Changes are brewing!

This morning at our morning rally, Elizabeth came up to me and said we should sit down and talk later. "Uh oh" was my first thought. Why "uh-oh"? My mind automatically goes to I did something wrong or I said something I wasn't supposed to. Turns out, it wasn't anything bad at all. Phew. 

I found out that as a specialist, I am not eligible for taking an SSA position. Well, shit was my initial thought. Elizabeth coupled that with telling me that she had some opportunities in other areas. My choices are FT in intimate apparel, FT in juniors, and a possible FT in another area (I can't say what area that is because she isn't 100% sure that that spot is going to become available). She asked me if any of the areas interested me. Based solely on the team, I said intimate apparel. Sure it would take some time to get used to fitting women for bras and I will probably see more than I want to, but if they don't care, I don't care. I know most of the ladies up there and they are fantastic. I don't think I could handle juniors. The people up there are just, blah. Not my kind of people, I guess. I dunno if I could handle the other area that she mentioned either. Again, because of the people. Elizabeth talked to our store manager and they agreed that intimate apparel would be a good fit for me.

I would HATE to leave kids, but in all reality, it would be the best option for me if I want to do SSA. Being an SSA would open the doors to so many other opportunities, so career wise, it would make the most sense. 

I have no idea what will happen, but I will probably know more in the next week or so. 

I love nights like these

Today I worked 5.5 hours. That's an incredibly short day for me. I welcomed it with open arms, especially since I have tomorrow off. I needed a break. It's so crazy at work right now that I barely have time to think. I barely moved from the wrap stand the entire shift. It's fantastic for business, not so great for other things that I have to get done.

I haven't had time to do a task sheet for the last week. Between being acting manager for Elizabeth while she was gone and still needing to be on the selling floor, life was pretty hectic. Not to mention it's one of the busiest times of year for us. I loved it though. It was so much fun, albeit, a little weird at times. My peers gave me crap for it, but it was all in good humor. I think. Elizabeth is back, so I will probably have more time. Maybe.

I talked to Elizabeth yesterday about how the week went. Overall, it went well. I needed to time manage better, but that was pretty much all we came up with. She also talked to be about holiday SSA. There is only one full time position and Elizabeth said she is fighting for me to get it. Whether or not I will, only time will tell, but I really hope I do. I don't know who else is in the running for full time, but it's good to know I have a good person fighting for me. I was SSA during our One Day Sale last weekend and apparently the other managers had nothing but good things to say. Phew. I was worried. I don't know why, but I was. Typical of me, I suppose.

I seriously love the team that we have at my store. There are some things that I don't agree with, but I think you'll get that with any job you have. I love that I have the support of the whole team in moving up in the company. It makes me feel good about the work I am doing.

My night is quiet. I am sitting here thinking of possibilities, while also looking at jobs in the company. In other states, even! WHAT?! It's fun to think of where I could end up. Recently I have been looking at the store in DC. Why? Because I love DC. Not now though. I have MSNBC on and Hurricane Irene does not look like fun. But, I love storms, so it could be fun.

Oh Back to school! Back to school!

If you weren't sure if back to school time was here, all you would have to do is take a look at the kid's and junior's departments at my store. Holy cow, we got shopped hard. It's awesome for business, not so awesome for clean up.

On Saturday, I stayed late at work to help organize and clean up the 16 racks of clothes that the junior's department had to put away. I also came in early Sunday to help put some of it away. 22 total hours between the two days. Hello, paycheck. Between me and one other person working early Sunday, we got 4 racks put away before store open. Awesomesauce.

Not so awesome, how the kid's department is looking today. We closed Saturday with 3 racks, highly unusual for my department. It really did not help that one of the associates went home early because he got sick, so we were short staffed. Saturday was the official kick off for back to school and having only one person in what is easily one of the busiest areas of the store is not a good thing.  There were constantly people in the store on Sunday. It wasn't overwhelmingly busy, but it is hard to get stuff put away when you are trying to help a customer and you can't leave the register for more than 3 minutes. When we did get stuff put away, we just filled it back up. Last night, we closed with 5 racks. I nearly died. I am thankful to have the next 2 days off, though I may go in Tuesday to help. I have to be there for a meeting anyway, so I may just stay if we have hours to give away.

This weekend, despite the mess, was fun. On Saturday I was SSA, so I got to help manage recovery and assign people tasks. I got a radio and everything. It was pretty kick ass, not gonna lie. It was only a glimpse of the craziness that ensues with being a manager and I loved it. I was talking to one of the HR people after I was done and I was telling her that I had fun and really liked it.

Who knows what is in store for me in the next couple weeks, months, years, but I am excited to see where it will all go.

My life as a manager (sort of)

So Elizabeth has been on vacation this week and she will be until sometime next week. Her vacation will consist of finalizing wedding plans. I can't imagine trying to plan a wedding long distance (she isn't from here and they are getting married in her hometown. In Louisiana). Anyway, in her absence, I have been in charge of the kid's department and the dresses/petites department. It's been fun so far. I haven't had to do a ton. I'm not in charge of looking at numbers and sales and that sort of thing, but I have gotten to do some managerial things. Last week and this week, I got to go over the associates' scorecards with them. It was kind of awkward, especially in the dresses/petites area. They have given me crap, but I think it's all in good fun. I've been in a funky mood this week, so I'm probably just reading the situation wrong.

On Saturday, I get to be SSA. I am so pumped. I get to help with organizing recovery and making sure things run smoothly. I'm fairly certain I get a radio too, which I am most excited about. Is that weird? Haha! But seriously, it will be a good introduction into the holiday season and it says a lot that they want me to do it, so I am excited about things to come.

