From The Stupid Files: Y8, W10

 Day 44:  Heavy rain, high 60s; 61 t/a

ASM:  Shannon

HC:  Riley

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) Heavy rain began around 5; flooded our loading bay.  DS Ian found the squeegee and we took turns using it.

2) Aaron Knepp was in the store for 3 hours, with his family.  I teased him about bringing everyone in so we could see they DO exist!  Ian got a chuckle out of it!

3) Darrell T tipped a cart on end; I left it; he said he wanted to see it like that in the morning!

4) Woman decided the two Stanley cups were too expensive, so instead of handing them over, she put them into the blue buckets in front of the register.  WTH????

Outfit:  Gray G'ma tee, blue SC sweatshirt, faded jeggings, thin gold hoops.

Day 45:

Day 46:

Day 47:

Day 48:

Day 49:  Rare Sat

From The Stupid Files: Y8, W9

Day 38:  Cool, low 60s; 66 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Riley

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) We were fairly slow.

2) Forgot to take my 7:30 meds and took them 45 mins later, during my 20 min break.

3) Needed a Pit stop @7:30

4) Customer wanted 4 or 5 100 ft drain pipes; was brought 9!  I joked, "It's a buy 4, get five free special!"

5) Customer left a bag at #2 @8:45

6) Customer bought sand with a hole in, which leaked all over my counter.

7) Entitled Haitians checked out at 9:55; finally finished loading and left at 10:15.

Outfit:  Teal flowered blouse, faded jeggings, 'spaceship' danglies

Day 39: Warmer, high 70s; 66 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Madi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) TWICE I gave customers $10 instead of a $5!

2) Cust wanted full bunk of 23/32 OSB. Jax was at lunch; Isaiah busy. Taylor gave me the PRICE; I wanted to know how many were in the bunk!

3) Alex is about to get on my last nerve. "No writing, no playing on phones".....so you just expect me to sit there and daydream???

4) Had a LOT of plumbing parts to put away!  Thankfully, I also got a 15 min break so I didn't have to do it after we closed!

Outfit:  Brown blouse, long capris, neutral bundle danglies

Day 40: Warmer, low 80s; 65 t/a

ASM:  Dan

HC:  Ben/Levi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) Cust came to Pro K's register as Matt was finishing up!  Was redirected to my register.

2) Tried to return siding, but system wouldn't let me.

3) Charged fan, but left it at home.

4) Ben and Raven came to give me $5s and $10s; I'd just returned iron bars, so told Ben to 'make himself useful' and put the returned items in the return bucket while I finished ringing up the customer!

Outfit:  Black Eclipse tee, long capris, Eclipse danglies

Day 41:  Warm, low 80s; 61 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Riley, Levi

Loaders:  Jax, Kolton (from LG), and Darius (new guy)

1) Thought Maria was closing, then Alex showed up!

2) The Haitian group checked out early, around 9:35!

3) Final customer wanted a tire gauge; had to sell him an $8 one.

4) Tried to help a customer, but the system would only email his 'cart' to Ian, not me.

Outfit:  Red LU tee, long capris, thin gold hoops

Off tomorrow, but agreed to help out over the weekend, with reduced hours.  Have I lost my mind?

Day 42:  Rare Sat, 6-close; warm, low 80s; 61 t/a

ASM:  Keri

HC:  Levi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah, Damian

1) Arrived at 6:05; Levi texted me at 6:04 for my ETA

2) Harassed customer who let his wife push the heavy cart of lumber!

3) Harassed Levi as he was cleaning out my drawer.

4) Had 3 people at close!  One's cards wouldn't work; he finally coughed up some cash.  I'm not sure I didn't still owe him $10....

Outfit:  White/black stripe tee with flowers; green vest, long capris, large gold ball/hoops

Off tomorrow, but agreed to come in and help out.

Day 43:  Rare Sun, 5-close; warm, high 70s; 47 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Madi, Levi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah, Damian

1) Customer bought water heater, took it out, and left us the box.  WTH???

