Home Away From Home for the Holiday

Due to my dedication to my job, I decided to not even bother requesting off for the holidays this year. I felt that if I asked off they might grant my request and find someone else to replace me in my absence which I cannot risk due to the fact that I like my job and need a pay check. I did not think this would bother me. I am 21 years old, my parents need to get used to not seeing me every holiday which I am sure will be the case in years to come after school ends and life goes on. My little sister left Boca Raton without me and got to enjoy a leisurely week away from life and school as I worked many hours and worked on my Broadcast project. My cable went out as it turns out the bill had not been paid on time and since Comcast apparently has a few days off for the holidays, there was no one to assist me in getting it turned on as I sat in solitude and watched Disney movies alone in my apartment. The roommates went to see their family and I hustled through Public at 9 PM the night before Thanksgiving trying to salvage a holiday meal outside of cereal and left over pizza. I missed my parents as it turned out and tried my best to stay occupied but I am conditioned to want to see my family for the holidays as I have done in years past. This weekend I requested time off in December. Who cares if I eat Roman noodles all of December due to the lack of hours in my pay check. Family is important and I need them.

Black Friday, Five Days Strong

It would not be a fulfilled experience in retail if I had not been forced to endure Black Friday. The unique thing about my Black Friday was that it lasted roughly five days.

This year it was common for retailers to extend their Black Friday deals throughout the weekend. In Gap's case, it began last Wednesday and lasted through the weekend.

The Wednesday before Black Friday is called White Wednesday, which I learned as I saw the traffic throughout the mall increase over the hours I worked as the window shoppers came to spot out the good deals for Friday's chaos.

We had a buy one get one free promotion that seemed to catch on in the course of five days. It was estimated that $70,000 would be spent in Gap on Friday. I am not sure of how close we came to reaching that goal but the doors opened at 8 am and by 11 am we had $25,000 in sales.

That blows my mind to think that such a large amount of money could be gained even when a BOGO is going on.

I did not get to celebrate the joys of shopping this year due to my participation on the sales associate side of things, but I can say I have never been so worn out for screaming a promotion at the top of my lungs for hours at at time as I was on Friday.

By Sunday, I was to the point where I nearly did not want to utter the words, "Buy One Sweater Get One Sweater Free, as well as pajama bottoms, and anything that is marked down through out the store is an additional forty percent off..."

It is difficult just to type nonetheless say nonstop to every person that comes into the store with a smile on. I learned that I am extremly long winded this past weekend and hope to never work a Black Friday again. I already look forward to spending some money myself next year.

White Wednesday, Black Friday, Bring It On

Sunday morning, bright and early, I waltzed into my store holiday meeting with a latte in one hand and sunglasses shielding me from the bright lights of the store as I took a seat next to my co-workers to discuss the preparations of the holiday fun we will see in the next month in the store.

Fortunately I am a morning person so I was chipper and alert as we discussed what it will take to drive sales up and succeed in the holiday season without slacking in customer service.

For two hours we went through mini-sessions with different managers discussing how to impact each customer as they walk in the store with speed and accuracy in a time where it is easy to get overwhelmed and give up.

I was pleased to hear all the effort the managers had put into making the holidays go flawlessly for everyone that will walk the doors of the Town Center Gap store.

It made me realize that many times in the past few years, I have done holiday shopping and hated the customer service I received from many stores.

It made me enjoy working at my store so much more and I am really looking forward to surviving this holiday season and the demands retail has to offer.

New Moon

I am a fan of the infamous Twilight Saga and went to see the second installation of the series over the weekend, New Moon.

Before I could see such an amazing movie, I had to do some prerequisite activity to prepare for the 2 hours and 25 minutes I would be spending with my beloved vampire dreamboat, Edward and the lucky love of his life, Bella.

As I ransacked the Dollar Store for chocolate candy to smuggle into the movie theatres, I started to build with anxiety as I approached the movie I have waited one year to see.

I dragged my little sister with me to see the movie which I have not shut up about since I left the theatres last year when the first movie in the saga was released, Twilight.

I did not hear one review that made the movie sound intriguing and I was prepared to be greatly disappointed but knew I had to see it.

