Almost the end...

I have only 2 weeks of work left and then I am coming home for the summer. I am looking forward to coming home, but I will miss the friends I made and the people I have met out here dearly. The culture in Indiana is so different than Massachusetts. I admire the amount of respect people have for each other. Coming to Indiana has given me the chance to explore my life and what I want. It also gave me a chance to travel and have some experiences I will remember for the rest of my life.

Religion is one topic that has been introduced to me while visiting a southern state. Southern people are very religious and true to their beliefs. Melissa (2ND to the left) is Catholic and practices Catholicism on a regular basis. She goes to church faithfully and believes deeply in the religion. Her beliefs create values and morals and help her make decision about what she does in life. Melissa has made me think about my life and my religion. What do I believe? I honestly have never sat down with the bible to understand what it is all about.

I remember when my Nana used to take me to church when I was younger and preach to me how important it is to pray and have faith. When we stopped going to church I was upset, but then we began to go to church when we moved to Raynham and I never took it seriously. I would like to figure out what my beliefs are and decide what religion I really belong to. It's time to do some research.

I also admire Melissa's family. This past weekend we were invited to her house. We planned on having a BBQ and to attend Vanessa's softball game (her younger sister). When Krishna and I got to her house we were welcomed by her parents and they were so generous and welcoming. They prepared a home cooked BBQ to die for. Then we went to the softball game. Melissa's older sister, Cassandra, came home (from Indianapolis, 5Hrs North) just in time. When we got there, I realized her whole family was there to cheer Vanessa on at her game, two games in a row by the way.

During Middle and High School I was a cheerleader and we had games all the time. My brother played football and soccer but was never really into sports. I remember my parents being there for our games when we were younger but I don't really remember my parents being there for the baseball and football games I had to attend in High School. Is this a bad thing? Is our family torn apart? Or is our culture just a little different and it's completely normal?

I suppose having two hard working parents that work full time jobs and at one point both owned there own business' could be the explanation for this.

My mother is the strongest, most independent woman I know. She never asks for help from anybody. Should she be able to depend on family and fall back on them or should she still have that wall just in case? I almost feel like I am the same way. Sometimes I am a little stubborn and hard headed and don't except the help or support from others. Should we as humans create a standard for ourselves as to how low we can let our defense wall down? Or should we let ourselves depend on others as we want them to depend on us? Can we trust others?

It's Official...

I OFFICIALLY miss being home. Mom and Marco bet that I wouldn't make it more that two weeks. Well, it has been 40 days (and counting...) since I moved to Indiana. So I made it!

What's my purpose?

I am trying to figure out why we work. Do you think maybe it’s because we just need the money and this is the only way to get it? Do people actually like there job or do they just suck it up so they can survive and try to have a normal life (whatever normal may mean)?

I was walking through the plant today and I stopped to check out a piece of a project I am work on. The man working at that station came up to me and welcomed me by saying, “Good Morning”. We will call him Eric. Eric was so happy to see me because he knows I am working on designing a part of his process.

Toyota forces these team members to work straight through every second of the day. There is a break in the morning and a break in the afternoon along with a 45 minute lunch. Otherwise, these team members are moving as quickly as they can to keep up the pace. Eric was designing both the left hand and right hand pillars of the Toyota Tundra, plus transporting each completed rack to the next station.

As I look at this I start thinking to myself, “These people come here everyday to a job that is quite mindless but takes a lot a physical energy. I bet a lot of these people don’t even like what they do for a living but stick with it because the money is better than doing something they would enjoy.”

I can’t seem to stop thinking about what other occupations I could have chosen. I loved cheerleading and I would love to dance. I like to sing but was never given the opportunity to develop a voice that won’t break windows. I would love to work with children or do something to help other people. Am I helping others now or just being a selfish money lover?

Everyday I come to work early in the morning and leave late at night. Most of the time, I don’t see daylight except through the windows. My paycheck is huge but I go home to an empty apartment and a routine that’s quite boring. Ambition has somewhat dwindled since I don’t go to the gym as much as I should.

I love the work I do. I know I am helping everyone at the plant by coming up with solutions to there problems. I have been trained to find problems and practice problem solving techniques. What about the good part though? Why does there always have to be a problem?

I don’t think I am second guessing my occupation. Well in some ways I might be. But I go to work in the morning wearing the same clothes everyday with my hair pulled back ready to seat my hard cap. I am not happy with the way I look when I go to work or when I leave. I would love to have be able to dress in nice clothes like capris and heels but that can't happen at Toyota.

These are just some thoughts I've been having. UGH! Life is confusing.

Week number 4

It been almost a month now and I am officially a Toyota Employee with all the projects they have me working on. Today I went to Kentucky which was a 3 hour drive from Princeton. Toyotomy, which is another location that manufactures service parts for older model vehicles, is much smaller. We were only there for 2 hours and drove for a total of 6! When I got there we sat down in a conference room for a bid meeting. Four different companies were present and they all treated me like a real engineer, since I was designing the pallet they need to fabricate. It was neat to see how the process works. I design, draw, and tell them what to do; they slave and sweat to build what I want; they get paid all kinds of money and I get what they make. Interesting.

