Sunday, March 31, 2019

Life In Lumber, Week #1

Day 16:
Shift began fairly quiet.  I relieved Brenda, and rang up a few customers...then Tiffany left and rang up more.  At 5:30, I took my 15 minute break, then B left at 6.  Only had one snippy customer; I honestly hadn't seen the guy, and told a woman I could take her.  Rang her up and sent her on her way, then smiled at the guy.

"Thanks for ringing her up ahead of me."

My jaw dropped.  "OMG....I am so sorry!  I honestly didn't see you!"

"She did."

I kept smiling and rang him up, then sent him out the door with a 'have a nice day'.

I had to call for one override, help with a coupon, and two Code 50s.  Aggie came down when I had about 5 people in line, and at first, I wondered if maybe she was firing me, due to the fact my cell phone was on the counter with the NCAA Tournament playing.  I clearly wasn't watching it, but as I rang the purchases up, she sacked.

All of a sudden, the lights went out.

"I didn't know you guys closed at 7...."

"Is it that time already?"

Aggie nodded.  I'd lost all track of time!

Final two customers:  One had left a water heater while she shopped, and I'd wondered if she'd forgotten it.  Nope....she had a cart load!  Rang her up, and first she said no to the warranty, then changed her mind.  Aggie tried to zero it out and re-scan it, but no warranty popped up.  So I apologized, and the customer said not to worry about it.

Man bought several stacks of lumber, and said he was tax-exempt.  I'd done one previously without any issues, but a screen popped up saying his was expired.  He had paperwork to show he'd renewed it, but neither Aggie nor I could find it.  Finally, Tara, the night manager, zeroed out the sales tax so I could process the payment, and I could clock out and go home.  I'd not restocked the cooler, swept the floor, wiped down the counters, or even locked the doors!  I HAD managed to gather the trash.  Aggie said not to worry about it.  Clocked in at 3:33; out at 7:45.

Day 17:  April Fool's Day!
Relieved the lady at register 1, and promptly the April Fool's Gods descended on me!  Nothing went right; I think I spent more time on the phone with Jess and Mel than I've ever had to!  Finally after an hour, things settled down, and things went smoothly...until I tried to ring up one guy's heavy duty screws.  The total rang up more than $10K....I looked at that and said, "That's not right."

Hit F-3 to return....those 8 screws?  $10,000!

Started over....tried to key in the bar code, and it told me 'item not found.'

Tried looking it up in the computer.  Nope.

The app.  Nope.

The Blue Book.  Nope.

Finally, I called Hardware, and got transferred to Chris, in L&G.  He came down and looked it up, couldn't find it.  Meanwhile, customers are backing up.  Mel arrives, jumps on #2 and starts ringing up the backlog.

Chris and my customer go off to find the item, and returned with a different number.  Surprise!  There they are!  He backs out and knocks the $.97 price down to $.60.  I finished ringing them up, then thanked Mel for arriving, and told her what had happened.

"That's CRAZY!"

I toddled off to dinner when Vicki relieved me.

After dinner, things were quiet.  I managed to record my soda machine count, sweep the floors, and wipe down the counter tops.  Had to call Mel when I ran low on 10s and 1s,  and she took my soda count and my tax exempt forms (I'd done 2 of them).

Then my final customer arrived at closing time.  He wanted to price-check three items, then picked the one he wanted.  After HE left, I was able to take the trash down to the dumpster, take all the retur items back to their spaces, clock out and go home.....after refreshing the bags and pushing 5 carts to the front.  Clocked out around 9:40-ish.

Hubby very nicely took me to Old Chicago for a sandwich!

Forgot to mention.....think a man with the last name of Hinz is now convinced my elevator doesn't go all the way to the top.  Sunday, he had his temporary card on his phone and we couldn't scan it, type it in, or anything!  So Aggie put a note on his lumber and he agreed to return the next day.

When I got there today, I was hoping he'd picked it up.....but no, there it was by the door.  He showed up and I honestly was blanking on what the issue was, so I called Mgr Jess to come help me, because I couldn't even explain it over the phone!  He was expecting me to recall it, and I didn't ask the right questions.  About ten minutes later, however, I remembered....but Jess had already solved the problem and had his lumber loaded and sent him on his way.  Apparently we hadn't pressed the correct button, indicating store card???

I kinda hope I don't see him again....here's hoping April 2nd will be kind to me!!

Day #18:  Bad Day
So April 2nd decided to be unkind....first few customers were smooth, but then a series of screw ups and me being on the phone again to help with errors and overrides sent Jess over the edge, and she sent Carly to replace me.

Feeling like a colossal failure, I closed down my register and went back up front, trying to stay positive.  I even cracked, 'Too many phone calls?' , to which Jess nodded, and said she felt I was struggling, and wanted to give me a break, which started the waterworks.  I tried to blink them back, and somewhat succeeded, and it helped that Makayla made me laugh.  But the front was a little slow, and I knew I needed customers to distract me from too much introspection.  At 5:45, Mel sent me to lunch, and the first thing I did was lock myself in the Family bathroom and let myself cry for ten minutes, in order to get it all out.  Thankfully the break room was empty, so was able to eat my lunch and scroll FB until it was time to return.

The later hours went smoothly; I only needed one override, and successfully wiped down the counters, emptied the trash, and attempted to restock the coolers, but ended up letting Cassie do it (she was much faster!)

At the end of the shift, I asked Jess if I should report up front tomorrow, but she said no; she thought I was doing a good job, but just got overwhelmed on a day when there were only 2 Head Cashiers scheduled.

I thanked her and left.

I THINK Makayla and I are going to swap shifts:  She'll work for me on the 14th and I'll take her shift on the 15th.  I just need to double-check the schedule tomorrow.

Day 19:
Answered prayer!  Shift was slightly slow, but very smooth.  Only had to call for overrides twice, and only had one CFH (customer from hell), who wanted to know how much everything was, and did the guy who cut her linoleum get it all, and what was the width....I was sooo happy when she finally left!

Had one guy whose chip wouldn't read.....when he swiped it, computer told him to insert it.  He didn't have the cash, so I put everything aside.  Fifteen minutes later, he was back, and only bought the seven trim pieces with cash.

Weather was warm; we left the large door open the entire shift.

I'm off until next Monday, so come back on Friday for the Flashback, and Life In Lumber will continue next week.

Friday, March 22, 2019

Flashback Friday

March 2009
My blog topics ranged from Octo-Mom to family life.

We spent part of our Spring Break in Lafayette at Buccaneer Bay, and I reconnected with my friend Angela, whom I'd known since the 5th grade.  We hatched a plan to have me crash her 25th HS reunion, since I'd been with half the class from K-9th grade!  It would be fun to catch up with people I'd not seen in 30 years, ha ha!