Men may not understand why girls of all ages are obsessed with the pale, cold blooded vampire but then again women do not understand why the Star Wars trilogy is some sort of right of passage.
What men do understand is that you cannot see just one movie out of the three, you must see them all. Therefore, I had to sit through the entire movie whether I loathed the film or not.

I cried, I laughed, I smiled, and I remembered that I have spent a weeks worth of hours to read through every single word Stephanie Meyers put into writing all four novels. With that said, I am in complete compliance with everyone who has said, "the movie could never do justice to the book." There is just no way to compare the written word to the big screen.

What I will say is having my imagination put to life in the movies has been a blessing and I was not disappointed at all. It could have been a lot worse and I thoroughly enjoyed all that was crammed into the movie.

I am already craving the third movie to come out, until then the second one needs to come out on DVD so I can quench my desire to watch New Moon over and over again.

Depression In a Sunshine World

I am a very care free individual. I have my head on my shoulders and a strong focus towards what I want my future to resemble.

I have made too many mistakes to count and many my age pale in comparison to the wrongs I have done to get me to where I am. Yet, this is what makes me more mature and grounded then those in my peer group.

I cannot explain why I am the way that I am but I do know that if it were not for the mistakes I have made in my past, I would not be where I am today.

Despite the pressures I feel about never having enough money or being hindered from graduation due to failing my Broadcast Journalism course, I am happy with the way things are going, in general.

I say in general because this semester I feel like there has been a force out to get me and knock me down from where my aspirations are. It is as if I am lost in a maze with only dead ends surrounding me on all four sides. I feel the need to scream for help, for any assistance that someone can lend me yet I hold back because I feel it would do me no good.

I have never felt surrounded by defeat in my life, yet lately it feels oppressive and very apparent in all that I do.

As silly as it sounds, in the last month and a half I have been to eight doctors for my eyes. I was admitted to urgent care this Monday after literally being unable to see due to the irritation in both my eyes. I learned that for the past six weeks, I have been highly allergic to every drop that has entered my eyes.

Because of the poor advisement from an array of different doctors, my eyes could stay red for a long time. I have been embarrassed, hurt and hostile towards people for the past six weeks because no one will talk to the girl with crackhead eyes.

I have two jobs and have avoided eye contact from the public for a month and a half. My abundant social life has left me into exile due to my noticeably different appearance.

I have hit rock bottom this semester. Even in my Multimedia Journalism class, a class I enjoy and feel I do decent in, I learned I have a C- which is unacceptable.

Things cannot continue this way but it seems that I have to overcome the forces that have marked me as their territory. I need to avenge bad karma with optimism, yet it is easier said then done.

I just want to get through this semester, get my appearance back to normal and wake up with a stride of prosperity instead of defeat that I have been sulking in for far too long.

Broadcast Journalism Choke

I may not be an extraordinary student nor the sharpest tool in the shed, but one thing I can say is that I have always done my best in school.

That was until I entered Broadcast Journalism this semester.

It is not that I have slacked off or done poor this semester. It is that I am not equipped with the proper fundamentals needed to succeed in this class.

I have never failed at anything. I have made it to my senior year in college and can't say I have a lot to complain about.

My first edit is due Thursday for my Broadcast class and I feel like I am drowning in anxiety. Emotionally, I have a weight tied to my feet, that is dragging me down to the bottom of an endless ocean.

That may seem to be a dramatized metaphor for how I feel currently but there is no other way to describe it.

I have not had time to do anything besides breathe this project. It consumes me. Even now while I write my assigned blog I feel as though it is a waste of precious time needed to finish my project.

I wasted hours today, twelve hours to be exact, learning a editing software that I have still not figured out.

I have to work all tomorrow then have two quizzes which I need to do great on in order to get a better grade in this journalism class.

It never ends. Between my two jobs, this weekend I worked twenty five hours. I crave for this semester to be over. I want to tell my parents that all of my effort in college has paid off.

I cannot take my eyes off the prize, I have come too far yet I feel like I am back at the finish line.

OCD Annoys Me

On my prime time television kick that I am on, I am analyzing Jay Leno's interview with Deal or No Deal's host, Howie Mandel who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I had no idea that the quirky, bald-headed television game show host was a complete nut job until just minutes ago.

I understand everyone is different. I believe that there are things that define everyone but OCD does not do Howie Mandel any justice.

