My mother is from Cuba and I studied Spanish in High School and Spanish Literature in college. I can write a ten page paper on El Poema de Cid and carry on a fairly basic conversation in Spanish but today was a bit hard. About 5 minutes before clothing I get called to the book information desk as the manager on duty. It appears that the bookseller had a customer who needed a book to help her learn English but she spoke no English at all.
She shyly ask, "Hablas espanol" and I reply "Si you hablo un poco" (Do you speak Spanish, yes I speak a little). She immediately brightens up and launches into a full fledged explanation of the book she is looking for. At first I was able to get the gist of the conversation but as she felt more comfortable with my ability to understand she began speaking faster and using some vocabulary that was above my head so the interaction began more difficult.
Twenty minutes later I think I had exhausted all of my decent (not rude) words and directed this woman to the Boston Language Institute, no for those of you who know me, you know I am awful with directions in English, can you imagine where she will end up after I gave her directions in Spanish!
I think next time a customer asks if I speak Spanish I am going to have to say no because, Yo hablo un poco espanol, no mucho! (I peak a little Spanish, not a lot). But I guess it was good practice.
When Good Nights Go Terribly Wrong
This is a warning right from the top that this is not a happy nor really funny post, it is rather introspective and it is giving me a chance to sort out things in my own brain.
For the past month or so I have been grumpier than normal, work has been hard for me (a new feeling), I haven't been in a relationship for close to 10 months and lately I just feel very alone in Boston. It sounds like a crazy thing to say but with S moving away and the new job demanding more then I expected I feel like I am hanging on by a thread. I have been in what I guess I will call a funk (not quite depression but not happy either). I never want to wake up and get out of bed, but I can never fall asleep either. I am sure it is a number of things that are putting me in this tailspin but I need to gain control of them before I ruin the relationships and friends I still have.
This weekend was supposed to be fun, we were going to get together for S's twenty-tenth birthday in NYC, get together as a group minus P and have some drinks and celebrate. It has been a long time since we have had a chance to get together and this should have been nothing but fun. I will spare you the evil details of the evening but I managed to ruin what was potentially a great night. I inexplicable began getting pissed, I can't identify the reason all I know is that my bitchy meter went from 1 to about 50 over the course of two hours. At about 2 am S was screaming at me in the middle of Union Square and he was right in doing this I was being an uncontrollable bitch and I managed to ruin his Birthday. Not a good thing for a friend to do, especially since on a lot of days I feel like I am going to be lost without him in Boston.
Why am I pushing away those people who support me when I need them? I can't imagine surviving the things that I have gone through in the past 3 years if I didn't have S by my side for all of it. Deep down do I feel like I can deal with him living so far away better if I am mad at him? Rationally this doesn't make sense, things aren't going to change very much, we won't see each other as often, but if we do begin talking again, we will talk at least as much on the phone. Then again, I was in no way being rational last night, and I couldn't stop, I just got bitchier and I wanted to stop and calm down but I was furious. I was furious at nothing and I continued to be furious at nothing all morning.
I can't possibly be this self centered that I am ruining his birthday because he is no longer going to be in Boston. It was like a break, I saw myself doing these things and I couldn't stop and at the same time I felt horrible for doing them. I was disgusted at what I was doing to a friendship that has been building. Over three and a half years S and I have fought three times and all three have been in the last three months (two in the last two weeks).
Now I need to make it up to him, and promise that I will act like a respectable human being, but I wish I knew where all of the anger came from. Am I really that unhappy with my life that I am acting like a 2 year old? How can I control feeling that I can't identify the source to? Seriously, what is wrong with me?
For the past month or so I have been grumpier than normal, work has been hard for me (a new feeling), I haven't been in a relationship for close to 10 months and lately I just feel very alone in Boston. It sounds like a crazy thing to say but with S moving away and the new job demanding more then I expected I feel like I am hanging on by a thread. I have been in what I guess I will call a funk (not quite depression but not happy either). I never want to wake up and get out of bed, but I can never fall asleep either. I am sure it is a number of things that are putting me in this tailspin but I need to gain control of them before I ruin the relationships and friends I still have.
This weekend was supposed to be fun, we were going to get together for S's twenty-tenth birthday in NYC, get together as a group minus P and have some drinks and celebrate. It has been a long time since we have had a chance to get together and this should have been nothing but fun. I will spare you the evil details of the evening but I managed to ruin what was potentially a great night. I inexplicable began getting pissed, I can't identify the reason all I know is that my bitchy meter went from 1 to about 50 over the course of two hours. At about 2 am S was screaming at me in the middle of Union Square and he was right in doing this I was being an uncontrollable bitch and I managed to ruin his Birthday. Not a good thing for a friend to do, especially since on a lot of days I feel like I am going to be lost without him in Boston.
Why am I pushing away those people who support me when I need them? I can't imagine surviving the things that I have gone through in the past 3 years if I didn't have S by my side for all of it. Deep down do I feel like I can deal with him living so far away better if I am mad at him? Rationally this doesn't make sense, things aren't going to change very much, we won't see each other as often, but if we do begin talking again, we will talk at least as much on the phone. Then again, I was in no way being rational last night, and I couldn't stop, I just got bitchier and I wanted to stop and calm down but I was furious. I was furious at nothing and I continued to be furious at nothing all morning.
I can't possibly be this self centered that I am ruining his birthday because he is no longer going to be in Boston. It was like a break, I saw myself doing these things and I couldn't stop and at the same time I felt horrible for doing them. I was disgusted at what I was doing to a friendship that has been building. Over three and a half years S and I have fought three times and all three have been in the last three months (two in the last two weeks).
Now I need to make it up to him, and promise that I will act like a respectable human being, but I wish I knew where all of the anger came from. Am I really that unhappy with my life that I am acting like a 2 year old? How can I control feeling that I can't identify the source to? Seriously, what is wrong with me?
Off to NYC
S leaves tonight for NYC. I am very sad. But I am already going down there next weekend for his birthday.
You better come back to Boston after the summer or I am going to be very upset.
You better come back to Boston after the summer or I am going to be very upset.
Get Naked
No, this is not a post about how considering how hot it is I wish it were acceptable to walk around naked. Public nudity scares me, ugly fat people should not be able to be naked ever- let alone in public, and for that matter spandex should be outlawed.
OK, now that I am done with that politically incorrect and degrading rant, this post is about the book Naked by David Sedaris. I just finished re-reading it today on the train and it was just as funny as I remembered. I love his wry sense and his keen observations.
This book doesn't need to be reviewed, his essays are fun and to the point, and unlike Augusten Burroughs he is even "mom friendly." Yes, he is a gay man but I think most moms can handle this and it is not a centerpiece in many of his essays. So seriously, take some time out and read some David Sedaris (or re-read some and remember how much you like it).
I am moving on now to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell author of The Tipping Point. I hear it is very good, we shall see.
OK, now that I am done with that politically incorrect and degrading rant, this post is about the book Naked by David Sedaris. I just finished re-reading it today on the train and it was just as funny as I remembered. I love his wry sense and his keen observations.
This book doesn't need to be reviewed, his essays are fun and to the point, and unlike Augusten Burroughs he is even "mom friendly." Yes, he is a gay man but I think most moms can handle this and it is not a centerpiece in many of his essays. So seriously, take some time out and read some David Sedaris (or re-read some and remember how much you like it).
I am moving on now to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell author of The Tipping Point. I hear it is very good, we shall see.
Buyback Bonanza
Buyback happens a couple times a year when students are in finals. Usually, the spring buy is much larger because students are graduating or going home for the summer and cleaning out their rooms. The main idea behind buyback is that students can sell back books they don't want or think they will need for cash, and the bookstore then can sell them as used if we have orders for them or we can sell them back to our wholesale partner. The price is determined by the demand for the book. If we need it we will pay the student 50% of what they purchased the book for and if the wholesale company needs it they will get 10-30% of the list price of the book. Unfortunately, old editions and damaged books have no value. Can you see where this is going to cause a problem.
I love buyback it is a fun time and in my mind a fantastic service for the students. It is a win-win situation. You buy a book use it for four months and then return it for money at the end of the semester. We sell books at the start of the semester and then can sell them as used the following semester, saving the students money and increasing our margin. I can go on forever about the retail benefits of this program but i will stop here and begin a recap of why students think buyback is bad.
1) Ugh, do I actually have to bring my books all the way to the store to find out how much you will pay me for them? Can you create a spreadsheet and email them to me? Tell me the prices over the phone?
No, we have a couple off site locations where you can sell back your books but you will need to bring your books there I can't give out prices over the phone because the demand for books changes ever time one of you fellow (non-lazy) students brings back a book.
I can't create a spreadsheet specifically for you, nor can email you our entire 900 page list of books we are giving money back for, it a big university, there are a lot of books and a lot of students I can't do this for all of you, it is an impossibility.
Ah yes, and most importantly, I spent a majority of my days lugging books back from our off site locations on carts in sweltering heat, you lazy fat bitch get no sympathy from me. Put those books in a bag and carry them over. Walking is good exercise and believe me, YOU NEED IT!
2) Why are you ONLY paying me this much for this book, I didn't even use it.
Well lets begin with the fact that it is not my fault that you failed your class because you never even took the book out of the shrink wrap. Second, i don't decide the price I am paying you, it is a set price.
You cant haggle with me, I will show you my screen or my list and the price won't change, I am a big business not a sidewalk vendor. If you were buying a hemp necklace from a folding table on the street, then you try to haggle. If you are selling your books back to a large corporation, haggling will get you nowhere.
3) Can i leave these books with you, I don't want them?
No, if I wanted your books I would have given you money for them, I am now not going to be responsible for throwing away or recycling the books that you don't want.
4) Are these the only 30 books you buyback? Why can't you give me a full list?
No we buyback thousands of books dumb ass, some of you even have 30 books in one semester. This is our top 30 list, see in bold print where it says "The bookstore will give you CASH for these titles and THOUSANDS MORE!"
Another part of buyback i that we have competition in brick and mortar and online, so we have to aggressively market buyback on campus. We put up fliers on all the public bulletin boards (which have way too many rules). We email students, and we get the final exam schedule and pinpoint fliers to the big books and exams and flier outside of these exams. This is actually very easy except when the students get pissed. Things were going smoothly until I went to a business exam where students were receiving $84.25 back for their book. I was handing out fliers and telling them the amount when a woman grabs a flier crumbles in after she reads it and yells, get off of my campus, you shouldn't even be here!
Apparently, she bought the entire campus and as an entity contracted by the school to provide a service to students she felt I was not allowed here. And this powerful woman who bought an entire college campus apparently failed her business exam!!!
Buyback and finals sure brings out the best in people!!
I love buyback it is a fun time and in my mind a fantastic service for the students. It is a win-win situation. You buy a book use it for four months and then return it for money at the end of the semester. We sell books at the start of the semester and then can sell them as used the following semester, saving the students money and increasing our margin. I can go on forever about the retail benefits of this program but i will stop here and begin a recap of why students think buyback is bad.
1) Ugh, do I actually have to bring my books all the way to the store to find out how much you will pay me for them? Can you create a spreadsheet and email them to me? Tell me the prices over the phone?
No, we have a couple off site locations where you can sell back your books but you will need to bring your books there I can't give out prices over the phone because the demand for books changes ever time one of you fellow (non-lazy) students brings back a book.
I can't create a spreadsheet specifically for you, nor can email you our entire 900 page list of books we are giving money back for, it a big university, there are a lot of books and a lot of students I can't do this for all of you, it is an impossibility.
Ah yes, and most importantly, I spent a majority of my days lugging books back from our off site locations on carts in sweltering heat, you lazy fat bitch get no sympathy from me. Put those books in a bag and carry them over. Walking is good exercise and believe me, YOU NEED IT!
2) Why are you ONLY paying me this much for this book, I didn't even use it.
Well lets begin with the fact that it is not my fault that you failed your class because you never even took the book out of the shrink wrap. Second, i don't decide the price I am paying you, it is a set price.
You cant haggle with me, I will show you my screen or my list and the price won't change, I am a big business not a sidewalk vendor. If you were buying a hemp necklace from a folding table on the street, then you try to haggle. If you are selling your books back to a large corporation, haggling will get you nowhere.
3) Can i leave these books with you, I don't want them?
No, if I wanted your books I would have given you money for them, I am now not going to be responsible for throwing away or recycling the books that you don't want.
4) Are these the only 30 books you buyback? Why can't you give me a full list?
No we buyback thousands of books dumb ass, some of you even have 30 books in one semester. This is our top 30 list, see in bold print where it says "The bookstore will give you CASH for these titles and THOUSANDS MORE!"
Another part of buyback i that we have competition in brick and mortar and online, so we have to aggressively market buyback on campus. We put up fliers on all the public bulletin boards (which have way too many rules). We email students, and we get the final exam schedule and pinpoint fliers to the big books and exams and flier outside of these exams. This is actually very easy except when the students get pissed. Things were going smoothly until I went to a business exam where students were receiving $84.25 back for their book. I was handing out fliers and telling them the amount when a woman grabs a flier crumbles in after she reads it and yells, get off of my campus, you shouldn't even be here!
Apparently, she bought the entire campus and as an entity contracted by the school to provide a service to students she felt I was not allowed here. And this powerful woman who bought an entire college campus apparently failed her business exam!!!
Buyback and finals sure brings out the best in people!!
Antonella and Sanjaya
Just when I thought I would be free of ever seeing Antonella and Sanjaya ever again as Idol winds down tonight they had to feature them. They even showed Antonella with her obnoxious full of herself friend walking around saying how great they are.
Just as my rage had subsided they have to force these three asses back on us! I am full of rage once again it all came rushing back!
Just as my rage had subsided they have to force these three asses back on us! I am full of rage once again it all came rushing back!
Fall Down Go Boom
A few posts ago I mentioned that I escaped my first rollerblading outing without incident. Since then I have gone rollerblading quite a few more times, usually on weeknights, and I have not had any problems. As a matter of fact I was getting very comfortable on my blades this year.
Today, I drove to my old store and parked my car and strapped on my Rollerblades. I headed for the bridge and down to the river for about an hour skate. I had my sunglasses on and my I-Pod blaring (oh yeah and no pads or helmet on). I was skating along nicely, but it was very busy down by the river because it is so nice out. About 500 yards up the path I see a group of people walking slowly but there appears to be enough room for me to go around them. as i approach I enter into the other lane to pass and see a man running with his dog.
CRAP! I am alongside this group of tourists walking calmly along the river and have a man walking with his dog approaching me on the other side, I try to speed up and jut barely get around the tourists and seem to avoid the running man, but unfortunately I get tangled in the dogs leash. I try to free myself but I loose my balance and head down right side first with left leg tangled with a barking dog. I hit the ground hard and I am like roadkill as the tourist walk around me without asking if I am OK. The man comes running over to claim his dog as I dislodged the leash from his hand as I fell. He asks if I am okay, and besides a few scrapes and probably some bruises I am fine, just a bit embarrassed. I wish I had seen this man before I went out for the pass but I didn't and now I am laying in the dirt on the side of the path bright red and somewhat battered.
The worst part is that I am still a 20 minute skate away from my car, so as embarrassed as I am I have to get back up on my skates and head back to the car. I skate tentatively for a few hundred yards and start to think that this is ridiculous. I hope I don't fall again but I was doing well so even though I fell down and went boom, I will be OK. I returned to my car without incident and took off my skates. But the worst part was still to come, I had to get home and clean out my wounds, as I scrub the gravel out of my knuckles with an alcohol swab and mutter and scream in pain at I decide that maybe I will take the rest of the week off from rollerblading. Or at least some time, because the threat of falling again and needed to clean out my wounds is a little bit unsettling.
Today, I drove to my old store and parked my car and strapped on my Rollerblades. I headed for the bridge and down to the river for about an hour skate. I had my sunglasses on and my I-Pod blaring (oh yeah and no pads or helmet on). I was skating along nicely, but it was very busy down by the river because it is so nice out. About 500 yards up the path I see a group of people walking slowly but there appears to be enough room for me to go around them. as i approach I enter into the other lane to pass and see a man running with his dog.
