Hello from Viet Nam...

Hello from Viet Nam….

Me, Traveling through some parts of Vietnam on the motorbike…

I am on the boat on Mekong Delta…

If I had 3 wishes to make...

Tibar,

You really made me feel so emotional by watching the slide showes. I think that if I had 3 wishes to make... I would definitely wish to have all of us together again. Nothing will compare to what we all were at one point... we were a big proud family. Once again... thanks! I am sure those who worked at the center for many years understand me more than others. Hugz to all! Miss you all.

-Frank

Dude, It's a Dell.

Hey everyone!

Great to hear from you all! I started my new job with Dell (dude, it's a Dell) this week in Buffalo Grove. I have a few months of training till I enter my position as an Account Manager in Licensing Agreements for business applications. The drive is not any better, in fact, I drive by the call center twice a day! The parking lot is nearly empty. Dell is great so far. Benefits start the first day, discounts on anything Dell, holidays & weekends off etc. Check out their web site for opportunities or let me know if your interested & maybe I can put in a good word. marc_busboom@asap.com Glad to hear everyone is doing well & stay in touch.

Thanks for getting this started Precious!!

Best of luck to everyone

Marc

Last Day on the Job:

I thought this email was kind of fitting to all my call center people!!

-Mary Bliedl

It's Bama!!!

Hey Everyone!!!

In case you dont know who this is, it's BAMA!!(Raychel)
I'm sure everyone is wondering if I had the baby yet,,not yet, but by March 25, my lil boy will be born, if not sooner! I'm doing quite alright, been just maintaining at the crib! Getting prepared for the this boy to come out kicking!! I'll make sure that once he is born, I'll let everyone know. I'm going to try to send pics thru the email. But I'm very glad to hear everyone has been doing okay! I have to say I was shocked to open my email and see all these emails from everyone. But I'll try my best to K.I.T. And please keep me updated on the jobs, because I'm sure going to need as many leads as possible once I'm ready to return to work! I miss everyone!!!! But I'm here, so ya'll is more than welcome to holla this way whenever you may feel...I dont have a computer, but I do have access to one, so I'll respond and keep everyone updated as much as possible....

Until then, everyone take care and keep ya'll heads up!!

Raychel

It's My Turn!

Ok, so now it's my turn! Hi everyone (It's Maribeth)... Just looked at my email for the first time in about a week. It is great to hear from everyone! I'm glad to know that you are all doing well and enjoy what you are doing, whether it be working or staying at home. As for me, I think I was the first one to actually leave. I started my new job January 7th.I am currently working for a company called ACS, which is located in Schaumburg. I take phone calls from Goodyear Tire associates in regards to HR issues and payroll issues. It's nice because it is M-F, 8-430 but there are less than 10 people working here and the ladies are all older and they do a lot of whispering, which definitely does not make me feel very comfortable, BUT, it's a job, and it's closer, and I get off earlier each day. I have started taking a class at Harper, which will allow me to be able to teach middle school. I am hoping that come August, I will be back in the classroom. That is the only thing I want right now. I really miss working with kids...So, if anyone has any hook ups in any schools, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pass my name along. On top of working during the day and my class on Monday nights, I am working about 10-15 hours at my part time job... I feel like I just don't stop. Come the weekends, I am so tired that I don't want to do anything. Oh well, have to pay the bills! Well, Nick and I have been talking about getting married eventually. We have been together for almost 2 years, so I'm hoping I see a ring in the next couple of months. I think that's all for me now. I should probably get back to doing some work. Hope to see you all soon!

Maribeth

What a Pleasant Surprise to Hear from Everyone.

What a pleasant surprise to hear from everyone. As most of you already knew I got a job at The International Academy of Design & Technology, so far so good. I enjoy the Chicago Loop environment, lots of shopping at lunch time . I do miss all of you guys, I never thought I would enjoy going to work like I did when I worked with all of you. Not much else to say at this time. I would like to get together with you all just to catch up (even though I don't drink) I would just like to see everyone again. Hope to hear from all of you soon! Thanks Precious for getting this started!

RaeDell

Hey, Yall it's Tina.

Hey, yall it's Tina I am so glad to hear from you guys nothin is goin on with me I'm working in the telesales department at u.s cellular and I love it! I thought I would hate it but the money is good and the people actually take the time to speak to you. even if they don't know you aint that some shockin S**t. I do miss all of you guys especially suzy and precious, maritza and frank who i thought forgot about us for a while.Im glad things are going well for everyone. I'm still in school for mortuary science and things are going well....so far
LUV YU GUYS I MISS YOU

It's me Maritza...

its me maritza it was so great to hear from some of u guys and see that u are all doing ok ,im still at home no new job yet i guess it was time for a break ,iv been home with my kids my daughter she has started growing teeath and she now starting to crawl i miss all u guys every day i hope you are all doing great
lots of kisses and love from me

:o/

I miss you too Frankie, we definitely need to talk!!! And Marquita, congrats!

