Sorry you asked how I was - aren't ya?
"What's this for?" I asked and replied "When I saw those beautiful flowers I knew you should have them". So it wasn't an early attempt at a Valentine's gift. He said that was 'just because' ~me smiling~ Then we went for a walk on the board-walk on the lake (it was windy but not cold). He held me in his arms and kissed me tenderly. It was just like one of those old black and white movies that play on Sunday's when nothing else is on. There was a carnival
so we stopped and treated ourselves to funnel cake and lemonde~too tart~. There was a lighted boat parade but we only stopped for a couple of minutes to watch. That was the only parade we attended this year. Later that night we caught a movie at the theater. We walked out in the middle it was so bad we couldn't stand to sit through it. We could have saved our 7 bucks and went to Starbuck's instead for coffee and pastries. The computer is working perfectly now thanks to Louis. I have a beautiful entertainment center now that was a Christmas gift from Louis and couple of weeks ago he added a surround sound system to it that I'm really pleased with to my surprise. Last night he ran an extra cable line to my bedroom so I can watch TV in there. I still haven't figured out what I'm getting him for Valentine so if you have ideas you would like to share I could use them being stomped with very little time to put together a nice gift.
I went to New Orleans last week for a company market meeting but there was no time to do anything but work. I was in and out like a bandit. 3 hour drive home to go straight to work ~fun~ The good news is we are planning to have these meetings monthly in New Orleans but I’m still waiting for the company to follow through on anything we plan to do. Furthermore, they may request that I attend the Houston market meetings instead of New Orleans because it's closer and would be less of an expense in gas and mileage to the company. I don't know yet but I believe they will let me join the rest of the market in New Orleans. The store hear in Lake Charles is coming around slowly. There are a ton of human resources issues. I have to fire someone tomorrow-maybe. I have to give her an ultimatum and one of the choices is termination from the Company ~YUK~ not my favorite part of the job to say the least but my Territory Manager says I’m great at it (who knew). There have been a lot of highs and lows but I’m just now starting to get the intense stress I felt in the beginning under control and put it on the back burner at some point in the day.
I received a call yesterday from the Vice- President HR. Once I started breathing again he told me that he was personally calling to congratulate me on my accomplishments with the company: my promotions, ideas and diversity, and proven track record of success. He went on to tell me that I (me as a manager) am a hot topic with the upper-management in the company. He actually assessed the four interviews I did for the promotion with other district and territory managers. Stroking my ego a little he elaborated that I am an up-and-coming, rising star, talented, top-notch leadership skills and he went on using very flattering adjectives to describe my performance and abilities. He also said he kept the resume that I emailed to HR in November and considers it in his opinion to be the Best resume for a promotion he's ever seen put with the interview assessments because I had the track record and the aggressive dialect in my interviews to back it up. He said "You passed with flying colors and there was no doubt from day one that we were all cheering for just a lot of red tape". It was exciting and rewarding to get that kind of recognition from a fortune-500 company Vice President. I couldn't find a single store manager who has actually talked to a VP one-on-one. He let me know it wasn't a routine call for new store managers or even new store manager promotions but very case specific and is something that I should be proud of. After reviewing my personal file he discovered this is my second relocation, and there were several additional programs and training I've implemented district wide leading to the millions of dollars in sales increases that can directly be attributed to my countless efforts for the company's profit. He let me know "this is not my last stop with the company and a Manager of your caliber will continue to grow and develop steadily surpassing my counter-partners. He also said they (a group of upper- management & VP's) have all taken a personal interest in me as a manager. Through my single success it would mean great things for the company in the way they develop their managers and potential promotions from within. He went back to my personal sacrifices I have made to serve the company and told me that I was the very first promotion in the company to be offered the bonus relocation package and they just got it approved yesterday! That announcment was the plot of the call. In addition to the reimbursement for the U-Hal and travel expenses to move they are giving me a $1500 relocation package bonus check! I responded by thanking him and letting him know I was impressed and very pleased with the support and actions of my manager's and the direction we're going. I let him know I continue to be humbled everyday trying to better the business not stopping too long to celebrate accomplishments knowing that will take a little away from the next mission. Going on to tell him I considered what he called personal sacrifices, opportunities and an investment in my career, my self and finical state. But I would graciously accept the bonus and expressed my feelings of self satisfaction from seeing finical rewards as a result of my merit and hard work!
