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!