Moving On Up

When I look back at when I started to work in retail, one of the things I remember was thinking that it was not going to be a permanent profession.  Who grows up wanting to do this for a career?  This was back in 2006.  Fresh out of college and newly implanted in Wichita, Kansas I just needed money and a job.  Yes, my wife was working but I did not want to just sit around all day.  I went from October (2005) to February (2006) without work.  I was applying for jobs in the field I went to school for, history and museum studies, but could not find a job.  I couldn't even get a call back.  After the new year, I just wanted to find work.  So I did.  The rest, as they say, is (work) history.

I received a promotion earlier this week to a position World Market calls Lead Supervisor.  This is one step below store manager and for the most part is the person in charge of running the show on a day to day basis.  This is something that I have been working towards for the past year and a half.  The ultimate goal is to take that one last step and become a General Manager, but that is still several years down the road and honestly, I don't even want to think about that right now.  That is a large looming idea that will only distract from the now.  I have my annual hunting trip planned at the end of October, so this promotion is not going to happen until I get back from that. 

My wife and I joke quite a bit about how there are two of me.  One is the goofy, lackadaisical person that just kind of goes with the flow with whatever is happening.  The other is the professional me.  Whenever she comes in to shop around the store, the employees tell her how much they enjoy working with me and that I am constantly working on something or helping someone out with a project.  It is humorous.  I usually get the 'who are you?!' look from her.  She knows though.  All kidding aside, I do my best to keep everything professional at work but still have some fun.  The results are paying off.

The position will be at another store here in the Twin Cities.  It would have been great to stay where I am at now as this is the only store I have worked in, but that presents it's own challenges.  In order to develop myself into a more well rounded manager, I need to get somewhere new and different.  Is it optimal?  No.  I really enjoy working with the people I work with now, but it is time to move somewhere else outside of my comfort zone and familiarity and develop new traits and aspects of being a manager. 

Early Riser

'Sleep is the best meditation.' -The Dalai Lama

I find myself up early in the morning quite often because of my job.  There are times when I go into work at 2:00 in the morning.  Other times are more manageable such as 5:00 or 6:00.  It is funny to think about because as a child and teenager, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would find a career that would have me work so early.  But then again, does any young person think the world starts before eight o'clock in the morning? 

When I was in high school, I had a job as a lifeguard.  Our pool had an early morning swim time that started at 5:00.  That was super early in my mind, because it was 5:00.  I only worked one or two days a week.  I had the toughest time getting up for it.  Mainly because I would stay up late doing things like reading or homework.  The alarm would go off and I would struggle to get up. 

In college, the best advice that I got was have classes that were at least an hour apart, no more than fifteen credits per semester, and no class before 8:00 AM.  Solid advice that I didn't fully understand until I had to book it across campus a few times because I didn't listen and had classes in different buildings thirty minutes apart.  The 8:00 rule was a no brainer.  Who wants to get up that early and learn stuff?  Nerds.  That's who.  The first semester of my freshman year, I had a couple of 8:00 classes because you didn't get to choose your class schedule.  After that, I didn't have one single class that started before 9:00 or somewhere in that ballpark. 

After I graduated college and made my way into a professional career, I found myself gravitating to early morning work.  My job started at 7:00 in the morning.  I was done by 3:00.  After a month of this, I came to the realization that early morning work was great.  You could get a lot done before having to interact with people.  Not that people are terrible (sometimes they are), they are more of a hindrance when you are working on a big project.  Now I work even earlier than that from time to time.  Plenty of 5:00 o'clock shifts make up my work week and month.  Even earlier shifts are sprinkled in there. 

With all of the early morning work, early bedtimes are included in that.  This is the one downside.  As we roll into summer, I will go to bed sometimes while it is still light out.  It isn't too tough to fall asleep because I've gotten into the pattern of going to be early and getting up early.  Sure there are days when sleep is elusive, but they are few and far between.  I would say two or three times a month I have trouble sleeping and only get a few hours.  Other than that, getting six or seven hours of sleep are normal and it has come to the point where eight hours of sleep seems luxurious.   

