There are aspects of my life that I wouldn't change in the least if given the chance. I have never been happier in a relationship than I am with Andrew. We've only been together for about four months and I can say without any hesitation that this is the healthiest relationship I've been in. Is it because he's older? Is it because we live together? I don't think there are any explanations other than I've found the perfect guy and I don't plan on letting him go any time soon. We have our separate interests (his cars vs. my computer using obsession) and our similar ones (enjoying a relaxing movie at night while pigging out and getting comfortably tangled up with each other). And although we are two very different people, I think we compliment each other extremely well. I have never felt so trusting and laid back with anyone and I feel that our relationship is based on friendship first and foremost (an important aspect for me, personally).
I also wouldn't change having our dogs. With the exception of fish, I've never had my own real pet. I've always had a liking for West Highland White Terriers, but the liking disintegrated when I saw the picture in an online newspaper advertising a corgi puppy for sale. He was born March 7 of this year and after 6 days of waiting I called the woman, drove to her house, and officially changed my pet-owner status. Murphy (aka "Murph Man") is an amazingly smart baby boy! I was unsure that I was fit to have a dog, considering I never had one before and it's not my place to just invite animals in a house that's not entirely mine. But one day, Andrew took me aside and told me that life is not about denying yourself the things that you want and the things that would make you happy. The next day, I saw Murphy's picture online and fell completely in love. With Moses for a big (big) brother, 2 cats to harass, and three loving co-parents (Andrew, Ashley, and myself), Murphy has it made.
I think the thing I'm mostly unhappy with and would change over anything would be my job. I'm reading that "less than 39 percent of workers under the age of 25 are satisfied with their employment situation" [source]. I'm definitely under 25 and I'm definitely unsatisfied. It's not really anything with my co-workers as much as it is company policies, expectations, and customers in general. I work at Pacific Sunwear in the local mall and these are the expectations given to us daily: "At PacSun, you as an employee are required to provide excellent customer service..." [This part is easy! Asking the customer questions regarding brands, likes and dislikes, sizes, etc. to help them find what it is they are looking for. Getting fitting rooms for those who need them. Ringing them up when they are done shopping. Telling them to have a good day and thanks for shopping. No big deal.. right?] "...while maintaining exceptional visual standards..." [I.E. straightening, bringing out sizes from the back to fill in when items are sold, putting unwanted items back in their places, keeping the store clean. Not too difficult.. right?] "... and exceeding financial goals for the day, week, month, and year..." [This part is the part that really gets my panties in a bunch. We are expected to push sales onto the customer, to convince them to buy more than they need, to not settle for "less than $50 per transaction," to make sure that the customer is buying at least three things, and if all these criteria are met, continue to suggest more items for purchase. I don't enjoy this. If I'm shopping, I don't want people to basically guilt me into buying things. I have a spending problem and will most likely fall for whatever "deal" they are talking up at the moment and I know there are other people out there like that. Why take advantage of this money-saving-disability in order to check off the financial figures for the day? It's just not really all that considerate. And if we don't make the financial figures, we get dogged by our upper management. "Why isn't your ADS [Average Dollar Sale] at least $50? Why aren't you guys selling more? You need to actually try." It's bullshit if you ask me] "...and not lose focus on loss prevention." Loss prevention is a blog all on its own. Maybe even two or three. So, customer service is the number one preventative measure for loss prevention; understandable, but when we are only allowed to have one or two people at a time working on the sales floor, employees can't be everywhere and servicing everyone at the same time. And when something is stolen, it's our fault for not providing the best customer service possible. Each of these expectations from corporate are logical, but putting them all together and expecting it out of each and every individual working at all times is absolutely ridiculous.
Example: Hi! My name is Miranda and I'm working an opening shift today from 9 to 6. The store opens at 10 and I have an employee coming in to work at 11 for three hours. It's 9:00 so I better clock in. **BZZZZ!** What's that? Oh, it's the freight man delivering 30 boxes of freight. He has to make 2 trips to bring it all in so I have to wait back there for him to come back. When it's all delivered, I have to check everything in. Oh wait, there's a promo change and I have to change all of the sale signs throughout the store. Oh wait, I'm supposed to change the outfits on the mannequins too. Oh wait, there are markdowns on polos and dormwear and I have to re-organize all the sale racks in order to make room for this stuff. Oh wait, I'm supposed to do the girls' and guys' denim checklists and make sure all the styles and colors are in the right columns and that we have every size on display and if we don't, fill it from the back. Oh wait, the backroom needs to be re-organized and cleaned. Oh wait, there is a pile of tees that need to be folded at the front of the store. But I have to take the deposit to the bank first and foremost. *Takes deposit down and comes back.* Oh yea, I'm supposed to reverse the color order on these tanks on this table. So I work on all of this stuff and then the store opens. I have paperwork to do and I get a phone call. It's my opener. She can't make it. No one is answering their phone. I'm alone until the closing manager gets here at 1. Now I'm expected to get all these projects done, have 100% customer service at all times, make sure that no one is stealing in any part of the store, make sure that all of my transactions average to at least $50, that each person is buying at least 3 items, and that by 1:00 we beat our goal expectations for that portion of the day.
