up and running, I emailed AMSA and they told me that The Myers Group had not paid dues since 2004 and were in fact NOT members of AMSA. I printed this email for myself, and forwarded it to my home email address.
Then, the day after I pulled those court cases, and after I forwarded the email, I was mysteriously fired. When I asked why I was being fired, the owner said it was "with cause" and that I had "violated my electronic media covenant." Hmmmm does anyone else here think that either he has insiders at the court house or he somehow found out about my job interviewing? I asked him to be more specific and he told me I needed to "think long and hard about it" and that I would "figure it out." Basically there was no real reason. He owed me thousands of dollars in commissions and knew I wanted to leave and thought he could get out of paying me what he owed me.
Let's really think about it. If you have a business that is struggling so bad that you have to lie to your salespeople and withold their commissions, and you only have 3 people producing your revenue, would you really just fire one of them?
He then proceeded to "brag" to everyone else in the office that my wedding would be ruined because I would be unemployed, that I wouldn't be able to close on my house without verification of employment, and that he knew I would never find another job where I could make "this kind of money" Well guess what buddy - I have, it's better, and I will make much more money and be treated fairly and with respect.
He then proceeded to take the new girl he hired that week and instead of having her recruit in banking like he planned, he put her in my desk - moving and storage. He directed her to use all of the documents that I had created over the past 3 years and just change the signature to say her name instead of mine. He even attempted to secure exclusive contracts with clients that had been loyal to me. Needless to say, none of that was a success.
As I sit here in my new job, working with my new company, I can't help but laugh at all the phone calls coming in to me every day. People that I worked with in the past are calling The Myers Group looking for me. The new girl has been directed to tell them that "Julie Brewer got married and her husband didn't want her to work, so she retired." Yah ok honey, I am not quite at retirement age yet. Because these people know me, and know I would have been honest and told them I would be leaving had I known, they do a quick google search, find me, and call to laugh with me about what a hack job the new girl is doing and how unethical The Myers Group really is. On a daily basis I get calls from people telling me that "the new girl from The Myers Group" called them and she hadn't a clue what she was talking about. People even forward me emails she has sent them just to show me that she is essentially forging what was my work.
I agree that the work I did while I was with The Myers Group is considered to be property of The Myers Group. And they can have all the data, notes, and paperwork I created while I was there. But the one thing they can't have is my personality, my successful ability to make and maintain relationships, my charisma and charm...the one thing that the Myer's Group can't have is me. They didn't want me. And without me, they will no longer enjoy the success they once had. This should be the biggest lesson ever to the owner. Candidates and Clients don't work The Myers Group because of the reputation of The Myers Group. They work with Julie Brewer i.e. Julie Smith because they liked her.
But really who am I anyway, just a naieve, small-minded, bad seed. Call me what you will, and say what you will say, but anyone looking in from the outside can see me for who I really am. I am smart, successful, and young. And as young as I am, I will become a much bigger success with much bigger accomplishments in my lifetime than the owner of The Myers Group ever had.
And as I look back on what my working life was like while I was there, I know I made the right decision. I was a hard working, dedicated employee. I was always the one in the office to come up with new ideas, new forms, ways of streamlining things. I managed my day meticulously to make the most out of it and I truly cared about improving myself as a recruiter. While all the other employees are local people who drive 2-10 minutes to get to the office, I drove over an hour to get there and usually 90 minutes to get home. I truly cared about my job. And what did I get for it? not much. Not only that, but other ex-employees have started telling me how the owner told them that if they collected unemployment he would give them a bad reference, he would never hire a minority, he would tell one of us one thing and another one of us something entirely different. There were so many lies that he couldn't even manage them. You can't work for a company like that. You never know what to expect and you always worry if your boss is being honest with you. Eliminating that stress from my life has turned my whole perspective around and I am now achieving more success than ever before. Had I not been fired, I surely would have resigned, but I guess I can thank the ex-boss for getting me to a better place faster than I ever thought possible. What goes around comes around and now I am getting what I deserve.
