CupTeaLuv?

My last work day was Friday and my last class was Saturday morning — and now I’m free!!!!
I’m very happy with my decision — a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders — and not just because I found out at my impromptu leaving-do (the girls all came over and we got Applebees to go at the store and sat around in the staffroom and chatted after my last shift ended on Friday) — found out that the manager of the scrapbooking section has made her decision official — she’s not going to come back as manager but only as part time. If the asst. manager wasn’t over-the-top stressed out before… she sure is now!!!!!!!!!!!
Nevermind — not my problem… not anymore!

I ain’t workin’ there no more….
Yep it’s true– I have handed in my two weeks notice at my job.
Why?? You may ask with incredulity (as most of my colleagues have)…
Many reasons…
1. I hate working at crops — almost always have… I hate the way they throw my body off like jetlag or a hangover (if I’d ever had one to compare it to) — I don’t sleep when I finally get home from work at 1:30 or 1:45, and then I am in an exhausted, headache-filled fog for at least a day, many times two days. It’s awful. And Cord has taken advantage of me too many times… making me do four crops in four weekends in a row! And just last week I worked a crop on the Saturday night and then turned around the following Friday night and did it again — two crops in the span of one week… TOO MUCH. Not even to mention the catty attitude that some (not all — most of our croppers are super nice, but it just takes one or two to really ruin a crop!) are just so catty. We are having all kinds of problems recently because our crops have been very full (we can fit 40 people) — so full that there are always people coming in late and expecting to sit together and it is just impossible and others who have been there for hours don’t want to move to accomodate them (which I don’t blame them one iota but it sure makes my job hellish).
2. It is extremely stressful working at a place where most of the employees dread their job and want to quit! Not 100% of them, but about 90%. We have pressure from corporate to perform well financially, pressure from them to be the best Cord store they have, pressure to keep the store immaculate (and we do all the cleaning ourselves), and pressure to change the way things work on a moment’s notice because someone in corporate has made a decision to change something… too much pressure for someone being paid minimum wage.
3. Home life — I miss out on spending my weekends and many evenings with Andy. I don’t get to participate in all the activities I want to at church. I feel like I have no friends because I can only see them about once a month. Our house is a tip because I’m not home often enough to keep on top of cleaning and tidying, and not to mention that we’ve been in the house almost a year and not done one single bit of decorating. There are unpacked boxes everywhere. Andy’s folks are coming in just over 3 and 1/2 weeks and I’m starting to feel panic.
4. Lastly — physically — We want to start a family in the next six months. We have both gained a little weight since I began work because of eating out so much — my shifts often start at 10 or 12 and finish at 5 or 6 or 7… and many times I haven’t been to the store to get items for lunch, or I am too exhausted at 6:45 when I finally get home to do any cooking. Plus I stress about working crops, so don’t sleep well the night before and feel like I am tired all the time.
All in all, I’m happy with my decision, and I am probably going to do some guest-teaching in the new year for them, so I haven’t burned my bridges or anything. Guest teaching means I can choose my own classes, and everything is on my terms. No more crops, no more shifts, just the fun part of the job — working with people and helping them learn how to do cool and fun things with paper!

The drama at work seems to be calmer at the moment — but I know it might just be the calm before the real “storm” (i.e. before my boss leaves on her maternity leave and all heck breaks loose)…
So I’m just working away, hanging in there, doing my job and keeping a low profile…
On a really fun up note — I had a light schedule for this week (fewer hours) because I was scheduled to teach a class all weekend long (10:30-8 sat and 11-4 sun) but nobody has signed up for the class so it has been cancelled!
Which means that I have a few days off in a row!! *gasp*
I guess that means that I have to start cleaning….. *sigh*
I did buy a vaccuum cleaner yesterday, so that’s a start…?

