Thank You.

I want to use today's post to say thank you.

Thank you to my dad, who put up with crappy roads, rude customers, bad tippers, dark rainy nights, and obnoxious co-workers delivering pizza for many years to make a home for us; sometimes he would take me along, and I'd sit in the warm car, reading while he was fetching or delivering pizzas, listening to music and talking. He showed me hard work, sacrificing for your family, making the best of a bad situation, and pride in your job, no matter how shitty.

My dad would pick me up after school and take me to nature paths, and almost never let me sit in the car and read like I wanted. At the very least, he'd require me to walk down to the stream or up to the top and find a rock there to read on, and more often than not I ended up liking it (although try getting me to admit it!). He showed me the quiet and noise and peace and beauty of nature, that it was worth getting out of the damned car, no matter how comfy.

Neither last nor least, my dad tried to show me photography. He showed me the camera, and tried to tell and show me how it worked. This was in the muddle of my teenage years (no, that's not a typo), and I couldn't even be gracious about it. I didn't pretend to like it, and when he finally asked me if I cared, I told him honestly: no. I remember that day, that moment, and I've felt guilty ever since. I don't know if I've ever apologized for it, but I'll do it now, on the internet, and I'll say it again when next we meet: Dad, I'm sorry I hurt you and that I was such a fucking teenager about it.

Because even without the training you tried to give me, I have fallen in love with photography, to the point where it's What I Want To Do. I fought it for so long, out of stubbornness and a stupid pride, the kind that children have just so their parents can't be right. Well, I'm saying it now, on the internet, and I'll say it again in person when next we meet: you were right, Dad. You were always right, and I will always credit you for this passion of mine.

Thank you to my stepfather, David, who came into my life and became a part of it when he didn't have to. You taught me how to ride a bike (twice, I think), you helped me with my schoolwork, made sure I did my chores and helped with the prep for the parties.

And what parties! Scavenger hunts across the whole backyard, riddles and mysteries, cavemen and kings and snooty French waiters, wizards and gorillas and clowns and traps and towers. My friends still talk about those parties; a few still have the styrofoam weapons you fashioned for them. You never let me just sit and let the party be made up and done for me, and you never let the party be a boring one. You taught me about doing your fair share, and about having fun.

Thank you for trying to teach me about cooking, then and now. I've never been as resistant to it as I was to photography, but I've never had an easy time making it stick, either. Still, the times I've spent in a kitchen with you, talking about life, about the science of what we were cooking, about everything, are counted among my best memories.

Thank you, to my father and my stepfather, to all my parents, for making me who I am, for all the lessons you taught me, whether I learned them willingly or not. Thank you for your efforts, for your support, for your love, all of it unconditional. I love you all so very, very much.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

There's So Many More Details...

SO. MUCH. GOING ON. OR TO DO. BLARGH.

[o] I started the 30 Day Creativity Challenge June 1st, and almost immediately fell behind. Then the trip happened. I'm a full 10 days behind, with no ideas for the ones I've missed. At this point I have a few options: (a) Remove what I've put up from the Facebook page and start over on July 1st (I'm fond of following months); (b) Pick up where I left off, pretending today is Day 7 instead of Day 16; (c) Scrap the whole thing and run away.

I'm not going to go with (c). Despite my college career (or because of it?), I'm unfond of dropping things I've only just started because they've gotten complicated. Option (a) gives me more time to plan, but I'm not sure if planning is really the point of the challenge. Of course, the point of the original challenge was drawing, which makes capturing each day's assignment a lot easier than photography does, so maybe I'm allowed to give myself some loopholes? I'd be happy putting it up to a vote for my followers, but I'm unsure of the amount of response I'd get.

[o] I have over 170 pictures to go through and edit. This makes me unbelievably happy, but it also requires time, and today is the first of seven days of work before my next day off. Two of those days will be six hour shifts, which will help, but those days will also have Moose & Shark Time, which obviously takes away from Editing Time. I'll figure it out, but in the meantime I feel mildly overwhelmed with the pressure I put on myself to put up at least one picture a day. It shouldn't be hard to keep up with, but I wonder if it's enough to keep people interested, should I put up more, blah blah blah...