CRAP! I am alongside this group of tourists walking calmly along the river and have a man walking with his dog approaching me on the other side, I try to speed up and jut barely get around the tourists and seem to avoid the running man, but unfortunately I get tangled in the dogs leash. I try to free myself but I loose my balance and head down right side first with left leg tangled with a barking dog. I hit the ground hard and I am like roadkill as the tourist walk around me without asking if I am OK. The man comes running over to claim his dog as I dislodged the leash from his hand as I fell. He asks if I am okay, and besides a few scrapes and probably some bruises I am fine, just a bit embarrassed. I wish I had seen this man before I went out for the pass but I didn't and now I am laying in the dirt on the side of the path bright red and somewhat battered.
The worst part is that I am still a 20 minute skate away from my car, so as embarrassed as I am I have to get back up on my skates and head back to the car. I skate tentatively for a few hundred yards and start to think that this is ridiculous. I hope I don't fall again but I was doing well so even though I fell down and went boom, I will be OK. I returned to my car without incident and took off my skates. But the worst part was still to come, I had to get home and clean out my wounds, as I scrub the gravel out of my knuckles with an alcohol swab and mutter and scream in pain at I decide that maybe I will take the rest of the week off from rollerblading. Or at least some time, because the threat of falling again and needed to clean out my wounds is a little bit unsettling.
No Seriously I Hate the Train
My train ride home from work was horrifying. I am not sure if it was the T or the fact that Spring ceases to exist in New England but I waited in three very warm stations and rode three trains, two of which had no air conditioning. I waited for 10 minutes in K Square for the first train and got on with about 200 people, it was warm on the train but at this point not unbearable. What was unbearable was the fact that a man was blaring his music from a good ole fashioned 1980's boom box. I can deal with I-pods blasting in peoples ears but seriously keep your music to yourself.
So I witch to the Orange line to get home, and as I wait on a very hot platform and watch two trains go by I am furious because all I want to do is get home and take a nap. I get onto the next train which wreaks of god knows what, and it is close to 100 degrees. I actually get a seat but I begin sweating immediately and need to stand up in the middle of the floor, where I continue to sweat. I am now three stops from home and pretty much soaked through my dress shirt and the conductor comes on and says that this will be the last stop for this train and all passengers will need to get off.
Damn the T, why does this always happen? So I get off three stops before home and debate taking the walk, as a train approaches I decide to take the train I have already paid for and require this system to complete its job.
I just want to know where all of this money I pay every month for my pass goes to? From the time I moved to Boston until now a single fair has gone from 0.85 to 2.00, and the system seems to be worse, except for these cool plastic fare cards, that only work half the time. So, I do seriously hate the train!
So I witch to the Orange line to get home, and as I wait on a very hot platform and watch two trains go by I am furious because all I want to do is get home and take a nap. I get onto the next train which wreaks of god knows what, and it is close to 100 degrees. I actually get a seat but I begin sweating immediately and need to stand up in the middle of the floor, where I continue to sweat. I am now three stops from home and pretty much soaked through my dress shirt and the conductor comes on and says that this will be the last stop for this train and all passengers will need to get off.
Damn the T, why does this always happen? So I get off three stops before home and debate taking the walk, as a train approaches I decide to take the train I have already paid for and require this system to complete its job.
I just want to know where all of this money I pay every month for my pass goes to? From the time I moved to Boston until now a single fair has gone from 0.85 to 2.00, and the system seems to be worse, except for these cool plastic fare cards, that only work half the time. So, I do seriously hate the train!
I Win!
I beat the book, for a long time I was worried that I wasn't going to conquer The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano but six weeks (yes six weeks) after I started reading the book I finished. I know you are thinking that after six weeks I would have been able to finish War and Peace, but I really am a slow reader unlike what the people on my jury thought.
It was a hard read but I did enjoy the book. The Savage Detectives is a sprawling novel that is divided into three major sections. The opening and closing sections consist in the diary, written by one of the main characters García Madero, who along with fellow poets Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima set out to find the Mexican poet Cesárea Tinajero, who apparently disappeared in the Sonoran Desert in the 1920s.
The middle of the novel is very dense and it covers numerous characters over several continents and they narrate their experiences and interactions with the main characters over a twenty year period. I am sure that everybody will have a difficult time navigating through these page, however, these stories create a creative and incredibly well written novel.
Now, I am going to read something much easier to tackle I may even re-read some more David Sedaris, I was thinking about Blink by Malcolm Gladwell but I think I need a reading break, and a great laugh.
It was a hard read but I did enjoy the book. The Savage Detectives is a sprawling novel that is divided into three major sections. The opening and closing sections consist in the diary, written by one of the main characters García Madero, who along with fellow poets Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima set out to find the Mexican poet Cesárea Tinajero, who apparently disappeared in the Sonoran Desert in the 1920s.
The middle of the novel is very dense and it covers numerous characters over several continents and they narrate their experiences and interactions with the main characters over a twenty year period. I am sure that everybody will have a difficult time navigating through these page, however, these stories create a creative and incredibly well written novel.
Now, I am going to read something much easier to tackle I may even re-read some more David Sedaris, I was thinking about Blink by Malcolm Gladwell but I think I need a reading break, and a great laugh.
Full Moon??
There must be a full moon today because the customers were absolutely insane! I am serious I had two customers that must have been off of their meds, or were just plain nuts. I mean approaching Bible Lady nuts, yes like eating pages of the bible crazy.
1) A woman comes in and asks to see the GMM, I ask her if I can help her with anything because the GMM is busy with another customer. She says that she wants to buy a class ring and I tell her that any of the associates at customer service can help you complete an order for a class ring and I bring her up there so O can help her with the order. About halfway through completing the order she begins asking for the GMM again. O is understandably confused and since I was trying to fix the phones which inexplicably crapped out for half of the day, I asked her if I could help once again. She really wanted to talk to my GMM so when M finished with her customer I called her over to finish the order with Crazy McCrazypants!
I stand beside M, and help her with the order just in case Ms. Crazypants looses her mind and starts throwing things, I also assign a few tasks to the girls away from the desk to get them out of harms way. As we work on her order, we reach the part where we need to know her ring size. Most people don't know this off of the top of their heads so we have a series of rings on a big ring in all of the typical sizes. We explain that oddly enough your shoe size is a good place to start, but to also keep in mind that in the summer your finger may swell slightly due to the heat. She says she has a size seven foot, but she inexplicably shoves a size 5 ring on her finger. M looks in horror as this woman's finger turns all sorts of unnatural colors as she tries to pry this ring off of her finger. She goes to a size 5.5 and decides that it was too loose even though her finger was turning purple due to limited blood flow.
After changing her mind 8-10 times she decides to go with the size 5. M tries to talk her into a slightly larger size but she doesn't want the ring to fall off. Apparently, not loosing the ring was more important than not loosing the finger!!
2) G calls me out of my office because he has a customer who wants to make a return but it is past the 30 days. He fails to tell me that the customer wants to return electronics that she bought over two and a half years ago. Why me? I have to explain to this woman numerous times that our refund policy is 30 days and not 1000. I understand that she does not need these items and I am very impressed that she still has the receipts. However, only one of the items has not been discontinued. She kept wanting me to give her cash back for all four items and I explained that it was simply not possible.
I decided that the best I could do as a compromise, which was more then any other one of my managers would have been authorized to do was give her a $90.00 store credit for the one item that had not been discontinued. I was very friendly about this and explained that I was bending all of our rules for her on this opened electronic device. She was still furious and demanded to speak with my boss. HAHA, I love when people ask to do this! I explain to her that I am the boss, and she looks at me and tells me that there is no possible way that I am the boss, she has underwear older than me.
Ummm, GROSS! Ma'am, I am the person in charge of the store at this time and I am making an exception to my policy in and giving you close to $100.00 back on a gift card (merchandise credit). She responds with, "I hate you punk ass kids who think you can rip off your elders without even batting an eyelash." Now, I can feel the blood rushing to my face and I am forcing myself to bite my tongue because what I really want to do is actually be a "punk ass kid" and throttle her. But I keep my calm demeanor and explain that I can give her this credit now or if she likes I can give her a phone number she can call to speak with my regional (who will not give her any money back). She mumbles mean things about me under her breath and opts for the money instead of the phone number. I process the return for her and kindly tell her to have a wonderful day and to enjoy the weather.
Deep down, I hope she trips and breaks her hip, but I hope she does this after she is off of my property, because I don't want her to be able to sue me for falling down. Or maybe she will be run over by one of those punk ass kids on Rollerblades, and then they will steal her merchandise credit for 100 bucks.
Oh the joys of working with the public, every once in a while you end up with the nutty ones, and man oh man today did I ever end up with the nutty ones.
1) A woman comes in and asks to see the GMM, I ask her if I can help her with anything because the GMM is busy with another customer. She says that she wants to buy a class ring and I tell her that any of the associates at customer service can help you complete an order for a class ring and I bring her up there so O can help her with the order. About halfway through completing the order she begins asking for the GMM again. O is understandably confused and since I was trying to fix the phones which inexplicably crapped out for half of the day, I asked her if I could help once again. She really wanted to talk to my GMM so when M finished with her customer I called her over to finish the order with Crazy McCrazypants!
I stand beside M, and help her with the order just in case Ms. Crazypants looses her mind and starts throwing things, I also assign a few tasks to the girls away from the desk to get them out of harms way. As we work on her order, we reach the part where we need to know her ring size. Most people don't know this off of the top of their heads so we have a series of rings on a big ring in all of the typical sizes. We explain that oddly enough your shoe size is a good place to start, but to also keep in mind that in the summer your finger may swell slightly due to the heat. She says she has a size seven foot, but she inexplicably shoves a size 5 ring on her finger. M looks in horror as this woman's finger turns all sorts of unnatural colors as she tries to pry this ring off of her finger. She goes to a size 5.5 and decides that it was too loose even though her finger was turning purple due to limited blood flow.
After changing her mind 8-10 times she decides to go with the size 5. M tries to talk her into a slightly larger size but she doesn't want the ring to fall off. Apparently, not loosing the ring was more important than not loosing the finger!!
2) G calls me out of my office because he has a customer who wants to make a return but it is past the 30 days. He fails to tell me that the customer wants to return electronics that she bought over two and a half years ago. Why me? I have to explain to this woman numerous times that our refund policy is 30 days and not 1000. I understand that she does not need these items and I am very impressed that she still has the receipts. However, only one of the items has not been discontinued. She kept wanting me to give her cash back for all four items and I explained that it was simply not possible.
I decided that the best I could do as a compromise, which was more then any other one of my managers would have been authorized to do was give her a $90.00 store credit for the one item that had not been discontinued. I was very friendly about this and explained that I was bending all of our rules for her on this opened electronic device. She was still furious and demanded to speak with my boss. HAHA, I love when people ask to do this! I explain to her that I am the boss, and she looks at me and tells me that there is no possible way that I am the boss, she has underwear older than me.
Ummm, GROSS! Ma'am, I am the person in charge of the store at this time and I am making an exception to my policy in and giving you close to $100.00 back on a gift card (merchandise credit). She responds with, "I hate you punk ass kids who think you can rip off your elders without even batting an eyelash." Now, I can feel the blood rushing to my face and I am forcing myself to bite my tongue because what I really want to do is actually be a "punk ass kid" and throttle her. But I keep my calm demeanor and explain that I can give her this credit now or if she likes I can give her a phone number she can call to speak with my regional (who will not give her any money back). She mumbles mean things about me under her breath and opts for the money instead of the phone number. I process the return for her and kindly tell her to have a wonderful day and to enjoy the weather.
Deep down, I hope she trips and breaks her hip, but I hope she does this after she is off of my property, because I don't want her to be able to sue me for falling down. Or maybe she will be run over by one of those punk ass kids on Rollerblades, and then they will steal her merchandise credit for 100 bucks.
Oh the joys of working with the public, every once in a while you end up with the nutty ones, and man oh man today did I ever end up with the nutty ones.
S is Leaving Me
I have known for a while that S is probably going to be moving to NYC for the summer for an internship. I am excited for him, he is doing well in school and working hard to finish up his degree (accounting and finance and stuff). The problem with this is that S may be moving to NYC for the summer.
Over the past three years since I moved back to Boston, S has been here. We talk every day, i see him a few times a week, and Boston will not be the same for me if he isn't here. I know its part of growing up for both of us and growing in our lives. Just seems very odd for us to be in two different cities for more then a couple of days. I am thinking that I am going to have to be making weekend trips to the city.
And then what is going to happen to our Wednesday night tradition, it come from the single simple idea that its really fun to go out and make S serve us drinks, and if S isn't there then it might not be as much fun. S has already told me that I have to go every Wednesday, however, and make sure I remind all of his regulars that he is going to be back in September.
I guess we will see what the future holds, I wish S all the best and more importantly I hope that I can survive without S being in Boston. I am really glad he switched his cell service because we can talk now without worrying.
I still can't believe S is leaving me!
Over the past three years since I moved back to Boston, S has been here. We talk every day, i see him a few times a week, and Boston will not be the same for me if he isn't here. I know its part of growing up for both of us and growing in our lives. Just seems very odd for us to be in two different cities for more then a couple of days. I am thinking that I am going to have to be making weekend trips to the city.
And then what is going to happen to our Wednesday night tradition, it come from the single simple idea that its really fun to go out and make S serve us drinks, and if S isn't there then it might not be as much fun. S has already told me that I have to go every Wednesday, however, and make sure I remind all of his regulars that he is going to be back in September.
I guess we will see what the future holds, I wish S all the best and more importantly I hope that I can survive without S being in Boston. I am really glad he switched his cell service because we can talk now without worrying.
I still can't believe S is leaving me!
My Jeans Have Been Found
For those of you who have been reading this blog since November you might remember my post from November 24, called S wants to be entertained. It was a good post where I revealed to you all how crazy I really was. Since I don't expect you all to go back and read the post here are some of the basics.
In September I had broken up with R, and since we were practically living together I had a lot of stuff at his house. Most of the things I gathered right after we broke up but I was missing a few things like a pair of jeans and a few DVD's and stuff. Back in November, right before Thanksgiving I went over to pick up these things, with plans to wear the jeans I had left out that night. The problem was my ex was asleep and his twin brother let me in to claim my stuff, I couldn't wake him up and I left without my jeans. I was very sad.
Well, on Wednesday night I went out to S's bar, a part of our usual Wednesday night tradition and R was there as well. Things are good and they have been for a while, we talk all the time about everything and we hang out when we are out together. There is no anger and throwing things when we see each other so it is very healthy. The best part is he found my jeans and remembered to bring them out so I could get them at the end of the night. I was really excited. It turns out that the jeans were in his brothers closet and since all three of us wore the same size our clothes got mixed up when we would do laundry. So, it turns out that I wasn't wandering around Boston without my pants on!
I know that it is a little thing, but the little things are very important and I am so happy that I have my jeans back. Now, I just need to build up some energy so I can wear them out soon. Going to have to be next week I think, I had too much fun on Wednesday!
In September I had broken up with R, and since we were practically living together I had a lot of stuff at his house. Most of the things I gathered right after we broke up but I was missing a few things like a pair of jeans and a few DVD's and stuff. Back in November, right before Thanksgiving I went over to pick up these things, with plans to wear the jeans I had left out that night. The problem was my ex was asleep and his twin brother let me in to claim my stuff, I couldn't wake him up and I left without my jeans. I was very sad.
Well, on Wednesday night I went out to S's bar, a part of our usual Wednesday night tradition and R was there as well. Things are good and they have been for a while, we talk all the time about everything and we hang out when we are out together. There is no anger and throwing things when we see each other so it is very healthy. The best part is he found my jeans and remembered to bring them out so I could get them at the end of the night. I was really excited. It turns out that the jeans were in his brothers closet and since all three of us wore the same size our clothes got mixed up when we would do laundry. So, it turns out that I wasn't wandering around Boston without my pants on!
