Sick Leave

Hey everyone!  Apologies for the lack of entries recently but I am getting over a recent bout with a pretty bad cold!  Coupled with pretty insane shifts at work I did not have anything left in the tank to do much else.  That is pretty much all that has been going on to write about as you can imagine, just getting by at work while trying to stay on my feet!  Although for all the sicknesses and how busy things were I feel I took a big step forward in my confidence as a supervisor.
    People called into work sick this week a LOT without any advanced notice to find a replacement.  I took initiative and called people up I thought might come in last minute to help and it paid off.  I actually surprised my supervisor by how much I was able to get done this week so that made me feel real good.  I am doing everything my job requires but now getting things done above and beyond occasionally!  My goal is to eventually be doing above and beyond every single day.  I'll get there perhaps but even if I don't I could have a heck of a lot worse of a goal at work than that!
     In other news I am just looking forward to my birthday coming up in a few weeks, not to mention the holiday season in general.  I am looking forward to Thanksgiving a lot this year and all the food and family.  I am starting to get into a holiday mood here with Christmas right around the corner after Thanksgiving so I feel pretty good about now.  Other than that I really don't have anything else to report.  Hope y'all are doing well in your respective lives and are ready to the next couple months of fun as much as I am!  I'll catch ya later!

Cold and Cloudy Sunday

     Back in my usual corner this morning at Starbucks with a coffee in hand as I type this up, everything is as it should be.  I have been looking forward to this "weekend" more than a normal couple days off for some reason.  October, while full of excitement, was full of travel as well.  It took quite a bit more out of me than I imagined it would.  I think I have been looking forward to this couple days off in particular because they are the first in a month that don't include travel plans or the need for packing for future traveling.  Just a true, lazy two days off is just what I needed I think.  
    I really don't have much to talk about today come to think of it.  The work meeting yesterday was all about upcoming holiday merchandise and whatnot so I am starting to get into that mindset already. I am only missing the snow to fully get me into the holiday spirit (I always tend to be ready for the holidays much earlier in the season than most people).  With this time of year I also start thinking of my birthday and whether or not to try to plan some sort of get together for it this year for the big two-five.  That's more planning than I want to do today though.  Mindless youtube watching and waking up with this coffee while talking with some friends working is all I want to do today.  After a busy October and very busy work week I think I earned it!  Stay warm ladies and gentlemen, and thanks for reading!

A late Night

Well as strange as it seems I have found the energy after my shift to sit here and type up another entry.  How's that for commitment to keeping regular entries?  Not a whole lot to add for the day however, not a very interesting shift.
    I will say it was more difficult than I thought to come back to these hectic 8 hour shifts after 4 days of relaxing and having some fun!  I get back into the store and almost immediately I am bombarded with questions I don't have answers to because I had been gone for four days!  What is this blog for if not to be honest about how I feel right?  I started getting annoyed early and often today.  I don't have the answers, you know more about the problem than me, I'm sure you can figure it out if you slow down and think for a minute.  This was exactly what I did with them instead of just saying what to do.  I went to the side with them and explained the process and encouraged them to come up with their own solutions.  Yes that's right, even though I was annoyed that doesn't mean I showed it.
    Other than that my plan for closing at night is continuing to work.  It was basically a plan to simplify what is expected of each person.  Instead of everyone trying to run around and find something that hasn't been done (which takes a long time because everyone asks each other what has or has not been done) I changed things a bit.  Whatever station I deploy you to that night, you are responsible for only that station.  You make the drinks, do what is expected in that particular station and when the time comes you clean whatever is expected.  I instruct them to not even look at another station and to let me deal with that if I need to.  If they get their duties done and the gate is closed, they can take a bag of trash and they can go home.  If they haven't completed everything, they stay until it's done (with help from me if need be).  I also rotate jobs so it isn't the same person on the same station every week.
   That is, as it turns out, my personal stamp on the job I think.  I found a, so far, optimal way to close the store and clean it at the end of the night.  Not to mention it is very stress free because you know exactly what is expected of you and can gauge your own progress but I also have the option if you want to you can stay and help out a fellow employee with their duties if you have yours done.  This has the potential to build trust and rapport between two or more people at once.  I know I wouldn't forget the person who stuck around to help me get my stuff done to leave on time!  It also helps me to assign accountability, I know who is doing what and thus who to talk to if something in a certain area needs done.  This is still an early stage of development and will no doubt get smoother as everyone begins to understand this is how I run things from 4pm until 12am.  
   Anyway, I better get back to my extremely late dinner and enjoy this rare late October thunderstorm!  Thanks for reading ladies and gentlemen and have a great day!

Aaaaaaand We're Back

  Alright y'all back again finally for some more entries.  Was quite a break there while things for Mike's wedding starting coming into play!  The bachelor party was a lot of fun and the wedding was even better, I will talk on such topics now.
     First of all back in early October the bachelor party was scheduled.  I was planning on staying the night here at Purdue and then going down to Indy like at 11am on Saturday to get things going but I am a fan of changing plans last minute and doing the unexpected.   I ended up getting back from work Friday night at about 7:30 and within a half hour I was actually in my car driving to Indy to start things for the party at 10:30 that same night.  While I won't go entirely into detail about the proceedings I will say I had just a few drinks and things  went well for the night.  The next morning (after 2 hours of sleep) we all got up and went to play nine holes of golf.  This was a lot of fun for me because I had been wanting to golf for a long time and I happened to have my clubs in my trunk.  We got into groups of four and started in.  After a long night this was probably the absolute best way to recover.  Right after golf we were all back in the caravan and headed to paintball.  This was my first time so I was pretty freakin nervous about it (especially after I saw before we started we had to sign a waiver!) but I manned up and got suited.  First of all, that equipment is heavy!  I was alright standing but once that game started and I had to run for cover it was rough.  After a short all out sprint and throwing myself into the side of a hill for cover I was already out of breath!  That helmet was tough to wear too, trying to look around was a lot more difficult.  Well, for my part, round one I got shot in the neck (the one place I was not covered haha) and then a couple days later I took one right in the dome.  I must say my ears haven't rung like that in a while.  That ball hit the top left of my head and that echoes somethin fierce inside the helmet.  My night wrapped up after getting to the hotel after paintballing and watching a little football.  I got back later that night to West Lafayette and got back to relaxing.
     The wedding was up next a couple weeks later.  I ended up driving back to Fort Wayne first to visit the parents and waited for my brother who was on his way to pick me up so we could carpool.  On Friday we hit up the rehearsal dinner.  Nobody was nervous going into this but afterwards, once we got all the instructions and little things we had to make sure of we all got a little iffy haha.  We were all good students and practiced a couple times as far as who walks out with who and where to go once we were out of sight.  My brother and I hadn't worked out where we were going to stay that night but our uncle had us covered.  He and our Aunt picked up an extra room at the hotel and offered it to us as well as our cousin Tim.  So we went and chilled at the hotel that night and got up like at 9 the next morning for breakfast (I had something called the tremendous twelve? haha don't knock it til you try it) and went to pick up the tuxes for Ryan and myself.  We made it to the church at right around 11 I believe and we got changed into the tuxes and got to hang out with all the groomsmen.  We went around getting pictures taken in various spots around the church (making sure to not let the groom see the bride or vice versa).  The most intense part I think was waiting with a half hour til game time in the groomsmen staging area with Mike and his best man Jon.  We kind of all just talked each other up and got pumped up.  Listened to some specific tunes to get ready.  Then it was go time.  Everything went off without a hitch, it was fantastic.  It was tougher than I thought to stand up there for that long in that tux but I took it like a pro.
     Right after the ceremony ended everyone kind of stuck around to help clean up and chat a while.  Then we piled into our cars and went to the after party.  Started things off in a tiny room as all the guests arrived and had a Blue Moon.  I got a chance to talk to some old friends before all the guests were ushered to the reception room and the bridal party stayed in that small room before being taken to our staging area to be announced.  This was a nervous time for me, not big on being the center of attention but good to get the practice in.  I was lucky enough to escort a friend of mine in rather than someone I didn't know at all!  The dinner was served which was also delicious, I am very picky about what I eat so that's saying something.  Jon's toast was fantastic, the amount of backstory behind everything in the speech was staggering haha.  Only the close friends and those who knew Mike in college got the full blast of humor.  After dinner the dancing began.  Time for me to be nervous again!  The traditional dance of just the bride and groom and then the parents is fine. That next song though, it was just the bridal party.  I tiptoed onto the dance floor and couldn't find a dance partner haha.  A couple of the bridesmaids were MIA at the beginning of the song.  Luckily I was saved by a friend of mine yet again until they got back.  
     That was most of the night right there.  Just hitting the open bar and getting back out onto the floor to pretend I was back in college with my friends I haven't gotten to hang out with much since college.  I went back just a little while with the bridal party to have a couple more drinks and some pizza which was pretty cool.  They opened up the bar for us and we set in.  I stayed until about 2am and then headed back to my parents who had a hotel for that night and the rest is history.  Here I am now back at Starbucks at Purdue writing this entry getting back into the swing of being on campus again.  My entries to this blog will hopefully be back to being once a day if I can stay on top of things.  No matter if something really exciting happens or not, I want my life as it is to be publicized every day.  Thanks for sticking with it even when I haven't!  As always, have a good one ladies and gentlemen.

