6 Years of Vacation - Over!

My first day at a new job. Odd to be happening at this age but then that is life. Full of surprises!

I am required to wear uniformed colors: black & khaki in some variation. As anyone who knows me, I am NOT a khaki kind of gal. I can't seem to pull it off without looking somewhat "butchy" - (How does Kathy do it? She always looks cool and pulled together in her khakis.) But for those who can't even imagine it...this is the best I could do...for now...:-)



I love Michael's. It is my kind of store. Part of my brain knew that there was lots to learn. They have thousands of items but for some reason I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. To feast my eyes on all the creative supplies that only fuel my artistic center. I hoped they would gently edge me in. Perhaps stocking a few departments so I get to know where everything is. This particular location is huge. Their scrapbooking department is at least 6 aisles! I am happy that it is in a strip mall so I can drive there and park.

When I was old enough to count correctly and deemed responsible by my mother, she taught me the register at the family's store. A very basic cash register where you punched the amount of the item and "rung" it up. I remember so clearly my mother teaching me to count backwards in giving out change. To always leave the bills out on top of the cash tray so the customer couldn't say they gave me some other denomination. And to always say "Thank You" after each transaction. This has been a pet peeve of mine: Cashiers who don't do any of these things any more. Registers are programmed now to show how much change to give out. How many times has something gone wrong and the "change" is not shown and the cashier is frozen! There's never a calculator around which I always found amusing that they even needed a calculator to figure things out. But not saying "Thank You" is a real sin.

On my first day, as I knew would happened...I was placed at the registers. Total "baptism by fire". I had about 10 minutes of training before I went "solo". Chris, the manager who showed me the basics, is so kind, patient and very encouraging which made my first day, crazy as it were, better than I expected. At the very least, he made me want to return instead of quitting. Except for a half hour break, I was standing at the registers for 6 hours and always busy.

My schedule has been sporadic. So far, only a couple of days each week which works for me! This might change and I can only go along for the ride and see where it takes me. In the meantime, I am wearing khaki's and not cringing!