Grumble.

I woke up today feeling much better than anticipated, and traipsed on in to work. I regretted it almost immediately, when I blew my nose, my right ear popped, and I had to grab the counter to stop from falling over...for the next 30 seconds.

After that, I was mostly okay.

There was one gem of a customer who keeps making my blood boil. She ordered an Iced Venti Soy Green Tea Latte. I charged her for it, then made an Iced Grande Soy Green Tea Latte. Brought it to the drive-thru window, she shook her head and said she ordered a venti. I immediately apologized, turned, and proceeded to make the fasted Iced Venti Soy Green Tea Latte of my life. I opened the drive-thru window to find the receipt in my face, her finger pointing at it as she informed me that I charged her for a Venti. I acknowledged that I had, apologized again, and explained that I just made the wrong size and here was the right one, so sorry about that, smile smile smile.

"You know, this happens all the time when I come here. This is the third time this has happened, the third time you [insert pointing] made it wrong. I think the next time I should get a free drink."

...

"I...let me get my supervisor."

I asked L to get the customer a free drink coupon, explained why, and got the response of "Wait, she ordered a venti? I thought she said grande, too!" The honestly helped me to be able to make the next customers' drinks without going into a rage.

Did I mention this was lunch rush? Did I mention that the only other time I remember her coming through was another lunch rush? Did I mention that this happens fairly often, not just to me, and that none of us are completely perfect robots OR incompetent morons but fallible human beings?

Grumble grumble grumble.

Tomorrow is five hours of corporate Experience training over in Goshen, about half an hour away. From what I've been told, it'll be a mixture of listening to lecture, watching videos, tasting, and maybe even practice(???). I'm to wear my uniform, and bring my apron "just in case." I'm apprehensive, but hey--it's only five hours, and it's paid, and I get to taste things, and then I get a pretty little pin that says I'm certified. What is there to argue with?

The rest of the evening will be reading and/or watching TV, with home made tacos for dinner somewhere in there. Yum!

I Repeat: Blegh.

Still sick. Sicker, even. My head feels like it's full of concrete, like I could jam a syringe into my head and withdraw 100 cc's of GOO.

Fortunately, it was my day off, so I didn't have to call in sick.
UNfortunately, I have work tomorrow, and may have to.

I texted E to ask her advice, and she said that Boss Lady (our new store manager) would help me out, and not to worry about staying home when I needed to. Feel a bit better about that...

Back to bed. Reading and drinking. And coughing. And groaning. Whee.

Blegh.

Long day short: I'm sick. I've finally caught Ryan's cold. I got up with a sore throat and unhappy back from a night of unsatisfying sleep, and spent the day feeling achy, phlegmy, run down, and all around craptastic. I owe my shift, J, a brownie for letting me go home an hour and an half early when the next partner came in at 5:30.

Ryan has been demanding things of me since I got home: sit down, get in pajamas, eat this chicken, take this medicine, blah blah blah. Tyrant.

We've just shared a Nyquil toast, and will shortly be going to sleep, hopefully to be better in the morningtimes. Wish us health?

A Park Is A Park Is A Park.

My day isn't even halfway done yet, but it is a glorious day nonetheless.

Not because I finally got Chris's packaged mailed off, although that's nice to have checked off my To Do list.

I spent around an hour at Kamm Island Park, on the St. Joseph River. I wandered around, dodged a wedding party taking pictures, and took some pictures of my own--not of the wedding part, of course, but of the park, the river, the pools, the flowers, the bridges.

I haven't plugged in my camera yet, so I haven't actually seen how well the pictures came out. That almost doesn't matter. I'm just blissed out on the fresh air and sunshine, and exercise that wasn't rushing from the register to the espresso machine and back.

I'm all sweaty from the sun and humidity, and the beauty there doesn't even hold a candle to the parks in Connecticut, but I will still be going back. Soon, and often.

Pictures up later today, or...well, I'd say "or tomorrow evening," but the truth is that it's either today or Monday. We'll see how I choose to spend the rest of my day before work at 6:30.

Thanks For Tuning In To Another Episode of I Make No Sense!

