Life In Lumber: Y3, W13

 Day 56: $6246 in sales (5:30-close)

Due to my mom's hair appt, and two torrential downpours while driving (Veedersburg and north of Vincennes), didn't make it to work until 5:30.  Discovered Corporate's coming in tomorrow (Wed), so HC M told me we were staying until everything was spotless.  Was BUSY!  I did the pop count and prelim duties by 7, then at 8 began sweeping.  Did get sent on a 5 min pit stop:)

As soon as I got the doors locked, I finished putting away the carts, then finished sweeping up and mucking out under all the mats.  Earlier in the evening, M and I got the sawdust evacuated under Registers 2 and 3.  I couldn't get on my knees, so I held the power outlets while she did it.

Did a quick wipe down of the counters, then put the soda away.  Took my returns back....it was 'leave everything in Lumber' day....ugh.  Then put up my vest and gathered the rest of the soda and put it away.  Then went up front....clocked out around 10:30.  Decided I was hungry, so called D and S and we all met at Denny's.

Outfit:  Classy tee, cut off capris, no earrings.

Day 57: $8190 in sales

Arrived early, to get another bottle of Urine Destroyer and two totes, then began my shift.  Did pop count, LU, and AP4Me, and watched a Red Bull cooler being installed.  Yay.....one more cooler for me to inventory every night....

Shift went well.  Rain came and went; did prelim duties; Alexa relieved me for lunch, and when I came back, I put the pink sparkly duct tape on my broom with the clear packing tape over it.  A brought the soda; I filled the coolers.  Swept, then sanitized.  Had everything done by 8:30.  After we closed and HC M cleaned me out, I took the trash down, then took a plumbing piece to RTM.  Clocked out at 9:20.

Outfit:  Tools tee, cut off capris, small silver hoops.

Day 58:  $8357 in sales

Arrived; things slowed down slightly.  Had pop count finished by 4:30.  Was fairly steady all the way til 5, then got hit with an intestinal issue, and could NOT get a hold of D or W!  Called Mel; she was on lunch.  Got a hold of Marci, who went to my house, but no one was home!  So I scrubbed my capris with baby wipes; threw my underwear away; changed into fresh panties (I keep one pair in my locker), and pulled on my damp capris, and went back to Lumber.  At 6:15, Alexa relieved me, so I informed HC E I was headed home to change.  Tossed my pants in the washer and went to McD's before returning to work 10 minutes late.  Rest of shift went well; got all closing duties finished and locked the doors at 9.  Found two items for HC M's internet order, then we clocked out around 9:20.

Outfit:  Gold tee, both pairs of capris.

Tomorrow....Payday and I'm off to the InConJunction Convention!!!

Friday Morning:

Called in and ended up speaking to Steve....who was none too happy with the news I was calling off  all weekend.  "This is unacceptable....that you would do this to us, on one of the busiest weekends.....you need to think about what you really want, and I don't know if you have a future with us..."

Okay.  1) I TOLD Mgr T and Mgr S about it; ALL the HCs knew I was calling in for the weekend.

           2)  Can they really afford to fire me?  I'm the only one who LIKES being in Lumber every night, and we can't seem to keep the new cashiers we train.

           3) As for what I really want.....I'd love for my conventions to pay for themselves....my paychecks cover my medical expenses and my travel, so yeah, I'd like to keep my job....but on the other hand, there are more jobs out there and other companies who are begging for people.  I don't think I'll have issues getting another job.

          4) I DID mention that I was only going to do this particular Con every other year from now on, to AVOID having to call in.

          5) There was a meme a few months back, concerning requesting days off and Mgment thinking they were 'suggestions'....ummm, no....if I request a day off, it's because I either have an EVENT or doctor's appointment, or my mom needs me that day.  I will make every effort to find a replacement; I don't like calling in!

I guess I'll find out Monday if they show me the door or keep me....they've already approved the rest of my July dates.  I'm still waiting to see if my August ones will be approved.

