10 looooong years

That's how long I've been at my current job.
Hard to believe, huh?!
Let's see... 10 years working here, divided by 27 years old = over 1/3 of my life working for the same company!

And I've come along way. I started out as just a clerical assistant in the office doing small jobs - filing, data entry, etc. It wasn't long before I was trained on processing warranties - a task I have now been doing the majority of the past 9+ years. At one point, I even worked behind the service counter as a service writer dealing with customers. I actually liked that quite a bit, but it's a tough job to do as a woman. Especially a young woman - I think I was barely 20 when I first started. Customers (especially males) would literally look past me as they asked if there was someone who could help them. I learn quickly and even though I couldn't help them with the mechanical side of things, I knew the unit models very well. Especially Yamaha bikes since I'd been around those my whole life. [Quick background story: my grandparents Toftdahl owned their own business - a Yamaha motorcycle/ATV dealership and my dad was the general manager. They sold the business back in 1999 and my dad and I went to work for the new owners.] I had to bite my tongue when one customer thought he was doing me a favor by spelling both "Yamaha" and "Banshee". Duh! Like, this is totally my first day! (said while smacking gum... I should've smacked him!) And another guy (upset customer) had the nerve to tell me, "I know you can't do anything because you're at the bottom of the totem pole..." Jerk.

But, eventually I moved back into the accounting office with much more additional responsibilities. I was still just considered a clerical assistant. We had an office manager and I think both an A/R and A/P person. I still remember the first A/P account I balanced. It was for Suzuki parts and it was a mess. The payment for it was past due and the office manager just gave me all the paperwork she had on it and asked if I could try and match their statement to what we showed due in the system. So I did. I was able to match up everything and then point out all the discrepancies. We cleaned up that account and got them paid. I didn't know at the time I was doing the A/P person's job. I didn't even really realize I was doing accounting. But the next thing I knew, the office manager was asking if I'd be willing to take a pay raise and take over Payables entirely. I said yes, within a short while the other lady was let go and the rest is history.

I've been doing accounting, both A/P and some A/R, for over 5 years now with just on the job training. In college I was working on a criminal justice degree and general science bachelor's. I have not taken a single accounting class. I helped create and define this position and now have even been asked to be part of the hiring process. Not bad.

I think hitting my 10-year mark is kind of a good way to end things, even though I'll still be working there part-time. I am more than ready to be a part-time or more stay at home mom! Linda gave me quite the compliment the other day as we discussed me no longer being full-time and moving to Washington. She said, "It will be the end of an era."