I shall be updating this post throughout the day to show my progress at tackling my To Do list:

[/] Go to the Post Office to mail the iPod Touch, to Chris, and the form asserting that Ryan is my Domestic Partner, to be covered under my Starbucks insurance - The Post Office remains elusive, and will need to be searched for tomorrow. I will not give up without a fight!
[/] Go to the mall and get my hair dyed back to its natural color, possibly with accompanying trim - Called to make an appointment with Dennis, the hairdresser my co-worker swears by for the very thing I need. He doesn't work today or Monday (my next day off), is booked tomorrow until 5 (and I work at 6:30), I work Sunday during their open hours, and he's not in again until Wednesday. I shall try calling again on Monday!
[x] Find a Verizon store or kiosk and convince them to sell me another phone, despite my contract being based in Connecticut - I am now the happy owner of an LG enV 2. In Cobalt! Further Phone Adventures* can be read below the list.
[x] Call up the Curves that is supposed to be down the street from where I work and find out where they're hiding - They said that Google maps doesn't like them, and gave me directions to find them. Turns out they're still very close to my work, just in the opposite direction I tried in. May visit today if there's time (they close at 6), if not will visit on Monday. - I visited! Got some information, got their hours, plan doing the free week thing starting on Monday. :)
[x] Visit my Starbucks to pick up paycheck stub and markout - Forgot about that until just today, when I checked our balance online and found the direct deposit. Woo money!

*Further Phone Adventures: I realized today, at the Verizon kiosk, as The Most Apathetic Customer Service Representative On Earth was moving my contacts from Dead Phone to New Phone, that my pictures were still on Dead Phone, and I had no idea how to get them off, what with the screen being useless. I tried to get over it, but I kept thinking of what was on there: flowers from Mom's yard, friends at Willi Brew or Jess's last Halloween party, cats I haven't seen since May, the one good picture of my lost and beloved cat Bastet, etc etc. I got more and more sad as I thought about each picture that was seemingly lost.

I am happy to say, after hours of poking Dead Phone and scouring the internet and raking my brain, that I have succeeded! I completely forgot that the phone charger also acts as a USB connector, linking phone with computer. I had to download some random program, but I have my pictures!

And my new phone has been set to save all pictures and videos to the inserted memory card, thankyouverymuch.

I'm happy with the enV 2, for the same reasons that I was never happy with the Dare. The Dare is 99% touch screen, which sounds cool until it decides that you have to hit the exact square millimeter to the left of where you actually pressed, and it needs to be touched for an exact amount of time that is never the same twice in a row to activate, and there's a random time delay so you think you have to hit it again but end up hitting the next menu instead, AARRRGGGHH!

The enV 2 has buttons, actual freaking buttons, that do buttony things like click and be solid. The vertical keyboard comes when I flip the phone open, not when I flip it sideways, and is surprisingly intuitive and easy to learn. Oh, I'm going to miss the Favorite Contacts screen, but I get One-Button Dial back, which is just as good, if not better. And I'll miss having a little flip-out menu with all my favorite things all nice and handy, but it's worth it to have ACTUAL. BUTTONS.

All in all, I am happy with my day. I got almost all the things on my list done, and what I didn't get done I damn well tried to. I have a new phone, I took steps in the direction of Health & Exercise, and I even managed to get my desk and money records back in some kind of order.

The rest of the evening shall be spent eating, getting the rest of the room back in order (laundry...in drawers? not the basket? what now?), and possibly being dragged into a raid. We'll see on that last part.

Are Her Eyes Bigger Than Her Stomach? Tune In Tomorrow To Find Out!

Today started early and lasted forever. But let's not focus on the negative, hm? At least, not this post.

Tomorrow is my day off, and it shall be glorious. I plan on getting a TON of sleep, and then attacking a formidable list of To Dos:

- Go to the Post Office to mail the iPod Touch, to Chris, and the form asserting that Ryan is my Domestic Partner, to be covered under my Starbucks insurance
- Go to the mall and get my hair dyed back to its natural color, possibly with accompanying trim
- Find a Verizon store or kiosk and convince them to sell me another phone, despite my contract being based in Connecticut
- Call up the Curves that is supposed to be down the street from where I work and find out where they're hiding

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it!

Really? REALLY??

Let's go over my day, shall we?

- Get up after crap sleep wherein I dream that my friend who committed suicide actually faked it and is alive
- Go to the grocery store to get cold medicine for my extremely sick boyfriend
- Go to work, where I'm surrounded by two shift supervisors, three store managers, and my least-favorite co-worker. Anxiety, anyone?
- Get schedule, see I'm working mid-day shifts every day next week, except (a) the day I have four hours of "Starbucks Experience" training, and (b) the night I close at another store
- Find out not one, but TWO of my favorite co-workers are being transferred to a different store
- Break my cell phone screen so it is essentially useless

...is it Friday yet?

Whee...

Today hasn't been that great a day (although it beats yesterday, not that THAT'S hard to do). Just things getting in my way, stressed out, tired, etc.

Ryan isn't feeling very well, but it's mostly his stomach, so we're not worried that it's a continuation of yesterday. I still worry, though. It's what I do best.

I close tonight, 5:30 to 11:30, and I'm really not looking forward to going to work, even if it is a shorter shift. I also go in tomorrow, 1 to 9:30, and I'm not looking forward to that, either. Hopefully my spirits will be up by then, though.

Now to finish lunch and hope that my work pants are finished drying before I have to leave.