Some Thoughts For A Rainy Day

     As I sit here ready to order another coffee my thoughts turn to my continuing studies on the topic of Communication.  True I already have a Bachelor's degree from Purdue on the subject but I don't know nearly as much as I want to!  I have become very good about taking a book with me every place I go that I might have even five minutes of free time to read.  These books turned from fiction and became self improvement books.  Most of the books I am re-reading deal with people skills.  I just sat here this morning and read an entire book on becoming a better conversationalist!  I realize more and more that these books are good to share with others but unless I actually take the information in them and start practicing them I will not be any better than I am today.  For example, I have an immense amount of trouble initiating conversation with strangers whom I'd like to get to know better.  I read tips in most of these books on how to go about doing just that but I still have not been able to bring myself to try them out!  Perhaps my problem lies in the fact I am looking at the end result right away? I should instead work up to initiating conversation.  Another example, I see people every single day walking down hallways and all around campus so perhaps to start out I should make eye contact (which is a big problem of mine) with ten of them and then work up to eye contact and smiling.  Eventually I can go up and start talking with them.  Sometimes you have to crawl before you can walk right?
     In other news work has been going well as of late.  A new supervisor has been hired for the day shifts so that will take a little weight off my shoulders eventually.  I have even more responsibility for a while, though, teaching him the basics of making drinks and whatnot.  There are days when I feel like my delegation skills are a little off target or sloppy but there are also days (such as Saturday) where I feel I nail it and things run smoothly and I also teach four or five people at the same time during a rush how to make drinks or what jobs need done and how to do them.  Also, I am getting more comfortable telling people, when it's a point I feel is important to be followed, they need to follow my instruction.  Not in a mean way, but assertively, I let them know they can voice their opinion and argue the point and I'll gladly listen and respond but when the final decision has to be made I am the supervisor and what I say goes.  There have been moments the last week where the decision I made was not popular and was argued by employees but I stuck to my guns and, in time, was proven wise.  Six years of experience counts for a lot here and if my gut tells me to make this decision or that decision it is almost always correct.  Long story short, I am gaining confidence in my authority and abilities quite rapidly now.  
     That's really all I have to talk about today, I have been a little bad at making consistent entries but I have not forgotten about it completely!  Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day ladies and gentlemen!

People Watching

         The Jack Johnson song "People Watching" set the tone for this entry!  Tis my second day off and I came to Starbucks as per custom to make this entry and to relax a little on campus.  I also have another reason for always coming to such a public place.  Some of you who read my blog may know I spend an enormous amount of time reading books on Communication (theory, techniques, nonverbal, etc.) and I am just now starting to come to places where there is a lot of foot traffic so I can practice "people watching" to really help my studying take hold.  Now the trick for me personally is to actually make eye contact with people, I have a lot of trouble with that due to my mild case of shyness.  I know that lack of eye contact, though, can suggest lack of interest or dishonesty (neither of which I wish to convey).  I always feel like when I make eye contact at all, at least for more than a second it will seem like I am staring and I get uncomfortable.  So basically you get me often looking around when I talk to you or if I try to use eye contact for an initial meeting I only use quick glances!  Well, at least I know my problem right?  I'll work at it and get better in a matter of months because I know the eyes are the most important tool at my disposal for nonverbal communication and connecting with people that are important to me.  Not to mention I have some pretty gorgeous eyes!
      In other news it is a grey slightly rainy morning here in West Lafayette.  Well I am counteracting the urge to stay in and sleep all day by using the 3 days worth of music (according to iTunes) at my disposal as well as yet another book to reread dealing with people.  I won't go too much into what the book is about because it would take four or more entries but it is called "Winning With People" so you can imagine what it might be about basically.  It is written by John Maxwell, one of my favorite authors and speakers so I would give it a look as well as his other dozen books!  As long as I keep my extremely large mind on other things I can combat my Seasonal Affective Disorder fairly handily as I move into that time of year.  By the end of the winter months I will probably have written dozens of these blog entries and read about twenty new books to be honest.  As long as I grow as a person every day in some way, learning at least one new thing or making a connection with an idea I have thought about in the past then I am happy.  Anyways, I think I better get to reading, listening to my music, and begin people watching!  Fascinating stuff this is :)

