Life In Lumber: Y5, W44

 Day 184:

Arrived and took over for Cindy (Kem's in MN). Was busy all the way through 8:30!  Took my lunch at 5. Did the prelim duties, swept some of the floor, and pulled the trash. ASM Charlie brought in the concrete; Loader A took the trash around. HC Kait cleaned me out; clocked out at 9:20.

ASM SW and I 'swapped places' after lunch, since he tried to put my vest on while I was at lunch!  He and ASM Alex came down; I promptly handed the doorknobs and paint to him and told him to take them with him.  Alex laughed!

Outfit:  Red Sarcasm tee, black l/s tee, new faded jeggings, LJs, silver spirals

Day 185:

Arrived and took over for Cindy; did the prelim duties, fronted the soda, and rang up a few customers.  Two of them, I don't know where my brain was; guy (wearing Polo!) handed me $250; for whatever reason, I rang it up as $225, then had to have HC Kait open my drawer.  Two customers later, guy hands me a $20; I rang it up as $16!  Geez....I blamed the Polo, lol....anyway, went to lunch at 5 and everything went smoothly from then on. Pulled trash at 7:30; swept the floor; mucked the mats at 8:30, and locked the doors after the final customer at 9. Loader A brought in the concrete; I took the trash to the hopper and returned items to Plumbing and Fashion Bath. Clocked out at 9:30.

Took 3 doz M&M cookies and they were a hit!  Brought home 3.

Outfit:  Blue Christmas sweatshirt, new faded jeggings,LJs,  thin gold hoops

Day 186:

Arrived and took over for Shelby.  Did the prelim duties, and things were slow for the first 2 hours (it snowed this morning). SM J came down; I told him there were no cookies today, and he 'fired' me, ha ha! Was busy until 7, when I swept and pulled trash, then called HC Britt to see if I was getting any sort of break.  Madi came down, but said she was scheduled to leave at 8, so I took a 20 min break. Afterward, I finished pulling the trash and mucked out the mats. Did my LU. Jase (newly certified) brought in the concrete at 9; I'd locked the doors after the last customer left at 8:57. When HC Britt came to clean me out, I took the trash to the hopper, then put up my vest.  Clocked out at 9:35.

Got a compliment:  Two men were checking out; I asked if they had any special NYE plans.  One says, "He needs a date" and looked at me.  I said I was married, and he replied, "Sorry buddy; I tried."  LMAO!

Finally broke down and called Vincennes Ortho about my left knee. Right knee was acting up a little tonight also.

Outfit:  Red 'Its the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year....Allegedly" tee, black l/s tee, new faded jeggings, LJs, thin gold hoops

Day 187:

Arrived and took over for Cindy, who was VERY HAPPY to see me:)  Did the prelim duties, jokingly told SM J I 'needed rehired...with a raise!" (he laughed!), and asked ASM SC for more hours. He challenged me to get 5 surveys, but the QR code didn't work, so I just asked EVERYONE to help me out.  Hopefully 5 did...I get a GC if I accomplished it! Went to lunch at 6, and when I returned, began sweeping. Pulled trash at 7:30, sanitized the registers and mucked the mats. Locked the doors at 8:57 and after HC Kait cleaned me out, took the trash to the hopper and put up my vest. Clocked out at 9:20.

I'm off tomorrow!!!

Outfit:  New b/wh buffalo check shirt, new faded jeggings, LJs,  black danglies

Day 188:  Rare Sun NYE (2-6:30pm)

Arrived and took over for Austin; did the prelim duties and fronted the soda.  Was fairly steady; went to break around 4:20, and when I returned, pulled trash and swept. Final customer walked in at 5:58 and left at 6. Loader Jax took the trash to the hopper; I locked the doors and ASM SW brought in the concrete. HC Kayla cleaned me out; put up my vest and returned an item to Hardware. Clocked out at 6:30, and went to BW3 for my b-day wings.

