Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A Beginning to an End and other Beginnings

Well, yesterday I told my boss that I was planning to go back to school and about my other job offer. We spoke for a while about whether I could cut back some hours at Buckle and maybe work off commission there. In the end though, I told him thanks but no thanks. He even offered to have me come back around Christmas for some extra hours. Surprisingly nice. So I have three more days at Buckle and then will begin working at PUSD (Peoria Unified School District) next Tuesday. I also will be meeting with the financial aid guy at Argosy to see if we can handle me going back for my MA in Counseling this Fall. I hadn't even planned to go back to school; it came up so unexpectedly and oddly enough, it was because of a girl I met at Buckle. Things seem to be rapidly falling into place. Amazing how that happens, isn't it? As I think back to what has gotten me through these past several weeks, I am reminded of Bednar's talk on the tender mercies of the Lord and how He is always mindful of us.
"...The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized
blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses,
consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the Lord suits “his mercies according
to the conditions of the children of men” (D&C
46:15
)."

Sunday, August 24, 2008

A Bitter-- I mean, Better Week

My boss drove me absolutely crazy this week. His rude remarks and snappiness are on my last nerve. You know, I can't even write about it without getting upset so I will just leave it at that. Fortunately, Friday brought good news: I was offered a job as an ELL (English Language Learner) Assistant at Cheyanne Elementary School. This will free up my evenings and weekends whilst I do something I might actually enjoy! YAY!!! I just gotta let my boss know tomorrow. Dun-dun-dun... He might just shoot me.

And who knows, maybe once I settle in at a job, I can start blogging about happy things like my husband and my baby boy and my new calling and such. Let's just hope. I'm sure you would like to hear about something else too.

PS Thanks Jenny Mae for being a great reference!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Hold your breath...

This past weekend was crazy. My job is unstable. My boss is crazy. My options are dwindling. Let's just say I spent Saturday night and Sunday morning crying.

And then...

The Sunday afternoon brought new hope, along with a couple of new doors beginning to open... I thought to myself, "Perhaps, this is my long-awaited miracle," and the Spirit truly made me feel like it was. Though have already said it before and want to avoid sounding trite, this would be the greatest opportunity I could dream of at this point in my career.

For now...

I can only hold my breath and think, "Please. Maybe? Is it? Could this be the answer? Please, oh, please, let this work out." This would make everything I've gone through the past 6 weeks worth it.

Sigh. So here I go... deep breath and... hold.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Dear Santa...

Ok, this is what I want. I don't want to do Manager Development program any more. I want to take the position that was originally offered to me as Assistant Mgr and just take it from there. I don't want to do homeowork, review chapters, or make personal plans on Outlook calendars. I am married with a child and really don't have time for any of that. I want a 9-5 job where I can work my butt off and then come home and forget about it for the night. I don't want to eat sleep and breathe Buckle. I just want a job. So, Santa, if you could take care of that for me, you know, sometime before Christmas, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Your Pal,
Nikki

Friday, August 1, 2008

Week Four: 'Shush. What can you see?'

I'm not expecting to write much of the substance of what happened this week. Suffice it to say that it included some crappy days and some rays of hope with more time with my bosses to work on my development. What I wanted to touch on is the epiphany I woke up with this morning. For four weeks now, I've wondered why I have been having a hard time with work... is it because I am away from my family? Probably. Is it because I am physically exhausted by the end of the day? Sure. But I have been away from my family for school during the week but I didn't end up with the same feeling that I have when I return from work now. There is definitely something else.

My difficulty is twofold. It lies with the fact that I cannot see 'the bigger picture' while I am at work and that's mostly because they won't teach it to me. 90% of the time I try to learn something I am told, "Eh, you don't need to know that yet. You'll figure it out later." I tried to explain to a fellow manager-in-training yesterday that it helps me to know all of our policies and procedures beforehand so I don't make silly mistakes later on that could be avoided. "Don't worry about it" was what I was told. Thing is, I need that bigger picture. That is how I learn best. I need to see everything so later on I know where and how the little things fit into context. What I wouldn't give to see the bigger picture. Why won't anyone teach it to me?


The second part of my difficulty at work probably was something to do with my pride. I'm not gonna lie, I am not good at what I do right now at work. I have to work my butt off and I am still not very good at it. At this job, I am not using any of my hard-earner, sharply-made, fined-tuned skills. None. I come home at the end of the day thinking how I suck at my job when deep down I know I have amazing skills that just aren't being used. My intelligence, my research skills, my writing ability, my analytical skills, my ability to retain lots of information are all collecting dust on my hypothalamus. Instead, the people at work are seeing my worst skills in action: my sales inability, my lack of people skills, my inability to hear anything over that loud music. I feel so awkward at work. I know that comes through in part of what I do too. So now what? I know that this job isn't getting the best out of me. Do I give up or work through it?


I think I'll go read my patriarchal blessing.