Kitties, kitties.....

I am not a cat person. Never have been. Kittens are cute, of course, but when it comes to pets, dogs are the only way to go. However, we now have not one, not two, but FIVE cats. We started with the gray cat, Scout. Then my sister added the orange cat, Pippin. Then Scout had kittens. So now, here we are, with one dog and five cats.

They sure are mighty cute though! The little boy is the sweetest little thing ever, while the two girl attempt to destroy everything around them.

And Pip is now a big, fat, furry, lazy cat. He demands that his bowl always stays full. He is a finicky eater -- no people food whatsoever and only one kind of cat food. We bought a different brand a few weeks ago. He put a piece his mouth, spit it out, and then fell backwards on the floor in a melodramatic swoon and whining. I kid you not. I have never seen a cat or any other animal behave like such a diva. In the picture above, he was "helping" me quilt, that is, making a bed out of the fabric before I tried to cut it.

And, since Pip brought up the subject, here are the fabrics for my new quilt. I wanted to try something with more modern colors, but I had an awful time deciding what pattern. For now, I have decided on doing an Ohio star pattern and alternating pink and green stars, with black and white throughout. It will be interesting to see how it turns out!

Things Change........

This year is almost half over?! I can't believe it. Time is flying by. I remember when I was little, feeling like every birthday and Christmas were light years apart. Now I take down the Christmas tree, blink, and it's time to put it back up again. When I was a kid, however, the passing time reflected little to me -- getting new toys, reading new books, and working through each school year with the sole object of getting to summer vacation as soon as possible.

Well, as time goes by, things change. I have thought I was an adult for a while now, but in the last two years I have really, really had to grow up. Mom wasn't here to help me anymore. Did I even realize that she was helping me?? I have had to take on more responsibilities than ever before in life, and, despite the assurances from my married friends that I really have no responsibilities at all, I assure them in return that, though single I have my fair share of responsibilities. In fact, I have even been known to argue with them that I have more -- after all, they get to split their burdens in half. There are two people to get the bills paid, take care of the kids, and make decisions with. I have to make the money to pay the bills, write the checks, and remember to pay them all by myself. I also have to make the decisions on my own -- whether to take on a payment, a project, apply for a job, what classes to take. And as the bigger decisions in life come up, such as whether I should move away from my family to pursue a job opportunity or continue school to complete a four-year degree, I have to decide which way to go by myself. My friends also tell me how good I've got it -- after all I am footloose and fancy-free to make my own decisions. Maybe they are right, but they haven't convinced me yet.

But, like I said, things change. I used to have different plans and ideas about my life. But, things have not fallen into place as I thought they would. And I have decided that the best things I can do for myself is to do the next thing that is in front of me. Not giving up or settling or forgetting my original ideas, but trusting that I am in the place in life I am for a reason. Not worrying and crying or feeling left out because of what I don't have, but to look at what opportunities I do have and what I can do right now. I can finish my degree, make new friends, take vacations -- and enjoy these things. Jim Eliot said, "Let not longing slay the appetite for living" and I am trying to live by that. I would prefer not make decisions by myself and pursuing a degree and career was never high on my priority list. But these are the opportunities that I have today, so instead of worrying about what I wish they were I am going to enjoy them. And you know, they are not as bad as I thought they would be!

Worry is an awful thing. And I am a worry wart. Worry causes sleepless nights, tension headaches, lockjaw, weight gain, and temper tantrums. I can't back that up with scientific evidence, but believe me, it can. And Jesus said, "Who by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" So instead of worrying about what I don't have, when I will get it, what decisions I should make, and what classes I should take, I am trying to change my outlook. And simply take life one day at a time, one decision at a time. It's not a big thing, but it does help. And I know that there is Someone always there to help me, who will never leave or forsake me. I know that He has a plan for me and I trust in that.

A Real Life Fairytale!

