Black Friday

I read online this morning that someone was killed in a stampede at Walmart when it opened for the Black Friday sales. I also read about a couple of people who got into a fist fight today over an XBox 360...it was the last one in the store.

I don't understand the whole hype over the Black Friday crap. Sure, you might be able to find some outragious deals on some items, but is it really worth it? I make it a point not to shop on Black Friday...it is not worth the hassle of the traffic and long lines to save a little bit of money on stuff. Besides, Jeff and I went to Linens-n-Things to do a good portion of our shopping this year...they are going out of business, and everything was drastically marked down, and well before Thanksgiving.

The parents who fight it out at the stores over the next big toy probably are the same parents who spoil their kids the rest of the year as well...I don't think it's just at Christmas. And, is the fighting really worth it? The kids are going to be bored with the toys by New Years Day anyhow. I can remember the whole big hoopla a few years ago about the Tickle Me Elmo doll. I waited a couple of years, then bought it for my uncle's granddaughter. The price had gone down from hundreds of dollars in the black market to something like $15 at Walmart. That's how my mom always did things. We never got the "it" thing the year it came out. We lways got it a couple of years later, after the price had dropped significally. Shoot, Jeff and I still do things this way now!

Rememberances

Thought I would post some of the funny things that happened while working. I tried to sort them by company.

Trailer Wheel and Frame: I was talking with one of the mechanic's girlfriends one night at work. She had brought up their baby. Anyway, we were talking, and the owner came in to the room. He said that I needed one of those (and pointed to the baby). I said that at some point in time I will have one. He asked why I didn't have any with my ex husband, and I started my whole thing about knowing that the relationship wasn't going to work, and I didn't want to have to deal with him after the divorce. The owner said that I should use him for a "service job". Whatever.

Trailer Wheel and Frame: Harry, the General Manager, came in to sign a bunch of checks, and then started to walk out with the pen in hand. I didn't say anything, because I could have cared less if he took the pen. I could have gotten another one from the office supply cabinet. Anyway, he turns around halfway through the adjoining office, and throws the pen back my way, just barely missing me. It hit the phone. He then proceeds to tell me not to take it personal, he was just trying to get the pen back up to me. Guess he didn't want to walk the extra 15 feet to HAND it to me.

Trailer Wheel and Frame: The owner had me program his cell phone for him, since he didn't know how. I put all the important phone numbers in for him, and set up his voicemail greeting. Anyway, Harry called me, and said, "I've been trying to call the owner on his cell, and I keep getting your voice. Why?" (And he was completely serious!) Uhhh...hello.! I cannot believe that I actually had to tell him why he kept hearing my voice on the owner's outgoing voicemail message.

Trailer Wheel and Frame: There was a customer who came by to see Harry right after I started, and I forget his name but it was something like Hamal or something middle eastern sounding. Harry decided to start trying (and I emphasize trying) to speak arabic to this guy, and the guy just looks at him and says, "What are you doing? I'm Greek." the funny thing is that Harry is Greek too. So, to one up himself, he starts going on about ugly greek women are. Hello? First insult the guy, then his wife?

Trailer Wheel and Frame: Harry is a major Hypocondriack. Anytime any of us coughed or sneezed, he thought he was going to get sick. Anyway, one time he came walking in and was whispering. Said he lost his voice because of some infection. Then, he asked me to come over to his office (I had moved my desk by this point in time) so he can give me some work. I went over, then he started questioning me on some paperwork that I still had at my desk. I told him I needed to go get it so I could answer his questions, and proceeded to get them. I came back to his office and knock (I never like to go into anyone's office without knocking first). I didn't hear anything, so I knock again. Then I heard a noise sounding like he fell or something. So I rushed in to make sure he was ok, and found out that he was chunking pens at the door. He was doing it to try to get me to come in! He proceeded to whisper, "I was calling for you to come in, didn't you hear me?" Anyway, I walked in, and he asked me to pick up the pens he had been throwing at the door. I just laughed and sat down. At this point in time, he picked up a Ricola throat lozenge and tossed it at me, telling me to eat it. He then told me to go get something from one of the employees and come back. So, I got up again and leave to get whatever it was that he needed. By the time I came back, there was a customer in his office. I swear, he was talking to this guy just like nothing was wrong with him...he was not whispering at all!!! (he had been whispering the entire time before to me). When the customer left, Harry looked at me and went back to whispering!!!

