All sorts of Emotions

Ok… I find it very odd that I am a stress cat.
A chuck of it- I think PART of this insanity- is the insanity of my Xbox.
As I implied in my last post- Microsoft, rather then following MY directions shipped my 360 to my apartment instead of to the game store- which pissed me off to NO END… Especially as A) I did EVERYTHING in my power when they shipped the empty box to my apartment to make sure they shipped it to my work and B) while on the phone with them last Thursday( for the previously mentioned 77 minutes) they told me that my address in their computer was indeed the game store address.
So last Thursday- I go online to UPS and I tell them to deliver the Xbox TODAY (Tuesday)… as I’m off today. I get up at my usually ‘early’ time of 6 AM… and then at about 8 am I go downstairs and leave the previous UPS slip down there. You see when they tried to deliver the Xbox 360 they complained that it didn’t have my apartment number, so I brought the slip down and wrote my apartment number down. TWICE! Once with an arrow from the question Apt ? and the other writing “Apt.#”. So at 10 am, I go downstairs just to have a look about… I don’t really expect anything- esp. as on Thursday they tried to deliver around 1:30… but I’m sort of obsessive compulsive about certain things… Like making sure I get my package.
And sure enough- the UPS guy showed up somewhere between 8-10am. He had put two slips up for two other people. MY slip was still on the door untouched and I’m like WTF? So I come back upstairs, get a note card (in hindsight, should’ve just used a piece of scrap paper instead of wasting a note card)… and write down my tracking number and UPS’ 1-800 number. I LEFT the UPS slip with my apartment number downstairs because the LAST thing I want to happen is to find out that the package was given to another driver, who then tries to deliver my package but CAN NOT because he doesn’t have my apartment number (like mentioned above I get a tad obsessive where getting packages are concerned.). I then called UPS and told them my woes: that they had tried to deliver the package on Thursday, that I had asked them to deliver it today, that I left the slip with my apartment number downstairs, and that I saw that A driver came between 8am and 10am. The UPS operator (and FYI- like many automated menus they don’t seem to have an option ‘talk to a PERSON!’) told me that he’d have someone from my ‘local’ UPS location call me within the hour. I made him confirm that he had in the UPS that the package is to be delivered TODAY… and ask him if there’s anything I can do besides recall the number I just called if I haven’t heard back after an hour and ½… and he basically said no to that.
After a ½ hour- which I used to write the above a bit of the below I got a call. Caller ID called it an ‘unknown’ but I picked it up- HOPING it was UPS, which it was. The woman on the other end confirmed that the driver did NOT try and deliver my package. She told me that he was delivering UPS air or some such… Basically his truck wasn’t full, so he didn’t have MY package and he’d be back. She could NOT confirm when he’d be here. She said he usually was on my street after 1pm but when I asked her if she could guarantee that he wouldn’t show up while I tried to grab lunch- she could not… And so I’d rather stay here until 3pm (or so) and get my 360 then grab a bite and be SOL (that said tempted to get fish and chips from the pizzeria on the corner).