2) Customer bought 4 bags of 50 lb concrete, then told Jax, "I'll have to move some things around; I didn't think about it until now."

3) Ran out of $1s at 5:30; had to give one customer $4 in quarters!

Outfit:  Purple and yellow polka dot shirt, long capris, thin gold hoops with the drop ball.

Survivor 50: In The Hands Of The Fans Ep 7-8

 Ep 7:

Jon and Dee get into it; Tiff's mad about Kamilla going.

Everyone's mad at Aubrey for not playing her idol.

Coach begins creating haikus....

Oz and Riz return and their minds are BLOWN about the 3 tribals!

Emily tells Riz she knows about his idol, and throws Dee under the bus.  Dee is now furious at Emily for not keeping her mouth shut.

Journey:  Steph's name is pulled out of the hat; goes off to Exile Isle, and has to tether her arm toa bucket for an hour.  She gets the Steal-A-Vote advantage!

Reward Challenge:  Rolling large boulder through obstacles, then puzzle.; wins Chinese Take Out. 

Teal: Jon, Cirie, Chrissy, Coach, Aubrey, Tiff, and Rizzo

Purple: Christian, Ozzy, Emily, Devins, Dee, Steph, and Joe

Teal gets their boulder 1st

Teal gets to the keys 1st, followed by Purple

Purple gets the lock open 1st; Emily struggling.

Purple to the wall 1st, but Teal gets everyone up 1st

Puzzle comes down to the wire, but Teal wins reward and the right to fight for Immunity!

Immunity Challenge: Holding balls on a paddle above your head while standing on a balance beam.

Devins out 1st

Emily drops

Christian drops

Steph drops

Dee drops

Joe drops

Ozzy wins!

While half the camp enjoys the Chinese food, the other half schemes against Dee.

Coach begins to piss off players, and Dee and Tiff scheme against HIM!

Tribal Council:  Dee, Tiff, or Coach?

Dee tries to cause chaos at Tribal.

Dee plays her Shot-In-The-Dark:  Not Safe.

Aubrey plays her idol.

Dee voted out, 8-4 (Tiff)-1 (Coach).

Ep 8:

Everyone has to divide into pairs; Cirie's chosen to be the odd one out.

Pairs:  Aubrey and Devins

           Jon and Christian

           Chrissy and Coach

           Emily and Rizzo

           Ozzy and Steph

           Joe and Tiff

Immunity and Reward Challenge:  Obstacle and Ball maze:  Twist:  One PAIR will be voted out!

Toss ball into bucket, then race to grab it as it rolls down the track.

Next, partners pass the ball back and forth, using paddles as they go across a bridge.

Then you assemble a plank bridge.

1st 3 pairs across move to final round.

Maneuver a ball from a cage, then move it through the maze.

1st pair wins immunity and reward, spaghetti meal.

Joe and Tiff in the lead to the plank bridge

Tiff and Joe, Ozzy and Steph, and Aubrey and Devins move on!

Aubrey and Devins through the cage!

Oz and Steph on the maze!

Finally Joe and Tiff on the maze!

Joe and Tiff have one ball....

Oz and Steph have one ball....

Joe and Tiff win!

Cirie goes to Exile:)

She has 30 mins to find a coconut with a phoenix and she can return to camp and vote.  If the timer runs out, she stays at Exile and doesn't vote.

She found it!!!

Tribal Council:  Coach and Chrissy, or Devins and Aubrey?

Devins grabs his fake idol from the fire pit!  People start to scramble....but aren't really buying it.

Coach played his Shot In The Dark....Not Safe

Chrissy and Coach voted out, 10-1 (A+D)-1(E+R)

From The Stupid Files: Y8, W8

Day 33:  Warm, low 80s; 64 t/a

ASM:  Maria

HC:  Riley

Loaders:  Isaiah, Ben/Levi

1) Was steady until 7:30

2) Am #1 for AP4Me and got perfect score on LU!

3) Had issues getting Code 50 for customer around 7:45

4) Had to eat lunch @Pro, due to Kem not cleaning out the coffee carafe. Also had to get trash bags, so after my pit stop, had 3 mins to sit down.

