That's right, I'm back everyone. After yet another long absence from the blogging world I return for what appears to be the last entry as a Shift Supervisor for the Purdue Memorial Union Starbucks. After two years back with the team I am taking a shot to move higher with the company and take one more step towards my goal of moving to Florida within a few years. I was thankfully able to time it so that I still have my apartment for a full month after switching jobs so I don't need one huge move, just a few trips back to Purdue now and then to clean the place out. I also was able to have my last day be the last day that this store is open before remodeling over the summer. Seemed fitting that the last day of the old store that I was a part of for seven years is also my last day here. There is still more I feel I could have done to improve this store, there is always more I could do, but I do feel that I changed this place for the better since coming back. The knowledge that the store I worked at and supervised is better off now than when I came in is really the greatest award I could hope for. It would mean that my studying has paid off and that maybe I do have the tools (tools that still need sharpened) to be a leader, not just a manager.
So it is back to Fort Wayne, my hometown, with me. A new store, new people, new challenges, but also new opportunities await me. What I do have going into this new endeavor is momentum. There is essentially no break between this job at Purdue ending and the new one beginning. At 3;30pm this Sunday I will have the car already loaded up with a lot of my belongings and I'm driving to Fort Wayne where my first shift is beginning Monday at 1pm! Good to have no gap so there is no time to get rusty or stagnant, the drawback being the same thing (no time to rest). I work four days I believe and then I have three days off which will be used to relax and get used to being back home. Toughest thing I think for me will be moving back home after being on my own for two years. It'll throw me off for sure, but only for a while. The positives far outweigh anything that could be seen as a negative. I'd say the biggest positive, even more than saving money, will be being near the family again (almost all of them live in Fort Wayne). There will be no shot at me being alone with my thoughts with nothing to do, therefore anxiety levels will plummet.
So here I am this last week on campus saying my goodbyes to the new friends I have made, but I am still within driving distance so it's more of a "see ya later" kinda deal. I'm not really too depressed about it because I had the luxury of knowing when my last days were here so I planned accordingly and so far I've been able to see everyone I wanted to say goodbye to. I can now go back home knowing that I have a couple dozen people here still pulling for me and that means a lot. At the moment, other than being on campus on a Friday, my days off have been a lot of the same but with a different feeling. It's been definitely more a feeling of excitement rather than anxiety. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to a new store and showing people what I can do. Over the last few months I have been talked up by a lot of people higher up in the management chain than I and so far they say I have definitely lived up to the praise. Now I get to show them back home that even though I've been at this company for almost eight years at a very busy store, my motor still does not stop. I hear they are very excited to have me on the team (and another store in Fort Wayne contacted me early on in the interview process and wanted to steal me away) so this should be a good time.
At the same time I know this won't all be about work. I am also looking at this as an opportunity to finally take more care of myself mentally and physically. I plan on getting a diet to gain weight started as well as a workout routine I can do at home and hopefully by the time I come back to visit Purdue to see the new store I'll be at a healthier weight and look pretty good which I know I can do I just need consistency in other areas of my life in order to focus on weight gain. There are some folks I want to hang out with that I know in the city (that I really didn't talk to as much as I would have liked until I moved away to Purdue). That should prove to be exciting as well in many ways I hope. Not going to get into why in this entry, I'll save it for a newer one down the road.
That's really all I got this round ladies and gentlemen. Other than a pretty good bout with anxiety the last few weeks I am finally getting back to my old self just in time to enjoy the next stage of my life. This stage, if my plan holds, will last three years at most before I am ready for the jump to Florida. Knowing that everyone I have worked with knows I am already ready for it, I can finally let myself believe that at the end of my time in Fort Wayne I will be ready. I have motivation, the network, the support system, momentum, the skill, and optimism. What more can I ask for? Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen, this is going to get interesting. As always, thanks for reading.
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