Life Update

I haven't posted personal stuff for awhile, so I need to get caught up. Work has come to a level place after the stress coaster that are retail visits. Now, we have had something like 20 visits in the last 2 months (almost literally). These visits are really complete and total disruptions of the workweek, because while we are supposed to be doing things to make the store look great for our customers, but in actuality we spend that time getting the store detailed and scrubbed for the 1/2 hr. to an hour the visitor spends walking through the store. We then get to spend the rest of the day trying to do all the other things that we really needed to do to make our day to day activities go smoothly.

My most sincere wish is that each upper management person who schedules a visit gets to spend a few weeks not just judging the stores, but actually working in a store at our level. All week. Every time a visit is scheduled. Then have someone else schedule 3 visits a week. Then cut their hours. Just sayin'. Leave us alone so we can actually get work done.

We then got audited. Twice. We failed. Twice. Why? Many of the things we would normally do to get the store ready (detail the racks, size merchandise, make sure things are locked properly, etc.) we didn't do because WE HAD 3 VISITS INTERRUPT US! Mind you...the visits were a rousing success. Our boss, he received many many MANY kudos for the way that he runs his stores and us in particular for being the best store in his district (which we are rewarded by receiving EVERY FREAKIN' visit that comes to town). Still, we look like these slackers because we failed to cross every t and dot every i. (sigh)

The husband and I are looking EVER so forward to our vacation. We drive to Galveston and hop on a cruise through the Western Caribbean. 4 days at sea and 3 days in port. Rock on!

The Teen has returned and aside from his decided unwillingness to wash his clothes, it has been good. He's home. He's healthy. He's working. That is our blessing.

So aside from work being a crazytown, life is good.

Guilty or to not feel guilty

I have a dilemma at work that is robbing me of my sanity and making me feel like a shit for no reason. Here's the backstory:

The staff of my store was asked to submit vacation requests for the 2009 calendar year. I'd turned mine in to my Store Manager almost 2 days after the request. (I'd forgotten to do it, mea culpa.)

The schedule comes out yesterday and another manager (Dorothy) says to me, "I need your week off."

"Why," actually..."No, why?"

(laughs) "C'mon Joe...I need your week. A friend of mine is having a kidney transplant and I need to be there. I put in my request for the week before you and she called me today to tell me when her surgery was gonna be. Your week."

"I wish I could help you, but the vacation we have is the only week hubby has in the Spring without meetings or training."

This exchange has happened three times since the first conversation, each additional conversation getting more and more like emotional blackmail "My vacation is more important than yours," "You should want to help her," " do the RIGHT thing."

I'm just worn out over the whole thing. on one hand, I would trade the holiday/vacation in a heartbeat because I normally am a sucker for that, but this time Jack only has this one week available between now and, like, May to take a vacation that he sorely needs.

I get that this person is giving a kidney to save her husband's life. I do. What I don't get is the importance that my coworker is putting on her being there. This person isn't family and has family (I assume) to help. my coworker had already put in for vacation the week prior to mine and had no idea when the surgery was planned. It's not an IMPOSSIBLE situation, but one I don't feel beholden to repair. And somehow I know I'll feel guilty about it, regardless...

Inventory Prep Sucks

It is now the beginning of a new retail year and, as with all other companies, we are getting our stores ready for our annual inventory. Inventory in a store my size can go one of two ways: ridiculously smooth (where you wonder if everything actually was counted correctly) or nightmarishly (where it drags on F O R E V E R and you know things went horribly). All of that depends on the inventory prep. Day after day after day of checking to make sure everything has a ticket on it, the damaged stuff gets sent to hell where it belongs, and the mismated items find their friends.

This is a whippin' of galactic size. I hate children's clothes, I hate parents of children, and I edge closer and closer to wanting to hate children, but I know they are pretty much the monsters mom and dad mae them.

4 more days of this and I'm done. Woo hoo. If it doesn't kill me first.