Mom and I spent an afternoon at the beauty shop, getting our hair done while the kids went to the Train Museum with Grandpa in Battleground (??)/  I look somewhat like a poodle with my perm, but people said I looked younger, so yay!

Edits
I discovered the need to re-lable my MS during edits, because TWICE I 'edited' the wrong draft!  Thankfully, Chuck was patient with me!

Finally, C wrote to me, "I know you have a better ending in you than this."

My brain was tired.  I was tired of my characters, the story line, the plot.  So I typed back, "And they lived happily ever after.  How's THAT?"

I hit 'send' and got up from the computer to switch out the laundry.  Halfway down the stairs, I 'heard' Amber's voice in my head asking Marc..."Is this where we get our happily ever after?"

As soon as I finished with that load, I sent him an email with the new ending!

He was happy, I was happy, and that darn book was off to the proofreader!  I began working on other projects, WIPS that I'm sad to say, are still unfinished, ten years later.

I've Lost My Mind
I agreed to be interviewed on Blog Talk Radio, and actually made it through with only one slight hiccup....I decided to read the Prologue as my excerpt, forgetting there were two 'buzz words' in it.  I breezed through them as fast as I could, but Travis said his producer caught them...

"C*ck and Pu**y at 3 in the afternoon..."

Oops.

Next Month:  W's Final Month Of HS!

*********
Present Day:
I sold the exercise bike yesterday! 

Plus, with the kids being on Spring Break this week, my schedule's been severely off....I've been sleeping until 10am, so haven't hardly watched any of my Nostalgia TV, or done any chores.  And, the NCAA tournament began yesterday, and most of my teams won.  Purdue now has to go up against Villanova.  I'm torn....but Nova won last year (I think!).

Have a great weekend!


Thursday, March 21, 2019

Life As A Red Vest, Pt 2

Day 11:
Shift went fairly smoothly yesterday; I only had two issues that I had to ask for help on:  An in-store coupon (scan 1st before hitting total) and adding purchases to an LAR (F-8, then follow the prompts??  Need to double-check this.).

I also had a customer hand me an item and wonder if there were any more in stock.  I brought it up on the app, and it said there should have been 11 (ten more) on the shelf, but he said it was the only one.  My mind was blank, and so was Morgan's, but the customer simply shrugged his shoulders, paid for his purchases, and that was that.

Had my meeting with Manger Jess, who said she would do her best not to schedule me for April 27th and Memorial weekend, but if for some reason I was on the schedule those days, then to simply call in.  Three days call-in equals one occurrence, and since my attendance has been good, as well as my attitude, she didn't see any reason why this should be an issue.

Just wait until they see my June schedule....but I can ask off for those next month!

Keep checking this post; I work again on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so will update here.  Friday will also be my Flashback to 2009.

Day 12:
Got worried the minute I logged on.  Guy wanted to buy a grill; I told him I'd send the guy to him, then Cindy said she'd do it.  Customer #2 brought me 2 bottles, buy 1 get one free, then questioned the total.  Had some confusion over whether or not the one was free; Cindy took a look; apparently the 2nd time, I rang up the free one first.  Backed out and started over; everything went smoothly.  Guy from outside returned; the grill he wanted had no price tag.  Called down to L&G, and finally got him rung up on another register.  I was only 15 minutes into my shift; was it going to be this way all night?

No.  After that, things settled down.  I did learn how to load $$ onto a gift card, and even College Kid stopped in to see me, ala 'I had to come see this for myself.'  

Pffft....

I began the shift on register 9, then moved to #11....and discovered the scanner was QUIET!  Several times, I looked at the screen to make sure it was ringing up the items!

Rest of the evening was pretty uneventful:)

Day 13:
Began my 1st four-hour shift in Lumber, and boy oh boy, was it a ZOO!  Ian, the Lumber manager, jumped on a register and helped me out, but I think he got all the 'easy' ones....mine had barcodes missing, barcodes ripped halfway off, and hard-to-look-up items!  Fortunately, when Alischa returned from her break, she said the entire day had been like that!

College Kid and future DIL visited with MJ and Jasmine, who loved all over me, and we chatted for a few minutes before Mel called me to take a break.

After break, I went back up front, where it was a little calmer, and two hours sped by.  Tried to stay longer, but Manager Brandon said no, they had enough people to close.

Came home and promptly found out there was karaoke tonight!  Pissed off the spouse a) by going, then b) by staying til 1pm, when I originally said I'd be home early.  The entire gang was there....Mel, Kelly, Bill, Vickers and Lindsay, and even JJ and Jessica arrived around 12:30!

Gang laughed at me, b/c I was watching the Purdue-Nova game on my phone.....PU was THIRTY points ahead at one point!  Holy hell.....did the defending champs forget to mentally show up??  WOW.....

Day 14:
Had a four-hour shift on a rainy Sunday, and things were much calmer!  Got to love on two 9-week-old pit bull pups, as well as their mama, and a few other dogs.  Toward the end of the shift, neither Cindy nor I could locate a bar code for a tiny black pipe nipple, so we just gave it to them:)

Discovered my feet hurt worse when I'm wearing my dress boots, so I'll stick to my tennis shoes from now on!

Day 15:
My first shift in Lawn and Garden was quiet.  I had my own little cubby, complete with space heater and door.  Whenever I'd get hot, I'd get out and walk around a bit.  Got real familiar with Bruce and Brenden, whenever a customer needed help!

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Life As A Red Vest, Pt 1

Day 10:
My 1st shift as on 'official' red vest-wearer went fairly smooth.  I only ran into problems with a coupon (had to type it in instead of scanning it), and when a customer had bought a shelving unit.  A different screen popped up and I wasn't sure what to do.  It didn't need assembled or installed...oh wait, Option #3 asks if customer didn't need assistance.  Typed '1' beside it and all is well.

One customer complained because nothing had gone right, but was rather good-humored about my confusion over her coupon.  Another complained about the price, but said she needed everything, then was happy when her friend loaned her the money.  "Money she owes me anyway..."

Went to dinner and ended up talking about Spirituality to one of the other guys, Shawn, who came to my rescue earlier in the shift, when a customer had shown up with a square metal thing, and I couldn't locate it on the app.  It didn't turn up as a 'electrical box', 'gutter box', or even 'outlet'.  Turned out to be a gutter drain outlet.  S went back to the department and found one with a bar code.  Customer was very happy!

Looked at my sales total, out of curiosity....I'd rung up nearly $6500 that night, and we were fairly slow!  Had a couple of 'rushes', where there was a customer at every register, but I managed to read the Keto cookbook in between.

Hubby took me to Denny's afterward, since I was still hungry!  I'd only eaten the Ham Lunchable and a container of KFC coleslaw for dinner.