Looking at it all, I think that the earlier you get up and work the better.  You finish with your day in the early afternoon and have the half the day to get stuff done around the house.  Or to watch baseball.  Or to nap.  Guys, naps are the best.  I never anticipated being someone who worked super early in the morning because I loved sleep so much, and I still do now.  Getting a great night's sleep makes you feel like a new person.  It is fun, though, to drive to work before the city gets up and moving.  To see empty parking lots and silhouettes of buildings before the day begins is kinda cool.   

Be the Leader

'Leadership is action, not position.' -Donald McGannon

I've worked in retail for ten years.  During that time, I have had many managers.  Everyone has their own style of management, but one thing is for sure, not everyone is a leader.  Oh sure, they're all bosses, but not all of them led by example.  I've had more than my fair share of bosses.  You know the person that will sit in the office and barely make an appearance.  We've all had that kind of boss.  With that said, everyone understands that managers and bosses do have more work to do than what can be seen.  There's paperwork and follow up that takes place in the office versus on the sales floor. 

I have only been in a managerial position for just under a year.  I had a hard time finding the right balance between office time and sales floor time when I started.  All I knew was sales floor work.  The best way to make the day go by quickly is to stay active.  Over the past few months I have been finding the balance in getting the office work done, but it doesn't always fit me.  My job does require more work on the floor than in the office, which is nice.  There is always something to do to improve the store.

If there is one thing that gets on my nerves is those types of managers that would prefer to delegate work out instead of doing it themselves.  We all have to work with the employees and delegate some work, but some have a tendency to take advantage of that.  Yes, delegating the work out gives employees experience and gives them something to do during the day.  It gets them involved and invested.  However, if all you do is delegate work out, it doesn't show your investment in the store or business.  If you think that people don't notice that, you would be sadly mistaken. 

Everyone has their own leadership style.  Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in leadership.  I have a hard time delegating things out.  I am a very hands on type of leader.  I like to see first hand the progress of things.  I like to make sure everything is done.  Sometimes I might be too controlling, but have been slowly learning to let things go.  To let others take on the workload, follow up, and teach and train on execution is a leadership quality that has the greatest impact I believe. 

Flying By

I had someone ask me the other day how long I had been working at World Market.  And I had to stop and think about it.   I knew roughly how long it had been, but it was just a matter of remembering what year it was that I left Target and started this new job. 

Here's the post from just over three years ago.  It's bananas to sit back and realize it's been three years.  I know in the grand scheme of things three years isn't a big deal, but the time has just flown by.  In that time I've had three different job titles and have been promoted to a managerial position.  The main reason I left Target was because there was no where to go.  There was no upward movement, no matter how much they say they promote from within.  They promote up one level or two, but that's about it.  It seems like they go out to recent college graduates for their managerial positions.  At least that was what I encountered.  I mean, why would you promote someone with almost a decade's worth of work and experience when you can just hire someone right out of college?

I'm not bitter, seriously, because every time I go into a Target I am so thankful I found the job I have now.  I will tell you, leaving the job I had for almost eight years was scary as hell.  You don't know if it's going to go as well as you hope.  You don't know if you made the right decision.  You just don't know.  Unless you do it.  And having the support of your family makes it a little bit easier.    

Promotion

Just a quick little post to talk about work.  I always look at my path in retail as humorous.  After graduating college, I couldn't find a job in my field (SHOCKER!) so in an effort to start making money, I started working retail.  Since I graduated in 2004, I have had two jobs.  Both retail.  I kinda gave up on my college field of work although I would love to get back into it.

I started working at a new place on 2013 after leaving my previous employer of eight years.  In the eight years, I went from an hourly team member to department manager within a year because they wanted to promote hard workers.  Makes sense.  After reaching that department manager level, the promise of promotion and training was always there, it just never came to be.  And I wrote about this when I went to my new employer.  You can only deal with so many blocks in the road before you give up on trying to move up the ladder.  

So I took my work experience to a new place.  A smaller company at the store level and as a whole.  It is much more my speed.  I moved from one department to another after a year and a half overseeing the former.  And to no one's surprise, I absolutely CRUSHED IT in my new department.  No hubris, it's straight facts.  And within less than a year of running my new department, I was given a new opportunity.  

A promotion!  I am now a supervisor within my store.  I will be overseeing the logistics processes of our store.  My brain is wired for it.  I jokingly say the German part of my brain has taken over and will be compartmentalizing everything and keeping it all in line and in order.  This opportunity kinda fell into my lap as the previous supervisor moved away.  But I have earned the opportunity through hard work, which is how it should be, yes?  Promote based on experience and work ethic.  That's what I think.  