I've also applied to a couple different apartment complexes. I haven't heard anything yet, but I am trying to keep my head up.

My babies are back!

Felicia and Rich made the move back to MN and I am SO excited!

I was greeted by hugs and baby giggles when I got home from work today. It was followed quickly by Fancy leading me to the toys she was playing with. It was a lot of fun and I missed those kids. It's very likely that I will be babysitting in the very near future :)

Your name is being thrown in the mix...

Those were the words I heard today from our HR manager, Michelle.

I was invited by my manager to attend a career opportunities discussion at the downtown store. The discussion was earlier today and it was very informative. People from various aspects of the company came to talk about their career paths, how they ended up at Macy's, and what their jobs entail. Each person talked for about 15 minutes and then we had about a half hour to go to the people and ask specific questions an get more information. That part was hilarious because it was like speed dating.

Two people from my store were there presenting and there were 5 of us form my store that were invited. I knew 2 of them pretty well and it was so nice to see them there. Total there were probably about 15-20 people from a few different stores. We all introduced ourselves and it was fun to hear how we all go to where we are today and where we want to go. Macy's is such a great company for moving up and they work really well with the employees that want to move up; they work really hard to help get them to where they want to be.

During our little break out sessions, I went to get information about the sales manager and sales supervisor roles, as well as merchandising team manager. I was talking to Michelle and she brought up seasonal SSA. Michelle and our store manager have been talking about it and things are going to start to get rolling pretty quickly. She told me that my name is definitely being thrown around and basically there would be round robin interviews with the store manager and some of the "veteran" managers, as she put it. I was SO excited by that. I also talked to Melanie, our merchandising leader. I love being on the selling floor, but I love the merchandising part of it too. I love that when new product comes in or when we have markdowns or the floor needs to be rearranged for another reason that it's basically a giant puzzle. You have to be creative, but also make sure that the floor stills looks good. She said she loves when I work because I actually take the time to care about how the store looks. It drives me nuts when the floor looks like a tornado plowed through it.

I've said it a million times before, but I never ever thought I would love retail this much. Yes, it has taken over my life, but it's awesome. I love going into work, I love that I have a team that cares about me and is helping me further my career. My store and department managers both show interest in what is going on in my life. I've been stressed about finding a place to live and a lot of other stuff. The other day at work, I was just in the worst mood. I ended up breaking down in front of them. It was embarrassing, but they were completely okay with it. They took me into the stock room and let me cry and asked if there was anything they could do to help. I so appreciated it. I am getting them candy tomorrow as a thank you.

All in all, I love working for the company. I hated it at first, but it's grown on me and I love the opportunities that I have for the future. It's scary and awesome all at the same time. I also may or may not be looking at jobs within the company in other states. I probably won't move, at least not now, but you never know.

Work updates!

I actually have some updates! WOO HOO!

So the first update I can't say too much about. Mainly because the details need to be worked out. BUT, there is a position that they are creating that Elizabeth is strongly suggesting that I apply for, which makes me think I have a good shot at it. I've been going back and forth in my mind about it. I definitely will apply and, to be honest, I think I have a good shot at it, but I am not sure who else would apply and, I dunno, I guess it's me not wanting to get my hopes too high. It would be an awesome opportunity though!

The other thing Elizabeth and I talked about was her upcoming vacation time. Basically, I am in charge of the kid's department, and I get to check in on dresses and petites. I'm kind of excited. I get to go over the scorecard with the team while Elizabeth is gone, which is kind of fun (except when my numbers suck. ha!). I am so glad she is putting that confidence in me. It feels really great.

We also talked about the next 3 weekends. We are planning to have a fashion show on Saturday, which is a week away. Not a lot of time to get everything together. It would be along with the junior and young men's department. We are thinking we may be able to pull something out of our butts. It could be a lot of winging it. The biggest issue is going to be finding models. I am sure things will come together though.

There were a lot of other things we talked about, but I am way too tired to try to remember it all.

Sharing Blogs

Here is a link to the latest blog post by a friend of mine named Josh. I met Josh over a year ago when we were both interviewing for a Residence Hall director position at Ole Miss. He, along with another girl, were great company for the couple days we were there. He's a great guy who truly cares about people and this latest post proves it. If you've ever struggled with your body image or know someone who has, you need to read this. Even if you don't (which I can't imagine), you need to read it. It's great. Thanks, Josh

Josh the Pirate

Late Night Blogging

Why am I up at 3 AM you ask? Well, I was doing inventory at work and just got home. It's a long process, but when everyone is doing work, it can go by kind of quickly. Tonight was my second night doing it.

I worked in housewares tonight. My job tonight was auditor. We audited 8% of our merchandise, so after something had been scanned and uploaded, I needed to scan it again to make sure that the quantity was right and that all the UPCs matched up. It was fine until I got to cosmetics. Have you ever had to scan 90 eyeshadows? Then I had to try to make them look semi decent back in their cases. I didn't enjoy myself as much tonight as I did last night. We got out early though, so I can't complain.

Last night I worked up in intimate apparel. I scanned so many bras and panties, I had nightmares about it. My job last night was re-counter. We re-counted 20% of our inventory. Every 5th rack, arm, stand, shelf, etc. I had to physically re-count the items. Some were easy because there were only a few items. Others had 40. One box that I had to re-count had 97 panties. Oye. It was not fun. Well, that part wasn't. I did enjoy being there though. We all worked really hard, but we still had a fun time.

While I was talking to Elizabeth waiting to be able to re-count, she said she had something for me. She ran down to the office. It was an invitation to a career fair at the St. Paul store. Since I missed the one at our store, I am definitely planning on going to this one. It makes me feel really, really good that I am getting these opportunities.