Training starts today!

I am excited. I do my first shift training at the customer service desk today. I am working with someone I get along with, and have someone even more experienced working as the bookkeeper so I know I will get some good training today.

BFF has a physical therapy appointment this morning and as soon as she gets home I am out the door. My manager made a mistake in her scheduling of me this morning. I am technically not available til 1 PM. She scheduled me for 9 AM!! Our agreed solution was for me to arrive ASAP with no worries! :)

I'll let you know how it goes.

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Cool link I found.

visited 36 states (72%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

I saw this on another site and thought you'd all like to see it too. It's at this site. Hope you have fun with it!

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Silly People and Mulch Man

Okay, so today was the day for silly people... like this:

me: (ringing groceries) Do you have your *Job B* card?
customer A: No (while holding their keys in plain sight and I can see the card!!!)

me: (ringing groceries)
customer B: I thought the berries were 3 for $5
me: yes with your *Job B* card
customer B: Well why didn't you tell me that?
me: (blank stare and thinking: I just did )
customer B: Do you need my card?

and the topper... the story of Mulch Man:

Customer C (now known as Mulch Man or MM for short) has 4 bags of mulch in his cart. He walks from the front of the store all the way to my register. And he never realizes his bags of mulch are leaking (thank you rain) til he's at my register.

MM: Oh I'm leaking a little

So I expect a few drops no biggy. No, no, no. These mulch bags have been flooding!! Major wet mess all over the front walk in the store and my register area. And it's brown liquid, so you can imagine people's reactions. Fellow employee got it cleaned up with the super soaker powder. But still!!! EW!!

So yes, these are the stories of my life at work! LOL

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Looking for opinions

Okay, so I am looking for peoples opinions on this situation.

Job A hired me on April 6th. Job B hired me on April 23rd. Those were my starting dates.

Job A pays 25 cents less per hour than Job B.

The first 4 weeks I worked for Job A I have 2-4 scheduled shifts a week and the weeks I had only 2 they offered me another shift. Then all of a sudden they dropped me to only 1 five hour shift for 3 weeks straight, a 2 shift week, then several more weeks of 1 shift, then last week 3 shifts. BUT, on Thursday called and told me my shift on Friday was canceled because the store didn't have the hours for it.

Job B has consistently given me 4 shifts a week, occasionally a 5th as well. And I consistently work 20-24 hours a week there. Sometimes more. Job B has just promoted me which will mean another raise.

Job B has stated that if I open my availability I can probably have more hours per week once my training is complete.

Job A gives me a 25% discount on clothing for the whole family. This is a brand I like. Job B gives me a 15% discount on STORE BRAND products.

My issue is...

Yesterday I went to both stores to get my schedule. Job B has given me 27 hours (WOOHOO) and Job A has given me... NADA. Not a single shift. The general manager said that the shipment is slow this week.

I really feel about ready to give my 2 week notice. I am torn though because this is a national company with a good record overall. But I'm making less money and not even getting hours. I get a generous discount and would DEFINITELY miss that. But there's other ways to get my clothes for less money.

SO... please weigh in with your thoughts. What would YOU do? What do you think I should do? And why please.

Thanks everyone!

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Cakes

Yum yum cakes...

So yesterday BFF and I made a totally 100% vegan cake for church. It's also soy and nut free. Her 2 allergic kids can eat it, it tasted great AND was vegan for church.

It was a raspberry mocha cake with a chocolate buttercreme filling and icing, and regular buttercreme decorations.

I did the baking and a good chunk of the icing, but BFF smoothed it out, and she did the decorating. It was getting pretty late and bluntly it would have taken too long for me to try to do it.

Here's the pic, it was taken with a phone camera, so excuse the quality of pic.

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New layout!

Well, I have a new blog layout, let me know what you think of it.

Job A caused me a bit of stress the other day. Our newly promoted Assistant Store Manager came out of the office and barked at all of us that we needed to cut the chatter to get the work done. It upset me because bluntly, we CAN talk and work. We open packages of clothes and put them on either a hanging rack or folding rack. We are in close quarters and we're almost exclusively female. But we all quieted down and worked. "New Girl" (NG) and I were working together and really, we were busting it out. We went through 20 boxes in 20 minutes. This is no small feat. We unload the box, open the packaging, sort, and size the clothing. There's usually 25-50 items per box, we were FLYING through these boxes at warp speed. But it was all for naught as we got a "group" lecture after the shift that we (summarized) hadn't gotten it done (NG and I got OUR assignment done) and that since we talk too much and the music OBVIOUSLY distracts us, we will no longer be allowed to have music and if we talk we will be given verbal warnings. *sigh* I was pretty upset about it. I truly feel that a formerly nice, fun, "cool" manager got promoted and is now trying to "prove" that she's worthy. And she took it out on our team.

