like Lily Tomlin in her rocking chair

Today marks four consecutive days at work in which I have successfully managed the repair shop. I guess you could say that I am both surprised and not surprised. It is a really gratifying feeling to go to work every day and know that you are doing a good job. I'm honestly not trying to glorify myself in any way, it's just that when you do something well, you know it without having someone else tell you so. I remember during my last semester of college making this really cool mixed media piece featuring three detailed drawings of a brown paper bag being crushed. That piece said exactly what I wanted it to say and it felt so good to get it out of my system. My professor loved it, just like I knew she would. That's sort of how I've been feeling the past few days.

I helped to avert a potentially disastrous situation with one of the store's big customers. It was a bracelet that I couldn't repair and we had to have a more experienced jeweler from a nearby shop come in and do the work. I felt sort of crummy about that, but I can't expect myself to be everything to everyone when I've been classified as a jeweler for less than a year. Just like in my home and as a wife, I expect myself to be able to do everything and end up feeling like a failure when I reach my limitations.

I'm learning that in management, you have to delegate the work to others so you can get all the other junk done that always seems to go unnoticed and unappreciated. Shop managers spend an amazing amount of time pushing around paperwork, putting out fires in the stores that are assigned to us, and just trying to keep the peace in general. Oh yeah, and answering the same stupid questions over and over and over. "No, I'm sorry, we can't work on that...because it's not gold...we don't work on jewelry that comes out of crane machines". And it goes on and on like that.

Despite the fact that doing the administrative stuff keeps me away from the bench much of the time, I sort of don't mind. I am enjoying being the one that people go to, the one they count on to make sure everything and everyone gets taken care of. When I left the sales department, I rejoiced in the fact that I wouldn't have to deal with as many customers and I could just sit at my bench all day and just focus on the tasks to be done. But I sort of missed talking to folks, and now I am much more willing to say hello and offer to help someone. As far as I can tell, people respond well to me and like the fact that one of the jewelers will take the time to acknowledge them and answer their questions. Generally speaking, jewelers are stuffed somewhere in the back of a store and only come out to eat lunch or have a smoke. Me and the other guys at my shop try to rise above that.

Well I have three or four more days to keep everything running smoothly before the boss man returns. I'm kind of getting used to doing his job, so I'll miss being everyone's go-to-gal and carrying around the big set of keys. But ole Rob is a pretty cool guy and someone I consider to be a close friend, not just my employer. He has taught me pretty much everything I know about being a jeweler and a shop manager, so it think he'll be proud of his little "grasshoppper".

"Ah, gwasshoppah...you run shop good...you no melt the jewrey...you no piss peopa off...we give you...big promotion!"

Maybe someday.