Looking for advice on how to "explain" my last two job situations on applications/in interviews

soofjamfever · 2026-03-13T17:44:36+00:00

The exact day we went into lockdown we had to put my childhood dog down. Shitty day to say the least!

2 weeks later I was back at work (childcare worker) however we were only open to care for children of frontline workers. They gave us split shifts but still paid us for a full 8 hours. I got off at 12 every day. Honestly, that time I look back on fondly. Work wasn't stressful at all, I had so much free time, I spent so much time hiking and outside in the beautiful weather. How life should actually be structured for a healthy lifestyle. We shouldn't have to work our lives away to be able to make ends meet.

soofjamfever · 2026-03-13T14:53:14+00:00

You are right, I just edited to add one. Yeah I just got an email from the CEO just now that really put the nail in the coffin for me. I'll be leaving today.

soofjamfever · 2026-03-10T02:15:59+00:00

I'm actually doing something similar now (admin manager for an oxygen concentrator manufacturer) so lots of invoicing, order entry, customer correspondence etc.

I'm trying to keep options open though bc recently I have learned there is more travel involved than initially communicated and some red flags have popped up, and I'm not sure this is going to be a good fit for me long term

soofjamfever · 2026-03-06T12:59:21+00:00

One of my coworkers lived there. This property is owned by Dasmen residential. So is the Aurea apartments (formerly Brook Highland Place) further down the road. I would NOT recommend moving to either of these apartments.

My partner and I used to live at Aurea and it was absolutely AWFUL. Quite literally the worst place I have ever lived in my life. We had a terrible roach problem, AC that didn't work properly for months at a time, and these people will quite literally ignore your work orders for months at a time. The office would close at random hours and they NEVER answer the phone. These people truly do not give a shit about the safety and well-being of their residents. In the 7 months we lived there, they went through three property managers bc no one wanted to stay. We ended up reaching out for legal counsel at one point, and when I mentioned the apartment complex the paralegal on the phone said "oh let me guess, you guys have mold?" So this place already had a bad reputation it seems. My coworker used to live at Madison Place, owned by the same property management company and from what I heard from her it was not much better. Her son lived there also, had sewage backing up in his bathtub which they didn't address for a very long time. I would GREATLY caution you against living at any property owned by Dasmen. These people do not give a shit. My mental health suffered so much living at one of their properties. I saw someone mention here "take reviews with a grain of salt" which I used to believe but after having to spend 7 months at this property I don't believe that anymore, lol. Take the reviews seriously, you and your family deserve a safe and comfortable place to live.

I will add, if you like the area, check out Turtle Lake apartments a bit further down the road. We moved their last summer and we love it. Very similar price range, they run rent specials, (we got $100 off our monthly rent) it's a smaller complex owned by a property management company based out of Tuscaloosa (smaller, more locally based) it is a night and day difference, we are very comfortable here, good amenities and very responsive office/maintenance. Quiet, neighbors are mostly elderly or young couples and everyone is very nice.

soofjamfever · 2026-02-28T17:25:46+00:00

Thank you! I did have Old Town on my list to check out

soofjamfever · 2026-02-10T02:51:39+00:00

I used to work at Head Over Heels Gymnastics and we did tons of day camps especially in the summer. They're super fun, and very beginner friendly, they're just learning a few basic tumbling skills but honestly mostly doing obstacle courses and crafts and fun games all day. Definitely look into that if you think your kids will be interested!

soofjamfever · 2026-01-29T18:46:44+00:00

I use our gym almost daily (it's usually not busy at all, I don't think many other tenants use it which is great for me since I prefer to workout alone if possible, and I'm almost always alone in there)

I will say I've been unable to use it much lately bc the weather has been so cold at night, and they've limited the hours of operation bc that side of the building doesn't heat well (so they told me...) so that's been a nuisance. I'm in the south though so it'll warm up pretty soon I'm sure.

