Smooth Brain Day

I had a pretty massive therapy session yesterday and am feeling delightfully drained today. Nothing is happening inside my head. It's so nice and quiet. 

Work is going well, too - before work, I ran into Dan (not literally) at a new coffee place we talked about a week or so ago, that we both learned about on Tick of the Tock. I was behind him in line - he was riding his bike. The mocha was so great and I will definitely be back again soon. 

Someone left a cute note on my desk that has a drawing of a little man and says, "HI N, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY". I suspect Rowan of this. P.S. It's Halloween, because it's the most unselfish holiday, and it's just fun as hell to dress up, carve pumpkins, eat and give out candy, see the costumes, etc. I love the community-ness of it. 

Also, someone here posted a poll for the students and staff, asking whether folks liked Dutch Bros or Starbucks. I added the new coffee spot and added votes for Dan and myself. 

THREE WEEKS TILL THE BIG TRIP AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

The M Word

She's not allowed to take up any more of my time, or my words. We're just done. 

Except to say this: she said something to Heidi today that alluded to the idea that she thinks no one in the store likes her. The irony is, if she just treated us politely and professionally, she wouldn't have to worry about it. Instead, she bitches about us to our supervisors - which gets back to us - and then acts fake-nice to us when she's with us in person. 

But I'm not making great choices about her, either, as long as I keep talking about her. I've decided to stop spreading toxicity, and just be done with her.  She doesn't deserve any more than that.

IN A WEST END TOWN, THE DEAD END WORLD

... currently the song on the PA and I am happy about it.

Kyle's been sick for two days and I'm sick of THAT. Hurry up and get better, Kyle! Dammit!

Workplace pranks abound. On Friday, Ryan hid my computer mouse, and yesterday, I had to text him to find out where it was, since I couldn't use my computer to do any work. Didn't matter that much, because of KYLE. With him gone, I had to assume the cashier position and actually ring people up at the register. GEEZ, KYLE.

Anyway, to get back at Ryan, I found a file folder, placed a stupid picture of Dan's head inside, and put it on his desk with a sticky note from "Monica" saying "Please review this and see me ASAP". Apparently it did the job - he was pretty freaked out. It mostly made up for being alone for TWO DAMN DAYS (THANKS KYLE). 

(Next song was Ballroom Blitz)

We just counted all the Dan pictures we have hiding around the Clubhouse (Monica literally called our cashier department this, not in a complimentary way) and we're up to eight. EIGHT. 

The Very Small Friday

Due to R's spring soccer schedule, her last, I asked Ryan if I could work a 7:30-9:00 shift today so Hubby and I could catch her game in Centralia. Originally it was scheduled for 11:00 AM, but now is happening at 7:00 PM. I didn't tell Ryan, though. I'm fine leaving at 9 and going home early.

It's been a tiring week - not only because of the longer hours of rush week, but also because Hubby's had some weird little things going on that have required him to take the car to work most of the days, which has resulted in my walking to bus stops, the library, etc. All the unexpected physical activity took its toll - I just collapsed into bed yesterday afternoon. I'm looking forward to a mostly restful weekend with some free time to work on the house. The poor little storage unit must be missing me. It'll be nice to have energy and free time at the same time. 

The next check will be great, though. 

THIS PLACE IS CURSED

It's starting to remind me of that episode of The Love Boat when they held a vow renewal ceremony for a couple who'd sailed on the Titanic (and were jinxing the crew).  All the cast members attended this couple's wedding wearing various medical aids (eye patch, neck brace, etc). 

We have the broken ID computer, the non-working Pepsi cooler that ELECTROCUTED DAN (he's okay, just had to go get an EKG test), and then Register 2's computer decided to be a poop. And NOW, Register 4's scanner is refusing to work! I'd wonder what's about to break next, but I'm afraid to hear the answer!

Yikes.

 We had a spicy customer earlier in the morning and it kind of messed with my mood. 

LATER: Damaris has learned about the ID computer situation and he's throwing an epic (and hilarious) fit. Some quotes: 

- "God gives the toughest battles to the stupidest soldiers" 

- "When I'm running races, you know what I like? More hurdles"

- "This is reaching Mr. Krabs level of stinginess"

I'm patting myself on the back for hiring him last summer. YES. Go me!