He is irritating, a train wreck, over the top, and down right pathetic.

He explained tonight about how he cannot touch anyone and finds urinating in public restrooms is physically impossible for him. It took him two years to take his young daughter out in public and could not change her diaper in a public stall because it repulsed him so much.

What is normal nonetheless tolerable about that?

I have put people with OCD on the top of my hit list of people that irritate me. That is bypassing the filthy rich snobs of Palm Beach County and loud New Yorker's who talk like they are a walking garbage can.

I have only crossed a few people with OCD in my life and tonight solidified why I cannot have anyone close to me that structured and compulsive.

Biggest Loser Looses Weight and Health Risks

Religiously, I plop down on my sofa every Tuesday evening to watch prime time television. I try to watch an array of different subjects in the course of my four hours of television watching.

My main focus this fall season has been watching NBC's The Biggest Loser. In fact the show usually stretches across two hours of show time and now consumes my focus for television every Tuesday night.



The show consists of contestants who are morbidly obese. Two exercise trainers work the contestants out with a strict diet included in hopes of the contestants loosing the most weight to be The Biggest Loser of the season.





Like every other reality show, there are story lines intertwining the contestants that really pull at America's heart strings as the weight sheds off the contestants week by week.

Tonight my normal regiment continued as I found myself sitting on pins and needles figuratively as the contestants weigh in.

There is a woman named Shay who originally weighed more than 450 pounds and after losing a record breaking 100 pounds, she was kicked off the show by the fellow contestants.



I found this tragically devastating. This young woman only a few years my junior could die because of her alarming weight yet they kept other contestants on the show that had little ways to go in their quest for weight utopia.



It makes me think how sad it is that our country lives as unhealthy as it does. It is to the point where people's bodies are giving out younger and younger because of the way they treat their body in their lifetime.

I am in my early 20's so I care about the vain things such as cellulite or five pounds here and there but I should begin to watch my cholesterol and care about preventing heart disease instead.



Just some food for thought this evening as I contemplate turning off the light to my kitchen or reaching for the pint of Ben and Jerry's I have been tempted to eat since the show began tonight.

Lessons in Fiber

Acrylic. Angora. Cashmere. Wool. Polyester.

Each fiber deserves its own sentence for the fact that they do so much on all by themselves.

Sweaters, scarves, stockings, everything replaces old-fashion cotton when they arrive.

Tis' the season to give and get different fibers of ones choice.

All you see in the store these days are men and women not looking at the item of interest but what the item is made of.

Because of the need to stay warm and cozy throughout the fall and winter in most areas in the United Srares, many are trying to keep heat in by investing in wool or cashemere, a luxury for many except in South Florida where people seem to have money trees serving as ATMs.

I cannot afford teh luxury of caring if my clothes are as soft as modal or as hard as nails but what I did learn this past week is how important it is to know these things.

If I am going to survive my run in retail I have to learn such things like if the liner of a jacket is made of rabbit hair or sheep hair.

I am currently being schooled in fiber fun 101, just in time for the holidays.

Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet

Saturday evening, as dusk, I embarked on my first adventure into the world of trick-or-treating.

I wore the traditional pumpkin orange crew neck tee, tennis shoes perfect for chasing sugar surged children throughout the neighborhood, and a fragrance of OFF! bug spray.

With the full harvest moon high in the sky, my “pirate” and I headed out for our candy motivated commercial holiday of fun.

The soccer mom crew and I had eight children in total and there was not one moment where they stopped running and screaming in search of their favorite houses where they knew they would get their favorite candy.

Surrounded by festive, decked out mansions, were families drinking spirited drinks and passing out candy to their neighbors, as I continued to yell to the children, “say please and thank you”, which to no surprise got me absolutely nowhere.

I did not celebrate Halloween as a child so being a part of the holiday this year was really exciting and quite entertaining.

I think it is cute to see the new born babies in cute pumpkin costumes with their fat cheeks and chubby little legs popping out of their costumes.

It took two hours in what felt like one hundred houses in our midst that we had seen and conquered in our adventure of trick-or-treating.

I have not been that wiped out in a long time.

My knees were achy and my head was pounding but I got a handful of Whoppers malt ball chocolate candy in payment for taking the child I nanny for around the neighborhood for the evening.

