About Being Just West

I'm 30 years old and have two boys. One just turned four and is preparing for school. The other is nine weeks and preparing to roll over. I also have a dog; a shih tzu named Gizmo who is nothing but trouble and a "common-law" boyfriend who chooses not to marry me because I smoke. Whatever....




I will quit one day - but not today.




I spent more than 10 years in the automotive industry mostly as the only female employee and went a lot farther with it than I thought I would. I remember when I applied for the job...... I applied so I wouldn't insult a friend who gave a business card and said go talk this guy. I didn't think in a million years I'd get the job so there was no harm in applying. I remember the manager asking me if I knew anything about cars and I replied with slight sarcasm, "I know they come in lots of different colours!"




He still hired me... Maybe it was all my experience serving food or my lack of computer skills... Maybe he liked my joke.... or maybe he was just very desperate. lol. Either way, it was the start of something beautiful.. ha ha





I learned as much as I could about cars, got my driver's licence and climbed the ladder to eventually become the assistant to the general manager .... then they laid me off. Within one day I had three interviews and became the first female parts advisor for a truck shop. So, needless to say I'm happy with my progress.





Sometime in the middle I also managed to survive a car accident. The worst kind really... It was December 23rd, 2001 and we were in a cab and got hit by a drunk driver. I sued, I won, I still suffer. The thing with suing somebody is accepting that once the lawsuit is over; the pain and suffering continues. I think I was under some false assumption that everything would be ok once the lawsuit was over because then the experience would be over but that's not the case.





Don't get me wrong, I was very lucky and my injuries, although permanent, were not serious. And you do learn how to get around them, cope with them and manage them. I had 10 stitches in my face with a possible skull fracture, permanent whiplash, many bumps, bruises and cuts and a knee with a multitude of problems including nerve damage, flaking/flattening of the meniscus, tendon shortening, scar tissue and a bone bruise all the way to the marrow. But like I said - I was very lucky - Not everybody gets to walk away as I did.





Winning a lawsuit for me was a start. I decided I would change my life around. I bought house, a car, new furniture, had laser eye surgery, paid my debts and started a savings account. It was a good start.... The real trick is not to go back but I'm confident I'll win the battle.





Now... on maternity leave, I need to decide what to do with the rest of my life. Do I go back to the truck shop and continue the "women in automotive" battle? or do I start anew.... Who knows but I have a little time to decide.





Follow me on the adventure of life...