Well.

First off: Everyone is fine.

This was my plan for my day off:
[o] Sleep in
[o] Go to the bank
[o] Do laundry
[o] Do some grocery shopping
[o] Hang out with Simon on his last full day in Indiana

This is how my day went:
[o] Slept in until 2
[o] Awoke to find a text message from Ryan, dated an hour earlier, saying he forgot his glasses at home, could I bring them to him?
[o] Started laundry, got in the shower.
[o] Got out of the shower just in time to get a phone call from the Human Resources director at Target: Ryan isn't feeling well, can I pick him up?
[o] Hustled Simon out the door so we can fetch Ryan and bring him home so I can continue with the day.
[o] Got to Target, found an ambulance and firetruck outside.
[o] Walked in and saw Ryan sitting on a stretcher, surrounded by firemen. A manager tells me to not panic, he's fine now. He later tells me that he asked her to tell me that right off the bat.
[o] Talked to Ryan a bit before they loaded him into the ambulance. Told he had one of his "heart episodes," which he's had about a dozen times over his life. While running the register, he bent to pick up a fallen item, stood a little too fast, and his heart started going like a jack rabbit. While in the past these episodes have only lasted about five minutes at most, this one lasted 45 minutes. After asking his HR manager to call me to pick him up, he had asked for an aspirin and a drink, and finally relented to having the paramedics called while I was on the way to get him.
[o] Simon and I drove to the hospital, less than 5 minutes away, and waited for Ryan's ambulance to arrive. We only waited for about 20 minutes, but it felt like forever.
[o] The three of us spent about 3 hours in a hospital room, waiting for blood test and x-ray results and what not, watching Ryan get blood drawn and stuffed with plenty of hydration.
[o] The final diagnosis is Supraventricular Tachycardia. Ryan was given a few potassium supplements as he was a bit low, told to make a follow-up appointment sometime in the next two weeks, given many pages to read over and sign, and sent on his way.
[o] Simon and I took Ryan him home, where he proceeded to nap for about an hour before settling down on couch for the rest of the evening, relaxing and slowly recovering from the stress of the day.

Fortunately, he already had tomorrow off, so he'll have plenty of time to fully recuperate. Even so, when I called the HR manager to let her know how Ryan was (she gave me her card as I was leaving and asked me to call. I love that he works with actual humans!), she said that he should feel free to call out on Wednesday if he doesn't feel up to it. I don't have work until 5:30 tomorrow night, so I have most of the day to take care of him and catch up on today's missed chores.

As I began this post with, Ryan is fine. This diagnosis is a benign one, meaning he doesn't require any medication, surgery, or other procedures, and it has no lasting effects, so all he has to get over is the stress of one day's episode and the consequences thereof. Tomorrow is going to be as stress-free as possible, and we'll go from there.

Just wanted to keep everyone updated. Everything is peachy keen now. Love to you all :)

State of Ruthieland.

I am a horrible blogger, I know. I missed two days in a row, after missing two days in a row. This week has been horrible for keeping to any kind of schedule--except, of course, that laid down by The Jobness.

Simon is here, and we've all been having a lot of fun--staying up too late, talking about everything, bonding, laughing our keisters off, you know how it is. It's going to be very sad to see him leave, but we're not focusing on that right now. We're focusing on tonight, when Kitty and Alex and Dustin all come over, and the eight of us game together and have a blast!

I am SO glad I traded to have tomorrow off...muahaha.

Other newsish things:
[o] Ryan got his first paycheck from Target!
[o] Got a piece of mail from the bank explaining why my debit card for our joint account has been so late in arriving--the lady we talked to never gave me this one, specific, apparently very important piece of paper to sign. >.< This never would have come to light if I hadn't talked to her in person after three weeks of waiting for the card. It still took two days for that piece of mail to arrive, and we kept missing the bank hours at the end of the week, so I have to take the signed thing in tomorrow and waiting another week or so before finally being able to access my own money without committing minor fraud. And the bank never thought to look into it. ARGH.
[o] Just had a phone call with Sameh--they found a kitten at her store's drive-thru today, and since animal control refuses to come and get it, she'll be bringing it home for the night until the shelter opens tomorrow. THERE'S GOING TO BE A KITTEN. IN THE HOUSE. EEEEEEEEE!

Is it obvious that I haven't had the chance to play with a cute animal since May?

The entire household is pretty much continuously pooped. Full time hours/first job in several years/new shift position = no life but work and sleep. It sucks. We spend a lot of time complaining.