[o] I got a message from a potential customer while in Connecticut, someone asking if a certain picture came in a note card. I responded the same day, asking what kind of note card she meant, but have yet to get an answer. After a conversation with Dad about the potential awesome or suck involved in cards, I'm not sure what kind of response I want to get...but I know I want one!!

[o] A potential wrench got thrown in the works on our last night in Connecticut, a wrench that is making us rethink all the possible living arrangements when we get back. I'm not going to get into all of it, but will say that we're trying to find a ratio involving money and comfort to judge all the possibilities. Complicating all of this is the Unknowns: how many hours will I get when I transfer, how soon will Ryan be able to find a job, how long can I/do I want to wait between arrival and working, etc etc.

[o] I ran into Current Boss yesterday while running in to get my schedule and tips, and told her about the plan to move. She said she needed a date and a specific place. I've picked the place--Storrs, across from E.O. Smith--but we're still trying to pick an exact date we'll be moving, plus the question I just mentioned.

I had been considering taking some breather time between arriving back in Connecticut and starting work again, say a month at the most. With all the considerations going on, I'm not sure if we'll be able to afford a break in income like that. I told her we'd have that decision in the next couple of days, forgetting all the madness between Question A and Answer Z. Oy.

[o] After discussion with Ryan's father, we've narrowed down the moving methods to two options: (a) something called U-Pack, which is similar to PODS, where a large storage unit is delivered, filled, picked up, and hauled to Connecticut for us; (b) renting a moving truck, which would require Ryan's father to fly out and drive. The deciding factor is money, which is, of course, complicated. How much more can we save in the next four months, how much can parents contribute (if they can afford to at all), exactly how much would tickets and tolls cost, etc etc.

Basically, over next days/months/weeks, I/we have to figure out:
[o] if/when to continue the 30 Day Challenge
[o] how to fit in my Hobby Job around my Day Job while meeting Social Requirements
[o] exactly where and how we want to live in Connecticut
[o] when we want to move back to Connecticut
[o] when I'll be starting work once back in Connecticut
[o] how much moving help we'll be able to gather
[o] how much money we'll be able to save
[o] finally, can I survive seven straight days of work with a million urgent questions I'm completely unable to answer bouncing around my head

Oh and I returned to new work drama and have to make decisions about the old work drama and there's a new person and borrowed people and whee. At least my brakes have been fixed.

Time for breakfast and clothes and off to work.

...PRAY FOR ME.

One Foot In Front Of The Other.

I did not post yesterday because I didn't know what to say. The day sucked for a number of reasons, but it left me truly speechless when I got the news that Zach was gone.

...

I will forever be awed by my family, and their capacity for strength and grace. From beginning to end, my cousins and aunt and uncle--the wife and in-laws of this man--have been stubbornly hopeful and optimistic without denying the truth of what was going on. They are amazing and incredible, and I love them very much.

Anything else I would try to say would just be stumblingly awkward and wallow-y, so I'm not going to try. All I'll say is that I'm sad, but I'm glad he's at peace, and my heart is with his family.

Life goes on.

I have the next two days off, and I need them. Leaving all personal things aside, work has been kinda awful. I'm not going to get into it, but just...ugh.

Life kinda sucks right now. But it goes on.

This too shall pass.

Bits Of The Day.

[o] I subbed over at Ironwood today, and it was fantastic! Like a mini-vacation. I worked with Jen, a shift who was at 933 over the summer before getting transferred, one of my favorite people to work with EVER. I also worked with SAMEH, my awesome roommate, and it was inside jokes and nerdery all day! WHEE! I liked my job for the first time in at least a month!

[o] Tomorrow I start what will hopefully become a regular schedule of getting up early and alternatively working out or arting around before work. Tomorrow is a work out day. Wish me luck!

[o] Zach is still in hospice, and the doctors have given him only a day or two. I keep waiting for that awful phone call, and trying not to think about it. It sucks, it sucks, it sucks.

[o] Dinner time!

This Weekend Is A Bitch.

Today was insane in a different way than earlier this week. Mainly because, for the first half hour I worked, there were seven people on the floor. Seven. Five is usually the max number, three or four the average. Seven was a bit ridiculous. I walked out and had no idea what to do. There was already someone barring hot drinks, barring frappucinos, ringing front, ringing drive-thru, cleaning, brewing...I was a bit superfluous!