Am I going to do this every day, now that I'm working?  I don't know.  This week, I work M-W-F-Sa, plus next Su-M.  So it depends.....if nothing remarkable happens, then no, I probably won't report back.  But there are plenty of interesting people, and face it; I'm far from perfect.  But I'm happy to report I didn't have any major screw ups tonight, with the exception of a Veteran's discount that I discovered too late to apply to his account.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Life As A Trainee, Pt 8

Day 9:
Arrived early, so I could check the WIRE (Where Information Reaches Everyone), but nothing new.  As I went in, I asked for Manager Brandon's whereabouts, but he wasn't up front.  Put my stuff in my locker, checked WIRE, then clocked in at 3:56 and went up front, carrying a box of Puffs, my cough drops, and water bottle.  Back on Register 9 for me, and after about an hour, I realized I didn't have a 'shadow'....maybe I was close to getting my Red Vest, since Tiffany, the trainee I'd worked with yesterday, already had hers?

Manager Brandon showed up and I told him I needed to talk to him sometime today.

"About what?"

"My schedule."

"What's wrong with it?"

"I asked for the wrong day off, not being used to your calendar.  I only need April 5th and 6th off, not the 4th."

"Oh, that's easily fixed."

He walked away before I could ask him about the 26th and Memorial Weekend.  Guess I'll have to ask Manager Jessica; someone said she was nicer about schedule issues!

Shift went fairly smoothly; I helped out a new trainee, Sacred, with some of her issues, and was able to look up several invoices with little coaching from my notebook, even rang up a check successfully.

Only had one Customer From Hell....I scanned his coupon, found his invoice, rang up his total.....and he asked what the price of his washer was.  F3 to go back....$727.  Coupon for $100 off was applied.

"I'm positive it was $627."

"I'm sorry; it's ringing up $700."

Just then, his washing machine arrived, and we checked with the loader.  Price was $627.  So Adrianna came over and told me to tab over and change the price.  Did, and everything was fine.  A tells me she needs to go outside, and to fill out the 'Big Ticket' form.

CFH asks, "I've got tile waiting down in Lumber.....if I drive my truck down there, will he push my washer down to the other door?"

"I don't see why not."

CFH leaves, and I go to fill out the form.....except I need the invoice # off his receipt!  So I fill everything else out, and called down to  Lumber.  Girl said she'd call me back.

A returns, and I tell her what happened.

"Oh, no....we NEVER take appliances down to Lumber..."  She walks down there.  Lumber calls me, and I write down the invoice #.  A few minutes later, A comes back and tells me she's gotten it.

That guy is probably NEVER going to come through my lane again....

I went to lunch at 6:50, and returned at 7:20.  Discovered I'm being moved to Register 13, since #9 is acting up again.  Maybe around 8-ish, A comes down.

"What size vest do you want?"

"I'm finally getting one?  YAY!"

Red Vest Ready
She brings my XL down, and I finish ringing up the customers, then put on my vest, and had issues putting my name tag into the special holder, and figuring out where all my 'stuff' would fit in the pockets.

Filled my soda cooler, finished ringing up customers, and locked the exit doors.  Emptied my trash, and wiped down my counter.  Returned a grinding pad to Tools, and placed an 'orphaned' bag of merchandise to CS.  A wanted me to Lysol all the keyboards, but instead, sent me to put away my vest.  As I'm halfway through the Paint dept on my way back, I hear her paging me.

"I'm coming!"

I get up there and remind her it takes me 2 minutes, due to my ankle issues, to get from the back to the front!  As we're all clocking out, I asked her about the Lysol, and she said she'll do it tomorrow.

Had to do my clock out three times, since I was only using one hand, and realized I was forgetting the hashtag at the end of my PW!

Clock out:  9:39.

Short Karaoke Night
I did hobble off to karaoke, and ended up singing three of the planned four songs.  Left before 12:30, and ended up talking to my daughter for 90 minutes.

Woke up this morning feeling like Death Warmed Over, so we skipped church.  I've got my $35 tithe tucked away for next week.

This coming week, I work M-W-F-Sat-Sun-Mon  I hope on my days off that my body recuperates!

See you back here on Tuesday for the new topic, Life As A Red Vest!

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Life As A Trainee, Pt 7

Day #8:
Third day up front, and things are beginning to smooth out, somewhat.  I still had issues logging in, but it only took two tries this time.  Chip machine was cranky, causing people to either swipe their card or re-insert it after cleaning their chip.

I rang up two checks successfully!

Had a lot of cash transactions, and didn't mess up once, with the exception of the time the customer wanted cash back.  The drawer opening startled me, so I pushed it close....then realized what I'd needed to do, and had to call Mel over for an override.

Sandy, the red vest shadowing me the 1st half, scolded me when I went to ring up multiple bags of potting soil by tabbing over to quantity and hitting '4'.....'Scan Every Item'....so F3 to stop, then scanned the 1st bag four times.  Told her I'd been spoiled by my stint in Lumber.

2nd issue of the night occurred when a customer arrived with 8 washers w/o bar codes.  Looked 'em up in the Blue Book, but couldn't find 'em.  Sandy helped me, and we thought we found it, then double-checked with Aggie.  I dutifully scanned it 8 times, but then discovered they were on clearance.  Changed the price....but it only changed for the one.

Started over, and Aggie said to tab over to quantity, put in 8, then the price difference.  I chuckled and said I'd been scolded for that very action earlier....she said that sometimes, that's the only way to do it.

My only other override was when I had to change a price, and had already rung up the total.

2nd half of the night went very smoothly; I was sent to lunch at 6:45, and clocked back in at 7:15.  Rang up customers w/o my 'shadow', wiped down the counters, bagged the trash, and locked the exit doors.

When I went to clock out, I discovered my 1st lunch punch hadn't 'taken', so had to add a note why my clock said I was there at 3:56, 7:15, and 9:25.  Hopefully one of these days that damn thing will work for me!

Payday!
I checked my bank account yesterday morning and discovered my 1st paycheck had arrived!  Took the spouse to lunch at McAlisters, since I wanted soup, and he was very surprised when I whipped out my card.

"I got paid today; my treat."

"Wish I'd known; I'd have ordered something else!"  (typical spouse joke)

I'd also ordered a sandwich to go, as a way of treating myself, and packed it in my lunch bag.  Sent $$ to Nancy for the Whispers copies, and $$ to the coordinator of the Spring Vendor Event April 5th.  S showed me how to transfer funds into the spouse's account, and after I take out $20 for my tithe tomorrow, I'll still have $50 toward my Louisville trip!

Spouse this morning thinks I'm going to take $100 out of my account Monday to pay the Kohl's bill....nope, he can pay for it himself, since it's in HIS account!

Health Issues
I feel as if my body's trying to catch a cold.  Joked yesterday that I wasn't going to call in sick the day of the 1st payday, and that I'd rather get sent home for being sick!  I'd rather push a broom all day, than infect customers.  But after taking my Mucinex and a Claritin, my sinuses behaved (somewhat) and I only had to turn my head and cough a few times when ringing up purchases, and never sneezed on anyone.  Felt one coming on during one transaction, but after I'd said thank you, no one else was in my line, so was able to blow my nose.  I do need to take in a replacement Kleenex box to Register 9, though.