Anyone who is related to me, has worked with me, met me, or even just read this blog should not be surprised to know that I got up and watched the royal wedding live. I have been counting down ever since Prince William and Kate Middleton, now Princess Catherine, announced their engagement. I couldn't wait to see the dress. Now don't get me wrong -- the popular, sleeveless, modern wedding dresses can be beautiful, but I was just dying to see a true princess dress with lace and sleeves and timelessness. I was not disappointed! Her dress was stunning -- very classic lines, and a Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor style that I just love. the simplicity of her entire style, with the light veil, delicate tiara, and overall elegance was exactly what I hoped to see. It was perfect!

A lot of my friends and family couldn't have cared less about the wedding and I can understand to some extent. But, personally, I see things a different way. This was a moment in history. Prince William is the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, a direct descendant of many royal families in Europe. Kate Middleton was a "commoner." And, one day, they will be king and queen of England. With all the turmoil and war and strife, the recession, economic stress, unemployment, etc, it was wonderful just to celebrate a joyful day -- a marriage of two people who seemed to glow with happiness. It was also awesome to so see a ceremony seeped in traditions, Scripture, and history. America doesn't have anything like this. The closest thing we have to royalty are president's families and movies stars, but in both cases, the weddings are practically always private with a few pictures released to the press after the fact. I really appreciated the way Prince William and Princess Catherine went the extra mile to include not just Britain but everyone in their ceremony and joy. I was at my house sitting on the floor in front of the TV in my bathrobe, but I felt like I was an invited guest!

Anyway, I just had to post about the wedding of the century. And I wish the prince and princess many, many happy years together!

One of my new favorite things......

For Christmas, I got a Kindle! My cousin got one a while back, and I thought it looked neat, but it was hard for me to give up the idea of holding a real book in my hands and turning pages. I mean, you just can't replace curling up in a chair on a rainy afternoon with a good book. But when some other friends began raving over there's, I started to reconsider.

Well, one of the main things that made me reconsider is the library system here. In KY, we had FIVE libraries within a ten mile radius of our house, with online catalogues to renew and place holds with, and an Interlibrary loan system that brought books from California to my house within a week. Here we have one tiny library, without a lot to choose from, with only a three-week loan system. I never remember to return books within three weeks, so I always end up with fines. And as for the Interlibrary system -- I placed a book on Interlibrary loan in October of 2009. Guess when I finally received it? May of 2010. I had completely forgotten about it by the time I got the call that it had arrived. So, the idea of being able to have practically any book I want in my hands anytime I want it was definitely appealing.

So, I next had to decide between a Nook and a Kindle. Both seemed to have their perks, but I finally took a chance on a Kindle. And I love it! I downloaded Elizabeth Gaskell's entire works -- Wives and Daughters, North and South, Mary Barton, The Life of Charlotte Bronte, etc -- for just three dollars!! Not only that, but nearly all the classics (i.e. really old) books that I like to read are FREE!! I have already downloaded about thirty books and a few games as well. I admit that it's not exactly the same as buying beautiful, gilded books with illustrations and seeing them on the shelf, but the ability to have practically all the books I want makes up for it! This is definitely my favorite new gadget! :)

A few pics....

I live once again in the sunny south, where we wear t-shirts on Thanksgiving and have 70 degree Christmases.

Can't you tell???

All this snow came, the day after Christmas, the closest thing to a white Christmas that any of us have seen. Princess definitely had fun!

This is our snow-covered house!

And now presenting the new kitty!! My sister went to the mall to buy a birthday present and, after not finding anything she liked for me, stopped by the pet store. She came home with this thing lol. She named him Pippin, but we mostly call him Pip. He has a very pink nose, very pink paws, and he literally cries like a baby when he is upset. He has a prissy little walk, he is somewhat cuddly, and he enjoys aggravating poor Scout within an inch of her life. He is only nine months old now, but as you can see, he is a pretty big baby!

He did not know what to think about the snow!!

We got almost ten inches!!

This is his favorite way to be -- asleep, upside down, and stretched out!!

This was taken right after we got him in October. You can see he has practically doubled in size since then!

This is one of my favorite pics ever!

This is the South?

I remember living here years ago. Winters were mild. We wore t-shirts on Christmas Day. The most snow we got was a dusting. But look at this year. I haven't seen this much snow in this town since I was two years old.

