Monsters

Do you ever wonder just how it's possible that there can be such monsters in this world??

How can someone else feel they are so important, so mighty, that they can deem someone else's life not worthy .... and take it?

I called my friend, Katrina on Monday to check in and see how she's doing and how her newest little pumpkin is growing (she has a 2 month old baby boy). She didn't sound right, and tells me that she's been in a daze; that I might have heard on the news; her friend Dana was murdered over the weekend.

WHAT?!? I had never had the pleasure of meeting her; knew her from Katrina speaking of her, saw her at Katrina and her husband's wedding reception (Dana was a bridesmaid), and saw her picture in Katrina's friends list on myspace.

I've gotten more information from the story than has been in the news - since she's close the family and they have the access to the complete story before the media gets ahold of it (if they manage to).

It's disturbing to know that a friend of my friend was murdered. No, the death doesn't ultimately affect me -- but it does in such a way because my friend is grieving.

25 years old .... a life full of potential, cut short

Rest in Peace, Dana Mangi

Girls Weekend & First Week as "Boss"

So - the girls weekend was nice. It rained which was a bummer, and dinner wasn't fantastic -- but we were together, and we laughed and had a good time anyway. Sunday I woke up not feeling so hot, so it made for a long 2.5 hour drive home. :( Ugh....I hate that tumbly, queasy tummy feeling.

I survived my first week as the "boss" .... then again, it's not too difficult when it was a 'slow' week, and things had already been done and that I'm still not trained. Next week is going to be a killer --- on top of working the full week, I'll be also training the new part-timer and sticking around after hours to be trained myself. Long days + lots of work + lots of 'teaching' + lots of 'learning' = one very tired lady. So, come a week from today, I'm going to be exhausted and probably ready to hit the remainder of the 6-pack of Smirnoff's raspberry.

Calgon, take me away!

A weekend for ME!

The timing really couldn't have been better. Yesterday my boss put out an official memo to the employees that as of Monday, I'm the new General Manager.

This weekend I'm going away to Galena with 6 girlfriends. This has been planned for months, and it's funny how the timing and everything just fell into place. I get a weekend to myself -- no kids, no responsibilities, no nothing ..... just me with my friends; shopping, eating and laughing.

We leave at 9am this morning....I can't wait! I've been up since 6:15 when the little one came in to use the potty and then I couldn't fall back asleep. This is earlier than I get up for work......I'm a bit backwards, I guess. Just shows my excitement!!

Girls Getaway, here we come!!!!

It's time to C~E~L~E~B~R~A~T~E!

The meeting with my boss yesterday left me feeling a little less than excited about this new opportunity.

While the offer wasn't ungenerous by any means, when I broke it all down and figured it out with the additional hours I'd be working, etc .... the end result wouldn't have been that much more.

So, I emailed him yesterday afternoon and nervously awaited his response. It was an awful night .... I was feeling scared, hopeful, nervous and just plain depressed.

This morning I get into the office, and my other boss (the wife) comes in and mentions that he'll be coming in this morning to see me (YIKES!). I was nervous and when he came in and sat down at my desk, I nearly held my breath. When he said he AGREED to it, I almost fell out of my chair!

My salary just went up about 40%.....it's unreal. I'm excited, ready to bounce RIGHT. OUT. OF. MY. CHAIR! It's definitely time to celebrate, and I'm looking forward to the new challenge this job will bring and am hopeful for what this new endevour will mean for my future.

That's just the way it is .... some things WILL change

About a week and half, two weeks ago my coworker mentions that she might be leaving the company. We've been working together for almost 9 years now, so this came as a huge shock. It weighed heavy on my mind, and I was frantic .... worried about how I'd handle whatever may come of my job. Would I take over as the general manager? Could I handle it? Did I even want that responsibility?

That weekend I had a sudden feeling of ease, that I was okay with whatever would happen. I was open to what was to come, and that Monday, I overheard her on the phone mentioning how she spoke to the boss over the weekend.

This immediately raised a red flag, as he travels a lot for business for his other job, and to speak with him over the weekend is pretty much unheard of. I knew something was up, and that afternoon she said "We need to talk."

That's when she let me know that she was going to be starting the new job and trying it out. That the boss was willing for her to test out of the waters before completely leaving the company. She would still be coming in during the evenings as needed, but that she had 2 weeks to make the decision, and that by the time she'd need to go to California for training for the new job, she'd need to decide.

It's all been a whirlwind since then. I sat down with my boss last Thursday, discussing my future fate with the company. I was offered the position of general manager, provided she does leave the company.

In the back of my mind, I've been thinking "Okay, it's mine - but there's still that chance that she's not going to like this new job and everything will go back to the way it is/was." I left work on Friday, with the possibility that that would be the last normal day of working with her.

When I got into the office today, her personal affects and photos were gone from in her office. I am thinking this is much more than likely a definite change of path for both of us.

Speaking with the boss again today, I'll be having another meeting with him tomorrow to discuss my salary. I am hopeful this is going to mean great things for my family and us clearing up our debt and being able to start really saving and getting ready to buy a new car. I'm also very afraid that they will take this to their advantage, and offer me a minimal raise, seeing as how the general manager now makes approximately $15,000-$17,000 more than I do (I do not know this for sure, but I have an idea that I'm in the ballpark). Who's to say they won't think I'd be happy with just 1/2 of that difference and offer me a measly raise of only $8,000 (or worse .... less!). Now, I know ..... an $8,000 a year raise? That might sound pretty considerable to some. And it's not too shabby, BUT ..... I don't make a ton of money from the get go. I always thought I made little money, but I enjoyed my job for the most part, and loved that it was small, family orientated and that I had the flexibility to almost come and go as I pleased (within reason - but I never had a problem getting a day/week off that I needed).

So, my stomach is in knots; afraid of what they'll offer me and afraid that I won't have the balls to say anything about it. I've got a figure rolling around in my head, and I sure hope theirs is right up there with it. It'd be an answered prayer.

The dog days of summer

Summer is quickly coming to an end, I'm afraid. Of course, being that it is August, temps have jumped up into the 90's. With this latest heat wave, the ice cream man has stopped coming around. Every other time he came by, we weren't ready for him; no cash on hand, or right in the middle of eating dinner, or just finished with dessert. So, just when I say fuck it, he stops comin'.

I'm just grumpy....can you tell? It's a bad case of PMS. Though, I can't blame it on PMS now, right, cuz I'm not in the "pre" stages anymore.....no, now the annoying wench is here for her monthly stay, but I'm still CRABBY. AS. HELL. Where's the chocolate?

I can't even focus enough to sit here and write, it's like hormonal induced ADD. Huh? What? Are you talking to me?

Got a letter yesterday from my son's school; he'll be in the PM kindergarten class. There's like 4 weeks or something left til school starts. Someone, get me the kleenex!

Okay, seriously .... I've gotta go. Once I can focus more, I'll be back.