My store gets its new store manager tomorrow, although she won't officially fill the role until September. Although I've only met her once, and that briefly, I've heard many good things about her. I'm hoping to have a talk with her about my schedule. It's been all over the place--mid to close to pre-close to what the hell? I understand that not everyone can have a rigid schedule of the same hours every week, but I hate being tugged around like this. My social life and sleep schedule are in complete tatters, and I'm at war with my control issues with time. I'm already neurotic about being on time and remembering my shift as it is, but when it's constantly changing, I'm a stressed-out wreck. I realized that last night was my first night of sleeping through for a few weeks, not waking up every few hours in a panic that I'd overslept or set the alarm wrong. I can't keep up like this!

Not to mention that I have absolutely zero time or energy to devote to anything but work, sleep, or chores and errands. I've been slipping at communicating with my family and friends, and I absolutely hate it--but the few times I have some time to spare and they're still awake/online, I'm so out of it that I'm useless to talk to. I'm so glad that my parents aren't the type to pull guilt trips, because I'm doing a good enough job on myself as it is!

Not to mention lack of exercise. Fortunately I've been getting better at what I eat (falling in love with greek yogurt, hummus, and edamame certainly helps!), and my job requires me to be up and moving 99% of the time, so I haven't had a real chance to blob out. Certain muscles groups are suffering, though--my arms and calves are getting plenty of exercise from running around the bar and lifting gallons of milk, but my mid-section gets zero work out at all. My generous and wonderful mother has been kind enough to offer to help pay for Curves, so all I need to do is find one. The one I thought was less than a mile from my work, wasn't there when I went searching. On the To Do List for tomorrow is calling their number and seeing where they're actually located so I can pay a visit.

Finally, my creative outlets have taken a real beating. The rare times I'm able to sit down and chill on the couch with the roomies and the Ryan, I'm sketching on either my sketch pad or the iPad, but that's about it. My attempts at photographing the rose failed, as I wasn't paying enough attention to the light quality, and the pictures looked just horrible. Still planning on trying my hand at "still life," with objects around the apartment, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

It's honestly really frustrating--I recently figured out that I do want to concentrate on photography, and really hone my skill at it, but I just can't find the chances. I know that "I would if I really cared," but I do care, and don't have the time! ARGH!

...wow, that's more typing than I was planning on doing. Lucky readers, you are now just about caught up with what's been going on in my life, and in my head. I still apologize for the failure at updates, and at the lack of calls and e-mails and such, but I hope this helps a bit.

...I've really been missing my friends and family lately, so I'll end on a shout out to all my loved ones in Connecticut: to the Thursday night gang, the fellow gaming nerds, the school chums, the Curves ladies, and especially my family. I would give anything to be able to spend just one hour catching up. I love you all. :)

So..Tired....Must...Update...

*waves*

I'm sorry I haven't updated since Monday. And this isn't a very big post. Tuesday was spent in Chicago with BJ, Kitty and Alex; today was spent working. Tomorrow is also work, and the day after, and every day after until next Friday--yes, I'm working 9 days in a row without a day off. >.<

Ahem.

Chicago was a blast, almost entirely due to the company. Work was pretty good today, and looks to be pretty good the rest of the week. Next week is still a toss-up.

Tomorrow, Sameh and BJ drive into Chicago to fetch our friend, Simon, who will be staying until Tuesday. We Indiana bunch have been planning all kinds of fun for his visit :)

I am still extremely tired from yesterday's trip and have to be at work in 11 hours, so that's all you're getting for now. Hopefully I'll be more awake tomorrow night, and thus able to make an update with some substance.

To Day Trip Or Not To Day Trip, That Is The Question...

Apologies for not updating yesterday. Timing just didn't allow for it.

Yesterday was work, dinner, and playing games and watching TV with Ryan, Sameh, Kitty and Alex. Good times :)

Today and tomorrow are my days off, and the rest of the week looks pretty good, if oddly inconvenient. I love my hours for this week, but they greatly get in the way of hanging out with Simon while he's out here visiting. Ryan is hoping he and I can get Friday night off, so we can all raid together, but I'm not sure that's going to work out. *shrug*

Tomorrow, BJ and I might be dragged along to Chicago with Kitty and Alex while Alex has a job interview. I'm not sure...my energy yesterday and today has been kinda meh, so the idea of driving for hours to wander around a huge, strange* city is a bit intimidating. Also, if my first trip to Chicago doesn't involve either aunt that lives there, I might very well get in trouble with one side of the family or another.

My father's sister, my Aunt Jeanie, lives in Chicago, as does my stepfather's sister, Aunt Kathy. I haven't seen Aunt Jeanie in 15 years (since my one and only visit with Dad's side of the family, for a wedding), and I haven't seen Aunt Kathy in a few years (since she and I had overlapping David visits). I really do need to call them up and say hi, go and visit, reconnect, etc, but, as with all things in my life, time and energy have been downright unavailable.