I'm sorry, but in my book a "world-class" company does not exist when you have a regualr staff of about 6 people and you turn-over at least 10-12 employees a year. A "world-class" company listens and reacts to the needs of it's employees. A "world-class" company doesn't micromanage every breath you take and find every opportunity to tell you how worthless you are. A "world-class" company doesn't advertise that they are members of a particualr organization in order to secure clients, when in reality they stopped paying dues 2 years prior." A "world-class" company also doesn't lie about invoices and AP/AR and threaten their office manager to never discuss when receivables came in the mail. The only reason I stayed for nearly 3 years was because I absolutely loved my actual job, and due to a ridiculous non-compete I signed, I didn't think I would be able to work anywhere else.
In my attempt to find a way to get out of this living hell, I talked with other ex-Myers Group employees. Believe me, there are probably over 100 of us out there, and I discovered that the owner actually attempted to sue some of them for continuing to work as recruiters after they left. I spoke with lawyers and I pulled the public-record court cases and found that he lost every case and also was counter-sued. In every case I was told that his "non-compete" was an illegal contract and could not be considered binding. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I also had some dirt to prove that the company was unethical and that I was treated unfairly time and again in terms of being paid my commissions on time. One of the last things I found was that we had been advertising that we were members of AMSA - The American Moving and Storage Association - since 1999. We stopped getting AMSA's newsletter a while ago. When I asked my boss why, he told me that AMSA stopped publishing a newsletter. In a later google search I found the newsletter was still up and running, I emailed AMSA and they told me that The Myers Group had not paid dues since 2004 and were in fact NOT members of AMSA. I printed this email for myself, and forwarded it to my home email address.
Then, the day after I pulled those court cases, and after I forwarded the email, I was mysteriously fired. When I asked why I was being fired, the owner said it was "with cause" and that I had "violated my electronic media covenant." Hmmmm does anyone else here think that either he has insiders at the court house or he somehow found out about my job interviewing? I asked him to be more specific and he told me I needed to "think long and hard about it" and that I would "figure it out." Basically there was no real reason. He owed me thousands of dollars in commissions and knew I wanted to leave and thought he could get out of paying me what he owed me.
Let's really think about it. If you have a business that is struggling so bad that you have to lie to your salespeople and withold their commissions, and you only have 3 people producing your revenue, would you really just fire one of them?
He then proceeded to "brag" to everyone else in the office that my wedding would be ruined because I would be unemployed, that I wouldn't be able to close on my house without verification of employment, and that he knew I would never find another job where I could make "this kind of money" Well guess what buddy - I have, it's better, and I will make much more money and be treated fairly and with respect.
He then proceeded to take the new girl he hired that week and instead of having her recruit in banking like he planned, he put her in my desk - moving and storage. He directed her to use all of the documents that I had created over the past 3 years and just change the signature to say her name instead of mine. He even attempted to secure exclusive contracts with clients that had been loyal to me. Needless to say, none of that was a success.
As I sit here in my new job, working with my new company, I can't help but laugh at all the phone calls coming in to me every day. People that I worked with in the past are calling The Myers Group looking for me. The new girl has been directed to tell them that "Julie Brewer got married and her husband didn't want her to work, so she retired." Yah ok honey, I am not quite at retirement age yet. Because these people know me, and know I would have been honest and told them I would be leaving had I known, they do a quick google search, find me, and call to laugh with me about what a hack job the new girl is doing and how unethical The Myers Group really is. On a daily basis I get calls from people telling me that "the new girl from The Myers Group" called them and she hadn't a clue what she was talking about. People even forward me emails she has sent them just to show me that she is essentially forging what was my work.
