Groundhog, shmoundhog

Just now in the office the matter of Groundhog Day came up.

Me: It's already past. Wasn't it last week?

Them (consisting of Skywalker, Princess, Jesse, Tim): No! It's Thursday!

Me: Uh, I guess not. Jump back y'all East Coasters! Some people don't put much merit into that.

Jesse: Well, some people just don't get the importance of it.

Basically, these Easterners tried to smack me down, put me in my place. I won't hear of that. No siiirrreeeee.

I know what it is. I know why it is. I just don't think it's a reliable source of predicting weather. Anyhow, he's now a media patsy. I mean, have you ever seen such a tame groundhog? I am sure he's living the high life when he isn't in his supposed "hole" waiting to see his shadow and run. Then again, he's so chunky, he can't run away from his shadow even if he saw it. And just how long do groundhogs live? You can't tell me Punxsutawney Phil is over 100 years old. Sea turtles, sure. Even lobsters. But Punxsutawney Phil? Nope. I don't believe it.

Here's the official website: http://www.groundhog.org/

Here's the movie info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/

Whew! Whirlwind of excitement, or at least lots going on...

It's been a busy few days. First of all, I have to say that my dad is much better. He's at home and feeling well. It was appendicitis. That is rare for a person his age. I am so glad he is better. I was very worried about him.

Company X - With the departure of Tom, the week started out a little uncomfortable for me. The new guy, Skywalker (not because he looks like Luke, or will save us from the evil Empire but because he love SW...) jumped right in and began learning about our semi-crazy department. I think he will be a good fit. I was also awarded the gigantic task of managing a new HUGE client - Client Pinto. They have more sites to do than Client D and Client Dutch - combined. Whew! I am going to have one of the guys in my department work on it with me to share the load. He can also do some of the more technical things that I can't. It will be a big challenge, but I am looking forward to it. The salesperson on the project and I talked about it. I think it will go fairly smoothly. But only time will tell. Company X has the big convention coming up soon, so the designers can't really work on my project until after that. But that shouldn't stop me from doing lots of the job.

G-store - They had me work Thursday through Monday. Most of it was uneventful, which is a good thing. We have a new promotion (popcorn) which I have to pitch. I have found that it is harder to pitch popcorn than sports water or fruit snacks. Most of the time when people say "no" to the later two, that's that. But with popcorn, people are more vocal about their distate. How can you hate popcorn? It's one of the greatest foods ever discovered and stolen by the white man! I would go on about popcorn, but I am trying to stick with the current topic of work and the weekend. Working Friday night, things at the store were pretty steady. I was able to do the announcement as a Valley Girl, which was funny. There is a chick at the store who is one of the under 18s who scares me a bit. As teenagers are prone to be knowitalls and overly confident in their abilities and knowledge, I keep this in mind when talking with this one. I believe she has a kid. Not sure, but she keeps a picture of a child underneath her badge. She is brash to the point of rudeness. She's really new. Been there about a week. So, she thinks she knows her codes for the scanner. I think it's great that she knows as many as she does. I certainly wish I knew more. But her attitude when she gets help (and not just from me) is annoying. She flirts with every guy under the age of 30 (I don't flirt with EVERY guy under 30, just a few.) She hikes up the back of her work shirt in a white trash kind of way, which I find gross. It looks tacky. This is a grocery store. It's not a glamour job. If we were Hotdog-on-a-Stick, we'd have to wear butt-ugly yellow, red, blue and white dorky hats and uniforms. This is much better (though I don't dig the orange with green...) with polo shirts and our own pants. They even let us wear jeans, which is nice. I totally digressed there, didn't I? Anyhow, she really bugs the crap out of me.

Another thing I have noticed at the g-store is the great amount of people under the age of 25 who are either pregant/ newly babied, engaged or married. It just seems like alot of them are. Is this a Vermont thing? It's odd to me. I am happy for them, if they are happy about their situation. OMIGAWD. I just remembered one story. There is a gal I work with who is pretty young and has a kid from a rape situation. I think it's horribly sad. I can't imagine. She's going to school, which I think is great. She doesn't have complete custody of her child, and we didn't get into it much. Wow. Can't even imagine.

