need some advice

okay friends. i am having a job decision crisis. i've prayed about this, and i've thought long and hard. i've discussed it several times with several people. and yet, i am still at a loss. here's the situation:

currently, i am a sales manager at borders books. i make a very decent wage, get great benefits, love the product that i sell, and i like a lot of the people that i work with (there are a few here and there that i have an immense amount of disdain for). i was originally going to be stepping down to concentrate on going back to school full-time in the fall for my masters. however, some certification logistics with the program have prevented me from being considered for the full-time program (gotta finish one more certificate class...which happens to be in fall...until i can apply to the program). so...i figured i would just continue to work. at borders. at a school district. somewhere. just working, finishing up that one class, and then get into the program.

yet (again), i had some realizations even after that first decision. after much prodding on my part, i convinced pete that it would be a great idea for him to go back to school. he had already been talking about it, but skipped his lsat test back in february. we decided together, that he should at least give it a shot again and see what happens. plus, our overall goal would be for him to be able to make more money than he is now in case i will not be able to work (family/baby planning). obviously, a graduating law student has more earning potential than a graduating teacher.

so...i went into my district manager's office and spoke with her about general manager opportunities. i figured i would make the most out of it, if i was planning to stay with the company full-time. interestingly enough, there were 2 general manager positions that opened up that same day! i was excited and freaked out, because i was definitely not expecting that at all. anyway, i went home and spoke with pete about the opportunity. i spoke with my family. i spoke with some close friends, and i made the decision that it would be a good idea to go for it.

so i interviewed almost 2 weeks ago now. quite a few other people have interviewed along with me in the district, and i had some stiff competition and then some lackluster. i was pretty psyched at first about the idea of being the boss over the whole store, and then all these future events and plans and the idea of working another retail holiday and all the crumbums that we sometimes have to hire...it was just all so overwhelming.

i've been feeling really down and sort of sick to my stomach about it over the past week, and i don't know what to do. i've prayed about it, but i don't know if i am too stressed or distracted cuz i can't seem to get a straight answer for myself. pete won't tell me what to do, because he wants me to be happy and make my own decisions (easy way out--makes me hate him and love him at the same time). i'm gonna have a family counsel about it soon, but i would love your feedback friends! help me! what do i do?! here, i will break it down again:

take gm position (if offered): potentially make up to 15k more a year, work with books (which i love), have an interactive job, make quarterly bonuses, be able to afford a little bit more than i can now, great benefits, support pete thru school (i would go later)

DO NOT take gm position (if offered): would have to find another job (which sucks), new job could bring new career development, benefits (?), bonuses unlikely unless i work in a sales job, support pete thru school, work in the city with other cool city folk, possibly make what i make now (which is still pretty darn good), possible cool new co-workers or lame ones (all jobs have lame people)...basically lots of uncertainty

please respond, if you can. i would love any feedback you can give.

so scary

today, at work, one of our regulars came in and told us that one of the bridges over the mississippi river collapsed a few minutes ago. a few other people came in and talked about it, and i went around and spoke with all my employees to make sure that they could call their loved ones if they needed to to make sure they were safe. i didn't see any pictures until i got home at 10:30, and the goosebumps i got earlier turned into a stomach ache.

my heart and prayers go out to the families who lost a loved one in this horrific accident. i am also grateful to the many heroes that risked their lives to save those who went down with the bridge.

what the...

so this guy who looked sort of like quasimodo came up to me today and wanted my district manager's phone number. normally, we do not give out her # unless it is something that we cannot handle at the store level. i kept trying to explain that her # was private, and asked if i could help him. he wouldn't say anything but he would stare me down...perhaps trying to stare me into submission? i don't know. it was weird and kind of creepy. i wasn't really buying the scare tactic though.

he continued to ask for the number, and i continued to say "no" and asked if i could help. he said something about hiding things and corporate b.s. and politics...and some more staring. i stared back and waited for him to tell me what i could do to help. then, he left.

ah, the joys of retail.

chill out

i understand that harry potter creates a certain kind of mania, but "chill out" people. our store and my employees did an amazing job of taking care of you. think of it as christmas in july, because that's what it was like. expect a line. expect to wait to get your book. don't yell at us, because you decided to come on the night that 1500 other people were going to be at too.

all i can say now....is "i'm glad it is done." my feetsies and my legsies hurt a lot afterward. and i probably smelled like a bear in the wilderness.

nice dream

the other night, i dreamt that i was in high school again. it's sort of a reoccuring dream for me, but i think it was mostly sparked by the upcoming 10 year reunion.

anyway, i was back at my old high school. except...it didn't completely look like my old high school. you know how those dreams go. so i was walking up to the lockers, and i stopped in front of a row of lockers blocked off by some velvet rope. i stop and do some weird turns, and then i start speaking. i mean, people are asking me questions and i am answering them. and then i give this speech about what i will do for them....yada yada...if i were elected. by this point in the dream, i am assuming i am running for class president.

the weirdest part of the dream, though, was that everyone that was in the audience was not anyone i recognized from high school. it was more like going to high school with a bunch of people that were really good friends with tim burton and helena bonham carter.

well, whatever i said appeased the people. i won. senior class president. eat it.

so it is

i sort of figured, but i wanted to make sure...

Your Score: Joe Normal

43 % Nerd, 43% Geek, 47% Dork

For The Record:



A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.


You scored less than half in all three, earning you the title of: Joe Normal.



This is not to say that you don't have some Nerd, Geek or Dork inside of you--we all do, and you can see the percentages you have right above. This is just to say that none of those qualities stand out so much as to define you. Sure, you enjoy an episode of Star Trek now and again, and yeah, you kinda enjoyed a few classes back in the day. And, once in a while, you stumble while walking down the street even though there was nothing there to cause you to trip. But, for the most part, you look and act fairly typically, and aren't much of an outcast.



I'd say there's a fair chance someone asked you to take this test. In any event, fairly normal.



Congratulations!





Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

for laura

this is the most recent picture of our house that i took. it was in march during that freak snowstorm in the midwest. can you say "suck?"