time for an update?

So some time has passed since my last post, and some things have changed. It's a new year, for example, and that means I'm another year older, what with my birthday following so closely on the heels of New Year's Day. Happy Birthday to me.

The big news is that I found a job and quit that job, all in the space of these past few months. That one sentence can't even begin to encompass the range of emotions I went through in that brief time. Back in November I was wasting time online when I found out that a brand new yarn shop had recently opened quite close to where I live. I was so excited! I was at the shop the next day with my resumé and some samples of my work. I spoke with the shop manager, whom I liked right away, and within a few days, I was being interviewed by her and the shop owner. I was thrilled when they hired me on the spot, and I began working there almost immediately. Initially, I felt so at home there, and wanted to learn everything about the shop as quickly as possible.

The first sign of trouble was when the shop manager gave her two-weeks notice. I had so looked forward to working with her and knowing her better. But the good news for me was that the owner wanted me to step up and become one of three "team leads" in her stead. I was offered a raise and the chance to set my own schedule. It all seemed too good to be true - and you know what that usually means. The owner told me she had hired and promoted me for my experience, which made sense to me. I had worked in two other yarn shops, and knew alot about what worked - and didn't work - in that setting. I realized pretty quickly, however, that the ideas I suggested to her were not being implemented and were never going to be implemented. My "duties" were unclear to me, and over time I grew increasingly uneasy about meeting expectations of which I was not aware. I began to dread the shop owner's impromptu visits, and her many emails were always upsetting to me. Ben urged me not to read the late night emails I received from her before I went to bed as I got too upset to sleep after reading them. I kept telling myself, things will get better, things will get better.

I soldiered on, and worked hard, both at my job and at making friends among my co-workers, which was very important to me. I began to feel successful in both those areas, and that was, of course, when the hammer fell. The shop owner came in one night when I was working late, and asked me to stay after the shop closed. I had already worked an eight-hour plus day, but I sat down to talk with her. To listen to her, I should say, because that was when she unloaded on me. That was when I at last learned what her expectations of me had been. She criticized everything about me, even mimicking the way I spoke. At first, I tried to answer her criticisms, but it quickly became clear that she wasn't interested in a dialogue. So I listened until she finished and I left.

I drove home carefully that night, not letting my emotions make me careless. When I got home, I told Ben, "I think I may have to quit, " and I outlined what had happened that night. "Don't you ever go back there!" he told me. "That's it. You don't have to take that." Well, in fact, I did have to take it, but not for long. Since email seemed to be her communication of choice, after careful consideration I wrote her one the next morning, outlining my resignation. Then I went in to work. She came in later that day and asked me if I was sure about my decision. Oh yes, I assured her, and the sooner the better. She seemed surprised, which surprised me. What about me made her think she could talk to me the way she had and that I would just take it? I kept hearing Tweety Bird's voice in my head saying, "She don't know me very well, do she?" And she never will.

I feel very glad to be away from the oppressive shop owner, but sad to have left the friends I was making among the customers and my co-workers. I miss them. And I especially miss helping the enthusiastic new knitters who came into the shop looking for a familiar, friendly face and some encouraging help with their fledgling projects. I was good at that. I am good at that. That has not changed.

with the new season, a new job

Yesterday I shifted yarn for five hours. That might sound arduous or maybe boring to some of you, but you would be wrong. I loved it. I loved the color, the feel, even the smell of all that yarn. It was the semi-annual yarn shift at My Sister's Yarn Shop in Uniontown, just off I-77, north of Canton. Yesterday was my first day of work there. I look forward to many more.

I was in the shop a few weeks ago telling Judi, the shop owner, how much I missed everything about working in a yarn shop, but most especially when all the new yarn and pattern books for the season arrive. "Well, would you like to come work for me?" Judi asked, to my surprise. "Yeah!" was the best reply I could come up with, so here I am. Judi is a hands-on shop owner, which means she actually knows how to knit and help her customers when they get stuck. Further, she works every day, and knows her customers' names and preferences. This is going to be different.

I will try to keep you posted, but, hey, I'm going to be working, so cut me some slack.

Miss Chickpea's

Taking a look at my list of tags or "labels", as they are called here, I am surprised to find that I have never mentioned Miss Chickpea's (full name:"Miss Chickpea's Funky Fibers") in any of my posts. Miss Chickpea's is my LYS (local yarn store) and it is located in the new First & Main development in downtown Hudson, about twenty minutes from here. Their website is here: http://www.misschickpea.com/

I love Miss Chickpea's. I have loved it since the first time we walked in there last December. When we knew that Tom and Kristy would be spending Christmas with us, we wanted to find some neat, funky little yarn shops to take Kristy to - 'cause knitters love places like that. A quick search on the internet turned up Miss Chickpea's - right next to Aladdin's, our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. It was the perfect outing - lunch at Aladdin's and a trip to the yarn store.

If you have checked out the website, you have seen what a cute little place it is - just chock-full of yarn. Yarn everywhere. Even non-knitters, like Julie, love to go in there. One just feels inspired to knit.

Tom and Kristy gave me a knitting class there as a birthday present, and when I went, I began to make friends with the incredibly helpful and friendly women who work there. They are always available to help new knitters (or experienced knitters!) through a rough patch, and don't mind if you just sit down and knit for a while.

A couple of months ago, Julie and I were heading to Aladdin's when we saw a "Help Wanted" sign hanging in Miss Chickpea's front window. Over lunch, we discussed the pros and cons of applying for a job there. Well, really, there didn't seem to be any cons, so I stopped in and picked up an application.

Long story short, I am now working at Miss Chickpea's Funky Fibers. I am still very much a newbie, but working there is almost as much fun as shopping there - and that's saying a lot. We are encouraged to work on our knitting when everything else is done. And they even pay us. How lucky is that?