IF they fire me, I'll go to CVS, Walgreens, Hobby Lobby, or even Menards, though I really don't want to drive that far.  I'm still trainable....I'll lose my health/vision/dental insurance, but hey.....found out it's actually beneficial if I'm self-pay.  So I'm not exactly upset about it.  I have enough saved to make two months on my CC, and I think just one month without a job.  So I can 'afford' to be off the rest of the month into August, providing my sales help out.

Life In Lumber, Y3, W12

 Day 51:  $10,640 in sales

Shift began on a good note; thought we had 8 closers.  But then realized we were down a few people, due to call ins.  Things were slow at first; was able to do pop count, prelim duties, LU, and AP4Me by 5pm, plus requested my August dates.  HC C sent me to lunch at 6:20, and when I returned, did the closing duties.  J took the trash out at 9, and I waited for two customers to finish loading their vehicles.  Word came down a customer was waiting for cabinets; Mgr T brought them down one at a time and J loaded the first one.  Mgr B came with her the 2nd trip, then closed the door and returned items to plumbing, tools, and fashion bath.  Clocked out at 9:30.

Had a customer drop $159 in cash; I gathered it up and wrapped it in register tape and tucked it under my notebook, but nobody returned to claim it.  Sent it to CS at 7pm.

There's speculation B's not gonna show up again tomorrow, since she's put in her 2 week notice.  A was also absent.  HC A told me they need to nip the call-ins in the bud; I said to wait until after my call-in the weekend of the 4th, lol!

Outfit:  Red LU shirt, original capris.

Day 52:  $8,881 in sales

Arrived to find Karlee on #2 and Kim working on the paint spill in front of #1.  Customer A needed an approval code, and so did my final customer, who, as it turned out, only needed to activate his card.  A was over the limit, so charged $310 on his card, and the balance on another.

Otherwise, shift was nice and quiet.  Did soda count and prelim duties, and at 4pm, was able to move over to #1 again.  HC C relieved me for lunch at 5:30, and before I went, took back items to Plumbing and Paint.  When I returned, began closing duties.  Had a rush at 7:30, and needed an override.  Mgr T came down and had to put the cash back in #2 to help with the customers.  I'd tried to offer to ring up anyone paying with a card, but everyone else was paying with cash.  At 9, Justin took the trash; I locked the doors; Mgr T closed out my drawer and after the 2nd forklift was brought in, went up front.  Clocked out at 9:20, after discovering we had a homeless man sleeping in the mulch.

Outfit:  Blue 'baseball' tee, original capris, small gold hoop earrings.

Day 53: $14,232 in sales

Arrived; rang up two customers and then the place went dead.  Did pop count and prelim duties, and chatted with C and D, L and B.  Alexa relieved me at 6, and when I returned, began the closing duties and swept.  Had a 'rush' at 7:30, and needed an o/r.  Rang up customers on C's register until HC A came down.  Needed another one an hour later.  Had a weird thing happen; in the middle of the rush, something triggered my asthma and as I was ringing up the customer, was trying not to cough too much.  My eyes were watering; voice went husky.  Finally they paid and I was able to step away and cough, blow my nose, and get a drink of water!  Final customer left at 8:50; I actually locked the doors at 8:59.

Right as I was heading to break, had one customer get a pallet of concrete, and another customer needed an entire bunk of OSB!  When I returned, Alexa was ringing up another customer getting a pallet of concrete, only taking 12 today and will be back for the remainder tomorrow.  I also returned items to Tools and Electrical before going to lunch. 

At the end, A took the tarp back to Seasonal. Also, Brittany and I 'entertained' a customer by belting out 'I Want It That Way' to the Musak!

Outfit:  Living On A Prayer tee, original capris, gold textured hoops.

Day 54: $7007 in sales

Arrived; things were a little slow at first.  Did pop count and prelim duties; was sent to lunch at 6.  When I returned, began closing duties and had to print three PL tickets....one for my concrete guy and two more for a huge order of Charlie's.  Sanitized the registers at 8:30, and final customer was at 8:45.  After HC E cleaned me out, took the trash to the hopper and returned items to Electrical, Plumbing, Hardware, and OSLG.  Clocked out at 9:35.