Like I said, I look at my work path in retail as humorous.  I never really thought it would end up being a bit of a career.  But I've been at it for twelve years or there abouts.  And after all this time, I have been given a leadership chance.  Which my wife jokes is scary because 'they know it's you, right?'

Mishandled Holidays

Now that we are in full swing of the holiday season, it is time to reflect on something that has been in the news the past couple of years.  Stores opening earlier and earlier for Black Thursday/Friday.  As we all know, the Christmas season seems to be starting in the middle of October in retail and we are starting to see companies changing their hours of operations to accommodate holiday shopping.  

One of the determining factors that went into my leaving Target three years ago was the direction they were taking around the holidays.  Two years before I left, they opened at midnight for Black Friday.  Technically Friday, yes.  The year before I left, they were opening at 9:00 Thursday night.  It was marketed to the employees as an experiment to see if it would work.  Also, it was to compete with other companies that were opening earlier (Wal-Mart and Kohl's for example).  If it's one thing I know about retail, is that if they are 'rolling out a new process' to see if it'll work, there is very rarely any backtracking.  Once they have their minds set, they are going forward. 

My new employer does not open on Thanksgiving.  About three or four years ago, the CEO came out and said that they would never open on Thanksgiving.  The stores open at 7:00 in the morning on Black Friday.  Three hours earlier than normal store hours.  Now, there were six of us that started work at 3:00 in the morning in order to prep the store.  Not the best coming off a day of sitting around, eating, and drinking, but if you are done with work before noon, it can't all be bad.  As I drive to work, I pass maybe a dozen retail businesses that opened Thursday night for Black Friday Thursday.  Do you know what I noticed?  Empty parking lots.  There was one, ONE, that still looked busy.  The last year I worked at Target, they opened at 9:00 PM.  I went to work at midnight because I refused to work before it was Friday.  I remember going there anticipating the store still being swamped with shoppers.  It was dead.  I mean, DEAD.  The big rush had happened, and people left.  It was the most boring Black Friday I had ever dealt with.  My sixth in retail.  People came out, got what they wanted, and went back home or went on to the next store that was opening later.  It left us with almost nothing to do considering the first wave of employees were still there. 

So how important is it to be open Thursday night?  I mean, there were more cars in gas stations and 24 hour restaurants than there were in the businesses I passed.  How profitable is it for the company to stay open from Thursday night and all the way through Friday night when they eventually close?  Sure, they made their money in the first two to three hours, but can't they make the same amount opening super early on Friday like they use to?  That is one of the draws to opening on actual Friday.  It makes the day go by quickly because there is no lull for four hours because the big rush is finished and people have gone back to bed.  Black Friday can actually be fun for the workers.  Most customers are in a good mood because they are still loaded up on turkey and pumpkin pie.  They are all getting deals and the start of Christmas season has everyone happy.  Happy customers makes work better because you aren't getting yelled at.

I don't think it will ever really change for companies like Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or Kohl's.  They have made their bed, and I think they'll forever sleep in it.  It is good to see some companies staying closed on Thanksgiving.  The number of companies that remain closed on Thanksgiving seems to be growing, even if it is by one or two a year, and it is good to see.  And then there is REI.  REI went hardcore this year.  They remained closed on Black Friday.  That was a boss move.  I am sure that they gained many a new customer with that move.  They aren't going to go bankrupt by being closed on Black Friday.  

One final note.  Every year I see posts that are along these lines:

'Why are retail workers complaining about working on Thanksgiving?  Police officers, soldiers, doctors, nurses, fire fighters, emergency response workers work ALL holidays.'

This is a true statement.  But every person that falls into that category know what their work/life balance is going to be like.  They all know that they may have to work any of the 365 days a year.  That is part of their job.  Those jobs are essential.  Retail companies don't need to be open 365 days a year.  Some choose to be open.  Target use to be closed three days a year.  Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Three days that are spent with family and friends.  My current employer, World Market, is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I don't see Easter as big of a deal as I see the other two holidays.  World Market does do a lot of short hour holidays.  Holidays like New Year's Eve and day, Easter, and 4th of July have reduced hours so employees can enjoy the holiday. 

