Wow, January has just about come and gone.
It is interesting to watch my progression at work over the last few months. During the Fall, I think my district manager got the notion that I was not fully statisfied. November hits and he offers me a huge position (to apply for it anyway) at corporate. From there, the ball began rolling at full speed to test my character, ingenuity, dedication and leadership skills. Not only do I find myself being handed responsibilities from my district management team, but also from the regional management team. It is tough work and I am putting in lots of hours, but I am really starting to enjoy the challeneges presented to me.
With that being said, for most of January I have been filling in for a manager and running a store location. In fact, I am preparing it to close down. It is surprising at how much effort goes into closing a store and doing it in an audit-compliant manner. Added to the fun mix of standard responsibilities of running a store, there have been break-ins, stringent quotas to meet and a large reporting project to build and maintain which have tested my patience, time management skills and ingenuity. Tasks of this size are normally handed to a person of higher ranking in the company so I am extactic to see how responsive my management team was when I was asking for more challenges and heftier responsibilities. I was even more honored when my director recognized me infront of the entire region at at ¨town hall¨ meeting to give me a rare award for my dedication and ownership of responsibilities far above and beyond my normal duties. I am completely blown away by the amount of support shown to me by my management team because I would not be able to do nearly as good of a job if they have not supported me in the manner in which they have.
For better or worse, I did not personally hear that recognition because I was away for a long weekend in NY! P and I ventured back to my old stomping grounds and were welcomed in by a thick white carpet.. of snow! It was icky and stormy but after a long drive from the airport we made it safely to Grandmal and Grandpap´s! There were lots of laughs, conversations, taco night fiesta fun and of course naps to be had. We even piled on the snow gear, boots and toasty gloves to go out and romp in the snow when the storm settled. The kitties missed me lots after 4 days but they kept each other company while I as gone. (I still have Wally because P is going away on business trips).
Yesterday was an adventure! P´s and my schedule finally coincided so that he could help me take my tree out. There are pine needles EVERYWHERE. We did our best to clean up the hallway leading out the apartment complex door but I am convinced the cleaning lady will report me to the property management company. After that, we had the relaxing day I very much needed (I suppose both of us, for that matter). I did laundry while we bummed around and watched movies. (By the way, if you have never seen ¨A man for all seasons¨ then I would highly recommend it.) It was such a bum day that I got to introduce P to toasted PB&J sandwiches and then jump out from the basement and scare the BaJeeBees out of him! :0)
Until next time!