On a different note: today is the first day that Ryan is at work, and I am not. If Sameh did not also have the day off, this would be my first time being in the apartment alone for more than a few minutes. Since arriving, the only times I've been alone have been in the car, driving to work. I'm not complaining--I'm a very social person, and I'm pretty sickeningly happy to spend lots of time with my boyfriend--but it's just interesting to realize that I've had almost no "me-time" in Indiana. *shrug*

Now, since it is a lovely day (lovely meaning the sun is out but not trying to kill us out), I'm going to sit on the balcony with a book until either (a) the shower is available, or (b) the laundry is done.


*Yes, I have been to Chicago before, a half dozen times or so. However, the visits were over 14 years ago, and they were family- and not tourist-oriented, so memories of the city itself are pretty fuzzy.

Being The Alert One Is Just Plain Odd.

In today's installment of Full Time Job, I worked 8 hours with two hungover co-workers, and another who had suddenly lost her dog right before coming to work. I am not used to being the most "there" person at work.

On the upshot, I got my benefits package in the mail today. Just need to sign up for them, and I'll have coverage as of October 1st! \^.^/

I'll also be able to cover Ryan, who currently has no health insurance to speak off. That is also \^.^/ worthy.

I am tired and have to get up on the early side tomorrow, so--to bed!

Thrills? No. Hella Spills Though.

And now for today's exciting installment of My Life In A Full-Time Job!

What did I do today?

Laundry!

....:D?

Also I go to work in an hour! Six hour shift! No meal! Getting home at 1 in the morning!

Exciting!

....meh, come back tomorrow, maybe I won't be so boring.

La Vie En Rose...

Today was an up and down day.

Up: Got to sleep in!
Down: Had a nightmare right before waking up.

Up: Call from the mechanic: Ryan's car is ready!
Down: Price = Ow!
Up: Not as much as we expected, meaning we won't be over budget!

Down: Cleaned car out almost immediately after getting it home. It had three inches of water in it for a day or two when it flooded, and has been sitting in extreme heat, completely sealed, for a month. The carpet. It was unhappy. The smell. It was ungodly.
Up: We found BJ's keys, which have also been missing for about a month. They were hidden under Ryan's seat. No more BJ banging on the door to be let in!

Down: Went to take the garbage out, discovered a good amount of liquid in the bottom of the trash can. This liquid also got splashed on me when I emptied the whole thing into the dumpster outside. Lovely.

Up: Ryan made a delicious dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce: Nummmm.
Up: Watched a great episode of Good Eats while eating, during which Alton Brown attached a pepper grinder to a cordless drill to grind faster. Love!

Cute story for the day: Sent Ryan into the garage office with the checkbook. When he returned, I reached for the checkbook, only to have a rose placed in my hand. Ryan about busted the gut over the confused look on my face.

Apparently this garage gives out roses to its customers! I rather like it--it's unique, memorable, classy, and puts a smile on your face. Really nice rose, too--and I've seen plenty while frequenting Ren Faires.

More likely than not I'll be abusing it with my camera until it's completely wilted and dead...and maybe even a bit after that. Must be careful, though--it's so easy to get too sappy or goth when it comes to pictures of roses.

I got next week's schedule, and it is perfect. I have Monday and Tuesday off, then pre-close the rest of the week. I love pre-closing, plus my favorite co-worker is closing those days as well. Whee!

Only downsides: Ryan works Monday and Tuesday, which are my days off, and I work Wednesday and Thursday, which are his days off. Also, our friend Simon is arriving on Wednesday, probably at a time that I'll miss because of work. Ah well.

Simon is another friend from WoW, which our entire household has known for a few years. He's a college student from California, and a completely awesome and funny guy. We can't wait for him to get here! :)

Now, this ice cream has been tempting me for just a little too long, so I'm signing off to commit sorbet carnage. Until tomorrow!

Population: Mauve!

Today, while watching TV and hanging out and chatting, I made some random comment or another, and BJ remarked "You make no sense!"

Ryan promptly applied, "Welcome to Ruthieland!"

I may have to embrace this and make it my new slogan. Think about it--if it's a given that you make no sense, you no longer have to try to make sense...and when you do, it's treated as a special event. It's win-win!

...time for bed!

Zesty!

Well, the only things from my To Do List that I got done were going to the bank, and getting Ryan's car to the garage. Everything else kinda died after Ryan and the tow truck driver had to push Ryan's car in a K-turn--through a pot hole! in 90+ heat!--and I had to steer from inside the hot, mold-ridden, closed-up car.

Ryan continues to cook, although lately his materials have given him trouble. First some vegetables got killed in a sauce that refused to reduce, then there was some really low-grade hamburger, and tonight's chicken was also of disappointing quality. It's been sad, because everything on Ryan's side has been completely top notch--I got to taste the vegetables before the sauce got ornery, and they were unbelievable. Fortunately, he doesn't take it to heart, and keeps on trucking along with flavor and invention. :)

Last week he roped me into an interesting project we saw on Good Eats: limoncello! I sat on the floor and zested two pounds of lemons! :D :D :D We still haven't decided what to do with the lemons...ideas are welcome!