well — I was (still very much am) happy with the decision they made for the new assistant scrapbooking manager (even though I would have gotten along better had they chosen the other of the two folks up for the job with me)… but I think they handled it all very poorly.
The successful candidate found out on Thursday. I worked with said candidate all day friday and wasn’t told. In fact I asked her if she’s heard anything and she had to lie to me because they’d asked her not to say anything.
I found out last night because I had dinner with my boss and her hubby and my hubby. If I’d felt any other way about the news, dinner would have really stunk!! Nevermind.
Anyhow — I sent an email last night saying congrats to the gal who got it, to show no ill will and to show support of her.
The other gal who didn’t get it was in this afternoon and worked the crop with me tonight — they didn’t tell her until nearly 5:30pm (she arrived at work at 3pm). She was told by the store manager (because our scrapbooking manager is on vacation for a week and a bit).
She wasn’t a happy bunny. In fact, she was pretty honked off.
I can’t say as I blame her — she was well qualified.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more their decision doesn’t make sense (for more reasons than I can go into on this blog).
*sigh* — i just hope she doesn’t quit. I’d be devastated — she’s one of the gals I’m closest to! Once Stephanne leaves on Maternity, I’ll be on my own… especially if this gal leaves…

I’m very glad to report that I didn’t get the assistant manager’s job — I’m feeling very relieved and if any, only a very very small twinge of “wish I’d gotten it” feelings.
I really think the hours would have been way too much, and with the way that politics fly around this place, I probably would have been in big trouble quick (I’m rubbish at playing politics, and at keeping my mouth shut at the right times).
So the results are in and boy am I glad!!!
It also means that I get to keep my part time hours and keep teaching my classes (which I am really really enjoying at the moment!) — and with the paychecks I get after the classes, I’m REALLY REALLY enjoying them!!!

At least in this case it is.
They haven’t made a decision yet — I was told at the interview “as soon as possible” (which to me means later that afternoon or at least the next morning — to them it means nearly a week later, apparently).
So I won’t hear until Wednesday I guess.

ok… not 1,000 … more like 4, but feels like more!
at least 3 of the four have no preparation work (i.e. cutting paper etc.) and I just have to prep what I am going to say!
And the fourth is card club — so some cutting involved, but at least it’s only for 3 or 4 people, and it will be fun because my Mom is going to come and take that with me!! whohoo!!
I’ll post pics/scans of the results…

Her name is Nicole and she’s more than 5 years younger than I am. I have been working with her only since the beginning of April, but feel as though I have known her for much much much longer than that.
Yesterday I got the opportunity to get to see deeper into her personality, her life.
Just before I met her, she went to Chicago to attend the Creating Keepsakes University — Album conference. Through this conference, she chose Heidi Swapp’s “She” album tract. This means that over the course of one weekend, Nicole was in loads of sessions of trainings to learn new techniques to use in the album she was creating using Heidi Swapp materials.
We’ve been talking loads lately about all sorts of things, and Nicole had brought in her other albums she’s created, her wedding album and her album of Eli, her little boy who will be three soon.
Yesterday she brought in her CKU-Album entitled “She”. She hand

is really going well, I’m enjoying it and the people I work with are a bit stressed but doing well. We’re still a bit short-staffed, but now that the people that have been hired have had a bit more training, it has taken some of the pressure off my boss.
Unfortunately over on the camera sales and the developing lab, things have gotten worse — a few people have handed in their 2 weeks notice (for better jobs, not because they aren’t happy working at our store). So the store manager is a bit stressed!
But overall, the opening of the store has gone well, there have been some growing pains, but they are slowly working themselves out. Our biggest growing pain is that we have so many new things coming in and no place to put them!!
Nevermind — at least that is a good problem to have!

so you would think they would be proud and reward us? But no!! The greedy so and sos now want to push the opening day up one day!!!!!!!
my poor boss. She’s 25, 3 months pregnant with her first baby, and has transferred from the Delaware store to work at this new one… and she only has my good self and 2 maybe 3 other workers (none of which have been trained in any fashion yet).
And now we’re opening on Friday.* (see below!)
THIS friday.
should be interesting in the very least.
UPDATE — we are NOT opening this friday (thank the LORD) — they are keeping the opening day Saturday!!! So the stress levels are lessened, and we have another day to prepare!