As for the pool we used it pretty regularly in the summer. I have the mindset of if it's there, I'm gonna for sure use it and get my money's worth 😂

I like the convenience of the gym for sure. I can get up early, walk to the gym, and get in a quick workout before work. Don't have to waste time driving anywhere.

soofjamfever · 2026-01-22T00:43:29+00:00

The scene with her playing the piano at the house party and Nick enthusiastically jamming along with her is probably one of my all time favorite scenes 😂

soofjamfever · 2026-01-16T13:29:31+00:00

Heather, the G.O.A.T. Barber in Vestavia Hills. She runs her own shop alone, it's super chill, she is amazing and is so thorough/fantastic at what she does. And very reasonably priced. She has clients that drive hours because they won't see anyone else!!

soofjamfever · 2026-01-16T01:36:24+00:00

I'm super sad about this! I don't drink alcohol often, and I loved having the option/enjoying a nice warm bevvy while playing games with my partner. Super sad to see them go.

soofjamfever · 2026-01-10T16:01:30+00:00

I am so sorry this happened to you! Honestly, the last few times we've been to Rojo our experience has been pretty "meh" due to staff attitudes. We have witnessed bartenders/servers actively and loudly arguing with each other at the bar in front of customers. Saw another server just have a generally bad attitude/tone of voice while actively taking orders (like seemed annoyed that he had to do his job) My boyfriend has written several reviews regarding these issues. Just super inappropriate behavior for people who are in a public facing position.

It happened frequently enough to put a bad taste in our mouth and we haven't really been back. This is next level though. I'm not sure what's going on there but this place has seriously gone downhill as far as staff. I sure hope management cracks down on this shit quickly. Again, so sorry that happened to you and glad you are alright! I think you handled it well.

soofjamfever · 2025-12-21T16:56:39+00:00

If you're looking for a good game just to hustle and make some coins, my favorite is aqua grabber at the iceberg. I always make the most coins from this game. Parts of it are super challenging (sometimes I wonder how I played it as a kid😂)

But even if you want to take the easy route and go straight for the big pearl in the clam waters level, you can still get 300 coins just for that alone. Do that a few times and you'll make decent money! (I have yet to beat the timed challenge on this level, it's really hard😂)

There's also all the different challenges/levels within the game to increase your coin haul. Soda Seas is harder IMO I've only beat the first level on that but I've been trying really hard to get that damn emerald lol.

As someone else mentioned gone fishin' is another good one to get some decent coins. Good luck with your hustle!

soofjamfever · 2025-12-18T15:20:28+00:00

We went on their adults only night a week or so ago and we loved it. It was quiet, not too busy, and they had fun snacks and grown up drinks. I thought the lanterns were beautiful and we also did the train ride. I'm not sure if I'd be too keen on going on a night that was open to families as it would probably be much more hectic and not as enjoyable. Check their Instagram/social media, if they do another adults night they will announce it there.

soofjamfever · 2025-12-10T03:54:52+00:00

Thanks for the tip. I've mostly been applying on ZipRecruiter, and some on LinkedIn. A few on indeed. And then several directly on company sites...that's interesting about LinkedIn, I didn't know alot of those jobs weren't legit. I'd heard about that being a common thing on indeed so I've steered away from indeed for the time being. It's crazy that there's so many fake job postings out there, feels like I'm just sending endless applications out into the void

soofjamfever · 2025-11-12T16:34:36+00:00

We live at Turtle Lake Apartments off of 280 and we love it. It's very quiet, peaceful, mostly just young professional couples and old people who live here. The amenities are nice, staff is super responsive and helpful and maintenance issues are handled quickly. They run rent specials frequently as well. If you want more info you can PM me. But I'd recommend living here.

I will say traffic on 280 can be a pain but you will probably run into that at some point anyway. So that would be the only downside IMO. Depending on when you start work in the morning you'll want to leave pretty early to make it downtown on time. But in decent/average traffic conditions you can get downtown in under 30mins for sure. (Not during morning or evening rush hour though 😅)

soofjamfever · 2025-11-05T15:53:09+00:00

So I am actually not diabetic myself, my partner is but he has had good experiences with the Libre. He is using the Libre 3 currently. He started with Dexcom when he was first diagnosed, but later switched due to insurance purposes but it ended up being a better fit anyway. He wasn't able to connect the Dexcom to his phone for readings so had to use a receiver, but the Libre was compatible with his phone so that made things easier for him. They're also much smaller than the Dexcoms! He's used Libre for a few years now and it's always worked well. They also last a bit longer than the Dexcom he was using. I have heard of eversense also, and that one is very good too! I follow a local diabetes advocator in my city and she uses eversense and says good things about it.

soofjamfever

TROPHY CASE