Well I must say, I feel much better about everything and all it took was an apology and explanation of the situation at hand. This past week went much better and I have definitely seen an push for the things I have been trying to get accomplished. On Thursday, the owner of the company came into town for his monthly meeting with our managers. First thing he does when he comes into the office is walk into our accounting office, grab a chair from across the room and sits right next to me and says, "show me numbers." I'm in awe basically because there are plenty more people who are more important than me, but he wanted to see cash and my receivables percentages since I had been plugging how much better they would be on Wednesday after a little negotiation I pulled off with one of our largest customers. Much to his chagrin, the numbers were better...8% better than the Friday before. I think he was shocked and a little speechless. While I try to make myself look good 95% of the time, I know I mess up and that there are things that I have put off because I either don't know what to do to fix them or I trust people too much and believe most of what they say, even though I know they are probably saying whatever they can to please me and they aren't going to follow through. In any case, he was excited about my hard work and gave me pointers for moving forward. That is one cool thing about the owner....he thinks of me as a person and a vital part of the team. Most owners that I have dealt with barely know my name and he's pulling a chair up to my desk and wants to know the status of things from the "accountant's" standpoint. That is awesome! Of course, he should do that...it's his money that started our company and it's his money that continues to grow as our company becomes successful. I'm hoping at some point though he'll realize my hard work and reward me for it! A trip somewhere would be nice!
So anyway, I ended the week on a positive note. I'm glad that things went smoother and that people finally realize what exactly it takes to do my job and to do it well.
Tuesday around midnight I got quite a scare. I was dozing off and all of a sudden my cell phone starts playing Save Me by Shinedown. It means only one thing....I have a text message so I opened my phone and it was from Josh. I was excited and very happy to hear from him since we haven't had much contact lately. In any case, he tells me that he's in Branson and that he's got National Guard training in mid-July. Of course, now I'm freaking out. Yes, I knew his two weeks would come up eventually but I'm a nervous wreck! Thank goodness I didn't know him while he was in the Army, I don't know how I would have slept at night. So we texted back and forth a few times and tried to update one another on what's going on the next few weeks and all I can continue to think about is how am I going to get through July knowing he's got training. It's nothing for him...he says: Linds, it's just the National Guard. I know it's the National Guard, but do you know how much the National Guard is doing now??? A whole lot! For all I know he could be shipped down to protect the border or who knows where else. I know I'm probably over-reacting but that is my nature. No wonder we get along so well, our personalities compliment each other. I'm the worrier and he's the one that just goes with the flow and lives life the way he wants to.
As for this upcoming week, well there could be a whole lot going on or there might not be. It all depends on everyone else. Tuesday night is the Lynyrd Skynyrd and 3 Doors Down concert -- I would love to go but my work crowd and I haven't gotten tickets yet. Thursday, Tom is making a stop in St. Louis on his summer roadie. We'll see what he wants to do and if Joe and Lindsay (the other Lindsay) are free. I'm sure we'll go hang out somewhere, but who knows where. I was joking with Tom the other day and telling him I was going to take him to one of my happy hour spots around town. I could definitely use a happy hour right now!
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Fireball of Energy
It has only taken me nearly 24 years to realize that I have a different work ethic than 99% of the population and that most people are just happy with finishing something not whether it was done right, wrong or otherwise and I'm the kind of person that if I want something done correctly I should just do it myself. As a result, there has been some tension in my office. I guess I have to be the bigger person and perform damage control on Monday in order to fix the relationships with the people in my office who felt that I have wronged them by telling them their job....no matter how hard that is going to be for me to do because I know what I did and said was the correct thing for the situation in hand. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to surrender and apologize and just realize that most people just work for a paycheck and while yeah, that is nice, I'm there for the bigger picture.
Don't get me wrong, I have to work to support myself, but I'm there to keep moving up in the company. I didn't go to college and step into this position to sit, I came aboard to give them my ideas about business and accounting, learn more about trucking and help this company progress from being a "start-up" to a leader in the transportation industry....all of which are still on my agenda. Most of all, I look at the situation like this -- I look at how far we've come in the year's time I've been there and with a little more hard work on everyone's part, I can see the progression into a transportation giant. I'm just not sure if everyone is there to put in that little bit of extra effort and that bothers me tremendously that they aren't, especially since it would pay off in the end if they put in that extra umphh. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that when profits are up and expenses are down that it means more cash for a company and in my experience (granted I only have 7 years in the workforce), extra cash means bonuses and raises and other incentives. Perhaps I need to refresh everyone's memory...or maybe they know and just don't care. I don't understand why certain people feel like I have a bad attitude, I kinda think my attitude is the correct one to have and I would hope that the company's President and Owner would have the same attitude as me.
