29 Week Specialist Appointment

So I went to Atlanta for my appointment today. Baby looks great, he's 2lb. and 14oz. My cervix was between 2.1 and 2.3cm, so still less that last time, but he said it looks like it's holding pretty well. Since it is shorter I'm still not allowed to go back to work. I'm not really complaining, even though saying at home all day is NOT all it's cracked up to be... I do feel like I needed this extended time off from work though. I was really starting to get burned out. I'm so tired of getting into a good routine and then corporate has to change SOMETHING to "make it easier/better/more efficient". I honestly think these people just sit in their offices, with their expensive desks and blackberries and think up shit for us to do just to feel like they're doing something productive. Most of these people have never worked in a Copy Center and have no clue that their "ideas" actually make our jobs more complicated.

I'm actually thinking about going into management though, something I NEVER though I would do. Not in the retail environment anyway... But the more I think about it, the more it feels like the natural next step. I talked to Bobby about it, he was an assistant manager for about 3 years before becoming a general manager. He said if I can handle being the specialist in the copy center, I would have NO problem being an assistant for the store. He even thinks I would enjoy it more. It's something I'll have to talk to my boss about. I'm not even sure what the job outlook is right now with today's economy. Some of our lower volume stores are being reduced to a two manager store. My store is higher volume so we have three managers: one general manager and two assistants.

But I would start out making double what I make now, maybe even more with my experience. I've done just about every job in the building... cashier, returns/exchanges, cash office, stocking, inventory analysis, shipping/receiving and copy center. A lot of assistants in (in our district) have been hired from other companies and have to learn Staples policies during their training. I think I would have a really good advantage over someone being hired from the outside. And the fact that our district manager already loves me. Even my RSSM: regional sales and service manager says I'm one of the best specialists in the region.

Anyway, I would have to go through the internal designate program, so I think I'm going to talk to my boss and see when they start again. I've been nominated and asked to do it twice, but I turned it down both times. I hope she won't hold that against me... I just think it's time to step my game up. Make a paycheck I can be proud of and hopefully we can get a nice house with us both making good money. And we would be able to afford childcare without penny pinching.