A Month in Review
December actually started off pretty badly. A bad heater coil in my car resulted in it being in the shop for over a week and a $765 repair bill, and this just after a $200 brake job. As much as I was relieved that my windshield was no longer fogging up and I wasn't losing radiator fluid anymore, starting the month by spending nearly $1000 in repairs is not a good way to begin the holiday season.
On top of this, me being the sole closing manager at the store had begun to seriously wear on me. I am a morning person by nature, so you can see where this is going. By the end of the day I'm ready to wind down, but instead I have to gear up for the dinner rush. Also the fact that, since I work EVERY single night and my days off are irregular, my inability to enjoy what little social life I had seemed to be throwing me into a minor depression. Sure, I love my coworkers, but I was beginning to develop tunnel vision; all it seemed there was to my life was working at Papa John's in Zachary!
As a result, by mid-December I found myself in a pretty rotten mood. I couldn't shake the feeling I was being selfish, but dammit, I felt like I was in a rut, bored, lonely and just stagnating in every dimension of my life!
About this time things started to look up. A new assistant manager is on the way who wants to work nights, meaning I'd be bumped to main opener / day driver which actually makes me excited! As I said before, I am a morning person and am at my best then. Plus if I can get more driving shifts I can make more money, and day managers are more likely to work extra hours and get overtime pay. The main drawback is day managers can get HAMMERED by one big lunch order after another and have to hold the store down by themselves. A year ago that would have terrified me, but I am a much different manager now.
What excites me more is that my evenings will loosen up, which means I can actually go be social more often. Anyone who's been stuck in that rut between work and home knows how I've been feeling. I write so much about this situation because frankly, I feel like it's been a major part of the problem.
Right now, I'm closing out a glorious four day weekend granted to me by my manager because I have busted my ASS all month. Regardless of what I think of this job (mainly that it doesn't pay enough), I do it well and work my ass off at it. Christmas at the Bailey household was pretty slim, but we all saw that coming. Fact is, most of us here are grown-ups now and are pretty content with what we've got. Although I did get some awesome tea mugs from Teavana (the kind with drop-in strainers). However, seeing as we're going to Australia for two weeks next month, I think that will MORE than make up for it!
I also saw Tron Legacy today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Haven't had that much fun at a movie since Iron Man. The 3D version really doesn't add much, unless you get to see an IMAX version.
I have also identified my new television comfort food: NCIS. I've never liked forensics series, but NCIS is the exception.
Going forward, next year is going to be interesting. Parents moving to Australia, dealing with the house, and most of all where I'll be during all this. My supervisors seem keen to promote me to General Manager, yet I'm not so sure I want the job. The pay is more than double what I make now, but I do not think I'd be happy doing it at this point. However, it would look good on a resume and I know I could do the job well. Stress management has always been an issue for me and as much as I've fought with it as a mere assistant, how much worse it would be as a GM! At the same time I want to take the GRE and consider graduate school. Hell, everyone I know says they can see me as a teacher or professor and I'd enjoy that kind of work.
The hardest part about all this will be overcoming my greatest enemy - inertia. My dad said I'm like my mom; when I have a plan and know what to do, I am very confident. Like at work, we have procedures for dealing with everything and I have experience to fall back on. However, it's when I don't have anything to work with, when the first step is to create that first step that I have problems. I definitely don't want to make a career of flipping pizzas and dealing with pissed-off customers week after week, but I'm the only person who can make that change
In retrospect, the hardest thing to do when tunnel vision sets in and you feel like you're in an endless rut is to count your blessings. After all, I'm still very healthy, have the support of a loving family, a warm house, a bed to sleep in, a steady job (despite the pay), friends who care about me, a church family to share fellowship with, and so many luxuries that countless people only dream of. Yeah, my job sucks and I'm still single. I'm also not in debt and there are so many things that could be going wrong right now but aren't. In that perspective, I'm actually pretty well off!