Baby's first snow! She didn't like it at all :(

This was right before she looked me and said "MEOW!!!"

She stayed outside exactly two minutes.

Princess loves the snow.

This was the view when I came home from work late one night. Snowflakes the size of cotton balls caught in all the trees. It was gorgeous. The perfect snow for snowballs, snow cream, sledding, and taking pictures.

But ......... I AM READY FOR SPRING!!!!

Finished!

My last final to complete my career diploma in Medical Coding and Billing consisted of 12 projects -- making records, filling out insurances, scheduling appointments, writing business letters, etc -- and a three page research paper. It was a miserable experience. Every time I thought I was finished, I discovered another "job" that had to be completed or a typo in a paper I thought was finished. And I had a limited time to complete it. And as I printed the final copies of all my work, Scout decided to entertain herself by attacking each paper as it came out of the printer, resulting in large holes, itty bitty teeth marks, and several re-prints. And the post office couldn't get there "overnight" even if I paid the "overnight" price. And I was late for work because it took so long to get it mailed. BUT I found out yesterday that, the paper was on time, I received a grade of 96, and my career diploma is complete! I am so glad it's over. There is more work to do to get certified and complete my degree, but the first step is finished. Yay!!!!

If ever there was a bad kitty.........

then here she is!

She has a talent spilling drinks, scratching unsuspecting people's feet, climbing on the curtains, attacking the printer, attacking Princess's tail, watching television, and staring at herself in the mirror. But, she's only a kitty! Maybe one day she will learn to behave. I have my doubts, though...........

My Old Kentucky Home

Last week, I rented Elizabethtown, a movie filmed in Elizabethtown, KY, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. I can't really recommend the movie -- not really great and language issues --but it sure made me miss Kentucky. I think that is the main reason I wanted to see it. I wanted to see KY again.

None of us were thrilled to move to KY ten years ago. I cried and Mama cried. This town was pretty much all we had ever known. And to this country girl, that big city in KY was HUGE. There were all the stores, restaurants, and tourist attractions that you could think of. There was too much for one place to have. The traffic was ridiculous and never could you go anywhere without hearing a siren. When we made our visits back home, we would all breathe a sigh of relief at the slower pace, the ease of small town life.

Well, ten years changes things. I don't know for sure where I consider home anymore. When I lived in KY, I considered this place home. Now, when people ask me where I'm from, I automatically say KY. People could never understand my Southern drawl in KY. Now people here can't understand me. And I miss KY. The country was so beautiful. Rolling green hills, thoroughbred horse pastures, blooming Bradford pear trees in the spring, scarlet leaves in the fall, snow and ice in the winter. Watching the movie, I recognized the KY river bridge I drove over a hundred times at least, the rocky cliffs along I-64, the wildflowers, and the brilliant green foliage. The land here is so flat. I had never even noticed it before. There is nothing but fields and a few small grocery stores. Nothing to do. No stores. Buying a pair of shoes involves a 100 mile round trip drive. The same three restaurants over and over. I miss the big city, with all the traffic and the fast pace.

I miss the gorgeous parks.....

The stone fences...........

the sunsets............

even the snow and icicles.

Ten years in KY, and I didn't get to see half the things I wanted to see or visit the places I wanted to. It isn't likely that I'll go back anytime soon, if ever. But that place I hated so bad in the beginning became a second home to me. Those ten years almost seem like a dream now. I am right back where I started ten years ago, older, hopefully wiser, but still in the same little town. And the tables have turned. Now I wish I could see the rolling green hills and bumper-to-bumper traffic of KY. And I cried a little watching Elizabethtown.

