opening a door

Today I burned the fuck out of my right arm sitting on the patio at Solea with @klreynol drinking margaritas.  Wanted to get that out of the way.

Hey everybody!  And by everybody I mean everybody because it seems the amount of people reading these dandy-doodle blogs has jumped very quickly, to which I say "thank you" for whoever shared my last blog.  Unless no one did, in which case... okay.  In all seriousness though, thank you; my blog views that have been tracked in May alone are more than April, March and February combined.  I'll try to make these a little more entertaining, but with this guy ::points at self:: you never know.

It occurred to me this evening that as of late, I have been posting somewhat cryptic status updates on Facebook in regards to the future of my career with Express.  Obviously I am leaving the company, but the how and why are a mystery to most of you.  The reason behind that is because me being me, I wanted to compose a blog entry about where I will be going.  And of course, being my Golden year, this was indeed one of my 26 Golden Things.  It was the first item added to my list at the beginning of the year, and the least likely to actually occur.  But it has (or will, June 4th,) and I couldn't be more excited to move it up 17 spots on said list.  Let's get on with the deets.

#9 - Opening a Door; land a new job.

Obviously this topic will be two separate blogs (maybe not obviously,) but the other will be written/posted June 2nd and that will have to do entirely with Express and what it has done to me.  Done for me.  Done... with me, perhaps?  You get the picture.  So this will deal entirely with the new company I will call a home and the direction my life is about to swing in.  Needless to say, I will focus on the the new company in this post and less on the "why" I am doing it.  Here we go.

Towards the end of March, Mrs. S (she's been referred to before (I know these names can be way too vague)) contacted me and said that Pottery Barn in the Fox River Mall was interested in talking with me about possibly interviewing for a position with them as an assistant manager.  After debating it VERY briefly, I told her I was not interested.  After all, reviews were coming up at Express and I was feeling pretty good about myself.  Remind me to touch back on that in the next blog.

Ahem.

So we flash forward to the beginning of May, when I had forgotten about Pottery Barn (heretofore referred to simply as "The Barn") and the escape it could provide.  I get a phone call on my cell phone from a stranger number, so naturally I don't answer it and let it go to voice mail.  Yes, I'm one of those people.  I listened to the message right away and it was from a woman named Courtney who was/is the store manager at The Barn.  She had gotten my name AND phone number from my former landlord in Wrightstown, Brenda.  Brenda recommended me for the position and said a few other nice things, and Courtney just wanted to sit down and talk to see if I was interested.  By that point in time, I was.

Of course when the time came the following week to actually sit down and interview, I was fairly collected.  The last time I had interviewed for a job was years ago when I left Express briefly for a failed stint as the assistant manager at Aldo in the Fox River Mall ::shudders::  That interview had been a nightmare because I had NO idea what I was doing, how I would possibly succeed at faking my answers (playing off "stock room manager" as something akin to a "sales floor manager" is pointless, FYI.)  Come to think of it I also interviewed for assistant manager at Lovesac when it was opening in Appleton, but we all know what happened to that place.

It closed... if we don't all know.  Don't wanna assume anything.

So anyway I was fairly collected when I strolled into The Barn that Wednesday and met with Courtney and the district manager Suzanne.  I think a large part of my cool demeanor was simply due to the fact that I held a tenured position with Express, was not currently at risk of losing said job, and the position was salary based so there was no pressure riding on me fucking something up.

That, and the fact that I Knew. My.  Shit.

We sat in some chairs in the mall corridor and the questions started flying, and each one that was lobbed to me was subsequently knocked back over the net.  That isn't to say the questions were easy, because they weren't, but Express is notorious for setting a very high bar when it comes to training its managers and I had been through all of the training.  Each and every time it had come around (they like to throw a lot of curve balls at Express to keep growing the talent in the team.  After 8 years... I have lots of talent.)  I was charming during the interview, I smiled a lot and showed off my dimples.  About mid-way through was when I realized that this was a job I was actually going to want.  I have a problem with approaching things that could be SLIGHTLY out of my reach, and when I decide I really want them I become paranoid.

Even though the interview went very well, I indeed left it feeling paranoid.  What if I wasn't good enough?  What if my answers weren't spot on the way they should have been?  What if my bright blue eyes and flashing smile DIDN'T work the way they were supposed to!?  Jumping forward a week through some phone interviews, a surprise visit to my store, and wonderful references from the people I had carefully listed on my application, I received a phone call from Courtney asking if we could meet for coffee.  (You'd get bored with the details we jet-railed over, trust me.)

By this point I was a little annoyed because the process had been longer than I anticipated and fairly arduous.  I felt for the position of assistant manager, it was a lot of hoops to jump through.  I met with Courtney at Starbucks and sat down at a table she occupied... with a folder in front of her.  Good sign.  We chit chatted for a few minutes before Courtney said these fantastic words to me:

"So I'm very excited to meet with you today."
"Oh are you?" I replied with a deep smile and probably a blush.
"Mmmhmm, you probably know why."
"Well I try not to assume," I chuckled.
"I'd like to offer you the position of associate retail manager with us."  (PS, that's assistant manager to you, the general public.)

So I squealed (no I didn't) and danced (no I didn't) and then covered my face and laughed (yes I did.)  It was one of those moments in life where you realize what you've been toiling at, working at, and beating your brains out over has finally culminated in a single moment of chance.  Chance that I had an amazing Best in Mrs. S with the highest connections of anyone I know.  Chance that my failed relationship with the dreaded-ex had inadvertently introduced me to a landlord who would go on to talk me up as a great worker and then drop my phone number to her boss.  Chance that a job in the field I had always been interested in (interior design) would essentially fall into my lap and that I would be capable of tackling it with ease.

I accepted the position with The Barn (re: Pottery Barn,) without even thinking.  It was a no-brainer.  Back in Appleton and away from that shit-hole Green Bay (no offense if you live there, natch)?  A substantial pay increase to a level of income that would grant me the ability to move out on my own without a problem?  More paid time off and a competitive discount?  I'd be stupid not to!  The reason it had taken so long is because they were looking at me to eventually become the general manager (the store manager, hey-o!)

I had been in contact with Matt (my boss at Express and long-time friend,) so he was aware of the situation the entire time.  The last thing I wanted was to catch him off guard with a surprise "I QUIT!"  He was great with the news, as were the rest of the people that it filtered toward.  Was I sad to tell them all I'd be leaving June 1st?  Of course.  I never WANTED to leave Express, but to stay would be to remain locked in place and not moving forward.  And this year was and still is all about moving my life forward.

So there you have it, #9 on my list of 26 Golden Things; opening a door.  I'm nervous to start a new job, meet a new team, and accept the responsibilities that come with it all.  Having been at Express for so long, most of that becomes second nature, so taking on a new challenge is incredibly daunting.  However, having been there and done that and shoveled a fair amount of shit in the process, I am ready to dive in to something new and fresh.

Look forward to a lot of happiness from me, your favorite self-proclaimed author.  Goodnight kiddos.