Saturday - I got up at 7ish and headed over to the laundromat. It was a little icy out, but I had to do my laundry. Working on the weekend now, my free time is much less, of course, so things lke laundry have to be timed just right. After the laundry, I ran over to WW and weighed in. -.2, which is fine with me. Anything is better than a gain. I had about two hours before being at the g-store so I did some errands. Work was really busy for most of the day. There were a couple of Orange Alerts working, which was nice to observe. One of the gals (who isn't really much older than the OAs) and I had a nice chat about them. It was pretty funny. I know, it's really gross when you think of it in terms that I am old enough to be their mother, but I am not their mother, nor am I planning to have a Mary Kay LaTerneau relationship with ANY of them. Also, I had several customers with kids. One kid was really crabby and crying. But I was able to get him to stop crying and smile. I felt so proud. Another woman thanked me for entertaining her kid (I was bagging) and told me that I work so well with kids. I know I do. Some of you know I do, so what do I do about it? Moving on... So, after work I met up with Stephanie O, Andy, his wife Jeanne, Elissa and Rocky at Shanty's - a great seafood place. The food was great! The atmosphere was great! The people were great! I had a really good time. Then I went over to Elissa's house where we met up with their friend Mark (who I have mentioned before) to play Fluxx (a totally fun card game). I think I was there until almost midnight. I want to do another game night, but I can't do it at my shoebox apartment. One of the guys at work might host at his house. We shall see.

Sunday - I met up with Carrie at church and then went on some errands before working at 4 at the gstore. I stopped at the University Mall, which is about half the size of the Glendale Galleria. I went there for one thing and one thing only - TACO BELL. I haven't had Taco Bell in about a year. I miss it so. It was really, really good. Sigh. Then I went to see Mark at Barnes and Nobles, where he had a book signing. His book is about graphic design for kids. I had him autograph it and I had to come home for a little nap before my gstore. But the nap didn't happen. I watched the movie, Millions, instead. It is an Irish film by Danny Boyle, whose movies I really enjoy. The boy finds millions of British pounds and tries to find good ways to spend it from the advice of several saints who appear to him - Peter, Francis of Asisis, Joan of Arc and a few others would appear to him. Okay, so then I worked at the store. I wasn't feeling well. Very tired. The first half of the time there it was really busy. I was glad when it slowed down. I was really pooped when I got home, but managed to watch Desparate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy inspite of my sleepy eyes.

Monday - I worked until about 1pm then had to go home because I was feeling naustious and had a major sinus headache all day. I came home and napped for about two hours. I worked for about an hour and half.

Not eating is not a concept I know...

I have been noticing the eating habits of my co-workers. There are those that don't eat lunch and those that don't snack. I can understand being so busy once in a while that you "forget" to eat (though that is not really something I can wrap my thick, fried food, bacon-loving head around), but on a daily basis? This is a concept that does not compute at all.

Nope.

Nada.

What's with that? I brought pretzels into the office as a relatively healthish snack. It was a large barrel that is now less than half full. I bought it yestersay afternoon. I find that amusing.

I know enjoying food a little too much has put me in the place I am in today. It's a hard habit to break.

Wishing I was in CA

Dad's in the hospital. It was a scheduled surgery for somethingorother, but yesterday I got a call on my phone from my mom to say he was in lots of pain. Last night I was able to speak with Mom and she was at the hospital saying Dad was doing better. I was able to talk with him. I asked him how this pain was compared to the kidney stones he had in the past (scale of 1 to 10 - 10 being you'd like to kill yourself to get rid of the pain.) He said it was 5 points higher than the kidney stones, which I know are super painful. Though I can send him my wishes for a speedy recovery and prayer, there's nothing I can do about it.

With my parents slow but continual failing health, it makes me want to go back to CA to be there for them and to help my brother. However, I really, really like Burlington and Vermont and there are lots of things about the job (Company X) that I really like and I have no plans to move back. Maybe I can get an openended ticket and fly out when I need to. I also have VeAnn and Michael's baby's arrival (convoluted sentence?) that I want and need to be there for.

Sigh. I know other people have very flexible schedules here. So maybe I can do that too. I do have the cats to consider. Time to look into long term pet care. At least for a few weeks (for whichever situation arises first....)

So much to say

Friday was a really long and dramatic day for me. Let's just say that my friend Tom, is no longer working with me at Company X. Ultimately it is for the best on all sides, but it was still a bit of a shock.