P.S. The Billy Joel pack on Rock Band 3 is GLORIOUS. Sometime next year he's releasing a "Piano Challenge Pack" as well! After I get a decent drum kit I am definitely hosting a Rock Band party.
On top of this, me being the sole closing manager at the store had begun to seriously wear on me. I am a morning person by nature, so you can see where this is going. By the end of the day I'm ready to wind down, but instead I have to gear up for the dinner rush. Also the fact that, since I work EVERY single night and my days off are irregular, my inability to enjoy what little social life I had seemed to be throwing me into a minor depression. Sure, I love my coworkers, but I was beginning to develop tunnel vision; all it seemed there was to my life was working at Papa John's in Zachary!
As a result, by mid-December I found myself in a pretty rotten mood. I couldn't shake the feeling I was being selfish, but dammit, I felt like I was in a rut, bored, lonely and just stagnating in every dimension of my life!
About this time things started to look up. A new assistant manager is on the way who wants to work nights, meaning I'd be bumped to main opener / day driver which actually makes me excited! As I said before, I am a morning person and am at my best then. Plus if I can get more driving shifts I can make more money, and day managers are more likely to work extra hours and get overtime pay. The main drawback is day managers can get HAMMERED by one big lunch order after another and have to hold the store down by themselves. A year ago that would have terrified me, but I am a much different manager now.
What excites me more is that my evenings will loosen up, which means I can actually go be social more often. Anyone who's been stuck in that rut between work and home knows how I've been feeling. I write so much about this situation because frankly, I feel like it's been a major part of the problem.
Right now, I'm closing out a glorious four day weekend granted to me by my manager because I have busted my ASS all month. Regardless of what I think of this job (mainly that it doesn't pay enough), I do it well and work my ass off at it. Christmas at the Bailey household was pretty slim, but we all saw that coming. Fact is, most of us here are grown-ups now and are pretty content with what we've got. Although I did get some awesome tea mugs from Teavana (the kind with drop-in strainers). However, seeing as we're going to Australia for two weeks next month, I think that will MORE than make up for it!
I also saw Tron Legacy today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Haven't had that much fun at a movie since Iron Man. The 3D version really doesn't add much, unless you get to see an IMAX version.
I have also identified my new television comfort food: NCIS. I've never liked forensics series, but NCIS is the exception.
Going forward, next year is going to be interesting. Parents moving to Australia, dealing with the house, and most of all where I'll be during all this. My supervisors seem keen to promote me to General Manager, yet I'm not so sure I want the job. The pay is more than double what I make now, but I do not think I'd be happy doing it at this point. However, it would look good on a resume and I know I could do the job well. Stress management has always been an issue for me and as much as I've fought with it as a mere assistant, how much worse it would be as a GM! At the same time I want to take the GRE and consider graduate school. Hell, everyone I know says they can see me as a teacher or professor and I'd enjoy that kind of work.
The hardest part about all this will be overcoming my greatest enemy - inertia. My dad said I'm like my mom; when I have a plan and know what to do, I am very confident. Like at work, we have procedures for dealing with everything and I have experience to fall back on. However, it's when I don't have anything to work with, when the first step is to create that first step that I have problems. I definitely don't want to make a career of flipping pizzas and dealing with pissed-off customers week after week, but I'm the only person who can make that change
In retrospect, the hardest thing to do when tunnel vision sets in and you feel like you're in an endless rut is to count your blessings. After all, I'm still very healthy, have the support of a loving family, a warm house, a bed to sleep in, a steady job (despite the pay), friends who care about me, a church family to share fellowship with, and so many luxuries that countless people only dream of. Yeah, my job sucks and I'm still single. I'm also not in debt and there are so many things that could be going wrong right now but aren't. In that perspective, I'm actually pretty well off!
P.S. The Billy Joel pack on Rock Band 3 is GLORIOUS. Sometime next year he's releasing a "Piano Challenge Pack" as well! After I get a decent drum kit I am definitely hosting a Rock Band party.