A Time to Chill

No matter how exhausted I am on Monday nights, I can usually always find the light at the end of the tunnel when I watch my cousins. They can be really bad some nights, but there is always a sliver of hope and happiness as I am reminded of the simplicities that still exist in this big, scary world. When it seems all the piles are stacked up against me and me alone, witnessing the purist forms of innocence and wonder and excitement and learning make me smile. And it makes me feel good. Even more than the glimer of light of watching kids be kids is the knowledge that I have the next three days off of work - and - for the first time in my life, I get a paid holiday. Hell, yeah! I actually do have quite a bit to be thankful for this year, but you better believe that my full-time position with benefits that fell into my lap by the employment gods is high on my list - probably number two.

I talked to my parents for awhile on the phone tonight. It occurred to me that I now have longer conversations with my mom than my dad as of late, which is strange for us, but I'm sure that will all balance out in due course. While complaining to them about some of my coworkers who don't pull their end of the weight (yes, I know it happens everywhere - just shut it for a minute) and understanding my frustrations and empathizing with me, my mom mentioned something about how my life is the epitome of the top stressful things in life. That got me thinking about an idea for a blog, which I will come back to revisit in a minute.

Update on work: I am still stretched thin as I don't yet have a weekend manager. I have exhausted the stack of resumes but am holding hope for one promising candidate. I shall see how it pans out either later this week or next Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I don't have a big head (errr, at least most of the time), and I don't mind saying that I have about the third most important job in that building (1-CEO, COO, and CFO; 2-Marketing and PR). As Manager of Visitor Services, I am it when it comes to the overall experience of the Museum to our guests. When something isn't set up the right way because someone didn't pay attention to the company calendar, it becomes my problem. When someone else goes behind my back and books something without my knowledge and bypasses the entire Visitor Services team, it becomes a problem. When my staff has to write "do not loose mind" on my "to do" lists and then today break the news to me that I am now officially insane, it shows the serverity of the problem. When I have no other way to deal with the problems that surround than to slam my office door, it becomes everyone's problem (at least the three people that work in the same hallway as me). And when I can turn into a bitch in a blink of an eye to those who continuously disrespect me - intentionally or aware of their actions or not, woe be to that poor bastard. Though this might be considered a woman's natural talent, when it comes to my Museum and its operations, do not cross me. Do not cross my staff and do not disrespect us. I take it personally because I look out for those who work for me. I lead by example in hopes that others might catch on and do things in a similar fashion. I lead by example because it is important to me that those whom I lead can follow confident footsteps and know that their boss cares about both personally and their jobs. This, in turn, should make them care more about their job performance in the long run. I'm still learning, but I'm off to a good start and am building a solid foundation from which I can build my career. I don't have enough time to do my own job, let alone everyone else's job that just so happens to fall through the cracks that land directly on Visitor Services's lap. So anyway, back to that stress list....

With some brief internet research, I found the following categories among the top 40 stressful things in life. I am moderately, yet nearly borderline high-risk for stress-related illness. Hence the title of this blog post. The stress measurement is taken over the last year, which, even without my research is fairly obvious:

1) New job
2) New house
3) Change in job responsibilities
4) Change in work hours
5) I've quit three jobs over the course of a year
6) Major purchase: Car
7) Major change in finances
8) Change in eating habits (hello 25 pound loss)
9) Change in recreation habits
10) Minor violation of the law (Waterford >:- )
11) Revision/change of personal habits
12) Change to different line of work

The first four have occurred in the last three and a half weeks alone. If I seem short-tempered, untalkitive, crazy, or exhausted - do not ask for explainations. Having my personal life (coming home to boxes) and professional life in chaos does not help matters. This will all take time to work itself out and I have two full days to help make a dent in the former. But it all must start with a good night's rest. And because of that, now I must leave you all with well wishes for the day in which this finds you.