In other news, Hubby is off to the dentist's office again for his ouchy mouth. Poor Hubby, I hope he can find some answers and relief from the pain today. It's been getting pretty bad. 

"Boy, are you dumb."

Monica strikes again, acting like a TOTAL GENIUS about this ID computer debacle. 

Since she couldn't see paying for a new computer or new software or a new camera for the ID room, in which we job-description-ingly create IDs for the students, she decided to partner with Security to create IDs with their computer, camera, and software. Since the bookstore makes money from each ID made, she doesn't want to let them handle the whole thing completely. 

So this is her stupid solution (there's no other word for it):

When a student comes in to the bookstore and requests an ID, we have to check the student's enrollment status here on our computer.

Then we fill out a ticket and take it to Tara in Security (who only works Monday through Wednesday). 

On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, Tara will create the ID. On Thursdays and Fridays, it will be done by one of our cashiers. Damaris and Rowan will train on the software first, along with Ryan. 

If they want a bus pass (provided free by C-Tran for the college), they have to come back to the bookstore and have us set that up for them with their new ID.

It's beyond dumb and as I was just saying to Rowan, she is the thorn on the rose that is this workplace. WITHOUT FAIL, she always chooses the stupidest possible solution to any situation. 

I've worked with people who were obtuse and heartless before, but no one has ever been this dumb.

NOT MUCH LATER:

She is universally mocked at each of our homes. Rowan says her name has become a verb at their house. 

Spring Rush 2026

I can tell my legs will be tired tomorrow. It's nice to have lines of people, though. Also, the ID computer situation has been addressed (somewhat) and will hopefully be resolved sometime in the near future. 

Doughnuts!

Rowan the Rock Star brought doughnuts to work today, like an absolute HERO. So good. I'm so glad I started drinking coffee early enough in life that I can enjoy it with a doughnut, and late enough that I remember the days when coffee was absolutely wicked, and I would go straight to Hell if I ever drank it. Coffee is that much more enjoyable now.

I normally don't work on Fridays, but Spring Quarter starts on Monday, and apparently they decided my presence was necessary, so here I am. No complaints out of me, though - there's doughnuts!

Later, I'll be swinging by home to pick up M and the little girls for a trip up to L's house. The girls are spending the night and having Easter Saturday with L. We'll be picking them up tomorrow. Tonight, Hubby and M and I will be at Costco, buying big poofy Easter dresses, a ham, and other delights. 

HAIR UPDATE: It still looks fine from the curlers. I just brushed it and came to work. Probably tomorrow I'll wash it again with the purple shampoo, and roll it up. We're gonna un-yellow the HECK out of these strands!

Why does it feel like Tuesday today?

Weird.

I have a long day of work today, with an extra hour tacked on to the end of my shift, AND a training here on campus. No playing for me today (not sure what that would look like, anyway, but it would probably have involved a storage unit). Kyle is out with a migraine and he is missed. 

Hubby has been battling a sore mouth for a long time and is going to see the dentist this afternoon. We'll see if he feels up to coaching at practice tonight. 

11:03 AM: On break. Quietly, the front end staff have acknowledged that Monica likes to pile on the Receiving work without asking, or paying us Receiving wages, and my feeling is that no one should voluntarily take on projects (Rowan was being sweet and restocking for Kayla today). If Monica wants to physically bring a project up here and ask us to perform a task, that's one thing, but no more of this taking stuff on out of the goodness of our hearts, or our boredom. She has SERIOUS problems with boundaries, and commandeering our cashiers is a huge issue for her. 

12:02 PM: Hubby visited and grabbed the insurance card for his appointment. Here's hoping it goes well. Poor guy has really been hurting lately. 

I have 28 minutes left in my shift and it's been a pretty fun one, minus the usual irritation someone (see above) always brings. Quite the thorn on the rose, she is. 

HAIR UPDATE: The rollers worked well, as did the purple shampoo, mostly. There's still a big yellow streak in my bangs, but maybe several shampoo applications will take care of it, as long as I continue to avoid the curling iron. 

THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S DAY JOKE POST

 It absolutely is not. It just seems like one. 

