Our summer - a recap

Whew! Week 1 of my new job -- done. And what a busy week it was! I've realized something over this transition between jobs ...

The office I now work in is very small, compared to the 14 years of offices before this one. By very small, I mean it is the woman who owns the company, an accountant, me, and one other girl. Monday and Tuesday, the other girl and the accountant both called in sick, so that left just me and the woman who owns the company. Wednesday morning, we came in to find that the other girl slipped her keys and a note under the door sometime late Tuesday night. She quit. And then there were 3 ...

It was a curve ball for me, but more so for my boss. This girl had worked for her the past 18 months, and she thought she was someone to rely on. But, in true business fashion, she just digested it and we moved on. No love lost, no reason to stress or attempt to analyze why this girl would do such a thing in such a craptastic fashion -- no time for all that. So, I got a crash course in just about everything there is to know about this company and its daily operations. My brain is still tired. So. Much. To. Learn. But, I'm trying to be patient with myself and the situation, and realize it will all fall in to place in time. (I hope?!) My husband and my parents have been the sweetest support system ever during this transition, I just have to mention them. The day I accepted this new job, Aaron came home with these:

Then, during my first day at the new place, a man came by asking for me by name. I was so utterly confused as to how someone could have ever known I was there since it was my very first day, but turns out he was just delivering these from my parents:

How sweet are these people in my life?! I'm not a girly-girl, but I still am a sucker for flowers. Always have been. They all know me so well, and know how to make me smile from ear to ear.

I guess I should briefly recap our summer, since I haven't written much. Aside from the job stuff, we've had a few other notable things happen. Firstly, we drove a few hours north and visited my cousin and his family for 3 days over July 4th weekend. We packed the weekend with all kinds of fun things, like a parade, a festival, and a trip to Six Flags. 

I cannot even begin to explain how excited Aaron and I were to be going to Six Flags, way more excited than our kid. Aaron hadn't been there since 8th grade, and I hadn't been there since about 1991, so we were pumped! Amazingly enough, a lot of it looked exactly the same as we remembered. We rode almost everything they had to offer, some things more than once. The scariest ride, by far, was the Superman Tower of Power. 

This thing sucked you up 325 feet into the sky, then dropped you again at around 60mph, then it would abruptly stop and suck you up towards the top again. It did this over and over, until the final free-fall back down to the ground. In all honesty, this scared the shit out of us. We were different people after we rode than we were before we got on. BUT, no regrets. Best time ever.

At the town festival, the afternoon of the 4th.

Another notable event -- Z got his first pair of glasses. He started telling us things were getting a little blurry at school back in May, but for the most part, he could still see just fine. After school, though, we noticed him squinting a bit more and he started to not be able to read small print on our giant television. It was time! We booked him an appointment, and one day later, he had his new specs.

My little hipster. 

To say he loves them is an understatement. I have to say, he looks stinkin' cute in them, but I guess one could say I am slightly biased. After he finally gets his back-to-school haircut de-shaggification, he's going to be unrecognizable. Please, time, slow the eff down.

Other than that, there have been lots of family dates and laughs with Z's girlfriend and her parents.

Exhibit A

I'm not sure who has more fun when we all get together -- the kids or the Moms. Also, Aaron and the boy have spent some quality guy-time together while I was working. They did lawn stuffs, trips to Lowe's, saw movies, and a few trips to the local pool hall. Aaron thought it was about time Z learned to play, and he really seemed to enjoy it. 

Such focus ...

Summer days are officially numbered for the both of them, so they are trying to soak up as much lazy time as possible as we speak. Lots of Assassin's Creed for Z, and lots of lounging for Aaron.

Spooning with Cody and watching TV. 

For me, well, I'm just beyond grateful that I got out of my last job when I did. Otherwise, instead of lounging around today and going to eat delicious grilled chicken sandwiches with my husband at a local joint around the corner, I would have spent my day down at the complex enduring move-out day for the college kids. Ugh. I have been texting with some of my old co-workers sporadically today, and it seems to be going just as crappy as it does every year. I've actually been getting updates daily from the old friends I left behind, and everything seems status-quo.

A text from my old leasing manager. I wish I could have taken him with me. :-/

"Queen B" was the nickname we gave our new boss soon after she arrived, because that's how she acts. Like she's above everyone else working there, and above doing any actual work. Clearly, she is staying true to form and hiring a temp to come in and do my old job, because she just "can't handle it". I'm not exaggerating when I say this woman was literally doing nothing everyday while I was there, so doing my job until someone new is hired would at least give her something to fill up her day -- well, aside from ordering clothes for her daughter online and taking 2-hour lunches, that is. I guess she still can't be bothered. It's texts like these that make me say "thank you" prayers almost daily for being able to get the hell out of there. 