I work again tonight, so see you back here tomorrow!  I'm debating whether or not to stay home from karaoke tonight.  Depends how I feel.

Friday, March 15, 2019

Flashback Friday: Getting More Involved In Youth Baseball

March 1999:
After 'CoachGate' debacle the previous year, friend Rodney decided to be the head coach of his son's team, and invited the spouse to be his assistant.  D agreed, so they began going to the weekly planning meetings.  I was tapped to be the Concession Rep, and was told to meet with the Concession Manager sometime during the month of April.

We also acquired a flat trailer, in order to haul some leftover stuff from D's job site, but he wasn't very happy with it, so I was tasked with hitching it up and returning it to the store.

Next Month:  Learning The Politics Of A Small Town

*************
Present Day:
Granddaughter Ariel aka Miss Drama Queen aka MDQ decided to visit, and brought 8 m/o Phoenix aka Master P down!  Enjoying getting my Master P snuggles:)

Job is going well; I work again this afternoon.  Woke up Wednesday with 'that feeling' in my throat, you know the one....that tells you you're either going to get a sore throat, or sinus issues are about to explode, or I've simply slept with my mouth open wide and snoring....but as of yesterday, I'm definitely sneezing and coughing more.  Getting back on the zinc and trying to beat this thing again.  I can not call in, since I've requested nearly every Saturday in April off.  I'd rather show up and get sent home....but hoping that doesn't happen tonight.

Today is also payday, so I'll see if my projected income was correct:)

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to wear GREEN on Sunday!

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Life As A Trainee Pt 6

Day #7:
Clocked in, and found HC Cindy, who told me to jump on Register 10.  Logged in successfully, turned on the light, and began ringing up customer #1.  Realized something was wrong; nothing was ringing up.  Aggie came over and mentioned they were having issues, and to try Register #9.  Logged out, then in again, and same issue....then realized I'd not finished logging in!  Corrected that issue, and joked with the customer that I hoped I'd not set a precedence for how the day was going to go!

Did well for the next few customers, then a gentleman stepped up and rattled off a phone #.  I didn't know what to do with that info, so I ignored it, and rang him up.  He returned a few minutes later and asked about his 10% discount.  I confessed I hadn't, so sent him to the CS desk to correct it.

Again, things were going smoothly, then a guy came by with two pavers.  No bar code, so I looked them up on the app.  HC Adrianna came over and reminded me to look them up in the BLUE BOOK, and also showed me where the tape measure was, in order to measure them, which explained the price discrepancy:  Customer said they were $2.97, but the 12x12 price was showing a dollar less.  Turned out he'd actually picked up the 16x16s!  Rang him up and he was on his way.

A few minutes later, a guy tried to pay with a check.  I tried to fun it, but I had it  loaded wrong.  Tried four times to manually enter it, but it wouldn't take.  Tried re-running CORRECTLY twice, but rejected.  By now, HC A was back, so asked her what I was doing wrong.  She told me to NEVER run a check twice; the store gets charged every time.  OOPS!  She took him over to the CS desk to fill out a credit card app.

Things got better, and I didn't have any more issues.  After our shift was over, I joked to A, "I wasn't your problem child tonight!"  

"No, you weren't!"

The only hiccup was at the end of the shift.  Customer From Hell was taking her time, filling her cart.  When she finally came to my register-mate, Vicki, she had an issue with a paint can.  A was nowhere to be found, so she zeroed it out and kept going.  Finally, she got back to that paint, but A had arrived by then, and did an override.  Then, CFH said she had an LAR, and griped about the total.  A very nicely went through, line by line, and told her how much everything was.  CFH sighed, and said, "It does add up."

I unlocked the doors and let her out.  She told me she was going to return the cart, so I was nice and waited while she a) started her SUV; b) lit a cigarette; c) took a phone call; d) FINALLY unloaded her cart; and e) returned said cart!  I locked the doors, then pushed her cart to the entrance, clocked out, and gathered my things.

I was the last cashier to leave the building.

Next shift is Friday night, so see you back here in a few days:)

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Life As A Trainee Pt 5

Day 6:
I wasn't very happy when I learned Thursday I'd be working up front, but it turned out okay:)

It rained nearly all day, so when I arrived, I casually asked one of the guys on the floor if many customers had been in today, and he said no, it had been a slow day.  I took that as a good sign and since I'd arrived a good fifteen minutes early, decided to check my email.

Discovered most of my requested time off had been approved, all but for April 25th and 26th, and Memorial Weekend.  Kelly was in her office, so I asked her about it, and she told me to talk to Jess or Brandon.  I never did meet Jess last night, and B had just left, so this coming week I'll get it sorted out.

New Head Cashier Mel set me up on Register 12, and when I tried the log in she suggested, it didn't work, so the other girl Alisca used her log in, and I began wrangling inviting customers to my lane.

Everything was going smoothly; Adrianna sent me to lunch at 6 (turkey cracker lunchable, plus a piece of my homemade chocolate chip Blondie), then when I returned, we found a log-in for me, and I made up a password.  Thankfully, I did write it down, so I'll know on Tuesday how to do it!

One of the frequent Lumber customers came to my line, saying the line was too long down there.  I recognized him and said, "You just wanted too see my smiling face again."

"You're right!  You were down there all last week....now you're here?"

"They're moving me around, so I know how to work every register."  I finished ringing him up and sent him on his way.

A seemed impressed I was doing so well, and I only needed a small amount of coaching on some items, such as when a customer brought a water heater through my lane.  Other than running out of 20s and 10s, and having to scramble to make $82 in change when the customer handed me $200 (I only had $15 in 5s, and probably around $30 in 1s!), and taking a customer's sixty cents and ringing it up as $60, I did pretty well.  I'm probably going to get my vest next week.

It also helped we had LOTS of downtime, and the rain quit about half an hour after I arrived.

I don't work again until Tues, so see you back here on Wed!  If anyone besides me is actually reading this....

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Life As A Trainee, Pt 4

Day #5:
Discovered M was going to be training at the service desk, so I was paired with Allyson, a 20-y/o college student.  During the 1st half of our shift, she pretty much just watched me do everything, and reminding me about little things, such as hitting F9, or tabbing over to the phone #.  Everything was going smoothly until right before lunch.

A customer paid his order with three gift cards, and emptied all of them.  I checked the receipt, and the balance was zero, so put all of them in the cash drawer.  The next customer stepped up, and also paid with a gift card.  I noticed 'balance zero' onscreen, and slid the card into the drawer.

"Hey, there should still be over $40 on there."

