Sunflower

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written but so much has happened. Ever since Tom told me I need to get a job I've been looking but not as hard as I should have. Last month Kal told me that Sunflower was opening a new store and you could apply online for positions. I though what the hell, I had applied at both the Lomas and San Mateo stores but heard nothing so why not the new one? I put the application in on a Monday and on Wednesday I got a call to meet with Kathryn at the store in Corrales on Friday. I thought the interview went well and that I answered her questions in a professional manner and was happy about how things went. We went up to Colorado to see Barbara over Mothers Day and came home on Monday where I had a message to call Liz at Sunflower for a phone interview. We played phone tag for awhile but my Wednesday we finally talked. She told me I was being considered for the position of events coordinator for the store which really excited me. I was thrilled that after all these years of not working that I could make the impression for a "titled" position and I really thought I could do a good job at that position.

Unfortunately I got a call a couple of days later and was informed that they gave that position to someone else but offered me a full time cashier position. I jumped on it and was informed that training would start the week of May 17. I actually had my orientation on May 13 which is my "starting date" and then realized that life at 4138 Coe Dr. would never be the same again.

The two weeks of training were alright, we met everyday at 8am to 5pm. The mornings were for cashier training and the afternoons were for setting up the store which sucked. The cashier training was mainly focused on the produce codes and some actual work on the cashiers. There wasn't enough time focused on the actual day to day encounters like the refunds / exchanges that take place. Even now that I'm starting my 9th day of work in a row this morning that is one area that I think really need some attention.

Training ended on May 28 (the 11th anniversary of dad's passing) and we got what will probably be the last 3 day weekend of our working lives. We had our traditional BBQ on Sunday and then Kal had to work on Monday which really sucked. Tuesday the 1st was the stores soft opening and I had to be there at 7am. It wasn't real busy but enough to keep me on my toes for the grand opening the next day.

Grand Opening! Wednesday, June 2 was the grand opening and everyone had to be there at 6:30am. There was already over 200 people in line to get their free bag of groceries and other goodies when the doors opened at 7am. There were people there helping with the produce codes and bagging and the day went well but I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home. The initial schedule had me there every morning at 7am through Sat. then the new schedule had me working every day either at 8am or 9am through Thursday which meant NINE fricking days in a row of working with today being day 9 with the crazy hours of 9:30am to 3pm.

OK, this all sounds alright until the actual working took place where there are a lot of things that really need attention and changing or this won't be the place I imagined.