A Crisp September Morning

   It has been a while since I've written anything!  I have been caught up in work the last few days and haven't had the energy to come up with a blog entry believe it or not.  I'd like to say I have found, or at least I've started to find my own unique way to be a supervisor but I have not.  It has been almost two months and I am still working on getting the basic parts of my job down.  When things start to go south during an unexpected rush or when we are unexpectedly missing staff I come through though.  There have been times, I'll be honest, where my calm exterior was in danger of cracking but it has not yet happened!  I always feel when a huge rush happens and the employees are starting to get nervous, where do they look to see how they should feel?  That's right, if I stay calm at all times then they will stay calm at all times (eventually).  Another point I wanted to bring up on the topic of leadership is that of how close you can be to employees.  Most people have told me that you can't be friends with your employees outside of work (or at the workplace even) if you are also their supervisor.  The logic of it feels correct in my head and I agree with them there but deep down in my heart it doesn't feel right.  Thus the first dilemma has been presented in my first leadership position.  I think this is one of those times where I can define what kind of leader I want to be.  If I work to keep my emotional distance from the employees here then they will still follow my example and when I give direction they will follow but they will follow because of my title.  If I work to build working relationships at work (and outside if I happen to see them) they will follow my example and my direction because they want to.  People say they don't want to be friends with their employees but that is an old, outdated leadership principle.  I am going to use my knowledge I gained as a Barista to know what needs to be done (I haven't missed anything yet during my shifts) but I am not going to change who I am as a person.  I am still going to be genuinely friendly to everyone I am around.  I am also aware of, and I'm also staying away from, the trap where people will try to walk over me and get what they want because they think I'm so nice I'll say yes to anything.  I know the line and when saying yes is bad for the company and the greater good.  I say no when it is necessary!
     Other than that I am still trying to figure out my favorite haunts in West Lafayette.  I think I zeroed in on my first favorite place.  I am going to try to be a regular at the Irish pub here just down the hill from work called Nine Irish Brothers.  Some of the servers already recognize me by sight so that's a start.  I also tip very well so that doesn't hurt!  On the weekends there is live music so I always enjoy that.  It is a little more expensive but everything is quite delicious so I don't mind, especially since I am making more money now and can afford it.  I also come to Starbucks on my off days as well, that's where I am now, to hang out and have a coffee or two and think.  I am the opposite of a lot of people in this way.  I have often been asked how I can concentrate with hundreds of people coming in and out of this store all day.  I just really like being around crowded public places such as a coffee shop.  It's a great place to meet people and it staves off my seasonal depression during the late fall and winter months.  When that time of year comes I really don't like to be alone so I head to a place like this and I get to at least feel a superficial connection with a lot of different people.  As I get settled into this city a little more I'm sure I will find a few more places to enjoy as well as meet more people to enjoy those places with.
       All that's left I can think of to talk about is I am getting ready for football season and I finally jumped on the fantasy football bandwagon.  I have never gotten into this so we'll see how I do.  I actually have a pretty decent team I think but I have to get in the habit of signing in to see the score every once in a while and be sure to put the right players on the active list and bench the others.  This is a pretty good way to get me to watch teams other than the Colts all the time.  Alright y'all, I think that does it for now.  I'll try my hardest to make entries a little more often now that I am really starting to get settled in.  Even if nothing big is happening I still want to make entries, that's why people read these things yeah?  The exciting and the mundane.  Have a good one ladies and gentlemen.

BGR Begins

    That's right everyone!  Boiler Gold Rush has officially begun!  I am sitting here on my second of two days off at the Starbucks on campus as usual.  It is not incredibly crowded yet but all the Freshmen are still learning that there is actually a Starbucks here!  It has been a lot of fun being on campus though regardless.  I worked this most recent weekend when people were actually just starting to move in so I worked with a couple other guys here to learn where all the new students were from and where they were staying their first semester here.  We got them talking, got them opening up and hopefully eased their nervous feelings for the time being.  I want to keep that going this entire week and, if I can help it, the whole first year!  I want people to feel welcome and valued here at this store.  They can use this place as an escape from the demands of a tough school.  I really do want the new students to feel when they come into this store they are coming here to be with friends if only for a couple hours out of a busy day.
      Other than that I have been trying to piece together a new social group to hang out with here on campus myself.  I am very slowly getting a feel for who is here on campus still that I know from the past but now I am also starting to add some new people that are willing to join the group.  So it is happening, it is just taking a while as I expected.  I took a trip down to Chauncey the other night around 11:30, Chauncey is where all the pubs and bars are here near campus, and walked around a bit.  Imagine what a relief it was for me to see so many freakin' people walking around!  After a month of feeling like I lived in a ghost town I can see signs of life as people start moving back this week.  I can use this week as a scouting opportunity, I want to see which bars are busiest on which day of the week and what general time.  At any moment I can discern where the hot spots are and when a good time to go would be.   More than half of a successful night out is knowing where to go and when!
     Lastly I wanted to say something finally clicked for me the other night.  All these books on connecting with people I have read by John Maxwell had a basic point that was repeated over and over.  Connecting is all about others and to connect with them you have to go where they are.  I read that over and over and it didn't click until last night on the phone with my cousin that it means I literally need to go to the people I want to connect with.  For instance, I have been waiting for people from Indianapolis, and counting on them, to come and visit me all the time.  Where I went wrong was expecting people to come to me and now that I really bought into this point it seems obvious.  I need to go to Indianapolis to meet the people I want to connect with!  This is why the secondary point was made: Connecting takes energy.  Connecting with these people I speak of is, just for me personally, a very important goal.  I place very high priority on my relationships so now that I am making money and I'm ideally placed in the state I can do something about it.  Why not foot the bill for gas and all that if I get to spend time with those most important in my life.  Connecting is all about others and to connect you have to go to where they are.  It finally makes sense to me ladies and gentlemen.  It's time to make things happen.  Have a good one guys, I'm going back to my coffee and music!