Oops.  A called for the Head Cashier, who's the only one allowed to open the drawer w/o a transaction, to retrieve it.  Fortunately the customer wasn't in a hurry, and when he found out I was still training, ribbed me good-naturedly while it was being corrected.  I thanked him for his patience, and we went to lunch, where I consumed a bologna sandwich and a ham, cheese, and cracker Lunchable.  I also bought a pack of gum and a Snickers from the machine ($1.25), then after we clocked back in, I took the bite-sized Butterfinger up to M, who thanked me for the snack!

Then the craziness began.  A decided to let me run Register #2.....and I think a neon sign was posted above me...."All Problem Orders Check Out Here", for suddenly all the large orders, including ones that the bar code was either missing or wouldn't work, were in my line.  A would get several people in line, and I'd mess something up, or we'd have to look up an order.  One guy had a discounted item, then wanted to pick it up later.  I'd never done that before, so we had to wait for A's line to clear so she could walk me through it. 

A couple had paid for a cabinet, then discovered it was damaged.  I tried to call back, but was transferred to CS, who told me to call the manager.  I did, and he offered them 30% off, and told me to send them back to CS.  Fortunately, their other purchases rang up w/o any problems!

I also had to look up an LAR, and thankfully the customer knew the steps and walked me through it!

I rang up one military discount wrong, then realized it after they'd left....the second one, I kept getting a weird screen, but after A came over, it was discovered I'd hit the wrong F key, so only a minor mistake there.

At the end of the night, all customers were happy; we all got a good laugh at my goofs, and now the only complaint I have is, my schedule.

I'm scheduled to work the front, regular register the next two weeks, plus a shift in Lawn and Garden.  I thought I was being hired only for Lumber....but M said it's because they want to make sure I know how to work all 3 departments, in case of a shortage.  (13-14 registers, plus 2 self-checkout; ten Head Cashiers and 28 regular cashiers.....and there will be a shortage?  *eye roll* But I guess it *could* happen....)  Plus, there's one Wednesday I'm scheduled, and I thought I'd made it clear I couldn't work Wednesdays until mid-May!  Sigh.....maybe it will all work out....I also need to go in and request off for my Chrism Mass Choir practice and Mass.  Just remembered that.....

As we were leaving, Brandon the manager asked me how I was doing, and I told him all right, but was not happy with being yanked out of Lumber.  He said he'd talk to Jess (another manager??) about it.  So I guess I'll find out where I'm supposed to be when I go in tonight.  I'm comfortable with cash, credit card, and gift card transactions (as long as I read the receipt!), so as long as the curve balls are a minimum, I'll be fine.  The good thing is, tonight's a karaoke night, so I can go have some fun after my shift, and payday is next Friday.

Friday, March 8, 2019

Flashback Friday: College Senior-itis Rears Its Ugly Head

March 1989:
I received graduation notices, and had a panic attack.  What the hell had I done?  Here BSU was getting ready to kick me out into the big, bad world, and I felt I'd simply skated through my classes without absorbing any of the skills I was 'supposed' to have, in order to become a working professional and contributing member of society.

I called my mom in full panic-mode, and after crying for several minutes, Mom called me down and told me what I was feeling was completely normal!  She managed to 'talk me down off the ledge', so to speak, and to request my Spring Break off from the country club, that she felt I needed an honest vacation, and was going to send me to Grandma's house in Florida, since I'd not been in over a year.

After talking to her, I admitted I felt better.

EY and I also nearly had a shouting match, since in my depression, I was barely getting dressed for lunch, and opting to shower in the afternoon before my shift.  She was tired of sitting with me at lunch, looking like a sloppy mess, and the other girls we sat with had noticed I wasn't exactly 'with it'.

In retaliation, I dressed up one day, put on make up....and discovered making an effort to look nice in the dining room actually made me feel better, so it back-fired, but at the same time, snapped me out of my depression.

"You Might Want To Go To The Dr...."
DB called me, and 'fessed up to cheating on me.  As a result, he contracted a nasty case of chlamydia, and was on a round of tetracyclene.  I was already taking the same meds for another reason (asthma, maybe?), so I thanked him for telling me, and we'd discuss it further when we'd next see each other.  I then dutifully trotted off to the med center, where the idiot dr they assigned me to (I didn't DARE go see my regular doctor back home!) never examined me, just told me to 'only have sex with a condom'.  Ummmm....duh......I was on The Pill, and was only sleeping with one person, whom I thought was committed to me.  In reality, I was trying to break up with him, only he refused to let me go, so I was simply resigned to living separate lives until he 'came to his senses' and broke up with ME.

You'd have thought that after THAT news he'd do it?  Nope....and I was still driving his 69 Impala in order to get back and forth to work, so at the moment, being in the 'relationship' was beneficial.

Spring Break, Pt 1
At the end of the month, I flew off to Florida, to spend a wonderful six days away from everyone, and to soak up some sun.  I always spent the first day with Grandma, talking to her, watching TV, and catching her up on my love life (I did NOT mention the VD scare, or my idiocy over Valentine's Day!) and my future plans.

The weather chose to be on the cool side that year, so I didn't get to swim a whole lot, but Grandma took me out to eat, let me drive her car, and one memorable night, we went out with her friends and bar-hopped.  One bar was a piano bar, and some gentleman took the mic and dedicated a song to my grandma!   "My Jo.....So Jo.....will you dance with me?"

Somewhere, there is a picture of me with our cute gay waiter!

I tried to park Grandma's car in her car port and while trying to straighten up, accidentally got too close to a pole and scraped her passenger mirror off the car.  Grandma wasn't upset, thankfully!

Grandma also took me shopping, and bought me some 'career' clothes, for when I began the interview/hiring process.

I heard Busch Gardens was hiring, and called them, but was advised to call back once I had graduated, and IF I made it back down to Florida afterward.  In hindsight, I wish I had.  More on this later.

Next Month:  Spring Break, Pt 2 and My Trip to Akron, Oh aka 'WW3'.

***********
Present Day:
More snow has arrived, ugh.  Temps are supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow, but it's also supposed to storm.  Come on Spring!

As if my brain doesn't have enough to deal with, I woke up yesterday with an idea for my 'Bad Decisions' story, and I'm already on page 2.

Daughter finally received her tax refund, and caught up her Jeep payments, plus went grocery shopping for us.  As previously stated this week, she also took us out to lunch at Old Chicago and Long John Silvers.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Life As A Trainee Pt 3

Day #4:
Last night was my 4th day on the floor, and M and I did a good job of trading places throughout the night.  She began filling out my 'vest-ready' checklist, and by the end of the shift, the only things NOT checked off were things we really haven't gone over, or haven't come up.

During my shift, I learned how to look up drywall (F3 to exit screen, type in appropriate code for new screen, type 'Drywall', tab to what I'm looking for, and hit Enter, then return to sale screen and continue) as well as how to check out carpet (type item #, then how many feet, hit 'enter', and continue).  I also had a few customers come in with cut wire/tubing/whatever those things were, and had to enter how many feet they had.  Was also warned to look out for tile; morning shift had a customer who thought the tile was $.99 each, but it was per square foot.  She was rather irate to discover she was paying $1.35 per tile.

