It's Been WAY too Long...

...since I have posted. So much has happened. The toy store job just didn't work out. Looking back, it was sucking the life out of me, it was consuming me. The hours were crazy! One shift was over twenty-three hours! Most days were twelve to fourteen hours. Add to that about an hour drive each way and my life became, eat sleep, work, repeat. By the time I got a day off, I was so worn out that I would spend the day sleeping.

Now, keep in mind that while I am doing this, the company was underpaying me. Over the course of two months they failed to add the extra money that was promised to me for working overnight. Every Thursday I was told that it would be on my check the next day. Every Friday when it wasn't, I was told that it would be "looked into". Repeat the same conversation next week. Meanwhile the total kept accumulating to over $300!

There were other issues too. The company is just in a bad position and everyone knew it. This brought moral down to the point of non-existence. I cannot stand working with people that are miserable, it makes me miserable. This in turn makes others miserable and so on.

Back in October I had applied for a job that I felt was where God wanted me. I was called in for an interview with their regional trainer. It seemed to go well. A friend of mine works with the company, she said that they were impressed with me. Still, I never got the call back.

My friend, knowing my frustrations, did some snooping for me. It turns out that my paper work had got lost in the shuffle, they had some management changes in the store and then Christmas came along.

So with-in a couple of days, I was in touch with the district manager. A few days after that, I had a job offer. This offer included better pay and benefits with less hours.

I've only been there three weeks but, so far it is one of the best jobs I've ever had. They don't care if you make a mistake as long as you learn from it. There are posters in the back that say "Never make the same mistake, always make new ones."

This company believes in the best of everyone, not the worst.

Christmas Stress

So, I finally have a few minutes to post! Work is getting better. We finally have a good crew. With the bad seeds gone, we are finally catching up.

The day I started, there was a truck full of merchandise and we had to move 15-20 pallets of more merchandise to get to it. Now there are only four and these are mostly the early shipments for Valentines day.

I did have a problem with one of the new guys. I had asked him to do something and he kept talking to a co-worker about a football game. So, I asked him again thinking he didn't hear me. He flew off the handle. I realized immediately that we had been there for eleven hours and we were both tired, so I probably came across wrong and he, being tired also, took it wrong and over reacted.

I turned around to apologize and correct the situation. That is when it turned bad. He told me to get out of his face, yet I was about four feet away. I kept trying to get him to calm down and listen, but he just kept yelling. In fact, we were at the very back wall of the building and they heard him all the way at the front (good thing we had not opened yet).

The store manager called us both into the office the next evening to talk. On the way, all I could think was how much trouble we both were in. As it turned out, she had gotten a statement from the only witness. The witness stated that I had not yell at the employee and that I acted more than fairly. She began to talk to this poor guy about insubordination and obeying the supervisor. I felt bad for him, she scolding him like a dog that had wet the rug.

I interjected, I felt that long hours and hard work were more to blame than a disregard for authority. She eased up a bit and let us get back to work. Later she came and asked me why I had stood up for him. I said that all in all he is a good worker. He had been with us only a few days, but that I had already seen that a reaction like this was not like him.

Later in the evening the employee came up to me and apologized. He said what I had done for him in the office took guts. He went on to say that next time he is in trouble that he would like me to be the one to talk to him in the office.

When I asked him why, he said that I had corrected the manager in such a way that she didn't even notice. To him, I had seemed firm but gentle and he felt that deserved and showed respect on my part.

The manager came up to us later and apologized for her attitude. It seems that she had been tired and stressed lately. She did not realize how tired she was until I had broke into the conversation earlier.

New Job

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. The new job has got me EXTREMELY busy. Who would of thought a toy store was busy at Christmas..lol!

I have been working about twelve hours a day. Add to that a forty minute commute and most of my day is gone. I have been assured that it will get better by the 26th of this month.

The crew that I have been in charge of is the overnight stockers. They are all seasonal workers and they don't really care about their job. I have lost five people this week. Two of them just stopped showing up, one got into an argument with someone so we asked him to leave. The other two, well, we caught them stealing.

I have always hated letting people go, but the two that were stealing just upset me so much that I was relieved to watch them leave. I saw the video, they waited until I was walking one of the ladies out to their car then took a very expensive item.

All told though, the job is not bad. I have had problems adjusting to the overnight shift. That is only temporary, I should be back to days after the holidays. Right now I am getting plenty of hours, I put in nearly sixty hours in five days. Just knowing that I will be able to get Annette and the kids a little something for Christmas has kept me going.