Old Pair of Shoes

Everyone has a pair of shoes that they have had for a long time.  A pair of shoes that you may have worn day in and day out for seven or eight years.  And while they are comfortable, and you comfortable in them, they start to lose their appeal.  You find a different pair of shoes and are excited about them.  But in the back of your mind, you still think about those shoes.  Those shoes were practically your identity.  And when you get a chance, you slip those shoes back on and everything feels.  You all get that the shoes were a metaphor for work right?  Right? 

I was given an opportunity to work with food again.  Still within the same company and store I am in now, so no big move or anything like that.  They are realigning how the departments are overseen and the furniture department is being reworked.  So, I get a chance to get back into a food department.  It feels like I have never really left working with it.  It's nice because I work early in the morning, can listen to my own music for the majority of my shift, and have the afternoon to do whatever I want.  Mostly sit around and nap.  But there's times when productivity will come into play. 

The store has already seen improvements within the department in terms of sales and stocking, so that's a plus.  I have had many people at work ask me how I like it.  And I tell them it's like I've never left.  It's like an old broken in, comfortable pair of shoes you wore for so long that when you left them in the closet for a year and a half, you almost forgot about them.  The metaphor might make more sense now, but whatever.  

Best Phone Call EVER!

At work the other day, I got a phone call.  I get plenty of phone calls at work.  Mostly people asking questions, looking to see if there is a certain piece of furniture in stock, price, size, etc. etc.  But, I got the best phone call I have had since I started at my current job.  In fact, it might be the best phone call I have ever gotten while at work.  Below is the paraphrased conversation.

Caller:  'Hello, my name is xxxxx.  You helped me about a week ago look for and find a Christmas cookie cutter set I was looking for.  Do you remember that?'

Me:  'Hello xxxxx.  Yes, I do remember that.  Is there anything with that I can help you with?  I can check to see if we have anymore.'

Caller:  'No, I just needed the one.  Thank you.  The reason I was calling was because I was really impressed with your customer service, knowledge of the product, and that you knew exactly where it was.  I work for Target as a human resources manager in town and was wondering if you would be interested in coming in and applying for a job as a department manger with us.'

Me:  *Smiling ear to ear* 'Thank you, but no.  I really enjoy working here.  The team is great, the management is supportive, and the pay is good.'

Caller:  'Okay, I just thought I would extend the offer.  They are lucky to have you.  Have a good day.'

Me:  'You too.'

Now, I got home and told my wife this story.  She said, 'well, you should have told her that you worked for them for close to eight years and all the shit that you had to deal with and how they don't try to develop their people unless they are close to the managers.'  And part of me really, really, really wanted to.  If this had been a phone call from my store here in Minnesota, I would have.  And if this caller had caught me on a bad day, I might have.  But, I wanted to take the high road, plus all she was doing was trying to staff her store.  You know, her job.  And the main reason I wanted to be polite and was because she doesn't have a clue about my previous work history.  She just saw someone that took the time to work with a customer and make sure they found what they were looking for.  It just made my day.  I went and told my manager shortly after the phone call and we both had a good laugh about it.  Because she has gotten the same type of phone call from her previous employer.  And the same type of scenario.  Someone who was impressed with her service, but was from a store that she did not work for.  We both have only been in our current position for less than a year, so we have something in common. 

59/120

Time For Change. Time For Opportunity.

On 17 November 2013, I will complete my career at Target.  Seven years and nine months.  My first post college job that started as a desperate reach for money and employment and ended up being the start of a retail career.  Retail is not what I went to college for, but this is the hand I was dealt.  My mom once told me that retail was in my blood.  I don't regret the college path I took, I only regret not being able to find a job in my field after college.  This job introduced me to many people and I made some great friends along the way.  But here's the thing, nothing was wholly wrong with the job.  So why the change?

I could have worked for Target for the rest of my working life if I wanted to.  A solid company that will probably never go away.  I had found my little niche in the food world of retail.  I worked with food vendors every day (which had it's pluses and minuses), I settled into being the 'food guy' at work, I knew the ins and outs of food safety and how best to drive sales and make it profitable.  All the information I needed to run a successful grocery department was in my head.  But therein lies the problem.  I found myself occasionally not being challenged at work.  It became too much of a routine that wasn't always fun.  The excitement and newness eventually wore off.  A safe job as everyone needs food.

