Thurs, Jun. 2
... Slips away just like hourglass sand
I've known for a long time that being in a position of leadership is challenging, but what I'm discovering is just difficult is stepping in temporarily.
While Blair is off gallivanting the continent on his road trip of death, I'm left at the store to step into his shoes, for the most part. I'm not taking on all of his responsibilities, but I am second in command, after Becky, and I do have a lot more responsibility. Most people are fine with that, but there are a few who grumble and complain a bit. It's funny how much attitude people feel entitled to have.
Here's my theory. During "normal" times, when Blair is around and running things, I will not badmouth him (or Becky) to my coworkers. I'll tease and poke fun, definitely, but when it comes down to disrespecting either of them, I will not do it. I also have made the choice to uphold their decisions and policies without questioning them publicly. If there's an issue, I'll take it to one of them and deal with it that way, but I will not, by my actions, encourage my coworkers to disregard the instructions.
While Blair is gone, my job is to maintain his status quo. Sometimes that involves making timely decisions that can't wait for three weeks, sometimes that's just keeping the store clean to his standards, and sometimes that's making sure that my coworkers don't take advantage of his absence. "When the cat's away, the mice will play." It's my responsibility to, as much as possible, make sure that doesn't happen.
Which doesn't always make me the most popular person in the store. Like today. And it's not that I'm going to change the way I do things because of conflict, but it does make for a very, very long day when you've got people giving you attitude out the yin yang, and making the day pretty miserable. And there are still two weeks left. Oy. Talk about power struggles.
Anyways. Now that I've got that off my chest...
I packed away a lot of my books for the summer (I kept maybe 20 out, and I packed away 2 1/2 bookcases' worth), so I have to have something to read for the summer. I've bought some on sale, and hit the used bookstores a bit, but when it comes to just getting good, light novels, I've decided that this is going to be the summer of the library discard. I can get 2 books for 50 cents, so if they're not worth reading, they're hardly a loss. If they are, I'm building my library the most inexpensive way possible. Come the next move, I'll have to buy yet another bookshelf! And this, my friends, is one reason (okay, a minor reason, but a reason nonetheless) why I will need to have an office in my house.
Anyways, I'm picking Kim at the airport at 11, so I've got some time to kill before then, and, blessedly, nothing to do. Kind of a nice feeling--I'll have to come up with some ultra-creative way to sabotage my own free time!
infinite || abyss
posted at 7:13 p.m.