Then, after 7 or so, it just died. No one. For a long time. Whee.

Tomorrow is Easter, and we of course are open our normal hours, and we are not getting paid any extra. WOO. Most seemed to think it'd be pretty slow since most of the world would be (a) closed, or (b) busy with family stuff, but I am suspicious. We thought Thanksgiving would be dead, and I'll never forget the madness I came into that day. Easter is another travel holiday, with people driving to have dinner with their families. While it's not nearly as big as Thanksgiving, I still see plenty of opportunity for us to be swamped with people wanting coffee for the road.

Of course, this store is also not directly next to the highway, so maybe we'll be lucky? Cross your fingers?

There's not much else going on...actually that's not true. My cousin's husband, a wonderful man, husband, and father of two small girls, has been moved into hospice care. I've spent the past two days checking my phone constantly to see if I've gotten The Call from my mother. It's sad and shitty and unfair in every aspect, and I don't know what else to say about it right now. I'm sending love and thoughts and prayers, and invite everyone else to do the same.

For now...dinner and rest.

My Mini-Vacation, Day 4.

What I did today:

[o] Futzed with more photographs
[o] Went to my Bux to hang out with people for a couple of hours
[o] Went to Hobby Lobby and dorked around a bit with AD
[o] Made dinner with Ryan (eggs and bacon, yum!_
[o] Attempted to make chocolate cupcakes....

We had the recipe for chocolate cupcakes, we had the ingredients for chocolate cupcakes, everything was peachy...until I went to add the brown sugar, and found that the container we kept it in wasn't even close to airtight, and the brown sugar had turned into rock candy. We chipped out enough to get the molasses flavor before giving up and substituting the rest with regular sugar, but the time it took changed the nature of the batter. So instead of chocolate cupcakes, we have cupcake-shaped fudge brownies. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I was going for. I'm a bit disappointed, as I was more in charge of this baking project than on previous ones, but again--fudge brownies. Not a bad thing.

I realized as I was baking, that I am a lucky fool. I'm a fool in that I had a childhood filled with cooking and baking, with my stepfather David doing his best to instill the love for it in me, and it just...never seemed to stick. I enjoyed the time spent with him in the kitchen, but I never had the inclination to do anything on my own. I've always felt guilty about that.

I'm lucky, first off, that I had someone in my life to plant that first seed, someone to coax and urge and gently push, even when I was a complete teenager about it. I am lucky, now, that I'm finally learning the joys of it, and that I again have someone to gently coax and urge and coach and push. Both of them have been extremely patient with my trepidation and second-guessing, firm about my doing it on my own without constant hand-holding or pampering, and encouraging of my successes without coddling. I have been spoiled with these presences in my life, and I couldn't be grateful or happy for it :)

This is the last day of my mini-vacation. I've spent most of it doing errands and chores; I cleaned up around the house, did dishes and endless loads of laundry, cooked and helped to cook, baked and helped to bake, caught up on correspondence, done the budgeting and planning and busywork to keep our teensy two-person "household" going...and I've enjoyed every second of it. It certainly helped that I still had the time to spend on art and socializing, and that I had my favorite person with me for half of it.

I'm looking forward to going back to work--I miss the people more than anything, but I also miss the barring and customer interaction to some weird degree. I blame the brainwashing. Still, it's been a lovely rest, and I can't wait until I get actual vacation time and can do this on a more regular basis!

Blah blah blah health blah blah blah dad blah blah blah woo?

Whups, forgot to update last night. My bad!

Work was work. Six hours. Exhausted. Blah.

Came home, changed, Ryan and I took Sameh to the clinic since her right eye, and the face around it, had swollen to the point where she could no longer see out that eye. Long story short, she's allergic to sulfur, which was in the eye drops the doctor gave her for the pink eye on her first visit on Thursday. YAY. The steroid shot they gave her had her looking almost normal by bedtime, and they gave her antibiotics for the inner ear infection she also has, so she should be up and running in no time. :)

Awesome stuff from yesterday: My dad's old group, Himalayan Voices, was on WAMC (Northeast Public Radio) last night! The program even ended with one of Dad's flute solos. It was SO COOL to hear him on the radio!...even if the announcer did talk over a lot of the flute >.< STILL. It also got Sameh very interested in his music, and singing bowls in general. Yay converts!