It's bullshit. So you see my negativity toward being expected to get all of this done at all times. These expectations come from upper management, who have nothing to do with customers except when we get customer complaint calls and then they deliver the good news: "So sorry that our employees at store 721 didn't meet your expectations--how could they? Here's a $50 gift card for complaining and being a snob. Have a good day!" They literally don't come into the stores unless they are evaluating the managers and seeing how clean and tidy the store looks. It's no way to manage.
June 13 of this year was my 3-year-anniversary with Pacific Sunwear. It's not an achievement to say that I've slaved here for 3 years and have nothing to show for it. Yea, I'm a manager, but when I went back to part-time, all of my full-time accrued vacation and sick time vanished as well as incentive bonuses. Nothing is really moving about my position besides the fact that I can open and close a store and am trusted with money. Big whoop! I'm only getting compensated for working on the 4th of July because I made a huge stink about it. I went back to full-time a couple weeks ago and specifically listed that I wanted to work the minimum 32 hours (4 FULL 8-hour days, leaving 3 days off a week). I'm not supposed to get a paid holiday unless I'm full-time for 90 days, yet I'm the only manager working all day (9 hours--no break). So I make a stink and they make an exception because I've been with the company so long. But, oh no! I have to work 32 hours in order to get my holiday (when I'm only scheduled 25 and have gotten holiday pay before without working 32 hours). So I have to go out of my way to take other people's shifts in order to work FIVE days (not four... just add one and you'll get the gist) in order to work 32 hours. In doing so, I explain to the two employees why I have to take their shifts. They think it's dumb that I have to as well (25+8=33 hours. That's full-time, no?) but gladly let me take their hours. I then look at the upcoming weeks' schedules and see that I'm scheduled to work 40 hours two weeks in a row. I write my manager a nice note explaining that I don't want to work that much. Her response: "I'm going on vacation those two weeks. The condition that I had to meet in order to take the vacation was that we didn't borrow any managers then. You have to work the 40 hours because that's what 'full-time' is... 32-40 hours." I say, "That's ridiculous." She then says, "Well, do you want me to cancel my trip to Mexico so that you can have an extra day off?" Ridiculous.
I send her a text later on when I'm at home telling her that I'm not upset with her (which I was but having her mad at you is like having you be in the middle of a stadium with 500 raging bulls with sharpened horns running toward you), I'm just upset with company policies and that I'm not blaming her for anything. To which she replies, "I understand where you're coming from but we need to discuss this. Tomorrow." Great.
So it's tomorrow now and I'm at work. The other manager kindly informs me that I'm to stay an extra hour to make sure I hit my 32 hours. Will this ever end? Anywho, main manager comes in at 1 and we sit in the back to "discuss" stuff. She already has a documented "write up" and explains herself (paraphrased and summarized):
"Your negative attitude and lack of optimism toward PacSun's policies is not acceptable. You need to leave your attitude at the door. You are a role model and other employees are becoming upset over policies as well. You can't complain about working 40 hours because that's what 'full-time' means: 32-FORTY hours. And if you have anything to complain about, you have to do it to me because you're changing the attitudes of other employees and it's difficult to change it back. They have more fun and would rather work with you than with me and that's not okay. Two employees already don't want to work with me. They cannot compare the two of us. And your response to my suggestion to have our employees close their eyes and tell us how many people are in the store and what they're wearing was not acceptable."
A.) My negative attitude and lack of optimism toward PacSun's policies is completely acceptable. When an employer doesn't treat an employee how the employee deserves to be treated, it's upsetting. I work so damn hard at my job and I don't get anything for it. The raises managers get every year (not 6 months or anything--every year) are less than the increase in minimum wage. So, compared to seasonal new-hires, we get paid less and less each year.
B.) If I'm upset, I can't just plaster a fake smile on my face and call it "peachy keen." It doesn't work like that. I understand that if there is something going on at home (I.E. a break up, fight between family members, grounding, etc.), it can be left at the door. But if I'm upset about the company I work for and I walk into the entrance of said company, I'm not going to feel "peachy keen" about anything. It's not going to happen.
C.) If I don't complain about something, how will someone know that it's bothering me? And why would I want to complain to this person, who is writing me up for complaining? Catch-22. I'll stop complaining when the things I'm complaining about get fixed or I start getting treated how I deserve to be treated (which is basically the same thing).