So if it was such a safe and secure job, why leave it?  Challenge and opportunity are the big things.  I needed something more.  Something different.  Something new.  And the job I found, I think will give me that.  Once you reach the point when you no longer feel challenged at work, how long do you hold onto that job?  If you are comfortable in your job, by all means, stay there.  Especially if that is what you want to do.  Me?  I never thought of retail as a career so I feel more flexible and willing to move on when I want to.  When I first started looking around at other employers, I did look at actual grocery stores.  I looked at the local chains and even Trader Joe's.  I sent out applications, but was rejected by them all.  I hit a low point, feeling defeated.  If I couldn't get a grocery manager/assistant manager job with over seven years of experience, what would it take?  

It was a steady job, but there are only so many times you can listen to 'You're a great worker and a strong leader.' just to see the advancement opportunity go to someone else because they are more of a yes man than actual leader that gets their job done.  You can only work your ass off for so many years to see little ground gained in the opportunity and development departments.  You can only watch so many bosses get recruited right out of college not prepared for the retail world and watch them flounder through it, much to your stress and patience.  I had gotten to the point where I want to do more with a company, and I tried several times with Target to do more only to have been turned away.  So I gave up on it and accepted my role within my store.  Again, a moral defeat.  However, I eventually took that defeat and turned it on it's head.  If I'm afforded the opportunity to work somewhere else that will help me develop into something more right out of the gate, what is keeping me at my current job?  The security blanket of being a large company.  That was about it. 

I accepted a job with World Market over this past weekend.  Is it still retail?  Yes.  It will be quite a change of pace from Target.  Not as busy, but I will be able to spend more time working on developing an area into a profitable one.  Own your area is the phrase that was thrown around at Target, but as busy as the days were, it was tough to do.  You can't be in your area when you are running around the store plugging the holes in the dam.  A smaller company and smaller store can afford me that time to do so.  Going from a company that has almost 1,900 stores to a company that has close to 300 might sound like a bad idea, but opportunity to grow with a smaller company is something that I was looking for.  Ideally, I would go work for an independent store just because it would be the ultimate 'own what you do' experience short of owning your own business.  

Sometimes you need to look at opportunities and take a leap.  If you don't take that leap, you might look back and think 'what if....'.  Change is a scary thing.  This change could be the best thing for me down the road, but it could also be a mistake.  I wouldn't ever know if I sat on my hands and didn't leap.  Don't let the fear make your mind up for you.  Take that step.  Don't fear the unknown, embrace it with open arms.  It might be the change you were looking for.  

It's a Me Vacation

I took two days of vacation today and tomorrow.  Incorporate that with my weekend off and my normal day off on Wednesday, I have a five day mini vacation.  I wanted to take a day off to watch Opening Day, something I use to do in college.  I would skip class to watch the Tigers play their first game of the year.  It's the little things in life that make it great.  I figured, why not take another day off while I'm at it?  I'll make these days all about me!  Something I don't do very often.  I do have a real vacation coming up in the middle of April, but I just wanted some time to decompress from work.  And what better way than to do absolutely nothing?

The initial plan was to go to Opening Day, but we opted for game number two instead.  It's a big deal, but not a deal breaker.  I just want to be part of it.  Maybe next year.  So, if I can't be there in person, I might as well enjoy the game at home.  Drinking a few beers in the middle of the afternoon, cheering on the reigning American League Champions.  I wanted the day off to watch baseball.  Then I figured, why not take another day off as well, you know, to recuperate.  The first games of the day are starting around noon.  The Tigers are playing at 3:00 CST

These are days off well deserved.  We were talking about it earlier in March, but I don't think I have taken any vacation since last May (maybe in July too, but I can't remember).  Even if it were in July, that's about nine months.  Too long between vacations.  I don't count the times we were home in November and December.  You can't count funerals as vacation, even if you are home.  Regardless,  I wanted more than a regular weekend off.  I wanted to take a few days off that were all about me.  I wanted to laze around, drink beer, watch movies and sports.  And I have done so thus far.  I have watched at least one full game since Friday.  I don't like basketball, but the college tournament is engrossing.  Just the excitement that the crowd brings is great. 