I came in a little later than usual and he wasn't in yet. I thought that was a little odd, but didn't think much more about it. Then Big Enchilada 2 announces we have a team meeting upstairs. One of my team members looks over at Tom's desk, then at me and then at Big Enchilada 2 and says,"Oh- she knows. She knows." Blah, blah about how I know something is up. I snapped at him that I didn't know anything (which was true.) We marched upstairs and Big Enchilada 2 is joined by Big Enchilada 3. That is very telling. No reason the two of them would be together at my team meeting unless there was something critical. So after some nice and friendly chatter about car accidents, they lay out the news: Tom is no longer with the company, and he left on friendly terms. I was stunned. I really shouldn't have been because I knew both parties were unhappy (for more reasons than I need or care to mention.) It really is all for the best. I know that. But that didn't diminish the shock I was in. After more chit chat about how we are going to proceed and who was taking over (a really great guy who suped in another department) we were asked if we had any questions or comments. What was I to say? The person who brought me to Vermont is no longer with the company. The person who I have worked with at several other jobs is now gone, kaput. Whether or not it was on good terms, why didn't the Enchiladas at least WARN me about it moments before the meeting? Now, Tom did leave me a message on my phone that I got after the fact. Needless to say, I was a little shaken. Enchilada 2 kept looking over in my direction as he was updating us. I was feeling very uncomfortable. Then he asks if we have questions or comments. Nobody responded, so he asks me directly. I shook my head "No," and proceeded to cry. I walked out of the room and then found my message from Tom.

Though I only was able to talk to Tom for a couple of minutes, I was glad to hear from him. I went back upstairs and hung out in the HR office so I could cry a little more. I will miss him quite a bit. I am not sure what he will be doing or where he is going. I hope we stay in touch and this experience doesn't shut him off from the world. After I composed myself, we had another meeting with the new guy. (Nickname tbd...) I think he will be great and work well with our team. We had a nice, open dialog with him. People brought up issues and concerns. And they announced that Tara and I have been promoted. It was a little strange to me, but a nice compliment. Not too bad for being here only a year.

The weekend flew by. I worked at the gstore Friday - Sunday. More on that maybe later.

Gstore - writing and GW

And THANKS for emptying your baskets...

One thing that bothers me while working at the gstore, is people who don't empty their baskets out when they come to check out. You know who you are. Those little, green grocery store baskets with the two handles that is in lieu of a big shopping cart. When you come up to checkout, please empty out your basket. This saves time for everyone. And just so you know, checkers are timed on their speed of swiping the groceries across the scanner. If we have to dig into your basket for your damn products, that slows down the time. Of course, we can take the crap out of the baskets for you, but if you have capable hands, why the hell can't you do it yourself?

Also, if you are interested in a funny little game, check this site out and just click on the image below!

This morning, Elissa and I met for writing. It was great. We did two excercises. I felt refreshed and ready for the day. Amazing what a little writing will do ya!

My exciting life

Yesterday morning when I left for work I had started the ol' crockpot witha chicken chili recipe from a little booklet I picked up at the gstore. I am tired of bland, boring meals for one. I figured this might be a way to change that. And you know, it turned out to be pretty tasty.

Things at Company X have been a little slow, as we are waiting on projects tocome from our billing department. We have a new tool that will be done in timefor the trade show that I have been able to help test. It's been a good use of my time. I don't think I ever want to be permanently in a QA job ever again, butthis is refreshing from the usual project thing. I had a good chat with a fewof the ladies here who want to start up a WW in the building. I think that wouldbe a good idea. One of them has complained about gaining 35 lbs since she started. (Sounds familiar!) So, we went to the gstore to get our lunch. Though I did get asalad, I also opted for the broccoli-cheese soup. It was really good and I endedup not eating the salad. shame on me. Shame.

I was able to leave on time, which was also a nice change. So I got home with plansto watch the soap, eat dinner and go see Munich. After the second thing on the list,I decided against the movie mostly because I was comfy in my chair. I was also entrancedby one of those wife-swapping shows. This is the one where they live with the family for two weeks. The swell thing about that episode is that both familiesreally benefited from each other's mother. Awe. That's nice. In addition to that exciting tv, I caught a bit of the Golden Globes. Being in a state/city that doesn't really give a rat's ass about Hollywood or things of that nature, I was surprised that the Golden Globes were actually televised. So manyof the speeches were really funny. It was one of the more entertaining awards shows I have seen. I don't think they even have a real host. Seems like it's just one presenter after another.No music clips, no dance numbers. I don't think they even do a "rememberance" thing. Keepit simple. I do miss working on the Oscars a little bit.