Does that mean we're having a crazy wild 'should be in Vegas so it can stay in Vegas' bachelorette party?

:o/

Starrykae

I Wish All of You the Best of Luck.

What I want to know is, Did any body work today? I have not worked in 3 weeks. I may never work again. I am going to see the Dali Lama to find out the meaning of life, and how Home Depot plays a part in that. I know what he is going to say. He is going to say "Gene, the store sucks, relieve yourself of this burden and get Social Security." Had the call center remained open I would have stayed with H.D. for many more years. I liked working with everyone there. Every day was full of fun, and I felt like I had a lot of frends. Glad to here that everyone is doing well. I wish all of you the best of luck.

gene

Great way to keep in touch.

Hello EVERYONE!!

Just like everyone else I am missing all of you and the wackie fun house, we called a call center! and I want to say Thank you Precious for starting this! I thinks its a great way to keep in touch.

As far as me I am doing as well as expected. I still am working at the store and to be honest it has its ups and downs! I do the order writing and expaditing for dept 23 and 59, and have picked up a few extra skills thay threw at me. But just like Frank I am SOOO BUSY!!! I have not had time to really get to know all the other associates as well as I would like because of my extensive work load! And more days then not there is not enough time in the day to get all the stuff done. BUT I am left alone to my own devises and my own way of doing things wich is nice, And for the most part what I say goes.

As far as the kids thay are doing fine, Johnathan is in Kindergarden and will be repeating it agen next year due to some learning curves. and Chelsea has now come up with an extensive vocabulary wich includes some words we are rather not proud of. But other then that nothing much else has been going on. I hope everyone is doing great! and I hope to keep in touch with all of you!

Karen

Hello to All.

hello to all

am so happy to hear from some of u guys !
I miss all my thd friends
well about me am getting very big am 7 months preg just 2 months to go and my
baby girl will be here. my 2 boys are doing good my baby shower is in april 26
so if anyone wants to come let me know. well my plans are to go back to work
around sept I might try the store if not am going to work for the school
district where I live as a assit for the bus drivers it does not pay a lot but I
will be close to my kids.
well I wish u all the best!

frank llamame!
hope to hear from more of u guys!
bye my friends ! jessica

Hello my Home Depot Family

Hello Everyone,

So far so good I have not found a job yet I was working at Coca Cola for a minute I quit I didnt like it the hours was good I just didnt like the job so right now I am still looking I had alot of interviews but the pay was not right but right but i do have a 2nd interview for this job i really want Monday but far as my two boys they are fine. Also, for those who do not know I am getting Marrried August 9th for those who will like to come just email me your address so I can send you an invitation I am not sending them out until May.


(Message from MARQUITA BUFORD)

Hello Everyone!!!

Hello everyone!!!

It is extremely excisting to hear from Precious, Suzy, and Mary so far.

Let me tell you a bit about what is going on in my lame life. lol I am still stuck at the store, of course. The enviroment is completely different. It took me a while to get use to it. I am still working on it. It's still kind of to much for me. There is no such thing as professionalism in the store. You guys know me... I am all about that! lol Well, so far everyone seems to like me, that's a plus. I am always super busy... you guys have to understand that I am the orderwiter, sales associate, and the freaking expeditor. I do it all! Truely, in the long run it's all good. No one bothers me. I go in and out. The hours are not bad at all. I am hoping to stay there for quite some time. It's not the best, but hey... it pays the bills. I have not forgotten about school... that is still in my plans. I have tons of work to do. By the way Precious, I am still working on your special project. =) I get back to you on that one. I am still trying so hard to get back into the gym... no luck so far. What should I do? lol I'll worry about that another day. Well, I wish you all good luck! I do miss each and every one of you. I will never forget my Home Services Call Center family!!!

Suzy, keep your hopes up. I hope you find something soon. You have lots of talent. lol

Mary, YAAAAAY! Miss that for sure.

Shellie, I am glad things worked out for you.

Precious, we'll have a private converstation. Llamame! lol

ONCE AGAIN... I MISS YOU ALL!!!!

WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE FROM OTHERS... LOL

Sincerely,



Francisco Cantoran
(847)772-7978
itsmefranco@yahoo.com

Thanks for sending this Precious.

Thanks for sending this, Precious. I miss you guys as well.

I'm still looking for a job and becoming really frustrated. Anything I find that I like pays way to little. I've gotten myself in such a financial hole that I don't want to start a new job knowing that I'm digging it even bigger! Looks like I no longer have the luxury of being picky and will have to find something sooner rather that later.

Liquor sounds good! Let's meet.

Keep in touch....