New Music

I splurged last week on something that I normally don't buy -- sheet music. Not really exciting new to anyone else, but I was excited about it. :) Since I don't take lessons anymore, I never learn any new songs, and I was just completely tired of the same repertoire of music that I have been playing for about five years now. I knew I wouldn't have time to learn anything hard and my hands can't handle a lot of tricky stuff anyway, so I tried to think of what I would really enjoy playing. The answer I came up with was music from my favorite movies. It's already familiar to me, and it's just fun to learn songs that you hear in movies over and over again. I wanted to learn Bella's Lullaby from Twilight, so that was my first choice. The rest of the score is really just variations on the same theme, though. Then, I saw the score from the Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly. Now Colin Firth will forever and always be Mr. Darcy to me, but the music in this version is awesome. I love the titles of the songs, too -- Daydreams, Stars and Butterflies, The Secret Life of Daydreams, etc. The music is a little harder than I thought it would be, lots of twos against threes in music lingo, but I can't wait to learn it. And last, I happened to see a solo of My Father's Favorite from Sense and Sensibility. It may well be my favorite of all of it. So, I cannot wait to learn my new music. And, hopefully, our house is going to sound like a Jane Austen movie! :)

And it begins again......

I can't believe the holiday season is already upon me again. I was so hoping that I would not have to face another retail holiday, but here I am again and Black Friday looms before me. It's totally different at this store, too. Before, I was solely on the register. Now I work in bridal, home, lingerie, women's plus-size, misses petite, and the formal dress section. That's a big section. And I am usually the working the department by myself. I also have to run the register, recover the dressing rooms, and merchandise the store. Needless to stay, I am generally never still from the time I clock in. This morning, everyone had to come in two hours early to "bust freight", aka, open all the shipment and unpack it. Long day. My cousin Kristen works at the same store with me, so that makes it a little more fun. We took our lunch break together today and both of us nearly fell asleep over our chips and salsa.

I'm also working a second part-time job at the local community college teaching a computer class twice a week. And I'm still taking online college classes that I hope to finish soon.

In my freetime, I am unpacking even more boxes at home. We have finally bought my grandparent's old home and the moving truck brought all of our things from our old home just two weeks ago. The spare room is stacked floor to ceiling with boxes. I am trying to paint, also. I should post a before and after pic of my room. It is so full of boxes and clutter that I can hardly turn around, but I have big plans for painting and organizing it next week when I have a week of vacation. I am so glad to have that week off. It is going to feel wonderful to not have to go in to work for a whole week!

So, now you are all pretty much caught up. A lot has changed for us and there is a lot of work to do, but we are getting through everything a little at a time.

An addition to our fur family....

Back in June, we became the proud owners of a new kitten. She's cute, but she's mean. Can't you tell by that face? :)

Today..

Today my parents are visiting a specialty cancer hospital. We are all hoping for some encouraging news. I've had bronchitis (again), but I'm feeling better today. I have a lot to work on this week:

• Set up senior pictures for Gabrielle
• See that her dress gets altered
• Clean up the house (as soon as I can breathe again)
• Finish my last units of a computer course

I'm thinking about trying to put together a piece of special music for Mother's Day. It won't be easy since I don't have a piano in the house, but it's worth a try at least. So, anyway, those are the projects of the week.

The New Normal

Life isn't normal anymore. Everything has changed and everything is different. The library books are due every three weeks instead of every four (which reminds me I probably have some overdue). Grocery stores change their sales on Wednesday instead of Sunday. Everything (and I mean everything) shuts down at nine o'clock. Most stores are closed on Sunday and the few that are open are only open during the afternoon. Anytime you take a drive you are likely to have to follow a tractor driving 15 mph for ten miles. Being in a different house, the furniture is different, the TV is different, the channels are different. I have none of my "stuff" in my room. I am working at a small clothing store that isn't half the size of the misses' department of the store I worked at before. It seems like every few days, we end up driving over an hour to the hospital.



What I have to learn to accept is that what used to be our everyday life is a thing of the past. This is normal from now on. It's an adjustment and sometimes it's frustrating. On the other hand, it's normal now to run into friends or family when I go to the store. That never happened at our "other" home. There's no sitting in traffic for hours at the time, either. The new normal also involves shopping trips, going to the movies, girl night out, and having dinner at friends' houses. Our life has been completely turned upside down and inside out. But, if I remember to appreciate it, a some things have changed for the better, too.