Outfit:  Indian Motorcycle tee, original capris, drop earrings.

Day 55: $9934 in sales

Arrived; was told a customer *might* return for his concrete and paint; however, an hour had already passed.  At 5:30, I pushed it out as a return!  Did pop count and prelim duties, and was sent to lunch at 5:30.  When I returned, I started sweeping, and took my time.  Was fairly steady from 7-8:30.

Saw BWG twice...once when I arrived, then again when he checked out through my lane:)  

Had a CFH at 8:30; they had 2 orders.  I told them to tell me what to ring up 1st.  They had an argument over which was which, then the wife pointed out what to scan.  As soon as I did, the man said not the brackets; fine, I took them off.  Then he says Tax Exempt.  Okay; I do that and we finish that transaction.

Then I move on to what was left.  Man starts to scold me, since 'you've already rung up the treads.'  I politely say no; I'd rung up 3 stringers.  He and she argue more, then he says to void everything and start over.  I said he'd have to take the 1st receipt to CS; he says no, get 'em down here.  Again, I politely told him I'd have to send him down there; he huffed and said they'll just take everything down.

Later, I saw Jillian, who told me they'd given her an earful about me!  LMAO....I gave her an earful about THEM!

Anyway, J took the trash at 9, and HC E came down a few minutes later.  I'd already given Trinity the paint, and B had taken the tools back, so all I had to do was take the tax exempts and loading tickets up to CS.  Clocked out at 9:30.

Outfit:  Flamingo tee, original capris, treble clef earrings, which lost one of the backs around 8pm.

Life In Lumber, Y3, W11

 Day 48: $10,588 in sales

Busy shift! Things went well, until I had a brain fart....Customer gave me a penny for the 26 cents, and I stupidly only gave him a quarter back, instead of 75 cents!  Fortunately, three customers later, someone paid in cash and I was able to give the man his $$.  Geez....When I returned from lunch, G went to lunch and that's when everyone needed him.  I thought he was only taking a 15; he took an hour!  Had one guy wanting concrete board and drywall; Mgr BW helped him.  Another guy came in for tile; couldn't find it.  Turned out it was up by CS.  Another customer came in, expecting her order to be picked; it wasn't, and no one could find her metal roof sheets.  She took all but the metal; I left a note for Kim, who'd set up the invoice.

Clocked out at 9:30.

Outfit:  Gray Fire in her Heart tee; cut off capris; #6 day w/o mask!

Day 49:  $9,621 in sales

Began my day by finding an injured cat under my van.  Either it's hips or pelvis was broken; anyway, I picked him up and put him on the porch and D took him to the vet.  I'm hoping they put it down humanely.  Poor kitty....

Arrived; things slowed way down after 15 mins.  Did pop count and prelim duties; was fairly steady between 4 and 6, then was sent to lunch.  When I returned, I found my mop down by the hopper, so I pushed it back up front and swept, then sanitized the registers and counters.  Things were fairly slow, so G and Bryce (new trainee) did trash right at 9.  HC M cleaned me out; I waited til G brought in the other forklift, then closed the door and returned items to Millwork, Plumbing, Hardware, and a center kiosk.  Had to take a box of nuts to RTM; there clearly were not 50 in the box!

Clocked out around 9:20.

Outfit:  Black Alaskan Highway tee, cut off capris; #7 w/o mask!  Do I dare put in my hearing aids???  Wear earrings again???

Day 50: $9,958 in sales

Brought cupcakes for Loader G, then discovered he wasn't on the schedule!  Also discovered I didn't have a closing associate; J had either called in or been told not to come in.  Hopped on #2 to help with the line, then spent the rest of evening on #1.  Had to have an override for Mgr G's batteries, did prelim duties and soda count, and had an issue trying to find someone's flooring (turned out it had already been picked up).  Went to lunch at 5:30 and when I returned, started closing duties.  Had to find a forklift driver to bring down a pallet of wood, and at 8 when B left, had a customer buy one of the large bags of sand outside.  Steve from OSLG came down and ran the forklift.  Clocked out at 9:30.