With all of these expectations comes a lot of dedication and hours. Today is actually my day off but I will be in the store all day doing annual performance reviews on my assistants with my district managers. That's not even to mention the weekly schedule I need to have by noon that takes at least an hour only if I don't have to stop and if there are no changes after drafted. I'm only interviewing one candidate today for the store so that's another hour gone not to mention the 20 minutes preparation before the interview. I need to sqeeze in time to prepare for the two interviews tomorrow and the conference call. I also have to prepare for the leadership store meeting on Friday mornings and email to district manager before 1pm. Tending to the customer complaints is not optional if they submit the complaint directly corporate from my fault, lack of actions, or a bad call it could cost the me my career instantly. ~Stress~ then there's the weekly feedback due Friday mornings. Gathering information is countless hours and joined efforts from the team. I have to gather information from the store itself, team members, new customers, revenue customers, sister stores. Then I have to run across town to our biggest compeitior and do a competitive shop and write and assessment of observations of their store and how will that affect how we run our store for the following week. Oh yea and almost forgot I have to fire someone today.....and that's just scratching the surface. Gee...I hope no one calls in sick today. 2 team members called in sick yesterday so I had to run the store’s general operations with customers so everything else had to be put aside until I could leave the building for the night. Finally getting home at 11:30pm I discover I forgot to stop to buy toilet paper and I will be using the roll of paper towels for the evening ~ouch~ Of course I don't have any dinner because I was too tired to stop or even think about it. Forget those grocery stores; my shopping is quicker at the corner store. After I recaptured my train of thought I started the work I was already behind schedule on. I worked through the night on the computer for a while and at the kitchen table also. Taking frequent rest breaks to write emails to friends, family, and former and current colleges. Then after Midnight I realize there are 4 missed calls on my cell phone. Hoping it wasn’t one of District managers or the store with an emergency. It was 2 different District Manager’s called one with questions which you have no answers. The other manager is calling to tell you starting yesterday you’re now the new district captain for a new program and it will require additional hours of work and possible visits to other stores. This is not an actual change in position or salary just increased responsibility with a chance for exposure. Thinking maybe I could get one of my infamous 30min power naps so I can work through the day tomorrow. I’ll be fine as long as nothing comes up at the store I could rush home before closing time and get to bed early. My next time off can't be until the end of next week......and my employees have the nerve to say I make my own schedule and I could work when I want. Lol
I was having dinner with Louis at Applebee's after work one evening and I actually had to convense myself to fight the urge to go back to the car to get my briefcase because I was wasting too much time sitting at a restaurt waiting to be served. It brings a whole new value to the clince' "time is money" when you run a multi-million dollar business.
All in all it's going great in Lake Charles despite the fact I truly miss living in New Orleans. I think I'm almost sure that Lake Charles would not be potential place to make a home. I opened myself up to relocate to Houston next year so making a home anywhere for the next couple of years is not the plan. I just wanted to let you know what was going on and how I'm spending all of my time. I'm trying to be careful not to work too much and burn myself out. I take in as much rest as possible in my free/off time. Sometimes the wind just blows the other way and I have to turn the heat up.
I have the career I want
The best man in the world
and don't forget I'm cute as hell
so we stopped and treated ourselves to funnel cake and lemonde~too tart~. There was a lighted boat parade but we only stopped for a couple of minutes to watch. That was the only parade we attended this year. Later that night we caught a movie at the theater. We walked out in the middle it was so bad we couldn't stand to sit through it. We could have saved our 7 bucks and went to Starbuck's instead for coffee and pastries. The computer is working perfectly now thanks to Louis. I have a beautiful entertainment center now that was a Christmas gift from Louis and couple of weeks ago he added a surround sound system to it that I'm really pleased with to my surprise. Last night he ran an extra cable line to my bedroom so I can watch TV in there. I still haven't figured out what I'm getting him for Valentine so if you have ideas you would like to share I could use them being stomped with very little time to put together a nice gift.
I went to New Orleans last week for a company market meeting but there was no time to do anything but work. I was in and out like a bandit. 3 hour drive home to go straight to work ~fun~ The good news is we are planning to have these meetings monthly in New Orleans but I’m still waiting for the company to follow through on anything we plan to do. Furthermore, they may request that I attend the Houston market meetings instead of New Orleans because it's closer and would be less of an expense in gas and mileage to the company. I don't know yet but I believe they will let me join the rest of the market in New Orleans. The store hear in Lake Charles is coming around slowly. There are a ton of human resources issues. I have to fire someone tomorrow-maybe. I have to give her an ultimatum and one of the choices is termination from the Company ~YUK~ not my favorite part of the job to say the least but my Territory Manager says I’m great at it (who knew). There have been a lot of highs and lows but I’m just now starting to get the intense stress I felt in the beginning under control and put it on the back burner at some point in the day.