Tonight, I need to make sure I write down the closing procedures, as well as anything else that comes up.

One thing I absolutely LOVE is the 'perks' I get.  I logged onto the Employee Discount Program and discovered my car rental for April went from $130 down to $83.  My hotel room's savings was minimal, only a few dollars, but I have to pre-pay in order to get the discount.  Since I won't have the funds for a few weeks, I'll keep my current rate of $113, then try again.  I think the rate only drops three dollars, so may not even worry about it.

I'm still not on the calendar for next week, but that should change today.  I'll also find out if my offer to work tomorrow has been accepted.  With M moving up on Sat, I need all the practice I can get.  Repetition is key with me; the more I do it, the more confident I'll be on my own.  And there are STILL things that crop up that I've been clueless about, but M assures me it's normal, and happens to every newbie.

Oh, and for the record, I checked:  Those items I'd placed on the end cap by the ceiling fans?  They're still there!

We had an 'honest shoplifter' last night:  Somehow, two box of nails had ended up on their supply cart, and when they arrived home and discovered it, plus checked their receipt and found out they hadn't been paid for, the customer very nicely brought them back!  She didn't need them, so we sent the boxes to be reshelved.

What Have I Been Eating This Week?
Monday, I ate the leftovers from Saturday night's meal, then packed a bologna sandwich and six oreos for my 6pm 'lunch'.

Tuesday:  Daughter treated me to Old Chicago, and we not only split a pizza (my half had chicken and mushrooms), but we also ate a slice of Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake, and I drank 3 new 'testers' of craft beer:


Last fall, I discovered I like the Fat Head and the Dogfish; Tuesday, since daughter was driving, I tried Shiner Rock (good); Newcastle Brown Ale (yum), and Breckenridge Vanilla Porter (bleh).  I also accidentally doused my daughter in her own water, BEFORE my taster arrived!  (oops...)  For my dinner, I took my remaining three slices of pizza to work.....then discovered I really should NOT eat pizza on work days.  Gas, and I barely made it to the bathroom at the back of the store in time for the explosion.  Thank god I didn't have to wait for a replacement!  So no more pizza on work days for me.  Also had the remaining 6 oreos for dessert.

Wednesday:  Daughter treated us to Long John Silver's for lunch, and I fixed myself another bologna sandwich and six chocolate chip cookies.

No clue what's on tap for today, other than I need to go to the store.  Granddaughter was appalled to learn I've been borrowing her lunch box, and there's now a sticker on it with my name!  Maybe I need my own now?  I also want to get some Lunchables (cracker kind) and some P-3s, as an alternative to the cookies.  May even start carrying chewing gum (Extra Polar Ice)? 

I LOVE the fact I can take in a fast-food drink cup to my work station or my water bottle:)

Be back tomorrow with my usual Flashback:)

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Life As A Trainee Pt 2

My second day on the floor was more enjoyable:)

I was down in Lumber, with a good friend of mine, and after watching her work the register, I asked her when I'd be allowed to do so.

"Whenever you feel comfortable; just say, Gimme the machine!"

So the next customer approached, and I told her to let me try......and pretty much did it the rest of the night, with coaching from her.  I'd hit the wrong button, or have trouble remembering which F button to hit, but by the end of the night, I was even getting speedier on the cash transactions.  I still have more training to do on the computer, so might do it after we have our half hour break tonight, since it slows down by then.

But otherwise, I learned closing procedures:  wiping down the counters, restocking the soft drink coolers, sweeping the floor, emptying trash, and helping with some reshelving the returns.  I managed to punch in and out correctly tonight, and even request my April weekends off, with the exception of screwing up on two dates.  If asked, I'll report my mistake, and see if it can be fixed so I can still work a few hours on those days.  I don't need the entire day off; just need to be off my 1pm on the 5th, and by 3pm on the 19th.

Day #3:
I completed my computer training last night, just in time for dinner, lol!

Completed a few transactions on my own, plus stocked the soda cooler and attempted to learn how to lock the doors.  Had a moment of hilarity when we had to restock a shopping cart and I wasn't sure what went where....tomorrow morning, some poor guy's going to look by the ceiling fans and wonder who put all that stuff on the end cap!  Also, another guy in Hardware is going to be cussing out the person who dumped several packages of Gorilla Glue on his desk, when they clearly should have been left at the Paint desk!

Just blame the newbie, who's not sure where everything goes just yet!

Tomorrow, M and I are going to go through the Vest checklist, to see if I'm 'vest-worthy'.

I still need coaching on some of the F keys....and I have until Saturday to learn it, since M starts her promotion as Head Cashier.

I also opened up my big mouth and offered to work Friday night, if they needed me.....and that I would LOVE to take over M's 4-9:30 shift in Lumber!  Conveniently forgetting (again!) about choir practice on Wednesdays......But if I can work M, T, Th, F, and Sa, that gives me a 25-hour work week, and 50 hour paycheck.  I'm happy with that; means more $$ in my pocket....except for my days off in April.

Paycheck Plans
Hubby is still appalled by the fact I still plan to attend the La Grange event, but damn it, I have expenses I need to pay also!  My first check is going to have 37 hours on it, and according to him, I can keep $20-40 of it.  I say, ummmm.....no.....I need it to pay a few immediate expenses.

Say I end up with $350.  I can give him half, leaving me with $175, which means I can pay the following:
$35 to the church Check:)
$50 for the books I ordered last fall Check:)
$50 for my April 5th event (I'll get $25 back) Check:)
Leaves $64 to sock away for my upcoming trip to Louisville.
Sold exercise bike:  $15.

Assuming I get 35 hours the next pay period , that should leave me with a minimum of $370.  Half is $185, so I can apply my half to the following:
$40 to the church Check:)
$90 for table, laminating sheets, and printer ink Check:)
$7 for Velcro tabs, for prize wheel Check:)
$50 for my September event (check!)
Total saved:  $99 toward Ky trip

If I continue to get at least 33 hours the next pay period, then by April 12th, I'll have $360:
$100 to sock away for car rental
$79 for the hotel room
$85 to get my hair cut/bleached/blue streaked
$15 for two proof copies of CR
$60 + sales from 4/5-6 ($10), for promo items, gas, and food.

April 29th is the following payday, and I should be able to put my half toward:
$70 or 140 for cover art
$90+ whatever sales on the 20th, for swag and inventory, including sending $50 to a Sept event.

That means, by Mother's Day in May, my bank account *should* be in good shape, and I can pay $50 for the September event, plus start working on my November expenses, and contribute more to the medical.  I'm also *assuming* my sales will be good all three events in April, plus the two in May.