5) Zero customers from 8:20-8:55, then nobody after 9:30.

6) Trash compactor is working again!

Outfit:  Dept of Having A Good time tee, long capris, small zirconian hoops

Off tomorrow, for Alex's GI appt.  Did tell Riley if he needed me, I could probably be there around 5.

Day 34: Warm, low 80s; 45 t/a

ASM:  Maria

HC:  Madi, Levi, Riley

Loaders:  DS Charles, Jax

1) Was asked to come in when back from E'viile; arrived at 6.

2) Discovered I'd left my phone in the truck.

3) Saw Izzy!  She's working at Harbor Freight.

4) Riley thought I was in my pjs!

5) Several customers quoted 'Win $500!' at me:)

Outfit:  Black CBS tee, red plaid leggings, small zirconian hoops

Tomorrow we go for Alex's probation hearing; I might be slightly late to work.

Day 35: Warm, humid, low 80s; 71 t/a

ASM:  Daniel

HC:  Riley

Loaders:  DS Charles, Isaiah

1) Due to Alex's probation meeting, arrived around 3:20-ish

2) Discovered someone had drawn a penis on the 2nd column in Aisle 16

3) Mixed up the '5' on change; thought I'd forgotten the $5, but after I reopened and recounted, it was $1.66, not $15.66.

4) Final customer wanted a delivery, but took TWO HOURS to get the rest of their stuff.  I'd helped them get ceiling tile when I returned from lunch (8:10), but it was nearly closing time when they finally had their list together and I could set it up for delivery, then ring up their CW purchases.

Outfit:  Gray IN tee, long capris, small zirconian hoops

Day 36:  Warm, humid, low 80s; 64 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Riley

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah, Darian

1) Wasn't sent on break until 8:10.

2) 9:30 customer had 3 carts; didn't help get the stuff underneath the cabinet AND left their carts at the entrance of the large door.  Then discovered one of the women had left their wallet behind.  Fortunately, she was a Rewards Member, so was able to find her phone # and call her asap.  Entitled much??

3) Matt is no longer our SM!  Went back to Kentucky!  Hope we get another nice one:)

Outfit:  Spare parts tee, long capris, tiny silver hoops

Off the next two days!!

Day 37:  Rare Sun Cool, mid 60s; 56 t/a

ASM:  Shannon

HC:  Riley

Loaders:  DS Charles, Isaiah

1) Had 2 people all evening!

2) Teased Yancy when he went on break that I was non-stop for 15 mins!

3) Helped a customer find window well covers

4) Swept the place

5) If Bryan had held on for 5 more mins before helping with returns, I'd have had the closing duties finished before the final crowd arrived!

Outfit:  Black Alaskan Hwy tee, red/black plaid shirt, faded jeggings, small zirconian hoops.

From The Stupid Files: Y8, W7

Day 29: Cooler, 50s; 68 t/a

ASM:  Shannon

HC:  Madi, Riley

Loaders:  Conrad, Jax

1) Customers wanted plywood and 1x2s; told them to go down the drywall aisle; went down 18 instead!  But still managed to find it.

2) Rollo, the 14-week bulldog, was adorable! Tried to eat one of my patches:)

3) Customer hit the right door with his cart, knocking it off the track. Peyton put it back together, with help from Conrad.

4) Customer bought me a Reecee cup!

Outfit:  Red turtleneck, dark jeggings, thin gold hoops

Got a phone call Mom was being sent to hospital; called in the next 2 days and went to be with her.

Day 30:  Cooler, rain, low 70s; 60 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Madi, Levi, Riley

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) UKG wouldn't let me clock in; told Amy and she clocked me in.

2) Cust. said he wanted his receipt 'like this', showing me his crumpled one. Told I 'd wad it up, if he'd like....LOL!

3) Mr. N showed up; told me he'd passed over 2xs Feb 5th!  Had a triple bypass and doing well:)

4) Cust said if they used her rewards #, then she was honor-bound to pay for it!

