New Job for Hubby

You know that big box store that everyone loves to hate on? The one with the Smiley Face 😀?  The one that isn't red?  Yeah, that one. 

Hubby works there. He's worked there for almost 20 years.  Listening to people hate on my hubby's workplace pisses me off because, generally speaking, it's perfectly clear that whatever supposed slight they're protesting - they've only heard about it from a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who made it all up in the first place!  If you are a good employee, than this is a good place to work. If you're a shitty employee, then no, it's not a good place to work. This place shouldn't have to put up with bullshit employees, and generally, they don't. 

Granted, I will asterisk my statement with this - Hubby's place is a LOT BETTER than many other stores I've been to. Even within my own town.  We have three. I've not yet been to the newest one yet (it's in an extremely busy and crowded part of town that I avoid at all costs). The first one we got in town is on the "poorer" side of town, and it shows.  Within days - DAYS - of the store opening, there were stains on the floors, broken fixtures and the employees didn't seem to care. I wondered if this was something that all superstores had to deal with. Then Hubby's store opened - they transferred from the small, regular place to a new superstore a few miles up the road.  Same type of floors, same type of fixtures, obviously same type of store... completely different vibe.  Rarely is it messy (and I shop there on Saturday afternoons, when it's busy), the employees seem to care about their jobs and their customers. Shelves are stocked, and organized.  

Okay, so why am I saying all this?  Well, part of it is because I hate people who bitch about this store and I needed to vent... Otherwise, I'm just setting the scene.

Hubby started at this store working nights as a stock man. You know, the guys who have to go out and get the carts, or load your car?  Yeah. It was a shitty job.  August in Florida at 6pm and you're chasing carts in a hot-ass parking lot? It sucked.  But it paid the bills and fit our family's schedule.  Eventually, he was able to transfer inside to being a cashier.  Soon, we were able to change schedules (as the Kiddo got older) and he could work during the daytime.  A few years later, he moved to the Garden Center (where, sadly, he was outside again!)   He was there for quite a few years, too, but he loved it. It wasn't super busy at those registers, and many of the customers he saw were regulars.  Also, because of this position (and his seniority), he had a great schedule of Sunday through Thursday.  He was considered Part Time, due to the number of hours he worked, but still qualified for health insurance. It was a pretty good gig (if not a badly paying one).

Once the superstore opened up, there was no delineation of "Garden Center Cashier" any more (which meant that any cashier could work at any register), so he transitioned to just "Cashier." He did that for a few months before being tapped to also be in charge of restocking all those little things around the register (candy, gum, impulse items, etc).  

About this time, there was a change in company policy - Part Time employees no longer qualified for health care.  Yeah, that hurt our wallet, big time.  

So, that brings us to last week. There was talk of a new position opening up, in the Cash Office.  Many people contacted Hubby to see if he was interested, but he of course wanted to run in by me first. It would be a Full Time position (which means health care again), but his schedule would change drastically - he'd lose his weekends off.  His new schedule would be 5am (holy shit!) to 2pm (okay, that's nice), Thursday through Monday (meaning, he'd work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, every week).  We talked about it for a bit and we thought it was doable. We're a one-car family, so he would need to rely on me to get him to work that early.  He could (and already did) take the bus home afterward.  It wouldn't affect the kiddo too much, since I take her to and from school (Mom's Taxi, anyone?).  

We decided to take up the manager's offer to try it out for a week, and it actually worked out pretty well.   5am isn't too much different from 6:30am (which is when we used to get up).  We would leave the house around 4:45am - traffic would be non-existent and many lights would be in flash-mode. I'd return home afterward and either hop on the treadmill or hop back in bed for two hours. 

After a week, he checked his work schedule and saw that he was continuing to be scheduled for this new position. So, apparently, it was made official!  He's now full-time, with benefits, and a nice raise to boot.  He's only a buck or so away from what I make per hour, too!

So, what does this mean for ME?  Well, I have to haul my ass out of bed a LOT earlier than I used to.  Five days a week, I'll be up at 4:30. Once I get home, though, I have lots of time before I have to get ready for work. I plan on using this time for exercise and running.  I've heard about this cool website called Fitness Blender that has lots of free workout videos.  I'll alternate between those and running and maybe I can get myself back on track of weight loss instead of weight gain. 

Here's to new beginnings!!