So these five days are selfish days.  Days that nothing much got done, but something got done.  I was able to relax.  To not be stressed out about work.  To not be worried about anything really.  I wanted nothing more than to lay around, and I have accomplished that.  I just don't know how I'm going to handle the real world again come Thursday.  I didn't choose the slothful life, the slothful life chose me.  Oh wait....

A year later

We have been in Minnesota for a year today.  We packed up our stuff and made the move from Kansas in the hopes that the job market would be better.  There are other factors that were taken into consideration when we moved, but that was the big one.  As my wife is finding out, even though there are more jobs around here, it pays to know someone on the inside. 

While the job search continues we have found that living in such a larger city there is just so much more to do.  I'm not just talking about going to malls, games, or museums.  There are places to just go and walk around.  There are lots of streets in St. Paul and Minneapolis that are developed to be a place to just go around and walk and see.  Sure there are stores and restaurants, but sometimes it is fun to just walk around the area and people watch.  On top of the run of the mill stuff you will find in any larger city, there are tons of parks.  Free parks, which is great.  A place to get out and walk around and because it's not always one hundred degrees in the middle of summer, you can enjoy them while the weather is nice.

One of the greatest things about living up here is how close we are to home.  Since moving here last fall, we have made it home four times.  Living down in Wichita, we would make it home about two times a year.  So we have doubled the times we have been home.  It's just been so nice to get home, but we have put on quite the amount of mileage on the cars in the process.  On the other hand, we don't fly any more, so that is a great bonus.  Speaking of home, living in Minnesota is almost home.  We missed having trees and water and even green grass.

In the end, I don't really regret moving from Wichita to the Twin Cities.  The toughest part was leaving all of our friends and a place we were comfortable.  Part of the adventure of life is the unknown, and we are living that right now. 

Worst question in the world

While we were home on vacation, we took a side trip to St. Paul to find a place to live and I had an interview with my new district manager.  Not a huge deal, it's all the rage within the company now.  I didn't have a ton of details as to how formal or informal this interview would be.  I didn't have know what to expect, I went in blind.  I liked that feeling.  If I am given any kind of insight as to what might be ahead, I start to over think things.  If you go in blind, you have to think on your feet and I have found that the first answer that comes to mind is the best.  As opposed to that rehearsed bullshit you have rolling around that noggin of yours because you over think ever possible question and try to find the 'best answer'.  The best answer is going to be the first thing that you think of that you can expand on.

The interview ended up being very relaxed, not insanely formal, but I was asked the one question that I absolutely cannot stand.

'Where do you see yourself in three to five years?'

Oh come on!  How can you honestly answer that?  It is almost a trap question.  Do you give the answer that they look for?  Do you say to them, 'I see myself moving up the corporate ladder.' or possibly answer with something like 'I see myself doing the exact same thing I am doing now.'?  Those kinds of answers satisfy those who ask them.  What would they do if you answered with an off the wall comment?  'In a ditch dead being humped by a meth head.'  'Cashiering at Wal-Mart after a nervous breakdown.'  'In the hills wearing an aluminum foil hat watching the sky.'  

But you are in an interview.  You are at the mercy of the person across the desk from you.  Depending on how desperate you are for a job, you'll give them the answer they seek.  But you can't see that far into the future.





For all we know, the alien army just landed at Area 51......again.

Work. Just work

Last week, I had my work anniversary.  Five years.  It's funny to think about because when I was in school, I never really thought I would have a job like this.  It's not a bad thing, unless you talk to some people, but for me, I enjoy my job.  It's stressful from time to time, but at the end of the day I can say I like doing what I do. 

From an outsiders prospective, it's not what I should be doing.  I went to school to work in a museum, but when we moved to Wichita, there were no jobs to be had.  It's not that I settled, I just went out and got a job because that's what I needed to do.  You gots to pay the bills.  It just so happen to turn into a five year career.  Five years from now I have no idea where I'll be.  Same job, different job, just as long as I'm happy. 

breaking point

Every holiday that I have worked, there has been a day where I just kinda give up and stop caring until after Christmas. It isn't anything major, it's mostly just a burnout on the dumb people, the dumb questions, and the pissed off people that forget that they aren't the only people shopping in the store. Today was that day.

It's a good milestone. Usually, it is way before the twenty first of December. I don't know what the difference is between this year and years past though. Such is life. I'll make it out alive. Just two more days then Christmas and it's all downhill from there. The next few months are quite and under control compared to what we deal with now and what we have dealt with the past month.