After the exciting bit of television viewing, I settled down with a book I borrowed from Stephanie O. - Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal It's a funny, albeit irreverant look at Christ's life through the eyes of his childhood friend, Biff.

Well tonight I work at the gstore, but with most of the Orange Alerts back in school,I can't imagine that it will be too exciting. Maybe they will let me make the closing announcement as a Valley Girl like I did the other night?

Writing and the OBB

Writing
After reading about the controversial Oprah Book Club favorite, Millions of Pieces by James Frey, I am inspired. I am equally angered and amused that he duped Oprahand countless others in his "autobiographical" accounts of his drug, drinking life. Good for him to write somethingthat set up a firestorm of controversy, which undoubtedly has sold more books. There are other authors who, recently,I have been thinking "Why didn't I write that?" Answer: because you didn't, so get over it. So in order to do that, I need to not just say I am a writer, but write. So, I asked my friend Alex for some suggestions on good writing excercises books. The results are two great books -

The Portable Creative Writing Workshop by Pat Boran
and
A Creative Writer's Kit by Judy Reeves

Starting in the middle of last week, I began my committment to me. Everything I have read about writing says what isonly logical - in order to be a writer, you need to write. I am starting with doing the excercises every day. So I went to Muddy Waters (a great coffee place) in the morning before work. I read the books and began the excercises.It was such a purifying experience. I feel like I am FINALLY getting back on track with my writing. I also chatted withmy friend CG who is also a writer. She and I have talked about collaborating. We do have distance between us location-wise, but I don't want to let that stop me. I just have to find the right hook. with the hype Millions of Pieces fresh in my mind, I feel that I will find that hook soon.

With a newyear, that means new opportunity to be a better person, writer, employee, friend. Healthier and happier. So I gained 25 lbs last year. What comes on, will come off. I also recommitted to Weight Watchers. I almost didn't go, with theEvil Kdar in my head telling me how I shouldn't even bother. But I went. And yes, I gained, but I went. When I wentgrocery shopping, I thought more about what kinds of foods to get. I bought a slow-cooker cookbook which had some goodideas. I am doing one of them today. The beauty of the slow cooker is that dinner will be done when I get home. ha!

Speaking of groceries, I worked about 20 hours between Thursday and Sunday. With the winter break over for the highschoolers the store has been pretty quiet. There are a couple of kids who work late at night with me, and we seem to have a pretty good time. Last night, I was working with Chad, Amanda, Thomas, Maggie and Michelle for most of the evening.Michelle seems to be about my age. I think Maggie is about 20. The other three are part of the Orange Badge Brigade (under18.) Working with these kids isn't that much different than working with the kids from COV. I would have to say thatthe COV kids come from more broken homes, are surrounded more by drugs, gangs and other bad influences. But kids are kids.There are those who like school, hate school. Those who are just trying to make enough $ to get a car. Those who don't have an allowance and need extra $ period. Those who help out their families by working. Those who can do nothing but talk about the latest news with Brittany Spears. Those who want to change the world, make a difference. I knowthere is some writing material here and I WILL FIND IT!

Picture of the day

What more could a person want? Plus there are the delicious looking slices of hard-boiled egg! (Photos courtesy of http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html)

Gstore observations

Tonight things were pretty quiet. After 9:30, there were only 3-4 people up front. There was a span of about an hour, or maybe it was 45 minutes that flew by so freakin' fast. There were minutes that passed by slower than an ant crawling up the Empire State building. All in all, an uneventful night.

However, there were a few things to note...