I should also hear in April whether or not I'm accepted into Marketing Boot Camp (No, but made the waiting list) over Mother's Day weekend, and of course, June brings the news of whether or not I'm a grant awardee.

Yes, I realize that's a lot of *assuming*, and it may come back to bite me in the butt, but a girl can dream, can't she?

The spouse may also decide he's not happy with a mere $160 every two weeks, so my expenses paid may very well determine how well sales go in April.


Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Life As A Trainee Pt 1

Interview:
So I did something unexpected last month:  I found out one of our local big box home improvement stores was hiring seasonal help, so I filled out the application.

(Clothing:  Black sweater, white shirt, dark jeans and riding boots)

Fifteen minutes later, I'm called for an interview, and after wracking my brain for a brief moment about what situation I've found myself in where I had to follow a specific set of directions, I gave the example of when I home schooled the Teen, and we had to do a science experiment.  Whew....got over that hurdle.

Question #2 was about a situation in which I've taken the initiative and done something not in my job description.  Again, I decided to be honest, and told Scott I was 'head toilet-paper-changer' every weekend while at karaoke, since I knew where it was kept, and why bother the bartenders to do something I have to do at home anyway?  I also pick up the trash off the floor.  Scott looked at me and said, "You women think you're cleaner than men, but you're not."

"Oh, I know that all too well, for when I worked at a bar while in college, the women's restroom was WAAAY more messier than the mens!"

Next thing you know, we're swapping horror stories of what happens in babies' diapers!

Question #3:  When have I ever gone above and beyond the call of duty for a customer?  At this point, I 'fessed up about being an author, and cited the time a woman had left something at my table, and I tracked her all the way the across the room to return it....and the time I knew another woman was looking for someone specific and when I saw that person, I found the woman and told her she'd arrived.....and that when I'm at events, I make sure to familiarize myself with authors of other genres so I can cross-promote, in case someone stops by my table and doesn't read what I write!

He took me to Steve's office (I later found out he's the GM) and tells him he needs to talk to me.  Steve starts looking over my app, and talking about the different positions, and how 'no position trumps another.  People think 'oh, I'm just a cashier, but..."

"You're the face of the brand."  I cut in.

He looked impressed.  "You're exactly right.  If a customer has had a bad experience, but the cashier makes him feel validated and heard, he might not leave and bad-mouth us."

He loved my availability; I'd put M,T, Th, and Sa at Open-Close; Wed, Open-5; Fri Open-3; and Su 3-Close.  I'd forgotten about needing Saturday afternoon off....oops.  So, he took me back to the training room and told me to wait for Kelly.

I promptly went to the restroom and texted Mel.

I don't know what I said, but think I've managed to get myself hired....getting ready for the drug test and background check.

Mel texted back, Yay!!!

So I met with Kelly, who gave me the drug test and told me to follow the email link, then if I've not heard anything, call/email by the 21st.

I filled out the form on Friday the 15th, and waited.  Sent email on the 22nd.

Phone call on the the 25th, to come in for training either Tues the 26th from 10-3 or Thursday from 3-8.  I opted for the 26th....then promptly got the stomach flu.

Day #1:
Felt better the next day, and Kelly took Darren, Dan, Tim, and Mary and I through the Employee manual and a store tour.  Told us all to come back on the 28th from 10-3.

(Clothing:  Red/white turtleneck, black vest, jeans and tennis shoes)

Thursday, we showed up to train on the computer, only the computer threw a fit and wouldn't let us in the system, so after being given our locker assignments (mine:  165), we were taken to our chosen departments.  I ended up shadowing a woman named Jill, and after watching her check out the 1st three customers, semi-seriously wondered what the hell I'd done, since items of every size passed through, as well as Accounts Receivable, Military and Veterens discounts came through.  But after the initial panic, I settled back to observe the proceedings.

(Clothing:  White sweater, jeans, tennis shoes.  Took my heavy red hooded sweatshirt, but didn't need it.)

After a while, I mentally began taking myself through the steps:
Scan, drag across the strip or take the wand across the entire box, hit total twice, then bag and tell the customer to swipe their card for debit.  If Jill happened to be out of range of the register, I'd hit the total for her, and help with bagging.

Found out our '15 minute break' is really closer to 10, since it's a long walk to the back of the store!

When Jill went to lunch, I shadowed Krissy, whom I've known for several years, and we had a good time.

I discovered I'm good at pulling customers into the check out lane!

Saw Paul from choir and Alicia M, one of my daughter's former BFFs.

Day #2:
Returned on Friday the 1st at 9am, and proceeded to spend the next eight hours on the computer, doing all the training.  Correction:  MOST of the training.  I still have more to do.  D picked me up at 1 and took me to lunch at McAllister's, and I was getting so chilly at my terminal, I set up a space heater.

(Clothing:  Cabella's sweatshirt, jeans, tennis shoes)

Two lessons kicked my butt:  Reviewing the Customer Service plans and Looking Up An Order.

The customer service plan was simply me, wanting a perfect score, and not realizing the correct answers were given AFTER I submitted the answer.  I still couldn't answer three, after doing it about five times, but at least I got a passing score.

Looking up/modifying an order was rough, since there were multiple steps.  I finally caught on by the 8th or 9th time, and passed, but now I wish I'd taken NOTES.  Maybe I can get back into that lesson and do so??

At the end of the day, Kelly looked at my schedule and told me she was going to let me shadow Mel in Lumber the following week, so to work M-Th from 4-9:30.  I'd get a 15 minute break and a 30 minute lunch.

I'll report back tomorrow!

Monday, March 4, 2019

March Goals

For a short month, February seemed to go on forever....what did I do?
-Finish taxes and get them filed 2/7 Check!  Getting small Fed refund, but have to pay State.  Bleh.
-Buy stamps and mail Christmas cards  Sigh....still not yet....
-Send packages to Wa and Tx Nope...
-Write #2 in Regrets  Nope
-Write new Bad Decision story Nope
-Submit Dreams poem/write Dreams short story (2/18:Check!  Came in at 3638 words; will edit and give it a title before submitting it  2/27:  Revised and sent!) and get it subbed Subbed poem 2/9:)
-Enjoy the Super Bowl (Pats vs Rams) Pats won, 13-3; see post 2/5/19
-Lose 5 lbs (starting wt:  238) Who the hell GAINS four pounds while having the stomach flu???  
-Organize more of basement Bought the tubs, but it's been too cold to go down there.
-Watch the rest of SE7  GOT Check!
-Spend an enjoyable Valentine's Day Check:)
-Figure out pre-order on AZ Check:)  It's up as of 2/21!
-Pay for Cil-Con (Sept, $50)); N.Evansville (April, $35 check!); Washington (April, $25-50)
-Pay cover art Not yet...

Health:  Ended up with a mild bout of the stomach flu, and ankle continues to have good and bad days.

