News (More like scandalous details about my former job)

Wow! I can't believe that May is almost here!

     It's been a while since I've posted just some random, day to day news about my life, however, the news I have is really far from random. Tomorrow, it'll be a month since I left my job at the restaurant. After almost a year and I had finally had it with my boss. To be honest, I enjoyed my work as a waitress, but both of my bosses were very difficult to deal with. They were a father and son and to be honest they were not the most fair of employers. 

• They cheated the waitresses out of their pay (I was suppose to be making around $50 a week, I was only making $26.50)

• They were violating health service laws (smoking indoors, using expired food, continuing to serve alcohol pass the actual closing time, etc.)

• If a waitresses made an order mistake with food, then they expected the waitresses to pay for the food.

•  They allowed men to harass waitresses. 

• If a waitress left and asked them for a reference then they would say that this particular worker was lazy, selfish, late, argumentative, etc.

• After one waitress left, they went to that person's house and threatened them to never talk about where they worked before.

• They allowed several drug deals to go on outside the restaurant.

• They hired heroin addicts. 

• Once my boss "came on to me" by coming up next to me and beginning to stroke my back, which made me very uncomfortable.

     So, as you can imagine it was time for me to leave. After an incident where my boss threatened to fire me for telling the truth, I was well and truly done. My boss had been smoking inside the restaurant and several customers could smell it. They asked me about it and while I was tempted to lie, I said that it was the boss. One of the customers was highly sensitiveness to smoke and they weren't able to stay because she was beginning to have an allergy attack. 

     My boss came out and asked them what was going on and the customers confronted him saying that smoking inside of a building was a health violation and against the law. My boss then bold face lied to their faces and told them he hadn't been smoking! The customers then pointed out that they had asked the waitress and I had said that he had been the one smoking prior to them entering the building.

     After they left, my boss was enraged and went off on me. Spewing nonsense such as "How could you do something like that?? And if you ever do something that stupid again, I will fire you!" If I do something stupid? You were the one breaking the law genius and you're taking it out on me because you effed up and got caught. So, finally I made the command decision to leave after my shift and I did.

     And it has been glorious! I've been helping my mom with her business Virginia Soaps & Scents which has been a Godsend for her and I've really enjoyed being in the shop. Meanwhile, I have been looking for another job and I finally have a job interview!!!

     On May 14, I have a job interview for a full time job at The Children's Center in Suffolk! This would be an amazing career opportunity for me and I'm so excited! So prayers for a successful interview would be much appreciated!

     It is unfortunate that I stayed in my former job situation for so long, allowing myself to go under such abuse so I can make next to nothing. Thankfully, not all food service jobs are like this, but I would hope that anyone who finds themselves in situations where their moral decisions are compromised will find the strength to get out. 

Goodreads Reviews: Self-Raised

Self Raised by E.D.E.N. Southworth

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Upon finishing Ishmael, I was excited to read up on its sequel Self-Raised. However, I was somewhat disappointed, solely because the whole story did not focus on Ishmael, but rather the melodrama of Claudia Merlin. In the first book, Claudia Merlin is the spoiled, selfish heiress who has captured Ishmael's heart, but Claudia who is so intent on money and title could never see lowly Ishmael as her equal.

So Self-Raised, which is toted as the continuation of Ishmael Worth's journey, is actually just the soap opera of Claudia Merlin's actions. Now, the book was good, but I could hardly see it as a sequel to Ishmael Worth. While Ishmael did have his heroic moments, I didn't see any general development to his story. I was hoping for more challenging court cases, his constant fight toward injustice as well as untangling himself from the romantic web he's caught himself in. It doesn't help that Claudia is so very unlikable in the the first book, you find it hard to sympathize with her plight in the sequel.

The story itself is good, but unlike the first book it was more of a Victorian mystery novel that deals with deceitful spouses, murder plots, forbidden love, shipwrecks and the controversial issues of the slave trade in the United States. I wouldn't say the book itself is terrible, but don't go into the story expecting it to be about Ishmael Worth's life.

Goodreads Reviews: Ishmael

I know I've already reviewed this book, but I'm doing the Goodreads book challenge this year and one of the books I read was Self-Raised, the sequel to Ishmael, . So...it would make sense to review this book first and then review the second one. Also, I'm going to try and review every book I read in my Goodreads challenge as a new series for my site, as well as other books that I've already read and aren't part of the challenge (Ishmael for example).

These reviews can also be found on my Goodreads page.

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Ishmael by E.D.E.N. Southworth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finding a good story, with a strong hero that has good Christian morals, but doesn't come off as to good to be true can be difficult. However, Ishmael Worth's story from obscure, poor beginnings and his journey to become a respectable gentleman in pre-Civil War American society, really has the makings of a great Christian hero.