I know that it is a little thing, but the little things are very important and I am so happy that I have my jeans back. Now, I just need to build up some energy so I can wear them out soon. Going to have to be next week I think, I had too much fun on Wednesday!
A Warning
For those of you who ride on the train I am warning you now... if you do not let me get off of the train before you try to push yourself through the doors I will push you out of my way and run you over and step on you if you fall down.
I am so frustrated with people trying to get on the train and not letting other people get off. The train is not going to leave without you just let me get off so I can go home!
Oh, and I am serious!
I am so frustrated with people trying to get on the train and not letting other people get off. The train is not going to leave without you just let me get off so I can go home!
Oh, and I am serious!
What Stinks?
Today we got in a new line of aromatherapy products and I am sure that they smell very nice one on one but the problem is when you pile six concentrated and contrasting scents onto one small round table the smell is overpowering. My eyes were watering for a good portion of the day as the the odor permeated into my office. Customers were even asking what that smell was!
My guess, we are going to be marking these down to 50% off and then a buck after about 30 days. I just hope I can get used to them.
My guess, we are going to be marking these down to 50% off and then a buck after about 30 days. I just hope I can get used to them.
Like A Shrink... But Free
I love my blog, I posted my Super Duper Catch Up Post and I realized that I felt much better. Its like a went to a shrink and talked about all of the things that stress me out and make me crazy and I didn't have to pay a thing.
I think that this blogging thing may be very healthy for all those people who are stressed out like me. It allows me to vent and its free!
I think that this blogging thing may be very healthy for all those people who are stressed out like me. It allows me to vent and its free!
Super Duper Catch Up Post
OK so I am in the midst of another twenty odd days without a day off and I have let my blogging fall behind which makes me quite sad. So I am sitting down now and getting everybody caught up on the things that are going on at work, outside of work, and in my crazy mind. Please note that this post may be even more random then normal and some sections may just be a line long... so here we go...
Caps and Gowns: AKA Fat People in Skinny Clothing
At my new store we do cap and gown rental, and in order for students to walk at graduation they need to prove that the either rented or purchased a gown from my store. Renting a gown is very easy and relatively inexpensive considering what you pay for your education and your textbooks. The only thing I need for you to rent a gown is your height, your cap size and your weight. The weight is where the problem lies... your gown is supposed to be loose fitting but i am very worried that some of these students are going to be walking in skin tight gowns because they are all lying about their weight. I had one girl who was my height and clearly weighed more then I do (145) write down that she was 85lbs. I know that weight is a sensitive subject and I am not going to have you weight embroidered in huge gold letters on the back of your gown so please be honest or you are going to look ridiculous getting your diploma (and then you are going to blame me the bookstore because you are a liar).
American Idol: Sanjaya is Gone Thank Goodness
It took long enough but last week they finally voted off the dork that was ruining the Idol experience for us true idol fans. Sanjaya Malankar is finally gone, I hated him almost as much as I hated Antonella Barba, I was so excited when he was voted off that I almost did a back flip in my living room.
Reading
For the past three weeks I have been reading the same book, I actually really love the book and the writing is excellent, the problem is the story gets a bit hard to follow sometimes and on a couple of occasions I need to stop and reread paragraphs or look up works. I feel like I have hit a reading road block but I am going to keep on pushing and hopefully finish by may. So much for being a fast reader. But I do recommend The Savage Detectives by Bolano to any real reader, especially if you are smarter then me.
Revolving Doors and Escalators
Okay, I can see you now all rolling your eyes and going what could possibly be interesting about revolving doors and escalators, and before I worked in retail I would have said the same thing. But last week I was working on the upper level of my store and observed three people get stuck trying to navigate through the revolving door with suitcases strollers and multiple people in one section of the revolving door. I mean people really its not that hard, one person, with no luggage and no strollers. When you try to stretch the boundaries of a revolving door it will hurt you, or you will get stuck and feel like an idiot, and I will laugh. Now, moving on to escalators, these contraptions are actually just moving stairs, if for some reason these stairs stop moving then you can still use them by walking up and down them, it really not that hard and there is no need to approach a bookseller to ask if there is any way to get downstairs. You can do it all by yourself!
My Inventory Tour
Before I close out this post I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families affected by the tragedy at Virgina Tech last week. I was shocked and depressed and amazed at what this world is coming to. Time is said to heal all wounds, but I want to know what is going to heal our society as a whole.
That's all for this post, I am sure it is plenty for the few of you who read my post to read, yes you S and K! And K I posted something other then mice and vomit so you can continue reading!
Caps and Gowns: AKA Fat People in Skinny Clothing
At my new store we do cap and gown rental, and in order for students to walk at graduation they need to prove that the either rented or purchased a gown from my store. Renting a gown is very easy and relatively inexpensive considering what you pay for your education and your textbooks. The only thing I need for you to rent a gown is your height, your cap size and your weight. The weight is where the problem lies... your gown is supposed to be loose fitting but i am very worried that some of these students are going to be walking in skin tight gowns because they are all lying about their weight. I had one girl who was my height and clearly weighed more then I do (145) write down that she was 85lbs. I know that weight is a sensitive subject and I am not going to have you weight embroidered in huge gold letters on the back of your gown so please be honest or you are going to look ridiculous getting your diploma (and then you are going to blame me the bookstore because you are a liar).
American Idol: Sanjaya is Gone Thank Goodness
It took long enough but last week they finally voted off the dork that was ruining the Idol experience for us true idol fans. Sanjaya Malankar is finally gone, I hated him almost as much as I hated Antonella Barba, I was so excited when he was voted off that I almost did a back flip in my living room.
Reading
For the past three weeks I have been reading the same book, I actually really love the book and the writing is excellent, the problem is the story gets a bit hard to follow sometimes and on a couple of occasions I need to stop and reread paragraphs or look up works. I feel like I have hit a reading road block but I am going to keep on pushing and hopefully finish by may. So much for being a fast reader. But I do recommend The Savage Detectives by Bolano to any real reader, especially if you are smarter then me.
Revolving Doors and Escalators
Okay, I can see you now all rolling your eyes and going what could possibly be interesting about revolving doors and escalators, and before I worked in retail I would have said the same thing. But last week I was working on the upper level of my store and observed three people get stuck trying to navigate through the revolving door with suitcases strollers and multiple people in one section of the revolving door. I mean people really its not that hard, one person, with no luggage and no strollers. When you try to stretch the boundaries of a revolving door it will hurt you, or you will get stuck and feel like an idiot, and I will laugh. Now, moving on to escalators, these contraptions are actually just moving stairs, if for some reason these stairs stop moving then you can still use them by walking up and down them, it really not that hard and there is no need to approach a bookseller to ask if there is any way to get downstairs. You can do it all by yourself!
My Inventory Tour
I am on tour this week, yes my 2007 inventory tour started and has three Boston area stops. Its started on Sunday and continues today and my final stop is next Sunday at my old store. I am already hearing the beeping from the PDT's that RGIS carries, and seeing strings of numbers in my sleep.
Hot or Cold
The weather really needs to make up its mind, it was freezing early last week and it was 80 and sunny today. I would have preferred some sort of spring but I know that is asking for too much here in Boston. So, lets hope that it at least stays warm.
Rollerblading Incidents and Sunburns
Now that the weather has warmed up I have been walking around the city a lot (due to my hatred for public transportation) and a need to enjoy the few hours I have outdoors. So on Saturday I went on my first rollerblading trip around the Charles this season, I love rollerblading on the Charles and it was so nice that I was able to put on a tank top shorts and my sunglasses and skate for over two hours with my I-pod blaring my music, it was a great workout and it was so much fun. This year my first skate of the season was uneventful but in the past I have almost ended up in the river or one very unlucky I flipped head first over a stroller. The one thing that always happens on my first skate however, is I get a bit of a sunburn, it is usually the first nice day of the year and I always fail to put on suntan lotion, yes I forgot again this year and I have silly tan (errr burn) lines again.
New Phone
I got a new phone two weeks ago, I love it! I had to fight with Verizon to get it but I rarely loose a fight, I know the ins and outs of retail and I take advantage of the fact that the customer is always right!
V-TechBefore I close out this post I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families affected by the tragedy at Virgina Tech last week. I was shocked and depressed and amazed at what this world is coming to. Time is said to heal all wounds, but I want to know what is going to heal our society as a whole.
That's all for this post, I am sure it is plenty for the few of you who read my post to read, yes you S and K! And K I posted something other then mice and vomit so you can continue reading!
Good Morning, Here is a Mouse
You know that your day is not going to be good when you walk in and the first thing you have to do is dispose of two mice that are stuck on a sticky trap in the lower level break room. When I walked in yesterday morning I immediately heard a high pitched scream from the break room. This is not a noise you want to here at 9:15 am, when you were hoping to get in early just to get a little bit of extra work done. I walk in and see two of my employees standing on a bench in the middle of the break room. Yeah, I have seen this before and I immediately asked where the mouse was. They gestured to the corner and I saw two mice still twitching stuck to a glue trap, I went to the office, grabbed two plastic bags, put one over my hand and grabbed the trap and put it in the other bag. I walked out back and disposed of the animals (don't ask what I did).
You know that your day is going to be rough when within the first 15 minutes you have to dispose of live animals stuck on glue. About 45 minutes later a manager is paged to customer service, I was on the upper level so I walked up to customer service and noticed that the store smelled a bit funny.
O says, "Umm, I think we have a problem," as she points to the entrance of the store.
I look over and notice that there is a puddle of puke that numerous customers have apparently blindly walked through and tracked into the store. I don't deal well with this, at least not as well as I can deal with the mice. So I need to run downstairs and fill the mop bucket and drag up the mop to clean up the mess. I am moping and cleaning with my shirt pulled up over my nose and customers are continuously walking through what I am doing until one finally stops and says...
"Hey, did you know that somebody threw up all over the floor here!"
Yeah, I noticed, that's why I am here with a mop cleaning up the mess. If I hadn't noticed then at this moment you would be walking through a puddle of vomit. Quite honestly if you are this stupid then I kind of wish you had walked in not noticed and slipped and fell ass first into this puddle Captain Obvious.
Man, it was going to be a rough day!
You know that your day is going to be rough when within the first 15 minutes you have to dispose of live animals stuck on glue. About 45 minutes later a manager is paged to customer service, I was on the upper level so I walked up to customer service and noticed that the store smelled a bit funny.
O says, "Umm, I think we have a problem," as she points to the entrance of the store.
I look over and notice that there is a puddle of puke that numerous customers have apparently blindly walked through and tracked into the store. I don't deal well with this, at least not as well as I can deal with the mice. So I need to run downstairs and fill the mop bucket and drag up the mop to clean up the mess. I am moping and cleaning with my shirt pulled up over my nose and customers are continuously walking through what I am doing until one finally stops and says...
"Hey, did you know that somebody threw up all over the floor here!"
Yeah, I noticed, that's why I am here with a mop cleaning up the mess. If I hadn't noticed then at this moment you would be walking through a puddle of vomit. Quite honestly if you are this stupid then I kind of wish you had walked in not noticed and slipped and fell ass first into this puddle Captain Obvious.
Man, it was going to be a rough day!
Mobey on My Pocket
I have been telling people about this all week and since I haven't posted in close to two weeks, I figure what better work story to make a blogging comeback with.
We have an ad online looking for a couple of new full time employees at my store, we always get some interesting applicants when we post ads online, I guess it is to be expected but what I really don't understand is how come people applying for jobs don't have somebody proofread the correspondence. I am an awful speller, I write in run on sentences sometimes. I dangle my participles and use the wrong words every once in a while. However, if I am applying for a job or if working on important business correspondence I make sure that somebody proofreads what I am writing.
On Tuesday I received an email from an applicant whose objective (as listed on her resume) was "To have a job." I guess this is a good objective, and it is the reason why we all go on interviews but not what you really want to write down as the first thing on your resume. After I read through her god awful resume I closed the file and took a quick look at her cover email and discovered the following line...
"I want to have a job to put mobey on my pocket" This one line defined the online hiring process. You never know what you get! All of the applicants want to put mobey on their pockets but they just can't seem to find a job. Seriously, who doesn't look at what they are writing and don't realize how stupid they look? How are they ever going to get a real full time job if they are writing to all of the employers that they want to put mobey on their pockets? I mean I am thinking now that the blogger spell checker is going to go nuts before it allows me to post this since it says mobey everywhere!
This became the in store joke this week, I had to share this resume with the other managers! Hey C, do you want to work an extra hour today... you can put a little extra mobey on your pocket! M, guess what? Today is payday, it will be nice to finally have some mobey on my pocket. G, make sure you put that mobey in the register and don't just put that mobey on your pocket. Are you laughing yet, we were laughing all week at this poor girl who wanted mobey on her pocket.
This isn't the only one we had that was ridiculous this week, one person had some first aid experience and wrote that she had, "training to save live people" and another women whose long run on objective sentence said she wanted to work in an "upcoming and growing work job." So after all of these I have figured out what I am going to do after I leave the retail world, I am going to run classes on how to write resumes and conduct yourself at interviews. After a few more years of this I am pretty sure that I will have seen everything.
But I am not sure how "Mobey on my pocket" will ever be topped.
We have an ad online looking for a couple of new full time employees at my store, we always get some interesting applicants when we post ads online, I guess it is to be expected but what I really don't understand is how come people applying for jobs don't have somebody proofread the correspondence. I am an awful speller, I write in run on sentences sometimes. I dangle my participles and use the wrong words every once in a while. However, if I am applying for a job or if working on important business correspondence I make sure that somebody proofreads what I am writing.
On Tuesday I received an email from an applicant whose objective (as listed on her resume) was "To have a job." I guess this is a good objective, and it is the reason why we all go on interviews but not what you really want to write down as the first thing on your resume. After I read through her god awful resume I closed the file and took a quick look at her cover email and discovered the following line...
"I want to have a job to put mobey on my pocket" This one line defined the online hiring process. You never know what you get! All of the applicants want to put mobey on their pockets but they just can't seem to find a job. Seriously, who doesn't look at what they are writing and don't realize how stupid they look? How are they ever going to get a real full time job if they are writing to all of the employers that they want to put mobey on their pockets? I mean I am thinking now that the blogger spell checker is going to go nuts before it allows me to post this since it says mobey everywhere!
This became the in store joke this week, I had to share this resume with the other managers! Hey C, do you want to work an extra hour today... you can put a little extra mobey on your pocket! M, guess what? Today is payday, it will be nice to finally have some mobey on my pocket. G, make sure you put that mobey in the register and don't just put that mobey on your pocket. Are you laughing yet, we were laughing all week at this poor girl who wanted mobey on her pocket.
This isn't the only one we had that was ridiculous this week, one person had some first aid experience and wrote that she had, "training to save live people" and another women whose long run on objective sentence said she wanted to work in an "upcoming and growing work job." So after all of these I have figured out what I am going to do after I leave the retail world, I am going to run classes on how to write resumes and conduct yourself at interviews. After a few more years of this I am pretty sure that I will have seen everything.
But I am not sure how "Mobey on my pocket" will ever be topped.
My First Born
My first born child must go to Stop and Shop in Poughkeepsie New York, and here is why...
One of the fine traditions at the church where my family goes for Easter service is that many families bring flowers to the church. I remembered this while I was in Stop and Shop this afternoon picking up a few items for the family. I have really bad allergies especially to flowers and I forgot my allergy medicine in Boston. Since I was in the supermarket I went up to the pharmacy counter and asked if they carried Claritin, the pharmacist informed me that they did and handed me a clipboard with a form on the top.
