We went in to see Mama today and the cancer specialist came to see us. The news is not good. She does have cancer in her liver. He thinks it started somewhere else and spread to her liver. Liver cancer is not curable. Treatment can only prolong her life.
I researched liver cancer last week when they first saw the mass, so in some ways I was prepared for this, but I was not prepared to hear this as the final diagnosis. I kept hoping something would turn up somewhere else as the root of the problem, but I wasn't very hopeful. Now, we don't know what we're going to do. We might move her to a hospital in our home state for treatment so we can be near our family. They released her from the hospital today. We go back to hear further information on Tuesday.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Update.
Life has been chaos these last few days. We had the bad news late Wednesday night and Mama was admitted into the hospital. My aunts and uncle began making plans to drive up to stay the weekend with us. My sister (and I) stayed up most of Wednesday night crying so I didn't get but about an hour of sleep. Thursday afternoon, we left the hospital to get the house ready for company and let Princess out. The water had been turned off so they could work on a fire hydrant. We cleaned the best we could with no water, then went back to the hospital. Past ten o'clock that night, we came home and opened the door to the sound of running water. Apparently, we left a faucet on in the upstairs bathroom while the water was off. When the water came back on......you can guess the rest. The sink overflowed and flooded the bathroom out into the hallway upstairs and also began to pour through the ceiling. We had a waterfall in our dining room. The extra mattress we had set up in the dining room was absolutely saturated, as was the carpet in two rooms. And I mean saturated. After four jobs with a wet-vac, it's still not completely dry. The ceiling is covered in water damage and the dining room light fixture has gone dead. And the upstairs carpet is ruined, too. So, we had a mad rush to get up the water the best we could, wash all the towels, wash dishes, and make other sleeping arrangements for our visitors. At nearly midnight, my dad went upstairs to sleep, completely worn out and exhausted and I sat up with my sister waiting for my aunts to get here. We spent another sleepless night. I think I only got two hours of sleep. Then we went back to the hospital.
It's hard to remember step-by-step how everything has happened now. The first liver biopsy showed nothing abnormal, so they were going to do a mammogram and colonoscopy, but not rule out problems with her liver. They did a more detailed CT scan, which showed it was not one large mass in her liver, but a cluster of small masses and her lymph nodes between her heart and lungs are enlarged. So, we were hopeful that it wasn't as bad as it sounded at first. All our company was gone by Sunday morning and I spent the day running errands. Today, I worked 8-430. My managers are very understanding that I need to take time off, but I needed to work a few hours this week. When I went to the hospital tonight, they still had not done the mammogram and now seem more concerned about doing a colonoscopy. Mama said the cancer specialist had come around and told her he wanted another liver biopsy and that all the specialist on her case were just unsure of what the source of the problem is. But he left us with the impression that it is some sort of cancer. They just can't pinpoint where it is.
So, that's where we are tonight. I feel emotionally and physically drained. Among the minor catastrophes that also occurred this weekend, I got pulled over and given a warning ticket for forgetting to turn my headlights on and Princess stepped on Gabrielle's brand new boots with dirty feet and stained them. I know that in the light of everything else that is going on things like that are trivial, but in the moment, they are the straws that almost break me. And those are only two of the minor aggravations. We are trying in between hospital visits to get someone out here to rip up the carpet before it begins to mold from all that water, but that is easier said than done. We're dealing the best we can, hoping and praying for the best, but at the same time, I'm so exhausted I can hardly think straight. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
It's hard to remember step-by-step how everything has happened now. The first liver biopsy showed nothing abnormal, so they were going to do a mammogram and colonoscopy, but not rule out problems with her liver. They did a more detailed CT scan, which showed it was not one large mass in her liver, but a cluster of small masses and her lymph nodes between her heart and lungs are enlarged. So, we were hopeful that it wasn't as bad as it sounded at first. All our company was gone by Sunday morning and I spent the day running errands. Today, I worked 8-430. My managers are very understanding that I need to take time off, but I needed to work a few hours this week. When I went to the hospital tonight, they still had not done the mammogram and now seem more concerned about doing a colonoscopy. Mama said the cancer specialist had come around and told her he wanted another liver biopsy and that all the specialist on her case were just unsure of what the source of the problem is. But he left us with the impression that it is some sort of cancer. They just can't pinpoint where it is.