Any holiday that involves candy and dressing up is a holiday I want to be a part of from now on. I already look forward to next year.

I Have a Rumbly in my Tumbly

I have a rumbly in my tumbly sounds like a line from a Winnie the Pooh book but it has also played a roll in the last week of my life.



Let me explain.

I have been blessed my entire life with having my needs and most of my wants satisfied. I have a two parent household who has always been a great support system for me yet as the oldest child I have always felt the need to be self sufficient.

I am realizing now that my self proclaimed independence has put me into the position I am in financially.

I had the flu pretty severely at the beginning of the month of October which later gathered momentum when I discovered I had pink eye that developed from my germ infested sister who gave me both the flu and pink eye all in three weeks time.



I have two jobs that involve being around children and the general public, all of which did not allow me to look like a red eyed crack head nor a snot nosed sicko on the clock. Both pink eye and the flu caused me to miss work which has set me back greatly in the land of money.

My pay check Friday was embarrassingly minimal. Last week I barely ate and when I did it was a can of tuna for breakfast, corn for dinner, and maybe plain pasta for lunch. I scraped by with my pride intact as my friends around me saw my spirit dwindle.




I have lately felt ugly due to having pink eye and not really leaving the house because of the flu an lack of money.

I separated myself from all my friends because I felt I did not have the means physically or financially to do the things they could.

I have learned that a depressed version of myself is a miserable individual no one wants to hang out with.



I am trying to get my barrings back but am going to have to rough it for a few more weeks.

The good news is I made rent for next month, barely but everything else in my life is at the bare minimum and I wish I was not the independent older sibling who does not feel right about calling home and asking for money.

My little sister on the other hand who has never worked, can phone home anytime to get whatever hand out she can take.

I realize now I should have sandbagged the need for independence and acted like a average college student in need.



I now have a starving piggy bank and a hunger in my stomach, an empty bank account, a bare fridge, and canned goods that are down to Spam and weenies in a can.

Pink Used To Be My Favorite Color

I love the color pink.

I love pink toe nail polish, pink scarves, pink colored chocolate, pink flowers, pink Converse tennis shoes.

I could go on and on about the things I love in pink and how I could not imagine my world without the color pink in it.

I type in pink fonts while answering my e-mail, I highlight my homework in only pink highlighters, and I accessorize outfits around how I can incorporate the color pink into my ensemble.

I have a passion for pink as you can get from the previous mentions of the color pink in this blog but there is one thing I hate in the color pink.

I hate pink eye.

After living on this earth for twenty one beautiful years while enjoying my good looks that God blessed me with, in came this overbearing viral infection that has left me down in the dumps for two weeks now.

I have never been the sick child nor experienced pink eye or "conjunctivitis" before so when I began seeing the icky warning signs of pink eye I continued to use eye products that made the infection worsen to the point that I looked like Satan's mistress.

With blood shot eyes I began rocking the Stevie Wonder look, wearing shades every where until I began realizing how ridiculous I looked with sunglasses on in Publix at nine in the evening.

My little sister gave the infection to me, which reminds me I need to give her a good kick in the face next time I see her.

After missing work for a week because of how bad my eyes looked, I left my self inflicted quarantine and went to see an optometrist who quote called my pink eye "very impressive."

Can you imagine how embarassing it was for me to hear that my doctor gave the most "impressive" pink eye award for the year to not a snot nosed eight year old but to a college student.

I had to return to the doctor not once but twice because I still looked cracked out and gross and the eye drops prescribed to me were not working at all.

I am proud to say I have beat the pink eyed monster and have disinfected my entire life it feels like so I never have to exeperience this wretched period of my life again.

I love the color pink in the purest form but pink eye can stay the hell away from me.

Up, Up And Away

I can recall only a handful of newsworthy stories that are bizarre enough to stay in my mind for a while.

The Colorado family, The Hennes "Balloon Boy" story that broke late last week has got to take the cake for bizarre stories that grabbed my attention.

In the families moments of desperation, the father advised his youngest son, Falcon Heene, to "hide" as the families flyaway air balloon floated across the sky and into the televisions of Americans across the nation.

One thing mankind can surely agree on is the compassion they have for children and when a child is deemed to be in a dangerous situation, one cannot help but feel sorry for the child and its family hoping for a positive outcome.