Trailer Wheel and Frame: It is a well known fact that I have a bad right ankle. I broke it when I was 7, and it never healed correctly. Anyway, I was sitting in Harry's office taking notes, and he handed me some paperwork. I had to stand up and walk over to reach the paperwork, and when I stood up, I twisted my ankle and I fell down. His first words to me were not, "Are you ok?" His first words were, "Oh my God, don't die on me!" Apparently, there was a mechanic who used to work there long before I started who died there at work from a massive heart attack. Harry was talking to the guy when he had the heart attack, and when the guy fell over, he hit the Harry on the way down...

Trailer Wheel and Frame: The owner can be a nice guy when he wants to be. But, he is getting up there in age, and I believe is becoming a little "not all together." He came walking into the office one day, and started telling our accounts payable clerk how he had fasted for 3 days. None of us in the office were exactly skinny, ok? Anyway, he told her that he thought that fasting was a great way to lose weight, and that if you fast for 3 days, it'll add 10 years to your life. She just look at him and said, "you're 70 something years old, you haven't eaten in 3 days, and you're still alive? Why aren't you dead yet? What's wrong with you?" I about died when I heard this one!

Trailer Wheel and Frame: In 2003 I got a divorce, while working at Trailer Wheel and Frame. The owner thought that this is a big mistake. I tried explaining to him my reasons, which are very valid reasons, as to why we divorced, but it was not good enough for him. So much so that we had a bet going on between us. If I did not get back together with my ex-husband within 2 years of the divorce anniversary date, the owner would pay me $100. Whatever!

Trailer Wheel and Frame: Harry's office stuck out into the mechanic's area. During the summer of 2003, one of the mechanics got mad at Harry and drove a forklift into his office, just seconds after Harry walked out. The window air conditioner flew across the room, the lights fell down, tiles came off the ceiling...if he had been in there, he would have seriously gotten hurt.

Interceramic Tile and Stone: Rene, the guy who sat next to me, was constantly made fun of by the other guys...they said he was a little too feminine. Anyway, some of the things he said did not help his cause of being straight. For instance - one day he was talking to one of the trucking companies we frequently used, and told them, "I don't care if there is a naked man running down the freeway - I want a truck here on time!" Then, a few days later, he was on the phone with the same company, trying to get a truck to Las Vegas...He told them that he had 20 people on top of his ass about getting the load there. I just sat there laughing!

Interceramic Tile and Stone: one of the guys who used to work the order desk came back one morning to ask Rene some questions. He was just hanging around, and started to piss Rene off. Finally, Rene had enough, and said, "Juan - if you don't leave, I'm going to take you outside and pull your pants down!" I laughed so hard I couldn't see straight!!

Labatt Food Service: The Operations Manager and Transportation Manager came into my office in October, and laid me off. They told me that the company was changing directions, and that my position was being dissolved. I got it in writing a few days later, when I had the operations manager write a letter of reference for me. But, the General Manager tried telling the unemployment office that I had been fired for insubordination. He gave the 5% of my annual review - the "here's-what-you-need-to-work-on" part of my review, as the insubordination. I had to tell the unemployment case worker that what the GM mentioned was actually part of my review, and only encompassed about 5% of my review. The other 95% of the review was very positive, and that I had gotten the highest raise that the company was allowed to give me. I also told they guy that I had never been written up, never got any verbal warnings, got along with most of the employees most of the time, and that the general manager was not the one who let me go - the ops manager and trans manager were the ones who did that.

Texas Renaissance Festival

This past weekend, Jeff and I headed to the Texas Ren Fest. We had a good time! We didn't really focus on the demonstrations and performances this time around, although there is something going on pretty much all the time there. We spent our time wallking the shoppes and eating food. There were some very good food vendors there!! The next time we go, we are going to dress up, and we might spend more time checking out the performances. I really enjoyed it!

Careers

Sometimes I don't know what to think. Having a career sometimes is not really worth all of the headache that comes along with it.