So, that's where we are tonight. I feel emotionally and physically drained. Among the minor catastrophes that also occurred this weekend, I got pulled over and given a warning ticket for forgetting to turn my headlights on and Princess stepped on Gabrielle's brand new boots with dirty feet and stained them. I know that in the light of everything else that is going on things like that are trivial, but in the moment, they are the straws that almost break me. And those are only two of the minor aggravations. We are trying in between hospital visits to get someone out here to rip up the carpet before it begins to mold from all that water, but that is easier said than done. We're dealing the best we can, hoping and praying for the best, but at the same time, I'm so exhausted I can hardly think straight. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Prayer Request
My mom has been sick for several months now. She is a diabetic, so her doctor kept adjusting her medicine and attributing her illness to that, but she has steadily gotten worse over the last year. Last night, she was hurting in her side so bad that we took her to the emergency room. A CT scan showed a mass on her liver and spots on her lungs that could be cancer. We won't know anything for sure until Monday, I think. They still have tests to do. Needless to say, we are shocked and worried. Prayers would be so much appreciated.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Cashiering at Christmas, Part 4
There is a lot more I could tell -- a LOT more-- but I'm determined to end this series with a post about the nice customers that came through my line. Most people weren't as too terribly bad. But there were some who were really nice.
I was in the middle of a frantically busy work day with lines that never went away. This guy came through the line. As I was ringing him up, he was very polite, asked very nicely if he could have a box and a gift receipt, and I could tell he really felt sorry for me because I was working so hard. He actually apologised for asking me to go through the extra trouble to hand him a box and thanked me for ringing him up.
One morning before we got busy, this couple was in the store and the woman began to talk to me. she mentioned that the store wasn't busy and said laughing that I knew it would be before long. She actually turned around and thanked me for all the work we cashiers did over the holidays and told me how much she appreciated it.
I was dead-on-my-feet tired on day and this sweet little old lady came through my line. She was so nice and so pleasant and gave me a tract from her church when she was leaving.
A young girl came through my line, was very nice, and even though I had never met her before, asked if there was anything she could pray for me for.
When the hours are long and the work is hard, people like that really stand out brighten up your day. So thank you to all the customers who took the time this holiday season to show a little patience and friendliness to your overworked and exhausted cashiers. :)
I was in the middle of a frantically busy work day with lines that never went away. This guy came through the line. As I was ringing him up, he was very polite, asked very nicely if he could have a box and a gift receipt, and I could tell he really felt sorry for me because I was working so hard. He actually apologised for asking me to go through the extra trouble to hand him a box and thanked me for ringing him up.
One morning before we got busy, this couple was in the store and the woman began to talk to me. she mentioned that the store wasn't busy and said laughing that I knew it would be before long. She actually turned around and thanked me for all the work we cashiers did over the holidays and told me how much she appreciated it.
I was dead-on-my-feet tired on day and this sweet little old lady came through my line. She was so nice and so pleasant and gave me a tract from her church when she was leaving.
A young girl came through my line, was very nice, and even though I had never met her before, asked if there was anything she could pray for me for.
When the hours are long and the work is hard, people like that really stand out brighten up your day. So thank you to all the customers who took the time this holiday season to show a little patience and friendliness to your overworked and exhausted cashiers. :)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Cashiering at Christmas, Part 3 -- The Boxes
Of the top three most annoying things about being a cashier at Christmas, the demand for boxes is definitely one of them. Everybody wanted a box for every single thing they purchased. To start the problems off, we didn't get any boxes until Black Friday. To add to the problems, the manager told us that we had received a very limited number of boxes this year. Customers could only get one box for each item they purchased and they could not bring in old receipts and ask for boxes for previous purchases.