Overall this whole incident brings me to a realization that I just can't settle anymore...I'm a fireball of energy when it comes to business and my career and if I means stepping on the toes of my work friends to get in there and get the job done, I guess that's what I'll do and I'll apologize for it later.
In any case, I'm sure I'll have quite the week ahead of me smoothing over all of the issues considering very few people were talking to me at the end of the week after my little rant.
Finally, I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to my dad and step-dad!
Dad, sorry I couldn't make it out to see you today, but I'll be out to visit in a few weeks. Try to have a relaxing day!
Don't get me wrong, I have to work to support myself, but I'm there to keep moving up in the company. I didn't go to college and step into this position to sit, I came aboard to give them my ideas about business and accounting, learn more about trucking and help this company progress from being a "start-up" to a leader in the transportation industry....all of which are still on my agenda. Most of all, I look at the situation like this -- I look at how far we've come in the year's time I've been there and with a little more hard work on everyone's part, I can see the progression into a transportation giant. I'm just not sure if everyone is there to put in that little bit of extra effort and that bothers me tremendously that they aren't, especially since it would pay off in the end if they put in that extra umphh. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that when profits are up and expenses are down that it means more cash for a company and in my experience (granted I only have 7 years in the workforce), extra cash means bonuses and raises and other incentives. Perhaps I need to refresh everyone's memory...or maybe they know and just don't care. I don't understand why certain people feel like I have a bad attitude, I kinda think my attitude is the correct one to have and I would hope that the company's President and Owner would have the same attitude as me.
Overall this whole incident brings me to a realization that I just can't settle anymore...I'm a fireball of energy when it comes to business and my career and if I means stepping on the toes of my work friends to get in there and get the job done, I guess that's what I'll do and I'll apologize for it later.
In any case, I'm sure I'll have quite the week ahead of me smoothing over all of the issues considering very few people were talking to me at the end of the week after my little rant.
Finally, I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to my dad and step-dad!
Dad, sorry I couldn't make it out to see you today, but I'll be out to visit in a few weeks. Try to have a relaxing day!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
"Good Things Come to Those Who Wait" Pt. 2
This morning was a reality check for me. M, S and myself went downtown for The Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure. It didn't hit me until we were down there and walking with 65,000 other people that breast cancer affects more people than you can imagine. It was sad seeing "In Memory Of" on the back of t-shirts and seeing how many women are currently battling the disease. But, I will say I was very proud to see people lending their support to such a great cause. I think it was a cathartic experience for S too since she has been in remission for nearly 2 years and I'm glad I was able to be there for my friend. I definitely plan on participating for years to come.
As for everything else that has happened since my last entry...hmm...let's see. My mom and step-dad left for Hawaii a week ago to work on their house. It's been a bigger problem than the expected, but I've done what I can for them here so they can focus on that mess. I would have loved to go out there and spent some time in paradise but my job just wouldn't allow for it right now. Hopefully I'll make it out there soon though for a little R & R.
Last Sunday I was able to go to the Cardinals-Cubs game down at Busch. I took my grandma with me and we had a great time. The Cardinals ended up winning that game after losing the other two in the series. And even though Pujols was out because of an injury, I was able to see my other favorite player who now plays for the Cubs, John Mabry. He came in to hit in the 7th or 8th inning.
The rest of the week went pretty well. I'm finally starting to feel comfortable with the changes we've made over the last few weeks with procedures and financial issues and most of all receivables. While numbers are not exactly where they need to be, I was finally able to get some of the older stuff from before I took on this job collected. Like J said to me last night when I talked to him while I was out with the work crowd, "good things come to those who wait." If he only knew how true that is for so many situations I've been in lately.