I gave everything to work for Labatt Food Service, and was a very dedicated employee. I never got written up, never had any verbal warnings, and got praised during my annual review for being an upstanding employee. Yet that was not good enough to help me keep my job.

The transportation manager and operations manager came into my office last Thursday and laid me off. Or so they say. They told me that there were going to be several people being laid off as the company headed into a different direction. Somehow I find that a load of crap. I spoke with a friend of mine who still works there and 3 work days later, no one else has been laid off.

So, I have spent the last several days applying for jobs. I have 2 interviews today, so I will see how it goes. I know for a fact that I am not going to accept one of the jobs. It is a cut in pay, and I would have to work Sunday nights. I'm not giving up the band for a cut in pay.

Another thing that gets me is this: we all have our cell phone numbers posted on the Labatt directory. Everyone there has my cell phone number. They all claimed to be my friend while I was working there. Yet only one person has called. Friends, eh?

Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

Well...we were supposed to rent a beach house on Boliver Peninsula last weekend, since it was the first weekend of the winter rates. B-U-T...I forgot that it was supposed to be this past weekend that we were going to go, and I booked us to go to Lockhart instead. I'm sure glad we went to Lockhart instead. Everything was just nice in Lockhart. We really enjoyed the trip. Good thing we didn't go to Boliver - it was located on the "dirty" side of the Hurricane. Notice I used past tense there. Boliver has been destroyed. Nothing remains of the Peninsula. Nothing.

So, Jeff and I get home Sunday from our trip to Lockhart, and we stop at the airport on the way so Jeff can check in with his co-workers. As we drove down FM 529 towards home, it looks as if a tornado swept across the area. Shingles torn off of roofs, fences down, trees uprooted, tree limbs down, power lines down, poles snapped in half, signs either ripped completely off, bent or snapped, and no electricity.

As we entered the house, we immediately noticed a moldy, mildewy smell. The carpet in the front entry way was soaking wet, as was the carpet in the master bedroom. Our fence no longer exists, and the swing in the backyard was destroyed.

I've already ripped up the carpet in the master bedroom. I just have to find a way to get it outside the house. Next will be the carpet in the den. We'll have to get the fence repaired as well. I'm almost thinking that if Mom and David come over, then Jeff and David could work on the fence while Mom and I work on the floor in the bedroom. I don't know where everyone would sleep though. Unless by the end of the first day, Mom and I could get the floor set enough to bring in the airbed for Jeff and I to sleep on in the master bedroom that night. Right now we are sleeping out of the front bedroom.

We've wanted new floors for some time now, and I've already picked out the floor that I want. I've filed a claim with the homeowner's insurance and with FEMA, so I'm hoping to hear from either or both of them here soon to help with the funds of buying the supplies. I'm sure we could afford the supplies, but if we don't need to pay for them...

Hurricanes

So here I am, sitting in a Best Western Hotel in Lockhart, Texas. Hurricane Ike came ashore early this morning in Galveston and is currently travelling up I-45 and will likely end up somewhere in Michigan before it's all said and done. Jeff's sister and her boyfriend fled Texas City on Thursday and came over to our house. They decided to stay there in Katy while we left for Lockhart. I would call them to see how they are and how the house is but we both forgot our phones when we left. I can send text messages via email, so I've been keeping in contact with Mom and David throughout the trip to make sure they are fine. Mom rode out the storm with Mama, and David rode out the storm at home. I don't remember Mendy's cell number or else I would text her too.

I have to say though, I think we picked a really nice place to go to. There's a crapload of bbq restaurants and steakhouses here in the area, and the hotel we are staying in is VERY nice!

I just wish I knew better about the house...I don't have flood insurance, and am surrounded by bayous on 3 sides. We'll know on Sunday, when we start to head home.

Dreadful July

So far, this is turning out to be a really bad month. I had to serve on a jury for over a week. Then I found out that my friend in Florida had a stroke after he had knee surgery...he is fine except that he cannot read or write anymore...his speech is getting better than it was.

Now, we are trying to schedule a board retreat and are having problems doing that too. UUGGHH!!

Historic Times

We have somoe pretty historic times ahead of us in the presidential election. Within the Democratic Party, the two candidates have been Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama...a woman and a black man. This is the first time that either of those groups has had a candidate come this far along in the primaries.

