Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Life In Lumber, Week #68

 Day 299:  Day Before Thanksgiving

Arrived; Matt was happy to see me.  Met the new lumber associate/loader James.  Was fairly busy until 6, then did the pop count and consolidated the trash and swept.  Matt relieved me at 6:40 for break; when I returned I gathered the trash and was fairly busy until 8:15.  Did the closing duties and checked out 3 customers.  Mel showed me how to print the journal for the end of my shift this weekend, since we're having a gift card contest.  Think it's mainly for the front end; there aren't any GCs plastered all over the lumber registers.  Winner of each day gets at $15 Grub Hub GC; highest sales at the end of Sun earns a $25 Papa John's GC.

Outfit:  Red turtleneck, faded jeggings, HP mask


Day 300:  Black Friday

Arrived at 12:30 and hopped on #2, then was steady all the way til 4, when it was my turn for lunch.  Discovered Jimmy Johns was catered in, so enjoyed a ham and cheese and relaxed and read for an hour.  Was steady again until 7, then slowed way down.  Was able to get closing duties finished and clocked out at 9:15.

When I arrived, Cam asked me why I was there so early.  Replied, "It's Black Friday and my child has no school."

Received disturbing phone call:  CS asked if I'd shorted anyone $100 in change; a customer had complained.  Said no; the most I'd given back as change had been $82!

Outfit:  Red Santa shirt, faded jeggings, Monet/HP mask (had to switch at lunch)


Day 301:  Small Business Saturday

Walked into a zoo!  Hopped on #3 for an hour, then moved to #2.  Was steady all the way til 4, and even got pop count done.  Went to lunch at 4:30 at Subway, and was steady until 7:30.  Had zero customers until 8:45, then had three in a row.  Was able to get closing duties done, even though my back was killing me.  Clocked out at 9:20.

Outfit:  Sugar cookie tee, faded jeggings, blue hooded Cabela's sweatshirt, Monet mask


Day 302:

Back was still sore.  Went in at 11:30 and things were steady until 3:30.  Got pop count done, and hung out with Jill.  Went to lunch at McAllisters. 

Slowed waaay down upon return, and had all closing duties finished by 7:30.

Outfit:  Brown gauze shirt. faded jeggings, blue hooded Cabela's sweatshirt, HP mask

Monday, November 16, 2020

Life In Lumber, Week #67

 Day 295:

I came down with bronchitis last week; all I did Thurs-Sun was lay on the couch and drink soup!  My voice was sliding into the bass range, so when I showed up for work, I wasn't sure if they'd let me stay, but they did.  Even though I was appalled at the sound of my voice the one and only time I had to page someone!  YIKES!

Still, I was able to do my job, even though I nearly made a major boo-boo in front of Mgr T....customer brought 5 of the poly-pro boards, and I pulled out my book.

"Are you seriously going to use a cheat code in front of me?"

"At least I'm honest?"  I grinned and put it away.  She found the item #; I'd found the same on earlier.

Things calmed down around 6, and Mel brought me the soda.  I filled it, then spent an hour sweeping the floor in between customers.  Matt relieved me at 7:15, and when I returned, I pulled the trash and began cleaning.

Aggie cleaned me out on the dot of 9, and we all clocked out fifteen minutes later.

Scott brought in a couple of carts and greeted me, then spun around when I answered him.

"You sound horrible!"

"It's my kids' favorite time of the year:  When Mom loses her voice."

He laughed!

Outfit:  White/gold stripe tee; faded jeggings; Monet mask


Day 296:

Feeling somewhat better; I was upset when my Washington group didn't meet on Tues.  But went in tonight; got all 5 questions correct on the Lowes U, and was moderately steady until 6:30.  Matt had already done the pop count, and an hour later, one of the girls came down and stocked it:)  We were kinda dead from 6:30-7:15, when Brenda relieved me for my break.  I only needed two o/r; Jess did one and Aggie the other, when two guys brought down siding that was damaged.  I rang them up, then took my break.

Afterward, had maybe 3 customers.  Did my closing duties and deep cleaned everything....floor, plexiglass, and counters.  Five minutes before closing, Customer brought down two carts worth of stuff, and it took twenty minutes to ring everything up.  Brenden came down to fix some of the prices, then he paid and left.  