I apparently needed to fill out this form and leave a copy of my drivers license in order to buy Claritin. This form had all sorts of questions on it including "Intended use of this product." Hmmmm, well considering it is allergy medicine I think I am going to consume it when I am worried that I am going to sneeze and cough and have watery eyes. But i was tempted to write, "I intend to use these 10 pills to make illegal drugs." Obviously, this is would have been a bad answer, but do they think that the people who are going to use this medicine to make meth are going to honestly answer the question? "Intended use of product- Drug making"
So many questions and 10 minutes to fill out the form, they practically wanted my first born child, all so I wouldn't sneeze in church.
One of the fine traditions at the church where my family goes for Easter service is that many families bring flowers to the church. I remembered this while I was in Stop and Shop this afternoon picking up a few items for the family. I have really bad allergies especially to flowers and I forgot my allergy medicine in Boston. Since I was in the supermarket I went up to the pharmacy counter and asked if they carried Claritin, the pharmacist informed me that they did and handed me a clipboard with a form on the top.
I apparently needed to fill out this form and leave a copy of my drivers license in order to buy Claritin. This form had all sorts of questions on it including "Intended use of this product." Hmmmm, well considering it is allergy medicine I think I am going to consume it when I am worried that I am going to sneeze and cough and have watery eyes. But i was tempted to write, "I intend to use these 10 pills to make illegal drugs." Obviously, this is would have been a bad answer, but do they think that the people who are going to use this medicine to make meth are going to honestly answer the question? "Intended use of product- Drug making"
So many questions and 10 minutes to fill out the form, they practically wanted my first born child, all so I wouldn't sneeze in church.
12 Men 12 Minds
Once again, please note that this post does not discuss any specifics regarding the case I am currently sitting on. This post only discusses my experience today as the case went to the jury for deliberations.
I don't think there is any official blogging policy for Jury Duty but I am not obviously supposed to discuss any details with anybody, not even fellow jurors. Today however, we were finally able to discuss the case and that is the one thing that the 12 people in the room were all ecstatic about as we entered deliberations. The day began excruciatingly slow as we all sat in the jury room from 9:00am until 1:00pm before we were called down to the court. The defense quickly rested and the judge then proceeded to give the jurors and hour worth of instructions regarding the law in the case.
We then returned to the jury room and began to discuss the basic details in the case. I was under the false impression that we would all be on the same page. I sat in the courtroom for five days and heard testimony from a number of witnesses. I was in the same courtroom as all of the other jurors and heard the same words from all the same people. But I soon found out that 12 people can hear all the same information and come to 12 different conclusions. I had discounted the testimony of witnesses I felt had been impeached and were untrustworthy, while others held this testimony as the pinnacle and turning point of the case. I sat in the room and was shocked.
I resisted my general urge to call all of the people that disagreed with my obviously correct opinion of the case idiots and tried to listen to their reasoning. Most of this reasoning in my mind was flawed, (keep in mind I am always right) and I tried to impress upon the importance of the specifics of the case as I saw them.
I am not sure that I will understand how all 12 of us came to different conclusions, but I really now appreciate the need to a trail by jury. We will all need to review the evidence as presented to us and come to one conclusion. If Americans were not all guaranteed a trial by jury then only one person (the judge) who is a representative of the state would make this decision. At least now the defendant has a fair shot. Deliberations will be one of the most interesting parts of this trial.
I just hope we can all agree that I am right.
I don't think there is any official blogging policy for Jury Duty but I am not obviously supposed to discuss any details with anybody, not even fellow jurors. Today however, we were finally able to discuss the case and that is the one thing that the 12 people in the room were all ecstatic about as we entered deliberations. The day began excruciatingly slow as we all sat in the jury room from 9:00am until 1:00pm before we were called down to the court. The defense quickly rested and the judge then proceeded to give the jurors and hour worth of instructions regarding the law in the case.
We then returned to the jury room and began to discuss the basic details in the case. I was under the false impression that we would all be on the same page. I sat in the courtroom for five days and heard testimony from a number of witnesses. I was in the same courtroom as all of the other jurors and heard the same words from all the same people. But I soon found out that 12 people can hear all the same information and come to 12 different conclusions. I had discounted the testimony of witnesses I felt had been impeached and were untrustworthy, while others held this testimony as the pinnacle and turning point of the case. I sat in the room and was shocked.
I resisted my general urge to call all of the people that disagreed with my obviously correct opinion of the case idiots and tried to listen to their reasoning. Most of this reasoning in my mind was flawed, (keep in mind I am always right) and I tried to impress upon the importance of the specifics of the case as I saw them.
I am not sure that I will understand how all 12 of us came to different conclusions, but I really now appreciate the need to a trail by jury. We will all need to review the evidence as presented to us and come to one conclusion. If Americans were not all guaranteed a trial by jury then only one person (the judge) who is a representative of the state would make this decision. At least now the defendant has a fair shot. Deliberations will be one of the most interesting parts of this trial.
I just hope we can all agree that I am right.
Fast Reader
I have never been accused of being a fast reader, actually at my old store they used to make fun of me because it would take me a month to finish a book. I called L to tell her of this accusation today and she laughed out loud.
I am a notoriously slow reader, but since I have been on jury duty I have read 3 and a half books. One fellow juror has only read 100 pages of My Life So Far (Jane Fonda's memoir) and another juror just finished My Sister's Keeper. I guess compared to the snail like pace in which these people are reading I am a fast reader. The thing is we have have tons of extra time (wasted time) and when I am sitting in the jury room I read my book. Also, I have read two fast paced books (A Walk in the Woods and Me Talk Pretty One Day). I am just confused as to what people are doing during these hours of down time that we have, I guess they are sitting in silence but I am not paying attention because I am tearing through my books.
I am now officially the fastest reader in the world according to my fellow jurors.
I am a notoriously slow reader, but since I have been on jury duty I have read 3 and a half books. One fellow juror has only read 100 pages of My Life So Far (Jane Fonda's memoir) and another juror just finished My Sister's Keeper. I guess compared to the snail like pace in which these people are reading I am a fast reader. The thing is we have have tons of extra time (wasted time) and when I am sitting in the jury room I read my book. Also, I have read two fast paced books (A Walk in the Woods and Me Talk Pretty One Day). I am just confused as to what people are doing during these hours of down time that we have, I guess they are sitting in silence but I am not paying attention because I am tearing through my books.
I am now officially the fastest reader in the world according to my fellow jurors.
Me Talk Angry Today
Jury Duty is driving me nuts. I hate it. I just don't understand what is taking so long and why we are constantly on break. Why does a one hour lunch turns into a two hour break from court and why does a fifteen minute break turns into 45 minutes? I am so insanely frustrated because we only end up hearing about 2 hours of testimony a day and the prosecution has yet to rest.
What is making me crazy right now is that the state only requires companies to pay for the first three days and then the state will compensate you with I believe $35.00 a day. Now keep in mind this barely covers lunch in Government Center! So, it looks like I am going to need to take vacation time to do my freaking "duty" in order for me to be able to pay for the house I live in. I am so pissed!
Now, onto the up side of jury duty and all of the free time we have, I have now completed three books since i started Jury Duty. Yesterday I finished re-reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, I read this originally when it came out but the stories are so light and funny that I thought it would make great jury duty reading and it did. Again, I was laughing which might not be the best thing to do in court but I don't really care, it was funny. I love his writing and I am thinking about re-reading Naked very soon as well.
Today I picked up The Crying of Lot 49. I started reading this in the fall and managed to make it through about 10 pages before I practically threw it across the room in frustration. I was not in the mood for it and it was making me crazy. When I picked it back up today I wasn't sure about how I would feel and I have to say it is definitely not one one of my favorite books. The books is so confusing and so convoluted sometimes that you aren't really sure what you are reading about, but in the end it does come together and it has some enjoyable moments when you aren't so confused you want to cry.
I am going to go for something a bit lighter tomorrow. I think I am actually going to start reading Tender Bar tomorrow. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time and I think it is a great time to start reading it.
What is making me crazy right now is that the state only requires companies to pay for the first three days and then the state will compensate you with I believe $35.00 a day. Now keep in mind this barely covers lunch in Government Center! So, it looks like I am going to need to take vacation time to do my freaking "duty" in order for me to be able to pay for the house I live in. I am so pissed!
Now, onto the up side of jury duty and all of the free time we have, I have now completed three books since i started Jury Duty. Yesterday I finished re-reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, I read this originally when it came out but the stories are so light and funny that I thought it would make great jury duty reading and it did. Again, I was laughing which might not be the best thing to do in court but I don't really care, it was funny. I love his writing and I am thinking about re-reading Naked very soon as well.
Today I picked up The Crying of Lot 49. I started reading this in the fall and managed to make it through about 10 pages before I practically threw it across the room in frustration. I was not in the mood for it and it was making me crazy. When I picked it back up today I wasn't sure about how I would feel and I have to say it is definitely not one one of my favorite books. The books is so confusing and so convoluted sometimes that you aren't really sure what you are reading about, but in the end it does come together and it has some enjoyable moments when you aren't so confused you want to cry.
I am going to go for something a bit lighter tomorrow. I think I am actually going to start reading Tender Bar tomorrow. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time and I think it is a great time to start reading it.
What Not To Wear Jury Duty Edition
OK, I know I am risking coming off bitchy in this post but I can't help it. I walked into the Jury Room this morning and half expected Stacy and Clinton from TLC's What Not to Wear to walk in the door behind me. They didn't and I am now wondering how quickly I could get them to show up for a fashion emergency edition of the show.
I know there is no particular dress code for jury duty and I am dressing more casually for jury duty then I would usually dress for work. I am leaving my ties and dress pants at home but on Friday I wore nice jeans a sweater and a blazer and today I wore a nice sweater and jeans and dress shoes. When I walked into the jury room i saw a college girl wearing her pajama pants, an older woman in a red velour jump suit and a woman wearing a very short black skirt white tights and red shoes.
Here is the thing people, these are not things that you should wear in public at all let alone to jury duty where you are going to be part of the public record. I mean what if this was a high profile case and there were going to be television cameras outside the courthouse. Do you really want to be photographed in your saggy ass pajama pants? And how am I supposed to take you seriously during deliberations if you are wearing my poor deceased (may she rest in peace) grandmothers jumpsuit and jewelry. By the way I won't take you seriously, I will look at you and laugh on the inside and then run home and blog about how ridiculous you look.
I know this sounds mean and I don't think it is necessary for you to go completely in the opposite direction and wear a shirt and tie and business suit. You don't need to bring your fur coat and designer bags but at least get dressed in the morning, don't wear your pj's don't wear your gym attire. Pretend like you care. You at least owe that to the defendant, I know he is probably looking at you and going oh shit I am F*cked!
I know there is no particular dress code for jury duty and I am dressing more casually for jury duty then I would usually dress for work. I am leaving my ties and dress pants at home but on Friday I wore nice jeans a sweater and a blazer and today I wore a nice sweater and jeans and dress shoes. When I walked into the jury room i saw a college girl wearing her pajama pants, an older woman in a red velour jump suit and a woman wearing a very short black skirt white tights and red shoes.
Here is the thing people, these are not things that you should wear in public at all let alone to jury duty where you are going to be part of the public record. I mean what if this was a high profile case and there were going to be television cameras outside the courthouse. Do you really want to be photographed in your saggy ass pajama pants? And how am I supposed to take you seriously during deliberations if you are wearing my poor deceased (may she rest in peace) grandmothers jumpsuit and jewelry. By the way I won't take you seriously, I will look at you and laugh on the inside and then run home and blog about how ridiculous you look.
I know this sounds mean and I don't think it is necessary for you to go completely in the opposite direction and wear a shirt and tie and business suit. You don't need to bring your fur coat and designer bags but at least get dressed in the morning, don't wear your pj's don't wear your gym attire. Pretend like you care. You at least owe that to the defendant, I know he is probably looking at you and going oh shit I am F*cked!
Jury Duty and Bill Bryson
Please note that in this post I am not commenting on anything involved in any case or any specifics in regards to jury duty. I will only comment on the experience I had on Friday while waiting to be selected for the specific jury I am now placed on.
I get called for Jury Duty at least once a year, since you only have to serve every three years in the state of Massachusetts I can usually get out of it, however, this year my time was up and I had to report to the courthouse at 8:00 am on Friday. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to be dismissed but as the day progressed I realized that this wouldn't happen.
When I arrived at 8am I checked in and took my seat in the jury room and waited for over an hour and a half for the last person to arrive. Silly me, I thought that reporting on time to jury duty was a necessity. So in this 90 minutes I read quite a few pages of A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson was actually making my early morning of sitting and waiting quite enjoyable. At 9:30, they put on this obnoxious video telling you that Jury Duty will be the best experience of your life. Oh please, if Jury Duty was the best experience of anybodies life don't you think it would be easier to get people here, I mean at least people would show up on time, and I have served on a jury, not even up in the top 10 of best things that have ever happened to me.
Around 10:00 they started calling numbers and lining people up to go to courtrooms. My number (148) was called and they lined us up in a hallway outside of the jury room. They kept us lined up in this hallway for about 30 minutes. They then stuffed about 20 of us into a very crowded elevator and brought us up into a courtroom. This courtroom had about 100 seats and about 180 people packed into it so I spent close to an hour standing up waiting for people to move or be dismissed. I finally got a seat and continued to read. However, Bill got me in a little bit of trouble because if you have ever read any of his books you know there are moments where you need to laugh out loud, so I did, and apparently laughing in a courtroom is frowned upon. By 1:00pm they had only gotten to number 50 and they let us break for a one hour lunch. I practically ran out of the courtroom but still had to wait for the elevator for 10 minutes, got downstairs, and was greeted by a blustery wind blown snowstorm outside. Great this is the perfect Friday.
I reported back to the courtroom as I was told to about 10 minutes before I was expected and sat down on a bench and began reading once again. About five minutes later when there were about 15 people in the courtroom a court officer came in and told us we weren't allowed to be in there. We were asked to leave and sit outside (err stand outside) and a court officer would bring us in when they were ready for us. Twenty minutes later (fifteen minutes late) they brought us back into the courtroom and continued to call everybody up individually. By 4:00pm they finally called my number and asked me to the sidebar. I had read 170 pages since the morning which was quite a feat considering how slow I read. The judge asked me a series of questions, all of which I answered truthfully but shortly and with a twinge of frustration in my voice (I do this very well) and he asked me to step away from the bench and both sides discuss whether I will be a good juror.
The judge calls me back up and explains that he understands that serving is a hardship for everybody but because it is you civic duty and he sees no specific reason to dismiss me he is going to have to ask me to be on the jury.
SHIT. I have so much work to do and I just spent an entire day in the courthouse. I really don't want to be on this damn case that is going to take a good portion of my week. This is one of those occasions when I would much rather be at work. Plus, I now need to go into work this weekend to get stuff done, and finish payroll so all of my employees get paid. But really this is supposed to be the greatest experience of you life? Give me a break!
By the way I also finished reading A Walk in the Woods this weekend as I laid in bed with a stomach bug. If you have never read any Bill Bryson I highly recommend him. He is an insanely smart man who is also hilarious. His dry sense of humor keeps you wanting more. I read 274 pages in 3 days, now that is quite a feat for a slow reader such as myself.
I get called for Jury Duty at least once a year, since you only have to serve every three years in the state of Massachusetts I can usually get out of it, however, this year my time was up and I had to report to the courthouse at 8:00 am on Friday. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to be dismissed but as the day progressed I realized that this wouldn't happen.
When I arrived at 8am I checked in and took my seat in the jury room and waited for over an hour and a half for the last person to arrive. Silly me, I thought that reporting on time to jury duty was a necessity. So in this 90 minutes I read quite a few pages of A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson was actually making my early morning of sitting and waiting quite enjoyable. At 9:30, they put on this obnoxious video telling you that Jury Duty will be the best experience of your life. Oh please, if Jury Duty was the best experience of anybodies life don't you think it would be easier to get people here, I mean at least people would show up on time, and I have served on a jury, not even up in the top 10 of best things that have ever happened to me.
