Life in Wisconsin has been remarkable. For the first time in my life, I’ve witnessed the transition between seasons, fall - winter- spring - summer. I’ve also lived through the most snow I’ve ever seen; and have concluded that snow isn’t for me - haha. The people here are great. Green Bay, Wisconsin is full of the friendliest people you could ever meet. Random strangers will take the time to have a 5-10 minute conversation with you; out of no where!

On the personal side, I feel as though I’ve become one year wiser; one year stronger. I took a risk when I decided to move to a place where I knew absolutely no one. I purposely placed myself in a position of discomfort this year, to see what would happen. To this day, I am perfectly content with the state of things. I can survive on my own. Perhaps I am more independent than I ever thought I could be.

In just over a month, I am leaving this place and moving to Orlando. I can’t begin to describe how ecstatic I am about finally getting settled in one location for a few years. Since graduating from high school, I pratically moved every single year; moving sucks!

I just finished signing my lease this week and will have my apartment on April 19th. Unfortunately, I’ll be paying double rent (yikes!) for a month and a half while I’m still living in Wisconsin. I’ll be moving to a neighborhood that I would describe as a bit “yuppy” and borderline “snobby.” I have mixed emotions about this decision; although I love to be living in a nice area, I have never been fond of “spoiled rich kids.” I make my own money.

I could not be happier with my career choice. Deciding to not pursue graduate education was the right choice for me. Toward the end of my college career, all my courses were becoming mundane. Rather than studying business concepts, I wanted to go out there and do it myself. Having taken a year away from school to intern in Tallahassee only added to my anxiousness.

That led to creating One Greek Store and building a business during my senior year. Today, the business is flourishing and we’ve gotten retail space on University Ave. There is still significant opportunity for growth in the future with some ideas I have yet to implement. I am excited!

Since joining the corporate world, I took a minority position in One Greek Store and have not been involved in the daily operations. I guess I’m like an investor now? - haha.

I love my ”real” job. Who would have guessed that I would end up in retail? Destiny has its own plan I guess… Over the last year, I’ve learned more about operating a business than I ever had in school. For work, I am responsible for hiring/firing people, training/development, implementing cash controls, scoping the competitor, and doing whatever I can to increase sales, reduce cost, and make customers happy. I love the autonomy and independence I have at work. I make my own schedule and do my own thing according to established goals.

The really exciting part is when I actually return to Florida for the the company and begin building the business form the ground up. Construction on our stores have already begun and we anticipate completion this fall. My stores will be in the middle of Orlando, only 10 minutes away (North and South) from my appartment, woo hoo! All I will be doing this summer is hiring and training people. We need A LOT of people.

In other news, I have some travel plans coming up. Since I joined my fraternity, I have traveled several times throughout the year. As a result, I’ve developed a passion for it. Here’s where I’ll be:

• April 23-26 - Orlando, FL and Gainesville FL - Fraternity Banquet
• May 15-18 - Los Angeles, CA and Irvine, CA - APIA Vote Presidential Town Hall
• May 19 - Orlando, FL - Moving Back!
• May 23-26 - Gatlinburg, TN - UF Alumni Camping/Rafting Trip
• July 3-6 - New York, NY - Yankees vs. Red Sox Game
• Possibliy another New York trip for Fraternity Summer Meeting
• Possibly a trip to Colorado
• Possibly a trip to Virginia
• Possibily a trip to Japan for New Years

That’s pretty much what’s going on in my life. The future, as always, is full of uncertainty and will be open to any possibilitlies. Regardless of what may happen tomorrow, I sincerely believe the small steps I’ve taken in my life will take me just a little bit closer to achieveng my dreams.

Unfortunately, I think it will be difficult for me to continue writing this blog without giving readers further insight into my professional life. As I’ve spent more and more time in my profession, I’ve found that it has become a significant part of my life. Even if I’m not in the office, I find myself reading industry specific articles and paying particular attention to news updates that can impact my company. In addition, the friends I have made here in Wisconsin are all my colleagues in the company. My work and my personal life are intertwined.

