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Blogs by Paul Cuenco
Jordan 2/2/2012 10:30:03 PM
I like to work alone. Except for people I like to work with (which is a few of them) I like to work alone. Now at Leaf Guard, there seem to be more people I like to work with more and more. There is Charlie*, Karen*, Davidson* and Jordan*.
Today, I worked with Jordan. I learned that Jordan is just 22 years old, a college graduate and on his way to becoming a pastor. But before he becomes one, he is trying to gain the experience a pastor needs in order to lead his flock and to make sure that he truly wanted to be one before he commits his entire life. He was hired by Leaf Guard right after college from a divinity school right out of Eugene. He said that he didn’t even want to go to that school but a girl he likes is going there, therefore he went to himself. The relationship did not work out, but another girl caught his attention that led him to Portland.
He talks a lot. All throughout the nine hours of work, he did not stop talking. We converse on a whole set of topics, different ones that document the small happenstances that lead to where he is now. He was the middle child of a family of seven children. He started working at twelve as a landscape person. He went to college and now was employed as a marketing associate at Leaf Guard.
As a landscape person, he found enjoyment in designing a garden. But he figured that being in that profession will entail physical hardships. Never mind when youth could overcome the physical toll of tilling the soil. But as one ages, he sensed that it becomes harder to endure the requirements of the job. One could do the job at any age until thirty five. From thirty-five to forty-five, the physical pain begins to materialize. From forty-five onwards, one who is in the landscape profession, begins to retire…and then what?
At Leaf Guard, he was a loyal soldier. He was amazed that at this Home Show, he was being recruited by competing companies. His naivete made him a proponent for the company. And why not? The company’s product is among the best in the industry. Our bosses are kind. They are not mean spirited, rather they are flexible and considerate in the way they treat their employees. When it comes to pay, we get the same pay or better than the competitors. And he is available to work any day of the week so that he gets the hours; and he does.
We exchanged jokes the whole time that he made me laugh. For example, we danced but danced in a contrived manner. We just wiggled our head or shook our body “inside”, so that we did not move at all. Then he mentioned about tumbling. I jokingly said that I tumbled backwards. I can not but I don’t know if he took it seriously. And we made fun of ourselves the entire time. He went to the bathroom to relive himself five times. He said that this might be caused by the coffee he drank. We drank the same amount but I guess he was more affected than I am when drinking coffee.
When it was time to head home, there is this feeling I felt of shared exuberance. Nine hours of work seemed to be a few hours only that our day went real fast. He was fun to be with, exchanging jokes, points of view, recitation of our lives and our take on our company. But most of all, the guy I am tepid about in the beginning was now a buddy and a chum I have learned to become fond of.
“*” means that names are altered.
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