Hillary just lost the primaries, as Barack got more than the minimum 2,118 delegates to clinch the primary. It took them 6 months to figure out who the Democratic nominee was going to be. It was a very tightly contested battle.

The Republicans have had their man, John McCain, for quite some time now.

Birthdays...Anniversaries

I've decided that my birthdays from here on out will be called anniversaries. I'll be celebrating the anniversary of my 29th birthday. I have not been handling my 30's very well, and like the idea of celebrating my 29th birthday over again.

Jeff's birthday is 8 days before mine. He came home from work about a week before his birthday, and was all stressed out over some of the things going on at his work. I had bought him enough presents for him to open one every night from that point until his actual birthday, so I decided to start a new tradition with us. We would celebrate birthweek instead of birthday. His mood immediately changed after I mentioned the idea of birthweek. He really looked forward to getting off of work so he could come home and unwrap another present.

After his birthday, we began birthweek for me. He had bought enough presents for me to open one every night until my birthday. Several of the presents we got are going to be used on our trip to Las Vegas at the end of June. We are going to have so much fun in Vegas!!

It's Happening Again

Here we go again...Too much to do, not enough time to do it in. I'm getting just as tired typing this as I am reading it in my own blog. I have a ton to do for the band, between now and the Patriotic concert. I don't even want to think about next year yet. It's going to be worse with us hosting the ACB Convention.

I know it's taking a toll on Jeff as well. But he's stressing out about not being able to have the same days off as well. I hope that is the reasoning why he is starting to withdraw from me again. He made a comment about it the other night during an argument we had...the good thing is that the guy who works on his shift with him quit earlier this week, so as soon as they can get someone else hired to fill the guy's position, Jeff is going to move over to Fridays and Saturdays off. That will help him feel better. Until then though, Jeff is going to have some good overtime, because he's going to be working 6 days a week.

Once we get through the Patriotic concert, things will be good. We'll be going on vacation, and the overtime that Jeff's going to work will help in paying for the trip. Plus he has an extra paycheck coming in May anyway, so that can go towards the trip.

I'm ready for this vacation. I'm ready to spend some time with Jeff. We really have not had a whole lot of time to spend together since he started his job in January. Every once in a while, here and there, we've been able to see each other. One weekend we went to San Antonio, one Sunday we went to Brenham, and one Sunday we walked around Bear Creek Park. That is the extent of what we've done together since the new year.

Like I said, I noticed him withdrawing from me. We went out Monday evening after I got off of work (it was his day off) to do some shopping. He wanted to purchase some outfits for me, so we looked around while at Target, getting some other items. He ended up making a comment about Target not having a lot of options for fat people. That bothered me quite a lot that he said that, but I haven't said anything to him about it yet. We ended up getting into an argument about some other things that night as well, and I went to bed crying...I know he's stressed about not seeing me and everything, but he's made some comments lately that I don't appreciate. I hope it all passes once he gets on Fridays and Saturdays off.

date night

I have to admit, things with Jeff are going very well right now. We've been together almost nine months, and life just seems to get better every day with him.

Right now, our schedules are so different that we only get to see each other on Sundays. The last month however, I have been so busy on the weekends doing band stuff that I have not even been able to see him on Sunday. Next Sunday is going to change all that. The HACMA festival will be over the day before, so we are going to celebrate by going to the Melting Pot before band on Sunday, and he'll go with me to band practice afterwards.

He's been a real trooper in supporting me through the stuff I've had to deal with the last few weeks. I really do appreciate his cooperation!!

dream interpretation

Recently, I have had two dreams that really bothered me when I woke up. I wasn't, and still aren't, sure why I was having the dreams. But, I went to the dream interpretation website that I frequent when wanting to know these things. I was quite shocked to learn what the dreams meant.

Dream #1: Apparently I am learning about some aspect of my life that needs changing, and it will be an irreversible change in my life once it occurs. I have anxieties about performance or my abilities in an area. I have repressed aggression or anger at myself, and have unrealized and unfulfilled goals.

Dream #2: I'm fearing change, and am ambivilant to seizing an opportunity. I feel unready, unworthy, or unsupported in my current circumstances. I am overwhelmed or conflicted with decisions about my future. I feel time is running out and that I do not have time to accomplish all the things I want (hello - ACB convention??).