Around 10:00 they started calling numbers and lining people up to go to courtrooms. My number (148) was called and they lined us up in a hallway outside of the jury room. They kept us lined up in this hallway for about 30 minutes. They then stuffed about 20 of us into a very crowded elevator and brought us up into a courtroom. This courtroom had about 100 seats and about 180 people packed into it so I spent close to an hour standing up waiting for people to move or be dismissed. I finally got a seat and continued to read. However, Bill got me in a little bit of trouble because if you have ever read any of his books you know there are moments where you need to laugh out loud, so I did, and apparently laughing in a courtroom is frowned upon. By 1:00pm they had only gotten to number 50 and they let us break for a one hour lunch. I practically ran out of the courtroom but still had to wait for the elevator for 10 minutes, got downstairs, and was greeted by a blustery wind blown snowstorm outside. Great this is the perfect Friday.
I reported back to the courtroom as I was told to about 10 minutes before I was expected and sat down on a bench and began reading once again. About five minutes later when there were about 15 people in the courtroom a court officer came in and told us we weren't allowed to be in there. We were asked to leave and sit outside (err stand outside) and a court officer would bring us in when they were ready for us. Twenty minutes later (fifteen minutes late) they brought us back into the courtroom and continued to call everybody up individually. By 4:00pm they finally called my number and asked me to the sidebar. I had read 170 pages since the morning which was quite a feat considering how slow I read. The judge asked me a series of questions, all of which I answered truthfully but shortly and with a twinge of frustration in my voice (I do this very well) and he asked me to step away from the bench and both sides discuss whether I will be a good juror.
The judge calls me back up and explains that he understands that serving is a hardship for everybody but because it is you civic duty and he sees no specific reason to dismiss me he is going to have to ask me to be on the jury.
SHIT. I have so much work to do and I just spent an entire day in the courthouse. I really don't want to be on this damn case that is going to take a good portion of my week. This is one of those occasions when I would much rather be at work. Plus, I now need to go into work this weekend to get stuff done, and finish payroll so all of my employees get paid. But really this is supposed to be the greatest experience of you life? Give me a break!
By the way I also finished reading A Walk in the Woods this weekend as I laid in bed with a stomach bug. If you have never read any Bill Bryson I highly recommend him. He is an insanely smart man who is also hilarious. His dry sense of humor keeps you wanting more. I read 274 pages in 3 days, now that is quite a feat for a slow reader such as myself.
You Do This and You Do That
I feel that one of my greatest accomplishments as a manager is that I have at least 3 people that have worked for me that are at least department managers with my company now, and numerous others who are supervisors. It is a great feeling to know that people took the lessons I taught them and are using them to be successful. The funny thing is when I talk to these past employees and they tell me that they learned this or that from me I think it is really cool but I don't really remember teaching them anything specific or groundbreaking. I like to teach (and lead) by example. My new position now has me not only teaching by example but hands on training my employees and working with them so they can be successful.
My GM Manger is in Orlando this week at the Annual Back to Campus show, and right now she doesn't have an assistant or a floor supervisor. My week has been busy in the general merchandise department. But part of my week in the GM department has been working with one of the full time employees who has been at the store for a while. She is a young sales associate with a ton of spirit and know how. She can see what needs to be done but lacks some of the confidence to make sure it gets done or make a decision. She can shy away from problems because she has never been empowered to make the big decision.
This week I started to empower her to make key decisions as well as be the lead when it comes to maintaining the floor. She worked hard pulling merchandise up to the floor and did an excellent job finding the different tasks that needed to be completed everyday. I worked closely with her on assigning tasks since delegation seems to be one of her weaknesses (definitely a difficult thing when you have not done it before).
On Tuesday she had written down a list of 8 or 10 things that needed to be done. There was a full staff in the GM department so I went over the list with her and asked her who was going to be working on each task. She went down the list and 6 of the 10 things she had written down she said that she was going to do. I pulled her aside and said, "O, you don't need to do everything, what you need to do is explain what needs to be done to your employees and hold them accountable for completing the tasks. On Tuesday I walked with her and explained the tasks that needed to be completed to the employees and then later helped O follow up with the employees. She was a bit shy about this at first but then she warmed up to the idea because she realized that things were getting completed quicker and she was able to focus on the bigger tasks and the bigger picture.
By Thursday evening I walked up to the customer service desk and gave her a few items that I wanted to be completed while I was on Jury Duty. I pulled her aside and gave her the list and her response was:
OK, well J is doing the mugs so I will make sure that she pulls these and fills up that shelf and C has been working on the gifts section so I will ask her to fill in these items over there. I will have A go downstairs and breakdown the boxes since he was working in the stockroom today and I will continue to work on organizing the high end gifts stockroom and labeling the display cases. Do we need to work on anything else tomorrow?
Oh man, I have created a monster! I love it!
My GM Manger is in Orlando this week at the Annual Back to Campus show, and right now she doesn't have an assistant or a floor supervisor. My week has been busy in the general merchandise department. But part of my week in the GM department has been working with one of the full time employees who has been at the store for a while. She is a young sales associate with a ton of spirit and know how. She can see what needs to be done but lacks some of the confidence to make sure it gets done or make a decision. She can shy away from problems because she has never been empowered to make the big decision.
This week I started to empower her to make key decisions as well as be the lead when it comes to maintaining the floor. She worked hard pulling merchandise up to the floor and did an excellent job finding the different tasks that needed to be completed everyday. I worked closely with her on assigning tasks since delegation seems to be one of her weaknesses (definitely a difficult thing when you have not done it before).
On Tuesday she had written down a list of 8 or 10 things that needed to be done. There was a full staff in the GM department so I went over the list with her and asked her who was going to be working on each task. She went down the list and 6 of the 10 things she had written down she said that she was going to do. I pulled her aside and said, "O, you don't need to do everything, what you need to do is explain what needs to be done to your employees and hold them accountable for completing the tasks. On Tuesday I walked with her and explained the tasks that needed to be completed to the employees and then later helped O follow up with the employees. She was a bit shy about this at first but then she warmed up to the idea because she realized that things were getting completed quicker and she was able to focus on the bigger tasks and the bigger picture.
By Thursday evening I walked up to the customer service desk and gave her a few items that I wanted to be completed while I was on Jury Duty. I pulled her aside and gave her the list and her response was:
OK, well J is doing the mugs so I will make sure that she pulls these and fills up that shelf and C has been working on the gifts section so I will ask her to fill in these items over there. I will have A go downstairs and breakdown the boxes since he was working in the stockroom today and I will continue to work on organizing the high end gifts stockroom and labeling the display cases. Do we need to work on anything else tomorrow?
Oh man, I have created a monster! I love it!
I Told You So...
For those of you who were walking outside in tank tops, flip flops and shorts earlier this week, keep in mind that I told you so! It is snowing out just like I said, it feels like the dead of winter. Where are you flip flops now huh?
I love it when I am right, but I hate this weather I want the 70's or even the 50's back.
I love it when I am right, but I hate this weather I want the 70's or even the 50's back.
The Curious Lives of Cadavers
A couple days ago I finished reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers. This book tells the story of what happens to our bodies after we die. I started reading it last year and was very surprised at the fact that I was laughing about dead bodies within the first few pages. The waitress at the restaurant that I started reading it at even gave me a sideways glance like there was something seriously wrong with me. I know you are all thinking I am nuts, but I am telling you that this is a really popular and entertaining read. Here is the first review off of bn.com so you know that I am not the only one who thinks this...
Impossible (and irreverent) as it may sound, Roach has written a book about corpses that's both lively and fresh. She traveled around the globe to conduct her forensic investigations, and her findings are wryly intelligent. While the myriad uses for cadavers recounted are often graphic, Roach imbues her subject with a sense of dignity, choosing to emphasize the oddly noble purposes corpses serve, from organ donation to lifesaving medical research. Readers will come away convinced of the enormous debt that we, the living, owe to the study of the remains of the dead. And while it may not offer the answer to the ancient mystery we were hoping for, Stiff offers a strange sort of comfort in the knowledge that, in a sense, death isn't necessarily the end.
Overall, a good read even though as usual i did get a few odd looks reading it on the train.
While reading this book I also came across another reason why Jell-o scares me and I am right about it being gross in so many ways. Jello is a gelatin product and gelatin is made of processed cow bone chips and freshly chopped pig hides. Now if that is not gross I don't know what is.
I started reading A Walk in the Woods now, I am going to get a bunch of that read while I am on Jury Duty tomorrow.
Impossible (and irreverent) as it may sound, Roach has written a book about corpses that's both lively and fresh. She traveled around the globe to conduct her forensic investigations, and her findings are wryly intelligent. While the myriad uses for cadavers recounted are often graphic, Roach imbues her subject with a sense of dignity, choosing to emphasize the oddly noble purposes corpses serve, from organ donation to lifesaving medical research. Readers will come away convinced of the enormous debt that we, the living, owe to the study of the remains of the dead. And while it may not offer the answer to the ancient mystery we were hoping for, Stiff offers a strange sort of comfort in the knowledge that, in a sense, death isn't necessarily the end.
Overall, a good read even though as usual i did get a few odd looks reading it on the train.
While reading this book I also came across another reason why Jell-o scares me and I am right about it being gross in so many ways. Jello is a gelatin product and gelatin is made of processed cow bone chips and freshly chopped pig hides. Now if that is not gross I don't know what is.
I started reading A Walk in the Woods now, I am going to get a bunch of that read while I am on Jury Duty tomorrow.
Another Note on Darwin
If Darwin was right about Survival of the Fittest, then how come there are so many unfit (stupid ass) people still left in the world?
Warmth
I love spring, it is probably my favorite season. A perfect day for me is 70 degrees and sunny. I can't wait to Rollerblade on the Charles again. These things make me happy.
Today is warm, but it is also early March and I know that it is not quite spring. Yet when I got off the train after work I saw numerous people in shorts and flip-flops. People, it is not that warm and this is New England, it is going to snow in 10 minutes (OK maybe ten days). It was also only 5 today, I was comfortable in my jacket and pants. Yes, I left my scarf and gloves in my bag but I did not break out my bathing suit.
Relax, enjoy the somewhat seasonable weather but you are going to get sick if you continue prancing around half naked in March. Then again, maybe it is natural selection and Darwin was right. I must just be more fit then you!
Today is warm, but it is also early March and I know that it is not quite spring. Yet when I got off the train after work I saw numerous people in shorts and flip-flops. People, it is not that warm and this is New England, it is going to snow in 10 minutes (OK maybe ten days). It was also only 5 today, I was comfortable in my jacket and pants. Yes, I left my scarf and gloves in my bag but I did not break out my bathing suit.
Relax, enjoy the somewhat seasonable weather but you are going to get sick if you continue prancing around half naked in March. Then again, maybe it is natural selection and Darwin was right. I must just be more fit then you!
Semi-Responsible Adulthood
About 2 and a half years ago I bought my house. Home ownership is great and home ownership sucks. Remember when you rented and when something went wrong, the solution was to call your landlord, they would take care of the problem. There is none of that when you own a house. When you rent, you can't paint your walls, when you own you can paint them whatever color you want. When you rent you pay monthly and don't worry. When you own you pay your mortgage but you worry about whether your property values are increasing or decreasing and taxes and resale.
Another funny thing happens when you own your house, your furniture from your apartment just looks silly. Its almost an immediate thing and your are not sure why that futon that worked really well in your rented apartment just doesn't look quite right in your new living room. Maybe its because you now live in a place that is yours? Maybe it is because you control the color of your walls and what you do to your floors and where everything goes?
So, when you buy a house you slowly start to replace all of your "dorm" furniture. It's a normal part of growing up but it has to be done slowly and it requires planning and shopping and disappointment. In the past two and a half years I have a new couch in my living room, I love my couch and it was the first real piece of furniture I bought. I also have a really cool coffee table. I have a great headboard and cool desk. Another unexpectedly expensive item were custom wood blinds for all of my windows. My mom is great at helping pick out great things. Now, after shopping around I am in the process of getting a new kitchen table and chairs.
Today was all about the house. I cleaned up a little bit in the morning and toyed with the idea of moving my existing kitchen table and chairs down to the basement to prep for the new furniture but decided to wait until I had the new items in place. The plan was to meet my sister at the store at noon and pick up the four chairs and table I wanted and put them in our two cars and drive them to my house. Easy right? Well, not so easy! I got to the store a little bit before my sister and that was still not at noon. I walked in, found my set and went to the counter to ask a few questions. Since it was a new item I really didn't anticipate any problems but I should have known better. The store only had 2 chairs and the table in stock and the first person who helped me told me that they would not be able to order it. I asked if they could check at some other stores and they found another store but they also just had the floor models. I would have taken the floor models from store one and two floor model chairs from store two except for the fact that I was under the impression that the table would be in two pieces. Again, no such luck. So, even though it is a small table it won't quite fit in a civic. After some discussion my sister was able to talk to an associate who explained to us that the reason they were unable to order it was because this branch was closing but any other store could order it and I could pick it up there. This also provided me with the ability to find a friend and borrow a truck!
We placed the order for my stuff and by next weekend I should have my new kitchen set. That makes me happy.
After I returned from the store, much later then expected I was thrilled to see that the open house for the newly renovated condos was still going on. These condos are about the same size as mine and they are on the same street so it was really important to check them out and see how they were redone and what they were selling for. When you own a house it is really important to track the other properties in your neighborhood. So I spent about 45 minutes touring the units and talking to the realtor about square feet and condo fees and closet space and taxes and all of those fun questions my father asks me about when I tell him I went to an open house in the neighborhood.
But after all this, I felt like I wanted to go back to renting and futons, I was tired and really just wanted to go to sleep. Being a semi-responsible adult can be draining.
Another funny thing happens when you own your house, your furniture from your apartment just looks silly. Its almost an immediate thing and your are not sure why that futon that worked really well in your rented apartment just doesn't look quite right in your new living room. Maybe its because you now live in a place that is yours? Maybe it is because you control the color of your walls and what you do to your floors and where everything goes?
So, when you buy a house you slowly start to replace all of your "dorm" furniture. It's a normal part of growing up but it has to be done slowly and it requires planning and shopping and disappointment. In the past two and a half years I have a new couch in my living room, I love my couch and it was the first real piece of furniture I bought. I also have a really cool coffee table. I have a great headboard and cool desk. Another unexpectedly expensive item were custom wood blinds for all of my windows. My mom is great at helping pick out great things. Now, after shopping around I am in the process of getting a new kitchen table and chairs.
Today was all about the house. I cleaned up a little bit in the morning and toyed with the idea of moving my existing kitchen table and chairs down to the basement to prep for the new furniture but decided to wait until I had the new items in place. The plan was to meet my sister at the store at noon and pick up the four chairs and table I wanted and put them in our two cars and drive them to my house. Easy right? Well, not so easy! I got to the store a little bit before my sister and that was still not at noon. I walked in, found my set and went to the counter to ask a few questions. Since it was a new item I really didn't anticipate any problems but I should have known better. The store only had 2 chairs and the table in stock and the first person who helped me told me that they would not be able to order it. I asked if they could check at some other stores and they found another store but they also just had the floor models. I would have taken the floor models from store one and two floor model chairs from store two except for the fact that I was under the impression that the table would be in two pieces. Again, no such luck. So, even though it is a small table it won't quite fit in a civic. After some discussion my sister was able to talk to an associate who explained to us that the reason they were unable to order it was because this branch was closing but any other store could order it and I could pick it up there. This also provided me with the ability to find a friend and borrow a truck!
We placed the order for my stuff and by next weekend I should have my new kitchen set. That makes me happy.
After I returned from the store, much later then expected I was thrilled to see that the open house for the newly renovated condos was still going on. These condos are about the same size as mine and they are on the same street so it was really important to check them out and see how they were redone and what they were selling for. When you own a house it is really important to track the other properties in your neighborhood. So I spent about 45 minutes touring the units and talking to the realtor about square feet and condo fees and closet space and taxes and all of those fun questions my father asks me about when I tell him I went to an open house in the neighborhood.