• Special Weekly Value - this is something at the cash registers that we have to promote. If we don't ask about it by the end of the transaction, customers can get it for free. This week's item is some really gross fruit snack with cartoon characters evily enticing parents and people having flashbacks to their youth. So, I promote it as follows,"Would you like to get our Special Weekly Value? It's fruit snack with [cartoon character] on it. It's FAT FREE! Only 14 grams of sugar!" I say it with overenthusiastic tones in my voice. Amazingly enough, some people are perfectly suckered in to buying it. Others, not so much, though they appreciate my presentation. It's all about presenation.
• "I'm REALLY over 21. Really." - As I was never one of the kids who tried fake ids or tried getting people to believe I was over 21, I guess I don't get the wonder and appeal. I also don't understand why 'kids' get so pissed off when asked for their ID. It's the damn law. I didn't make the law. I don't want to get cited or penalized because I didn't ask you-who-is-21-but-looks-like-Dakota-Fanning for your damn-I'm-in-college-I-can't-waste-my-time-with-a-Vermont-ID license/id card. Piss off. There were 6 twits who were found shopping in the beer section by one of the supers. When they got in my line, 4 of them strode off. The two remaining were not only carded (and just barely 21) but we asked for their friends' ids as well. (It's the law.) They seemed perplexed. Their doufus friends wouldn't even step inside the store. The super had to stand in the exit area and have the kids pass their ids to her through the door. So lame. I expect these will be our great leaders one day. I know kids will be kids and I know I wasn't all that wise to the ways of the world when I was 21. But (as I continue to sound like an old hag, please read the following in a really old person voice...) KIDS TODAY JUST DON'T SHOW ANY RESPECT. ( I just HAD to say that. ha ha ha)
• Dream Man - So I had the great fortune to check out a very dreamy man. We laughed. We admired similar food items. And... yes. Married he was. Sad I was.
• Brain Functions Ending - My short term memory is getting worse. I am not paying attention to my customers. Example, a young woman I apparently checked out earlier in the evening (I am only on a 4 hr shift) came through the line again. She made some comment about being in my line again. Her friend was buying some wine and I asked for both of their ids. Both being out of state, I had to call the super. The familiar woman was surprised. "You really need to see it again? But I was just here! Don't you remember that?" As if I was an idiot. I did remember her, but couldn't for the life of me really recall seeing her earlier in the evening. That is super pathetic. It wasn't incredibly busy. I am beginning to recognize the regulars, but am not at the point where I can tell exactly what they are about to buy or like or their age.

That's about all the excitement I can stand for now. I am off tomorrow from the Gstore but back for four more days of excitement on Thursday.

Part 2: Not so cute... the drama ends

Okay. I just spoke with one of the enchiladas. I expressed my frustration and he did admit that AP (and friends) are going to the trade show because of their looks. (This is not verbatim, so don't sue me.) TP and Marketing Girl are not an issue as they do have reasons to be there (though they are cute and are party friendly.) I told him I feel better, just hearing the word from him that they are using them for that purpose.

Sigh. Drama over. Really.

Enough said.

Picture of the day

MMMM. Delicious.

Not cute (or young) enough...

There is a trade show that a bunch of the sales people are going to in a few months. After the show last year, they said that they would watch our progress over the next year and see who might be eligible to go. I was excited. And this past summer, I worked on some of the company's most important clients (or at least so I was told). I know the trade show is not all roses and daffodils. There are long hours and hard work. Still, it's a good opportunity to meet some of the clients we deal with over the year.

Sales people MUST go to this, of course. Same with tech dudes, because they set up the stations and know the tools that have been created. The marketing chick is going. TP from my department is going. She knows the products and went last year. When I asked a few months ago about me going instead of TP, I was told,"Well, she's going because she's already been trained." Okay, fine. No problem. So then I come to find out that AP is also going. She's kind of an administrative assistant in her department, for lack of a better description. Has no experience with the products and isn't technical. On top of that, she was asked to invite a couple of friends, who are also going and have even less knowledge of our products. Now that one iI can see. So aside from the sales and tech people, the commonality between the women is youth and cuteness. There are lots of other qualified people who would be better choices than AP. But she's part of the "in crowd", is cute and can party. TP - "in crowd", cute, can party when required and is dating sales person. Marketing chick - "in crowd", cute and can party when required as well.

I know, I am jealous and bitching about it. but I am not saying that I should go, per se. But there have been several other women in the office who are bothered by the "perception" that we are just sending the young, cute people. There are some cute and qualified guys who should go instead of AP. But the demographic we are appealing to is middle aged men. So, send in the young ladies. There are a few models going as well. I have less of a problem with that. I am glad that a representative from my department is going. She was told that she is going not just because she went last year, but because she's cute. She's not upset enough to tell them she's not going.

If the big cheeses would have just admit that they want to appeal to a certain demographic and present a certain face, I wouldn't have that much of an issue with it. At least that would be somewhat honest. But instead they give lame reasons.