Time Off. Really?

I am going to have the next two weeks off of band. Next week is Spring Break, so the school is closed. The week after that is Easter. That doesn't mean that I don't have a lot to do though. I've still a ton of stuff to do, but I'm confident about getting it done. I've already made my to-do list. Between meeting Ed for a tour of the Centrum for the HACMF, gathering the last of the brochures for the ACB Convention goodie bags, mailing off the scores to the past music directors, begin designing the program to the Anniversary Concert, organizing the concert programs from the last concert, and meeting Bob for lunch, I'm busy!

Jeff and I will be going to Brenham on Sunday since I don't have band. It'll be a nice get-away for a change.

Concert time

It's concert time again. We're having our annual spring concert tomorrow, but this time we are having it at Katy High School's Performing Arts Center. This is going to be our highest attended concert to date. I'm excited, but also very stressed out about it...I'm just ready to see how it will all come together.

Time to get out of town

I've got to do something this weekend. The burn out is just getting too much for me. I thought that by taking the week off last week I would be better, but I'm not. It seems to be getting worse. Stephen called me on the way home this evening to check in on me, and I broke down crying. I just can't take any more of this. I haven't been to Galveston since Jeff and I started dating. Saturday, I have a HACMA board meeting in the morning, then I am heading out from there. I'm either going to go to Galveston or I am going to go over to the Byzantine Fresco Chapel and metitate. I might do both...I don't know yet. All I know is that I have to do something.

Burn Out

I'm definitely experiencing burn out right now. I don't want to do anything, go anywhere, or talk to anyone. Ever since the board meeting a couple of weeks ago, I haven't wanted to do anything for the band. Absolutely nothing. I feel like people are taking me for granted and then I get blamed for crap when it doesn't go their way. I've got a long list of things to do: newsletter for the band, newsletter for the homeowners association, begin designing the concert program, update the HACMA website, begin marketing the concert. Maybe I can start on it this afternoon. I have to meet Stephen for lunch to pass off the tickets for this concert. I won't be at rehearsal this weekend because I'm having family come in. It might do me good to miss a week anyway.

I'm tired

I'm tired. I'm tired of having to deal with certain things and certain people. It's really wearing me out. It's a good thing I actually have a head cold today...I can hide the fact that I'm upset and have been crying most of the day.

One of the board members quit last night at the board meeting. He made a real nasty scene when leaving too. I'm not apologizing for what I did...I nominated someone else for the vice president position. The guy told me that he wanted to step down and I took him for his word. I can't help it if I have told him multiple times that the nominating committee chair and the vice president position go hand in hand. It states that in the bylaws of the band. He later said that he just wanted to step off the nominating committee because he didn't like the fact that one of the people he wanted on the board didn't get on. The person he wanted on has to serve on a committee first. The board decided some time ago that all potential board members need to serve on a committee first. This nominee hasn't served on a committee at all yet. So, he was pissed at that and dropped the board.

Why don't the board members actually read the bylaws? He'd still be on the board had he read it, and also listened when I told him that the vp position was tied to the nominating committee!

I'm tired of the people who quit telling the board that I always get my way. I don't always get my way. I emailed the guy this morning and gave him examples of when I did not get my way. Maybe, just maybe, if these people who are making accusations actually did some work on the board, then they wouldn't feel that I always got my way.

I started thinking of quitting the board today. I guess I sent signals to Stephen and he sent me an email out of the blue saying not to quit, that 99% of the band is behind me, that most of the band knows and appreciates what I do, and not to quit. It helped, and made me feel some better. But, I'm still feeling really crappy about it. Jeff even helped, making me feel better too.

More than you can handle

I've learned that we won't be given more than we can handle...although we can come awfully close to the edge. Jeff quit his job at Atlantic the week of Thanksgiving. He couldn't handle working for those guys anymore, and quit. He just started a new job yesterday. It took him a month and a half to find a new job. We just started sinking when he got the job. We still aren't out of the woods yet, since it's going to be 3 weeks before he gets a full paycheck. But things are on the upturn now. And it looks like by my birthday, I'll be able to get a new vehicle, since I am almost through paying off my credit cards. I should have those paid off in April. Woo hoo!