But after all this, I felt like I wanted to go back to renting and futons, I was tired and really just wanted to go to sleep. Being a semi-responsible adult can be draining.
Hondas and Waiters
I am sitting here in the Honda dealership, waiting on my car to be fixed. It has been a very expensive first few month for me and I can't wait to get my tax return so I have a little bit of a security blanket in the bank. I am actually a bit upset because I left my book in my car, which is back in the shop but luckily this very nice dealership/ repair shop has computers set up so I can get online while I wait for my car to be fixed.
So, I took this opportunity to get caught up on my blog reading, including K's blog (www.kaitable.blogspot.com) and my new favorite (www.waiterrant.net). Working in the service/ retail industry I identify with the people the Waiter comes in contact with everyday and I empathize with the struggles he has with customers or patrons.
It is somehow comforting to see that you are not the only person that deals with the crazy people in the public. There are so many times when you are working with customers that you feel abandoned and alone. You know in your head that this is just a passing customer who feels you are incompetent but it is very disconcerting when you have a few bad ones a day and they all think you are an idiot because there is no way you can provide them with the item/service/refund/golden ticket that they want.
This is why I read K's blog and I laugh because I was at that store and I know the crazies that come in and this is why I read Waiter's blog and sit there and say "Hey, I think I know that guy!" I probably don't but I know that type of guy or girl. I know the spoiled children, I know the demanding customers, I understand how customers have a sense of self entitlement.
When you work in the service business dealing with the public you see all sorts of things, but at least when you read about others experiences you know that you are not alone. You can identify and you feel like you are part of a community that understands what you are going through each and every day.
It's fun, we love it, I don't want to be doing anything else, I guess I am a bit of a masochist but it is good to know there are others like me out there and while we are a bit crazy at least we are not as crazy as the people we help every day.
I am going to add Waiter-Rant to my links and I encourage you to check it out, it is very funny. Oh, and to tie things together, in a matter of months I am going to be selling his book so keep your eyes open for that.
Here's to dealing with the public... at least we will always have stories to tell!
So, I took this opportunity to get caught up on my blog reading, including K's blog (www.kaitable.blogspot.com) and my new favorite (www.waiterrant.net). Working in the service/ retail industry I identify with the people the Waiter comes in contact with everyday and I empathize with the struggles he has with customers or patrons.
It is somehow comforting to see that you are not the only person that deals with the crazy people in the public. There are so many times when you are working with customers that you feel abandoned and alone. You know in your head that this is just a passing customer who feels you are incompetent but it is very disconcerting when you have a few bad ones a day and they all think you are an idiot because there is no way you can provide them with the item/service/refund/golden ticket that they want.
This is why I read K's blog and I laugh because I was at that store and I know the crazies that come in and this is why I read Waiter's blog and sit there and say "Hey, I think I know that guy!" I probably don't but I know that type of guy or girl. I know the spoiled children, I know the demanding customers, I understand how customers have a sense of self entitlement.
When you work in the service business dealing with the public you see all sorts of things, but at least when you read about others experiences you know that you are not alone. You can identify and you feel like you are part of a community that understands what you are going through each and every day.
It's fun, we love it, I don't want to be doing anything else, I guess I am a bit of a masochist but it is good to know there are others like me out there and while we are a bit crazy at least we are not as crazy as the people we help every day.
I am going to add Waiter-Rant to my links and I encourage you to check it out, it is very funny. Oh, and to tie things together, in a matter of months I am going to be selling his book so keep your eyes open for that.
Here's to dealing with the public... at least we will always have stories to tell!
Salt
I finally finished reading Salt today and I have to say that it was not my favorite book I have read so far but it definitely was interesting. My overall problem is the author is throughout the book he constantly referred to how each culture made salt (there are two ways- solar evaporation of sea water or natural salt deposits that were drilled and purified. This is great information to know in detail once, however, I don't need 100 pages throughout the book repeating this process. It is amazing though how salt played a roll in numerous important events throughout history, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, Gandhi's passive resistance in India, and so many more world altering occurrences.
The one thing that I really noticed as I read this book is that while I have a problem finding food I eat and enjoy this day and age, I would NEVER have survived until recently. I don't eat fish, I don't eat seafood, I don't eat red meat, I barely eat veggies. Back prior to refrigeration all of these things were heavily salted or pickled and kept as a mainstay of anybodies diet. I definitely would not have lived very long.
Now that I am done reading Salt I think I am going to finish reading Stiff. I picked up Stiff close to a year ago and for some unknown reason I abandoned it. I was really enjoying this book about "The Curious Lives of Cadavers," so I am not sure why I put it down.
By the way the Ancient Egyptians salted their Cadavers as part of the mummification process!
The one thing that I really noticed as I read this book is that while I have a problem finding food I eat and enjoy this day and age, I would NEVER have survived until recently. I don't eat fish, I don't eat seafood, I don't eat red meat, I barely eat veggies. Back prior to refrigeration all of these things were heavily salted or pickled and kept as a mainstay of anybodies diet. I definitely would not have lived very long.
Now that I am done reading Salt I think I am going to finish reading Stiff. I picked up Stiff close to a year ago and for some unknown reason I abandoned it. I was really enjoying this book about "The Curious Lives of Cadavers," so I am not sure why I put it down.
By the way the Ancient Egyptians salted their Cadavers as part of the mummification process!
"People Think I Am Crazy..."
When I heard a passenger on the T utter "People Think I am Crazy, but I am not, REALLY I'm not," as I got on the train I should have turned around and gotten off and waited for the next train, but instead I got on and sat down and had quite a trip home on the Orange Line.
I was trying to finish reading Salt because I really don't want to be reading the same book for three weeks. I read about a half a line when the woman who uttered this aforementioned line stood up, bent over, and started "picking up" imaginary papers off of the floor and ranting about how her mother once slipped on all of these papers that were on the floor and fell under the train. Now, we are on the train so it would be quite an amazing feat to slip on papers inside the train and catapult yourself out and under the train in one swift move.
Once she is done picking up these imaginary papers she turns to the guy sitting next to me and yells "Do you work for the T?" "If you work for the T I need to talk to you about all these papers on the floor!"
The man very nicely says "No ma'am I don't I am sorry."
"YES YOU DO, AND YOU ARE THE REASON MY MOTHER SLIPPED AND FELL UNDER THE TRAIN, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF IT WERE YOUR GRANDMOTHER!"
Yes, she said grandmother, which I didn't quite understand but I guess I really shouldn't look for this conversation to make sense. At this point people are trying to slowly move away to the other side of the train. I am still trying to read my book but I am three seats away from crazy paper lady.
"IF SHE WAS YOUR GRANDMOTHER, YOU WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF HER, SHE WAS MY MOTHER, TRAIN, PAPERS..."
She then continues to pick up papers and mumble to herself... once she is done with that she sits back down and talks loudly to the woman across the aisle knitting, and how she used to knit when she was in the Army. Again, this makes no sense to me but I don't think I should be looking for sense in this rant.
As I approach my stop I continue to try to avoid eye contact but she looks at me and asks me if I understand what she is saying. I look her in the eyes and muster up a little bit of sincerity in my voice and say...
"If people think you are crazy then I don't know what is wrong with them!" And I step off the train.
I was trying to finish reading Salt because I really don't want to be reading the same book for three weeks. I read about a half a line when the woman who uttered this aforementioned line stood up, bent over, and started "picking up" imaginary papers off of the floor and ranting about how her mother once slipped on all of these papers that were on the floor and fell under the train. Now, we are on the train so it would be quite an amazing feat to slip on papers inside the train and catapult yourself out and under the train in one swift move.
Once she is done picking up these imaginary papers she turns to the guy sitting next to me and yells "Do you work for the T?" "If you work for the T I need to talk to you about all these papers on the floor!"
The man very nicely says "No ma'am I don't I am sorry."
"YES YOU DO, AND YOU ARE THE REASON MY MOTHER SLIPPED AND FELL UNDER THE TRAIN, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF IT WERE YOUR GRANDMOTHER!"
Yes, she said grandmother, which I didn't quite understand but I guess I really shouldn't look for this conversation to make sense. At this point people are trying to slowly move away to the other side of the train. I am still trying to read my book but I am three seats away from crazy paper lady.
"IF SHE WAS YOUR GRANDMOTHER, YOU WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF HER, SHE WAS MY MOTHER, TRAIN, PAPERS..."
She then continues to pick up papers and mumble to herself... once she is done with that she sits back down and talks loudly to the woman across the aisle knitting, and how she used to knit when she was in the Army. Again, this makes no sense to me but I don't think I should be looking for sense in this rant.
As I approach my stop I continue to try to avoid eye contact but she looks at me and asks me if I understand what she is saying. I look her in the eyes and muster up a little bit of sincerity in my voice and say...
"If people think you are crazy then I don't know what is wrong with them!" And I step off the train.
Results Night 3
Finally America got it right and voted Antonella Barba off, she was a big ole bitch last night and she deserves to be off of the show. Is it wrong that I laughed when she started crying? Am I mean because I thought it was so fitting that she butchered her going away song? HAHA... bye bye (I Hate You). It's funny because it is very obvious that Simon hates her too.
I feel bad for Sabrina who was not the top singer but she was a very sweet nice girl and she got voted off (I DON'T Hate You) but I do hate Antonella!
Now, I guess America can't get it 100% right because my new least favorite is Sanjaya- I have no idea how he has made it this far, and his flat ironed hair on Tuesday makes me want to smack him. Man people, get rid of him next week PLEASE
Also have I mentioned I hate Antonella!
I feel bad for Sabrina who was not the top singer but she was a very sweet nice girl and she got voted off (I DON'T Hate You) but I do hate Antonella!
Now, I guess America can't get it 100% right because my new least favorite is Sanjaya- I have no idea how he has made it this far, and his flat ironed hair on Tuesday makes me want to smack him. Man people, get rid of him next week PLEASE
Also have I mentioned I hate Antonella!
First Dates
It has been many months since I broke up with my ex, we talk and get along and things are good with us. It really is time for me to move on. I haven't been on a first date in like close to a year. First dates suck, they always have but we go on them because there is always that little glimmer of hope that we will find the right person for us. That one "soulmate" (god I hate that term), its right along the lines of "everything happens for a reason."
Anyway, on Wednesday night after our good ole Wednesday night tradition (the boys go out every Wednesday for like 3 years now), an acquaintance asked me out on a date and I said yes. We exchanged phone numbers and he said he would call me. He did on Friday just like he said (good first step) and we made plans to meet up on Saturday night and go to Providence to hang out and then meet up with a few of his friends. Not my idea of an ideal first date but that's OK, it sounded like it could be fun. I picked him up on Saturday night and drove to Providence, I figured I would get to know him a bit in the car, but it turns out he doesn't like to talk while others are driving. OK, well I can be quiet I guess that works so we drive in almost silence to Providence until I need him to give me directions to exactly where we are going.
We park and walk to the site of our first date, a run down dirty pool hall with a dance floor in the back. OK, not what I was hoping for but I can be a bit judgemental (shut up S, I know) and I decide that I am going to give this a chance. We hang out a bit and talk and I have my water since I can't drink and I need to give up Diet Coke. About 45 minutes into getting there he puts his name on to play pool, I don't play pool but I encourage him to go play a game. He is really very good I am very impressed and he is clearing the table game after game. All the while I am holding up a pole in the corner watching. He continues to win and drink and get a bit loud. He goes out for a smoke here and there and is gone for like 30 minutes at a time. His friends show up but they don't really talk to me so I am stuck in a pool bar in Providence pretty much all by myself. Let me tell you this is not my idea of a good first date.
Then of course we have a ride all the way back to Boston, we drive the hour almost in complete silence with the exception of him asking me "if I had a good time!"
No, I did not have a good time, a better date would involve dinner, a drink, conversation, not pool with other guys and pretty much ignoring me.
Guess I am going to need to go on another first date one of these days cause this guy was definitely not my "soulmate"
Anyway, on Wednesday night after our good ole Wednesday night tradition (the boys go out every Wednesday for like 3 years now), an acquaintance asked me out on a date and I said yes. We exchanged phone numbers and he said he would call me. He did on Friday just like he said (good first step) and we made plans to meet up on Saturday night and go to Providence to hang out and then meet up with a few of his friends. Not my idea of an ideal first date but that's OK, it sounded like it could be fun. I picked him up on Saturday night and drove to Providence, I figured I would get to know him a bit in the car, but it turns out he doesn't like to talk while others are driving. OK, well I can be quiet I guess that works so we drive in almost silence to Providence until I need him to give me directions to exactly where we are going.
We park and walk to the site of our first date, a run down dirty pool hall with a dance floor in the back. OK, not what I was hoping for but I can be a bit judgemental (shut up S, I know) and I decide that I am going to give this a chance. We hang out a bit and talk and I have my water since I can't drink and I need to give up Diet Coke. About 45 minutes into getting there he puts his name on to play pool, I don't play pool but I encourage him to go play a game. He is really very good I am very impressed and he is clearing the table game after game. All the while I am holding up a pole in the corner watching. He continues to win and drink and get a bit loud. He goes out for a smoke here and there and is gone for like 30 minutes at a time. His friends show up but they don't really talk to me so I am stuck in a pool bar in Providence pretty much all by myself. Let me tell you this is not my idea of a good first date.
Then of course we have a ride all the way back to Boston, we drive the hour almost in complete silence with the exception of him asking me "if I had a good time!"
No, I did not have a good time, a better date would involve dinner, a drink, conversation, not pool with other guys and pretty much ignoring me.
Guess I am going to need to go on another first date one of these days cause this guy was definitely not my "soulmate"
A Catch Up Post
So, after my fit of OCD I had a very busy 8ish days. Work was crazy and Bob needed to go back to the doctor to have his sutures taken out (no more cone). My parents were up last weekend and we had a busy weekend that even included more cleaning and some shopping. I had a funeral service to go to and a doctor's appointment for myself (kidney stone go figure).
So starting around Tuesday night I was in excruciating pain and unfortunately I had to wait until Friday for the doctor to have an open appointment, meanwhile at work I had to conduct 12 (yes 12) interviews for four open positions at the store, all the while squirming around to try to find a comfortable position to sit while listening to their answers.
Mom was up again on Thursday, so my sister picked me up at work and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I love Cheesecake, but I scared my mom because I really wasn't feeling good so I didn't eat any of my FAVORITE White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake.
Then there was Idol, oh man what is wrong with you America! Overall, the girls kicked butt again and I really like Melinda Doolittle, even though she kinda looks like Shrek! No really she does! The boys were much better this week. Results however pissed me off once again. How is it possible that Sanjaya (who barely even sang his song) and freaking Antonella Barba who has no redeeming characteristics, she is bitchy, thinks she is hot shit and she can't sing are still on this show. Come to your senses America and vote these guys off (not that I vote).
I started reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky last week (and continued this week) and I am enjoying it even though there are times when I wish he would stop describing exactly how salt was made in the good ole days (solar evaporation of sea water) and how salt was used to preserve fish (layer salt and fish in a big wooden barrel and seal). Overall, it is a very interesting look at world history and how salt was a part of major occurrences. When I am finished I will give you a full recap.
I am sure that plenty of other things occured this week but I am writing this on a tremendous amount of pain killers. The funniest thing I remember from this week is when a customer stole the pen from the customer service desk. Now if they had stolen a plain old Bic pen I wouldn't have thought anything of it. The funny part is we have "bank" pens at the front counters, the ones that are stuck to the counter. So, the customer pulled the pen off of the counter, chain and anchor and all and walked out the door. So seriously if you are around Boston and see a person walking around with a four foot chain hanging out of their purse, or if you are in Cambridge and see somebody signing their credit card slip with a pen attached to a chain and anchor tell them to return my pen.