Outfit:  Black/white buffalo check, white v-neck tunic, dark jeggings, thin gold hoops

Day 31:  Rare Sat: Warmer, 70s; 67 t/a

ASM:  Keri

HC:  Levi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) Tried to return ceiling tiles, but system wouldn't let me. Alex came down; it was sold under Special Order 1; went through fine.

2) Saw John and Mercedes:)

Outfit:  Blace V-neck tunic; dark jeggings, turquois 'star' dangliex

Day 32:  Rare Sun Warmer, low 80s; 96 t/a

ASM:  Keri

HC:  Madi

Loader:  Jax

1) Couldn't log into the Zebra

2) #2 not working

3) Rang up customer's order on Pro Kathy's register, then discovered it was out of receipt paper.  Managed to email it to the customer!

4) Isaiah called in; Jax went to lunch, just as EVERYONE needed help!

5) Customer handed me $145 for $144....and I told him I needed another dollar, THEN realized my mistake.  Then went to break!

6) Slowed down around 6:30!

Outfit:  Gold tee, dark jeggings, blue sapphire hoops

April Goals

What did I accomplish in March, besides working 18 days?  Did manage to get a raise at work!

-Do well at Creative Market Sold 5:)

-Do well at GSH event Only sold 1.

-Get good report from Dr. S Postponed until May; bad storms that day.

Health:  Leg wound is still being pesky.  Finished another round of antibiotics (#4) and am now treating wound with a collagen patch.  It stings for a bit.  Hours have been cut at work, since one gal in Fulfillment moved to Lumber 8-5.  There are a few days I'm scheduled at 3 or even 4, so there's hope!

 Books Read:  7

            Print:  3

        E-book:  4

             DNF:  1

2026 Events:

April 17th:  Creative Market, 1972 KCARC 4-7pm Skipped, in order to go to Lafayette a day early.

April 18th:  Tippecanoe County Author's Fair, Lafayette, In 1-4pm Sold 2, swapped 2, donated 2. Probably would have done better if I'd read an excerpt or talked about my publishing journey.

April 25th: North HS Craft Fair, US 41 N, Evansville, In, 9-3pm CST Sold 3.....majority wanted murder/mystery.  Did hand out a lot of cards!

April 26th:  Youth Leadership Craft Fair, Highland Woods, Hart St, Vincennes, In 12-4pm Sold 1, and maybe 3 more on Kindle.....

June 5-7:  Indy Comic Con (Panelist)

June 13:  Pride, French Commons, Vincennes, In 5-9pm

June 26th:  Summer On Main, downtown Vincennes, 5-8pm

July 10-12:  InConJunction Convention, Wyndham West, Indpls

July 17-19:  Imaginarium, Louisville, KY 

Aug 8th:  Indy Author Event 

Aug 22nd:  Lafayette Comic Con, Tippecanoe Co Fairgrounds, Lafayette, IN ($40)

Sept 12th:  StompCon, Fowler, IN

Nov 11-15:  ICGAHS

Nov 28th:  Creative Holiday Market, 1972 KCARC

Dec 2-3rd:  GSH Christmas Vendor Event ($50)

April Goals:

-Lose 5 lbs (start 244)

-Send Aiden to editor Check!

-Contact Dawne' for cover art Check!

-Send Daughter's MS to editor

-Do well at Creative Market Ended up dropping out in order to drive to Lafayette a day early

-Do well at Author Fair Sold 2, swapped 2, donated 2. Probably would have done better had I read an excerpt or talked about my publishing journey.

-Do well at NHS Craft Fair Sold 3; the majority of readers wanted murder/mystery.  Did hand out a lot of cards for those who read on Kindle!

-Do well at Youth Leadership Craft Fair Sold one, but maybe sold 3 more on Kindle???  Plus met a woman writing her memoirs and a woman whose 13 y/o has begun writing stories.

-Republish Rex

-Fill out passport paperwork and turn it in

-Find out about passport photo Staples???

-GET VAN FIXED!! 4/16:  Cleaned and replaced loose battery cables; ran for an hour then quit.