Like I mentioned we went out last night after work and I had a lot of fun like normal. We went up to Syberg's because Deep Six was playing plus there is always a reason for us to party on a Friday night. It ended up being the usual bunch going out and C joined us for a bit as well as our former co-worker and fellow party girl D. Perhaps the coolest part of the night happened right before I left. D and I went to go freshen up in the bathroom before she left and I decided to go back in and see who was still in the bar. Well I walked back into the doors and before I got a foot in, the lead singer, drummer and bass player all stopped me and told me that they were taking a survey and wanted to know what 3 songs I wanted to hear. Well, being a little out of it, I didn't know. I love the band and whatever they wanted to play was fine with me and I told them that, but they wanted my opinion, so I stood there and thought about it and talked with them for awhile. The bass player still reminds me so much of Josh and he's got that magnetic personality that just makes you want to like him right off of the bat, the drummer and the lead singer are the same way also. In fact, I ended up talking to the lead singer for like 15 minutes. I found out the scoop on the band and where they'll be playing in the next few weeks and what kind of songs they are working on to add to their show. It was very cool and so unlike me to continue to talk with people I don't know without thinking twice about what I'm asking or talking about. Actually at that point everyone else I was with was long gone and on their way home so I figured why not talk and get to know these guys a little better. Heck, I'm on their website dancing from the last time I saw them perform at Syberg's so why not get to know them a little more. I ended up talking to them until they went back on stage for their next set and heard them get started and since I had to be up at the crack of dawn this morning for the race, I left to get home. I wouldn't have minded staying but with everyone else gone already I felt it was probably good for me to go also. I'll be there for their entire show the next time though! I think I'm becoming a groupie, or maybe I can be a backup singer/dancer for them... I'll run that by them next time!
As for everything else that has happened since my last entry...hmm...let's see. My mom and step-dad left for Hawaii a week ago to work on their house. It's been a bigger problem than the expected, but I've done what I can for them here so they can focus on that mess. I would have loved to go out there and spent some time in paradise but my job just wouldn't allow for it right now. Hopefully I'll make it out there soon though for a little R & R.
Last Sunday I was able to go to the Cardinals-Cubs game down at Busch. I took my grandma with me and we had a great time. The Cardinals ended up winning that game after losing the other two in the series. And even though Pujols was out because of an injury, I was able to see my other favorite player who now plays for the Cubs, John Mabry. He came in to hit in the 7th or 8th inning.
The rest of the week went pretty well. I'm finally starting to feel comfortable with the changes we've made over the last few weeks with procedures and financial issues and most of all receivables. While numbers are not exactly where they need to be, I was finally able to get some of the older stuff from before I took on this job collected. Like J said to me last night when I talked to him while I was out with the work crowd, "good things come to those who wait." If he only knew how true that is for so many situations I've been in lately.
Like I mentioned we went out last night after work and I had a lot of fun like normal. We went up to Syberg's because Deep Six was playing plus there is always a reason for us to party on a Friday night. It ended up being the usual bunch going out and C joined us for a bit as well as our former co-worker and fellow party girl D. Perhaps the coolest part of the night happened right before I left. D and I went to go freshen up in the bathroom before she left and I decided to go back in and see who was still in the bar. Well I walked back into the doors and before I got a foot in, the lead singer, drummer and bass player all stopped me and told me that they were taking a survey and wanted to know what 3 songs I wanted to hear. Well, being a little out of it, I didn't know. I love the band and whatever they wanted to play was fine with me and I told them that, but they wanted my opinion, so I stood there and thought about it and talked with them for awhile. The bass player still reminds me so much of Josh and he's got that magnetic personality that just makes you want to like him right off of the bat, the drummer and the lead singer are the same way also. In fact, I ended up talking to the lead singer for like 15 minutes. I found out the scoop on the band and where they'll be playing in the next few weeks and what kind of songs they are working on to add to their show. It was very cool and so unlike me to continue to talk with people I don't know without thinking twice about what I'm asking or talking about. Actually at that point everyone else I was with was long gone and on their way home so I figured why not talk and get to know these guys a little better. Heck, I'm on their website dancing from the last time I saw them perform at Syberg's so why not get to know them a little more. I ended up talking to them until they went back on stage for their next set and heard them get started and since I had to be up at the crack of dawn this morning for the race, I left to get home. I wouldn't have minded staying but with everyone else gone already I felt it was probably good for me to go also. I'll be there for their entire show the next time though! I think I'm becoming a groupie, or maybe I can be a backup singer/dancer for them... I'll run that by them next time!
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