The trip was intriguing. We took a Toyota Sequoia, a company vehicle obviously, and it was me with 3 guys. Jeff (my team member), Dave (another coop), and Jay (the guy running the show on this project), and we all bonded pretty well. Apparently I talk a lot and the New England accent represents laziness. We don't pronounce our R's or T's and sometimes we create letters where they don't belong. For instance:

• - Car = Cah
• - House sounds like Moose (Don't know why this is. Try it out)
• - Park = Pahk
• - Someone else = someonelts
• - idea = idear

I'm sure you get the idear. I get picked on so many times for my accent and I can't pick on theirs because they are the majority! Kentucky people have a really bad accent too. They are the total Hicks of Hickville.

It has also been almost 2 weeks since Missie left and it's quite lonely in the apartment. So... I bought a hamster. Yep, that's right. Her name is Acelyn. Keeper made that one up (I made the spelling). She is so adorable. Every night she runs in her wheel forever! I would wake up at 1 in the morning because of it. Here is a picture of her. She is called a black bear hamster. She takes care of herself most of the time but I usually take her out for 30 minutes right before I go to bed. She's just starting to get used to walking around on me and on the floor. I love putting her in that pink ball because she can walk all around the house and I can do the dishes or cook dinner or just watch her.

I am getting used to staying here alone. I don't have to worry about listening to my music too loud or wanting the TV on or what kind of food I cook. Usually having roommates requires you to watch your every move. However, if I had the choice again, I would not choose to live alone. Having a dog would have been nice but eventually it would get tired of me working so many hours and I would be neglecting it. (Doesn't mean I don't want one anymore MOM!)
The other day I received a card in the mail. Now this was not just any card. This was a card from my family that I was not expecting at all. As soon as I opened it I cried. It was amazing. Whenever I was in cheerleading or part of a group everyone in the group would sign a card to say thank you. Well, I NEVER realized how much that means. Having my whole family tell me in just a few words how much they miss me and love me means oh so much. I cried tears of happiness. I HAD CROCODILE TEARS FOR GOD SAKES! So thank you to anyone who wrote in my card, especially Keeper.

I know we haven't been too close as siblings but now that we are older and growing up I think we need to get over what has happened in our past and prove to each other that we have one anothers back. You have grown up a lot. You are really starting to mature and finally realizing what life is all about. Life is what you make of it. If you make one decision that you are not so sure of then it's not what you want. However if you are scared of accomplishing something you really want, overcome your fears and take a chance. The only people who will be there for the rest of your life are your family. I have lost all my friends from High School and below. Jaimie whom I met in 6th grade turned to drugs and waitressing for a career. Stacy and I stopped talking for some reason I don't even know, but shes not their. Sonya and I stopped talking for nearly 2 years. Now she has a boyfriend and is living with him. She expects to be getting married soon. Nikki was too immature for me and now she is married and has a son. Jared was a loser and never worked out for me. That's just a story in itself. The only people who have stuck through thick and thin for me are my parents and family (which means the people who actually stay in contact with us). <-This is my experience. What's yours?

The gym has been treating me pretty good when I go. I have completely changed my diet and lifestyle. I feel much healthier and working at Toyota makes me happy, for now at least. Time is going to fly by and soon I will be home again in classes. Marco is coming to visit the weekend after Valentines and I cannot wait to see a familiar face. Oh Yea and for those of you who bet on me wanting to come home, I don't. I just miss you and I miss home. Doesn't mean I won't last hear because I can do it. And I will do it. And I will come back in the Fall like I promised. HAH!

Time for bed now! Talk to you soon. <3Always ME

Pictures of my first apartment!!

Indiana: The New Life

It's here. All my preparation to move to Indiana has finally paid off. I am in my new apartment and it's gorgeous. I will have pictures to show you soon. Everything is working: electric, cable, internet (obviously), and heat. Oh yes, and I have a dishwasher and an ice maker :-) ! This is my first apartment ever and for the first time I am living completely on my own. There are a list of bills to be paid, and to pay them I need to have a source of income called a JOB.

Tomorrow I start my new JOB, co-op if you will, at 6:30AM with orientation. Toyota's Manufacturing facility is pretty much the size of a city. Thankfully I won't be the only one pulling into the parking lot with a car besides Toyota. My mother and I drove through the parking lot and saw all kinds of cars including FORD, MERCURY, HONDA, etc.

Thank god Mom drove here with me. We had a blast even though it was 19 hours of straight highway. Pennsylvania was beautiful though. The mountains create a view that should never go unseen. Since we were on the road so much we were able to see the sun rise and set along the farm country, or so called Tornadoville. When we arrived to my new apartment my mother noticed she had the same type of apartment when I was born. The funny part is that we share the same bedroom location and size in which I lived the first few months of my life.

I share my apartment with Missie who is also a Toyota Co-op student. She just moved in today. Her husband and son came to help her set up. Her son is adorable and has the best manners I have ever seen a 7 year old have. Hopefully Missie and I will be able to develop a good friendship.

Wish me luck on my first day as a Toyota employee!