Before the boxes arrived, everybody thought I was a liar when I told them we had no boxes. Many of them were determined to intimidate me into giving them a box. Well, all the whining, complaining, and yelling in the world couldn't make boxes appear when there weren't any, so they went away angry and empty-handed, declaring that they would bring their receipts back and get their boxes.
Well, Black Friday brought out the boxes -- and the problems. We only had three sizes of boxes, shirt boxes, boxes a little bit larger, and small boxes. One of my first customers on Black Friday bought a lot of items and stated in a very bossy tone of voice that she wanted 20 boxes for them. The person who was bagging for me was carrying on a very friendly conversation with her and gave her all the boxes left in my package, which was already more than 20. Then the customer pulled out a receipt from the week before and wanted 20 more boxes. I said very nicely that we could not give boxes away for previous purchases. She threw a fit, not just a typical fit but rude. She had spent $400 at this store and she was going to get all the boxes she wanted and she didn't want to hear any lip about it. While she was thus griping, my bagger went around behind me, opened a new package of boxes, and pulled out an armload to give that customer. The customer was still going on and on that this was the worst customer service she had ever seen, and my bagger started agreeing with her and saying that she deserved all the boxes she wanted because she had spent so much money. I was furious. For one thing, I had called the manger over to ask if she could have the boxes, and he said she could, even though he didn't realize just how many she was getting away with. So, I had been doing what I was told and called a manager to ask if she could get her way, not giving bad customer service. For another thing, the person bagging for me was an employee of the store who knew what the rules were. She was not supposed to go behind my back and hand out that many boxes or take the customers side against me. In the end, the customer got away with around 60 boxes.
Another incident that stands out to me (out of many) was the older lady with the boxes. First she wanted 10 boxes. She didn't need 10 to go with her purchase, but I was battle-weary, so I just handed her 10 of the larger boxes. She said, "Honey! I don't need boxes that big! Don't you have any smaller ones?" I had to search the other registers until I found ten shirt boxes. I very nicely handed them to her, expecting to take the large boxes back. She scooped up both the shirt boxes and the large boxes and scurried away as fast as she could go.
Then there were the people who didn't understand why we didn't have boxes for trench coats, for frying pans, for picture frames. Maybe I'm tacky, but I've never put a picture frame in a box. It comes in a box. I wrap it as is. Then the people who bought various odds and ends that didn't even need a box along with a few shirts. How many boxes do you need? 20. And they wondered why we ran out of boxes a week before Christmas.
Before the boxes arrived, everybody thought I was a liar when I told them we had no boxes. Many of them were determined to intimidate me into giving them a box. Well, all the whining, complaining, and yelling in the world couldn't make boxes appear when there weren't any, so they went away angry and empty-handed, declaring that they would bring their receipts back and get their boxes.
Well, Black Friday brought out the boxes -- and the problems. We only had three sizes of boxes, shirt boxes, boxes a little bit larger, and small boxes. One of my first customers on Black Friday bought a lot of items and stated in a very bossy tone of voice that she wanted 20 boxes for them. The person who was bagging for me was carrying on a very friendly conversation with her and gave her all the boxes left in my package, which was already more than 20. Then the customer pulled out a receipt from the week before and wanted 20 more boxes. I said very nicely that we could not give boxes away for previous purchases. She threw a fit, not just a typical fit but rude. She had spent $400 at this store and she was going to get all the boxes she wanted and she didn't want to hear any lip about it. While she was thus griping, my bagger went around behind me, opened a new package of boxes, and pulled out an armload to give that customer. The customer was still going on and on that this was the worst customer service she had ever seen, and my bagger started agreeing with her and saying that she deserved all the boxes she wanted because she had spent so much money. I was furious. For one thing, I had called the manger over to ask if she could have the boxes, and he said she could, even though he didn't realize just how many she was getting away with. So, I had been doing what I was told and called a manager to ask if she could get her way, not giving bad customer service. For another thing, the person bagging for me was an employee of the store who knew what the rules were. She was not supposed to go behind my back and hand out that many boxes or take the customers side against me. In the end, the customer got away with around 60 boxes.
