Case of the Mondays.

Work has been slow since March. I guess Maytag has been under constant reform in the last year or so. The company's stock is down. Actually, it may have gone up a bit last week. I'm not sure. I just know that the company's not doing so hot. They were recently bought by some Japanese investment company, which was particularly apprehensive about doing such a thing as stepping out into "foreign territory".

But work has been slow and each day, when I'm finished with what work is available (usually around noon), I then proceed to seek out tasks to fill my time with until 5:00 strikes. Also unfortunate is the fact that I have several "sick hours" I still need to make up from after I got back from Seattle. But where's the overtime when there's nothing left to be done?

I'm sorry if this sounds conceited, but I almost feel like I've become too good at this job. My general typing and 10-key skills have improved leagues - I'm faster and more accurate than I ever thought I could be, okay?? My knowledge in accounting, finance, and general ledger procedures has expanded beyond anything I could have imagined. My ability to identify money and investigate the who, what, when, where, and how of a company's motives gets sharper each time a question arises. I'm starting to not feel so challenged by this position.

This is incredible because when I first started this job, I wasn't sure if I'd make it. There was so much involved, so much to learn, and holy crap, an ungodly amount of stuff to remember! I didn't know how much information I could retain, but shockingly, I got it. Everything they told me, I understood. I listened, processed, and then succeeded! Over and over again with each task there was to learn.

I exceeded all expectations! Of course, that's not to say I haven't made my fair share of mistakes. Believe me, I have made some pretty hefty flubs. But once I'm aware of the mistake, it's logged into my memory. And all my efforts are made to do my best never to make that same mistake again.

I've been with Maytag's Credit & Finance Department since January and I've really enjoyed myself. And I continue to enjoy myself. But I've had no new challenges for many months now. My most exciting workday in weeks was last Thursday when a mistake I'd made back in January (only three weeks on the job) had reared it's ugly head and needed severe correcting. I launched upon it with extreme aggression, worked 45 minutes overtime, and fixed the problem. It felt great.

I'm sure there's a lot more I could learn about this position and I have plenty of room for growth. But the amount of information needed to learn has dulled greatly and I can't help wondering when it's going to pick up again.

Eventually, I'll have to switch to part-time and I've been told my boss will not be willing to change my job from 40 to 30, let alone 20 hours a week. I've also been told he's going to be really bummed out when I tell him I'm going back to school in the fall. It's been apparent to me that he likes me, he likes the work I do, and he appreciates my work ethic. And that's a good feeling. Part of me wishes I could stay and work this job, but part-time instead. At the same time, I've gained so much from this job, I'm very curious as to what this new experience under my belt could get me elsewhere. Maybe a Personal Banking position or Financial Analyst. I'm not sure, but I'm very curious!

Every time I've been hired, the position has been more impressive than the previous. So I'm wondering where I can go from here. It'll be a few more months before I know for sure, but it'll be interesting to find out what happens once the school year starts.

At least I know I won't have to go back into retail, working horrible schedules, never having any personal time, and basically living from paycheck to paycheck with hardly any room to breathe. I don't have much room now either, but if I were making coffee somewhere or stocking inventory, it'd be that much harder.