I agree that the work I did while I was with The Myers Group is considered to be property of The Myers Group. And they can have all the data, notes, and paperwork I created while I was there. But the one thing they can't have is my personality, my successful ability to make and maintain relationships, my charisma and charm...the one thing that the Myer's Group can't have is me. They didn't want me. And without me, they will no longer enjoy the success they once had. This should be the biggest lesson ever to the owner. Candidates and Clients don't work The Myers Group because of the reputation of The Myers Group. They work with Julie Brewer i.e. Julie Smith because they liked her.
But really who am I anyway, just a naieve, small-minded, bad seed. Call me what you will, and say what you will say, but anyone looking in from the outside can see me for who I really am. I am smart, successful, and young. And as young as I am, I will become a much bigger success with much bigger accomplishments in my lifetime than the owner of The Myers Group ever had.
And as I look back on what my working life was like while I was there, I know I made the right decision. I was a hard working, dedicated employee. I was always the one in the office to come up with new ideas, new forms, ways of streamlining things. I managed my day meticulously to make the most out of it and I truly cared about improving myself as a recruiter. While all the other employees are local people who drive 2-10 minutes to get to the office, I drove over an hour to get there and usually 90 minutes to get home. I truly cared about my job. And what did I get for it? not much. Not only that, but other ex-employees have started telling me how the owner told them that if they collected unemployment he would give them a bad reference, he would never hire a minority, he would tell one of us one thing and another one of us something entirely different. There were so many lies that he couldn't even manage them. You can't work for a company like that. You never know what to expect and you always worry if your boss is being honest with you. Eliminating that stress from my life has turned my whole perspective around and I am now achieving more success than ever before. Had I not been fired, I surely would have resigned, but I guess I can thank the ex-boss for getting me to a better place faster than I ever thought possible. What goes around comes around and now I am getting what I deserve.
SpotBot
I got the SpotBot for Christmas from my mom, and let me tell you, it is a wonderful gift. If you like red wine, spaghetti sauce, or have three small dogs, like I do, then the SpotBot could be the answer to your carpet-cleaning prayers. Whether it's a new stain or an old stain, SpotBot will rescue your carpeting and bring it back to looking like new. There are different solutions to use in the SpotBot based on the type of stain you are trying to eliminate. It is simple to use. You literally fill the cleaning tank up, set the SpotBot on top of the stain and press the start button. 6 minutes later you have a clean carpet. This is something I highly recommend for any household. Check out the Bissel website to learn more about it.
Bowling for Bjorklund
On Saturday night, we went to Orland Bowl for a fundraiser for the house that Dennis's older brother, Ray, lives in - the Bjorklund House. There was a candlelight bowl, a buffet dinner, raffles, prizes, and drinks. Everyone had a great time and the whole family made it out. Here are some of the pictures.
The Brothers: from youngest to oldest:
Greg, Dennis, and Ray
Linda and Shelley bowling
Husband and Wife team: Greg and Linda
The Balls
Sister (in-laws) : Linda, Julie and Shelley
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Blogging
Jen got her blog up and running today so I felt the need to enhance mine a bit. After much studying, I figured out how to put links on my blog. I added a few but over time I am sure I will be adding many more. I also learned how to post my picture on my profile page. I copied the one from my work website- it works! Anyway, it is now 11:30 and I really should get to bed. It's been a long day for me. Work started literally at about 6:30am. Dennis's family was here for a big dinner tonight for his grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. And since they left I have been working on updating and managing my blog. Good night all!
Monday, July 10, 2006
Wilson-Gray Inc. - Sales Meeting, June 2006
In June 2006, The Movers Search Group Division of Wilson-Gray Inc. headed to Guntersville, AL for a 4-day sales meeting. Here is where we stayed and some pictures of us all hard at work (and at play) :)
Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, AL - about an hour north of Birmingham....
Some of the scenery around our cabin...
And here is the cabin that we stayed in for the long weekend...
From right to left...Julie, Rick, Chris, and Jim enjoy our meal on our first night there.
