Done Deal

I took it! The drive was about 50 minutes and Jim had no real objections... So I am officially the Operations Manager at the new Value City Furniture store #144 in Suffolk, VA (opens 6/7/07)!!!

Thanks for the input all... will keep you updated!

Over and "Out" from SNOWY Toano, VA

You think I'll take it?

I have been keeping something from everyone... I know, it's not like a lie, just an omission of information... I am a BAAAAD Blogger.....

The company I work for (Value City Furniture/American Signature) is getting ready to open a new store in Suffolk (actually on the western edge of Chesapeake). When they job posted the management positions, I applied for Merchandise/Sales Manager and for Operations Manager. Now, mind you, I am a sales person (we call them Home Furnishings Consultants) but my background is in distribution and transportation management in big ticket environments (ie: appliances, TV's and furniture specifically). After my heart attack a couple of years ago, I decided to pare down the stress in my life, actually my body forced me to through a long bout with anxiety attacks, and go back to selling. Anyway, I was interviewed about a month ago by the market manager, and then yesterday morning by the regional manager and the new store manager. After the interview (and actually even before it) I figured they weren't going to be able to meet my salary requirements, and the job required more hours, and the commute would be a half hour more than it is now and that I would probably have to say no.

Think again Tom...

My market manager approached me yesterday afternoon and told me that I was their first choice for the Operations Manager at the new store, explained the salary and bonus potential, and asked if I would like it...

I told him I would like to think about it (read: talk to my partner about it) and make the drive from my home to the new store (which I will do this morning) before I give him my answer. He said "ok" and asked if he could expect an answer tomorrow (today), which I agreed to.

So... Here's the poop... The job is 2nd in charge of the store, a base salary equal to my commission last year plus the potential of 6k in bonuses, 10 more hours a week, less flexible hours, 1 more hour (round trip) drive time, opens up endless possibilities for future growth, yadda, yadda, yadda...

You think I'll take it?

Tune in tomorrow for the answer!!

Over and "Out" for now from chilly Toano, VA

I can see your house from here!

This is my current desktop photo:

You can read so much into it, if you want... Every time I look at it and think about it I see something and think of something different... This morning it reminded me of an old joke I once heard (which I will not share unless you email me and ask for it) that can be religiously offensive to some... Oh, by the way that's me on the left and Jim on the right!!! (click here for the joke)

I have added a couple of new blogs to the ones I read every day... There are so many good writers out there in our "community". I wish I felt as comfortable with words as some of them are. One day I will add a blog roll to my page so that you can see all the great sites I visit. I signed up for blog rolling, I am just unsure how to apply it to my blog and make it look right. I haven't made many changes to the format of my site, mainly because I'm afraid I'll put something on it that can't be "undone". Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I got the lime down yesterday and planted some perennials in some of the drabber looking beds out front... This morning I got the nicest compliment on the yard and house from the delivery team from Value City Furniture, that were here to pick up part of our sectional for repairs. They both said (more than once) how nice the yard looked and what a beautiful home we had... Nice to hear after the past couple of strenuous days working in the gardens and on the lawn.

It's very overcast today, and the plan is to clean the inside... I used to own my own housekeeping service, so I can still turn that mindset on every now and then. I pretend it's not my house and I get a lot more cleaning done, in less time... It's usually when I have the homeowner hat on that I see the little chip in the paint, stop cleaning, and sand and paint the spot before I resume cleaning, if I ever get back to it... There's always something else to be done it seems, especially when I am doing something as mundane as housework...

OK, well I am off for now... I hear the toilets calling my name!

Over and "Out" from my neck of the woods here in Toano, VA

A Scare

Well, the weekend for most of you is now over and the week of "hell" for Jim and me is over as well. To sum things up in a nutshell, Jim has had some problems with nausea over the past several months and was referred to a neurologist for treatment. It was suggested he have an MRI done to check for abnormalities. The follow up visit was scheduled for next week, but the doctor called last Monday to move the appointment to yesterday, and include a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). The information Jim got was sketchy at best, but apparently they found something on the MRI that they didn't expect to find...

We went to the office yesterday for the follow up and we both asked some more pointed questions about the results, and why the doctor was suggesting the spinal tap. All I can say is WHEW... It was not at all what we were expecting... The lesion/tumor they found on his brain was nothing they were concerned about (appears all people have some abnormalities) and since the MRI pretty much was inconclusive, she wanted to do the spinal tap to rule out any other infection or problems. Our minds were going a mile a minute, we were online doing medical searches and came up with a few (of the worst case) scenarios, MS, malignant tumor, all the really bad stuff... Only to find it was really nothing... WHEW!!! The source of his nausea is still yet to be determined, but... well... WHEW!!! (I have to say one thing in Jim's defense, the Neurologist is from Brazil, and has a Portuguese accent that is sometimes hard to understand, so when he talked to her while he was at work, he picked up only parts of the explanation)...

So... I took yesterday off to accompany him to and to try to put things into perspective, after the visit he was told to relax the rest of the day and drink lots of fluids, and I went out and mowed, trimmed, and weeded the yard. It was a beautiful 80+ degree afternoon and after the fertilizer was applied two weeks ago, the lawn had grown 5-6 inches since the first cutting... I was exhausted by the time I finished. Usually Jim and I knock it out in a couple hours when working together, but this was four hours of strenuous labor... It looks beautiful though, I am going to The Homo Depot today to pick up some lime pellets to spread to try to neutralize some of our more acidic soil where the grass is not coming in as strong...

Today and tomorrow are honey do days, between finishing up the yard and cleaning the house. We didn't get a lot accomplished this past weekend around the house, so I will be making up for it.

That's it for now, from beautiful Toano, VA... Over and "Out"!!!

Post-it Note

Not alot happening in Toano/Williamsburg. But wanted to post something to let everyone know we are alive and well...

We had a busy weekend (last) had friends over for early dinner, and ended up at neighbors house in the hot tub for hours. We have a new friend from Richmond that came down to join us, It was a blast!

More to follow, I am off Thurs/Fri this week and I will try to post something with substance!

Over and "Out" for now, from Toano, VA

Nineteen

Happy 19th birthday to my baby. I hope you have a special day, I love you!

and...

For those of you wanting to see a picture of the Sebring twins, this was taken last night, mine is the gold one, Jim's (looks black) is midnight blue:

Over and "Out" and Happy Friday, from Toano, VA

Press Yes to Delete

I saw this recently over at Best Gay Blogs and I kept trying to click the Yes button....

Over and "Out" from Toano, VA