Outfit:  Gold glittery shirt, black l/s tee, new faded jeggings, LJs, rhinestone danglies

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Life In Lumber: Y5, W43

 Day 180: 

Was an hour late, due to running errands with Mom.  Arrived at 5 and took over for HC A. Did the prelim duties and waited on customers, then did the soda count. Incident #1:  Customer asked to cut a 4x4, and was NOT happy when both Charlie and I infomed him we're not allowed to cut those.  Incident #2:  Loader Jax told me there was an injured customer in Aisle 50, so I called ASM M to go investigate. Bella sent me break; I returned items to Tools, Plumbing, and Hardware, then took a pit stop.  B was ringing up Neal, who was the accident victim; he'd whacked his head on plywood sticking out, and was shaky. I made sure he was okay, and told him to take things easy.  Incident #4: Customer's card kept declining, even after double-checking his balance.  Incident #5:  Register #1 malfunctioned during all this, so hopped to #2, and it STILL happened.  Invoiced all but the GC, and sent them up to CS.  Unplugged the pin pad and reset it; rang up more customers on #2, then got back on #1.  After a while, the customers returned, furious b/c 'Robert was rude and dropped an F-bomb'.  I expressed MY shock; customer told me to have a "nice F-ing day" and stormed out.  Come to find out, said customer THREW the GCs at Rob, plus threatened to take him outside, and find his house.  THEN they accused his 'have a lovely day' as 'have a f-ing day' and threw their hissy fit at me.  Rob emailed ASM SCH about his side of the story.

Things calmed down, then Incident #6 happened:  Mr. J had crown moulding which rang up $70; he took a picture of the bin that said $15.  Called HC Brit for an o/r; she called ASM SW, who said he couldn't mark it down that much, but would take off 20%, Mr. J agreed, with the stipulation SW go back and double-check the bin.  SW agreed; Mr. J paid and left.

Incident #7:  Discovered Gabe had left the area before HC A arrived, leaving the registers and doors unattended!  His excuse?  "My shift is over at 4."

Ummmmm.....no, your shift is over when your RELIEF shows up! NOT when your schedule says you're done!

I swept the area, pulled trash, and Bella took it to the hopper, plus all the cardboard. Locked the doors at 9, then waited while ASM SW brought in the concrete.  Clocked out at 9:40.

Outfit:  Santa Tree tee, black l/s tee, new faded jeggings,LJs, stockings

Day 181:

Went in early to not only deliver cookies to the front end as well as SM J, but to get a few items we need, like Command Strips,  3 more pkgs of lights, and another pack of lighters. Clocked in at 4 and did my LU, then Kim paged me to call her. She brought down a bag of white cheddar popcorn:) Took over for Shelby around 4:30 and was busy for an hour.  Did the prelim duties, and the soda count, and remembered I still needed to do my AP4Me!  Got two of them done before HC Britt sent me to break.  Got the trash bags I needed 1st (lg 49"x49") and the medium ones (34"x39"??) and there were no small ones.  Will have to get them tomorrow up at front. Returned and did the rest of my AP4Me, then swept the entire area, pulled trash, and was busy until close.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to sanitize and muck out the mats! Locked the doors after final customer left at 9, and waited until Loader A (who shaved his facial hair....I barely recognized him!...to bring in the concrete and take the hopper around before closing the large door. Returned items to Tools, Lights, and Seasonal, and clocked out at 9:30. 

Picked up Elaine and went to Ash Kickin' Karaoke over in Bridgeport...had a great time, though my voice is still gone.

Outfit:  Naughty List Again tee, black l/s tee, new faded jeggings, LJs, snowman bells  Left the hearing aids at home, ha ha!

Day 182:  Rare Sat 

Arrived and took over for Marilyn.  Reg #1 was out of 1s, 5s, and 10s, so spent the majority of the shift on #2. At my 1st break, I brought back my book and coat; then at 6, Shelby sent me to lunch. Treated myself to McAllister's....brocolli cheese soup and ham and cheese, plus a Brookie. Didn't get my 2nd break. Swept the entire area; did my LU; sanitized the registers and counters. Locked the doors at 9, and returned items to Plumbing and Appliances. Clocked out at 9:30.

Outfit:  Naughty, Nice, I Tried tee, black l/s tee, new faded jeggings, Ljs, santa hats

Day 183:  Rare Sun Christmas Eve (3-6:30)

Arrived with cookies for us AND the front end; took over for Austin. Wasn't too busy; did the prelim duties and swept. Dawson sent me to break at 4:30, and when I returned,  began sweeping. Had a 'rush' at 5:30; Nate brought in the concrete, and shut the large door at 5:59. There was a customer who pulled in, but never got out of his car. Returned  items to Hardware, Tools, and Pets. Clocked out at 6:15 and went to Sara's for Christmas with the grandkids.

