Update

A little slow finishing the blog on our Hawaii trip but work gets in the way when you get back to normal life!

Speaking of which, I got a promotion of sorts. I had interviewed for a sideways promotion just before I left for Hawaii, a sales lead role instead of regular sales. All it would have meant was a $2+ an hour increase in pay and just to be a goto for the regular sales staff.

They had also talked about giving me some shadow shifts in the shipping & receiving department as the regular shipper was leaving on a year long cycle from Alaska southwards, that gives you an idea of the type of people who work here!

When I got back to work they called me in as they were going over the interviews and instead went and offered me the job of shipper. So I still get the same pay rise but it does mean a job shift.

I had roughly four days training and then armed with my manual that the shipper guy kindly made up for me, I was let loose last week on my own. The main change is that ALL the shifts are 1.30pm to 10pm but it does pass quickly as there seems a lot to fit in each day.
It also requires a bit of good time management, starting off with receiving the internet orders, staff orders and returned items, then shipping same things the other way out.

Then later on I get a bicep and quad workout as I receive the nightly truck with all the pallets laden with boxes, wheeling it up a small slope, occasionally grinding to a halt during this process! Dealing with everything from small boxes containing one bottle of insect repellant to lifting a kayak downstairs.

I'll still get some footwear shifts (at the same pay rate) so we'll see how it works out.

I have been commuting to and from work by bike all last week. It was so hot and humid that having a shower at work beforehand and then avoiding the sticky underground wait for a train home by cycling back home works better.
It is a thought to do a bike ride after working until 10pm but the weather is so warm plus I'm home in about 35 minutes as I take a more direct route due to less traffic on the roads, I just need to buy some more sets of padded bike shorts though!

I'm working!

After receiving my work permit a couple of weeks ago I had been looking and applying for a couple of jobs. Heather had suggested getting back in touch with the REI store, the one I had to turn down the job offer a few weeks ago, to see if they had any openings. I resisted because they had nothing showing on their website but after about 10 days of reminders I left a voicemail.
And Heather LOVES telling this story of how the guy called back that day and told me they were really busy and did in fact need to take on board some more part time staff and could I start tomorrow! So November 9th was my first day of work in the USA.

REI is an outdoor sports store. The SoHo store in NYC is in the Puck Building which was apparently the exterior for something in Will & Grace but more known for it's initial use as a printing works and REI has kept the original large water wheel and stone lithographs on the exposed brick walls which is pretty cool for visitors. The store is set over three floors but I am limited to the footwear department, ha ha. They have different zones so footwear covers that along with hats, gloves and socks.

One of the biggest benefits is that it is "only" a 40 minute commute involving no train transfers. I must be used to being a New Yorker when I consider 40 minutes good, especially compared to my previous under 10 minute commute back home in Scotland.

REI is national and also a co-op, so we are expected to sell their memberships which are actually a good purchase being only $20 for a lifetime of discounts. The staff seem super nice and obviously outdoorsy and cover all different ages. The customers have been nice enough so far with a massive variety what with the store location and being in NYC there are lots of tourists. I've served a few from Australia, a few people that recently visited Scotland, one guy that worked with Simple Minds in the 80's, one guy that played the Trump golf course in Aberdeen in August and the usual characters that love to chat.... for 30 minutes, exactly like The Running Shop, except I just don't recognise these people yet in order to avoid them.

The parts I'm finding it harder to adjust to are the hours. Different shifts such as 8am to 4.30pm and then this week some later ones such as 1.30pm to 9.30pm. I don't enjoy the getting home late.
And this week especially on Black Friday and the Thanksgiving Saturday weekend it was so busy for some parts that it's difficult to do anything other than get and give shoes to customers. Certainly not the one-to-one running shoe analysis that I'm used to

.....but then I got a paycheck!!