because work is the only thing i know

so, i am feeling very much not at all sane right now.  people who come into the store to return things are driving me up the wall even if it is only by the sheer numbers of them coming in.  and some of their requests...aiee!  and also, i really wish that people would not tell me their personal problems like the lady who was returning several hundred dollars of merchandise because her husband was ready to divorce her because of money issues.  for god's sakes, i had to try about six or seven credit cards that she owned to see if the stuff was on them, since she threw away her receipts since she didn't want her husband to know how much she spent.  wouldn't he find out anyway once the statement came in?  i do not understand.

i also keep hurting myself on things like the swift-tagger, in the drawers, on the shelf...that last one was this morning, and it was one of those shelves that is not actually attached but rests on those metal things, and the whole thing came down and was sitting on my head.  in the process, i lost my glasses and so i was trying not to move so i wouldn't break them, but i also was trying to prevent a huge tub of holds from crashing onto the floor.  that one was actually pretty amusing.

i am mostly just grouchy because i know that i have four more weeks of this.  and just broke the third wine glass in a week and a half.  mostly i don't feel bad about breaking them, because, ian, i told you not to leave them in my room!  i just hate having to clean up the mess.

also, i feel grouchy because i just plain feel stupid.  it's a combination of this dark dreariness that makes me sleepy all day long no matter what, and the fact that i just looked and i have read only four books the entire month of october.  and they were all young adult books, so it wasn't like i was re-reading jonathan strange and mr. norrell four times.  and this grogginess and bad temper are making things like a desire to work on any grad school applications completely dissipate.

countdown to christmas: 25 days.

the christmas countdown begins

last week in the lull before the christmas rush, my internet was not working.  and now, it works, and i will be at work for always and FOREVER.  and people are totally being bitchy too, that started at about 6:05 am on friday while i was in guest service watching all the idiots run into the store.  *sigh*  four weeks until christmas.

(although in my little home christmas is making me happy, with my tree and bob & betty all decked out, it's just the whole consumer thing that's getting me down in a big way.)

it's begun, the really fun part of working retail.  and even guest service makes me want to cry.  actually, it's defintely worse than cashiering.  yes, definitely worse...

friends don't waste wine when there's words to sell

OH. MY. GOD.

today was quite possibly the most drama filled day yet i have worked.  it was all around pretty shitty the way that people acted, and it wasn't even directly at me.  the first one was this woman whose recipt had expired and her two steamers (not vacuums) didn't work.  they were covered under warranty, but by the manucfacturer and not the store.  so she tried to get a refund from the store which we can't do because she had waited too long and so she would only be able to exchange them which i guess she didn't want to do.  nobody at all can override that particular function and the only thing we could do is give her the manufactuer's number which she said she already called and it would cost her $35 to send each of the two things in.  which she would get back, according to chelsea.  anyway, long story i know and the conclusion is that she stormed out, said she will never shop there again (which we get a lot) and left her two things there on the counter.

so then, less than ten minutes before the store closed this guy came in with a 32' plasma tv he had bought earlier in the day for $1500.  chelsea had just said that he might bring it back and that if he did we had to make sure to apply the 15% restocking fee since there was nothing wrong with it.  so anyway, before i did anything i told him that and he got all mad saying it was our fault because he thought it was hdtv capable but it wasn't, just hdtv ready (which it said RIGHT ON THE BOX THAT HE DIDN'T READ FOR HIS $1500 TV) and anyway.  so i called chelsea over who said the same thing, blah blah blah, and i guess he must have been rude while i was helping a customer, because then i heard her tell him off and say she was a manager and he needs to show her some respect and she would call someone else over, and he needed to show her respect too, and i was just like "haha!" in my head because i thought that was fabulous.  *takes a breath*  but then i started closing lanes, so i missed the end of all that,  i just couldn't believe it.  he looked like a college student buying this.  and he didn't read the box because we are supposedly completely knowledgeable of all the products we sell. 

right.

fucker.

so that was that, and i came home and accidently set off the smoke detector because someone hadn't cleaned out the toaster oven.  but i am a little better now.  ian left some reno 911 over here and even though i have seen most of these, they are improving my mood.

target related stories.

a) i had photo lab training today, and it was fun.  with a capital "f".  HOORAY FOR THAT!

b) last night i dreamed about target.  specifically, people i work with.  there's this one dude who sucks at guest service and all, and he's not very bright, and anyway, it is kind of pissing some people off and all.  but i had a dream that some people were trying to sign a petition so he wouldn't get fired.  and i refused to sign it.  strange dream.  i told jessica i dreamed about work and she laughed, and said that she dreams about it too, sometimes.

news. and stuff.

tomorrow i get to go in to train for photo lab.  this is super exciting.  and fun.  and i will get to hang out with jess and owen sometimes at work then.

i bought another cactus.  i named it el jimador.  because it is a cactus and all, but also because that is what derek was drinking the night that vera wang I died and i was drinking when i cried about it.

yay!  now tex, vera wang II, and bob and betty have a new friend!

i am disinclined to acquiesce to your request

if brenda is going to ignore the three, yes that's THREE availability forms i have filled out in the last two months, she should just say that to me.  and then i could say "fuck you, bitch!" except not really because i'm a huge wuss when it comes to telling people off.  which is why i'm still going in on days i say i can't work and why i'm still getting scheduled for them.  because apparantly she likes walking all over people.  and apparantly i am letting her.  so i work on sunday, when i vehemently am opposed to working on the DAY OF REST.  (being a pk you have to expect certain eventualities in me, including a resistance to work on sunday.)

last night i went to ian's party.  and got really drunk.  and called laura like five hundred times.  and then today i went to a wine tasting at hy-vee with him, melody and anna.  i tried about a dozen various wines, almost all of them were either rieslings or sparkling wines. it was pretty fabulous, but it was really crowded and hot.  i also got to eat fondue and jalapeno poppers.  this was all on top of two bowls of chili that i had just made and consumed.  nobody ever said i was starving to death.

in closing, a photograph of melody in my car after we went outside at hy-vee.  we were sitting outside, then it suddenly started to pour. 

new sky photos

i know, it's werd.

i love the smell of freshly printed paper.

autumn leaves

at least my sister loves me.

tonight i had my audition at kaplan.  not great, but better than i thought it would go.  we'll see within the next week.

afterwards, i saw amy tan speak at the englert.  very enjoyable, and i'm sure it would have been more so was i not so hungry.

now i'm eating shells and cheese that i bought iin a big economy-size box.  it came with a nice little target bowl.  aw.

next project: my portfolio.  yikes.

procrastinating

here is how i feel about my day: freakin' sweet!

my parents came and took me out to dinner, my internet has not shut down a million times, and kate came bringing the new lemony snicket, alias seasons 1, 3 and 4, and wet hot american summer.

and i'm gonna drink some wine!

hello, internets!

i love using "internets".  i love that midwestgrrl says it all the time.

i am back!  carey fixed my computer for me so now i can be online.  aim!  oh, how i missed you and my 200 away messages!  you are my friend!

everyone needs to watch freddie tonight (wednesday).  our pal cecil gooch will be making an appearance.  hooray!  that reminds me that i watched that hilary duff movie.  i suffered through her terrbile and distracting hair just to see a few minutes of cecil.  and i will eternally be made fun of by my co-workers for it.