So what is it that I do?

My official title is District Manager. I work in the retail industry (yup, I work in retail) and manage a group of stores within my district. I hope those who know me in real life don’t reveal my company (hint hint), haha.

I’m sure many of you think I’m a lunatic for working in retail. Heck, I thought I was crazy for accepting the offer in the first place. I didn’t attend college with the purpose of working in retail, it just worked out that way. Nonetheless, after nearly 8 months with the company, I have been very happy. My job has far exceeded all expectations.

I’ll be honest, many of the stereotypes that plague the retail industry are true. I am a salaried employee, which basically means that I work until my project is done. Essentially, there isn’t a 40 hour cap on my work week. My daily schedule isn’t always 9 to 5. Some days may be earlier (6 AM), others may be later (8 PM+). (Hence my absence for several months). Like I said, it all depends on when I complete my tasks.

Surprisingly, the hours I’ve spent working haven’t bothered me. Now don’t think that I’m working 100 hours every week, that’s not the case. Most weeks I average between 40-50 hours. But there are times where I work 70-80 hours, both in individual retail locations and at home.

There are two things I love about my job, Independence and Responsibility. As a District Manager, I travel between stores everyday. I am not in an office with my supervisor watching my every move. Instead, I am given clear, measurable goals and am asked to achieve that goal over a specified period of time. Thats it. I love that!

I also have significant responsibility. I am responsible for the operation of all of my stores. This means that I hire people, fire them, and discipline them. I also monitor every store’s finances by controlling our expenses and driving sales. I feel like I’m running my own business.

Don’t be surprised if you find more articles about my job. There are tons of stories to come, :)

On Tuesday night, I was in Milwaukee for a business meeting. Now, this was a very unique day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The climate in Milwaukee changed dramatically in a matter of hours. It was approximately 40 degrees the day before, and on Tuesday, the temperate dropped to below 0; literally! WTF?!

So I ask you, why the hell is someone outside scoping out cars to rob in freezing weather?!

As I was getting ready for bed, the hotel called me and told me someone had broken into my car. I went down stairs and discovered my driver side window had been busted open, and my GPS had been stolen; DOH! I was an idiot to leave my GPS system hanging on the windshield. It was a Garmin Nuvi 200 I had recently gotten after Christmas. =( I loved that thing. Being a stranger in Wisconsin, it has been a life saver.

Lesson learned…

So yeah, I’ve completely neglected this blog for two months. Yikes! Rest assured, everything is okay. I’m still alive and well (barely), haha.

From the beginning of September to December 23rd (I’m counting the days), I am in the most intense portion of training for my job. How intense? Like crazy intense… there was a period where I worked 3 weeks straight (Monday through Sunday) at about 10 to 13 hours per day. Ouch! Although I’m budgeted to work 50 hours a week, I’ve definitely invested much more time than that during this training period.

Fortunately, I actually enjoy my work. The time I’m investing right now is reminiscent of what I went through last year with staring One Greek Store and managing my academics. And the main reason that I’m working so hard is that I want to be exceptionally good at what I’m doing. I’m obsessive like that!

As this phase of training comes to an end, you’ll see me post more frequently. I’ll be busting my butt in the professional world until then!

Thus far, this week has been a refreshing change from the daily routine. It’s sort of a mini-vacation with all of us here and socializing.

From spending time with my colleagues, I’ve been amazed at how much we all have in common. It’s kind of scary actually, haha. It seems that the company hires people with similar personalities and characteristics. I’ve discovered that we share unique idiosyncrasies such as an attention to detail, punctuality, persistent organization… etc.

We also spend our time talking about work. Like ALL of our time! haha. Since we’re all new to the company, we are experiencing the same unique challenges. Knowing that others are facing the same difficulties has been very therapeutic… its nice to know you’re not alone =) . Its funny how the topic of my conversations have changed from Gator football games…. to daily work activities. It’s also funny to have inside jokes that absolutely no one would understand unless they were working for my company.

Work is such a huge part of my life right now that it has crept into parts of my social life. I talk about work in and out of the office!