Post-Vacation Panda Life

We have officially been back from VA for a week. It's been quite the week, with readjusting to our normal life again. I put normal in italics because the life we left isn't quite what we returned to. Josh started his new job at Panda Express the week before we left on our trip, but everything was so new that we didn't really get a good idea of what it would be like. So coming home from VA, halfway through his third week there, was an adjustment. 

Josh's new schedule is completely different than his schedule at Kneaders. He loves it. Josh has never been a morning person, so doing the 5am thing at Kneaders was never enjoyable for him and made his 10 hour days seem unbearably long. But somehow, working 9am-midnight feels like less work for him now because it isn't as early. He's crazy. :) And don't worry, that isn't his schedule everyday. He works 5 days a week. Three of those five days he has been closing (which has him getting home between 11pm-12am) and the other two days he is off at 8pm. I am so used to him getting home at 3-4pm and having all afternoon and evening together. But I must admit, he is so much happier coming home on these late nights, so I'm happy. When he was at Kneaders, he often came home completely exhausted. Even though we had the whole evening to do things, we hardly did because he was always so drained. And his days off were typically the same. So this new schedule definitely suits him much better. And I just keep telling myself, it's temporary. :)

Other than the new schedule, Panda has been treating Josh incredibly well. They really treat their employees so great. It's a fresh change. Although Josh did everything a GM did at Kneaders, he was never officially given the title (or the pay) of a GM and so that feeling of complete ownership wasn't there. Josh is still in training and I would guess he probably already feels more confident and more ownership where he is now. His ACO (regional manager) is amazing and has been bending over backwards to help us. She put him in the Orem store for training (even though it's out of her region) because it was so close to home for us. And she is most likely placing Josh is an amazing store! As far as we know, he will be the GM for the Saratoga Springs Panda Express. It was built in February so it has the new Panda look. The new Panda stores are amazing. Josh and I drove up to the store yesterday as part of a date night to scope it out and for him to show me around. I was really impressed. It's also wonderful because it has high sales (which translate to bigger bonuses) which is a huge blessing. We are very optimistic about it! He won't get his official assignment until training is over, but it sounds like that will most likely be his store, and that's what we're hoping. 

Here is how the rest of Josh's training will go:

Panda requires at least 7 weeks of training before your California trip to test with corporate. And at least a month before your CA trip, you have to attend a self-help weekend seminar in Denver. So, Josh will be leaving for Denver next weekend for the Landmark Forum. He's really excited. He's heard a lot of great things about it. Then he'll come back, train some more and his CA trip is scheduled for Sept. 23-26. Yes, that is the week before my due date. I'm nervous but there isn't much we can do about it. Postponing his CA trip will postpone him getting into his store and getting started, so we are just hoping for the very best! After his CA trip he will be officially placed in his store and begin as GM. 

His training has been incredible. He feels amazing about everything he's learned. Panda Express is incredibly organized and professional about their training and the way they run their stores, so his training has been smooth and he feels confident in everything he's doing. It's really been such a blessing. 

We're so excited about this new opportunity. The more we learn about the company, the more excited we get. There is a ton of room for growth and the company is expanding across the East Coast right now which is where we would like to potentially end up. So we feel really good about all of it. 

And now, some pictures. :)

You've probably seen a Panda Express like this:

that signature purple and orange...yikes.

 You've probably even seen one like this:

the newer design and much more modern

 But have you seen a Panda like this?

this is the newest open-concept layout. they are very modern and really nice!

If Josh ends up in Saratoga Springs (a 20 minute drive from where we currently live) this would be his store. Neat, right? I think so.