Stupid things heard at work

Just thought I would pass along this question that I heard at work that could keep some people up for quite some time.  Enjoy.

Referencing a pair of jeans:  'What does it mean when it says "relaxed fit"?'

Real quick fast

I have this weekend coming up off from work.  It is nothing new, it happens every other weekend.  The big difference between this weekend and others is that I will be home by myself.  Andrea is going up to KC for a baby shower, which begs the question.....What to do? 

I have contemplated just hanging out around the house.  I have thought about finding some place to go outside of Wichita.  Nothing has come to mind quite yet, and I'm looking.  Just not that hard. 

day in, day out

I am taking a little bit of time out of this relaxing morning to play a little catch up with all of you out there. From my family and friends who frequently read, to my facebook friends who read this as it is imported to that site, to those who find this randomly.

We are prepping for our vacation home. We'll be gone for eleven days. One of our longer trips, but it'll be worth it. It will be a great break from Kansas. We have had snow on and off since December, but I want to see real snow. I know that it has been a little warmer back home and some of the snow has been melting, but I cannot wait. Last year, we spent Valentine's Day on a plane and in a car. Not the most romantic situation. This year we are spending my birthday on a plane and in a car. Not the best way to spend your birthday, a day meant for celebrating and eating cake. mmmmm.....cake.

I have taken over the grocery department at work. It is a lateral move within the store and gives me an opportunity to work in a larger department, so it'll be interesting to say the least. It has been two weeks of training which has flown by. I am looking forward to the challenges that this department brings with it. I will be dealing with vendors on a daily basis, which equates to dealing with spoiled children. They all want everything to go their way, and it is my job to keep them in line.




Who knew that at the age of twenty seven I would have my first baby sitting job.

Work anniversary

Yesterday I had my four year work anniversary. Four years! Of course all the cliches come with working somewhere for any length of time. 'Time flies, huh?' 'Bet you lost track of time.' Etc. Etc. Etc. I never really thought about it. I don't think you should really count your anniversary at work until you get past five years. Not to say people job hop once they get out of college or high school, just that anything under five years doesn't seem to warrant a bench mark.

The 8-4-8

When we found out that our families were coming down for roughly three weeks this month, I did my best to take some time off of work to be with them. A recurring theme when writing about family is the fact that we live so far away and don't see them very often. So when we go home or they come down here, I try to take some time off just to visit.

One problem that can come up is vacation time. Whether it is not having enough or at a time during the year when work is so busy and hectic that I can't take the time off. When it is too busy to take vacation time, in rolls ingenuity. And in rolls a two week schedule that makes me wonder about my sanity from time to time. It is what I refer to as the 8-4-8. Work eight days straight, take four days off, work another eight days straight. Crazy right? Yes. I have good reasoning for doing this. It takes up no vacation time! Instead of taking sixteen or twenty four hours of vacation, I use none. One question that people ask is usually, Is that legal? The way it balances out on the work schedule is that the first three days of the eight day stretch starts out on one work and then rolls over to the next week for the next five days. So there is no crazy overtime (the pay would be nice) and both weeks involved include two days off. The second part of this stretch is a mirror image of the first.

I have done this a few times in the past two years and it works out great. There is always something to do at work so the time just flies through the week. When the four day vacation stretch comes, it is insanely relaxing. Later on this year when we want to take a seven to ten day trip somewhere, having that extra vacation time banked will come in really handy. It is all about looking ahead and planning.

32 days

It's funny how when you are a kid, the year goes by so slowly. Three hundred and sixty five (or six) days drag on and on. Maybe because the number just seems so daunting. As you get older, the time starts to pick up. Throughout high school and college, the only time that goes by too quick is during summer or winter breaks. After school, work consumes your life and there are no three month breaks (unless you teach, but even then there is work to be done). Vacations consist of a week or maybe two if you have been working for half your life.

I suppose at the beginning of the year, you can look at a calendar and think of how long twelve months truly is. But then you forget about it as if it were a New Year's resolution. Then lo and behold, it is past the summer and into the fall. Retail stores are getting ready for Christmas all over again and your mind wanders back to the beginning of the year and thinks......




Where the hell did those ten months go?