I know. Life isn't fair. But this is the first job I have ever been in where I actually felt discriminated against. It really gets my goat that AP is going and bringing FRIENDS. Sadly, I don't think she really realizes the reasons she is going. The company line was "It will be a good opportunity for her..." Yeah. Sure it will. Uh huh. Keep telling yourself THAT'S the reason she's going. I really believe you.

NOTE: The tech dudes are not going because they are cute. Trust me.

Troop/troops vs soldier

Something that has been irritating me since we engaged Afghanistan and Iraq is the term "troops". Weekly, if not daily, the news reports "X-amount of troops were killed in Iraq". Even today on the Associated Press' website there was the headline "11 U.S. troops killed in Thursday attacks". Is that saying "11 groups of soldiers?" See my confusion? It's the term "troop" that bothers me. I am not much of a wordsmith, but seeing the Merriam-Webster definition (below) of troop vs soldier makes me think that "they" (the press) are misusing the word. It drives me nuts!


troop Pronunciation: 'trüpFunction: nounEtymology: Middle French trope, troupe company, herd, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English thorp, throp village -- more at THORP1 a : a group of soldiers b : a cavalry unit corresponding to an infantry company c plural : ARMED FORCES, SOLDIERS2 : a collection of people or things : CREW 23 : a flock of mammals or birds4 : the basic organizational unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts under an adult leader

vs

sol·dier Pronunciation: 'sOl-j&rFunction: nounEtymology: Middle English soudier, from Middle French, from soulde pay, from Late Latin solidus solidus1 a : one engaged in military service and especially in the army b : an enlisted man or woman c : a skilled warrior2 : a militant leader, follower, or worker3 a : one of a caste of wingless sterile termites usually differing from workers in larger size and head and long jaws b : one of a type of worker ants distinguished by exceptionally large head and jaws

Just one more thing...

bore·dom

Pronunciation: 'bOr-d&m, 'bor-Function: noun: the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest

Christmas, Part 1

Back in October, I was thinking about what to do for Christmas. I talked it over with my brother and came up with the idea to surprise my parents. During Thanksgiving week, I bought my ticket (US AIR - cheap airfare, cheap service) and the parents had NO idea I was coming.
Over the next few weeks they would ask me about my holiday plans. I would either avoid the question altogether or lie. It was great. I called a couple of friends to let them know I was coming into town. Doug kindly offered me his home AND car, as he was going to be out of town the day after my arrival. It was so wonderful of him to do that. It saved me $ and I had independence.

Wednesday, December 21

In the wee hours of the morning, Elissa kindly drove me to the airport. The flight was uneventful, which was fine with me. I arrived on time in Los Angeles around 1pm. Though I had just been in CA in May, it was so good to see Doug again. Almost as if I never left. Doug picked me up at LAX and we headed back into the Valley. We went to The Good Neighbor restaurant, of which Doug is a regular. Such a regular that they not only know his name like the peoplefrom Cheers, but they even have a food item that he "created". Almost as good as actually having your name on a menu. Afterlunch, we headed off to the movies to see Just Friends http://imdb.com/title/tt0433400/, starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart and Ana Faris. It was much better than I thought it would be. Ana Faris played a idiot of a rock star, patterned afterAshlee Simpson, I think. she was hilarious. Totally stole the show. Anyhoo, after the movie, we went back to Doug's. We were joined by Julie, Steve L./Natasha, Steve K., Alex S./Sherri and Steve S. (There are actually 4 Steves, but only 3 appearat the same time.) We went to dinner in Hollywood and were later joined by Alex H./Tiffany (the ones who have the blog... theyare back from living in England.) It was so good to catch up with people. Even just seeing them was very refreshing. Though I have a couple of friends in Vermont, my CA friends have a piece of my heart. (sniff, sniff - my how dramatic!) After dinner, some of us went to see another movie. It was good to be back!

Thursday - Friday

Doug and I did the GN again. One can never go there too often! While Doug packed, I ventured on a little stroll to the99cent store. (A chain they should have in Vermont, but don't.) I was suppose to meet up with Alex, Tiffany and her brother for some shopping but due to circumstances, I couldn't. I ended up dropping Doug off at Burbank Airport and headed towards themall. I went to Ikea and the Barnes and Noble. I miss Ikea. I have a couple of things I will order online from them in a few paychecks.I then met up with Michael (and Al and Pat) and VeAnn Lynch for dinner. They were among the people I missed the most. As with Doug, it was almost like I never left. Sooo great to see them! We ate at Lido's, which is an Italian restaurant that makes really good homemade pasta. YUM. We had such a great time together. VeAnn is due in a few months. She asked me to be in the delivery room to help Michael out. I am so honored. I need to get an open ended ticket and see what work will do/say.