I am a huge sucker and this "fake" runaway balloon boy is a reminder of how my compassion gets the best of me.

After calling out local and state law enforcement to chase down the balloon in fear of the young boys life, it is reported that the boy has been safe in his home the whole time.

The family knowingly deceived the nation and law enforcement.

I believe karma will be a bitch to the parents of the Henne children.

Using children as a hoax in a scheme to win national attention for some desperate fantasy that needs fulfilling is truly disgusting.

The parents should be reprimanded for what they have done and are in my opinion, absolutely insane for taking advantage of their child and the media like this.

Denim Diva

A woman's best dream is finding a pair of jeans that release her inner
diva, that shine her glam card like bright lights on a billboard.

A woman's worst nightmare is having a muffin top that feels as if it
is magnified by a microscope for all the general public to see.

Sadly the latter is a bigger reality then the dream of fitting a pair
of jeans that make a girl feel incredible.

I was hapy to learn that our jeans are not the same across the board.

The same style, wash, texture, and fabric is always a huge turn off for
me.

I tell ladies that come in through the doors of GAP at Boca Raton this
every chance I get, "choose a jean for you".

The choosing factor is a huge perk of GAP because woman's jeans come
in six different styles and I swear by this statistic that 70% of women
that spend time finding a jean that is perfect, leave satisfied.

I used to get defeated all the time by jeans not fitting the right way.

Sure, you may have to go up a size for some muffin top reduction but our
jeans come in long, ankle, and regular lengths, giving a girl some options
with the length.

My favorite is the Long & Lean jean that we got in this summer.

Every time I get off a shift at work, I feel empowered. For I am a Denim
Diva.

I can honestly answer the pro's and con's of each jean and know how they
fit on different body types and its successful when I am honest with a
customer.

They leave happy, bag in hand, and a little confidence just because I spent
the time to help them fit into a jean that does not look like torture or too
tight but fits like a glove and compliments their figure.

Who knew retail would work out so well for me? Not I anyways, but so far
it is working out well.

Shake Your Money Maker

I have been working since the day I turned fifteen.

I worked at a pizza place owned by a Turkish family that paid me under the
table and will be most memorable to me as the most illegal experience of my
life.

Nothing like a group of shady foreigner's to make me feel the need to make
a career move.

On to my second job where I coached children for my parents swim team. I
really loved helping kids learn their strokes and to watch them compete
in swim meets. This held me over until I moved to Boca Raton.

Here, in Boca Raton, I made a decision to work hard and in my field of study.
Jobs in communications are all over the spectrum. I really found this to be
niche and so here I stayed.

I have worked for Florida Department of Transportation as their Public
Information Officer. Handling media and writing press releases were apparently
my calling. I long for the day I have a degree and can return back to something similar to the FDOT.

I worked for Florida Atlantic University as a telecounselor in the
Undergraduate Admissions office. I made phone calls to perspective students
and alumnae about upcoming events to attract all walks of life to the school.

I interned also for the Media Relations department of Florida Atlantic
University where I learned even more about what the world of Public
Relations and Communications have to offer.

I needed to write this down to remind myself that my major still holds my interest.

Senior year has made my feelings toward my communication studies waver, just slightly.

I know all my hard work will pay off but it really feels defeating at times.

I am counting down the days til graduation hoping I can hold my head above water until then.

Another One Bites the Dust

Cough, sneeze, itchy eyes, fatigue. The days were adding up where I would hear another friend had the flu or showed signs of getting sick.

Knowing my immune system is not invincible, it was bound to happen to me but I did keep my fingers crossed.

I suffered through the weekend with congestion and sinus headaches as my immune system began to tumble down.

Work on top of stress from school are culprits in assisting the flu to find its way to me.

Monday morning I woke up and felt that a semi truck had run over me in my sleep.

The weight of the world felt as if I had been bench pressing unconciously.

Thankfully it was my day off so I wasted the day of being productive and slept through what felt to be just a few hours and ended up being sixteen hours.

Waking up did not make things worse but it certainly did not make it any better.

I had to miss work after seeing the doctor today. It turns out I have the flu. My chills, fever, and exhaustion were all strong indicators of the flu.