Odds and Ends

    Good morrow ladies and gentlemen!  Here I am again sitting in my favorite corner in Starbucks with my laptop bringing you another entry on this bright, and somewhat more comfortable, Thursday.  Things are starting to take off for me here as we move into the end of the week and as we move into the last week before the school year starts, thought I'd take a few minutes to type up whatever pops into my head dealing with these events.
    First off, my class I had to take on food safety is now complete!  It was two 8 hour days covering 15 chapters of food safety with a 90 question exam yesterday to cap things off.  The class was fun, the exam was not.  The wording on the questions was a little shady and a few of the answers had answers differentiated by things like 5 seconds here, or 5 degrees there.  I am allowed to miss up to 10 so I'm fingers crossed here waiting for the score.  I honestly couldn't say either way if I hit the target or not.  If I didn't, no biggie, I just go back and take it again but I'd rather just do it once!  I was one of, if not the youngest person in the class.  A lot of the folks in there had kids my age or kids about to be 8 or 9 years old.  They look at me and I say "well I have a nephew" haha.  I'm just thinking of my age as a factor, not an excuse, if I make any mistakes really.  Things dealing with the behind the scenes work that goes into making the store run smoothly.  I am going to make mistakes for sure, but I am getting better and looking at mistakes as learning opportunities.  I hardly ever make a mistake twice, if I get corrected on something and I see it as legitimate instead of a personal preference that the person correcting me wants more control then I correct it right away and never make the mistake again.  My mind really is like a sponge that never gets fully saturated, I am always looking for more books on topics I know but not as well as I can.  Lately I've been splitting time between Psychology, management, and communication of all kinds.
     Next off, as I think I've mentioned many times before, Boiler Gold Rush is upcoming!  This week long orientation is the start of the school year for me.  All the incoming Freshmen (largest incoming class in a long while from what I heard) show up a week before classes start to move into their dorms and do a lot of activities with their BGR teams made up of people from their dorm.  I think it's neat that you are not put in the same team as your room mate, it's always a mix of guy and girl from different floors and all that.  I remember my BGR week like it was yesterday, I still keep in contact with one of my group members whenever I can as well.  The activities are fun and you get to meet a lot of new people that live close so you can have a pre-made social group for the rest of the year!  A shared experience like BGR week really ties people together.  For me, however, as a full time employee now, this is a notoriously busy week for Starbucks.  My store is tucked away in a corner of the Student Union building, one entrance and one exit.  Thousands of Freshmen walk through this building just about every day and they all have money for coffee!  Experience really does pay off big time in this case.  In the past I was a go to worker for BGR week.  A perennial volunteer for coming back to campus a little early to work these days.  I realize now it is just who I am as a person.  I really do feed off the energy around me and there are few atmospheres that compare to a college campus during a week like this.  Other people here in the Union, again, are muttering under their breath and are getting a little on edge about BGR week.  I am telling everyone I can how pumped I am for it!  Eventually people will pick up on that energy and hopefully run with it.
     Well that really covers everything I wanted to discuss off hand.  I really do believe to work at a store like this is a really unique opportunity that keeps you young.  However, people need a special kind of personality to be here and really enjoy being here doing what we do.  I am taking it upon myself to lead by example.  This store developed a bit of a tense, negative vibe since I've been gone.  It is my intention to turn that into a fun, positive one!  The best way to do that you might ask?  I'm gonna be who I am ;)  Take it easy guys, I'm going to grab another coffee!

Unexpected Day Off

    A little tweaking of the schedule was in order this week.  My class for ServSafe is actually Tuesday and Wednesday when we thought it was Monday and Tuesday.  So basically I split my days off this week, Monday and Thursday.  What do you do on an unexpected day off with very little money? Well I'm back here at Starbucks in my corner working on this entry with a coffee.  I don't really have a set idea as far as what to write about so I'll just keep typing and things will begin to materialize, such is my style of writing.
     I did notice this morning I can check my pay stub for work already, just a couple days before it is deposited so I got a chance to confirm that my benefits were properly chosen, enrolled in, and are being taken out of my check and all that.  The bottom line is the check now, and all checks in the future (using this one as an average) are going to be right on target with what I expected in terms of net pay.  This is a weird concept to me because it always seems like the checks on payday are less than you count on!  I'm taking this as proof I did my research right and therefor my budgeting for the rest of my time here is spot on.  Make no mistake this was a big load off my mind.  Now all my concerns are wiped away: got my parking pass, got enrolled in my benefits, after all the pre and post tax deductions my check is right where I planned on it being, and my student loan payments are at a level at which I can live comfortably after monthly payments.  Now I can just focus on the job and, of course just as importantly, having a blast while I'm living here on a college campus.
     As far as the job goes I think I am starting to get used to the new responsibilities and authority I have as a supervisor.  While I still haven't done every part of the job enough to have it memorized, everything dealing with delegating responsibility and making sure things run smoothly I am starting to get the hang of.  Most important of all I think I am starting to gain the trust of the partners here at Purdue.  I feel that is the absolute most important thing I can do as supervisor is establish trust and build positive working relationships and social ones as well with the people I work with.  A simple idea I know but one I feel is overlooked by many leaders these days.  I am hoping I never fall into the trap of WIIFM (Whats In It For Me) by the end of my time here.  Again, my job is to equip the people I work with to be able to do things in the store that I have to do so if I am gone they won't miss a beat, also they will be ready if they decide to move up in the company too.  If you reach down and bring people higher they won't forget it, the manager of the store won't forget all the compliments from those people as well.  If you consistently raise people up you will always have a job as a manager or leader (Thank you John Maxwell for all your books on leadership!). 
     Other than that I'm still trying to adjust to being away from home and in the new city and everything.  I have barely scratched the surface of the possibilities of being here.  There are so many things I can do in my free time (which I couldn't do at first because I didn't have my paychecks rolling in) that pretty soon I won't even think about Fort Wayne as much.  A tough challenge remains, too, in trying to build new relationships here.  It really is rough going back to a place where you knew so many people and had so many friends to hang out with that are all gone now!  I try not to think about it and when an opportunity arises to get to know someone new I just be myself and things will take care of themselves.  I am fairly quick about building good relationships.
       I think I might get back to writing my short story again here, my last semester I worked on a horror story taking place at a lake cottage so I think I want to try to tap back into the images I had in my head and start writing that one again!  I will let you know how that's going in the future and make add a link to somewhere after I potentially post some rough drafts and whatnot.  Take care everybody, and remember:  Monday starts the weekend!!!

Mid Day Starbucks Run

      Well I decided to shake things up a bit today ladies and gentlemen.  I dusted off the laptop and ran into Starbucks here at the Union today, I am there writing this entry right now.  I needed to run in here anyway to pick up my new parking pass!  I can now park in the garage anytime I want here next to campus and instead of paying 10 bucks a day I just swipe this pass to get out!  I also did some other things for work here like take a certification for credit card transactions and whatnot.  I also took a little time and enrolled in my benefits real quick.  Easy to do because it's all online and I can always go back and change things later if I need to.  I am pretty dumb when it comes to picking these benefits.  I went ahead and picked all the employee only options that were not the most expensive but not cheapest out of paycheck.  I figure that'll be just fine for a guy that is rarely sick.
      Now I am here about to see if I can work my magic and get a free coffee while I type this.  Other than that I really don't have a whole lot going on today.  I felt like I slept in way too long but when I looked at the clock it was only 10:30am.  One of those special kind of days I suppose?  There were a couple other things on my mind that I also wanted to talk about.
    First off is the upcoming bachelor party for my cousin Mike.  This isn't until October but never too early to think about.  I already have the day off from work confirmed (as well as the days for the rehearsal dinner and wedding itself) so that's a big question answered.  Looks like I'm working that Friday and then possibly bookin' it to Indy afterwards or just really early the next day.  I haven't decided if I'm doing the golf thing.  I'd mean I'd love to but I am nowhere near the skill level of the guys that are playing so it wouldn't be that stress free haha.  However it does look like it's all hands on deck for paintballing later that day.  I've never done it but I hear people speak to my abilities as a strategist which might help a bit.  When all hell breaks loose I doubt my strategy will be put to effect!  That's the point though, just chaos and having fun so no worries.  After that I think the gang is getting changed and ready to hit the bars in Indy.  This is where it gets tricky for me.  It all depends on when I work Sunday.  If I don't work until 4pm like I think is the case then I can stick around late that night.  If I have to work earlier then I might have to bow out early on.  Again, no matter what happens I will be there in attendance and it will be a wicked good time!
     The other thing I wanted to talk a bit about is the general excitement of the school year creeping closer.  One thing you'll notice if you talk with employees of the Union building here at Purdue about the school year coming up they will tell you horror stories about the never ending lines and all that.  Don't listen to them, talk to me.  I'll tell you that it is an amazing time getting to know the incoming students, borrow some of their energy from being away from home the first time, and get to help ease their homesickness.  I remember very well what it was like my Freshman year and I can finally be a major impact on these new students' time here.  At orientation they touched on this fact quite a bit.  Not only is it my job and responsibility to make sure operations at the store go smoothly and everyone works well together, it is also a secondary objective to teach new students and employees to the University things that helped me as a student.  I want to help them succeed at work and in all social aspects of being here at Purdue.  My 5 years of experience should be teaching tools to help these kids out as much as possible.  I thought that was really cool, you never know if you are the one and only person keeping any particular student going.  I look at things that way with any of my customers at Starbucks as well, corporate stores taught me that.  A customer's interaction with me might possibly be the first or even the only social interaction face to face for their entire day!  I respect that power that every partner at Starbucks has, the power to brighten every single person's day and help them get out of bed every day to go do their job which is just as important as ours.  To work at Starbucks is a unique chance in this way.  We really are in the business of people, we just happen to serve coffee.  I have to go enjoy the rest of this coffee and maybe get another now!  Have a good one ladies and gentlmen!