Books Read:  4
           Print:  0
       E-Book:  4

Karaoke Songs Added:  8 or 9 (see below)
                            Thurs: 3
                                Sat:  5 or 6 (Check to see if Say You Will is already on Good List)

March Goals:
Buy stamps (Finally!  3/11, bought!) and send Christmas Cards 3/12:  SENT!
Mail packages to Wa and Tx
Write #2 Regrets
Write Bad Decisions
Lose 5 lbs (Start:  246) 3/11:  243 (-3!) 3/21:  240 (-3!)
Organize more basement stuff Filled another tote with all the sheet music; still have one more tote to fill.
Work as many hours as possible, in order to pay my own debts and start chipping away at the medical ones.
Feb 25-Mar 1st:  17 hours (only got credit for 11??)
Mar 4-8: 20 hours
Payday hours:  37 (32??)  $350:  $150 to spouse; $38 for lunch; $50 for bks, $50 for April 4th-5th event, $35 to church.
Mar 9-15: 15 hours
Mar 16-22: 20 hours  
Payday hours:  35  $370:  $40 to church; $160 to spouse; $50 to Indy Author Event (Sept); 
Mar 23-29:  13 hours
Pay writing debts:
-N:  $50 3/15:  check:)
-D:  $140
-April Fest (5-6):  $50 3/15:  check:)
-Indy Author Fair (Sept):  $50 Check:)
-Cil-Con (Sept):  $50


March Reading Schedule:
Print:
Fulfillment-Barbara Delinsky Started out good, but had many eye-roll moments throughout.


E-book:
Renovating The Billionaire-Jean Joachim  RR!  Enjoyed this well-crafted story!
Unpredictable Heart-JJ  RR!  Another very good, well-crafted story!
Home For His Heart-Angela Raines Good story.


Karaoke Songs:
Thurs:
Won't Get Fooled Again-The Who Did well!  Got Duddy and some other kid to do the screaming:)
Where The Rubber Meats The Road-Meat Loaf DNH, darn it....
Words Get In The Way-Miami Sound Machine Nailed it; same kid from 1st song 'flirted' with me through it.
Before He Cheats-Carrie Underwood Did well!
Working For A Living-Huey Lewis and the News  Slightly rough, but made it through:)
Party All The Time-Eddie Murphy  Did well!
Working For The Weekend-Loverboy  Nailed it, and was complimented:)
Working My Way Back to You-Four Seasons Good:)
Back At One-Brian McKnight Nailed it!
Angels Would Fall-Melissa Etheridge A little gravelly in spots, but overall, not bad!

Sat:
Rock and Roll All Night-Kiss Sang this with Kyle, Richard, Dalton, Chewie, and Kelly....fun time!
Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through-Meatloaf Nailed it!
Rock and Roll Girls-John Fogarty DNH
Rock and Roll Love Letter-BCR DNH
Rock and Roll Never Forgets-Bob Seeger Did fairly well:)
Rock Around the Clock-Bill Haley Not too bad!
Rock Me Gently-Andy Kim Did well, except for chorus; had to drop down an octave.
Rock Me Tonight-Billy Squire DNH
Rock of Ages-Def Leopard 3/16: Enjoyed belting this out, and camera batteries died halfway, so will have to re-sing at a later date!
Rock The Boat-Hues Corporation Wasn't too bad:)
Rock the Casbah-the Clash Bleh....waaaaay too low!
Rock With You-Michael Jackson Crowd pleaser, lol!

Friday, March 1, 2019

Flashback Friday: Getting Swept Off My Feet (Literally)

March 1979
In PE, I was thrilled to learn we would be square dancing:)  Which meant we didn't have to wear our disgusting uniforms, and it was something I actually did well.

My only consternation came when we had to choose partners.  Some days the boys would stand in the squares, leaving us to choose, and some days the girls would stand in the squares, nervously waiting to see which boy would choose her.

Knowing My Place In The Pecking Order???
To this day, I still don't know why I always hung back to choose my square.  Yes, I was shy; yes, I knew I was near the bottom of the 'social pecking order', but I also knew the boys, and even joked with some of them in class.  But I hung back and gloomily accepted my fate as I ended up dancing with the, ah, shall I say, less-than-desirable members of my 7th grade class.  My consolation was I was a good dancer, and was able to cue my partner if he forgot.

I was also thrilled during sixth period:  I had study hall, and during that Square Dancing unit, Mrs. Z would come down to get some extra dancers.  I always volunteered, and was thrilled to dance with the tall 9th graders.

Swept Off My Feet!
One particular day, I was paired with a tall guy (I barely came up to his shoulder!), and during one of the moves, 'Turn Your Partner', he picked me up.  Instead of placing his hand on my back and simply turning in a circle, I felt my partner put his hand under my right elbow and pick me up, my feet leaving the floor as he spun me around!  We weren't allowed to wear our street shoes on the gym floor, so we were all in stocking feet, if we weren't wearing tennis shoes.

I was disappointed that unit didn't last longer.  Probably the only week I got an 'A' in gym class.

Michigan Visitors
Mom's friend Kathy G and her family came to visit!  I don't remember it, but there's a picture of us kids standing in front of the car.

Next Month:  Mix-Up At The Choir Concert!

**********
Present Day:
Today my teen turns 15!  He has really shot up, height-wise, standing 6'3" and has already passed his older brother.  He jokes now he's challenging his dad in order to be the tallest in the family.  He has a long way to go, if he's going to pass up his Great-Uncle Bill, who's 6'7".  His dad and I are taking him to breakfast before school, then ordering him a Marvel Ice Cream Cake from DQ (hopefully; we forgot to order it yesterday!  Praying they can either make one, or there's one in the case...).  No word yet on what he wants for dinner tonight.

The entire family has had the stomach flu this week.  W had it last week; A had it over the weekend; S and I came down with it on Mon; and the spouse spent Tuesday in bed.  Wednesday, we all felt better, esp since the temps were in the mid-50s, and got the back and side yard of the White House cleaned up.  D even took S and I to McAllister's for lunch:)

I also went through my Lowe's orientation on Tuesday, and yesterday was my 1st day of shadowing a cashier, from 10-3pm  The computers were down, where we were to be trained on logging in our times, scheduling days off, getting our emails, and whatever else we're supposed to do, so I'm guessing that's happening during today's shift (9-6pm).  I already know my biggest challenge is going to be sacking large boxes, and remembering to de-magnetize everything, as well as the Accounts Receivable programs, which require a special check-in, and remembering to check for military or veteren's discounts.

I'm just hoping I retain something when I return to the floor either later today or next week!

The good news is, I was worried about being cold, that close to the exit, especially since our temps went back down into the 30s.  I wasn't; I'd even brought an extra sweatshirt, but it remained in the break room during my shift.

The bad news is, it's supposed to snow again this weekend, and I have to sing both Sat night (St. J) and Sunday morning (11am service).

Have a great weekend and stay warm!