Outfit:  Black/gray tee, black vest, faded jeggings, SW mask


Day 297:

Tonight went well:)  Matt was with me until 8, which meant he could take care of customers while I swept the entire area and did the soda count.  He took his break 1st, and when he returned, Hannah was there to collect the soda count.  We were fairly dead from 5:45-7, so I called HC A and asked if she wanted me to go to break.  Answer, yes, so I took mine until 7:20.  Came back; pulled trash and checked out one of my favorite Hispanic customers.....first they had a wall mount at 50% off; the sticker read $23.98, but rang up $19.19.  Called A, and asked if I was to take another 50% off that; she said yes, so they got it for under $10!  He paid the $450, then realized he had the hat on his head.  Paid the $6 for it, then came back in and asked about the damaged OSB and drywall outside.  Marked the OSB down to $14, and the drywall down to $7, so he paid another $30 and they left.  Matt was laughing at all the antics!

M left at 8, and I began sanitizing everything.  Only had a handful of customers, and we closed up on time.  Mgr T cleaned me out; I waited for Cam to return with the hopper before closing the door and heading to the break room.

Outfit:  Gray tee with leopard print stripe; faded jeggings; HP mask.


Day 298: Long Day!

Went to Lafayette to be with Mom on the 1st anniversary of Dad's passing, and we had an enjoyable hour together.  Didn't get over to the Medical supply place in time to order her chair, then discovered they weren't open on Sat!  Called in for Sat, and while I waited for the family to arrive, began dragging everything out of the storage unit and putting it into piles.  Took 4 trips and 3 hours to move everything into the larger unit.  Sara and Co decided to spend the night, so went to Olive Garden, then spent rest of the evening in the pool.  Alex stayed with me so S and P could have some 'adult' time.  Got up at 6 today and drove to Vincennes.  

Jill and I worked together until she left at 6.  She'd found this baby goat stuffed animal that danced and sang, and we played with it all afternoon, trying to get someone to buy it.  No one did, but I shot some video of it.  Day went fairly well.  Ate lunch at McAllister's from 3:30-4:30, and when I returned, had to have 2 overrides ('overdraft', I called the 2nd one, lol!).  Had zero customers from 6:30-7:59, then just as I was locking the doors, a gentleman approached and said he only needed an air filter.  I waved him in, and finished checking him out at 8:05.  Mel came down to clean me out and we all left around 8:15.  My back was bothering me, so I sat on one of the stools for 30 mins before sanitizing everything down.

Outfit:  White IN sweatshirt, red plaid leggings, Monet mask.

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Amazing Race 2020

 I hadn't planned to blog about this season, but after watching fifteen minutes of the 2nd episode, I just had to.

Early on, a few teams really annoyed me:

-Nathan and Cody

-The Cajun sisters

-The Olympians.

The Cajun sisters were particularly annoying, esp with V went to play the drum and asked, "How does my hair look?"

I'm sorry; I've been watching AR for at least ten years and this is the first time any contestant has been concerned about how they look on camera during a challenge!

Several teams had issues where they didn't read the entire clue, and thankfully, Nate and Cody finished last.

In episode 2, thankfully the Olympians were the next ones to be eliminated.

Ep 3:

A new alliance was formed:

-Team GLBTQ (James and Will-I find these two annoying)

-Team Beard (Riley and Maddison-I like these two, who are also pro volleyball players)

-Team Married (Hung and Chee-they're so cute together!)

-Team NFL (De and James-I really like these two!)

-Team Siblings (Aparna and Eswar-I also like them)

Another alliance was formed in Ep 2 between Team Blonde (Kaylynn and Haley) and Team Dating (Alana and Leo) when Dating told Blondies they needed to hook up the horn, which royally pissed off GBLTQ.

Once again, several teams did NOT READ THE CLUE before hopping on the boat!

Team Family (Jerry and Frank) 

Team Cajun (Victoria and Michelle) I watched in disbelief as these two forgot to grab the clue, and wandered around for 30 mins!  *eye roll*

At the double U-turn, GBLTQ u-turned Dating, but the Blondes repaid their loyalty by U-turning Family, who didn't recover, and were eliminated/

GBLTQ won-ugh.


Ep 4:

With their alliance in full swing, GBLTQ printed maps for everyone in their alliance.

Snort.....Cajun thinks Paraguay is in Africa?  These two need a geography lesson.....