I mean really who rips a pen off of a counter when all they needed to do was ask to borrow a pen and then not return it. OK, I am going to go lay down and moan in pain, damn Diet Soda I need to stop drinking you.
So starting around Tuesday night I was in excruciating pain and unfortunately I had to wait until Friday for the doctor to have an open appointment, meanwhile at work I had to conduct 12 (yes 12) interviews for four open positions at the store, all the while squirming around to try to find a comfortable position to sit while listening to their answers.
Mom was up again on Thursday, so my sister picked me up at work and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I love Cheesecake, but I scared my mom because I really wasn't feeling good so I didn't eat any of my FAVORITE White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake.
Then there was Idol, oh man what is wrong with you America! Overall, the girls kicked butt again and I really like Melinda Doolittle, even though she kinda looks like Shrek! No really she does! The boys were much better this week. Results however pissed me off once again. How is it possible that Sanjaya (who barely even sang his song) and freaking Antonella Barba who has no redeeming characteristics, she is bitchy, thinks she is hot shit and she can't sing are still on this show. Come to your senses America and vote these guys off (not that I vote).
I started reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky last week (and continued this week) and I am enjoying it even though there are times when I wish he would stop describing exactly how salt was made in the good ole days (solar evaporation of sea water) and how salt was used to preserve fish (layer salt and fish in a big wooden barrel and seal). Overall, it is a very interesting look at world history and how salt was a part of major occurrences. When I am finished I will give you a full recap.
I am sure that plenty of other things occured this week but I am writing this on a tremendous amount of pain killers. The funniest thing I remember from this week is when a customer stole the pen from the customer service desk. Now if they had stolen a plain old Bic pen I wouldn't have thought anything of it. The funny part is we have "bank" pens at the front counters, the ones that are stuck to the counter. So, the customer pulled the pen off of the counter, chain and anchor and all and walked out the door. So seriously if you are around Boston and see a person walking around with a four foot chain hanging out of their purse, or if you are in Cambridge and see somebody signing their credit card slip with a pen attached to a chain and anchor tell them to return my pen.
I mean really who rips a pen off of a counter when all they needed to do was ask to borrow a pen and then not return it. OK, I am going to go lay down and moan in pain, damn Diet Soda I need to stop drinking you.
A Fit of OCD
My office is organized
My files are organized
I expect my employees to be organized
When I see something out of place in my store I immediately walk over and fix it
My condo on the other hand is not that organized and I am always behind on laundry and I have lived here for close to three years and I still have boxes that are not unpacked. These are all things that I should be doing instead of squandering weekends. However, tonight around 10:00pm I turned into a tornado of cleaning as a fit of OCD hit me in full force. Now this fit of OCD was obviously triggered by the fact that my parents are coming over tomorrow, but usually when they are coming i shove things into my three small closets until they are about to overflow, and it is dangerous to open the doors.
Tonight at 10 I ran a load of laundry down to the basement and then proceeded to sort the remaining six loads. I also pulled two more loads that I could do tonight. As I was doing this I also noticed that I had a bunch of clothing from my "fat stage" that I really needed to donate to charity, so I sorted these out into another bin. This lead me to going into my closets and pull out more clothing that I didn't wear and put these into the charity bin. I also sorted through some of the stuff I had set aside in the basement and threw some stuff out in the trash bin tonight.
By this time my first load of laundry was done drying so I folded and put away that first load while the second load of laundry was drying and the third load was in the wash. I also washed all of my dishes and cleaned out the dresser in my guest room. Ah, yes and I also cleaned the litter boxes. I put a collection of luggage up on the top shelf of my pantry and finished sorted the rest of my laundry neatly into my baskets in my pantry.
Now my second load of laundry is dry, so I fold it and put it away, I also go through the chest at the foot of my bed and add some sweaters to my pile of things going to charity. I brought down the garbage and moved some stuff from my closets to the basement. I am now waiting for my third load of laundry to try and I will fold that and put it away.
I made some progress, I now only have one box of stuff that is not unpacked and things are much more organized then they were before. I guess I should have OCD fits more often, I don't see anything wrong with them.
My files are organized
I expect my employees to be organized
When I see something out of place in my store I immediately walk over and fix it
My condo on the other hand is not that organized and I am always behind on laundry and I have lived here for close to three years and I still have boxes that are not unpacked. These are all things that I should be doing instead of squandering weekends. However, tonight around 10:00pm I turned into a tornado of cleaning as a fit of OCD hit me in full force. Now this fit of OCD was obviously triggered by the fact that my parents are coming over tomorrow, but usually when they are coming i shove things into my three small closets until they are about to overflow, and it is dangerous to open the doors.
Tonight at 10 I ran a load of laundry down to the basement and then proceeded to sort the remaining six loads. I also pulled two more loads that I could do tonight. As I was doing this I also noticed that I had a bunch of clothing from my "fat stage" that I really needed to donate to charity, so I sorted these out into another bin. This lead me to going into my closets and pull out more clothing that I didn't wear and put these into the charity bin. I also sorted through some of the stuff I had set aside in the basement and threw some stuff out in the trash bin tonight.
By this time my first load of laundry was done drying so I folded and put away that first load while the second load of laundry was drying and the third load was in the wash. I also washed all of my dishes and cleaned out the dresser in my guest room. Ah, yes and I also cleaned the litter boxes. I put a collection of luggage up on the top shelf of my pantry and finished sorted the rest of my laundry neatly into my baskets in my pantry.
Now my second load of laundry is dry, so I fold it and put it away, I also go through the chest at the foot of my bed and add some sweaters to my pile of things going to charity. I brought down the garbage and moved some stuff from my closets to the basement. I am now waiting for my third load of laundry to try and I will fold that and put it away.
I made some progress, I now only have one box of stuff that is not unpacked and things are much more organized then they were before. I guess I should have OCD fits more often, I don't see anything wrong with them.
Results Night 1
Ok, so as many of you know I am addicted to American Idol and tonight was the first results show of the season and America never ceases to amaze me. Two of the worst, possibly three, singers survived the first cut.
Antonella Barba is quite possibly one of the worst contestants in six years and she has no redeeming qualities. She can't sing at all, yet somehow she made it to the next round. America, I mean really what are you thinking. I really hope she literally falls flat on her face next week on stage.
Sunjaya Malakar probably has a good voice but he is very awkward and didn't do a great job singing this week. I definitely think that he should have gone home.
Sundance Head sang a song that I hate and he sang it poorly. America should have said goodbye tonight.
Hopefully America picks better next week!
Antonella Barba is quite possibly one of the worst contestants in six years and she has no redeeming qualities. She can't sing at all, yet somehow she made it to the next round. America, I mean really what are you thinking. I really hope she literally falls flat on her face next week on stage.
Sunjaya Malakar probably has a good voice but he is very awkward and didn't do a great job singing this week. I definitely think that he should have gone home.
Sundance Head sang a song that I hate and he sang it poorly. America should have said goodbye tonight.
Hopefully America picks better next week!
9 Pages Left
I have been reading Strange Pilgrims, stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This collection of stories have been very entertaining, however, I am a very big GGM fan ever since I spent a semester in college reading One Hundred Years of Solitude (in Spanish). I have also read Chronicle of a Death Foretold (in English and Spanish) and Love in the Time of Cholera. Strange Pilgrims included a few fantastically written short stories that reflect the true magical realism style of GGM, some of the best stories were Bon Voyage, Mr. President, I Sell My Dreams, I Only Came to Use the Phone, Maria dos Prazeres, and The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow. All of these stories follow Latin Americans in Europe and they all convey a sense of melancholy as they try to fit in to a culture that is not there own.
The problem was that after reading a few pages at lunch I noticed that I only had nine pages of the last story left to read and I had a thirty minute train ride home. Uh oh, what was I supposed to do when I finished my book on the train. I have about 8 books left on my shelf at home from my shopping spree back in December so I don't want to buy another book at the store, but I also don't want to run out of reading material on the train, then I would have to look at the wackos around me on the train, (like the two guys sharing the 40 last night). So I read slowly but I was still finished reading by the Back Bay stop, with a few stops still ahead of me. I was slightly distraught. But I did finish and I enjoyed the book, and I learned a very important lesson. Even though I am a slow reader as I approach the end of a book I need to make sure I have a backup in my bag just in case I have the unfortunate occurance of finishing with part of the ride remaining.
Now, what book should I start tomorrow, I want to read a piece of non-fiction since I have been mixing up the fiction and non-fiction, I have narrowed it down to:
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Salt by Mark Kurlansky
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
I have wanted to read all three of these books for quite some time I am going to have to think about it.
The problem was that after reading a few pages at lunch I noticed that I only had nine pages of the last story left to read and I had a thirty minute train ride home. Uh oh, what was I supposed to do when I finished my book on the train. I have about 8 books left on my shelf at home from my shopping spree back in December so I don't want to buy another book at the store, but I also don't want to run out of reading material on the train, then I would have to look at the wackos around me on the train, (like the two guys sharing the 40 last night). So I read slowly but I was still finished reading by the Back Bay stop, with a few stops still ahead of me. I was slightly distraught. But I did finish and I enjoyed the book, and I learned a very important lesson. Even though I am a slow reader as I approach the end of a book I need to make sure I have a backup in my bag just in case I have the unfortunate occurance of finishing with part of the ride remaining.
Now, what book should I start tomorrow, I want to read a piece of non-fiction since I have been mixing up the fiction and non-fiction, I have narrowed it down to:
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Salt by Mark Kurlansky
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
I have wanted to read all three of these books for quite some time I am going to have to think about it.
Do You Ever...
... wake up in the middle of the night and wonder about things?
I do all the time and sometimes its happy things and other times its sad. Sometimes its silly stuff like work and other times I am feeling philosophical and its about the meaning of life. Tonight I was just thinking about happiness, its a pretty general concept but as a whole it seems to elude people. I wondered about when I was the happiest and if I am happy now. Sure certain things make me happy and I have good friends that make me smile, but am I happy?
I think this whole line of thinking was brought on when an older gentleman I used to work with passed away unexpectedly. He was a sweet guy, holding down two jobs, serving on medical and school boards and overall just trying to be a great man. Sure, he had his shortcomings, and he wasn't awesome at his job but he was always trying, and even if he wasn't he could always get your Red Sox or even Rolling Stones tickets.
He passed away last week alone in his apartment and he has no family in the area. The university is working on services but they aren't sure when his body will be released, and this just makes me wonder if he was truly happy or was he just living his life. People around the square will all remember him wandering around in his shorts (from that school across the river) and asking about all the neighborhood information. He would ask you about your family and what you were doing. He wished me the best of luck when I left in December and you always got the feeling that he really cared about the people around him.
I just hope that he was happy in his last moments, he deserves to be.
I do all the time and sometimes its happy things and other times its sad. Sometimes its silly stuff like work and other times I am feeling philosophical and its about the meaning of life. Tonight I was just thinking about happiness, its a pretty general concept but as a whole it seems to elude people. I wondered about when I was the happiest and if I am happy now. Sure certain things make me happy and I have good friends that make me smile, but am I happy?
I think this whole line of thinking was brought on when an older gentleman I used to work with passed away unexpectedly. He was a sweet guy, holding down two jobs, serving on medical and school boards and overall just trying to be a great man. Sure, he had his shortcomings, and he wasn't awesome at his job but he was always trying, and even if he wasn't he could always get your Red Sox or even Rolling Stones tickets.
He passed away last week alone in his apartment and he has no family in the area. The university is working on services but they aren't sure when his body will be released, and this just makes me wonder if he was truly happy or was he just living his life. People around the square will all remember him wandering around in his shorts (from that school across the river) and asking about all the neighborhood information. He would ask you about your family and what you were doing. He wished me the best of luck when I left in December and you always got the feeling that he really cared about the people around him.
I just hope that he was happy in his last moments, he deserves to be.
Favorite "News" Story
So my favorite news story of the weekend is that Britney Spears has totally lost her mind and she has shaved her head. I started every conversation today with "Britney is bald!" I only have one thing to say about this...
"Britney, here is your cone"
"Britney, here is your cone"
Cone-Heads
Bob is wearing a cone on his head for 14 days to prevent him from getting at his sutures, he is having a really hard time getting around the condo. Most of the time he is secluded in one room but I sometimes lock his sister in the room and let him wander. He tries to get around but bounces into walls and doors, its hard how would you like to have a cone tied around your neck.
I was thinking about this when I decided that this should be my punishment for stupid customers this week, here is how I think this would work...
Can I buy books here, no we just call ourselves a bookstore and you sir can not buy books here now come here while I strap this cone around your neck.
Excuse me I tried to rip this security tag off of this shirt and it got ink all over me and the shirt can I exchange it without a receipt, come here ma'am let me strap this cone around your neck and you can walk around my store for 14 days with it on.
Can you show me what books I need for my class, I don't have a course number or any idea what my professors name is, I am sorry sir I have no idea of knowing what books you need but I can supply you with this lovely cone to strap around your neck.
I can just picture my store full of idiot customers banging into each other because they have cones strapped around the heads and can't navigate, that will teach them to ask stupid questions (and yes there is such a thing as a stupid question). I wonder if I could expand my plan to the real world outside of my store.
Hey idiot who hit me while yapping on his cell phone at the gym, here is your cone.
Coupon lady at the supermarket, here is your cone ma'am.
Ass who cut me off in the ice storm last Wednesday, get out of your car so I can strap this cone around your neck.
Ah yes, this is the best idea I have ever had!
I was thinking about this when I decided that this should be my punishment for stupid customers this week, here is how I think this would work...
Can I buy books here, no we just call ourselves a bookstore and you sir can not buy books here now come here while I strap this cone around your neck.
Excuse me I tried to rip this security tag off of this shirt and it got ink all over me and the shirt can I exchange it without a receipt, come here ma'am let me strap this cone around your neck and you can walk around my store for 14 days with it on.
Can you show me what books I need for my class, I don't have a course number or any idea what my professors name is, I am sorry sir I have no idea of knowing what books you need but I can supply you with this lovely cone to strap around your neck.
I can just picture my store full of idiot customers banging into each other because they have cones strapped around the heads and can't navigate, that will teach them to ask stupid questions (and yes there is such a thing as a stupid question). I wonder if I could expand my plan to the real world outside of my store.
Hey idiot who hit me while yapping on his cell phone at the gym, here is your cone.
Coupon lady at the supermarket, here is your cone ma'am.
Ass who cut me off in the ice storm last Wednesday, get out of your car so I can strap this cone around your neck.
Ah yes, this is the best idea I have ever had!
Mountains Beyond Mountains
I am just finishing up Mountains Beyond Mountains, it took me a while to get through the entire book but I was very impressed with the writing. I wasn't sure what to expect from the book when I picked it up other then the fact that many people have purchased this book since it came out while I was working in New Haven. It is part of every bookstores paperback favorites table as well. The reason the book took me so long to read was because it is a very in depth story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his efforts to cure diseases throughout the world. This included some very in depth medical terms and information, but that did not detract from how much I enjoyed the book.
This book is a brilliant biography of Dr. Paul Farmer. It is exhilarating to read the selfless commitment of one man to change the suffering that millions of people in third world countries are experiencing. Farmer's accomplishments created the Partners in Health organization that in turn stimulated the World Health Organization to wake up to the disasters that are occuring in third world countries. He was successful at eventually supplying much needed medicines, cash, buildings and personnel to begin to make a change in the world health care. Kidder's gift as a writer lies not only in his detailed and well researched biography of a modern saint, but also in his ability to allow us to get to know the very human creature named Paul Farmer.
It is a touching story that demands our attention on many levels. Tracy Kidder's sharing of Dr. Paul Farmer's life is a poignant reminder that the individual CAN make a difference!
This book is a brilliant biography of Dr. Paul Farmer. It is exhilarating to read the selfless commitment of one man to change the suffering that millions of people in third world countries are experiencing. Farmer's accomplishments created the Partners in Health organization that in turn stimulated the World Health Organization to wake up to the disasters that are occuring in third world countries. He was successful at eventually supplying much needed medicines, cash, buildings and personnel to begin to make a change in the world health care. Kidder's gift as a writer lies not only in his detailed and well researched biography of a modern saint, but also in his ability to allow us to get to know the very human creature named Paul Farmer.
