...and his wish was granted.

Well, we're finally on that horizon of moving. It looks like we'll be out of the Valley as of May 1 and moved to Corpus Christi. On a personal level, we are so excited! I'm looking forward to a new work opportunity and Buddy is ready to get the hell out of the Valley.

At first, Buddy was hesitant about moving to Corpus. Most people here that he's talked to haven't had many nice things to say about it, which influenced his judgment. Eventually he came around and it was based on a few key points. Number one, the people saying negative things about Corpus were also people who liked the Valley. Most of them say negative things about Houston or other places we like to. So, that negative influence was coming from unaccredited sources. Number two, we actually WENT to Corpus and he loved it. Even with the rain, he had a good weekend. Number three, he found out he knows (or will know due to transfer) a couple of people at the Starbucks. That made all the difference in the world for him.

For me, this has been relatively easy to get excited over. It's out of the Valley, it's a new challenge at work, it's three hours closer to home, etc. Corpus is only a couple of hours from San Antonio and three hours from Austin. There are things to DO in Corpus. The people are nicer and more polite. It isn't Toronto or Denver or Seattle or other places we've looked, but it's a great city on it's own.

Work is going to be interesting for a while. I'm currently running the center in Brownsville and the one in Corpus Christi. They're 150 miles apart, so that means that I am driving back and forth each week. 3-4 days in Corpus Christi, 1-2 in Brownsville, weekends at home. We'll see how it works out over the next month but I'm already tired and I've only done it a week. Brownsville is fairly easy to manage but Corpus is a real train wreck right now. There are SO many things that need to be fixed and they're all important. It's difficult to figure out where to start.

I have a staffing issue in both stores right now. I need to hire four people in Corpus Christi and one in Brownsville. One of the main production operators in the morning at Corpus is about to be out for three months. One of the part time people and the Assistant Manager at Brownsville both want to transfer at the beginning of June. Both stores are needing people BEFORE those people leave, not to mention replacements.

I have to get a new team member brought on board and trained from 150 miles away, I've got last minute conference calls being set up to help improve the failing customer service scores in Corpus. I wish I didn't have to get on since I'm currently #11 in the company in Brownsville, but it is what it is. I found out I have to go to Dallas for a day long training class on the Sign & Graphic department I inherited with Corpus Christi. That will be beneficial, but with all the stress I've got right now, flying to Dallas at 5am and back to Corpus at 10pm in the same day will be ugly. But once again, it is what it is.

Eventually, all of this will pay off in a big way for me. I just have to make it through this rough patch. The scary thing is, all of this is happening now and as I've said, I've only been on the job there for less than a full week. What will happen over the next three - four weeks?