In the morning, I did some shopping with Alex in lovely Pasadena. We went to a great bookstore and travel store as well as some interesting jewelry shops. I found some good presents for family and Gail. Hanging out with him was just like old times (I know I keep saying this about my friends, but it is true.) I am sorry I wasn't able to visit with them when they were living in England, but I was glad to hang out with them for a bit while in CA. Later in the afternoon I met the Lynch family at their house and we headed over to COV for the Christmas Eve service. It was a somber service, but good. I saw many people I had missed. That was so neat. Then I went back to Michael and VeAnn's for their Christmas Eve celebrations.

All in all, my time in Los Angeles was terrific. The sun was shining the whole time. I saw people I really care about andmissed a whole bunch. And I saw places I missed as well. I was beaming when I drove Saturday towards Ventura.

"NO TOMATO" Part the Second

I was just disussing my tomato incident with one of my Company X co-workers. The more I thought about it, the more I thought how much I don't like that restaurant. When the old management was there, though their menu was still limited and overpriced, they had some really good points. Their muffins were HUGE, cookies - HUGE, soup - tasty! The new people make bad cookies, the muffins are super small and the soup is bland. Though they did change the menu a little (which is a plus), I don't think I will be back there for anything other than something to drink.

Ick.

If the Customer is ALWAYS right - So is my ASS!

Friday night at the G-store I was bagging with Britta (yes. Her name is Britta.) A woman in her 60s with big hair and big chunk rings (you know what I am talking about) comes up with about $80 worth of groceries. She flashes a coupon which she actually hands over later. The coupon is one that the store sends out in the mail for $8 if you have $80 or more in groceries. There is a redemption period clear and bold near the top 1/3 of the coupon. CLEARLY INDICATING when it is good. The woman passes over her coupon to Britta and says,"I see that the date isn't until tomorrow, but I'd like to redeem it anyhow." Britta kindly tells her that it isn't good yet. I look at it and grunt in agreement. The woman's nostrils start to flare. "If I had known that I couldn't use it today, I wouldn't have bought all of this stuff." (Hey lady, it's not my problem you are a total dumbass.) Britta shrugged, not knowing what to do with her. I told the woman I would check with my manager. I went to the manager, who said we couldn't honor it. I explained that to the woman. She huffed and puffed. Said something about "Well, you can be sure I won't be shopping here EVER again. And I will tell my friends to not shop here either." At this store, they keep talking up the customer service aspects, so I went along with her crazy rant. I told her I could get the supervisor and she thought that was a great idea and chirped,"You know, the customer is always right." I was ready to deck her. The super said the same thing as before (which I would too. Afterall, the DAMN coupon clearly indicates the date of redemption. Argh!) The woman howled again. So the super talked with the PM who agreed to use it.

Though the woman didn't seem that appreciative of the efforts, I offered her a comment card. She thanked me and said that she wasn't mad at Britta or me. If I had been in line behind her, I would have gotten into a fight about it. But being an employee, I couldn't.

It was freakin' funny.

What part of "NO TOMATO" did you not understand?

I am lazy. I am so lazy, that when I forget to pack my lunch, I go downstairs to the restaurant to eat. It's a small place. A few months ago, the ownership changed hands. Though I appreciate the new owners making changes to the menu, sometimes I wonder what's their deal. How long have they been cooking? Were they working in non-food jobs they hated and decided to become restaruanteurs?

I went today for lunch. On the menu special it said "tuna melt". I asked,"Are their tomatoes?" The cook replied,"No, only if you want them." I shook my head vehemently and said,"No. No tomatoes." Later, I hear them discussing mustard. Which one to use... "...anything but the honey mustard..." So, I get my tuna melt and it has curry flavored mustard (ick) and

TOMATOES. Who puts CURRY in their mustard? Especially on a TUNA MELT? And what part of NO TOMATO did you not understand? Sheesh!

Lesson: DON'T EAT DOWNSTAIRS. If you are THAT lazy, at least grab your coat and go across the street for their overpriced (but tasty) food.