Saturday Nights are For Sleeping

       The Elton John song had it wrong, Saturday nights are not for fighting, they are for sleeping.  It was a pretty good day today overall.  Minus the lack of sleep as usual when I have to be up early the next morning everything went smoothly for my open to close shift.  This was a little different today because a student supervisor was not there the whole time with me to kind of help me delegate and remember which things to do if I ever forgot.  I did just fine and then some, my delegating is getting better and I am making sure to do things very fairly.  I'm not going to just stick the same people in the same spots every day without question, some days people will want to do different things to keep the job interesting so I am going to constantly be adapting to that.  I have another even slower day tomorrow, open to close again, but this time more people to help close so it will be an even easier shift! 
      The next couple weeks will be weird schedule wise for me with orientation Monday and Tuesday this week and then a two day class on health safety (complete with a 120 question multiple choice exam) the following Monday and Tuesday.  Luckily I'm still used to my schedule not being the same every week, corporate stores generally have each Barista working different shifts every week for the most part.  It makes it tough to get into a sleep schedule that works so consequently I feel tired most of my shifts.  Once the school year starts my schedule will settle down a bit more and then I can get enough sleep every night.  I wanted to write about something I just found out about though, something way more exciting for me than anything that's happened the last year and a half.
     I just got an invite to join a bunch of very dear friends the first Saturday in October!  The same friends I always wish I could get to talk to and catch up with and hang out will be coming to Purdue for a football weekend! :)  This is beyond anything I could have hoped for, I accepted the invite immediately after receiving it and now I can look forward to it.  It's one of those things that is just meant to happen because even though I work Saturdays, this particular Saturday the football game is a night game.  I would be working morning until about 4pm and the game is at 8!  Plenty of time for me to head back to the apartment, get myself ready, and head to campus to enjoy the company of close friends and then go watch my Boilermakers crush Notre Dame.  I think that'll do for this entry, just had to put that upcoming event out there and exclaim how pumped I am to feel like a college student again and make up for at least one more night I should have been out with these folks anyway but could not bring myself to do it!  Sometimes you really can make up for lost time and this is one of those chances :)  Have a good one ladies and gentlemen!


     

Down With the Sickness (But with Nyquil)

     That's right ladies and gentlemen, as it always seems to happen when I move from Fort Wayne back to campus for any amount of time I came down with a bit of a cold.  I had a pretty good headache the other day but by now it changed to just some congestion and a feeling of "bleh".  Luckily I have my secret weapon: Nyquil.  I just took a dose not too long before starting this entry so hopefully I can get through typing this before the effects take over and I have some fantastic sleep.
     Well I have a couple days under my belt now working behind the bar at Starbucks full time and I am getting used to it very quickly.  I wasn't sure how I would handle being in the store in one spot pretty much for a full work day but after the first couple times doing it I think I'll be just fine.  I got a chance to use the new espresso machines today as well!  That eased my transition back to the Purdue store (I was using these machines for a year back in Fort Wayne).  Seems like they pull shots quicker and with better quality.  If you ever stop by Purdue you should come into the Memorial Union building and see these things, I'll make ya a drink too.  Other than that there are a couple talking points I want to bring up.
     My first paycheck is indeed going to be August 10th.  I thought I had a week's worth of pay coming today but my manager told me they are tacking my first week onto the 10th.  If I understand this correctly it looks like I will be getting a paycheck for close to 120 hours when it does come in!  Could be less, I am terrible with math, but it seems like the direction this is headed.  Nothing has changed with what I am gonna do with the money though.  I have a budget I am working on and August is the guinea pig month for it.  This first check will cover my student loan payment, all the rest is going into savings (minus an undisclosed amount I will use for spending money for the month), the second check is going to my rent and utility payment for September with the rest of that one also going to savings.  By the holidays I should be pretty comfortable.
    The other thing I wanted to bring up is the other shift supervisor here at Purdue revealed today she got a new job at a different coffee shop on campus and will be leaving around the 10th.  Staff changes galore here at this store but I honestly think that is exactly what it needs.  Perhaps I am just the beginning, I'm wondering how much input I will have in the search for the new morning/day supervisor.  I feel like I have a pretty good idea of the people needed to change this place around in terms of character.  I think after the smoke is cleared from losing the two prior supervisors in the same summer this store is going to be brought back.  An exciting time I think, I can't wait to see what happens as we move into the school year!
    That's the last point, and the point I just came up with while writing the prior sentence, I wanted to make.  I have been feeling isolated somewhat here so far.  I really haven't written about this kind of thing in the blog too much but I feel that's what people who follow my exploits might want.  While I was a student I had a rather large group of people I knew and at least plenty of opportunity to go out and enjoy the nightlife.  I didn't enjoy it to the fullest because the bulk of the people I knew that always went out, and even tried multiple times to get me to join them, is long gone.  I still have yet to get over that fact, an opportunity wasted for the most part.  I got one week or so there at the very end of our time together to enjoy their company.  These same friends are now scattered in the midwest and I still check every day for any news from them.  They may not know it but I do think of them every day, I really do need to start sending at least a text to all of them on a regular basis.  Here's a question:  How do you revive contact with people who are very important to you but haven't talked in what seems like forever?  I'll keep trying as best I can.  What I really wanted to bring up is that once the school year starts (roughly 2 weeks or so until orientation) it is almost impossible to feel isolated.  Even I can't feel lonely with 30,000 people around (hopefully).  It's tough facing the prospect of making brand new friends after graduation.  It's what I need to do though, and I am quickly becoming a people person.  There are the sub plots for the coming weeks. A lot to digest I know but hopefully it keeps ya reading!  I gotta end this entry now, that Nyquil is starting to kick in.  I think a movie and some sleep is what I need.  Thanks for reading as always everybody and have a good one!

