Category Archives: The job.

The New Year is here

Posted by sarah3030 in blogging, friends, growth, running, Sarah, The job. and tagged with , , ,

I don’t have any resolutions to share.

I am proud of myself for not waiting for this new year to put into place the things I wanted to happen.  I applied and was accepted to grad school when I had no idea how I was going to pay for it.  But thousands of people figure out how to pay for it, right?  I knew I would too.  I didn’t wait for this year to start to begin my longest half marathon training process ever, I ran my first 5K a couple of weeks ago.  I didn’t sit around and collect unemployment and wait for a job to fall in my lap.  I took on my random part time jobs where I met new people, learned new things and got out of the house, even though the combined total from those two part time jobs was never more than an unemployment check was.  My friend Claire likes to point out that I was essentially volunteering during this time because I still got partial unemployment during that time.

I have a “word” for 2012.  It’s FOCUS.  I have three big undertakings in 2012, things I began in 2011 and are only going to get more intense:

  1. Disney Princess half marathon training for Feb ’13  (I know – longest training process ever.  I know.)
  2. New job.  As a corporate trainer that has just moved to an entirely new industry (casinos to groceries) I know there is much to learn on top of a very rigorous training schedule.
  3. Grad school.  So much reading!  I’ve always been smart, but I’ve never been an exceptional student.  Creating good study habits is going to be a challenge.

Making time for all of these things in addition to life getting in the way is going to be my challenge.  Therefore, I choose to FOCUS this year.  So, instead of creating a list of lofty goals and books to read and instruments to tackle – I’ll FOCUS on these and see what else happens.

This new year snuck in.  I’ve been sicker this week than I can remember being in a long time.  I’m fortunate to never have sinus or allergy issues.  I’m experiencing my first sinus infection and it is wiping me out.  From a couple of days before New Years Eve until last night I was pretty much bed bound.  I had a few friends over for New Years Eve, but even they were out by 10pm.  I was even driven to purchase and experiment with a Neti Pot for the first time.  I have a few friends who swear by them and I will admit I felt relief after using it.  Also glad I live alone while using it.  Least sexy thing ever, I imagine.

Happy New Year to all of you.  I’m excited to enter this year with intent and purpose.  And a place to share it all.

Moments like these

Posted by sarah3030 in growth, Happy, My story continues, random, The job. and tagged with , , ,

Part of trying to live with The Secret in mind is to spend a moment each day being grateful for what you have.  I’m so anxious to see what’s coming next, to end this period of unemployment, to have a job again, to find the next great relationship and now, to start my new master’s program, that I don’t always stop and appreciate what’s happening right now.  So, here’s a look at what I’m grateful for right now:

  • I get to meet awesome St. Louis chefs and be part of really cool cooking parties at one of my jobs.  Tonight, my favorite tapas restaurant’s chef was there as well as the director of a local chain of organic coffee shops were the Iron Chefs at a private party.  I got to watch them cook and create and be a part of that.  That’s cool.
  • I’m grateful for hot chocolate with pumpkin marshmallows.  Seriously delicious.
  • I’m so happy about this weather!  I love the chilly mornings and perfect afternoons.
  • What’s up with my Cardinals in the World Series?!  As I type we’re up in game 3 14 to 7!  Take that Texas.  Especially satisfying as I’ve never particularly liked Texas.
  • I’m grateful for new vegan blogs that are opening up new food options to me.
  • I’m so happy Parks and Recreation is available on Netflix so I can keep watching it on repeat.  Ben and Leslie just make me so happy!
  • This new lip stain from Sephora!  I got a sample of it and I’m loving it!  I don’t usually wear anything besides chap stick.  Color on my lips makes me feel like a grown up.
There you have it.  I don’t want to get to wrapped up in the stuff that’s making me crazy right now.  I’m grateful.

Small business associations

Posted by sarah3030 in The job., Uncategorized, work and tagged with

My dad was really sick when I was graduating from college and beginning to apply and interview for “real” jobs.  I was between two different companies when my dad told me to go for the bigger company.  He felt there would be more security there, more opportunities, better benefits.  All this coming from a small business owner, as dad owned an asphalt paving company.  I did as dad suggested and went with the bigger company, at the time, Harrah’s St. Louis.  And I did indeed get lots of opportunities, benefits and was fairly secure for a pretty long time.  I had always gravitated towards bigger; interning at Hyatt and Walt Disney World.  As a young woman just starting out it seemed that big would equal advancement.

My “funemployment” has brought me unexpected opportunities.  I’m currently working part time with two different small St. Louis businesses.  And it’s pretty great.  It’s very, very different.  For example, instead of a W4 form at one of these establishments I simply put my  name, SSN and number of dependents I’d be claiming on a post it and assured that would all get transferred to the payroll company and, while it wasn’t explicitly said, the IRS.  Here’s hopin’.

At a small business you get to listen to NPR all day while you sell delicious chocolate to people who love your product with the smell of caramel cooking in the background.  At a small business there’s beer in the fridge and sangria left over after a cooking class.  At a small business offices are a mess of paperwork and inventory.  At a small business you get to wear jeans and t-shirts to work.   At a small business you get really phenomenal employee discounts!!  (Never has the casino industry look more cheap to me in light of my 30% and 50% employee discounts at my new places.)  At a small business people bring leftovers home without getting them checked out by security – otherwise the food would be wasted!

Today I smiled and made conversation and helped people cook and packaged chocolate and sold truffles and washed 100 dishes and not once did I miss big business.

Now, I’m going to brine a turkey (not for me – mom’s birthday is tomorrow and her favorite meal is Thanksgiving – so that’s what my sibs and I are making.  I’ll be eating veggie salad and green beans) with a brine spice solution I picked up at PT job #1 with my employee discount.  Tomorrow I’ll bring that turkey to mom’s along with some chocolates I picked up from PT job #2 with my employee discount.

Now, I’m off to fall asleep without my television on.

There is a cat in my closet playing with all of my shoes.  I can hear him.  I should get him out of there before I go to sleep.

How are things in Glocca Morra?

Posted by sarah3030 in The job.

My first major project at work came to fruition today. I had built and designed a training program for employees in the hospitality field in St. Louis. The goal is that they are aware and educated on the brand image St. Louis has for itself. While I’ve written pieces of training before, this was a new experience.

The program went well overall. As a trainer (and a good trainer, I think) I’m fairly critical of how it could have been better for the participants. I felt it was a little choppy in areas and I found that one activity I had thought might be meaningful, wouldn’t be. It’s difficult to work the bugs out with live audiences, but a necessary step. I was hoping for some real warm and fuzzy feelings at the end, and I didn’t get them. I have to keep in perspective what I’m used to – spending 40 hours with mostly engaged supervisors and managers, to getting to spend 2 and a half hours with front line employees. The connection just isn’t the same even though I wanted the end result to be.

I have work to do on the program, cleaning it up, but I’m so happy to have the first one done. Glad to see participant reactions, know what goes over well and what sinks, glad to get some feedback and glad to say one has been completed. It only gets better.

Training is such a great challenge. I’ll never forget the first time I trained the finance piece back in the Harrah’s training I was doing. It was fairly miserable. So, I studied, and I got my facts straight and the second time was worse! It went steadily uphill from then, I’m happy to say, and eventually I was a pro. I’ll get there with this. I’m bad with patience.

On to the next big thing…