Another incident that stands out to me (out of many) was the older lady with the boxes. First she wanted 10 boxes. She didn't need 10 to go with her purchase, but I was battle-weary, so I just handed her 10 of the larger boxes. She said, "Honey! I don't need boxes that big! Don't you have any smaller ones?" I had to search the other registers until I found ten shirt boxes. I very nicely handed them to her, expecting to take the large boxes back. She scooped up both the shirt boxes and the large boxes and scurried away as fast as she could go.
Then there were the people who didn't understand why we didn't have boxes for trench coats, for frying pans, for picture frames. Maybe I'm tacky, but I've never put a picture frame in a box. It comes in a box. I wrap it as is. Then the people who bought various odds and ends that didn't even need a box along with a few shirts. How many boxes do you need? 20. And they wondered why we ran out of boxes a week before Christmas.
It is COLD outside
The weather around here has been cold. Really cold. Temperatures during the day have been in the teens and when I went to work a few mornings ago, the thermometer said 6 degrees. We haven't had a lot of snow, though, just a few snow showers that leave about an inch of snow on the ground. Anyway, today is one of those days when I just want to bake cookies and stay inside all day. Maybe watch an old movie or read a book. Unfortunately, I have school work to catch up on and I have to work from this afternoon till late tonight.
Being tennis fans, we've begun to tune into the first rounds of the Australian Open. It is so strange to think that while it's too cold here to stir outdoors without four layers of clothing, on the other side of the world the temperatures are so hot that the tennis players can hardly bear it. I'm ready for sunshine and summertime on this side of the globe.
Being tennis fans, we've begun to tune into the first rounds of the Australian Open. It is so strange to think that while it's too cold here to stir outdoors without four layers of clothing, on the other side of the world the temperatures are so hot that the tennis players can hardly bear it. I'm ready for sunshine and summertime on this side of the globe.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A Few Christmas Photos....
At first she wasn't sure about her new pillow. She's almost too big for it.
Me and my Aunt Sherry
Gabrielle and Kati
She got used to it!
Cashiering at Christmas, part 2 -- The Grouchy Customers
With customers, I always have my moments. There are some who, with their OCD bagging obsessions (all the shirts in one bag, all the pants in another, all folded perfectly) leave me ready to take their bags to the car for them if it will get them out of the store. There are the customers who question every single price. And then there are these customers:
I'm standing at my register and here comes this woman with a Hanna Montana guitar and a big toy truck. She's totally excited.
Customer: "I can't believe a found a Hanna Montana guitar! I've looked everywhere for a Hanna Montana guitar! I even looked at your other store this morning and they didn't have one, but I finally found one!"
Me: (in my very best promote-our-store voice) "Well, I'm so glad you were able to find one here! People have been able to find a lot of hard-to-find toys here!"
I rang up her truck, put it in our largest bag and rang up the guitar. Including the box it was in, it was the size of a regular guitar. Anyway, I gave her the total. She handed me a ToysRus card. Uh....this ain't ToysRus.
Me: That's your ToysRus card.
Customer: I know. (trying to hand it to me).
Me: We don't take ToysRus cards.
Customer: Yes, you do! This isn't a credit card, it's a points card! Everywhere I buy toys, I have them scan this card, and I earn points. I did it at your other store just this morning.
Now I'd never seen this before and knew there was nowhere on our computer for other stores' points programs, but I called the manager. He had never heard of it either, said the computer wouldn't take it and we couldn't do it. I informed the customer of this and she went ballistic.
Customer: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TAKE IT? That's stupid, it's just stupid! They took it at your other store just this morning!!!"
Me: (I can imagine the other store scanned it just to pacify her, even though the computer would spit the numbers back out so I say calmly) We can't take it.
Customer: Well, that's just STUPID!! (stuffing her card back into her purse with a gusto and tossing her head as she slides a real credit card, still muttering and griping. Then she turns on me again.) Well don't you have a BAG for this guitar?!?!?
Me: (getting pretty annoyed) No, I don't have a bag big enough for it.