Outfit:  Red Santa shirt with flowey sleeves; black l/s tee, black jeggings, LJs, green jingle bells

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Life In Lumber: Y5, W42

 Day 174: 

Arrived with a disturbing intestinal issue; made it safely to bathroom.  Clocked in and took over for Kem, who informed me she was irritated with Gabe; he was reading his book while she was taking care of customers.  She left; G tells me he's taking a break; I handle customers. G returns; at 3:40, I had to return to the restroom.  After I return, G goes again.  At 4, I went back; false alarm.  I return to Pro; G goes AGAIN!  At this point, I was thinking, "Monkey see, monkey do?" Then at 4:47, G announced he was going to go ahead and leave.  Really?  13 mins early?  Fine.  I did the prelim duties and at 5:10, Cindy sent me to lunch.  Afterward, I rang up the rest of the customers, then began sweeping. At 7:30, pulled trash.  8, began mucking out the mats. HC A cleaned me out at 9; I locked the doors and took the trash to the hopper.  Put up my vest and asked Val to return 2 tubes to Paint.  Clocked out at 9:15.

Was PISSED when I found out we're not getting our quarterly bonus!!!

Outfit:  Black/white stripe shirt, black vest, dark jeggings, LJs, antique silver/pearls.

Day 175:

Arrived and took over for Gabe.  Did the prelim duties and started the soda count. Kait sent me to break at 6:30 and when I returned, finished the soda count and began sweeping. Pulled trash at 7:30 and sanitized the registers and counters, and mucked out the mats. Final two customers left at 9; after HC Bre cleaned me out, Kait brought in the concrete. I'd already locked the side doors, so closed the large door and pushed the trash down to the hopper.  Put up my vest and clocked out at 9:30.

Was told I need to talk to Holly about my sick days. Also found out we're getting 4 more self checkouts.

Outfit:  Gray sweater, red NHRA polo, dark jeggings, Ljs, small diamond flowers

Day 176:

Arrived and was about to take over for Gabe when a customer asked me about his order.  G didn't know anything about it, so I told G to wait while I went to see if it was staged anywhere. It wasn't, but when I returned, there was a customer in front of #1 and G standing around. I told my customer I'd find someone to pull his drywall, then told G to turn on my light.  I rang up the customer; G left.  I was a little ticked off; couldn't he have rung up the 2nd customer while I was helping #1?  Or did he have a hot date and had to take off NOW??  Just don't get him..

The rest of the shift went smooth.  Fronted the soda, did the prelim duties, swept the area. Olivia sent me to break at 7:30, and when I returned, pulled trash and discovered Loader A had brought my broom up so I could sweep the pile. Mucked the mats and rang up my final customers at 8:55. Locked the doors; Loader A brought in the concrete; HC Brit cleaned me out. Took the trash to the hopper and returned items to Aisle 50, Plumbing, Paint, and Batteries. Clocked out at 9:30 after taking a box of bags to Pro and filling #1 and 2 bags.

Outfit:  Black/gray l/s tee, black vest, dark jeggings, LJs, blue sapphire hoops

Day 177:

Arrived to discover Gabe had called in.  Did the prelim duties and the soda count; by 6:30, I was sweeping. Rider sent me to break at 7, and when I returned, pulled trash, mucked the mats, and sanitized the registers. Final customers were at 8:50; locked the doors until they pushed the cart up. Loader A took the trash to the hopper, then brought in the concrete.  HC Britt cleaned me out. After I closed the big door, returned an item to Tools, then put up my vest. Since I'd gotten a credit app yesterday, I 'punched' the Christmas tree and won a screwdriver.  Yay me.....clocked out at 9:45.