That about catches us up. School starts in two weeks, so back to the old routine it will be. Back-to-school night is this coming Thursday, so that will be fun. A little sad, since a few of the kids we knew and loved won't be coming back, but I'm sure all the ones who ARE coming back will be stoked to see each other again. The countdown to the first day of middle school now begins! Sixth-grade, here we come!

Until next time ...

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Another unintentional hiatus

Cue terrible Britney Spears song:      Oops, I did it again ...

I honestly have no idea how an entire month just flew by without me getting any time to write. If nothing else, this should prove how dedicated I became to finding a new job. I literally spent any free moment I had scouring the interwebs for gainful employment.

In summary, I sent out more than 40 emails, copies of my resume, and cover letters between July 2nd and July 22nd. I went on an interview. I got called for two other interviews that turned out not to be quite what they had advertised it would be. I was about to come out of my skin with frustration. What then happened, as I felt I was losing grip on the end of my proverbial rope? I got an email.

The morning of July 22, I was feeling the aftershocks of spending so much time looking for a new job. I was becoming bitter and frustrated, and just didn't understand what it was going to take to get someone out there to believe I was worth more than $11.00/hour. Something made me wonder if I should recheck the previous weeks worth of job postings on Craigslist, just in case I had missed something, though I was pretty sure I had applied for every thing I saw on there that paid somewhat close to what I was currently making. I started to dig through the days leading up to July 22, and a few minutes later, saw an ad that caught my eye from July 10. How did I miss this one before?

It was for a small commercial management office in Westlake, looking for an office manager. Ok, I could do that. Their hours are 7:00am - 3:00pm. Seriously? Those are the hours I need to keep Z out of after-school care. They asked that you send over a copy of your resume and your salary requirements. I can totally do that, and then some. I quickly put an email together with my resume, my salary requirements, and asked if the position had been filled already (since the ad was so old). If it had not, I said I would love the opportunity to speak to them more about this position. I sent it off into the black hole of the internet, just like I had so many times before, hoping this one wouldn't turn out to be a dud like most of the others. Much to surprise, she wrote me back only 3 hours later, saying the position had not yet been filled, and would I be willing to come in for an interview on July 24. I almost peed my pants.

I don't know how to explain it, but something just told me, as soon as I received her email, that this was going to be the one. I never had that weird, nagging, hopeful-that-I-would-do-ok feeling like I had with all the others that showed interest. Strangely, if felt like I was going home. Something felt so familiar about this place, I didn't even get the nervous tummy about the interview itself until about 15 minutes before it took place. It just seemed like a good fit, though I have no concrete reason as to why. Apparently, she felt the same or my instinct was right, because she told me she thought I would be a perfect fit and offered me the position on the spot. Same hours, same pay, less responsibility. (#duh  #nobrainer)  After very little deliberation in my mind and heart, I accepted it. Then, after almost 10 years at my current job, I turned in my resignation the next day. Just like that. Like all of this was happening this way because it was supposed to be. No drama, no conflict, no wondering what I should or shouldn't do. Just time to move on. Now, I was ready.

Long story short, I start my new job tomorrow morning at 7:00am. I left my old job on Friday at 3:00pm and never looked back. It took me a week to clean out my office and tie up loose ends, but it all went by very quickly. It made me uneasy when coworkers would act sad about me leaving, only because I couldn't reciprocate. Something in me was so ready for this change. I've been talking about it for a few months now, and I truly am very excited about the new change of scenery, new coworkers, NEW BOSS ... new everything. I guess I outgrew my last position. Aaron said I stayed about 4 years too long, in his opinion. I see now why he thought that, but I just had to get there at my own pace.

How happy and peaceful I am in this moment. Aside from the teensy bit of new-job-scary that is beginning to creep in to my head as I get closer to bedtime, I am just super relaxed and very much welcoming this change. It will be odd driving a new route to work in the morning, but even that thought is a little exciting. Starting someplace new still seems a little surreal, despite having accepted the position over a week ago, but I guess that is to be expected when you've been doing the same thing every Monday through Friday for the past decade.

Though there is more to update on, aside from the successful job hunt, I don't want to write too much in this one post. I'll save those things to inspire myself to post more this upcoming week. I hope everyone has been well since I wrote last. The past few months have been a struggle for me, but thank goodness for happy endings!

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