I was happy for another day of rest but I am regretting not working my shift knowing my bills will not pay themselves.

I feel so weak and defeated at the same time.

Hopefully my fever will break so I can get some sleep and start a new day tomorrow with work and school in my future.

Being sick was fun when I was younger because my mother would baby me, but living alone and being sick has no perks of being spoiled.

Ca-ching, Ca-ching

It is no secret that since my time at GAP, I have loathed being behind the cash register.

The pressure of being responsible for customer's returns, exchanges, and complicated coupons is way over my head.

I feel that there are one million eyes on me as I try ringing up items quickly.

No one wants to be the slow check out girl that you end up hating because they know nothing about what they are doing. I truly have a fear of being the register girl bimbo.



The blessing I find in my job weekly is that I am good at something I doubted myself in such as the cash register.

This weekend I was put on the register for my whole shift and even at the busiest of times in the store, I survived.

I did not annoy anyone because I asked too many questions.

Every one was happy to assist but even with their help I managed to survive behind the register with out feeling like I was drowning.

Having the register as one less fear in my life is truly a relief.

I could not do it alone but I have faith that down the road I will be the girl new hires ask for help when they are ringing up customers items.

As nerdy as that sounds, I am so thrilled to be able to have confidence with being responsible for money.

Sweater Weather

It is a mere 85 degrees this week but the wind has been a beautiful light breeze which is a wonderful contrast to the usual sweat fest the Florida sun provides daily.

My store gets clothes in stock that make me want to rhetorically ask the buyers for the store, "where do you think we are, Minnesota?"

The store gets clothes that would make you question if you were in the sunshine state or about to face a snow storm if you step outside.

There are vests with inches of fabric that make one appear bulky yet cozy.

There are sweaters, in fact sweaters galore that make you want to buy Yankee candles, sit around watching Audrey Hepburn films, and a warm blanket as if it were freezing outside.



I should know this because for the last two weeks all I can think about is how much my store reminds me of fall. That is right, me of the season fall.

I am from Texas and have never seen snow nor the leaves change colors but in my mind the sweaters, the leggings, the beautiful plaid scarves all make me feel like I am in the Carolina's warming up by a fire place with a spiced tea latte in one hand and To Kill a Mockingbird in another.



Isn't it amazing that a look of a store, the clothing, the mannequins, can motivate one to feel the need to shop for things that keep them in the holiday spirit? I can imagine it is what motivates the world of retail.

I have more sweater tops then I will ever wear and I now buy lattes that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I light candles and watch endless classic films.

My store is getting to me...and I like it.

Forty Percent off Frenzy

The perks of working in retail are slowly starting to pay off. I have a fifty percent discount for my store which is very handy when you’re starting off.

In the beginning of working at Gap I did not feel the need to wear the stores clothing. It did not make me feel like it fit my style or that I would look remotely decent wearing the clothing.

They encourage you to do “fit” sessions where you try on the jeans and tops to get an idea of what you’re selling. Sometime between my first fit session to this past weekend I gradually bought a few pieces to put together regularly so I could appear more “Gap” like.

The few pieces held me for a while but I started to get bored. It is easy to get bored with my plain crew neck tees when the store gets new clothing in once a week it seems.

The need to get new clothes was weighing on my mind heavily and then out of nowhere I am surprised to see, Christmas had come early.

This past weekend we had a forty percent off already marked sale prices. Underwear that is usually twelve dollars was a measly $1.80. Sweater tops I had been drooling over were 10 dollars and some change after mark down.

I happily worked everyday this weekend and every time I came into the store I bought more and more items.

After doing some way over due spring cleaning I added my new Gap attire into my closet and I must say I feel very good about sticking it out and buying the items that were on sale. Sale prices are like heaven on earth.

The forty percent off frenzy was insane and very draining yet time flew by each shift and I got to do some floor shopping as well so at the end of the weekend it was very worth it.

Go Away

I love my work, I love my social skills constantly being utilized every time I do a shift.

What I do not love is loosing hours.

Compared to the last month, I have gone from twenty five hours a week down to ten this coming week.

I went into work a little stressed doubting any chance of me paying my rent.

On arrival I hear everyone else moaning and groaning about a huge drop in the hours.

I have never been so stressed.

