Wow...

Today was an interesting day. 

I think I'm getting better at the parts of the job that I have been trained in. There are still some aspects that I really haven't had time to get trained in yet, but that'll come. I'm actually concerned that some of what I've been trained in this week was superfluous; I don't think it's part of what will be my normal job duties. 

So anyway, I'm literally walking back to my desk to put up my stuff and leave when I get a message that one of the big guys needs me to call him. So I do and he needs a lot of information. And it's not necessarily information I can get quickly. Hmmm. So it kept me there a little later than planned. I hope I can get it all together before he asks me again! Anyway, just a peek into what's been happening. At least now I have a desk and a phone!

Today also started off as one of those days in which everything takes longer than it should. So I knew something was up when I finished inventory unusually early. Shoulda seen this coming!

Can't wait!

Poem

Robert Frost (1874–1963).  Mountain Interval.  1920.

1. The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5   Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,         10   And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.         15   I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.         20

Is it Mostly Sunny or Partly Cloudy?

I've always liked to think that our best character traits are the way that we are most like God.

For instance, we have all heard of people who "have the patience of a saint." I believe that they actually have the patience of God. Love, mercy, compassion, reason, creativity, even things like perceptiveness and discernment. If we are made in God's image, then what part of Him do you look like? Maybe these are the gifts of The Holy Spirit; maybe they're God's personal stamp on you that He placed there when He looked at you and said "It is good!" God gave us these traits out of Himself and when we are operating out of them, we are acting out of our true selves.

It may be mine that I tend to look at people out of a sense of eternal optimism. Which is probably why I get so disappointed when those I know act exactly how I thought they would, but not how I had hoped they would. I'd like to think of this as a good part of my character, that I am always hoping that someone will operate out of the best of themselves, that they will choose the wiser path, that they will bloom. I also try to encourage others to live up to their best, and I get very emotional when I see them accomplish it, or at least take the next step. But it seems to be so rare. Much more often people don't choose to stretch for the better or best they can be, but instead do what they're used to. I'm as guilty of it as anybody: the desire to be comfortable overwhelms the desire to work at being better. 

I like to think that God is the same way. He hopes the best for us every day. Maybe the only way God can love us after the things we do is because He's optimistic. He knows how He made us and what we can be if we will walk and talk with Him. Jeremiah 29:11:  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

Trust Him, for 

       God is not a man, that He should lie, 

       nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. 
       Does He speak and then not act? 
       Does He promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)

My heart is let down whenever someone doesn't live up to the best of themselves. When they choose to be petty instead of great. When they choose to follow the crowd instead of blazing a new trail. When they chase what they want instead of what they need. When they don't have courage to back up their convictions and life choices, but instead look for opportunities to escape them. 

My heart hurts worst when I do these same things.

These are choices, even if the worse option is easier to choose than the better. Just because a choice is easy doesn't make it the right one; God often works in a way we would consider paradoxical, so the difficult choice sometimes is the right one (and ends up being easier in the long run). Make God happy today. Be everything you and He know you can be. 

The Beginning is The End is The Beginning...

I finished my first week at my new job. What a crazy week! The first couple days were mostly orientation stuff, just filling out paperwork and getting to know people. I started to get my feet wet during the last couple days, and it's exciting already! Even though I will still be training for a couple weeks, a few responsibilities have been pushed my way so that I can start getting used to it. 

I had to be there at 6 am Thursday and Friday, so I'm getting some practice getting up EARLY. It hasn't been that bad, as long as I monitor what time I go to bed the night before. And Friday I stayed up a little late after getting up at 4 am because I could sleep in the next morning. I need to be there at 5:30 Monday, so slowly I'm working my way to the time I'll most likely have to come in once I'm done training, which will probably be about 4:30 or 5 in the morning! While that's really early in the morning, it shouldn't be too bad because I'll be off mid-afternoon and have the weekends off. So plenty of time to rest.

It was a weird experience, my last two days at Zaxby's. Most of my jobs have ended without me needing to put in a notice (such as the job in which my boss was a crook and couldn't guarantee my paycheck would be good), so this is only the second time I've really worked out a notice longer than a week. It was an interesting transition, not just from my standpoint, but also watching them move me out and get used to the idea of not having me around. I have probably had more influence at Zaxby's than any other place I have ever been, so in a way it was bittersweet. Many of the people who work there I hired. Most of the managers were trained by me. The three managers at each store who I had had the most influence over I worked with on my last days. We reminisced some and I tried to leave each with a piece of advice. I will miss the people I worked around, even if I don't necessarily miss the environment. I was SO ready to get out of the restaurant business. So I'll miss the people, but some of us are going to definitely keep in touch and I'm sure we'll see each other often. They're my friends and not just because we worked together. So anyways, it's a time of new beginnings (sorry for the Smashing Pumpkins song title at the beginning)! Hopefully I'll be able to report that we as a family are moving soon!

btw...

I really should give some credit to those whom it is due. The picture that adorns the top of my blog was taken by a friend of ours who does AWESOME photography. Look her up!