Day 21 - He returns.

click on the comic to see it bigger

I'm back at Michaels.  The weirdest part is that it feels like I never left.

I'm going to take Lindsey's advice for tonight, and try to keep this blog super short.  I worked 8 hours today at Michael's doing the general grunt work I did when I got hired the first time.  The only major differences are that everyone knows me this time around, and I have to wear black and khaki.

First, everyone was really excited to see me, so I was particularly talkative today and quickly made friends with anyone who didn't know me from before.  I guess Steve asked most of the managers if he should hire me back and all of them said yes--which makes me feel nice.  Also, at some point, Amanda told Kathleen that I was working harder today than she's ever seen me work.  This is funny because it didn't feel like I was working that hard, which leads me to believe one of two things.  Either I was super lazy and didn't work almost at all before I left, or it just seems like I'm working harder because Amanda is glad that I'm back.

Second, there are no more red aprons at Michaels.  The only aprons that exist now are black half-aprons that have been dubbed "crotch pockets".  However, there ARE black full-aprons that the frame shop employees are supposed to wear.  I took Melissa's apron since she wasn't in the shop today, and everyone who saw it was either upset or envious of the fact that I had a full-apron.  I guess they are a coveted item, and are on back-order in stores around the country (no joke).  Only frame shop workers can get one, which means--even though I tried my hardest to avoid wearing my red apron before the dress-code was instated--I am going to exploit my frame shop connections to get a black full-apron and wear it all the time.  Having special things that other people want is part of the fun of working in retail.  At Stewart's it was custom name tags.  At Barnes & Noble it was a music department position.  At Michaels, it's going to be a black apron.

Adam swung by the store around noontime and we got lunch at Giacomo's Express.  I didn't realize there WAS a Giacomo's in the same plaza as Michaels--since there is one just off of Route 9 only two minutes away.  But who wants to drive on Route 9 to go get lunch.  Not me!

My lunchtime horizons have been expanded

When I finally got home, I was mucho exhausted.  I was up at 6:30 in the morning today to go to work.  I ended up sleeping about three hours after I got back.  The rest of the day has been spent in anxiety about getting a REAL job.  I know God is calling me to do something awesome for Him, but I have been getting extremely discouraged by the fact that I don't feel 100% qualified for any job I've applied for--except Tooth & Nail.  To top it all off, it takes me almost an hour to send out even one resume and cover letter, which really ruins my job-search motivations--I have to tailor each resume and letter to the job I'm applying to.  Lindsey really helped me tonight by just encouraging me to streamline the process of applying to jobs, and to not give up hope.

Please pray for me.  I want to do something great for the Lord, and I understand that it takes time for God's plans to unfold.  I just need direction--and I'm struggling to find an industry job to help build up my resume for something better down the road.  Working at Michaels today reminded me of how much I missed working there, but also of how much I don't want to be stuck doing part-time retail.