I have five days off in a row and almost full time availability.

It is a little nerve wrecking and to make things worse, I worked my one of two shifts for the week Sunday and learned that a few sales associates all returned at the same time from long vacations away from the job hence taking my hours with them.

I know things will work out, I really like my job but a few weeks of this will have me fretting to pay bills.

I am going to remain optimistic and lessen the hostility I feel towards the older employees returning back to work. Its not real hostility just a tension to say, "where did all my hours go?"

I am holding out for the hope of getting an extra shift thrown at me, ya never know, it could happen.

People Are Paid to Count

My schedule is released to all Gap workers on Friday just in time for everyone to plan accordingly for the upcoming week.

This past week I evaluated my schedules hours to get my game face on for the week to come and noticed my hours were drastically different.

Our schedules are displayed in military time which is very annoying. After doing the counting with the added difficulty of military time I realize I am schedule to work from 9 PM to 2 AM.

I immediately had to inquire further about why they needed me for such late hours, come to find out I was scheduled to spend my Saturday doing late night inventory on the entire store.

Inventory involves counting absolutely everything in the store. We division off into groups and begin tediously counting frantically, down to the last sock.

The most fascinating moment of this mind boggling experience is that a company comes in with us and uses scanners to process every number on every item we have in the store.

Individuals from the company begin with a table or items that are hung up, and they type in every stock number through out the clothing.

I, then go behind them and recount to double check that they count every item in the store. If they miss one or over counted I address them and they have to go through all the items again.

Tedious is mild in comparison to how aggressive the counting process is.

I have Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia which was an added frustration that held my hand through the wee hours of the morning.

I cannot imagine the type of person it takes to be apart of a counting company. It truly was exasperating as I watch flabbergasted at their counting abilities whip through the stores tall vaults of jeans.

Every week I am learning more about the company, my individual store, and my fellow employees which is nice because the more time I devote the more at home I feel.

Fall Fashion Ceases to Amaze Me

With excitement I am proud to say that I survived my first 6 AM shift at Gap and got to witness the tedious process of getting "new flow" in or getting new clothing into the stores.

Until this moment I really believed that little midnight fairies whisked into stores after hours and dressed mannequins, decorated the windows, and changed the inventory around on top of making the store bright and shiny.

Sorry to burst your bubble if you were in the same boat as I but instead of fabulous fairies doing the dirty work it is the Joe Shmoe also known as me doing the behind the scenes jobs that make a store look customer ready every morning.

I was overwhelmed by this process because I truly had no idea people did all of the work to get things running. I am so impressed with how diligently Gap nationwide works to change up the store layouts. From mannequins to window drops, it takes hours to change the face of a store.

The visual team comes out and strip everything down to the bare minimum and everything is shuffled around the store. With 5 hours of hard work, it is a whole new look for a store.

I can't say that I like the idea of working that early in the morning but it was a great learning exeperience.

The Fall line arrived particularly the morning I worked. I do not know what possesses stores to put garments in Florida stores that are so unnatural for anyone to wear.

Fluffy vests that are five inches thick around the body just do not cut it down in the sunshine state.

I love sweaters and would own every sweater in the store if it were something I would use on a regular basis.

Since the products have hit the shelves I am always asking customers where they are going if they purchase any thing in the fall line.

Everyone seems to be heading to New York over the next few months. I must say I am slightly jealous. I would love to have a place to wear some of the things that we released last week.

I will continue to let the blog community know about the behind the scenes work that the "retail fairies" do.

Busy Little Worker Bee

It confused me at first but I see now why people did not greet with me a hug and a jump for joy when I told them I was embarking on my first run in to retail. What people knew that I did not, is retail is grueling. The long hours, the throbbing knees, and the inflaming feet after an eight hour shift are more than words can describe.

On top of that there are the hot flashes while I hustle in and out of the fitting room. Come to think of it, hustle is mild compared to the chaos that takes place after a customer dumps a pile of the same t-shirt in five different colors onto my arms as if I have nothing better to do with time then wait on them.

I have learned that my hard work and perseverance are counteracted by my minor achievements after working a long shift.

For example, I got another Gap card this week which granted me praise from my fellow employees as well as putting a smile on my face. Then there are the foreign traveler's who stroll through the store willing to buy practically anything because its cheaper in the United States then in their countries.