Outfit:  Black lace tee, cut off capris; #8 w/o mask!  Tried to put hearing aids in; they need cleaned or reprogrammed.  Off until Mon!

June Goals

Think I did a little better on the goals in May, at least where my health was concerned...

-Lose 5 pounds (starting 245)

-Do well at Princeton Vendor Fair Bleh....was a bust.  Only sold 1

-Have an enjoyable 30th anniversary Check:)  Went to El Corral on Sun 5/2 and Yamoto lunch 5/3.

-Finish cleaning out bedroom Not yet

-Buy shelves for basement Not yet

-Rent dumpster and start culling green and brown houses Not yet

-Hang pictures No

-Do well at Elwood craft fair Sold 9:)

-Secure cover art for Creative Generations Check!  Now to begin formatting MS....

-Buy 10 more styluses (red) Check!

-Pay for magnets Not in yet

-Watch Indy 500 with mom? Ended up working; watched it later that night.  Helio won 4th time....ugh.

-Do PT on left arm Check!

-Mammogram Check!  Nothing suspicious detected, yay!

-Eye doc Check!  No cataracts; just new lenses for glasses.  Yay!

Arm Health:  Range of motion slowly getting better with the exercises!

Books Read:  6

           Print:  6

        E-book:  0

            DNF:  3

Karaoke Songs Added:  Only 2, due to laryngitis and camera breaking.

Upcoming Events:

-Quad Con, (June 5th) Peoria IA Sold 6!!  And met Bishop Stevens:)

-InConJunction (July 2-4) Indpls, In 21st and Shadeland Ave, Marriott East

-Imaginarium (July 9-11) Louisville, Ky Need to pay for 2 badges, plus 2 more award banquet tix

-Heroes For Kids (July 20th) Perrysville, Mo

-Superman Festival (July 30-Aug 1st) Metropolis, IL

-Royal Readers (Aug 9th) Mall of America, Bloomington, Mn

-Indpls State Fair (Aug 11-13 OR 16-18th), State Fairgrounds Expo Bldg, Indpls, IN

-Penned Con (Sept) St. Louis, Mo Cancelled; however, going virtual again

-Kokomo Con (Oct 16) Kokomo, In Same weekend as ComicCon; will see about selling my table

-Indy ComicCon (Oct 15-17) Indianapolis Convention Center

-Collectors Carnival and Crafts (Oct) Princeton, In

-Indpls Christmas Gift and Hobby Show (Nov) Indpls State Fairgrounds

June Goals:

-Do well at QuadCon Sold 6!  I WILL return next year:)

-Lose 5 pounds (start:  245) 6/28:  Lost 2 pounds!  243

-Clean bedroom

-Rip up DRM carpet

-Rent dumpster and finish cleaning Green and Brown houses

-Buy more styluses (blue)

-Magnets??

-Release 1st edition of CR on June 28th Check!

-Spend weekend with Mom Check!  Took Miss A with me...

-Get good report on arm 6/28 Dr says I'm healed!  Whoo hoo!  Now I have to pay for all the visits plus the ER....

June Reading Schedule:

 Heartless-Marissa Meyer DRR!  Loved this origin story about the Queen of Hearts!!!

Nothing But A Good Time-Tom Beaujour et al Loved this!!!!

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek-Kim Michele Richardson Enjoyable!

Harriet Tubman-Catherine Clinton Very informative!

Beneath A Marble Sky-John Shors DNR

I Am Driven Crazy-Jessica Wettig DNR

Karaoke Songs:

Peppers has taken over, and starting at 9pm!  Trying to head over after my shift and be home by midnight.

Talk Dirty To Me-Poison Sang this the night the camera broke....ugh....waaaaay too low!

Taking Chances-Celine Dion Good!