Blonde and GBLTQ-had to switch taxis, due to drivers not knowing where to go.

Detour:

NFL-Watermelon Stack

GBLTQ-Bottle Dance

Married:  WS, then switched to dance

Dating:  Dance

Beard:  WS

Cajun:  Dance

Sibs:  Dance

Blonde:  Dance

GBLTQ won; Blondes final, but non-elimination leg!


Ep 5:  Paris, France

GBLTQ.....problems driving stick; turned out was trying to begin in 3rd.

Cajun:  Lost, which ultimately led to them being eliminated (thank god!)

Blondes overcame their speed bump, and it was thanks to the wandering Cajuns they didn't come in last.


-


Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Life In Lumber, Week #66

 Day 294:  Short Week!

Wed:

I called Aggie on Mon, but she said she didn't need me.  Tasha messaged me later, asking if I could work Tues.  Couldn't; had already told Mom I'd go get her and take her to her dr's appt, but was available Wed and Fri.  She took me up on the offer.

Clocked in and felt myself going downhill all evening.  We weren't too busy; just steady all night.  Still, was able to get my Lowes U and the AP4Me done, along with the closing duties.

Popped cough drops all night, and when I got home, stopped at JC for two cans of French Onion soup.

Monday, November 2, 2020

November Goals: A Bittersweet Month

Where Did October Go?  LOL....
-Lose 5 lbs (starting:)
-Work enough hours to pay bills Check!
-Finish new Bridge Story and type it up Check!
-Add words to Time-Travel, RiKar, and/or Heart Song Began a new one instead
-Purge bedroom of unwanted items Still getting there...
-Take remaining scrap to Dumes Not yet
-Organize Basement Not yet
-Do well at Kokomo Con Sold 6!!!
-Do well at CCC Sold 5:)

Books Read:  9
            Print:  7
        E-book:  2

Updated Book 'Tour':
-Evansville Women's Conference (Oct 29th) $125 ($100 reg, $25 lunch) Pd 7/31 Postponed until Jan 21, 2021
-Rivet Craft Fair (Nov 14th) $45 PD 9/8 Cancelled 10/31
-Posey Co. Craft Fair (Nov 14th) $50 Pd 11/6
-Terre Haute X-mas Craft Fair (Dec 5th) $40 Pd 11/10 CANCELLED

November Goals:
-Lose 5 lbs (starting 245) Lost 2:)
-Enjoy Letters To Daniel premier Check!
-Buy another scale
-Work enough hours to pay bills Check!
-Work on RiKar's story for NaNo or Heart Song Nope
-Finish cleaning bedroom
-Organize basement
-Do well at Posey Co. Craft Fair Was sick; didn't go
-Get through Nov 20th without too much drama Check!
-Rent Mom another storage unit (Check!) and transfer everything Check!
-Find her a lift chair Check!  Should arrive late Jan/early Feb:)

Budget:
 Oct 17-23: 16 (due to Mom's anniversary)
        24-30: 28
        Nov 6th projected income: 44 hours= $477+$40 CCC sales=$517
$52 to church; pay St. V ($140 Check!); pay credit card ($150 Check!); pay BSU card ($100 Check!)=$75-$50 (Posey Co CF Check!)=$25+$25 left over=$50. Pay remaining CC balance with BSU card ($165.15 Won't let me....have to use bank card)

Bonus 11/13:  $150 
$15 to church; pay Marcus ($5.94 FINAL Check!); pay credit card ($83 Check!)=$94   Need to begin saving what I can. 

       31-Nov 6: 20
         7-13: 4
       Nov 20th projected income:  24 hours=$257+$109 (left over)+$21 (check in mail)=$387
$28 to church; pay hearing aids ($120 Check!); pay GSH medical ($160 Check!)=$79-$58 (promo by accident!)=$21 banked



November Reading Schedule:
Print:
Carolina Wolf-Sela Carsen RR!  Why have I waited so long to read Sela's books???
Letters From Jayson-Amy Hale Enjoyed this one! RR
Shadows of Jane-AH DNF....lost interest around Ch. 11
Gumshoe-Laura Hawks Enjoyed this!
Egyptian Destiny-LH Admittedly, I skimmed much of this after Ch 10...
Sea of Flames-Wendy Knight OMG...DRR!  Loved, loved, loved this book, and want the next one!!