I have to run off and get ready for work now, but I'll leave you with this:

I'm back, baby!

First I Was All D: But Then There Was :) And Now I'm All \^.^/

Hoo boy. This day has...it's been a day.

I got to work to find it stupid busy, with my partner in drive-thru in a very bad mood having a very bad day. It's been dark and rainy and gross all day. Customers were mean and rude and stupid and just...bleh.

Then K brought in cupcakes...store manager brought in tacos...and I got home to not only find a whole pile of love on my Facebook, but a Christmas card from Jenna, and a package from Jess. The package included a mongo glow stick, a "dessert deck" of 50 recipe cards, and a big ol' organizer notebook, complete with large notepad, sticky notes, envelope for holding notes, sticky tabs, and a pen. Also an awesomely silly card with a note that made me laugh and cry.

With the way this week started, it's certainly ending on a good note. :)

Now, for dinner...

Still Walking Those Coals.

First and foremost, a birthday shout out to my stepmother, Dorita. HI DORITA! *waves frantically and sillilililily*

I gave her a call tonight on the way home from work, and...it made me realize how much I miss them. I mean, I always miss them, and my parents and my friends in Connecticut and other parts of the world. Still, there are times when it smacks me on the nose, how long it's been since I've seen these people that I love so much.

Talking with her also reminded me of the firewalk I did back in April, and how much that's still with me. Though time has faded it a little--as time is wont to do--I can still think back to the moment before I walked, standing before the hot coals and knowing that I was too scared and couldn't do it. Knowing it with complete certainty...and doing it anyway.

That was also around the same time that Ryan and I decided to move to Indiana with only the promise of jobs and an apartment with people we had never met in person.

Anyway, the phone call, combined with a morning text revealing that someone thought I was coming back to visit for Christmas, has me feeling a little guilty for the length of time since I've seen...everyone.

To family and friends in Connecticut, New York, Maryland, California, etc etc...do know that we miss and love you very much. It kills us to miss the Christmas parties and weekly get-togethers, the dinners and breakfasts and weekends and...everything.

Okay. Time to go eat dinner and watch something silly on Netflix and get my mind back to positive things.

Last Post of the Old Year...

Today is Halloween. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life.

I had to do some fast-and-dirty research on Samhain, what with a full time job and gearing up for NaNo and catching up on sleep. What I took away from the research was that it's about two things: endings, and beginnings. Honoring the ones who have gone before, reaping and taking stock; starting new things, looking forward. Finding the beginning in the ending.

Tonight I'm putting a bowl of olives, a glass of wine, and something colorful for my beloved dead, and say a little prayer. Then I start writing my novel, for National Novel Writing Month and for myself. If I can find the dedication for this, I can keep going and be the writer that I want to be. Call myself a writer and not feel like a fraud.

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life.

Wish me luck!

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. :)

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.

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.

Another Mother Update! This One Is WAY Better!

So, I'm an idiot. The best thing about yesterday was NOT Ryan cooking me dinner when I got home. It was Mom getting the results back from Monday's surgery. Diagnosis: Cancer free! \^.^/

She will have radiation treatments for a week, and then a possible course of medication, and then...done. As she put it, she won the cancer lottery. This whole thing, from beginning to end, will have lasted less than a month. That is damned lucky. We're all very grateful. :)

Any other updates I have are piddly in comparison, so I'll just end it with another happy face: \^.^/

100th Post!

Sadly, I have nothing of note to post to this, the hundredth blog entry.

I might make some kind of profound post tomorrow. Depends on what else I have to do before work at 5:30.

Highlight of the day: package from Mom! Had a tank top I kept behind, socks she bought me, and birthday presents from Auntie M--earrings and a necklace. I msust remember to call tomorrow and thank her. :)

For now, sleep.

Aren't I A Stinker?

You deal with a lot of noise while working at Starbucks, most of it annoying. Grinding coffee, blending frappuccinos, making ice, etc etc. But the worst of all the noises are the timers.