-Add words to Dragon story stalled and Hallmark-inspired story 

-Create new website

-Buy new soap dish for MBa 

-Finish trim, lights, medicine cabinet, and shower guard in MBa 

-Pay down CC and start pecking away at med bills

-Read 6 books

-Finish current e-book 

Feb Reading Schedule:  

Die Laughing-Benjamin Oneal Very good story!

Someone Like You-Karen Kingsbury Good story!

George Washington's Secret Six-Brian Kilmeade Began promising, but then got boring.  Still, history I hadn't known.

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates-Brian Kilmeade

Bride-Ali Hazelwood

The Good, The Bad, and the Aunties-Jesse Q Sutanto

The Hating Game-Sally Thorne

Awakening-Dana Fuller Ross

The One and Only-Emily Giffin 

Tales From The Sailor Man-Brian Morris, et al (Popeye book)

Love Song-Elle Kennedy

I Choose Me-Jennie Garth

I Survived This-Sheady Kyle

Mindtalk-A. Alex Come'

Survivor:  Forged In Fire-Jeff Probst

Raised On Radio-Paul Rees

The Choice-Anne Greene (misplaced??)

Louise Penney book

A Quiet Strength-Janette Oke

Valley of the Shaman-Arlen Andrews

Joyful Poems For Children-James Whitcomb Riley

I Heard God Laugh-Matthew Kelly

Life Is Messy-Matthew Kelly

Franklin and Eleanor

-24

E-book:

Dare To Love-Sandy Sullivan DRR!  Very good!

The Lust Boat-Roz Lee Good story!  Very erotic

Echoes of the Heart-Jean Joachim Good story!

Love and Pumpkins-Kasey Kennedy Good Story!

A Poetry Affair-Sandra Sookoo

TBB (on wish list-was tired of not finding them!)

The Marriage Bargain-Jennifer Probst (2013-$10)

The Marriage Trap-Jennifer Probst (2013-$15)

The Marriage Mistake-Jennifer Probst (2013-$10)

The Marriage Merger-Jennifer Probst (2013-$10)

Into Thin Air-Jon Krakauer (2013-$15)

The Cookbook Collection-Allegra Goodman (2013-$11)

The Girfriend-Abigail Barnett ($5)

The Summer Without Her (Men???)-Siri Hustvedt

Searching For Someday-Jennifer Probst (2014-$8)

Hard As You Can-Laura Kay (2014-$9)

The Year of Living Biblically-A.J. Jacobs (2014-$15)

Retaliation-Yasmin Shiraz (2014-$10)

Accused-Yasmin Shiraz (2014-$10) 

Romulus-Marilyn Campbell ($5)

Gaslight Chronicles-Cindy Spencer Pape ($8)

So Far Away-Dakota Madison, et al

Love Realized-Melanie Codina

Love Resisted-Melanie Codina

Assumptions-Melanie Codina

One The Run-Jade C. Jamison

Decker-AD Ellis

Sawyer-AD Ellis

Monster Among The Rose-Linda Kage ($6)

Flower of Heaven-Julien Ayotta

Dangerous Bloodlines-Julien Ayotta

If I Fall-Lydia Michaels ($5)

If You Want Me-Tara Mills

Tomorrow-Samantha Kane

Backdoor Billionaire's Bride-Roz Lee (2019-$5)

The Play-Tawdra Kandle

Hopeful In Yellow-Sandra Sookoo

Magic In Mayflowers-Sandra Sookoo

Zero Chance-Linda Kage (want entire series in print)

Paging Dr, Breakup-Jillian David

The Girl Vanished-Jessica Ann (Jessie Clever)

The Lost Summers-Jessica Ann (Jessie Clever)

Ballad of Us-Sasha Marshall

Naughty, Nice, Never Been Kissed-Cassidy Hudspeth

A Party To Die for-Kerry Schafer

Survivor 50: In The Hands of the Fans, Ep 5-6

 Ep 5:  

Ozzy's pissed Christian and Steph left him out of the vote.

Jonathan and Devins want to target Rizzo or Cirie

Rizzo and Dee get closer, and Riz fills her in on the Billie Eilish idol.

