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Entry tags:
Change, or Chaos
I thought I would be able to get some writing done tonight, but for whatever reason it hasn't quite worked out that way. So here I am, posting in LiveJournal instead!
Personally, there's a bit of frustration with myself; it's nothing new, which is perhaps the most frustrating thing of all. I am learning and growing and changing, of course, but a lot of my worst habits are still here. I knew this would happen when I moved to California; despite the new setting, wherever I go, there I am, and I'd be fighting many of the same old battles I've been fighting for years now.
That's not to say the battles aren't being won, here and there, slowly but surely. It's just not happening at a rate I would like to see. :) Ah well, beggars can't be choosers.
One of the things that have helped me immensely recently is simply being aware that everything I do throughout the day is a choice I make. A lot of things I do merely from habit. I get up, I stumble to my computer, I check my e-mail and LiveJournal. These are choices that I make. Unfortunately, they're choices I've made so often in the past that I no longer have to be aware I'm making them. The basic form of consciousness is all that's required, and motor memory does the rest. ;) It's difficult to remember, especially in those first few minutes of being awake, that there's always the choice to spend my time in a way that makes me feel better afterwards, and on those days when I manage it, that's a good thing. More often than not, however, sloth wins out.
Work is...well, work, and I'm facing a small dilemma with that.
I work at a used bookstore. As with any retail position, especially one that's as dependent on customer influence as ours is, there's a great deal of change. That I can handle to a fair degree; I like to consider myself pretty flexible, able to roll with the punches as they come.
Since the promotion to General Buyer, however, there's been a never-ending series of crises and protocol changes that makes it very difficult to find footing in my position. One week, someone needs to take off. The next, a new hire says he can't shelve any books on doctor's orders; the next, another worker gets stricken with debilitating allergies and misses quite a bit of time; the next, it's announced that there's going to be a massive personnel shift to accomodate an important person being moved to the online operation; the next, it's determined that we'll add a day in which we buy books from the general public; the next, it'll be something else, and so forth and so on. There's hardly been a week where the crew hasn't had to deal with some significant interruption or change in how things are operated.
The boss seems to think all of this change is necessary for the business to stay viable, and I don't disagree. I simply think we'd be able to implement it better once we get ourselves on a solid footing first. The online operation, according to him, has to meet a certain goal in one or two months, or else we'll be in serious trouble. The bookstore might not live to see another year kind of trouble.
Nonetheless, I love the job, I love the work I do, I love the people I do it with, even when they're flaky, and illness- and injury-prone. :) And while I love variation in my work, I don't love the ever-increasing workload (it feels something like a "competency tax") and especially the shifting schedule that might be coming my way this summer.
So, there's an opportunity to get a job at another company. There are several advantages: while it won't have anything to do with books, it requires strong customer service and communication skills, which I have in spades. It's with a fairly large computer company, so there's no danger in suddenly being out of a job because the business has gone under...at least not anytime soon. Two close friends work for the same company, one of them in the exact same position, so there's no worries about 'fitting in'. And the job provides ample opportunity to learn a very different range of skill sets, both as part of the position and in 'downtime' I might have.
Down side? It pays a dollar less, at least initially. It's more-or-less a contract position, meaning I'd have to...re-apply every year. It's in a corporate environment, which I have no experience for, and...well, it feels like I'm joining the drones a little bit.
So, chaos for the sake of staying with what I know, or change and upheaval for something more stable but...significantly different? Every time I think I've made up my mind, something comes along to bring it all into question again.
I suppose I am counting my chickens before they hatch; I go in for an interview on Monday, and I likely won't know whether or not I really *have* a dilemma until later next week. Er, wish me luck. Whatever that means.
Personally, there's a bit of frustration with myself; it's nothing new, which is perhaps the most frustrating thing of all. I am learning and growing and changing, of course, but a lot of my worst habits are still here. I knew this would happen when I moved to California; despite the new setting, wherever I go, there I am, and I'd be fighting many of the same old battles I've been fighting for years now.
That's not to say the battles aren't being won, here and there, slowly but surely. It's just not happening at a rate I would like to see. :) Ah well, beggars can't be choosers.
One of the things that have helped me immensely recently is simply being aware that everything I do throughout the day is a choice I make. A lot of things I do merely from habit. I get up, I stumble to my computer, I check my e-mail and LiveJournal. These are choices that I make. Unfortunately, they're choices I've made so often in the past that I no longer have to be aware I'm making them. The basic form of consciousness is all that's required, and motor memory does the rest. ;) It's difficult to remember, especially in those first few minutes of being awake, that there's always the choice to spend my time in a way that makes me feel better afterwards, and on those days when I manage it, that's a good thing. More often than not, however, sloth wins out.
Work is...well, work, and I'm facing a small dilemma with that.
I work at a used bookstore. As with any retail position, especially one that's as dependent on customer influence as ours is, there's a great deal of change. That I can handle to a fair degree; I like to consider myself pretty flexible, able to roll with the punches as they come.
Since the promotion to General Buyer, however, there's been a never-ending series of crises and protocol changes that makes it very difficult to find footing in my position. One week, someone needs to take off. The next, a new hire says he can't shelve any books on doctor's orders; the next, another worker gets stricken with debilitating allergies and misses quite a bit of time; the next, it's announced that there's going to be a massive personnel shift to accomodate an important person being moved to the online operation; the next, it's determined that we'll add a day in which we buy books from the general public; the next, it'll be something else, and so forth and so on. There's hardly been a week where the crew hasn't had to deal with some significant interruption or change in how things are operated.
The boss seems to think all of this change is necessary for the business to stay viable, and I don't disagree. I simply think we'd be able to implement it better once we get ourselves on a solid footing first. The online operation, according to him, has to meet a certain goal in one or two months, or else we'll be in serious trouble. The bookstore might not live to see another year kind of trouble.
Nonetheless, I love the job, I love the work I do, I love the people I do it with, even when they're flaky, and illness- and injury-prone. :) And while I love variation in my work, I don't love the ever-increasing workload (it feels something like a "competency tax") and especially the shifting schedule that might be coming my way this summer.
So, there's an opportunity to get a job at another company. There are several advantages: while it won't have anything to do with books, it requires strong customer service and communication skills, which I have in spades. It's with a fairly large computer company, so there's no danger in suddenly being out of a job because the business has gone under...at least not anytime soon. Two close friends work for the same company, one of them in the exact same position, so there's no worries about 'fitting in'. And the job provides ample opportunity to learn a very different range of skill sets, both as part of the position and in 'downtime' I might have.
Down side? It pays a dollar less, at least initially. It's more-or-less a contract position, meaning I'd have to...re-apply every year. It's in a corporate environment, which I have no experience for, and...well, it feels like I'm joining the drones a little bit.
So, chaos for the sake of staying with what I know, or change and upheaval for something more stable but...significantly different? Every time I think I've made up my mind, something comes along to bring it all into question again.
I suppose I am counting my chickens before they hatch; I go in for an interview on Monday, and I likely won't know whether or not I really *have* a dilemma until later next week. Er, wish me luck. Whatever that means.