Customer: YOU DON'T HAVE A BAG BIG ENOUGH FOR IT!! IN THIS WHOLE STORE THERE'S NOT A BAG BIG ENOUGH FOR IT?? (tossing her head with her hands on her hips)
Me: No. The biggest bag I have is the one this truck is in.
Customer: Well, it's RAINING outside!!
Me: (Well, I can't stop the rain, is what I'm thinking, but I say firmly) I don't have a bag big enough.
She really thought she was going to make me come up with a bag. When she saw that I wasn't going to, she was still mad, but she gave up.
Customer: Well, give me one of those to put over half of it then. That way at least HALF of it can stay dry. (That was supposed to be a fatal stab to make me feel guilty)
Me: (I put the bag over half over it for her-- and the one bag didn't even cover half of that big box. I would have put one over the other half, but she started to snatch away, so I asked very nicely) Would you like me to put a bag over the other half?
Customer: (all but screaming) No, I wouldn't!! FORGET IT!! JUST FORGET IT!!
She snatched up her track and her Hanna Montana guitar, and away she flounced.
I'm standing at my register and here comes this woman with a Hanna Montana guitar and a big toy truck. She's totally excited.
Customer: "I can't believe a found a Hanna Montana guitar! I've looked everywhere for a Hanna Montana guitar! I even looked at your other store this morning and they didn't have one, but I finally found one!"
Me: (in my very best promote-our-store voice) "Well, I'm so glad you were able to find one here! People have been able to find a lot of hard-to-find toys here!"
I rang up her truck, put it in our largest bag and rang up the guitar. Including the box it was in, it was the size of a regular guitar. Anyway, I gave her the total. She handed me a ToysRus card. Uh....this ain't ToysRus.
Me: That's your ToysRus card.
Customer: I know. (trying to hand it to me).
Me: We don't take ToysRus cards.
Customer: Yes, you do! This isn't a credit card, it's a points card! Everywhere I buy toys, I have them scan this card, and I earn points. I did it at your other store just this morning.
Now I'd never seen this before and knew there was nowhere on our computer for other stores' points programs, but I called the manager. He had never heard of it either, said the computer wouldn't take it and we couldn't do it. I informed the customer of this and she went ballistic.
Customer: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TAKE IT? That's stupid, it's just stupid! They took it at your other store just this morning!!!"
Me: (I can imagine the other store scanned it just to pacify her, even though the computer would spit the numbers back out so I say calmly) We can't take it.
Customer: Well, that's just STUPID!! (stuffing her card back into her purse with a gusto and tossing her head as she slides a real credit card, still muttering and griping. Then she turns on me again.) Well don't you have a BAG for this guitar?!?!?
Me: (getting pretty annoyed) No, I don't have a bag big enough for it.
Customer: YOU DON'T HAVE A BAG BIG ENOUGH FOR IT!! IN THIS WHOLE STORE THERE'S NOT A BAG BIG ENOUGH FOR IT?? (tossing her head with her hands on her hips)
Me: No. The biggest bag I have is the one this truck is in.
Customer: Well, it's RAINING outside!!
Me: (Well, I can't stop the rain, is what I'm thinking, but I say firmly) I don't have a bag big enough.
She really thought she was going to make me come up with a bag. When she saw that I wasn't going to, she was still mad, but she gave up.
Customer: Well, give me one of those to put over half of it then. That way at least HALF of it can stay dry. (That was supposed to be a fatal stab to make me feel guilty)
Me: (I put the bag over half over it for her-- and the one bag didn't even cover half of that big box. I would have put one over the other half, but she started to snatch away, so I asked very nicely) Would you like me to put a bag over the other half?
Customer: (all but screaming) No, I wouldn't!! FORGET IT!! JUST FORGET IT!!
She snatched up her track and her Hanna Montana guitar, and away she flounced.