Coach 'Tide Walker', Joe 'Stone Bell', and Colby 'Oak Bound'.

Immunity Challenge:  2 people collecting coconuts in obstacles in the water, then 1 person empties the bag to find keys.  The 4th uses the keys to unlock a box with a grappling hook.  The 5th uses the hook to retrieve sandbags. Then everyone works to land the sandbags on high platforms. ONLY ONE tribe wins Immunity.  Double Eviction Night.

Jon to the coconuts 1st, followed by Ozzy, then Joe

Jon through the logs 1st

Steph and Charlie to the coconuts, followed by Genevieve

Charlie's through the logs

Cirie has the keys, Emily opens the box, Rizzo and Angelina on the hooks

Coach has 1st sandbag

Teal tossing

Rizzo grabs the sandbags, followed by Emily

Orange gets 3 bags

Teal wins!

Rizzo wants Charlie; Charlie wants Rizzo. Kamilla is now in the middle.

Rizz tells Cirie about the idol and in turn, C tells R about her extra vote.

Christian wants Angelina; Ozzy wants to blindside Christian, and asks for his Shot in the Dark, as a token of trust.  Which, of course, sends up red flags in Christian's mind.  Ozzy pitches his idea to Emily, who in turn, tells Christian, who decides to give Oz his SITD.

Tribal Council:  Charlie or Rizzo; Christian or Angelina?

Purple: Angelina voted out, 4-1 

Orange: Noooooo.....Charlie voted out, 4-3 Nooooooo.........

Ep 6:  Merge!

17 people on one beach for the next 14 days.....wow.

TWIST:  Hidden in the jungle.  Everyone looking for it.

Rizzo walked right past it!

Ozzy finds it!  Takes Rizzo with him to Exile Island.

Immunity Challenge:  Endurance while balancing between two walls, with tiny footholds.

Randomly separated into 3 groups of 5:  Winning group wins Applebees!

Genevieve, Aubrey, Christian, Devins, and Joe

Emily, Cirie, Colby, Coach, and Dee

Jonathan, Steph, Tiff, Kamilla, and Chrissy

Emily drops during 1st transition

Devins, Colby, and Jonathan drop during 2nd transition

Cirie drops.  Teal is Coach vs Dee

Coach drops; Dee wins immunity, but also drops.

Tiff, Aubrey, Joe, and Genevieve drop.  Christian wins immunity for Purple, but drops.

Orange wins Applebees.....Kamilla drops out, Steph vs Chrissy.

Chrissy drops; Steph wins!

Twist:  3 players will be voted out!

Over at Exile.....

Ozzy and Rizzo bond.  Riz tells Oz he has the 3rd idol (Cirie already told Oz).

Ozzy's taking time to breathe and to relax. 

At Sanctuary.....

Tiff, Steph, Jonathan, Chrissy, and Kamilla enjoy lunch:)

Tiff wants to vote out Chrissy, since Tiff's aligned with Jon and Kamilla.

Chrissy and Steph want to vote out Kamilla, and pitch to Jon about it.

Team Purple:

Emily, Dee, and Cirie know Colby doesn't have a vote, plus he's injured.  Maybe want to vote out Coach?

Colby approaches Dee with the pitch he'll pull the others in to work with her.

Team Teal:  

Aubrey says she's going to use her idol, and wants Gen out. 

Gen wants to get out Devins, and pitches to Christian.

Devins think Joe is the safe vote.

Tribal Council:

#1:  Kamilla or Chrissy?

Kamilla voted out, 3-2

#2: Genevieve, Devins, or Joe?

Will Gen play her Shot in the Dark?  Yes!  Not Safe!  Will Aubrey play her idol?  NO!

Gen voted out, 4-0

#3:  Colby or Coach?

Dee was 3 years old when Colby played the 1st time!

Colby voted out, 4-0

Guess we'll find out next week how Ozzy and Rizzo react to those voted out!  We already got a sneak peek at Coach and Tiff's anger at Jon.  WOW!