Working Hard

Well here I am again on an extremely warm night!  It still feels like 97 outside and it's 11:30pm!  Well my second day of work is done.  Today consisted of a lot of working on the training booklet and then getting back behind the bar and making drinks.  I am starting to get back into the swing of things I feel.  I still have some things in the booklet to finish up tomorrow, fill out my direct deposit form, and then I am pretty much full go.  I am still waiting for my parking permit in the mail (should be here in a day or two I would think) so it's going to be a game getting my car out of the parking garage without paying until that arrives.  
     I was talking to my manager today about starting in the leadership role.  The general consensus around the building, though, is that I will do just fine.  She said things will get a little easier for me once I get my own shifts to lead.  Right now, just because of summer, both shift leaders are on the floor for quite a while during the day which causes some confusion.  The other shift leader, who was a supervisor while I was a student, still tries to delegate tasks to me as if I was still a student worker rather than a professional equal but I let it go.  I can see how to her I would still seem like a another student worker still.  Once the school year starts she is taking the morning/day shifts and I come in as she leaves to take over the evening/night shifts.  I agree once that happens then I will begin to develop my own leadership style and really start to settle down.  I am already being counted on by my manager early in my career which I like.  A chance this early to build trust by being a reliable leader is always good.  Our store is still using outdated espresso machines (same ones I was using when I started there 5 years ago) but the brand new ones that most stores have now are being installed this upcoming Tuesday.  I become very valuable to the management team and the store in general once this happens because at the corporate store I worked at back in Fort Wayne was already using these machines.  I am taking on the fairly significant responsibility of training just about everybody on these new machines!  My manager also talked to me about what she really needed in the store in terms of leadership, I am taking this on as a secondary objective.  The other shift leader I mentioned earlier is really good at following Starbucks standards (a little too strict sometimes according to most people) and delegating responsibility.  What my manager needs is a leader to go in, really work with the students to teach them the right way to do things, answer any questions they have, offer support, and then when the time arises to step back and coach them as they do things themselves and develop their own style.  In other words I am taking it upon myself to equip the workers I am supervising with all the skills they need and help them develop those skills so that if I am ever sick or have to leave the store they all know what to do, how to do it, and won't even miss a beat.  If I can do that then I will consider my leadership a success.
       So yeah just some things I have been thinking about and thought I'd bring up in the entry.  I feel like with so much responsibility this early on in a leadership career people might be overwhelmed, for some reason I can't wait to take on these challenges.  No anxiety is present, just the excitement of having the opportunity to be a go to guy and make things better at a place of work that I loved being at while I was a student.  Being able to make a measurable difference is a really cool opportunity!  
       This entire weekend is going to continue to be insanely hot outside so I don't know how it will affect the business in the store.  It really did seem kind of slow today which wasn't bad for the purposes of getting back into the flow.  I have work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and then a couple days off.  Cool thing is after my days off it is payday, which I wasn't expecting until August 10th!  A week's worth of pay (which is still going to be as much as two full weeks of work at the store in Fort Wayne) is coming to me on Wednesday.  This will represent the beginnings of my saving!  I am going to be able to put away quite a bit to start my cushion of money in case of an emergency but also have enough to use for spending money for August.  If I can stretch this first half check through the entire month of August I can put away quite a bit from both full paychecks in August for saving.  If I play it smart things will open up for me.
      I think it's about time I post this and start relaxing and maybe fall asleep the earliest I have in over 2 weeks!  If I get to sleep before 2am I'll count it a victory.  Few days of work here and my first week as a supervisor will already be done!  Only thing, I mean the ONLY thing eating away at my good mood is student loan payments.  Not sure when to resubmit my hourly wages to recalculate income based repayment and all that.  I'm hoping that they don't say I'm making so much I have to pay full amounts because that would absolutely ruin me!  I don't think I am making that much though!  I'm sure I have some people I can ask about such things, I have a brother and sister going through payments as well who would know so that is the one thing keeping me calm about it ;)  Have a good one ladies and gentlemen and again, thanks for reading!

Can't Sleep

Alright so the switch over to becoming a night owl is almost complete. I realized this when I woke up at 1:30pm today (my first day off) and went back to sleep! I was a night owl when I was a student, then I graduated and got my job back in Fort Wayne and took 9 months to get back onto a normal sleep schedule, and now it took one week to fall right back off the wagon. Here I am now writing this blog entry at 4:30am! A few things just cropping up in my mind here so I thought I would go ahead while I am still awake and write a little bit.

First of all I wanted very much to give a nod to my cousin Mike (and Mandy, his fiancee) and their blog they just started up! I am looking forward to following their entries as they move through this very exciting time in their lives. They are in separate cities right now for work but in a few more months they will be on the same traveling program and be off around the country (maybe even the world) to save lives! I will post a link to their blog in the near future so I would suggest all of you who read this look into their blog!

Next on my list is this intolerable heat wave! I am working on keeping the electric bill down for the new apartment but it's tough when it feels like 115 outside! This ceiling fan in my room is doing fine most of the time and direct sunlight never really hits the apartment (we have trees blocking it out for the most part) so it has been okay. I still need to go outside in it for the commute to work however! Tomorrow is my last day off of the week and I need to go and get my ID card switched from student status to employee or staff status. It''s pretty cool they are letting me keep the same ID number I had as a student, I even have it memorized still! Also, I need to get to a parking garage next to the MSEE building here at Purdue to turn in my form for my parking permit. Once I get that permit my work commute issues are no more (as well as any issues for when I am the DD for people, I can go and round everyone up and park on campus any time of day for no charge other than the low amount from my paycheck).

Now as for the rest of the week, I know my schedule. It looks like for the summer I will have Mondays and Tuesdays off. The remaining weekdays I am scheduled 9am until 5:30pm, the weekends I am working 7:00am til 3:30pm. Not too terrible. Once the school year starts I'll be picking up night shifts as I thought. For the most part it'll be somewhere around the 4pm hour until midnight. A lot of this is still changing and I'll be moved around to cover shortages but I know roughly I'll be working nights. Can I just say again I feel a lot better about everything now that I actually started work again and I know I am now making the money to sustain myself away from home and to have fun! It really makes a huge difference now knowing I am making those steps I need to make it happen.

Lastly I must say I am surprised I still have the apartment to myself for the most part! My room mate has moved a lot of stuff in, but it's still in boxes and whatnot. He has been staying at his old place still so for the last week and a half I have settled into the apartment myself. I feel that is the best way to do it, I like to be the one already established in a place and have others be the ones to have to come into an already routine pattern. I'm the same way when parties are happening (which turns out is actually a highly recommended social move) I like to be one of the first to arrive so people discover me as they walk in, and I can also introduce myself to everyone one by one as they walk in. By the end of the party I met everyone and never feel awkward going up and talking to people! Smart thinking? Definitely. I'm off topic now though, I feel like I was going to talk about more plans this week.

