Earth Day; It's Always Something; Dr Margaret

Which reminds me, I need to call her to schedule my next appointment before it gets too late. The appointment with Dr Margaret went well. She does talk a little slow, but it didn't seem to cause any problems when we met for my first appointment. I think this is going to be a good thing... Dr Margaret and me. She's a good fit. For one reason, she is very fond of our neighbor, Canada... to me, being the age she is and still having a liberal mindset seems rare, but I could easily be making a terrible stereotype. Anyway, she also spent most of her professional life doing spiritual counseling, which isn't necessarily why I'm going to see her but could definitely offer plenty insight into my life and relationships. You see, I'm not really a religious person per se. I like to call myself spiritual with a belief in God, and yes, I do believe in Jesus and certain aspects of the Bible... I also believe that God speaks to me in many ways, in many denominations. If that makes any sense. Also, I grew up with strong morality based on religion... what's "right", what's "wrong" or "sinful", etc., though I've sifted through most of my childhood rearing and have come to a slightly different place with slightly different stances on some issues. S grew up Catholic. Enough said? I'm hoping Dr Margaret can shed some light on the possibility of why S deals the way she does and/or if it has anything to do with her religious upbringing... and not only why S deals the way she does but also how I can deal with S and myself.

Boy, does that seem like a lot of emotional management to you too, or is it just me?

_____________________________________________


Work is much better... or was for a brief second. L and R (owners of the salon) finally sat down with me for a little heart to heart. Because L opened the conversation asking me how things were going, if I was enjoying working there, if there was anything I wanted to talk about, I was much more willing to open up and MUCH more willing to listen. (S and I were talking the other day, and she made a terrific point that my frustration was probably due to the fact that I didn't really have a voice... I added on that due to my sensitivity confrontation will get people nowhere with me real fast, but if they come to me with a concern, an open ear AND genuinely care, issues can be easily sorted out.) I shared some of my feelings about the educational program at the salon, some of my personal issues. They told me about concerns they had with me and how I fit into the salon. I was also able to reveal my side of the story which they found helpful and informative. I walked away feeling several pounds lighter.

Today, super-b!tch stylist, the one I was having troubles with before she had her baby (and I'm totally biting my tongue regarding this woman and her having a child in efforts to be sensitive to a dear friend of mine), pulled me aside AGAIN today to give me her two cents about last Saturday. I'm waiting for the day when I can finally tell her how I truly feel about her opinion.

Saturday was slow... the salon was kind of quiet, there were three assistants working, the cleaning lady was downstairs washing color bowls and pumpin the laundry through (which is a third of our work load as assistants), four of the main stylists who use an assistant were out for the day, and the weather was gorgeous! I was scheduled to be there until 5pm but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask to leave early. (You never get what you don't ask for.) Now, there's not really any specific chain of command in our salon. There are stylists, stylists who are educators, receptionists, assistants, owners/managers (L and R), and an assistant manager. I've never really been told who my official boss is, but I assumed on a day when the owner isn't around it would be the assistant manager. Part of me felt a little guilty about standing around with nothing to do, milking the clock... part of me was eyeing the sunshine outside, knowing the S was at home getting ready to head off to a friend's bbq. I asked the asst. mgr if I could scoot out a little early since the salon was so slow, and if he was okay with it, what time would be okay with him. He looked at the books and said it would be okay if I left at about noon, when I finished with a client blowdry. Great. So I did just that.

Just as I was packing up my things today, SB (super b!tch) pulls me aside and asks me what happened on Saturday... who did I ask to leave early? Well, I first discussed it with the other assistants, then I went to the asst mgr, and asked him.
"You need to ask us stylists first before you just leave. We got really busy after you left and even considered calling you back because Asst 1 and Asst 2 didn't get to go on their breaks and we really needed you."
"well, I asked asst mgr, and he looked at the books and said it was okay that I left when I did."
"You should really start checking with all of the stylists before you leave, maybe we'll have to figure something out in the next staff meeting about this, because we got busy and none of us even knew you had gone. We were like where's e? You can't just leave like that."

Am I wrong to think that EVERYONE being my boss is a little ridiculous? I understand that the salon world is a mystery to a lot of people... I mean, any industry you've never been a part of is a mystery. I guess what I'm saying is, how do I handle this? I want to go to L and ask her who I should go to in matters like this... what is the chain of command, but I'm tired of having to go to her for things like this all of the time. I think SB should not have said anything to me, she should have asked asst mgr what happened... or even gone to L herself and had L talk to me. SB is a stylist and an educator, but I'm tired of her controlling ways, always trying to keep me under her thumb. A little lesson on professionalism would do her well. With her, it's always something!!!