Suzy

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey you guys!!! You guys know that if you send me an email that I would have to do one thing . . . YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY EVERYBODY!! I do yayyyys by emails and also by phone. My number is on the contact list. If you need a yayyyyyyyyyyyy call me!!

Wish me luck, I have a job interview next week. More money and better hours!! I never knew such a thing existed!!

Ok, I have to do it again . . . . YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

Thank you Precious for typing in all the email addresses!!

=) Mary

Hello Everyone!

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to drop a quick line to reiterate Precious, I miss everyone as well. That was crazy to hear that it took so long to get paid I got my regular pay and my "severance" all on the next pay period after we left. It was actually a nice surprise to open up the mail and have a fat check that you weren't expecting. I started working 1 week after our last day, one of the companies that came to the job fair ConferencePlus hired me it is a little less money but the insurance is super cheep so it is a wash. I was very impressed with the atmosphere when I interviewed everyone is very friendly and relaxed. Another big plus is that we use equipment that was made in the 21st century. They are having a recruitment open house in July if anyone wants to interview let me know I would get a 75.00 bonus.

The kids are getting big My daughter turns 4 next month. she will start pre-school in the fall. My son is starting to talk and getting into everything My wife sprained her ankle twice but I will not have to put her down as I first thought I may. Overall everything is fine and I do miss The People @ THD it felt like family there and sucks that it had to end.

Shellie Mendenall

Update Notes:

Note that Don Cash's e-mail address isn't valid and
Antoinette Smith's e-mail addresses aren't valid. I
had to change Cornelia's e-mail address to
cserbanescu@comast.net because there is no period in
her e-mail address. A few kinks on our contact list,
but we'll work em out. PEACE!!!

:o)

It's Precious--- if you guys delete this, I'm comin for ya

Ahhhh, yes...I bet you guys thought you were safe. lol.

I told you I would stalk you guys (online, at least). And I will. It just took me forever to create this e-mail, because there are a lot of flippin e-mail addresses to type in. I'm a procrastinator that way. Anyhoo, it's been awhile since I've talked to a lot of people. A big part of that is because THD felt that they should wait a month before sending me my last work check. I just received it two days ago. I wasn't good company to be around prior to that point. lol. I was on the phone with them every two days. Was I shocked? No. Do I miss you guys TERRIBLY? Yeah. As a matter of fact, we need to set up a date to go out for drinks, pronto. I'm going through Homey-Slash-Co-Worker Withdrawal. Let's call it HSCWW for short.

I hope you guys are doing well. The reason I started this ginormous mass e-mail is so that people can give updates on what is going on with them and how they've been doing thus far. All you have to do for everyone to view the e-mail is hit Reply All instead of hitting Reply. If you would like to respond to a sender and you only want the sender to view the e-mail and not everyone else, hit just the Reply button.

My story is that I'm still working from home at this point. I'm still keeping an eye out there for good jobs, but I definitely don't want to settle for something I don't feel will fit me. I've lost more than 20 lbs since you guys have last seen me. It could because I've gone back to Muay Thai kickboxing training. It COULD be because of the stress of not having my money from Home Depot. *laughs* I'm not sure. Either way, yay at that. I've got more to go before I get to where I want to be. It's almost swimsuit season, folks. I looked back at a few pictures of myself that we took on those last "We've Been Laid Off, Hooray" celebration days. My rack was looking like a twin set of pendulums. Nobody told me, but that's okay, I forgive you :o) lol. And if you don't laugh at that line, you're a tough crowd.

See, what are you guys going to do without my perverted humor? lol!!! I miss you all. If you know someone else's e-mail address that isn't on this list, definitely feel free to add it. I only added the ones on the contact list. If you don't have my Myspace added yet, I...I have 3 of them, actually. My personal one is www.myspace.com/kaelastarr. All right, it's going to sound corny at this point because I've said it about 3 or 4 times, but...I miss you guys! I hope positive things are happening in your lives right now. Whether it's positive or negative, I want to hear about it. And...liquor. I want liquor.

We need to hang. lol.

*Hugs*

P. San

I Finally Got a Job!!

Hello everyone! Susan it is nice to hear that things are going well for you and you are all settled into your store. Me, on the other hand, has been looking for work since before we actually left the call center. BUT the search is finally over! I accepted a position as a Mental Health Counselor at Streamwood Behavioral Health Center, it is a residential treatment facility for children and adolescents (ages 4 to 17). I know what a wide range of ages. As of right now, I am employed on the acute unit where I would see individuals who are in immediate danger, treat them, stabilize them, and then allow them to return to their respective homes. This is quite exciting for me, however, I am also quite anxious over this as well--it has been quite awhile since I have worked in this capacity. I am definitely looking forward to having such a rewarding job again! I start on Monday and have two weeks of training and then off to the races I go! I am sure that my mother is excited for me as well, because now my checks will be more efficient than the ones I got from unemployment and I won't be needing to borrow any money from her!! I will keep everyone posted as to what goes on with the job and everything!