Tomorrow I work for four whole hours. Four people leave at 3, and LeAnna and I start at 3. I think there's only one person who will be working continuously from 2:59 to 3:01. It's an interesting day. Whee!

Idea For Sequel Title: Take Names.

Happy 8-9-10 Day!

....yeah.

Highlights of the day:

[o] worked with Emily and LeAnna, my two FAVORITE partners at Starbucks. There are other cool people, but the three of us have very similar senses of humor and weird minds, and get along something fierce. Not to mention that they both kick ass at their job.
[o] Speaking of kicking ass--Ryan, BJ, Dustin and I watched Kick Ass tonight. It was pretty good, IF you don't mind massive amounts of violence, blood and gore, swearing, and over-the-top fight scenes. If you don't like any of that, DO NOT see this movie. If you're a fan of fight scenes for the sake of fight scenes--along the lines of Shoot 'Em Up or just about any Quentin Tarentino movie--then you might just enjoy Kick Ass.

Tomorrow is a day off! I like those. To Do List:

[o] get Ryan's car to the garage
[o] go to the bank to play with money
[o] empty iPod Touch and take it to the Post Office to send off to Chris
[o] re-install tablet software so I can actually use said tablet
[o] upload some flippin' pictures to flippin' backprint so I can flippin' sell them. flippin'.
[o] hair cut?

Wish me luck on getting these things done!

Stumbling My Way Into People's Hearts Since 1985.

Goodness, two posts in one day? Amazing. If only they had actual content.

Let's see how my To Do List fared:

[x] finish the dishes from last night's dinner - traded with Ryan for a scalp massage, so technically finished
[x] finish making A Deeper Vision's page look good - well, I tried. I'm not completely done with it yet, though. Will do more on Tuesday.
[o] pick out the pictures and products for A Deeper Vision
[x] call Mom - lucked out and also got a chance to talk to Catsy :)
[o] call Dad - just plain ran out of energy, will call tomorrow after work
[x] talk to Chris - we're now caught up, some DS issues settled, support given from both sides...nice to catch up with my big brother :)
[x] laundry - no more whipped cream on my work pants!
[o] print out copy of Liam & Jer to share with BJ, a fellow English nerd who won't hold back on his true opinion - he's at work, and has been upset due to news that his beloved childhood cat, Tommy, has to be put down tomorrow, so this is shelved for a while

Tomorrow is back to work. My assigned hours are 1 to 9:30, I will be arriving at noon so Ryan can get to his job by 12:30, and I will either get picked up at 9:30 or have a car delivered to me at some point in the day by Ryan and Sameh. And I might even get out early, as that's been a habit lately. Long story involving corporate shtuff, not a big deal.

My whole work week is pretty...interesting. No. It's odd.

Originally:
Monday: 1 to 9:30
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 3 to 7 - four whole hours!
Thursday: Off
Friday: 10:30 to 7
Saturday: 10:30 to 7
Sunday: 10:30 to 7

Now:
Monday: 1 to 9:30
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 3 to 7
Thursday: Off
Friday: 6:30 pm to 12:30 am*
Saturday: 1 to 9:30**
Sunday: 10:30 to 7

*switched for closing with Leigha so she could go to Kim's going away party
**switched for 1 to 9:30 with Emily since (a) going in at 10:30 after closing at 12:30 would be very painful, and (b) Emily owes me

I'm really not sure what's going on with bouncing me around in the beginning of the week. I asked AM about my random four hour shift on Wednesday, and he explained that personnel stuff going on now is, well, ca-razy. We have two people leaving, plus three new people (one starting this week), with everyone overlapping. Plus back-to-school and football seasons are coming up, and AM said that having a lot of people on the floor would help us get used to the many people we'll have to cover the rushes, but it also means that hours will be a little nuts so corporate won't have a fit over the amount of labor hours.

In other words: pot is getting stirred, schedules are crazy, and we've got more people than hours to give them. Fun!

I'm hoping that my schedule will start skewing back towards pre-closing and closing. I got used to those shifts, I really like those shifts, and I really like the people on those shifts. And if there's one thing that moving to Indiana and working at Starbucks has finally hammered into my brain, it's this: I am a people person. This doesn't just mean that I am good with people, or that I have a natural way with people--I do, despite (or, as Ryan insists, because of) my shy, awkward, and dorky personality. I also care about people beyond anything else.