My favorite moment of this past week has been helping a 6 foot 2 girl gain the confidence to trying on every jean we have in the store. Seeing her face when she fit like a glove into our Long and Lean jean was the high of my week.

I realize that my true calling in life is helping people. It pleases me to assist them in anyway I can. I think that as long as I get excited when I help someone,it means I am happy right where I am in life.

The day that feeling changes, is the day I move onto something new.

For now, it is safe to say retail does makes me feel fulfilled and positive about what I do on a daily basis.

Never say never

To be honest, I had my doubts. Giving a credit card out these days is like tattooing the word debt on a persons forehead yet I did it.

I sold a Gap card. Besides getting praise from my work team I felt great about myself. It was a wonderful sweet woman who was not hung up on the doubts about getting a card, in fact she was eager to get one which made my enormous challenge seem smaller somehow.

I was so happy that I had closed the deal on my goal that I stumbled through the entire order. Once I processed the information for the card I was so relieved to have my Gap goal for the week off my back that the rest of my shift seemed to just fly by.

Now that the first one is behind me I am already looking to a second and now that I need another credit card but I am eager to get a card for myself in the near future.

A big to do about nothing

The intensity has continued to build as the cash register became a little easier this week for me. I thought that once I had the register down I would be in good graces with all of my responsibilities at work only to learn that I HAVE to sell a Gap card.

I like goals and thoroughly enjoy accomplishing it but this one was super intimidating. They tell you the great perks for selling the card and give you tips on how to do it then feed you to the wolves as you pray t0 the retail gods to bring someone into your store that will have a desire for a credit card in this horrible time for the economy. I don't need another card so talk about a challenge it is to try and motivate someone else to get one.

We have quotas to fill for the month and mine obviously is very low but one card might has well be one million. I continue to go over my lines in my head. The whys to why you need the card and the whats as in what you can do with the card and all the added goodies Gap gives to make the card appealing. I am hoping and praying I can get a card this week just one to make this pressure all go away. Wish me luck!

Well that went well

To mark my one week of retail work, my superiors felt it necessary to commemorate my hard efforts by teaching me how to work the cash register. I felt like I was being human sacrificed as I went through some prep work before the doors open. Nothing could prepare me for the flood of people demanding refunds, exchanges, buying gift cards, the list goes on and on and every transaction is different.

Thankfully the team I work with is very accessible and they held my hand through the day as I faced challenge after challenge. By the first hour of ringing I wanted to cry or go hide somewhere in a hole. I did not do anything that was not expected of a first timer but the anxiety I felt having to ask someone every single time I had a customer kind of made me feel like I was bugging everyone to death.

I worked my first open to close and by the end of the day I was in need of a serious hug, some comfort food, and a foot massage. I am already dreading my second day of cashiering but experience is the best way to learn so I am working on being more optimistic about it.

I just thought that experience was worth sharing and I have yet to learn what a traveler's check looks like so when that happens to cross my way I am sure the anxiety will set in all over again.

And the fun begins

After advancing through my collegiate years with internships to accelerate my career goals I was happy to see that I had quite the media resume. I had made many connections in the world of media and journalism and almost all the college credits I need to graduate. What I did not have was a bank account with a positive amount to get me through the month.

Between jetting back from class to class and running to get coffee for my superiors at my unpaid internships I had somehow not had saved a dime and began frantically looking for a job. Lucky for me GAP was hiring and so my adventure into retail began. I am on week one and I can admit honestly that I am absolutely beat. I had no idea so many people spent the amount of time, effort, and money into finding the perfect pair of jeans before heading back to school.

I love people and believe now that I have truly missed my calling in retail all of these years. I used to think that going into a store and trying something on and lazily discarding it behind me in the dressing room was no big deal. I vow to never do that again because karma has showed me the error of my ways as I wait on customers hand and foot and fold ten million shirts and jeans a day. Through my whining I must be honest getting paid to sell clothes, listen to really loud music, and hang out with my fellow employees has been great so far.

With week one behind me I have had my matters of frustration mainly involving people and their lack of courtesy for others but it won't be the last time so I am going to take this experience in stride and thanks for all who read this through out the months ahead. Until next time, I am off to sell some jeans.