Outfit:  Maroon plaid, black l/s tee, black vest, dark jeggings, LJs, thin gold hoops

Day 178:  Rare Sat

Arrived and took over for Marilyn, who tells me the place just died.  Hahaha....five minutes later, I have a rush. THEN the rain arrived....and the place died.  Had a few customers, off and on, but time just dragged. Dawson sent me to lunch at 6:30 and when I returned, pulled trash and swept what I could in between the rain tracks. After Matt brought in the concrete at 9, I locked the doors, waited for my final customer to unload his 2 carts before bringing them in and locking the large door.  HC Brit cleaned me out, then took gloves back to Tools and put up my vest.  Clocked out at 9:50.

Outfit:  Blue Colts 18 jersey, black l/s tee, dark jeggings, LJs, small diamond flowers

Day 179:  Rare Sun

Was a nice, low-key shift.  Arrived and took over for Marilyn and began ringing up customers. Did the prelim duties, and refilled the bags. Around 6, a customer came in to get his large order both Jax and A were working on. Jax had left at 5, and A had gone to lunch. I called ASM Alex, who came down to see what else the customer needed.  Turned out he was putting it on an LAR, so I took the info and began scanning his lumber on Pro J's register, leaving mine open for other customers.  Dawson came down to send me to break as we were nearly finished. Got the customer rang up and on his way. After my break, I fronted the soda, pulled the trash, and had a surprise visit from Will. Locked the doors at 8, then had one final customer. HC Cam cleaned me out; I took the trash to the hopper. Loader A brought in the concrete; I returned items to Paint and Aisle 10.  Clocked out at 8:30.

Outfit:  Mama Claus tee, black l/s tee, dark jeggings, LJs, green bells

Off the next 3 days!

December Goals

 Is it just me, or did November fly by?  Here's what I did and did not accomplish in the past 30 days:

-Lose 5 lbs (start 140) Thanks to the hubby buying frozen pizzas, only lost 2.

-Finish BKM story Check!  Think so; 11/4

-Finish singer story Nope

-Get cover art for DYL Crickets....all I get are crickets, aka Radio Silence

-Finish paying Editor 11/3:  Sent another $25; 12/1 Paid off!

-Pay N for Tales copies Pd $20 early Oct; 11/3:  Pd off:)

-Do well at First Friday Sold 1, and had 6 other authors show up:)

-Get promo items together for X-mas show Check!

-Do well at ICGAHS Check!  Sold 20!

-Work enough hours to pay for ^ events, inventory, and build up savings Check!

-Finish deep-cleaning MBA Sort of....still working on it

-Clean S and W's old bdrms Nope

-Buy Business Cards Went the Avery route

-Watch Grimm Am well into SE 3!

-Start evicting items from Brown House Tabled until warmer weather

-Convert 2 VHS to DVD ($44) Nope

Books Read:  2

           Print:  1

        E-book: 1

 

Health Update:  Fell down while walking at the State Fairgrounds Nov 11th and banged up my left knee.  Fell again Dec 2nd while attempting to string Christmas lights in our booth at the Kringle Market and banged up the right knee and left ankle. Plus, strained my vocal cords singing the cantata on the 3rd.  In short, December is starting off on the wrong foot!

December Goals:

-Lose 5 lbs (start 138)

-Finish singer story

-Finish Paranormal Preacher story

-Get cover art for DYL

-Start saving for NYC trip; pay deposit $125.

-Work enough hours to pay for ^ events, inventory, and build up savings

-Bake cookies 

   -Thanksgiving:  5 Doz Choc Chip

   -12/9:  3.5 doz Oatmeal-Raisin, 4 doz Choc Chip

   -12/18: 6 doz chocolate chip

   -12/19: 8 Doz Oatmeal-Raisin

   -12/24: 4 Doz chocolate chip

-Buy/wrap gifts Check!

-Send Christmas Cards 12/20:  Addressed and sealed; just need stamped

-Celebrate K's birthday Check!  Texas Rdhouse on the 9th:)

-Enjoy MY birthday Check! Baked, ate at Texas Rdhouse; saw the X-mas lights

-Finish deep-cleaning MBA

-Clean S and W's old bdrms

-Buy Business Cards

-Watch Grimm Watched final 5 episodes Christmas Day:)

-Convert 2 VHS to DVD ($44)

December Reading Schedule:

Prophet-Frank Peretti Good:)

Kalahari Typing School For Men-Alexander McCall Smith Good story!  I'd forgotten his writing style was slightly tedious at times, but otherwise, looking forward to the rest of this series, AND learned it was optioned for an HBO series!  Must look it up:) #63 read for the year, if I counted correctly...