It is a touching story that demands our attention on many levels. Tracy Kidder's sharing of Dr. Paul Farmer's life is a poignant reminder that the individual CAN make a difference!
Guess Who is Blocked Again?
Yes, Bob "Cash" is blocked again and his Dad (and my Dad) are not very happy!
Bob had to go back to the animal hospital tonight, I knew exactly what it was because when I came in the house there was blood on the floor and a screaming kitty, it wasn't quite as bad as last week but it is going to cost more money than last week.
They recommended the surgery and I should have him back by next Monday, which is a really long time and I know his sister is going to be loving the time she has away from him. The surgery is really invasive and involves removing a piece of his anatomy (don't ask). I am going to have to learn to only eat Ramen for the next 8 months because I will barely have enough money to pay my mortgage (and for that matter I don't know if my parents will either). Because I can't afford the surgery fully so my wonderful parents are going to help me out.
Oh poor Bob, I feel bad for you, but you are in good hands and soon you will be back to driving me and your sister crazy.
February 12 is the LAST DAY for Text returns, no really it's the LAST DAY
Today was February 12, and it was the last day for text book returns at my store. Textbooks are a hard business and many people are involved in a single sale, there are also restrictions that are put upon stores from publishers and lots of online and brick and mortar competition. Because of all of this we have a very strict return policy, many students don't think it is fair but we do our best to accommodate people as well as make them aware of the return policies at every point in the sale. We have signs up everywhere in the store, every receipt has the last day of returns posted on it, we attach a big brightly colored piece of paper with the return policy on it to each and every receipt, and we train every single cashier to tell the customer when the last day for returns is.
I think we do an excellent job providing customers with all of the information, yet on the last day for returns so many customers come in and play dumb. What do you mean today is the last day? But I lost my receipt that doesn't matter does it? Yes it is the last day and guess what you need a receipt to make a return, how do I know you bought this book that is available in any hundreds of places at my store without a receipt, and excuse me for being cynical but how do I know you didn't steal it from my shelves.
So today I had the joy of being the one at the top who had to say no to all of the people who had great excuses for not being able to follow the policy, here are some things people said to me,
1) My roommate threw away my reciept
2) Nobody told me that today was the last day can I bring in my books tomorrow
3) My mom died
4) My dad died
5) I threw away my receipt (and my dog ate my homework)
6) I wrote all over this book but now I don't need it
7) My friend gave me her book but I don't need it can I return it for full price
8) Blah, blah, blah
By the end of the day it all sounded the same and hundreds of people were able to follow the policy so I am not sure why you think you are special. I had to say no to everybody that didn't follow the policy, I know it makes me seem like a hard ass but once I make one exception I have to make 100.
Here is a hint, if the last day for returns is February 12 and you need your receipt then the last day for returns is the 12 and you need your receipt.
I think we do an excellent job providing customers with all of the information, yet on the last day for returns so many customers come in and play dumb. What do you mean today is the last day? But I lost my receipt that doesn't matter does it? Yes it is the last day and guess what you need a receipt to make a return, how do I know you bought this book that is available in any hundreds of places at my store without a receipt, and excuse me for being cynical but how do I know you didn't steal it from my shelves.
So today I had the joy of being the one at the top who had to say no to all of the people who had great excuses for not being able to follow the policy, here are some things people said to me,
1) My roommate threw away my reciept
2) Nobody told me that today was the last day can I bring in my books tomorrow
3) My mom died
4) My dad died
5) I threw away my receipt (and my dog ate my homework)
6) I wrote all over this book but now I don't need it
7) My friend gave me her book but I don't need it can I return it for full price
8) Blah, blah, blah
By the end of the day it all sounded the same and hundreds of people were able to follow the policy so I am not sure why you think you are special. I had to say no to everybody that didn't follow the policy, I know it makes me seem like a hard ass but once I make one exception I have to make 100.
Here is a hint, if the last day for returns is February 12 and you need your receipt then the last day for returns is the 12 and you need your receipt.
What is Wrong With People
I know I say this all the time but I really want to know, "What is wrong with people!?!"
1) I closed the store at 6:30 tonight as usual, as usual we turned off the lights in front, put the bright orange crash bar on the door and dropped the gate. About 10 minutes later as we were closing out the last register and I hear somebody pulling on the door. I almost understand pulling on the door once but this guy wouldn't stop, it didn't look like we were opened at all, even if you pulled the door off of the hinges how were you planning on getting in through the gate.
2) I try to explain book buyback to a customer over the phone the other day and I am giving him all of the information I can provide without seeing the books and knowing if we are still buying these particular books. The customer then becomes inexplicably pissed off and says "Well, F You, if you are not going to give me the information I need then you are useless to me." Then he hangs up, the thing is I was trying to give him the information he needed and I was being really pleasant about it even though I had a line of people right in front of me.
3) Another main part of my job this week was to work in the textbook department and help people find the books they were looking for. I spent a majority of my days in the textbook aisles asking people if they needed help, or if they had found everything they were looking for. Most people were very positive, but I had one customer look at me and indignantly say, "Do I look like I need help?" I wanted to say, "Yes you look like you need help, but not the help I can really provide so here is the phone number to my therapist you freak." But instead, I said, "I am sorry sir, I am just doing my job, please find me if you need anything."
These are only a few of the interesting interactions I have had this past week that make me say, "What is wrong with people, because really, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!
1) I closed the store at 6:30 tonight as usual, as usual we turned off the lights in front, put the bright orange crash bar on the door and dropped the gate. About 10 minutes later as we were closing out the last register and I hear somebody pulling on the door. I almost understand pulling on the door once but this guy wouldn't stop, it didn't look like we were opened at all, even if you pulled the door off of the hinges how were you planning on getting in through the gate.
2) I try to explain book buyback to a customer over the phone the other day and I am giving him all of the information I can provide without seeing the books and knowing if we are still buying these particular books. The customer then becomes inexplicably pissed off and says "Well, F You, if you are not going to give me the information I need then you are useless to me." Then he hangs up, the thing is I was trying to give him the information he needed and I was being really pleasant about it even though I had a line of people right in front of me.
3) Another main part of my job this week was to work in the textbook department and help people find the books they were looking for. I spent a majority of my days in the textbook aisles asking people if they needed help, or if they had found everything they were looking for. Most people were very positive, but I had one customer look at me and indignantly say, "Do I look like I need help?" I wanted to say, "Yes you look like you need help, but not the help I can really provide so here is the phone number to my therapist you freak." But instead, I said, "I am sorry sir, I am just doing my job, please find me if you need anything."
These are only a few of the interesting interactions I have had this past week that make me say, "What is wrong with people, because really, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!
Pleasant Surprise
So, I am a little behind on my posts but I have been making notes about things I want to post about, one of the things that I wanted to mention last week is how I think i have found a new author that I really like (and one I would never expect)! Back in November I picked up a copy of The Road by Cormac McCarthy on a recommendation from a fellow manager at another store. I loved it but to a certain extent I thought it was a fluke. However, during my shopping spree back in December I purchased another Cormac McCarthy book called No Country for Old Men.
A few weeks back I decided I would take a chance and read it and I fell in love with his writing. The main character in this book, Llewelyn Moss, started out hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, when he finds men shot dead, with heroin in their truck, and more than $2 million in cash. He makes the decision to take the money. Only after two more men are murdered does a victim's burning car lead the sheriff to the crime scene, and he soon realizes how desperately Moss and his young wife need protection. One side hires an ex-Special Forces officer to defend their interests against a mesmerizing freelancer, while on either side are men accustomed to spectacular violence and mayhem. The pursuit stretches up and down and across the border, each participant seemingly determined to answer what one asks another: how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"
This story would have fallen apart if McCarthy wasn't such an amazing writer. He weaves each one of the character's stories together by following them for a few pages. The action and mayhem is no stop and the violence is shocking. You feel as if you have been transported to another world. I think I am going to have to go pick up another book by Cormac McCarthy after I finish the stack on my bookshelf.
I am reading Mountains Beyond Mountains now, and L is batting 1.000 with the picks she made for me in December. It is really good.
A few weeks back I decided I would take a chance and read it and I fell in love with his writing. The main character in this book, Llewelyn Moss, started out hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, when he finds men shot dead, with heroin in their truck, and more than $2 million in cash. He makes the decision to take the money. Only after two more men are murdered does a victim's burning car lead the sheriff to the crime scene, and he soon realizes how desperately Moss and his young wife need protection. One side hires an ex-Special Forces officer to defend their interests against a mesmerizing freelancer, while on either side are men accustomed to spectacular violence and mayhem. The pursuit stretches up and down and across the border, each participant seemingly determined to answer what one asks another: how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"
This story would have fallen apart if McCarthy wasn't such an amazing writer. He weaves each one of the character's stories together by following them for a few pages. The action and mayhem is no stop and the violence is shocking. You feel as if you have been transported to another world. I think I am going to have to go pick up another book by Cormac McCarthy after I finish the stack on my bookshelf.
I am reading Mountains Beyond Mountains now, and L is batting 1.000 with the picks she made for me in December. It is really good.
Ojos Asi y Comiendo Mierda
Ok, so last week I was at the gym and I wanted to get in a quick run before I had to go somewhere, I am not sure where I was going but I know I had about 45 minutes to run. I get to the gym and its not too busy so I choose an elliptical that has a couple open on each side. I get through about 25 minutes without anybody even entering my space. But with 15 minutes left to go a man with a folder a pen and a cell phone get on the machine next to mine. SHIT!
I knew this was going to be bad, but I had no idea what would happen five minutes into his workout. I was at 32 minutes and a remix of Shakira's Ojos Asi came on to my I-pod to push me through my last 8 minutes of the workout. His phone rings, he looks up from his folder and decides to answer it, and stops running, OK I think maybe he will get off his machine but no, he starts yelling into his phone, and his screams are drowning out Shakira! I have mentioned it before, I hate when people go to the gym and don't work out, there is no need to bring your cell phone to the floor, especially when you are doing your cardio, if you can talk on your cell then you are not working out hard enough.
I am getting pissed off with his yelling when he begins to flail his arms and hits me in my arm. I stop, get off my machine, and start to yell at this guy but decide to just tell him that he should walk away if he needs to be on the phone. I was pissed, I mean really what is wrong with people. It is one thing to yap on your phone at the gym but to be so annoying is really ridiculous. He apparently sees nothing wrong with his actions and I walk away furious. Ruined my workout i was so pissed.
By the way comiendo mierda= eating shit= talking crap!
I knew this was going to be bad, but I had no idea what would happen five minutes into his workout. I was at 32 minutes and a remix of Shakira's Ojos Asi came on to my I-pod to push me through my last 8 minutes of the workout. His phone rings, he looks up from his folder and decides to answer it, and stops running, OK I think maybe he will get off his machine but no, he starts yelling into his phone, and his screams are drowning out Shakira! I have mentioned it before, I hate when people go to the gym and don't work out, there is no need to bring your cell phone to the floor, especially when you are doing your cardio, if you can talk on your cell then you are not working out hard enough.
I am getting pissed off with his yelling when he begins to flail his arms and hits me in my arm. I stop, get off my machine, and start to yell at this guy but decide to just tell him that he should walk away if he needs to be on the phone. I was pissed, I mean really what is wrong with people. It is one thing to yap on your phone at the gym but to be so annoying is really ridiculous. He apparently sees nothing wrong with his actions and I walk away furious. Ruined my workout i was so pissed.
By the way comiendo mierda= eating shit= talking crap!
Bob and Tipsy
Three years ago I lived in New Haven and one snowy day in February two little sick kittens found there way to my back door. I am still not sure what happened to there mom but they where cold and sick so i took them in and fed them and tried to warm them up. Because it was snowing heavily I wasn't able to get them to the doctors right away so I did the best I could. I brought them to the shelter the next day with every intention of leaving them to get healthy and be adopted by a loving family who actually liked cats (or at least a crazy cat lady). The problem was the shelter would not take in sick cats, they would just take care of them. I felt really bad and couldn't leave these two sick fur balls at the shelter. So, I took them to the doctor thinking that two cold sick kittens couldn't cost that much money to nurse to health and then I would bring them back to the shelter for adoption. I refused to name them one was boy the other was girl, because I didn't want to get attached!
Three weeks later and about $2,500 poorer I decided that I had two cats. I figured I had put enough money into these two that I should either have had them gold plated or I should keep them around. Now his name was easy, I have a teddy bear named Bob, my first male child will be named Bob, my dog would be named Bob, therefore my cat was named Bob! Now, what to name the female kitten, well she was the one who had the really bad upper respiratory infection so when she was really little she would walk a few steps and fall over, much like she was drunk, so I decided to call her Tipsy (I thought it was better than drunk girl)!
They have developed there own personalities and own different quirks over the past three years, Tipsy uses the toilet to pee, Bob uses his paws to eat. Bob love pizza and broccoli, Tipsy loves the little red beef pieces in egg rolls. Bob is rambunctious and very social and Tipsy is quiet and lazy and shys away from most people except me. Bob also always lays on his back and moans when he is feeling sick.
When I came home on Monday after a long day of work I walked in to Bob laying on his back and screaming bloody murder. It was not a good noise and I immediately knew something was seriously wrong. My paternal instinct immediately kicked in and I wrapped him in a towel ran him downstairs and put him in his carrier, I ran to my car and drove directly to the animal hospital (Angell provides amazing service). They look at him quickly and brought him back to run some tests, they found that he had a blocked urethra and was in a lot of pain and they needed to perform some surgery immediately in order to unblock him. I was a nervous wreck as they took him to the back and began the procedures, and the worst part is he had to remain secluded from the outside environment so I couldn't see him. Tipsy was thrilled that she finally got a good night sleep without her brother bugging her but I was very nervous and didn't sleep well at all.
Bob came home last night and he is doing a bit better, still not 100% and he needs to make medicine twice a day, now that is a nightmare.
Anyway, after this emergency surgery I think that Bob's middle name will be Cash!
Three weeks later and about $2,500 poorer I decided that I had two cats. I figured I had put enough money into these two that I should either have had them gold plated or I should keep them around. Now his name was easy, I have a teddy bear named Bob, my first male child will be named Bob, my dog would be named Bob, therefore my cat was named Bob! Now, what to name the female kitten, well she was the one who had the really bad upper respiratory infection so when she was really little she would walk a few steps and fall over, much like she was drunk, so I decided to call her Tipsy (I thought it was better than drunk girl)!
They have developed there own personalities and own different quirks over the past three years, Tipsy uses the toilet to pee, Bob uses his paws to eat. Bob love pizza and broccoli, Tipsy loves the little red beef pieces in egg rolls. Bob is rambunctious and very social and Tipsy is quiet and lazy and shys away from most people except me. Bob also always lays on his back and moans when he is feeling sick.
When I came home on Monday after a long day of work I walked in to Bob laying on his back and screaming bloody murder. It was not a good noise and I immediately knew something was seriously wrong. My paternal instinct immediately kicked in and I wrapped him in a towel ran him downstairs and put him in his carrier, I ran to my car and drove directly to the animal hospital (Angell provides amazing service). They look at him quickly and brought him back to run some tests, they found that he had a blocked urethra and was in a lot of pain and they needed to perform some surgery immediately in order to unblock him. I was a nervous wreck as they took him to the back and began the procedures, and the worst part is he had to remain secluded from the outside environment so I couldn't see him. Tipsy was thrilled that she finally got a good night sleep without her brother bugging her but I was very nervous and didn't sleep well at all.
Bob came home last night and he is doing a bit better, still not 100% and he needs to make medicine twice a day, now that is a nightmare.
Anyway, after this emergency surgery I think that Bob's middle name will be Cash!
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