This is no exaggeration, within fifteen minutes, I had another experience. My line had backed up, so I called for additional cashiers. I was in the middle of bagging up a huge order for one customer, and the next customer was already piling an equally huge order up on the counter. While I'm in the middle of trying to shove a blanket in our not-large-enough bags to pacify this customer, I see a women holding a stuffed monkey shove around the customer who's piling her order on the counter. I look at her, the customer looks at her, and she screams, "ALL I HAVE IS A MONKEY AND I'M GOING NEXT!!"
My thought was "BREAK!! I NEED A BREAK!!"
Friday, January 9, 2009
Cashiering at Christmas, part 1
Now that Christmas is over, the decorations are down, and life has regained its normalcy, I actually feel like posting about some of my retail holiday experiences. Let me just say first of all, as I think I have before, that working retail during the holidays totally nixes your Christmas spirit. I knew I was going to be tired, overworked, and irritated by the multitudes of customers that would come through my line everyday, but I never thought I would come to the place where I was counting down till the day AFTER Christmas.
Well, my first venture into being a Christmas cashier began in September. Yes, September. Here, at our friendly, happy-to-help-you department store, the Christmas trees went up in the beginning weeks of September. I was glad to see them. The were covered in beautiful ornaments, sparkling with lights, and brought a feeling of wonderland to the store. That was, until every customer began to gripe to me about them. Why were they up this early? Were we just trying to get them to buy more by shoving Christmas down their throats? Oh yeah.
It was really funny to feel the crescendo of holiday shopping. It really started in September, when all the organized, will-do can-do people marched into the store list in hand, loaded down a double buggy, and crossed off items as I rang them up. Every super Saturday sale was getting busier and busier. Every cart that came through had more and more in it.
In October, the reasonably early shoppers came out. They were just beginning, had no real plan and demanded gift boxes for every item they purchased, from toe socks to trench coats. Uh... we have no boxes. YOU HAVE NO BOXES??? What do you mean you have no boxes? You had boxes last year! (These people were really determined that I was keeping boxes from them out of pure spite.) We won't get boxes until Black Friday. Well, can I bring my receipt back and ask for boxes then? I don't know, but you can try. Well, what am I supposed to wrap ALL these presents in? My thoughts were that they could go to Walmart or any store of their preference and buy a package of boxes, but of course I couldn't say that.
November brought out the crazies. You know, like crazy basketball fans during March Madness, these were the crazy shoppers, glassy-eyed and dangerous. Every American citizen should be obligated to work retail during November and December just once. It should be the initiation into working adulthood or something. Maybe if everyone had worked retail once, they wouldn't make such spectacles of themselves as a customer. I can't count the tantrums over those miserable gift boxes, (which did not appear until Black Friday), the slick tricks with the coupons, the whining and the complaining that went on and on forever. And I was working 40 hour weeks, never less than five days straight.
December the pace began frantically and actually began to dwindle some. Or maybe it just felt that way to me because I didn't have to work any evenings. The biggest change was that people went from whining and griping to just plain mean. Now I had line jumpers, more tantrum-throwers and the same old sad song over the boxes because we ran out. For real people! Go buy yourself a gift bag or package of boxes! Nowhere is it written that this store is obligated to give you a free box because you purchased a present here. The week Christmas was actually not quite so busy. I guess most people had finished. And 75% of the customers those last three days were men running in at the last minute to buy a giftcard for their wives, mothers, and other female relations they'd forgotten until now.
When that clock struck 4:30 on December 24, I was out the door. And for the first time since the trees went up in September, I felt the Christmas spirit. I sang to the radio on my way home and was excited at the thought of presents the next day. That was the first time I had given them a thought, I'd been so busy ringing up everybody else's. I can honestly say that being a Christmas cashier has changed my outlook on the retail world.
Well, my first venture into being a Christmas cashier began in September. Yes, September. Here, at our friendly, happy-to-help-you department store, the Christmas trees went up in the beginning weeks of September. I was glad to see them. The were covered in beautiful ornaments, sparkling with lights, and brought a feeling of wonderland to the store. That was, until every customer began to gripe to me about them. Why were they up this early? Were we just trying to get them to buy more by shoving Christmas down their throats? Oh yeah.