The first few days I was here back on campus I was very homesick as you may remember. I countered this by going to campus and hanging out at Nine Irish Brothers, an authentic Irish pub, and visiting a friend of mine. I believe that is where I am headed tomorrow evening as well. I might have some more people joining me as well which would be fantastic. Even after work on Thursday I have a plan. Right after work I am headed straight back to the apartment to shower and change before heading off with some more folks to the Thursday hot spot here at Purdue called the Neon Cactus. For me personally I need something to look forward to. I am a very optimistic person but there is a reason for it. My secret is I have at least one thing each week, each day if I can, to look forward to doing. This can be hanging out with one or more people, could be seeing a movie I wanted to see, could be a trip back home, etc. This week I have two things to look forward to! I have something else very big to look forward to in a couple more months too, I will fill you in as it gets closer! For now I think I better try to relax and get a little sleep!

First Day

First day at work is over! It actually went very fast for me, there was so much to do. From 9am til about 1pm I was learning how to fill out the order sheet for inventory and how to put all of that information into the computer to complete the order. I did the same for pastries and milk and all of that, just something that'll take time and a few tries to get down. After that I opted to head outside in the 95 degree weather to walk to a "fun day" for full time Union employees where I got some ice cream and relaxed in the A/C for a while before heading back to the Union at about 3 where I worked behind the bar learning all the closing duties and subtleties of the machines in this store all over again. Closed up shop and was outta there by 5:30. Just the way my schedule is this week I happen to have tomorrow and Wednesday off. Sometime during those two days I am going to get my parking permit and set up direct deposit, it should work out just fine for me.

After work is a different story. Today I was just tired (didn't get to sleep that easily last night) so right after work I went to sleep and now here I am awake and wanting to make somethin to eat and try to find something to do with two days off. I'm slowly putting together a list of people I still have to give a call and see if they can join me for the Purdue nightlife occasionally. I think either Tuesday or Wednesday night I can go and have some fun and then I want to possibly give Thursday night a try. We'll see who is available when and I'll go by that.

I simply feel better about my situation now after my first day because now I know I am starting to make money, at least doing something to ensure I can successfully be out on my own. The high point of all this will be that first paycheck, I'll be good to go after that! I think right now though I'm going to go and make somethin for dinner and get some movies playing and try to decide what to do the next couple days for some fun!

Final Night before the Job

Yes indeed! I am sitting here in my room at the apartment at Riverwalk eating some dinner and watching movies. My first shift at work is 9:00am-5:30pm tomorrow! Once I got moved in time really started to fly by and now it's about time to step up and go to work. I thought it was about time for another entry to share what's on my mind.

First of all there is always nervousness. A new job, more responsibility, new place to live, new coworkers, etc. but I have been keeping my head above water using logic. I feel like I am ready to go and I'm now switching from anxiety to excitement. One by one I started taking the things from my list of worries and talking them out with various people I feel could help me ease the worry. Here this evening I checked off the final issue. The biggest worry I had was making sure my income was enough to cover expenses. I went to various sites that help show you what your paycheck will be after taxes and I also talked to someone who made less than me with more expenses that was just fine. I think I'll be alright! I was worried then about the commute to work. Not so much what route I will take (the route is an insanely short drive) but about parking when I got to work. I thought through how much per check I'm making and I figured I could spare the $12.50 deduction per check for a parking permit. I believe this permit will allow me to park in the parking garage across the street from work (and just up the hill from where I will be having most of my fun after work) which would normally cost 10 bucks a day. Think about that number, after one day at work the deduction from my check would already be worth it!

Let's think about after this first month is over. At the end of August, once I prove all of the above to be sound logic and very do-able I can start the saving process and I can begin to understand where I can cut back in spending and where I can add a little. Once I get to that point I will have a solid grasp of the new job, I'll be on a regular full time schedule (exact same shifts every week which is a big deal to me), and I will know who all I have left in this town for my posse. I can't imagine, and I don't think anyone else can either, how relaxed I will be at that point and how good I will feel! The next stage then would be to start looking at the occasional vacation. My list of places I have been discussing with people has about tripled in size by the way.

I think right now I just need to keep relaxing and make sure I am well rested. This first week, at least first half, is a lot of orientation and not a lot of the work I'm used to. From what I understand tomorrow morning I take care of getting that parking permit, meet and greet some of the other employees of the Union Dining Services, and hopefully get direct deposit squared away. After that (which is supposed to take all morning) I will head to the store and get back behind that counter with my co workers where I should be! We'll just go from there shall we? Wish me luck gang.

All Moved In

Yep I am officially all moved into the new apartment! It was a lot of fun getting to see the place for the first time and getting everything set up. It is a very comfortable place, I'll have to post some pictures next time I make an entry. I am just sitting here right now with the place to myself (the roomy is moving in slowly over the next couple weeks) so homesickness is becoming a factor. A wave of it hit as I was pulling out of my driveway and another wave hit when my dad left after helping me get settled in. I am alright currently but I think the smartest thing I did was take the drive to campus (insanely easy trip walking OR driving) and get used to the route. Spending around an hour on campus was nice just to be in public and not feel so alone. I might actually go back one more time to visit with some people tonight. Either that or kind just hang out and watch movies here at the apartment and wait until tomorrow or Monday.

Tomorrow is the day to maybe hang out a bit at the Starbucks I will be working at. Listen to so music, read, have a coffee, and just get used to it. I can also meet a few of the people I will be working with and begin building rapport with them. The feeling of isolation will be lessened as soon as work starts for me, I'll be full time surrounded by people almost every day. Once the orientation week rolls around next month, that's when things really kick off and I'll just feel like I'm a college student again. At that point my instincts will kick in and I'll just feel like I'm here for classes but with more opportunity for fun. Just gotta get past this first few weeks here and I'll be alright.

So look me up on facebook, send a message, give me a call, shoot me a text, come and visit! I need some contact with people I know to ease my transition back to campus life. Something deep down tells me this year is gonna be somethin else, it's going to be a blast. I just need to get past my homesickness first!

Lack of Sleep and Packing

Well here I am well into the wee hours of the morning and, as you might be able to tell from the title of this post, I cannot sleep! Now that I am close enough to the start of work I can say for a fact my moving day is this Saturday! I really don't have all that much to move so I'm not freaking out too much as far as getting a ton of stuff all put into boxes and whatnot. On Saturday I am planning on taking just the big furniture and the electronics I am most likely to use with me. My futon, computer desk, TV stand, TV, Xbox, and computer are on the list. After those are moved in I really wont have much else to bring in. Clothes go without saying of course but I can get my entire wardrobe in my car easily.

Only one drawback of all this excitement is I am starting to feel the sadness creep in of leaving home. I have really enjoyed this year living at home while I worked at the Starbucks in the mall. Now the thought of saying goodbye (at least temporarily) to my little sis, the parents, and my dogs is starting to affect me. I know this change in job and living arrangements is necessary from a logic standpoint, but the emotional aspect tries to plant a doubt in my mind. Change, even though it is necessary for a greater good in my life in every way, is almost never easy. Give me two months ladies and gentlemen and I will be right as rain again. If I am different at all it will only be evident by my increased confidence and optimism.

