Finally, some new pictures

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Had a good day today. Got to hang out with my niece and we went down to Frenchtown to take some pictures. It felt good to get behind the camera again. I need to do this more often!

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Ups, downs, and everything in between

So, here we are yet again.  First the good news, I have a car. It’s not my beetle, but it’s a good car, a 2004 Toyota Camry XLE:

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Isn’t it pretty?

I tried to get a loan to pay off what I owed on the beetle, but wasn’t able to come up with the money. So, my dad and I went up to the Toyota dealer he’s been with for years and explained the situation. They checked the credit report and discovered the repossession hadn’t been reported yet, so we were able to get a loan for a pre-owned car.  So, once again, my father had to bail me out, but at least that’s one problem solved.

On the down side, things at work have been really crappy. I asked for an extra day off the deal with everything when my car was repossesed and my manager basically had a hissy fi. So, when I called in to find out what my schedule was for the nexrt week, I found out she hadn’t scheduled me to work. She said she “didn’t know what was going on with me”, so she didn’t put me on the schedule. Basically, I got suspended for a week, though that’s not what it’s officially being called.  i didn’t mind having a week off, but missing a week’s pay was a killer. Then, when I returned to work, there was a bunch of crap going on between the shifts. This not getting done, that not getting done, everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, and the rumor mill working full time. So, a meeting was called to get things out in the open and work it out between us….. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen. What actually happened was a big piss on third shift party. The store manager actually stood there in front of everyone and said we didn’t know how good we had it and that third shift “doesn’t do shit” compared to first and second shift.  She said we have the smallest work load, the least sales, etc., so we should have nothing to complain about.

So yeah, that made me feel REAL good about my job. Not to mention that everyone on first and second shift who was looking down on third shift now feels totally vindicated. Things have calmed down since, but my attitude and job satisfaction have certainly tanked. Ah well, at this point I’ve updated my resume and I’m looking around to see what’s out there. I’m certainly not going to keep busting my ass for someone who doesn’t appreciate it.

You think I’d learn

I really have to stop complaining when things are routine and boring. I should know by now that it doesn’t lead to good things.

So, yeah, I’m completely fucked at the moment… Well, maybe not quite completely, but well and thoroughly. See, a couple of month ago, I had to refinance the final “balloon” payment on my car, which I did through Volkswagen credit, the same people I’ve been dealing with since I bought the car. So, I thought everything was taken care of…. that is, until I got a letter in the mail saying they hadn’t received some paperwork from me (they never sent me any) and I had ten days from the receipt of the letter to fix the situation…. So, on my next day off (about two days later) , I called to see what the problem was, only to find out they had already canceled my financing! Not only that, since I was past the due date now, they couldn’t finance me, so I had to come up with the full amount I owed or turn the car in.

Soooo, of course I scrambled to find a loan only to discover that a bill hadn’t been paid back when I hurt my knee at work, and was now in collection, which was blocking me from getting any loans approved…… Joy and rapture….. I contact the benefits department at work to get THAT straightened out and….

…. Fast forward to two weeks ago. It’s my father’s 70th birthday. I went out to a nice dinner with him and Kendra. came home, happy in a good mood….. and my car wasn’t in the driveway. It had been repossessed. Which, by the way, the don’t tell you or anything. I had to call the police to report the car stolen to find that out. The notice I got from VW credit, three days later, informed me that I have until the 26th to come up with the money I owe or they sell the car and if they sell the car for less than I owe, I’m still on the hook for the rest of it. Meaning that they could sell my car for a dollar and I’ll still owe them over twelve thousand dollars. Joy. To add to the fun, I now have a repossession on my credit report, so how much luck to you think I’ve had coming up with the money?

I’m going to run away to Alaska and become a hermit.

Something Smells Good.

I got myself a nice Oven Stuffer Roaster this morning, let it marinate in a balsamic vinegar and roasted onion sauce all day, the stuffed it with baby red potatoes and red onion. It’s cooking now, won’t be done until about eleven tonight, but it smells YUMMY. Gotta love those oven roasting bags, just pop everything in there and let it cook. No muss, no fuss.

Sooo yeah, got the night off tonight and I just woke up a little bit ago. Heh, the chicken’s gonna be breakfast, but I never was much of a traditionalist. I had kinda an odd dream last night. I was doing the convenience store things, selling cigarettes specifically, but instead of actually being in the store, I was in somebody’s living room, and I couldn’t find any of the light switches, so it was dark and i was trying to find the cigarretes I needed by feel. That’s all the details I remember, just an odd little dream.

In other news, I got way sick last week, Missing three days of work and doing nothing but sleep kind of sick. It was almost like a three day migraine. My head was throbbing and I wanted NO input whatsoever. Not TV, not video games, not music, nothing. All I did was sleep and get up long enough to eat. Ugh, not fun. I’m better now. Actually, I’ve felt better in the past two days than I have in weeks, so I hope it’s out of my system.