E-book:
Lads and Lattes-AJ Macey Good story....slightly long...
Call of the Siren-Jarika James Interesting....

Karaoke Songs:
11/5
Take a Chance On Me-Abba Good!
Run To You-Bryan Adams Slightly low, but okay
American Pie-Don McLean Ugh.  Too low, and I did the entire 1st verse in the wrong key.

11/12-Sick

11/19-Still sick

11/26:  Thanksgiving-No Karaoke








Life In Lumber, Week #65

 Day 289:

Arrived; Matt was on #2, so I hopped on #1 and rang up a customer.  M came over and told me the touch pad on the CC machine was acting up, and sure enough, my 2nd customer had a hard time getting the thing to print out her receipt.  After maybe 5 mins, it finally cooperated, and I moved to #2 for the rest of the night.  

Had to call for 2 overrides...discounted carpet and the 50% off AMS tool belts.

Went on break at 6:30 and did my Lowes U and started the AP4Me, but D arrived with my lunchable.  Ate it at the register.  Bagged trash and did my closing duties.  Didn't have any customers from 8pm to close, except for one at the last minute.

Outfit:  Blue thermal top, darker jeggings, SW mask


Day 290:  Election Day

Shift went well:)  Things were hectic at the start; #1 was still acting up, so was on #2 all night.  Was able to get the pop count done before 6, then discovered I was out of dollar bills.  Called Mel down....turnes out they were under the cash box!  Went to break at 6:25, and when I returned, rang up maybe 10 customers for the next 90 mins.  Thoroughly swept the floor, then put away the soda.  Sanitized the plexiglass and just realized I only wiped down the Pro and #1 counters.  Oops....oh well, I'll do them 1st tomorrow!

Drove Matthew home, due to his ride being a no-show.  Gassed up the van for $2.09 at Hucks on 6th st.

Outfit:  Red/black plaid cotton shirt, black long-sleeved tee, dark jeggings, SW mask.

Election Results:


Day 291: Quiet Shift

Arrived to find Reg #1 working, and was fairly steady the first 2 hours.  Brea did my pop count, then brought the cart down at 7 when she relieved me for break.  After break, I gathered the trash and began cleaning everything.  My dustmop was back, so ran it over the floor, then went back and deep-cleaned under the Pro mats.  Sanitized all the counters.....and #1's pin pad rebelled.  After the 2nd customer, I logged into Charlie's register and rang up one more customer.

Outfit:  Blue sparkle tee, darker jeggings, SW mask.


Day 292: Drama....

Arrived; Brea told me #1 was still finnicky, but I didn't have any issues with it (didn't clean the pad, either, ha ha!).  Was steady for an hour, then swept the floor, did the pop count, and consolidated the trash.  Went to break at 6:35, then when I returned, helped Casey ring up Larry West, then gathered the trash, rang up a few customers, and sanitized everything. 

While I was sanitizing, a couple came down with shingles, and he asked about where he could find a manager.  I knew Scott and Tasha were up front, so while I rang her up, he walked up front.  Then I offered to call, and Scott said he'd be down in a few minutes.  He apparently got held up, for 15 mins went by and he didn't show.  They told me the issue (he felt disrespected by S at the Return desk), then got tired of waiting and said he was going to go home and call Corporate.  Just as they drove away, I saw Scott approach.  Told him what they had told me.  Then Tasha came down and said she had just arrived to speak to him up front when he'd left the area.  Later, Zach told me that all S had said was, 'A thank you would be nice...'  Apparently he took it the wrong way???  Anyway, he had no issues with me, or C my loader....just management and S tonight.

Also discovered the schedule's out for the week of T-day; I'm off the 20th, but have to work the 21st and 22nd!  WTH....I'll be gone that weekend!  Have to decide if I'm going to try to switch with someone (I'm off the 23rd-24th), or just call in those days.

Outfit:  Black/white striped tee, darker jeggings, HP mask


Day 293: Busy Day!

Arrived to discover #1 was acting up, so spent entire shift on #2. Was busy for 90 mins, then consolidated the trash, swept the floor, did the soda count, and gathered the paperwork.  Matt relieved me at 6:40, and when I returned, I was busy for the remainder of the shift.  Didn't get a chance to sanitize anything.  Jacob took the trash down around 8:30.

Outfit:  Blue Colts jersey, faded jeggings, HP mask