What happened to March? March 2026 was a lovely month, with a minimum of drama. It just scooted away, quick like a bunny. 

Feeling totally like an April Fool's Day joke is our now-penniless state here at the bookstore. The pennies are gone from the tills, and from now on, when we give change in cash, it'll be rounded up to the nearest five cents. So, what do we do with our pennies now? Do we accept pennies from customers? Rounding up just feels wrong and weird. Hopefully the next POTUS will pull a Mormon Prophet and change everything back to the way it was when the current guy goes out. 

Okay, back to counting my penniless tills (it's just so strange).

9:34 AM: Watching the Lincoln City webcam on my computer monitor - it's stormy over there today, so it's mostly gray and wet-looking. Bleah to that. 

I think I'll write a March recap. (type type type) Okay, done.

11:57 AM: Boss Lady was ON ONE today. Kyle left early, he was so angry. Damn, woman, you're amazingly good at pissing off your employees! 

After reading that my curling iron is turning my white hair yellow (and my brown eyes blue), I decided to stop using it, and go back to using the purple shampoo that's supposed to brighten my hair. I came home from work, chatted with the kids, and hopped in the tub for the shampoo - I'm supposed to leave it on my hair for 5 minutes and doing that in the shower is a pain in the butt. We'll see how this goes. 

March Recap

We had a nice month. For Hubby and me, the month began in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was attending a work conference and I tagged along. Unfortunately, I caught the family virus two days before we left, hacked up a storm on the plane, and spent most of the trip in bed. Oh, well, it's more fun to be sick in a hotel room. I also worked on craft projects, watched a lot of TV, played Sims, and hand-sewed my first quilt block, and felt majorly cool about that. We also ate a lot of great food, when I was feeling well enough to leave our room. 

My work schedule was cut down to the nub, between that trip and the yearly scheduled campus closure, during which I worked on the house and we took a trip to Lincoln City, Oregon, and stayed in a rental home. It was FUN and so relaxing. 

Between trips, I've begun to employ the newly-acquired (in February) storage unit that we rented to hold Hubby's parents' things until we could incorporate them into our home or give them to the kids. It's become a staging area for the extra stuff around our house, so I can decide what to keep and what to get rid of. I absolutely love having it to declutter into. As well, I've been donating stuff and throwing things away and shredding papers and sweeping and cleaning and dusting, and it just feels good. Happy Spring to us. 

Meeting Day

In order to cover for our leadership team's monthly meeting, Kyle and I have been pressed into service for an extra two, two and a half hours and we both resent the HECK out of it! How dare Ryan use us like this! (Actually it's been a pretty fun day.) Kyle said he's fine working as long as he doesn't have to help people. I said, there must be a job like that here, isn't there? He responded yeah, Monica's job.

Angie and I are meeting for coffee after work. Angie has been getting into genealogy and it's one of our favorite things to chat about. I can't wait to show her the weird thing I added to my journal: a list of my ancestors with their ages at time of death. I worked on it all last weekend like a major geek. So far, at the tender age of 56, I'm doing pretty well at outliving folks - of course, the younger die-ers died from now-treatable or preventable stuff, like smallpox and tuberculosis and Spanish influenza. Science is a good thing. No one's getting near Neenaw, who is our clear winner at 101 years old. Frankly, I'll be fine not achieving 101. 

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday, so after work, WHICH ENDS AT 11:30 AM, SQUEEEEEEEE, my plan is to buy flowers for his grave and head down to the cemetery. Then I'll head up to Shmick's Shmorting Shmoods and pick up my new bike. Woooooot! Here comes the bike portion of my life! I should probably find my helmet and bike lock and clear out the back of the car tonight. 

Also, I need to check on the college's baseball and softball teams' schedule for this upcoming season, so I can start attending games! Woot again! Life is getting exciting.

HOME.

Why is today different from any other day? It just feels different, I guess. I feel like I finally get to settle in and be a human being with a home. Working full time was messing with my head, apparently. So strange!

Last One.

Whew. Sitting here at my desk enjoying coffee and the Seaside webcam - somehow the weather is even more boisterous than yesterday's.