The rest of my antsy stressing is from the job switch. I’m had some weird thoughts about the jobs. I mean I slept ULTA poorly on Sunday night (maybe about 4 hours). I think it’s odd that I seem sort of giddy about the new job even though it’s going to be another retail job… Like maybe it will be a new chapter in my life or something.
I gave one week’s notice at the gift store on Saturday. And I was sort of nervous about it. I left the house fairly early as I wanted to go to a Mexican place near the gift store for lunch( as I like it and figure I’ll be going to it A LOT less now that I don’t work nearby). I also wanted to check out an exhibit, so I’m in the area and store early. And of course, the manager is running late- and I KNOW I should not say anything to anybody until I give my manager my letter of resignation. Actually I thought it was funny that as he was opening it- I blurted out it was my letter of resignation. He asked why? Then realized that he could read the note and started doing so. I didn’t tell him that I had a problem with his management ‘style’ or his management crew ( aka Kenny and the Receiver); I just point out that I’ve been at the gift store for 2 years- which is a long time in retail and that I’ve found another job. He asked me if he could tell people or if I wanted to do it. I told him it could be both- as I knew he had to tell Kenny as I wasn’t going to be in on Sunday and Kenny needed to know to change the schedules he might have me on. On the other hand I made sure I told the two co-workers whom were working that day that I was leaving. At the end of Saturday- of course everyone knew, by being told by either me or the manager or someone else working. I also figured that the grapevine would take care of the rest- and sure enough on Monday- most everybody had heard.
FYI- I’ve been making sure NOT to tell people where I’m working. I’ve let people know that I’m private… and the people who I like understand that I don’t want the word getting back to Kenny.
So yesterday was a tad odd. I still was double checking that people I liked knew, and if they didn’t telling them. I also found the Receiver to be amusing. See he griped abit about Kenny and I pointed out that I realized I don’t care about Kenny anymore. As I was tossing and turning Sunday night I realized that while I still hold a grudge against the fat cow from Staples and was SOO HAPPY when I heard she was fired; Kenny not so much. Yeah, I dislike Kenny and the Receiver- and if I was manager they’d be fired… My hatred of Kenny isn’t as strong as saying my burning hatred of Billo.
Likewise I was amused when the Receiver replied to my declaration that I’m letting go of my hatred of Kenny as I don’t have to deal with him… That HE felt that Kenny was getting to be a better worker and took credit for same. The Receiver likewise amused me when he relived me for my break yesterday… I was lucky enough to work an exhibit, instead of the main store with Kenny, for most of the day so I was working by myself and reading a book connected to the exhibit… So I got amused when I found out the Receiver had brought up his own book and was reading it while covering his break. As he didn’t catch me reading (was good about it)… he started apologizing- and I was like I don’t give a darn.
It feels REAL good that I’m letting go of stuff at the gift store. I doubt I’ll be divested of all my baggage by next Monday (when I start my next job) but am sure it will take me less time to get over the gift store crap then it did the Staples crap.

So that leaves me with two other thoughts going through my noggin about my new job-
The first is my figuring out how much money I’m going to be out of in the short term… as my salary goes down $1.25 for the first three months before going up $.75 more then the gift store.
So if X=gift store salary and Y= next week’s salary and Z= ‘post probation’ check then
Y= X- $1.25 and Z= X+.75. Or to put it another way Z= Y + $2.
Now realize that Y and Z might end up being a tad more then the above- that gets into more advanced math. You see the amounts above are in a vacuum- so X- doesn’t take into account fica, taxes, and my insurance. And that is where Y and Z get a bit more of a bump. See at the gift store I have to put in a certain amount each week into medical, dental and vision. At the new job a) I wont have insurance for the first 3 months so I will be ‘saving’ that money and b) I get FULL medical, no dental and no vision at the new store… So I’ll have medical again in three months but I still won’t be paying for it.
So that said- not happy that I’ll be ‘losing’ a few hundred over 3 months… but will end up better for it at the other end.
And that leads( in a long fashion) to one of those self aware moments as I realized I negotiated harder with the manager of the gift store for my salary then I did with my ‘new’ manager. I think this is very odd as technically I NEEDED the gift store job more then the new one- as I was unemployed at the time. However, and this is part of the self awareness and perhaps part of my giddiness, I want my new job more then I wanted the job at the gift store. For me the gift store was JUST another retail job… so I wanted a bit more money. I didn’t present it to the manager as a ‘deal breaker’, just after he offered me W- which was 25 cents more then I was getting paid at Staples I asked for more. I pointed out that while he was offering MORE then Staples it wasn’t THAT much more and I’d have to pay more for my commute… Never mind the fact that I wasn’t working at Staples. I did this because I felt I deserved more… and also that the quarter raise wasn’t really cost of living increase.
Meanwhile for some reason, I want this new job… and so I’m willing to take the 75 cents… Especially because, as I pointed out to the Manager (I think) the 75 cents raise is better then what I’m going to get from the gift store in March. See the gift store only gives out raises all at once in March… and last year they gave me( and a couple of others) a quarter. So I can deal with the ONLY 75 cents raise as it’s still 3x what I would’ve expect from the gift store.
I just feel I almost should kick myself for showing NO negotiation skills. I accepted what I was offered- just making sure of medical and the fact that I’d be getting my 32 hours while on probation. Heck I haven’t even checked on sick days/ vacation days… or employee discounts.
So waiting for my Xbox and having all these conflicting emotions. I’m sure everything is going to be ok… just don’t expect to find my ‘center’ until after the holidays.
Which reminds me of something else… Not 100% sure I’ll be getting the day after X-Mas off. I know it would’ve been a ‘done deal’ at the gift store but not sure at the new place… And I’ll stop now( as this is like 3 pages) by pointing out that PART of the lost money is, more then likely, the X-Mas pay I would’ve gotten at the gift store- as I doubt I’ll be ‘full time’ at the new place until after my probation.