It was really funny to feel the crescendo of holiday shopping. It really started in September, when all the organized, will-do can-do people marched into the store list in hand, loaded down a double buggy, and crossed off items as I rang them up. Every super Saturday sale was getting busier and busier. Every cart that came through had more and more in it.
In October, the reasonably early shoppers came out. They were just beginning, had no real plan and demanded gift boxes for every item they purchased, from toe socks to trench coats. Uh... we have no boxes. YOU HAVE NO BOXES??? What do you mean you have no boxes? You had boxes last year! (These people were really determined that I was keeping boxes from them out of pure spite.) We won't get boxes until Black Friday. Well, can I bring my receipt back and ask for boxes then? I don't know, but you can try. Well, what am I supposed to wrap ALL these presents in? My thoughts were that they could go to Walmart or any store of their preference and buy a package of boxes, but of course I couldn't say that.
November brought out the crazies. You know, like crazy basketball fans during March Madness, these were the crazy shoppers, glassy-eyed and dangerous. Every American citizen should be obligated to work retail during November and December just once. It should be the initiation into working adulthood or something. Maybe if everyone had worked retail once, they wouldn't make such spectacles of themselves as a customer. I can't count the tantrums over those miserable gift boxes, (which did not appear until Black Friday), the slick tricks with the coupons, the whining and the complaining that went on and on forever. And I was working 40 hour weeks, never less than five days straight.
December the pace began frantically and actually began to dwindle some. Or maybe it just felt that way to me because I didn't have to work any evenings. The biggest change was that people went from whining and griping to just plain mean. Now I had line jumpers, more tantrum-throwers and the same old sad song over the boxes because we ran out. For real people! Go buy yourself a gift bag or package of boxes! Nowhere is it written that this store is obligated to give you a free box because you purchased a present here. The week Christmas was actually not quite so busy. I guess most people had finished. And 75% of the customers those last three days were men running in at the last minute to buy a giftcard for their wives, mothers, and other female relations they'd forgotten until now.
When that clock struck 4:30 on December 24, I was out the door. And for the first time since the trees went up in September, I felt the Christmas spirit. I sang to the radio on my way home and was excited at the thought of presents the next day. That was the first time I had given them a thought, I'd been so busy ringing up everybody else's. I can honestly say that being a Christmas cashier has changed my outlook on the retail world.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Back Home Again!
Happy New Year everyone! I started the new year with vacation, so that put me in a good mood. :) We had a good time back home. I was able to spend time with my family and even went out with my friends a few times. It was great to just relax -- no alarm clocks, no time clocks, no customers, no managers, no schedules, no nothing except what I wanted to do. After October, November, and December, a week like that was bliss. But, by the time the week started to wind down, I was ready to get back to my own home, my own schedule, and, yes, my job.
Anyway, 2009 is here. There's going to be a lot going on this year. My cousin is getting married in April. I'm supposed to be an honorary bridesmaid. My sister graduates high school in May. My aunt will probably come to see us in August and will probably make one more vacation in August or September. My plans for this year are:
Anyway, 2009 is here. There's going to be a lot going on this year. My cousin is getting married in April. I'm supposed to be an honorary bridesmaid. My sister graduates high school in May. My aunt will probably come to see us in August and will probably make one more vacation in August or September. My plans for this year are:
- Finish my career diploma
- Eat healthier and get in shape. The holiday season has put me back on 2-3 soft drinks a day whereas before I was hardly drinking any.
- Make a vast amount of progress on my novel
- Take some more art lessons
- Organize everything pertaining to myself
- Make something. I haven't made a quilt, cross-stitch sampler or anything else this year.
So, those are the things I would like to do, the first two in particular. But I don't know what this year will hold. It could hold some pleasant surprises that throw my plan awry in a good way or trials that mess up my plans in a way I didn't want. But 2009 belongs to the Lord. He has a plan for it that will work out for good for me and all His ways are perfect. I hope that it will be a good year, full of blessings and happiness, not just for me but for everyone.
Pr 16:9 -
A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
Pr 19:21 -
There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the Lord's counsel--that will stand.
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