Sacred Emotion-Donny Osmond DNH

Sacrifice-Elton John Slightly low, but still good:)

Voices Carry Practice song, until camera battery charged

6/17

Talk To Me-Stevie Nicks Verses slightly low, but chorus sounded good!

Sad Eyes-Robert John Nailed it; skipped high notes at end.

Don't Speak-No Doubt Nailed it:)

6/24

Talking In Your Sleep-Romantics Did well:)

Sad Songs Say So Much-Elton John Thought it sounded good:)

Sailing-Christopher Cross Started off a little low, but otherwise not bad:)

Don't Let Me Get Me-Pink Had to jump up an octave every now and then, but wasn't too awful...

Life In Lumber, Y3, W10

 Day 43:  Tues  $13061 sales

Was off yesterday, due to granddaughter A's 9th birthday. 

Arrived; immediately took over for K, and was steady for an hour.  Did pop count and prelim duties, and discovered my mop was still MIA, as was the broom and dustpan.  Went to lunch at 6, and when I returned, began the closing duties.  Was a nice, easy night, with only one real 'rush'.  Clocked out at 9:20.

Outfit:  JHS tee, cut-off capris.  Took my Tools mask, but managed to get away with not wearing it.

Day 44:  $9861 sales

Arrived; took over for K and did pop count and prelim duties.  Began pouring down rain, and needed 2 o/r....one for discounted lumber and the other for a discounted tool.  Went to lunch at 6 and when I returned, discovered I was out of $1s, so spent the rest of the evening on #2.  Began closing duties at 7:30, and HC M cleaned me out around 9:10.  Returned items to Hardware and Plumbing, then clocked out around 9:30.

Outfit:  Purdue tee, cut off capris, and managed to get away with not wearing a mask again:)

Day 45:  $10,498 in sales

Arrived; hopped on #2 to help with the line, then got back on #1 after K left.  Things slowed down, so went ahead and did the pop count and prelim duties around 4:30.  Went to lunch at 6, then began closing duties.  I'm surprised I had more sales today, given the fact we were slower than yesterday!  Shift seemed to drag.  But HC M cleaned me out around 9:05, and had to return items to Plumbing, Electrical, and Hardware.  Clocked out around 9:20.  

Was happy to hear Mgr Gareth sing 'Honesty' by Billy Joel tonight at 'roke:)

Outfit:  Rebel tee, cut off capris, #3 without wearing a mask:)

Day 46: $12584 in sales

Walked in and greeted Marci, then discovered the Pro hours were cut.  D left at 3 instead of 5; Loader L was told to go home early; new trainee B was told not to come in; loader G was told to leave at 9:30 instead of 11.  Was in the 'suburbs of Hell', though loader W and G were in the '1st circle of Hell' during the shift.  

The ironic thing was, we really weren't that busy, but some people were buying a LOT of stuff.  Had one customer get 150 picket fences; another wanted 160 concrete blocks.  I managed to do my LU and my annual Safety Training during my shift.  Needed one o/r on discounted lights; while I waited, I hopped on C's register and rang up another customer.  Later, a customer had 2 boards 50% off, but after 10 minutes, I simply took off one of the boards and rang her up.

Didn't pull soda; I even left the sheet in the folder for tomorrow.

We DID get out on time, and I didn't have to return anything.

Outfit:  Yellow Fla tee, cut off capris, #4 w/o the mask:)

Day 47:  Saturday shift $12,078 in sales

Began shift with a customer telling me there was a cart with some expensive tools beside her car.  Brought them in...and security tag went off.  Deactivated the tadpole, then pushed it down to CS.  Wound up getting credit for a $600 RWD:)  Got to hang out with Cindy and Marci today; HC M also hung out with us.  Nice, relaxed shift.  C left at 3; I went to lunch at 4:30, and M left at 7.  Things didn't get really busy until 7:30, and had a customer with two carts.  No real issues today.  Clocked out at 9:30.

Outfit:  Black/tan shirt; cut off capris; #5 w/o mask.  Whoot!