I've been realizing how much importance I have put on people throughout my life, over anything else. I shied away from sports, clubs, and other extra-curricular activities because my friends weren't involved in them, and I'd rather spend time with them than pitch, act, or learn to speak Japanese. I've given up time for sleeping, studying, or doing chores to chat or hang out with the people I care about and enjoy spending time with.

If it were just about hours, and nothing else, I would probably prefer mornings. I can handle getting up early, and I'd have the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted. However, I'd also be missing time with my night owl boyfriend, not to mention my night owl roomies. Plus, I get along better with the night people than with the morning people. I honestly have nothing against the morning people; the night people and I are just more similar, in terms of tastes, humor, and personality. I would rather work hours I don't necessarily prefer than not spend time with people that I absolutely do.

Anyway. That's one of the many realizations that finally wormed its way into my head since moving, and now I've shared it with you. I hope you've enjoyed it. :)

Now to read until bed time, and start the work week all over again tomorrow.

Day Off = Day To Get Things Done. Or Try To.

My To Do list for my day off (otherwise known as The Day You Do All The Crap You Can't Do The Rest Of The Week):

[o] finish the dishes from last night's dinner
[o] finish making A Deeper Vision's page look good
[o] pick out the pictures and products for A Deeper Vision
[o] call Mom
[o] call Dad
[o] talk to Chris
[o] laundry
[o] print out copy of Liam & Jer to share with BJ, a fellow English nerd who won't hold back on his true opinion

There's also the possibility of going to get my hair "done." The massive amount of highlights I got back in May are starting to grow out to the point of looking, well, cheap. I need to get back to my original color before I look all two-tone. I'd re-dye, but (a) that's expensive, and (b) that's high-maintenance, as I'd have to be back in another two months to get it done, and I really don't want to be anything but low-maintenance, thank you very much. I might also attempt to get a trim, but I'm still trying to fix what happened the last time I did that, so...we'll see.

A co-worker of mine just did the very same thing--re-dyeing and cut--and she looks fantastic. I overheard her tell a customer that she went to Dennis at J.C.Penney's, and this is the second time he's done right by her, so I'm hoping to find him and see if he can help me out.

Of course, before I can do anything, I have to eat and get dressed and all that. Yes, I'm still in pjs at almost three in the afternoon. It's my day off. I don't care.

Wonders. They Just Don't Cease.

I really need to get better at making daily entries on the actual day they're for, not so late into the next day that I have to change the date to make the archives work...>.<

Today was...interesting. Highlights:
[o] Horrible rush in drive-thru that had my shift ready to kill me
[o] The shift, who I before thought hated me and was a big grump, later apologized to me for being frustrated during the horrible rush, saying that it wasn't my fault, and I should feel free to ask for more advice or tips from her or any other shift. O.O
[o] Watched Julie & Julia with Ryan and BJ. Such a sweet, funny movie! Julia Child reminds me of a combination of my Auntie M and my friend Kim. Just funny, eccentric, brazen, witty, highly intelligent, and warm.

I have tomorrow off! I plan to sleep! A LOT! Then...I don't know, other stuff. I actually have a lot of "new" stuff that I haven't had a change to write about--not in-life stuff, just personal stuff. Hopefully, tomorrow, I'll be able to put it all to words and share it with you all.

For now...SLEEP!

My Kingdom For A Vacation...

Honestly?

The past few weeks have felt like a struggle. A long, slow struggle.

I'm exhausted all the time. I've had barely any time for hanging out with the people I live with, let alone keeping in touch with friends and family back in Connecticut, or elsewhere. I hate both of these things.

My only reliable meals have been the delicious, well-thought-out, boyfriend-prepared dinners waiting for me when I get home from work. Those have made me smile every time. The other meals have had to depend on time, money, and amount of sleep--if I'm too tired, the idea of pouring cereal, cooking eggs, or making myself a sandwich for later all seem like stomach-turning wastes of precious energy. Due to this, I've been taking advantage of my employee discount to buy lunch at work--cheaper, yes, but some of the sandwiches upset my stomach, and I really shouldn't be spending the money anyway.

I can't remember the last time I worked out, or even weighed in. I've only had one chance to take more pictures since moving out here, and it didn't work at all. All my side projects have been pushed far, far to the side, losing out to sleep and keeping up with updates and news that I miss while I'm working or sleeping.

I would give almost anything for more than two days off in a row. A week would be absolute heaven. All I want is enough time to catch up on sleep without worrying about losing time to catch up on anything else. If that makes any sense.

I'm not depressed, so don't worry about that; I'm not sick, so don't worry about that, either. I'm just tired. In many, many ways.

Ryan thinks I'll get over it, that I just need to acclimate to full-time hours. I do believe him...but I wish it would happen soon.