Around the table from Left to right...Julie, Rick, Chris, Jim, Bart, Kurt, Mark and Monica at the restaurant...they had great Merlot and the best fresh tomato and homemade motzarella salad!
Let the presentations begin! Mark starts with his presentation as we all take notes.
Taking a break outside on the deck.
Jim reels in the big one! Fishing at night - on our second night there.
And back to business. Julie, Mark, and Monica listening to another presentation..
What a nice view!
From Lef to right - Chris, Jim, Monica, Mark, Rick, Julie and Kurt
Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, AL - about an hour north of Birmingham....
Some of the scenery around our cabin...
And here is the cabin that we stayed in for the long weekend...
From right to left...Julie, Rick, Chris, and Jim enjoy our meal on our first night there.
Around the table from Left to right...Julie, Rick, Chris, Jim, Bart, Kurt, Mark and Monica at the restaurant...they had great Merlot and the best fresh tomato and homemade motzarella salad!
Let the presentations begin! Mark starts with his presentation as we all take notes.
Taking a break outside on the deck.
Jim reels in the big one! Fishing at night - on our second night there.
And back to business. Julie, Mark, and Monica listening to another presentation..
What a nice view!
From Lef to right - Chris, Jim, Monica, Mark, Rick, Julie and Kurt
And back at the Birmingham airport - time to go home :( Mark helps Jim and Julie unload their suitcases and get back to Chicago and Jacksonville. Don't you just love my pink suitcase!
Finally - Pictures of the House!
Here it is....the moment we have all been waiting for. The Smith's new home is FINALLY finished!
Welcome home Julie!
Welcome home Den!
Well, many of you have been asking for pictures of the house. Since we have finally gotten totaly unpacked, put things away, hung things up, and got my internet up and running on my home PC, I am ready to post. Unfortunatley, I posted backwards and the pictures start with the basement and go to the outside, but you get the idea. Here it is - our new abode! We love it!
Here is the back half of the basement looking into the crawlspace.
This is the right space of the basement. You can see all the fitness equipment, which we really need to start using!
Basement - This is the Left side of the basement. It is 2/3 basement 1/3 crawl space. You can see the crawlspace in the background.
Julie's corner in Den's office with her personal computer. In fact, she is sitting here right now posting these pictures on the blog.
Bedroom 4 - AKA Den's office - His new desk all set up for gaming
Bedroom 3 -
Guest bathroom in upstairs hallway
Guest Bathroom in the upstairs hallway
Bedroom 2 - guest room
Bedroom 2 - looking in from the hall
Master Bathroom - attached to bedroom - spa tub to the right and you can see the shower in the mirror. The walk-in closet is on the left, but you can't really see it here.
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom
Laundry room and entryay in to the garage.
Powder room on the main floor.
Julie's home office again
Well this was suppose to be Den's den - but as it turned out, this is Julie's home office - furnished by Wilson-Gray Inc.
And this is where the doggy's stay - the puppy condos in the family room as well.
The family room. Dennis's pride and new joy - a new 40" sony flatscreen in the middle of the entertainment center.
Looking into the kitchen from the family room
Looking into the kitchen from the dining room.
Here is the dining room - also looking down from the stairway. This was an impulse buy, but we love it and our china looks great inside the cabinet. 
Our china in the new chinca cabinet - how beautiful!
The serving pieces and our crystal is above....
Looking down the stairway you can see the living room. Julie's vase collection adorns the transom windows - how lovely!
And the grand entryway - you can see BamBam making his grand entrance in the foyer. Here we choose a green African slate for the flooring.
Here is a picture of the back of the house. We definitely need to get landscaping someday.
Here is our backyard. As you can see, we are backed right up to the pond. If you look closely you can see Dennis at the other end of the property line. It's a pretty big yard and our puppies love it!
Here we have the front of the house. We just got our grass put in the week before and it's doing pretty good. As you can see, Dennis's big ol' truck takes up a lot of the garage. Luckily there is still room for my itty bitty car!
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