Annnd, that’s really about it. Oh wait, one more thing. Remember how I said New girl #3 was pregnant? Well now Kelli, the other regular third shift worker, is also pregnant…. About six weeks, with a due date in mid-December….. *Sigh* I ain’t never getting off nights

Oh look, I still have a blog

Where, oh, where has David gone? Where, oh, where can he be?……

That about says it all

Clean though, isn’t it? So, scrubbing toilets aside, my life’s been fairly routine…….. Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat….. I’m still on nights, which contributes to the routine. We hired, then fired two new girls for overnight. One was let go because she failed the background check, the other because she and her boyfriend were helping themselves to free stuff. New Girl #3 started this week, and she’s several months pregnant, so I’m thinking she may be temporary.

Not for nothing, and not saying we should discriminate against the breeders, but if I went into a job interview and said, “I plan on working here four to six months and then take a several month break. After which, I may or may not come back.”, I don’t think they’d give me the job….

… Just sayin’

Anyway, work is actually going quite well. I’ve been staying focused and being “mr responsible”, taking on new duties and pitching in whenever there’s been a crisis. I actually won a company award for “team member of the first quarter”, which I’m fairly proud of myself for. I got a little certificate and everything. My personal life is fine, no great advances, but no big drama either. I guess that’s why the big slump in blogging, I haven’t had much to bitch about. I’m making slow, if steady progress, working to make my life better. Which is good, but hardly exciting blogging material.

So, I’ll work on finding non-toilet related inspiration and update more often. Stay tuned for further developments

Unconscious Mutterings; Week 324

Each week ten words are posted to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind. “Rules are, there are no rules.” There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Animal :: Passion
2. Temporary :: Insanity
3. Moan :: For me
4. Rapid :: Fire
5. That’s for me to say :: And you to beat out of me
6. City :: Slicker
7. Bumper :: cars. Fun, fun!
8. Eclipse :: Total ____ of the heart
9. Problematic :: Inspirational
10. If? :: When?
Real post either later today or tomorrow…….  Promise.

Unconscious Mutterings; Week 321

I say … and you think … ?

1. Studio :: Apartment
2. Meetup :: Hook up
3. Ostrich :: And Old Lace (Don’t ask me why that pooped into my head)
4. Jokes :: Lame
5. Estranged :: Sister
6. Random :: thoughts bouncing around my head
7. Slap :: That Ass!
8. Hotel room :: Tryst
9. Inscribe :: Runes
10. Polar :: Opposites

Each week ten words are posted to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind. “Rules are, there are no rules.” There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head.

Unconscious Mutterings; Week 318

Each week ten words are posted to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind. “Rules are, there are no rules.” There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Pain :: Better than nothing at all
2. Lego :: Brick
3. Trooper :: Starship
4. Flicker :: Don’t use it
5. Character :: Defect
6. Determined :: and Defiant
7. Wing :: Man
8. Control :: Freak
9. Automatic :: Response
10. Yeah :: Baby!

Friday funny; because that’s the kind of mood I’m in

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Well, that didn’t take long

So, it’s Friday night and I go into work as usual. I was feeling wiped out because I hadn’t got much sleep and I’d gone out to dinner with Kendra and my father, so I was over-full. I was supposed to work on the register, but I was in at ten and Nimeh wasn’t scheduled until eleven, so I handled the deli work for an hour. At eleven, Nimeh comes sailing in and, without saying a word to me, opens up a register and starts ringing up customers. This irritates me, but ok, so I go up and ask her (politely) why she opened a drawer. Her reply was “Liz (our manager) says whoever comes in at ten has to stay in the deli all night.” News to me, but it’s possible. So, I carefully explain to her that I’m not feeling well and it would be really helpful if she would work in the deli for the rest of the night. Nimeh then just shrugs her shoulders and turns her back on me.

Right, so at this point I know reasonable discussion is out the window. Nimeh has decided she’s working register tonight and nothing I say or do is going to change her mind. So, I do something I’m loathe to do….. I ask for help. I call Liz (this is about 11:30 at night on her day off, mind you) and ask her if she told Nimeh she’d be working register tonight. Liz says “no” and I explain the situation to her. Liz tells me that Kelli (our other third shift worker) had asked that when she came in early and did all the prep work in the deli, that she stay in the deli because Nimeh had been switching with her after most of the deli work had been done. Nimeh’s little mind, of course, had then set that in stone as a rule for everyone. Liz then asked to speak to Nimeh. What followed was a very excited conversation. I only overheard part of it, basically Nimeh denying she said what she said or did what she did.  After they had talked at length, Nimeh gave the phone back to me and went into the deli, banging around and muttering to herself. Liz was starting to explain (vent) to me about what she and Nimeh had said, when Nimeh came out fo the deli and told me she wasn’t feeling well and that she was going home. Once again, the phone switch happened and Liz told Nimeh if she walked out the door, she would no longer have a job. Nimeh said “fine with me” and left anyway.

So, short story long, Nimeh no longer works there *happy dance*. There’s a major source of tension out of my life. Of course, it also means that now we have to hire and train two people before I can get off of nights, but third shift will be much more pleasant to work, so I’d say it was well worth it.