bittersweet goodbyes

kyleigh, upon learning i am getting a new job:


"but you are going to miss your FRIENDS mom!"


young but wise, that one. young but wise.

3.5 days and counting...

only 3.5 days left for me at company t! and of course, i am getting requests up the wazoo when all i really want to do is tidy and pack. it's funny how some people decide to bombard you at the last minute. ; )

i am soooo looking forward to having my week off in between jobs. it will probably be the last real time off i get for a while. i guess my starting a new job over the summer is kind of bad timing! it will suck not to really have any days off when the weather is nice. oh well, it's the price i have to pay.

employees at our parent company were told on friday that they are getting a temporary pay decrease for june and july that is equivalent to a week off unpaid. they can take 5 days off during june and july in return. it just adds fuel to the fire for me and makes me even more glad i am leaving. as i was cleaning out my emails i found more than 50 notices of plant closings and layoffs within our corporation from the last year and a half. probably kind of morbid for me to have saved them, but again...more fuel for the fire!

i know things are rough pretty much everywhere, but i stopped respecting the leadership at company t a long time ago, and it feels really good to know i will soon be free of it all. i just wish i could take all of my friends along with me!

fingers crossed!

today my brother-in-law is interviewing for a job with my new employer. they still have two positions to fill for another catalog and i think he would be perfect for the job. keep your fingers crossed for him!

i don't know if i ever ran down the list of hoops i had to go through in order to get this position...but here is a (long, long) list.

1. contacted by recruiter on linkedin
2. phone interview with recruiter
3. interview in minneapolis with recruiter
4. complete assessment tests and 6 interview questions (excel and word)
5. interview in edina with my soon to be manager
6. interviews in owatonna:
a. other manager
b. creative dept (2 people)
c. procurement dept (2 people)
d. category managers (2 people)
7. assessment tests on computer (same day as owatonna interviews)
8. psychological evaluation / assessment testing in downtown minneapolis
9. interview with president of the company in edina.

and these were only the physical things i had to do. there was also calling of my references, background checks and more!

so yeah....there is no doubt that i earned this one. it was a pain in the arse during the process, but it sure feels good now!

a welcome "basket"

okay, so i am posting this all over the place, but i'm so excited!!! i came home to this today:



definitely makes me feel that all the hoops i had to jump through to get this job were very well worth it. what company does this??? none i have worked for, that's for sure! what a great way to make a new employee feel welcome. i am impressed and even more excited to start my new position june 1st!!

I got a new job!! Starting June 1st, I will be working as a Category Manager on this line: Play with a Purpose

My last day of my current job is Thursday, May 21. On May 22 the bf and I fly to Chicago for a little weekend getaway. The following week I have off, and then will start the new job on Monday, June 1st.

We have started to get our townhouse ready to try and sell it. Putting up shelving in the garage, sheet rock and shelving in the laundry room, painting and redoing the downstairs bathroom. We want to move to a bigger house that is closer to the kids' school. It won't be any closer to my new job (45 minutes away) but it would still save driving time since I wouldn't have to travel 15 minutes every morning just to get the kids dropped off.

I'm not sure how well the selling will go, there are a lot of homes exactly like ours and the value has gone down. But ours will have some special "perks" that the others don't. Hopefully it won't take more than 6 months to sell, but even if it takes that long or longer, we'll make it work somehow!!!

surviving

after all was said and done yesterday, a total of 188 people corporation wide were let go from their jobs. this affects several companies in a few states, but most of the layoffs were right here at home.

this morning at work was rough going, but it did get better as the day progressed. there are so many emotions that come with layoffs like this. these are people i worked VERY closely with every day. they sit right next to me in our cozy little room of 6 cubicles. i know about their lives, i know about their families, and we have all become good friends. we were a tight team, and i ache for the rough times i know are ahead for them. despite this though, they are all strong, capable people and i have no doubt they will bounce back. i just wish it didn't have to be like this.

lacking motivation

i am severely lacking in motivation today. yesterday we unexpectedly had the day off at work. a quick, powerful storm came through the area and wiped out the power at our plant. all. day. long. so we were granted a day to lounge at home eating bon bons and watching soaps.

it has messed with my schedule. yesterday felt like friday. today feels like torture. ugh.

only 6 hours till quittin' time...

freelance writing, anyone?

calling all freelance writers:

i am in need of a back-up blog article writer for this site. basically it's a blog offering tips and advice to restaurants and food service businesses. (with a little marketing for my brand sprinkled in.) i currently have one freelance writer and myself. i do most of the editing and very little writing.

i am willing to pay per hour for your writing and research time. if anyone is interested email me! or, if you know of someone who might be interested, send them my way.

thanks bunches!

welcome back, valued employees, welcome back

had to chuckle at this notice in my email this morning from company t:

You may have noticed the number of dirty dishes being left on the counter in the lunchroom again. As the note on the cupboard, with the big red arrow indicates, everyone is responsible to CLEAN UP THEIR OWN DISHES. We have provided dish soap and scrubbers to help with the process.
Please remember that your Mom doesn’t work here (and if she does, her job isn’t to do your dishes), so let’s all do our part and clean up after ourselves. If we continue to have problems, all permanent dishes and utensils will be removed from the lunchroom and any reusable dishes left on the counter will be thrown out.

stayin alive!

yes, i'm alive. day two of the new job. it's going okay so far, but i have to admit i was a bit worried when i spent the first three hours of day one cleaning my new desk/cube area. ugh. no one would ever accuse me of being a clean freak, but even by my standards it was pretty disgusting! i spent an hour on the keyboard alone! a bit disheartening, but the people are really nice, at least. 

i definitely do miss the more plush accommodations of my prior office. the big cushy chair, the window view, the free soda, my mac computer....but none of that was the same anyway since my favorite co-worker left....