Wednesday, November 25, 2009

November News

Well, it's been almost a month since I started working. Little Steve started daycare this week, and it was definitely a poignant turning point for both Mommy and Daddy. Little Man is adjusting, but he's thrown up each day this week at daycare. He seems to like the other children, and is very attached to his caregiver. He's also a young boy who likes to do everything head first. He is also very HEADSTRONG. Gets that from his Daddy.

Work is going okay, the upside is that I am working again, I'm getting out of the house (which is good for my sanity), and I'm also seeing how far I can go physically. Hard things: constantly aching feet, small server tips and "office" politics.

I actually ended up walking off the job a couple of weeks ago. Not something I would normally do, but my focus now is on improving the circumstances of my family. That is why I went back to work, and I put on blinders when I go to work. I'm there to do a job, and because I believe that I can work my way up in this job, I'm ignoring some of the things that would normally disappoint me. But I will not tolerate others slacking off around me and getting paid more. Long story short, I was in a store with no manager and a bunch of kids playing around a few weeks ago, and I left. My manager called me and we talked; I explained to her my dismay over having my tables stolen two nights in a row, and also my frustration over the young folks around me who chose to complain and not work, when there are folks out there like me with a family and kids who would take that minimum wage job and make the best of it. She told me to come back, but the atmosphere is definitely different.

One thing I've noticed throughout my life is that I often have difficulty communicating with other people on even the most superficial of levels. Perhaps it's because I don't want to be superficial, and also because my vocabulary is "different". I rarely use slang, and if I do it's at least a decade old. I prefer to just speak clearly. The things that interest me don't interest my peers, and I come across as an old lady due to the limitations of my health. Most of the people I work with are younger than me or related to one another, so sometimes I feel left out. But I try to go in and just give everyone a smile, concentrate on my work and leave when the day is done. I have a goal I'm trying to reach, and that goal won't be reached any faster if I make friends at work. In fact, getting any closer to the intrigue there might be detrimental. Folks are constantly gossipping. But I do feel lonely at times. It would be nice to have people my age around who shared some of my interests. Perhaps that day will come at a later time.

Today was Steve's birthday. Little Steve and I each got him a card, and I got Steve a new dress shirt and tie. I wanted to do more, but our financial constraints won't let us do that. But I have faith that it won't always be this way. We had pizza for dinner and joked about how old we are. Personally, I can't wait to turn 30. I also got in touch with everyone on our Facebook pages and made them wish him Happy Birthday (on time!). I think he liked that. Steve's not used to positive attention.

Little Steve is running around the house now. He understands the word "no", but that doesn't mean he listens. We stay on him. He likes to rip down the vertical blinds. Mommy would love to bathe without his presence once in a while. Especially when it's early morning and we have to get ready to go. It's easier to get him dressed first, but not if I have to change him because he tried to jump in the shower.

With each day that passes, Steve and I marvel that almost a year has passed so quickly. We can't wait to see how Little Man reacts to Thanksgiving, Christmas and his first Birthday. I hope that our finances are such that we can throw a little party. I plan to make cupcakes for Little Steve's daycare friends. Little Steve loves Mickey Mouse, and we've been looking for as many Mickey Mouse themed items as we can. I need to get him a stuffed Mickey Mouse to sleep with once we get his toddler bed set up. I was gonna use the crib as one, as it converts, but Daddy forgot that we had to take the bedroom door off to get it in the room, and broke it. I'm still kind of peeved about that. We can't afford a new bed right now, and both Steves wrestle in their sleep. Doesn't bother me as I sleep like the dead, but Daddy complains in the morning. Well, that's what he gets as he should not have broken the bed. Should've left me alone to do what I was doing (take it apart in one room, reassemble in another). *sigh* Stubborn men.

Well, it's off to bed now. I wish I knew of a way to stop the constant foot aching. :-) But painful progress is still progress, is it not?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Hard Day's Work

I've been working one week today. It's 20 before midnight and I should be in bed, but I know that the thoughts in my head will disappear while I'm trying to make my son go back to sleep in 7 hours. He's a morning person, just like his Daddy. :-)

Well, it looks like I have somewhat of a career path here. My RGM (Restaraunt General Manager) wants to train me and one other co-worker to be shift managers. So I guess, by the end of the year, I will be in management. Wow.

I've sat behind a desk for 14 years and could have probably done the job of many of my bosses. But it took a job at Pizza Hut to prove that I can indeed lead people. Like I said, wow.

I like the people I work with. The work is physically hard, but I think that's just something to get used to. My feet already feel less achy as the days go by. I like the fact that I'm not just sitting there trying to look busy. Today I think a cousin tried to call and prank me at work...but I was too much of a professional to call him out. Oh, if only we had Caller ID. I could have told him we don't deliver to Woodbridge. I'll chew him out tomorrow.

As I was washing dishes tonight, I was thinking that I'd rather work myself to death and be recognized for what I do, than continue to sit year after year behind a desk doing someone else's work and not being appreciated because I don't have a special title or degree. Poor Steve is dealing with that himself; he can do so much, but because he's just a contractor, some of his co-workers feel that they can mistreat him. I long for the day when he's working somewhere better. He deserves better. One of the vows I plan to make when we marry, my goal is to see that he experiences "better". He's had so much disappointment in his life.

Apparently in order to be a manager, I'll have to become a Certified Restaurant Manager. So, I'm finally going down a defined career path. I think I'm going to stay on this path until I finish my Master's degree. I've been too through with Corporate America for a long time. If I manage my own restaraunt, I can really give back. Manage and supervise in the way I was not. Help young people, give folks a second chance. There are many good people out there being passed up for good jobs due to poor choices or even bad luck. I know, I've been there.

Well, off to bed. 4 more night shifts...and early mornings with baby.