I received a call yesterday from the Vice- President HR. Once I started breathing again he told me that he was personally calling to congratulate me on my accomplishments with the company: my promotions, ideas and diversity, and proven track record of success. He went on to tell me that I (me as a manager) am a hot topic with the upper-management in the company. He actually assessed the four interviews I did for the promotion with other district and territory managers. Stroking my ego a little he elaborated that I am an up-and-coming, rising star, talented, top-notch leadership skills and he went on using very flattering adjectives to describe my performance and abilities. He also said he kept the resume that I emailed to HR in November and considers it in his opinion to be the Best resume for a promotion he's ever seen put with the interview assessments because I had the track record and the aggressive dialect in my interviews to back it up. He said "You passed with flying colors and there was no doubt from day one that we were all cheering for just a lot of red tape". It was exciting and rewarding to get that kind of recognition from a fortune-500 company Vice President. I couldn't find a single store manager who has actually talked to a VP one-on-one. He let me know it wasn't a routine call for new store managers or even new store manager promotions but very case specific and is something that I should be proud of. After reviewing my personal file he discovered this is my second relocation, and there were several additional programs and training I've implemented district wide leading to the millions of dollars in sales increases that can directly be attributed to my countless efforts for the company's profit. He let me know "this is not my last stop with the company and a Manager of your caliber will continue to grow and develop steadily surpassing my counter-partners. He also said they (a group of upper- management & VP's) have all taken a personal interest in me as a manager. Through my single success it would mean great things for the company in the way they develop their managers and potential promotions from within. He went back to my personal sacrifices I have made to serve the company and told me that I was the very first promotion in the company to be offered the bonus relocation package and they just got it approved yesterday! That announcment was the plot of the call. In addition to the reimbursement for the U-Hal and travel expenses to move they are giving me a $1500 relocation package bonus check! I responded by thanking him and letting him know I was impressed and very pleased with the support and actions of my manager's and the direction we're going. I let him know I continue to be humbled everyday trying to better the business not stopping too long to celebrate accomplishments knowing that will take a little away from the next mission. Going on to tell him I considered what he called personal sacrifices, opportunities and an investment in my career, my self and finical state. But I would graciously accept the bonus and expressed my feelings of self satisfaction from seeing finical rewards as a result of my merit and hard work!
With all of these expectations comes a lot of dedication and hours. Today is actually my day off but I will be in the store all day doing annual performance reviews on my assistants with my district managers. That's not even to mention the weekly schedule I need to have by noon that takes at least an hour only if I don't have to stop and if there are no changes after drafted. I'm only interviewing one candidate today for the store so that's another hour gone not to mention the 20 minutes preparation before the interview. I need to sqeeze in time to prepare for the two interviews tomorrow and the conference call. I also have to prepare for the leadership store meeting on Friday mornings and email to district manager before 1pm. Tending to the customer complaints is not optional if they submit the complaint directly corporate from my fault, lack of actions, or a bad call it could cost the me my career instantly. ~Stress~ then there's the weekly feedback due Friday mornings. Gathering information is countless hours and joined efforts from the team. I have to gather information from the store itself, team members, new customers, revenue customers, sister stores. Then I have to run across town to our biggest compeitior and do a competitive shop and write and assessment of observations of their store and how will that affect how we run our store for the following week. Oh yea and almost forgot I have to fire someone today.....and that's just scratching the surface. Gee...I hope no one calls in sick today. 2 team members called in sick yesterday so I had to run the store’s general operations with customers so everything else had to be put aside until I could leave the building for the night. Finally getting home at 11:30pm I discover I forgot to stop to buy toilet paper and I will be using the roll of paper towels for the evening ~ouch~ Of course I don't have any dinner because I was too tired to stop or even think about it. Forget those grocery stores; my shopping is quicker at the corner store. After I recaptured my train of thought I started the work I was already behind schedule on. I worked through the night on the computer for a while and at the kitchen table also. Taking frequent rest breaks to write emails to friends, family, and former and current colleges. Then after Midnight I realize there are 4 missed calls on my cell phone. Hoping it wasn’t one of District managers or the store with an emergency. It was 2 different District Manager’s called one with questions which you have no answers. The other manager is calling to tell you starting yesterday you’re now the new district captain for a new program and it will require additional hours of work and possible visits to other stores. This is not an actual change in position or salary just increased responsibility with a chance for exposure. Thinking maybe I could get one of my infamous 30min power naps so I can work through the day tomorrow. I’ll be fine as long as nothing comes up at the store I could rush home before closing time and get to bed early. My next time off can't be until the end of next week......and my employees have the nerve to say I make my own schedule and I could work when I want. Lol
I was having dinner with Louis at Applebee's after work one evening and I actually had to convense myself to fight the urge to go back to the car to get my briefcase because I was wasting too much time sitting at a restaurt waiting to be served. It brings a whole new value to the clince' "time is money" when you run a multi-million dollar business.
All in all it's going great in Lake Charles despite the fact I truly miss living in New Orleans. I think I'm almost sure that Lake Charles would not be potential place to make a home. I opened myself up to relocate to Houston next year so making a home anywhere for the next couple of years is not the plan. I just wanted to let you know what was going on and how I'm spending all of my time. I'm trying to be careful not to work too much and burn myself out. I take in as much rest as possible in my free/off time. Sometimes the wind just blows the other way and I have to turn the heat up.
I have the career I want
The best man in the world
and don't forget I'm cute as hell