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!