I decided that in regards to this situation I'm just going to keep doing my job. I KNOW I was doing my job properly and plenty fast enough. And so I will just keep doing it. Most of the time they give me only ONE shift per week anyway. As long as I have one shift per month, I keep my discount. In MANY respects, that discount is the ONLY reason I continue to work there. I buy clothes for the WHOLE family there. And 25% off is a NICE chunk to be relieved of. As I said in my previous blog, I am trying to start being more minimalist. I try to not buy too much new clothing, but the fact is, we have to buy some sometimes. So I need to keep this job so I keep the discount. If it truly becomes an unbearable environment I will leave there will full 2 weeks notice. This way I could still re-hire with the company when we move.

One of the supervisors from Job A called yesterday late afternoon while I was at Job B. Fortunately Job B supervisor was cool since it was slow and she let me walk out and take the call. Job A sup was calling to tell me my shift this morning was canceled because the store didn't have the hours to give me. I said that was fine. Bluntly, they usually give me 5 hours a week, this week, the 2 days I've worked are already 7 1/2 hours. So I really didn't mind NOT working this morning!!! LOL

Nothing new to report on Job B really. I will go to both Jobs today to get my schedules for next week. I'm supposed to be Service Desk training at Job B. My schedule will tell me :)

My cake class started on Wednesday night. Although this class kinda was boring, because the students had nothing to do. But we are to bring a cake to class this week to work on. YAY

BFF's DS1 has a birthday this Monday, and BFF is going to have me do the cake. She's going to help me, so it'll be fine! LOL I'm excited about that cake, a NASCAR themed cake for him. And my class cake will be a picture transfer thingy, I'll explain the details on the HOW later! I have a VERY dear friend of mine emailing me the picture today for my transfer. I LOVE this image so much that it's been tattoo'd on my back for the last 6+ years!!! LOL But I don't have a good drawing of it to use for the cake, so she's sending it to me. She designed it! LOL

Anyway, this week is another baptism at church, and I'm looking forward to it. :)

Well, we have a lot to do this afternoon. Hopefully BFF can go get her contacts today, I need to get both my work schedules, and we need to go buy one more thing for the cakes. well, hopefully only one more LOL. I'm seriously debating buying a pair of jeans at work, because I have an employee's only coupon for any pair for $19 PLUS our employee discount of 25%. This brings my total down to $14.25. A pair runs between $29.50 and $34.50 making this at LEAST 50% off in the end. I don't NEED more jeans, especially in my current sizes. I'm considering buying a pair the next size down though. It's a risk, but I AM losing weight, so I will fit them eventually! LOL

OFF I go to do stuff!

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So much to update on

And so little time to type LOL. Well, not really, I have several hours, but I will not be able to convey all of it without making a 20 page post LOL.

Okay, so we had a good weekend. We went to church Sabbath morning. It was a baptism. A young adult who was very excited to be baptized, and then the pastor did an altar call for others who'd like to be baptized. Several people went to the front, including one gentleman who is considered a leader in our church. He was re-baptized immediately. It was inspiring. I have been wanting to be baptized, but every time the opportunity has presented itself to either speak to the pastor or bible worker, or an altar call has occurred, I have found myself either unable or not ready to take that last step. And this Sabbath was no different. I know the right time will present itself. When the time is right I will be calm and able to stand up and take the steps needed.

Later BFF's DH fired up the grill and we had delicious chicken, corn on the cob (cut off the cob for me), grilled squash with garlic, and watermelon. It was DELICIOUS. I enjoyed it very much.

We then packed up and headed out to a nearby school for a fireworks display. We were very lucky to get about 10 feet from the barrier. I was excited to be so close, but had concerns about the girls being afraid. Especially Bug, she is like her momma and is afraid of thunder. But we told the girls before it started that it would be like their favorite book "Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM" And she handled it pretty well at that point! LOL

SO that was our 4th of July, it was an overall great day.

On the work front...

Oh me Oh my... I have had some "interesting" customers the past week.

At some point this past week I was informed that I was now a "Customer Service Champion" and I am responsible for making sure that the customers are receiving appropriate service. Among other things we are implementing the process of asking the customer if they found everything okay or something similar to that. In many ways this question is a formality. We have associates all over the store that would be happy to help if the customer asks. But still, it's a nice touch to double check. In my first shift of asking this I had three separate customers who all stated they had NOT found everything, and with mine and my fellow associates assistance we were able to help them. So I'd personally say it was an effective policy. Furthermore, several of the customers have THANKED me for asking, saying how nice it is that I asked. All except this ONE customer. I asked the question and she says "Did you come from Trader Joes???" And of course I respond no, since I've never worked for TJ's. She launches into this huge speech/lecture about how useless it is to ask that question, that if she'd gotten to the checkout obviously she HAD found everything, cuz how could you NOT know where to look etc. She just went ON AND ON about it. At first I was ready to just brush it off. She might have been having a bad day. But when she kept going and was beginning to say that I was an idiot for asking, well, I got angry. I behaved, and in a restrained, and fairly calm manner, informed her that in fact this question was not a waste of time, useless, or make me an idiot. That in one days time, and my shift was only 5 hours, I had assisted 3 separate customers to find something they couldn't. She backed down at that point but OH was I mad.

