Frantic Friday

I'm going to dress up as a punching bag for Halloween. That's how everyone seems to be treating me this week.

Okay, not everyone is treating me unkindly. Not even the majority of people. Just two people. Yet somehow, those two people create a cloud of negativity that all of the positive people in my life cannot merely brush away. That 10 hour disaster shift I mentioned Wednesday? 9am - 7pm. I didn't take my lunch break until 4pm. It really was that crazy. I only took my lunch break then because that is when I had to leave one part of the store to go work in another section. Thankfully, my sweet, kind coworker wouldn't let me lift a finger - unless it involved clocking myself out and taking my lunch break. She has also worked in the other section of the store. She refuses to go back unless she absolutely has to, but she always has a sympathetic ear when I need it. The worst part of that shift was getting yelled at by one person in particular for things that I could not control. I even went above and beyond, and a mistake that was made was actually her fault! Even though I took measures to verify steps (steps that she insisted we implement to avoid mistakes, ironically), SHE still made the mistake! I understand that no one is perfect, and if a mistake upsets you that is completely fine. Vent your frustrations, but please do not take frustrations out on me when it is not my mistake.

Another coworker, though I have to use that term loosely. She is a coworker because my boss pays her a salary for her services. She does not actually work on site. She only comes on site for business meetings. She has probably been on site 10 times OR LESS. A few weeks ago she emailed me requesting a project to be completed. I turned in the project, completed to the best of my ability with little instructions given to me. She asked me to redo it because of a qualification she would like that she had never initially mentioned!!! At my shift yesterday I checked my work email (an account I do not check at home if at all possible) and found a three paragraph email from her critiquing things I'm doing well and not so well. Including ideas that are not accurate and another mention of investigating our website for information. As an on site employee (of four years to her one year) I know that our website is horrendous! It contains outdated information, pictures of staff that haven't been there for six months or more, and says we offer features that, while intended, never made it into the realm of reality. And because I am on site and she is not, I think there is a huge discrepancy in our communication. "When you say ______ I think of _______ but I'm not sure if that is what you think of when you say ______." I have written an email to clarify these differences. I merely drafted it though. I didn't want to send out anything while experiencing the initial sting of her caustic remarks.

A blogger that I love to read recently wrote a "what a difference a year makes" post. Mainly detailing what a disaster her life was the previous year, all of the dark times she wandered through and finally the joy of things ultimately working out and leading her to a much more positive place. I can totally relate! At this time last year, I had just celebrated my birthday when I had found out my brother and his wife separated - mere days before I had to put on a happy face for my coworkers wedding. The next week I traveled to compete in the Rock 'n Roll VB half marathon and was preparing for my dear best friends wedding. The wedding that was amazing - but also lead to an emotional-disaster year. I devoted time and energy to two guys who said all the right things. One ended up being a tool. The other... well, I'm still figuring him out.

The last month - starting with my birthday! - has been one of the most miserable months. I feel like a walking disaster area. So here's to a new season! Here's to trying to live my life without being a disaster, putting my time and energy into more positive, rewarding endeavors, figuring out what I want in life and figuring out if that lines up with what God has planned for me!!! One of my favorite verses: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4 And for today: here's to egg sandwiches for breakfast, dark chocolate and hot tea, and here's to acing my first exam for the training class I'm taking for work!!! Here's to dancing around like an idiot to the songs on my iPod!!! Here's to turning this frantic Friday into something more fabulous than frantic... Wish me luck!!!