What's Been Happening

My poor blog has almost been abandoned lately. With no Internet, it was hard to find time to post. At last, we were able to set up the Internet at Grandpa's house. That certainly makes life easier and makes me happier. :)

These last weeks haven't been easy. My mom gets chemo every two weeks. Yesterday was her third treatment. The first two times, she had to be hospitalized with high fevers. The second time was especially bad. She was the worst I had ever seen her. Her fever never got below 100 and would spike over 103. She was very, very sick. This time, the doctor decided to admit her into the hospital for her treatments to try to prevent the reaction from becoming so severe. So, she's at the hospital now. When I talked to her this morning, she sounded okay, but she had run a fever during the night.

With all this going on, it just wasn't possible for me to drive an hour to work, especially with the weird hours they were giving me. It was really hard for me to quit, but I felt like I had to. I've been looking close by for jobs, but, so far, I haven't been able to find anything. That's been stressful, too. I really need at least a part-time job.

Anyway, I hope I can start to post more often now. Hope everyone has been doing great and enjoying the spring weather!

Quick Update.....

We've been here for over two weeks now. It's been a fairly smooth adjustment. I feel more settled now that I have a library card. It just didn't seem right to live for more than a week without being able to check out a book. I'll also be able to use the Internet there, too, which will be wonderful. I feel like I am cut off from the world around me without the Internet. My job transfer has been much more complicated than I expected, but I think it has at last fallen into place and I should be able to start work the week of March first.

Mama went for her first visit to the cancer specialist the Tuesday after we got here. This specialist said pretty much the same thing that the one at home did -- that this cancer is incurable and treatment will help prolong her life for one or two years. He decided on two chemo drugs to start with and will possibly add two more. She went for her first treatment this Tuesday. When she got home, we were encouraged, because she felt a little dizzy and tired, but not terrible. The next day, she went to have a porta-cath put in her shoulder so she won't have to use an IV for each chemo treatment. On the way home from the hospital, she developed a fever. We had been told to take her to the local ER if she got a fever over 100.4. Her temperature was 102.3 when we took it, so we rushed to the ER. When they checked her temperature there, it was 103.8.

She has been in the hospital since then. Her fever keeps spiking and coming back down. The hospital she is taking the treatments at is over almost two hours from here, so the local hospital she is at have been trying to get her back there so her specialist can look at her. So far, a bed hasn't come available there. Today, the doctor told us that he thinks she is just having a reaction to the chemo because she shows no signs of infection. He might possibly send her home tomorrow if her fever stays under control. She has been really miserable. I'm wondering now if it is going to be like this with every chemo treatment.


So it has been a stressful week. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers so much. I really hope my mom can begin to feel better soon.

Leaving...

We are packing up what we can fit into the car for a move to our homestate. How long it will be for, we don't know yet. Grandpa's house doesn't have Internet, so I'm either going to have to go to my aunt's house to use their computer, or we might have some sort of temporary Internet connection hooked up. So, it might be harder for me to post for a little while, but I'll try to update everyone as soon as I can. I'm dreading the nine-hour car ride for Mama. I hope she won't have a hard time with it. I really hope this move will be beneficial for her and for all of us.

Changes

There are a lot of things going on now. We are planning to move back to our home state for my mom to take her treatments. For now, we are just going in on my dad's sick leave. He has over six months worth accumulated with his job. But, he is also putting in for a job there. We are really hoping he gets this job so we can move back home permanently.


Three of my aunts came up to visit us this weekend and they are on their way home today, taking a lot of our clothes and larger electronics with them. I went to my store Friday and asked if they could get me a transfer. The locations in our homestate will be 45-60 minutes away from where we'll be living, but I need to try to work even one or two days a week just to keep up my insurance until I can find something closer to home. Monday will be my last day at my job. I know I yell about my my job sometimes, but I'm really going to miss it. I made a lot of friends there and fit in pretty well there. I got along with my managers and knew my job. Now it's going to feel like starting over. Of course, our family and a lot of friends will be there, so that will help the transition, but it's still going to be an adjustment to move so quickly.

The most important thing now is finding Mama some good treatment. We have heard a few recommendations, so we're debating about where we should go. We're hoping that her specialist here can recommend a place.

So, this week we're packing up what we can and making arrangements for a partial move. It's going to be hard, but it will be good to be home again.

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.

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!!"

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.