There are timers for everything. Brewing coffee, sanitizer solution, milk carafes, steeping tea, partner breaks, safe checks, etc etc. At the very least, there is a timer going off every 24 minutes for brewing coffee--every eight before noon! It starts to get to you.

Today, for most of my shift, it was E, L, and myself. At one point, L was sitting on the floor in front of the safe, doing the count. Three timers happened to go off in a 5 minute period, and she yelped every time, yelling for someone to turn the damned things off!

Side note--L has a tattoo of a semi-colon on the back of her neck, just about level with her shoulder blades. She wears a black hooded sweatshirt; it's outside of the "collared black or white shirt" policy, but it goes with the "no showing tattoos" policy, so whatever.

After the last timer went off, and L made a tortured noise in response, I just couldn't help myself. I grabbed a currently-unused timer, set it for a minute, crept up behind her, and gently clipped it to the hood of her sweatshirt.

To see her twist and whimper when it went off, trying to find it, trying to reach it, where is it, what's going on, make it stop!!...glorious! Totally worth the death glare!

What makes it really worth it, though, is to know that all my parents will read this, sit back, and go "That's my girl!"

Brain?

I have been an absolute moron the past three days. Making mistakes, starting tasks or sentences only to forget what I was going for in the first place, saying things that don't make any sense, forgetting things, wandering in circles, etc etc.

I have a great many things to blame, so that's, you know. Something.

[o] The amount of people-shifting going on in my store, and the district as a whole, is just ridiculous. New people everywhere, all of them superiors, and I'm never sure if I'm going to go in and find another co-worker's name scratched off the schedule. Nerve-wracking!

[o] The weather can't make up it's mind. It's been muggy and sunny, with random dark and foreboding clouds that look like they're about to rain down all kinds of hell, and then don't. Quite literally, the atmosphere is confusing.

[o] I. Am. Exhausted.

....yeah, I'm out.

Happy Birthday to David! I gave him a call, and the card I got him FINALLY went out today, although he won't be home to see it for another, oh, three weeks. Ah well.

Ryan & Ruth: Now With More Commitment!

Today's Accomplishment List:

[x] open joint account with Ryan. Aren't we cute. It's almost entirely for convenience, the ability of one person to go and buy groceries even if their paycheck hasn't come through yet/the person with the bank card is working/etc.
[x] bought cookware so we can actually...you know...cook!
[x] start process of balance transfer to credit card that won't break me!
[x] call Post Office to find out why the furk they were leaving mail but not taking it. Lady who answered said she'd ask our carrier, suggested we find a method to signal the carrier that we have outgoing mail. Funny, I thought maybe they were supposed to check the box or something.
[x] finish W9 process for backprint so Dad and I can actually make some money with our photography. This was much simpler than I thought it was, hence it taking so long for me to get around to. Now it is done, and we can start doing stuff with backprint!
[o] calling Dad to fill him in - failed at that. Combination of busy and exhausted. Tomorrow before I go to work!
[o] laundry, specifically my work pants - no time!
[o] move prescription from Connecticut CVS to Indiana CVS - never got to it, sadly. Tomorrow before I go to work!
[o] more editing for DS - nope.

Other good things: slept in, got some reading time, got dinner at Polito's, which turns out to have AMAZING pasta.

Ryan is very excited about the new cookware (various pots and pans and two knives), and is eager to go out and get some food to cook on it. Lately, I've been coming home too tired to even think about food, so he's going to start having something ready for me when I arrive, even if it's just a sandwich. He's such a good Ryan. :)

Tomorrow is back to the grindstone (until Sunday!). It's also David's birthday! I will be calling him first thing to let him know that he's the best stepdad ever, and I really did get him a card, but he won't get it for a few days because of the aforementioned postal idiocy. XD

And now--bed!

Blog Design Update!

I've added a box with my Google calendars for when I'm working, and when WoW raids are (which, if I'm not working, I'm participating in, and can still be considered "busy"). I'll add my Personal calendar if it ever includes actual events, as opposed to just TV shows I want to remember to watch, which is all it has now.

So, if you want to know when I'll be free to call/text/instant message/Skype/etc, now you can stalk me and find out! Clicking on an event shows the details, although it's usually no more than when the event starts and ends. Again, I can start adding further details if I have actual events that require them.

Let the stalking commence!