If Hermes Beverly Hills Were Open on Sundays...

...I'd be in trouble!

Background: For 5 years, I worked under a crazy woman.  For the first 2, things went well.  She was supportive back then.  For the last 3, though, she revealed her true colors.  She turned out to be a jealous witch, and for a long time, no one believed me.  She'd been at the company for 20 years and established a reputation as a reliable and dedicated manager.  She criticized me to higher managers by telling them I was rude to patients, but when asked for examples, she never gave any.  I knew this was wrong because I'm not a rude person.  I'm in a positive place now, so I don't want to go on too much about it, but I'll just say that her behavior toward me included yelling, calling me names, and coercing me into signing false documents.  One day, last fall, when I refused to sign one of these documents, she started yelling again and shoved it in my face.  I refused again and attempted to leave the room, and she literally chased after me and attempted to block me from leaving.  She uttered an insincere apology a week later, but when the situation was brought up again in a meeting with human resources, she didn't deny it.  In fact, she justified herself by saying she was "not feeling well that day" and "her buttons were pushed".  I gave up, thinking life was just unfair.

Then an opportunity presented itself.  I was offered the chance to work at another site.  It meant a longer commute and more work, but I'd no longer be supervised by Crazy Lady.  I didn't think about it for more than a minute.  I took it.  I thrived there.  After less than 2 months, I got written up by patients for providing excellent service to them, and it was published in the company newsletter!  I got a glowing performance review and a bonus in my last paycheck.  What did I do differently?  Nothing!  I continued being the same great employee I always was, but the jealous witch tried to keep a lid on my excellence.  I just kept the faith in myself, and it paid off.

Every Sunday morning, if I'm awake early enough, I tune into Joel Osteen's show.  One of his messages today was: "Go where you're celebrated, not simply tolerated".  It always seems to me as if his messages hit the nail on the head at just the right times. 

So...what does Hermes have to do with this?  Quite a bit.  Because I'm content with my bag collection, I'm reducing buying Hermes to only when I want truly something special, such as a reward for myself.  And what better way to reward yourself than with Hermes?  Since it's now down the street from my new work, I drove to Hermes Beverly Hills after work on Friday afternoon.  Some of the sales staff there is familiar with me, and I was warmly welcomed back by them.  It had been a very long time since I'd shopped there.  I thought of picking up a twilly or scarf, but decided those weren't what I was in the mood for.  I walked over to the bracelet display.  Oooh!  There it was--an orange epsom Kelly dog with gold hardware!  My heart skipped a beat!  Any Hermes collector knows how hard it is to find a KD with GOLD hardware, and the leather band was in the pretty Hermes orange leather, too!  I nearly scooped it up for myself, but for some reason (love, I guess), I decided against it and thought it better for my sister, who'd been searching for a KD with gold hardware for a long time.  I called her immediately, and she said she wanted it, so I scooped it up for her.  I felt a little bummed.  I wanted to reward myself with something, but quickly changed my mind, knowing I'd made her happy.  Besides, I'm more of a red fan...wouldn't it be great to find a KD with a red leather band and gold hardware?  Yes, it would...

Yesterday, I decided to go back.  It was a Saturday, so I knew traffic wouldn't be so bad, and if I went in the morning at opening time, I'd be among the first to scope out the newest shipments.  I also remembered there were a few shrink-wrapped boxes sitting on the bracelet counter near closing the day before.  I got to Hermes around 10:30 am and walked straight to the bracelet counter.  My heart skipped a beat again.  In the case was a Kelly dog extreme with a red epsom leather band and gold hardware!  OMG!  The universe heard my request, loud and clear!  I asked the SA to show me the other KDs just to see the selection, but I knew I wanted the red KD extreme and walked out with it 5 minutes later!  Hermes purchases 2 days in a row.  It may be 3 days in a row...but since Hermes Beverly Hills is closed on Sundays, that's not happening (good for my wallet!).  If I really wanted to, I could drive for an hour and a half to the South Coast Plaza store, but thank goodness it's too hot outside for me to be in the mood to do so!

So here they are...yay!  Because the bleu electrique KD I bought in 2011 didn't quite work for me, this is my first Hermes jewelry piece.