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Tuesday, May 13
Updates for those who are keeping tabs...
Job: I got promoted again. The store manager at my Aeropostale went to a bigger store in Tulsa (we miss you Mee-shell!) so one of the two assistant managers got promoted... and I got moved up to her spot! I'm getting to train under a great store manager and a great district manager, both of whom care about my career, so that's awesome. The only complaint I have about my job right now is that I don't have a great team that I can trust to make things happen. It's very "every-man-for-himself" out there. I'm hoping that since we're all new managers it will start to fit better. But it seems we say the same things at every meeting and nothing ever changes. I hope it will just work itself out. The cream will rise. The dramas gotta go. But I do love me some Aero. I am the merchandising manager, so I am responsible for making sure that everything looks exactly like it's supposed to look. Mannequins, displays, color order, marketing pictures, etc... I know where they go and how to make them look crisp. I love that part.
Kids: Bean is 4 now, gorgeous, witty, silly, brilliant, creative
Bug is about to be 9, handsome, logical, smart, lazy in school, playing baseball this summer and he seems pretty good at it so far.
Mom and Donny: Mom is still thinking about quitting smoking. She thinks about it a lot. Her 64th birthday is this week. Maybe that will be the day she chooses not to carry an oxygen tank. Donny is tending bar at a place right down the street from where we live. He does well and it gives him a reason to be in a bar and not drink. He has also stopped most illegal habits because, in his words. "If I'm going to support this girl and our ten children, I'm going to have to geat a real job and SOMEONE'S gonna piss test me." Very logical, and it works apparently. He's doing very well, they have a lot of fun. And she takes good care of him.
Me & Mr. Wonderful: We're doing great. We're buying a house together! It's in Andover where Bug goes to school so my commute won't suck so badly. And the neighborhood is great, Bug can get out and ride his bike and I don't have to worry about them getting hit by a car flying down Woodlawn. We have the same goals in life, similar priorities, have a lot of things in common. It's been a year and a half that we've been together. He understands me and knows when he can push and when to back off. He can tell when I'm down and he knows what it will take to bring me back up. I'm a very emotionally high-maintenence individual. And he likes maintaining me.
Friends: I found Staci C. from high school! I am so happy about that!!!!!!! I can't wait to road-trip it to Colorado! Karen and I don't talk much any more, we need to fit manis and pedis in like we used to. But at lunch the other day, it was just the same as it always was... it's not like we're growing apart or anything. Cindy and I get to work together every weekend and usually every Tuesday night... damn markdowns! We get plenty of face time and catch-up time at work, so we're good. Melissa and I are getting very close, bonding over our store and ideas we have to make it better. We really share a passion for what we do, and she is so talented... I can learn a lot from her.
I will be playing softball this summer for the Young Professionals League. I don't know much about it yet, except there is beer when the game is over. So I got signed up. I'll keep you posted on game schedules. You'll have to come support my team. Whichever team that may be.
Okay, I typed a lot and I'm heavily medicated for sleep, so please excuse the typos... I promise I'm not illiterate.
Also, since I just typed these topics as they popped into my head, looking at the list, do you think I put work ahead of my family? Hmmm... discuss.
Next week there are signs of trouble in paradise.