Ishmael was written by E.D.E.N. Southworth in 1876 and is loosely inspired by the life of Ishmael Worth who became the first man to ever defend a woman in court. Ishmael's life started with love and loss. His parents came from two polar opposite social circles. His father, Herman Brudenell, is immensely wealthy while his mother, Nora Worth, although beautiful and generous, comes from the poorest class. They meet, fall in love and marry in secret, but like all tragic love stories, they are separated. Herman leaves for Europe while his heartbroken bride dies in childbirth to their son, whom Herman is unaware of.

Now, orphaned and alone, little Ishmael Worth is raised by his strict spinster aunt, Hannah Worth. From a young age, Ishmael is instilled with a strong work ethic, the importance of education and the strength of faith in God. These three qualities begin to mold Ishmael from a destitute child to a young man whose life is forever challenged by the immoral acts of others.

Yet, with each challenge, fight, victory and even losses, Ismael continues to persevere and grow. In his early age he witnesses injustices done to those of a lower social status and the abuse of power; which eventually leads him to pursue a life of jurisprudence or simply, he wants to become a defense lawyer.

When he's not out on the course of justice, Ishmael's heart seems to set a course of his own. He finds himself in love with a beautiful, but vain and selfish young heiress, Claudia Merlin. Yet, Claudia, so wrapped up in herself, is clueless to Ishmael's pining heart. Meanwhile, Claudia's sweet cousin, Beatrice "Bee" Middleton is madly in love with Ishmael, but he only sees Bee as a sister and nothing more.

And then of course, we have Ishmael's big court case...but I don't want give anything away : )

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To sum it all up then:

So, we have a coming of age, rags to riches character that's the paragon of the American dream. Christianity is important to the story, but is not too preachy. It's simply a part of Ishmael's growing up and is the moral foundation of his life. Ishmael is described as being extremely handsome, but his description is summed up in a few sentences instead of three or four paragraphs (thank goodness).

Are there times when Ishmael comes off as too good to be true? Absolutely. Yet, there is is something endearing and likable about him too. He stands up to injustice and tyranny without breaking a sweat, but becomes an awkward idiot around his crush, while he is utterly clueless to the one woman who is completely perfect for him.

I'm not sure if Ishmael Worth was real or if he is based on someone else, but the character and story of Ishmael is truly inspiring. People may compare Ishmael to the Christian likes of Elsie Dinsmore, but they are hardly the same given their circumstances in life. Yet, the moral Christian themes of faith, standing for those who cannot stand for themselves, honesty, integrity and unwavering faith in God remains the same in both characters.

I found Ishmael to be a wonderful story, Ishmael himself, to be a great character who is forever on the pursuit of bettering himself for the benefit of honoring the God that he loves. And in so doing can better the people and the world around him.

***Ishmael's story has even made it into the movies! The 1921 silent film, Hearts of Youth is based on the original Ishmael novel, but primarily focuses on the romance between him and Beatrice.***

When Morning Comes

Prologue

May 18, 1994

      Madeline opened up her eyes and was almost blinded by the great expanse of light pouring into her bedroom. It was blinding as well as a reminder that it was Monday. Most people would have groaned, but Maddie didn't. 

     Mornings. They were beautiful. 

     What was that line from "Anne of Green Gables"? Every morning is fresh with no mistakes...or something along those lines. 

     But mistakes? Maddie had made her own fair share in the last several years. Mistakes that had plunged her into dark places she never thought she would experience. Dark places made of rage, regret, shame and fear. However, she fell into those dark places with someone else and both had to fight to get out.

     Maddie got out of bed and went to her open window. A beautiful spring day in Seddleton, Virginia. No. A beautiful spring morning. Morning and day were two entirely different concepts. You could not get to day without going through morning. And you could not get to morning without getting through the night. 

     And night was what Maddie had always feared the most. Darkness had been her one enemy as a child. Afraid of every unfamiliar noise. Afraid of the monsters that she had seen in the movies that would come and haunt her. Afraid that the darkness would last forever. Yes. Darkness had never been a friend. So when the sun began to peek into her window, Maddie would finally breathe a sigh of relief and sleep would come (even if it was just a few hours).

     There was no relief more beautiful than finally escaping the darkness. Especially when it's a darkness that we have created ourselves. No one knew that better than Maddie. Dark places are not created over night. They start with one act, then followed by another, then another. Acts of cruelty and deceit. Soon you find yourself so consumed by darkness that you are unaware of what you have created around you. Then it takes something so extreme for the darkness to crack open and make you realize how far you have plunged into the deep.

     Pain and heartbreak are hardly miracles, but in Maddie's case, they saved her. Her road of healing from her own darkness had not been easy. Yet it had opened her eyes and her heart. And she was able to forgive the one person that had hurt her so badly and she forgave herself for hurting him as well. 

     The sun was finally over the trees. Maddie heard the front door open and she smiled. What a beautiful morning it was. 

New Layout!

Ringing in spring with a lovely vintage looking layout!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Once more to new creation Awake,
and death gainsay,
For death is swallowed up of life,
And Christ is risen today!

~George Newell Lovejoy