Cupboard Full of Life-AMS Good story:)

E-book:

The Duke Always Wins-Jessie Clever DRR!  Loved this story and stayed up late to finish it!

Charming A Texas Beast-Katie Lane DRR!  Enjoyed this, and now want the next one in this series:)

Life In Lumber: Y5, W 41

 Day 170:  $7959 (and 3 cents)

Arrived and took over for Val; before I clocked in, ASM SC told me if I got 10 surveys, he'd give me a $25 GC.  So I was (hoarsely) pushing the QR code at everyone.  At the end of the day, 11 customers scanned it, but only 5 came back for their free drink.  So will see what he says tomorrow.

Around 8:15, Jase came down to look for something, so I asked him to watch the register while I took a pit stop.  My energy level tanked, so I only pulled trash and swept, plus did the soda count. Clocked out at 9:30.  Did get my AP4Me and LU done tonight.

Outfit:  Oatmeal sweatshirt, red NHRA polo, faded jeggings, LJs, small crystal drops

Day 171:  $7138

Arrived and took over for Gabe; did the prelim duties and my LU; wasn't very busy, so went ahead and swept the area, and mucked the mats. Things picked up at 6 and was steady, then Jase sent me to lunch at 6:30. Returned and things had died down, so sanitized the registers, pulled trash, and shuffled the soda. After HC Kait cleaned me out, returned items to Tools, Electrical, Paint, Hardware, and Pets, then took the trash to Receiving's hopper, since Loader A took off with ours when I was just about to reach him. Picked up some trash bags for our area, then went up front. Clocked out at 9:40.

Still no voice, and energy level dropped around 8 again.

Outfit: Burgandy sweater, faded jeggings, LJs, silver diamond danglies

Day 172:   They took away our 3.7 screen; I can no longer track my sales.

Called in Wed and Thurs, due to being exhausted and not feeling well at all.  Went in today; voice is still croaky, but at least my energy's back! Went in 2 hours early, and Gabe took advantage of my being there by taking a pit stop 1st thing, then clocking out at 4:30.  I was exactly slammed, per se, but was very steady.  Thankfully, only one person needed an o/r and ASM Charlie was there. Begged for a pit stop around 7, and ASM Shan came down to cover me. Pulled ALL the trash at 7:30 and swept the floor. Final customer was at 8:45; at 9 I locked the doors and fronted the Pro soda coolers while ASM Shan cleaned me out.  I walked her up front while HC Kait was bringing in concrete and 3 others were bringing in carts. Returned items to Hardware, Batteries, and Plumbing, then put up my vest.  Loader Jax had taken my trash to the hopper.

Only had one customer ask if I was sure I wasn't spreading germs; nearly everyone else told me, "Oh, you've got it too?"

Clocked out at 9:30.

Outfit:  Red/black plaid, l/s black tee, black vest, dark jeggings, LJs, small gold hoops

Off tomorrow to hopefully bake some cookies!

Day 173:  Rare Sunday 

Went in early with 18 choc chip and 18 oatmeal-raisin cookies, then bought GCs for family members, plus a puzzle.  Still need to get lighters, batteries, and more lights for next year.

Clocked in and sent Marilyn on break, then was fairly steady. At 4, did the prelim duties, and began sweeping around 6. Bella sent me to break at 6:45, and when I returned, did my LU and pulled trash.  Brought in carts from the sidewalk. Did the soda count, and nearly unloaded on Bella when she put some of the soda away, then told me she was leaving AFTER she saw me mopping up a mess!  (Frappe bottle leaked).  Locked the doors at 8, then finished putting away the soda. Put up my vest, then put away a leftover Coke and Gatorlyte (that I didn't even NEED!), and retrieved my prize (got a credit app) from the tree.  Won Lip Balm and Brownie Brittle, which I gave to ASM SW.

And another thing; after I came back from break, asked B to take a few items back to Hardware.

"Where's Hardware?"

"Aisle 2...just leave it on the desk."  *eye roll*

Clocked out at 8:30.

Outfit:  Blue 18 Colts jersey, black l/s tee, dark jeggings, LJs, treble clefs