I have been at Honda for almost 4 years now, loving every day of it. On Friday last week, my boss pulled me into a small meeting room to have my mid-year employee evaluation. Things went very well, we had a good talk. And then...at the end of the conversation, just as I was about to stand to leave, my supervisor said, "Wait a second, this is the best part of our whole meeting...."
And he pulled a manila envelope out from underneath his laptop and presented it to me! Inside was the offer letter for my promotion! WHOO HOO! :-)
The promotion took effect on Thursday, November 1st. While I won't be changing roles yet, they will start to give me some longer-term projects. I am perfectly pleased as punch with this, it's all good.
Plus, the day I got promoted was also to-the-day, the 30th anniversary of Honda!! Maybe I shouldn't advertise that I am not even 30 years old (yet) myself...but there are guys that have worked here longer than I have even been ALIVE!
One of my coworkers gave me a little congratulations card and gift, for he was probably the one that has gotten the most "jump up and down excited" with me about this good news. He has witnessed all the insanity that had to be overcome to get to this point. And we DID IT!
I will always save his card, because the message he wrote in it was perfect. I've re-read it several times, and I wanted to re-type it here because he put into words what I could not, for myself:
Ash,
I am so proud of you and admire your strength. You moving away from the security of your hometown and taking on this new adventure took a lot of courage. This environment of mainly immature males is not easy for a woman to succeed in. I love how you attack every day with so much energy and to be honest it's infectious. You have definitely renewed my enthusiasm for the work we do, and frankly you have sparked me to reflect and make a lot of changes in my own life...thank you!!!
I know you've had a bumpy road this year. Though we never understand why things happen, from my experience there is always a reason, so just hang in there. Take some time, enjoy this moment, and be proud...you did it, great job!!!
Let me say one last thing...this isn't a bunch of horseshit, I mean every word.
Congrats!
Snake
And you know what? This guy is entirely right. (Yes, he goes by the name Snake....if you are reading this, you should actually meet these people!)
He hit the nail on the head. This is one reason. I have given Honda my all; I totally busted my hump.
And in return, Honda has, far and above, been the sunny spot in my life this year. You get out what you put in, and Honda has given me so much.
I love love love my job, and I have fallen in love with all of the people I work with. I know I've given examples before, but I'll always remember Snake buying me kitchen goods to help "stand back up on my own" when I was trying to rebuild after Zach moved out. And it was Charlie that walked over to me literally standing off to the side of the assembly line, spacing out and falling apart, to ask me my thoughts on something going on at work, to reel me back in. It was my girlfriends that wanted to go run races with me, or go try all these new ice cream joints in town. It was the floor coordinators that act like total goofballs and talk shit to each other, much to watch me giggle and get in on it myself. It is weeks like this, where it is 3 AM on a Friday night and I am just getting off of night shift -- driving the whole way home, grinning from ear to ear, I might add -- because I am so colored by the camaraderie and speed in which our folks work. I am forever impressed.
There are some really, incredibly remarkable people out here in the middle of farm-land Ohio. No matter where I go in the future, I will always save this time to myself. I am so glad I am a part of all of these people.
And I have adored learning as much about automobiles as I have in the past 4 years. Seriously, I am always hungry for more. I love the car repairs I volunteer for, the car checks, the weekend work. The rush, the phone calls, the running, the jumping on the assembly line and trying to build a couple things myself. The midnight trips to the train yards. The dirt, the building tools and knick-knacks in our Fab Shop that help us on the assembly line. The size of the factory, the people every where you turn.
Plus, there is just something about walking in to work every day and watching perfect, high-gloss shiny brand new cars, one after the other after the other, take their first starting breath and driving off the line. I never tire of watching. Wow.
RIGHT up my alley! Keep it coming!!! :-)
Thanks for watching out above me. Hopefully this is a sign that life is back on the gradual uptick.
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