D.) About comparing the two of us: she literally does it on a daily basis. She asked employee #1 who her favorite manager was and when the employee said that I was, she got pissed. She found out that I too wrote a letter of recommendation for employee #2, she confronted the employee about it and demanded to know whose was better. And when it was brought to her attention that employee #3 came to my house so that I could help her with her management books (that the main manager is supposed to help do but doesn't get around to it), she demanded to know when and why the employee had ever been to my house. There was also an incident that I am not going to mention (because I'm over it and don't want to re-live any of that bullshit) where her self-comparison to me went to the extreme; it was the point in our friendship where it went from being co-workers who were friends to being simply co-workers.
E.) The employees who don't want to work with her don't want to work with her because of how she is at work! She lists off the previously mentioned expectations and when you try to execute said expectations, she interrupts you for no good reasons and then gets upset when you're not done at the end of your shift. She stresses out over every little thing and although she claims to be the best at customer service, has everyone else do the customer service tasks that she doesn't want to do (I.E. having you get a fitting room if she's back by the rooms and you're up at the front of the store of having you ring if she's on the phone making a tanning appointment).
F.) I'm not even going to respond to the "close your eyes and tell me how many people are in the store and what they're wearing" because it's absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary. I'm not going to do this. Period.
So what am I going to do about this? “The trick in life,” Mary Clarke of San Francisco says, “is to find what you like and do it better than anyone else” [source]. What do I like to do? Let's divulge.
Lately I've really enjoyed making hemp jewelry. Ashley showed me how (and although my mind is not as quick as her hands and I got a website's illustrated instructions to go along with her description, I credit her most because she was the one who first tried to explain it). I've made a few bracelets, anklets, a necklace and a keychain; nothing super special, but not everyone knows how to do it I suppose because I didn't know how at one point and a lot of people at work don't know how. I can't do it for a living because you can just make your own for super cheap. I guess if someone didn't have time and would pay for it, I'd totally make one for them, but it's not enough to drop everything and focus on.
I love writing. I'm not super good at it but I understand the basics of a sentence, I know how to spell and punctuate (those who don't really need to figure it out because it reflects on your intelligence, as slight and insignificant as it may seem), and I know how to vent. Turning that into something worth publishing is probably a no-go because all my imagination can muster up is upsetting work-related issues and what sounds good to eat (stuffed crust Alfy's pizza re-heated, at the moment).
I also love anything with computers. I love web design, digital imaging, html, and all that jazz. I have a Certificate of Mastery in Media Publication: Print and also in Web Design. What can I do with that? Probably nothing because I forgot a bunch of it. Haha! But what I remember is helpful with things as shallow as fixing people's MySpaces and as pointless as fixing a link in a blog so that it says "source" instead of the URL in its entirity. I enjoy doing PhotoShop tutorials and looking at Worth1000.com to see what other people can do with PhotoShop in contests and forums.
With this I also like basic photography. I have an alright digital camera [FinePix Z5] and most of my pictures are of the animals but I take a million and then I get a couple of the most perfect shots. Those are the ones that I'm really proud of. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to know how to push the shutter button and snap the shot, but to get the right lighting, know about the thirds placement, and capture the emotion behind the shot is pretty cool. I need to work on this and although PhotoShop can make any picture look amazing, I want to practice to get it right without manipulation.
Watching movies and TV on DVD is also a fun hobby of mine. I've seen all of the episodes of X-Files at least 3 times, all of the episodes of Six Feet Under and Arrested Development at least twice, The Office at least twice, the first three seasons of Lost (which I need to purchase by the way and get Andrew educated!), and all of the episodes of Sex and the City. I have the first 10 seasons of South Park on DVD as well as seasons of Futurama, Reno 911, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Grounded For Life, Millenium, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and some others (I'm going to remember them later and get pissed that I didn't list them). It's fun to see extras in the movies and shows that we know from other movies or shows. It's also fun to watch independent films ("Me, You, and Everyone We Know" and "Palindromes" are two of the most recently watched and loved!). Now that I have an account at Video Depot again, Indies will be found scattered around the living room all the time!!
I just took a gander at eHow.com and its how-tos for Careers & Work. I then saw an article: "How to Become an Online or Phone Psychic." It starts off saying that you should have "...knowledge in at least one of the following areas: Tarot, Spirit Mediumship/Channeling, Dream Interpretation, Palmistry, Astrology, Numerology..." [amylaine, step 2]. I have Tarot cards! I dream! I have two palms! I am an Aquarius! Numerology is fascinating! I haven't done channeling in a few days [sarcasm] but the other stuff is really interesting. Even though it's vague enough to apply to everyone, it's kind of cool if you know Numerology and go to a "party" or whatnot and break the ice. I saw an episode of X-Files about it before and it was pretty stinkin cool! Maybe I'll do that.
Maybe I'll just cross my fingers for an interview at the mocha stand where I turned in a cover letter / resume / application on Sunday. I need to go do something. I've been blogging for about 2 1/2 hours. Not okay.
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