The next day, I was FINALLY given the paperwork to do that will get me a 50 cent raise for being a cashier. YAY for raises. This will put my hourly rate at $8.75/hour.

The same day as my paperwork arrived, our general manager came through my checkout line. I totally didn't recognize him though. I'm used to seeing him from a distance. So I gave him the same exact customer service that I give everyone. I truly pride myself on giving everyone good service, because I believe it will come back to me, and I should treat others as I wish to be treated. Well, it was EXACTLY the right thing to do to my general manager!!!!! He got so elated that I was giving him the "customer" treatment and DOING what they want us to. He looked for a green card, kinda a recognition card that you can save up and trade in for $$, but he had none. He said he'd get me one though. Within 5 minutes the manager between my department manager and the GM came over and complimented me on pleasing our GM that way! :)

But best of all, yesterday, my dept. manager brought me 2 green cards. One she said was from our GM, the other was from her for earning one from the GM and therefore making the whole dept look good LOL. A little later she came over and told me that next week I'm going to start training on Service Desk!!!!!! :D :D :D :D This is a TOTAL promotion, and a total shock!!! I guess the GM told her to make it happen. I've worked there roughly 2 1/2 months! I will get another raise!!! I don't know how much, probably 25-50 cents, but still, that's a nice raise!!! :) :) And I'll be able to work more hours now too cuz I'll have another area I can work in.

Yes, I'm excited! LOL We celebrated last night with a chocolate molten and some Starbucks Caramel Macchiato ice cream. I almost celebrated after my Job A shift this morning by treating myself to some new jeans. BUT... BFF convinced me this weekend not to spend the money since I'll probably "undergrow" them (lose weight) in a month or so, and I am really trying to watch my money to be able to spend it on nicer purchases.

I read a blog this morning at Organizing Your Way on being more minimalist. The guest writer said one of the biggest things was being the type of minimalist THEY wanted to be, not an ideal that someone else set down for them. They don't want to give away all their possessions and live on a commune or only own 100 items. It really spoke to me. I think that in the months to come I need to really pare down my "possessions" and keep the stuff the truly matters to me. And stop buying STUFF just to have more STUFF. I do NOT need to keep up with the Joneses. In a small way I've already done some of this. I have given away or thrown away when appropriate quite a bit when I moved from Tennessee to Massachusetts. Now I need to do it again.

I am using the library more (SO much more economically and environmentally friendly anyway) and I only buy books I truly feel a need to own. I have had to buy quite a bit of clothing in the last couple months for 2 reasons, first off, for work. My previous wardrobe worked great for staying in the house most of the time. But not for work. And what I did have that was appropriate for work was winter clothing, and I started working in April. I should be good to go come fall and winter, and will just pick up a few key pieces here and there and as clothes wear out or I "undergrow" them. Which is the 2nd key reason I have bought clothing. I NEEDED smaller pants. My size 16's were falling off me. In that same cut of pants I needed a 14, in a different cut I was able to move into a 12. The 12's are already getting to that point where just a little while after I put them on I am pulling them up constantly. BUT... I do not yet fit the next size down. So I have to lose more weight before they'll fit. That's okay though. I am blessed to be able to give the clothes I undergrow to BFF who is undergrowing her way into my clothes!! I'm so happy for her!!!! :)

I notice that some of my shirts from before are really wearing out, and some that I just do NOT wear. I have some I will NEVER get rid of for sentimental value. Shirts from my time in the Army for example. But I have a tough time with shirts. I have to find shirts long enough to cover my midriff, or use a tank under them to do the job, and I need some sort of sleeve for Job A. I am also that pain in the a$$ who refuses to pay full price. With a couple exceptions: jeans (I watch for sales, but, I will not WAIT for sales!!! LOL), socks (yeah, find a sale for that!!), undergarments (like jeans), tank tops (from a certain big box store, they are the ones that fit me best, are long enough, and only cost me $4 to begin with!), and shoes (again, like jeans). I am blessed to get a GENEROUS discount at Job A, meaning I am NOT paying full price, and yet I STILL frequently wait for a sale.

ANYWAY... my point to this is that I want to get to a point where I can spend the money on NICER things that I truly need and want. Like buying a new bed for myself when we move. I don't have one right now, and even if I did there'd be no room for it here. I sleep on BFF's comfy couch most of the time. But, when we get ready to move, I want to go to IKEA and buy my bed frame (cuz they have an IKEA here and I don't know if they will wherever we end up). And then the mattress for my frame. The mattress will be pricey, but if I stop buying just to have the newest things, just because I can, then the money will be there. It's going to be a change for me, but I know I can handle it!!!

I'm still pushing to eat better and be more environmentally friendly.

I am starting my Wilton Cake Decorating classes tomorrow, I'm very eager for that!! And I paid for my sister to fly up here in 2 weeks to visit. She's been sounding really down lately, and I know she'd like to see the girls. Plus, she's been wanting to meet BFF. So, BFF and I went on a hunt for a good ticket. We hit the jackpot with a flight for under $180!!

Well, I'm going to go rest for a bit before work tonight! That's my "short" update. LOL

See ya all soon!!

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