Suzanne Calling

What is the craziest time of year to start a new job in retail? Yep, last week. :) New job is going extremely well. The first couple of days, I was worried that it's not nearly as hectic as what I'm used to, but the past couple of days have more than made up for it. I'm picking up extremely fast. Boss is rather impressed and keeps complimenting me. You all know me, that's not good enough-I want to be the 'answer lady' again and the sooner, the better. I learn best by doing, and this is the perfect time to accomplish that. As good as Disney's benefits package was, this company is better. Granted, no free park admissions (wah), but the rest of it is NOT bad. More personal days each year, more vacation time starting in year 5 and sick time that rolls over each year. My coworkers are a great bunch. Head boss is very honest and refreshing. If I suck at something, she won't lie-I like that. The rest of the management team good to work with-lots of c...

Well, I'm officially unemployed for another 24 hours. The last two days were sheer hell and kinda reinforced the fact that I'm making the right move. One of the owners was asked to come over and help us out on Friday. He was asked to come wash dishes because we had a session of 8 and we were overbooked and had a group of 15 in the later session. To give you an idea, we always run with two employees and a dishwasher when we've got more than 5 guests, and we run with three employees and a dishwasher for 10 and up. Well, he would be the dishwasher to me and one employee. Did he wash any dishes? No Did he clean any of the tables? No again Did he help in ANY way? That would be no. Instead of boring you with all the details, suffice to say that I got so mad that I ended up dropping 4 F bombs in venting to another employee. Yes, 4! That's 3 more than ever gets said, and at that, I maybe use that word once a year (probably less). I think I scared the rest of the staff, ...

Hotel room for 2 nights $160.00 Hotel room for the babysitter for 2 nights $160.00 (thank you, Jane!) Tickets for the boys so they can go with babysitters into WDW $205 Watching two friends get married at the Happiest Place on Earth -PRICELESS! :) (oh yeah, since I seem to have become a bawling mess lately, I suppose I should spring the 2 bucks for a box of tissues, too)

Last night, I'm at work and it is B! U! S! Y! The cell phone starts ringing, and it's Ed. Uh Oh. Seems small child decided to put an eraser in his ear at school and doesn't bother to tell Dad until bedtime. He was afraid he'd get grounded. Ed looked, and sure enough, there was one-which couldn't be removed with tweezers. Argh. I kept small child home this morning, with the plan that I'd take him to our doctor as soon as they opened. Well, that means 10am on Thursdays. Promptly at 10:00, I call. No appointments until 3:45. The receptionist cautions me that they may not be able to do anything, either. If so, they'll send us to the pediatric ER. Lovely. Small child has been bugging me for weeks to pick up Lego Star Wars for the Game Cube, because it's cool on the small GBA screen, imagine 13" of it. Alas, I had to inform him that today's doctor's visit will cost far more than the game does. Also had to inform him that an ER visit ...

I went into the new job yesterday to get the new hire paperwork out of the way. I got a tour of the stockrooms (clean, yes, organized, not so much) and watched a dvd on one of the product lines. Met the new Assistant Manager, and it looks like the team is a good fit. At least we're all into wines, lol! The good news is that the insurance starts on my first day. Yippee!!!! Most retailers that offer it make you wait until 30 or 60 days have passed, so this is a relief for us. I found out that they interviewed 27(!!) people before hiring me and AM. My coworkers and guests have been so sweet the past week. I've been telling the regulars where I'm going and why and it's been good. However, the owner has been rather cold and aloof (nearly rude) to me since I've given notice. She knows *why* I'm leaving and that it's not anything against them in any way, but the cold shoulder continues. Typical me, I'm being my usual self with her, doing everything ...

I'm still in a funk, but starting to feel good about the job move. My coworkers, as expected, are making me cry with the kind words. I have to be careful, lest their words make my head so big that I can't get out the door. I've heard the opinion more than once that maybe I'll be asked to come back. Dunno, just going to take it one day at a time. Maybe this is a good thing. Ed'll probably leave as well, and perhaps that means he'll get a career-type job again. A source of frustration for me has been seeing others get everything for their homes that I've wanted but can't afford in the current situation. It bothers me when I talk about my ideas for decorating or improvements and next thing I know, it's staring me in the face-at someone else's house! Yes, the eyes DO turn green sometimes. However, something I'm not jealous about: Tim and Joyce have welcomed their third child and second daughter on Tuesday. I'm very happy for th...

Today, I made a very hard decision... I accepted a management position with a different employer. It's breaking my heart. The current job makes me happy. I really love the interaction with the guest and what the company stands for. Unfortunately, the business hasn't built up as quickly as we'd all hoped, and it's killing me financially. That, coupled with the fact that son's meds cost us 1300 bucks a month made this a neccessary change. That said, I'm going back into retail. Not back to the mouse, someplace different. The company I'm going to is one that I've enjoyed shopping in and has been around for years. Yes, I am insane for going back into retail the week before Thanksgiving, but I'll be fine. They're fine with the fact that having Tuesday nights off is sacrosanct. The store runs with SEVEN managers-what an alien concept-so managers work every third Sunday. The hardest part? Leaving the wonderful assistant manager and team I'v...