I keep thinking I should de-personalize my workspace, now that I'm going back to Retail 2. It feels like a time to calm down and make things simple. We'll see what happens. 

I'm looking forward to the new schedule, spending more time at home and with M and the little girls, and pursuing more of my own interests (like cleaning the house).

Hubby and I have a busy February coming up, so I'm glad the job will be taking a major backseat to everything else. I love the workplace, but less time spent here will be a good thing. 

9:02: Ugh, so sick of that woman. Can't wait till I'm only here four hours at a time.

12:49: So happy for not having to stay past 11:30 (most times). I think I'm still getting over this cold and I'm just tired and goopy in the head today. A nap sounds outstanding, but I'm here till 3:00. GROSS

1:19 I mean, seriously, this afternoon could not drag on longer, could it? Maybe I shouldn't ask.

Stormy Seaside

...is catching my eye as I perform the paperwork tasks here at the work computer. The Seaside webcam is showing prolific rain falling along the prom, smearing up the orange-yellow light from the street lamps, making it look like the prom is on fire. 

As must be obvious by now, I'm back at work, and I'm happy that today is my second-to-last day as the interim Cashier 4. Nothing could be finer than leaving this chapter behind(er) in less than 48 HOURS. 

Though I spent the day recuperating, I had a good time yesterday, preparing for upcoming travel. Salt Lake City and Atlanta are looming large for next month, and the Alaskan cruise in August, with inevitable little trips here and there in between as well. Flipping through our national parks passport book (thanks, Lori C!), I noticed that I added the wrong sticker for the Golden Spike NHS - there's a national sticker and a regional sticker - so I ordered a new national sticker for it, as well as a pouch for the passport book. Squeeeeee!!! :::geeks out in Map and Journal and Office Supplies:::

Also, I spent some time checking out our hotel in Atlanta, and was disappointed to find it's one from the hotel chains that have been housing Shmice, those lawless freaks who have been murdering folks and wreaking havoc on Minneapolis. I don't say this a lot, but shmuck them. 

Still, it's a mostly free trip to Atlanta, I have absolutely no control over where we're staying, and I have little room to complain. 

My supervisor texted me close to 8:00 and let me know that my cashier called in sick today, so here I am up front, just blogging away between customers. Business is quite slow, but I'm loving the cozy alone time. 

Sick Days

On my birthday, I thought it might be happening, but thank goodness it didn't materialize until the next day: THE FAMILY COLD. Seems like we've been passing this thing around since before Christmas, and finally it was my turn. 

I went to work yesterday, opened the store, and was waiting around for Ryan so we could do a last bit of training, but my coworkers told me to go home, so I did. Hubby (working from home) picked me up, and we grabbed more Shmadvil Cold & Sinus from Shmalgreen's and came home. I spent the rest of the day in bed.

I figured I wasn't going to be much better this morning, so last night I told Ryan I'd be taking today off as well. And now you're all caught up. 

I must say, for a week I was NOT looking forward to working (just because I knew it would drag out and be the longest week in existence), this is turning out rather well. Too bad it took a virus to make it bearable, but isn't that just the way sometimes? 

By the way, my birthday on Sunday was epic. I demanded a beach day including Fultano's pizza - the chicken pesto is my favorite - and was not disappointed. Hubby, M, the little girls and I visited two beaches, our favorite pizza place, our favorite arcade, and our favorite antiques mall (bought a new-to-me Fiestaware cup and saucer for drinking coffee and being fancy at home), and enjoyed time in the sand and fine weather. Brother E drove down from Astoria and joined us, which was so fun. 

Summary: #56 was a great time. 

So many email addresses

 I need to pare some down, I think

gutted, but alive

Yesterday's therapy session was quite thorough. I'm still digesting things my dear shrink said.

Today is going well and I'm grateful to be here with these nice people. I'm also very grateful for my sweet husband, children, and grandchildren. 

Life continues.

THEY DONE BIRTHDAYED ME

When I figure out how to add pictures from my phone to this blog, we'll be in business. But yesterday, my coworkers decorated the hell out of my little desk for my upcoming birthday, and it was the best surprise this morning. I love these people - they're the best. 

My shrink rescheduled my appointment from MLK Day, when it was originally scheduled.