I was just discussing with my cousin Mike about traveling now that I will be out on my own. He is taking part of a travel program with his work taking effect sometime in the early new year which will take him to some pretty nice places (a fact I told him I was jealous of!). San Diego is on the list from what I understand, I also have friends in New England, possibly in Florida fairly soon, and of course I have the nursing babes in Chicago still to visit! My calendar will potentially be full with mini vacations to visit some very important people in my life. I keep reading on facebook all these status updates from people visiting each other and I always wonder aloud "why not me?" I've never seemed to be the visit-able type, I'm always the one to want to go visit others. I am slowly, very slowly starting to accept the fact that's just how I am and always will be. I'm an initiator. Give me a few months and I will have a vacation cash flow going. I also keep in mind the fact I need to save up a nest egg for any reason that may arise. Saving for vacation will be slow, but the fact is I can still do it! That's enough for me. Anyways, I really need to get some sleep. My last day at home is tomorrow, I want to make sure I am awake to enjoy most of it with the family!

Budgeting

So I was just thinking tonight a little more about how much money I can put away each month saving up a nice cushion for fun and emergencies. I think my finances from Purdue should be promising for saving up! I got a pretty sweet deal on rent and utilities (especially because I went with a room mate) and I am going to be living so close to campus gas money will be almost no factor at all! One thing I want to do is to fax the extended repayment request form to Sallie Mae in order to lower my monthly payments for my student loans. If that is successful then I will have absolutely zero stress about money issues which is rare these days for anybody. I have the simple form signed and dated, just need to fax it now. I also need to either mail in my check for first month's rent to Riverwalk or maybe just make an initial trip early next week to hand it in in person. While I'm there I can bring a smaller amount of things to move in, I can make a trip to Starbucks like I wanted in order to get to know the employees I'll be working with a little better, and I can make the call to the energy company to set the date for when the juice up the apartment! I realize it all sounds like a lot to do, trust me just typing this all out made me feel like it's a lot to do but when I really get down to thinking about it, all of this can be taken care of in a single day potentially! Once I realized that I settled down a little bit and got back to concentrating on work.

Speaking of work I have one more shift left at the Starbucks at the mall tomorrow! A short 11:15am to 3:15pm shift, basically the glue holding the morning and evening shifts together. Not only is it a short shift at a good time of day, I get to work with just about everybody one last time. I have a full paycheck tomorrow as well and this is where my budgeting skills and future planning came into play. If I put this entire check towards my student loan payment for July, once I get the half paycheck coming to me two weeks from now (just before I start the new job) I can make the loan payment with some cash to spare for food and maybe some fun before the new job starts. Rent is due no later than the 5th of every month and by my calculations the latest I would get my first paycheck from the new job would be on the 5th so no worries there. If all works out then the first paycheck of every month will be enough to cover rent and utilities for the next month and then some. Then when that second paycheck comes in it will cover the loan payment (especially if I get that lowered monthly payment)! whatever is left over is my money for food, fun, and saving! I think it all sounds like a good plan. Again, all I have to do is get by this first month. If I get through August and all is working like I planned then it's smooth sailing the rest of my lease. I already confirmed I am getting 40 hours a week every week and I also confirmed my wages and what a net paycheck would be after taxes using some nifty apps on my iPod. My preparation is complete budget wise, I just need to do it now and I'll be alright! It's not like me to be this well prepared for anything, especially financially!

Introduction and Last Days at JP

Hello everybody! My name is Jonathan McAfee, you can call me Jon. I decided to create a blog so y'all can follow me as I take the next step in my career and life as I move back to Purdue University to take on a new job at the Starbucks store I got my start at almost 6 years ago! I figure posting a blog entry on a regular basis will kind of keep me sane and give me an outlet for any negative thoughts, any doubts I may have during this tumultuous first year getting things going. It is also an outlet for my triumphs and joys I am also sure to find along the way! I am 24 years old and a proud graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in Communication. I am currently single and living in Fort Wayne, Indiana (at least for another week or so!)

I Made the decision to start this blog right at the tail end of my time here in Fort Wayne where I currently reside, and the final days at the Starbucks I have been working at for the last year. Unfortunately I did not start it quick enough to write about my uncertainty throughout the multiple interview process. I also did not have a chance to write about how nervous I was after I actually got hired! I had to immediately set a start date, find a place to live, then sign the lease and everything (something I have almost zero experience doing). As I write this I am pleased to report I signed a lease already with Riverwalk Apartments with a room mate named Jeff. I already know Jeff fairly well thank goodness, so having him as a room mate will be comparatively easier for me than rooming with a stranger.

Riverwalk Apartments is a very nice complex just across the Wabash River from the Purdue University campus. It is a 3 minute drive roughly, it is also a walk-able distance for me so I will be finding a route for both driving and walking I can assure you. Directly across the river from my apartment is a nice little entertainment area called The Landing. It has a movie theater, lots of shops with books, food, etc. I'll make sure to post pictures in some later entries so I can give a better idea of how great a place it is. Now that I have given a back story I will jump right in. I wanted to say a few things about dealing with my last couple days here working at the Starbucks here at Jefferson Pointe mall.

It has been almost a year since I first starting working at this particular store. I started just a couple months after graduation so I did not have a whole lot of down time to relax before saving up to start paying back those student loans! At 23 years old at the time of starting I had already worked for Starbucks a total of 5 years. I worked at the Starbucks in the Purdue Memorial Union part time while I earned my degree. My last day at this Starbucks in Fort Wayne is this Friday, July 1st (almost exactly a year from my starting date). Throughout this very fast year I made some pretty cool new friends in my co workers. I also got a chance to get to know customers better than was possible at Purdue. Regular customers were skeptical of me at first because I was the only guy working at the store but they all warmed up to me pretty quickly. It's always the one biggest draw back of leaving a store after a length of time such as this, you have to say goodbye to the people you get to know and start caring about! That is what this last couple days is all about. Working hard and saying my good byes.

I'm sticking around a while longer after my shifts are done, however, before headed to West Lafayette. The week directly after work is going to be a week of moving furniture down to my apartment. I don't have a whole lot to move so it will be fairly easy to do. I am splitting the moving process between a couple days just to make it even less physically and emotionally exhausting. After the move is complete (hopefully by Friday July 8th) I have that weekend and the week of the 11th to settle into the new place and get used to campus again. I am also using the opportunity to head into the store just about every day to get to know the students I will be supervising the rest of summer and next school year. My new job commences on July 18th so hopefully I will feel ready to start by then. I think that's plenty of information for this initial entry. I promise the future entries won't be this long unless something really exciting happens! I look forward to seeing who subscribes to this blog and look forward to sharing this journey with you guys. Any comments are very welcome if only for words of advice, encouragement, introductions, etc. Thanks for reading!