Other than searching for a job I have been keeping myself busy. I have gone to Wolves games, The Field Museum and the Art Institute (since they were both Free in February), and of course just all around vegged out!

Take care of yourselves and let us all know what is going on with you!!

Helllooooo. . . Is anybody there. . . ?

I'm now up and running at Evanston 1902 and when I say running, that's no exaggeration. It's been a few years since I last worked in a store and much has changed. In some ways, things have been simplified but the one thing that hasn't is how much of your day you spend on your feet! I've also recovered my stiff neck from searching for products in the overheads!

I am very impressed by the condition of this store and by the quality of the management team here. The new manager has converted an old, worn out facility to a beautiful, clean and very shop-able one. The associates I work with have been very helpful as I learn my new department and they have welcomed me into their family completely. I expected to feel like a stranger for awhile but I was treated like one of the team from day one. My SASM is a joy to work with and has been extremely supportive and encouraging.

Cutting down on my commute time has been a tremendous benefit of this move. I'm down to 20 minutes from 1 1/2 hours each way. The hours are definitely one of the down sides and it's taking a bit of getting used to. As a DS, I no longer have two days off together--welcome to the wonderful world of retail management!

I still miss the CCC family and think of all of you often. I hope everyone has adapted to their new situations well and are moving ahead. My new joy is the addition of a beautiful cat to my life who welcomes me home each night. She's great company (although she tries to eat my plants!) and I'm happy to have the time to share with her, now that I'm not on the road so much.

Hopefully, you'll make the time to touch base from time to time so we can keep up with where and how we've all landed since leaving the CCC. So that's my update--now, who's next??!!

Entry from Evanston, Susan.

THIS IS A DAILY MOTIVATION

TITLE: NO WORRY.

HERE'S A SIMPLE, EASY WAY TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE AND PROFOUND IMPROVEMENT IN THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE. STOP WORRYING. THE NEXT TIME YOU CATCH YOURSELF WRAPPING YOUR MIND AROUND A WORRY, CHOOSE TO LET THAT WORRY FALL COMPLETELY AWAY. NOTICE HOW MUCH MORE POSTIVE AND EFFECTIVE YOU SUDDENLY ARE.

WORRY POISONS YOUR THOUGHTS AND KEEPS LIFE'S BEST OPPORTUNITIES HIDDEN FROM YOU. WORRY ACTUALLY INCREASES THE POWER AND INFLUENCE OF THOSE UNDESIRABLE THINGS YOU WORRY ABOUT. CERTAINLY ITS IMPORTANT TO LOOKE CLEARLY AND REALISTICALLY AT LIFE'S DANGERS, PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES. YET THERE IS NOTHING TO BE GAINED BY WORRYING ABOUT THEM.

CHOOSE TO REPLACE EACH NEGATIVE WORRY WITH POSITIVE ACTION. INSTEAD OF LOOKING DOWN, PICK YOURSELF UP AND MOVE FORWARD. EVERY MOMENT IS FILLED WITH COUNTLESS OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE LASTING VALUE. STOP WORRYING, AND START LIVING WITH RICHNESS, PURPOSE AND REAL JOY.


PS.... THIS IS JUST SOMETHING TO GO BY AND THINK ABOUT IN THE JOURNEY THAT EACH OF US TAKES IN MOVING ON WITH OUR LIVES IN 08. I WILL MISS A LOT OF YOU AND TO THE ONES THAT I DIDNT KNOW AND ALL GOOD LUCK IN EVERYTHING THAT YOU DECIDE TO DO IN THIS LIFE. AND GOD BLESS.
MS. BREE

Top 5 Ways To Annoy Your Co-Workers

This clip was obtained from an actual job post that's listed on CareerBuilders.com for the company Marketing FX, Inc. I didn't apply for the job, but I found their job posting opener hilarious. :o)

The Top 5 Ways to Annoy Your Co-Workers

1) Page yourself over the intercom but DO NOT disguise your voice.
2) Send e-mails to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you are doing- for example, "In case anyone needs me, I'll be in the bathroom."
3) Put a chair facing a printer and sit there all day telling people you are waiting for a document.
4) Every time a co-worker asks you to do something, ask them if they would like fries with that.
5) Steal everyone’s stapler then ask them to borrow it.

A few of those sound familiar, don't they?


Precious Starr "PSan"

OWA 23, 30 & 59 Family

IRA Family

We are one big happy family--Here we are joined together to share Brian's birthday and making it one to definately remember.
Top L to R: Anna F, Diana A, Donna A, Angie L, Brian G. Bottom L to R: Brad G, Michelle M, Lynn O, and Paul P.