Ughzzz

As I said on Facebook...I wouldn't being the mid-day shift (10:30 am to 7 pm) if I hadn't gotten used to closing (5:30 to 11:30, or 6:30 to 12:30) and pre-closing (1 to 9:30) for almost a month before being changed. I got used to staying up quite late, and not needing to wake up until 11 or 11:30...now I have to be asleep by 1 to get up at 9 to be leave by 10.

Also, I was scheduled for 10:30 to 7 every day this week...except today...when I closed. The idea of having to be at work less than 12 hours after leaving work is not exactly uplifting.

I know I'm whining. I know. But I am tired--both physically, and of having my schedule shifted around with no apparent rhyme or reason--next week I work 1 to 9:30, have a day off, work for four hours, have a day off, then three days of 10:30 to 7. The heck.

Enough whining. I'm up too late as it is (the time post may say 11:14 pm, but that's because I doctored it to keep the post to Thursday; in reality it's past 3 in the morning), and tomorrow is going to be painful. Wish me luck!

ABOUT TIME!

At first I thought I was having a good day because (a) I got more than four hours of sleep last night, (b) I was not a complete moron at work today, (c) I got to work with my favorite people, or (d) Ryan made us a delicious dinner, and it included mashed potatoes.

Then I got home and read the news: Judge Strikes Down Prop 8, Allows Gay Marriage in California.

...

\^.^/!

(After-note: Ryan read the post and is now all hurt that I find equality a better reason for a good day than his cooking. Men can be so fragile sometimes.)

Just A Little Nap? Please?

Well, if my two days off had returned any of my energy, today killed it off right quick.

Today, Ryan had orientation at Target from 9 to 1, and I had work from 10:30 to 7. Please note, still, the presence of only one working vehicle between us. In order to meet all of our requirements today, I had to be dropped off at my Starbucks at 8:30, two full hours before I was scheduled to begin work.

We did not realize that we would have to get up around 7:30 in the morning, until around 1...in the morning. Obviously it was too late, by then, to get to bed on time, but we were even more screwed in the category of Getting Any Real Sleep. I finally fell asleep around 3:30, and Ryan around five in the morning.

So, today I was at work from 8:30 until 5:30* on roughly four hours of sleep, and Ryan was at Target from 9 to 1 on two hours of sleep. His was orientation, so all he had to do was stay awake and pay some sort of attention, but me? I was a complete moron at work. Messing up everything, mishearing everything, staring at people with a vacant expression my face until their words fully processed in my brain...just a complete bloody idiot. I am impressed with Robyn that she didn't stab me.

Ryan and I are both in that giddy, wow-are-we-tired state of exhaustion, and will probably collapse around 10:30 or 11. This is a good thing, as we have to do the same thing tomorrow, except Ryan will be there from 9:30 to 3.

On the upshot, part of the reason we were up so late: I BAKED! I've owed Ryan cake for quite a while now, and of course I picked last night to have the urge to finally make it. It is, of course, the Mocha Chocolate Cake that David taught me. It is the most delicious cake in the world.

We actually haven't tasted yet, as it wasn't fully done until that point of Up-Late-ness where eating things is a Bad Idea, not to mention eating Sugary Things, not to mention the Extremely Filling Cheesesteak Dinner. And we only ate tonight's dinner a few minutes ago, so have not yet had a chance today to descend upon the delicious cake.

It's even iced! With David's icing recipe! I tasted bits and pieces last night--to check for flavor and quality, of course--and it tastes exactly like his. That makes me very happy. :) I can't wait to share it with the roomies!

As I mentioned, tomorrow is going to be similar today, so I best be off to wind down and long-term-prepare for bed. Not that I'll need much prep, seeing as I'm pretty zzzzzzzzz....

*I was scheduled to get off at 7, but the shifts were instructed to cut hours, and I happened to be one of the shortened ones, and I almost wept with joy when I was able to leave. Seriously. Tears threatened.

Crossing Our Fingers For Lucky Timing...

Apologies for lack of update yesterday. The bright spot of Sunday was Kitty and Alex coming over to play various games and watch True Blood ^^ Beyond that, it kinda sucked.

Today was lots of sleep and running errands. Ryan attempted a cheesesteak recipe he thought up a couple nights ago, involving soy sauce, brown sugar, and whiskey. The vegetables didn't work out, but the actual cheesesteak? NOM.

The goal of getting my pep back...I'm not going to decide yet if it was met or not. I feel a bit more energetic, but I can't guarantee that it's going to keep up for more than a day or two. Especially with the shift in schedule...I had gotten used to 1-9:30, so I was staying up later to spend time with Ryan, and getting up later in the morning. Now I've been moved to 10:30-7, so I'm getting up two hours earlier at a minimum, requiring a fairly drastic change to my sleep schedule.

Add to that mix the fact that Ryan starts his job this week, and his car is still dead from the flooding...yeah. This is going to get interesting.

Wish me luck! :D