My Weblog

Sick, sick, sick...........

My gut is in an uproar. I'm not totally shocked, more shocked that it took so long. I had a day last week when I had diarrhea and I was due at work. I had only one pepto so I resorted to immodium. I hate immodium. It does the job, but it's effects, in my body, last for days. i start to feel yucky afterward because I CAN'T go......Anyway, that problem is now solved..........

I'm home today, so, if I'm going to spend the day in the bathroom, I guess it's a good day for it..............

I have a mental list of things I'd like to accomplish today. I should reduce it to writing as that is much more effective for me......

1) Dehydrate some spinach and peppers. I want to make some "green powder" by dehydrating the spinach and then grinding it fine. It can then be sprinkled into various dishes (scrambled eggs, soups, etc.) to increase the nutrition. The peppers are getting close to the edge, but dicing them, cleaning them up, and dehydrating them will make them available for later use--no spoilage loss!

2) Take my bed apart and put it back together, laundering the bed clothes. The last time i tried this trick, I hurt my back. I'll pray BEFORE I start this job instead of after the damage is done.

3) Clean out the fridge. Need to get some science projects out of there. I'm into greens, but these containers have the wrong kind of greens-------

4) More work on filing and budget stuff. I've got the budget stuff recorded up to about 2 weeks ago. I want to get that up to date. I have a massive amount of filing to be done and files to clean out and shred.

We'll see how much headway I can make on all this. Wish me luck...........

 

Mrs. Stinky #2

Years ago, when i worked for the government, I worked in the work station next door to a woman we nicknamed "Mrs. Stinky". As far as I was concerned, the very fact that this woman had been hired was demeaning to the rest of us. You never saw such an unkempt appearance, with the possible exception of someone who had been homeless for a long period of time. She certainly earned her nickname--urine, armpit sweat, and just general stink. The rest of us wondered how a person who lived in a place with indoor plumbing could smell so bad. She was grossly overweight and her pants, tops, and dresses were all knits, several sizes too small. This meant that the dresses would hike up in the middle in the back, her pants were "high water pants" ending 4 or 5 inches above her ankles when she was standing. If she sat, they pulled down from the waist in the back. Her tops were all too tight and thus too short to cover the gaps at the waist between the shirt bottom and the top of the pants. You considered yourself fortunate if you viewed her from in front of her desk...........A side view was devastating. Her hair had at one time been permed and bleached but by the time we met her, it badly needed to be cut and something done with the roots. Her fingernails were long claw-like things, dirty, and nicotine stained. Her toenails were scary. She could have easily used them to gain traction while climbing a telephone pole. And, God help us all, she'd wear sandals to work! Her teeth were visibly decayed--she couldn't have seen a dentist in 20 years. The whole situation was made worse by the fact that she was assigned the two bottom drawers in our shared file cabinet. The arrangement of the office was also a problem: Our desks were positioned in opposite facing directions more or less like 4 spokes of a wheel and there were numerous "wheels" from the front to the back of the office. When she wanted a file from the bottom drawer, she would end up bending from the waist. The length of the office, every other government employee was stuck looking at everything that was exposed and was everything was exposed. But, while the government employee was horrified, at least the members of the general public with whom those employees were meeting were spared. However every second desk was opposite. So the government employee would be attempting to interview members of the public who looked like they were going to be sick. In both cases, that sight was sufficient to totally disrupt whatever the rest of us were trying to accomplish.

We complained to management. Nothing was done. Finally I had a young female trainee--a college student. She happened to subscribe to Seventeen magazine. She found an ad in there that seemed appropriate, at least as to the "show" we were all subjected to when Mrs. Stinky bent over. The ad featured a cute young woman bent over from the waist. She was wearing a cute eyelet dress and she was wearing knee socks, bright yellow and black horizontal stripes. She was also wearing matching undies. in full view to advertise the matching set. The caption on the page was "Bottoms Up". We taped that full page ad to the front of her bottom drawer. That helped curb the "show". Folks then began bringing in tubes of toothpaste, bars of soap, laundry detergent, etc., all of which were left on her desk. I don't really know how it all turned out because I was promoted out of that office...........God was merciful to me!

Where I work now, there is a woman who must adore pachouli oil. She exudes it. It creates a cloud around her like that character with the cloud of dust from the Peanuts cartoons. The main problem for me is that it REALLY bothers my lungs. Being much more grown up than I was during my early government employee days (I was 24 then), she told me one day she didn't think I liked her. I told her I liked her just fine but that the oil caused me breathing problems, making me avoid her. She told me her mother told her she wore way too much of the stuff. Her mother was right. Just before I left the store tonight, she walked past me 3 times. She didn't touch me, she didn't touch any surface I had to touch. However, when I made it to the car, the skin on my right arm smelled of that stuff. It was 90 some degrees and I drove home with the windows open.............. Can I call her Mrs Stinky #2? She obviously totally disregarded her mother's comment and shined mine on as well...........

I need a massage..........

Do you remember I told you about those charley horses and muscle spasms yesterday? Today my legs hurt as though I ran 5 miles yesterday. So much damage/soreness in those poor muscles. Every step i took today aggravated the muscles in my calves. I walked into the building and back out to the car 3 times and i walked across the whole store and back 3 times. For the first time in years I doubted my ability to get to the car when my shift was over. The good part about the day was that I got to sit. Those trips back and forth across the store took me to Lumber! Now I'm sincerely wishing to soak my sore muscles in a hot bath and trying to evaluate whether I can actually get into the tub. And, if I can get in, whether or not I will be able to get back out!

I have had to start watering the shrubs by my front door again. I hate to think what that will do to my water bill, but it has to be done. Otherwise they're gonna die. They already don't look very healthy.

I think the heat outside is beginning to get to Parker. He loves being outside. If I leave the house to go to work and return immediately because I've forgotten something, he's already used the pet door and he's in the backyard. And when I come home, he's still out there, though he could easily come into the house which is much cooler. However, he is eating a lot less. That's a blessing. I haven't been buying the big 50 pound bags of food lately and it's amazing how quickly he was eating through a 20 pounder.

I have to go to the bank tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. The company does payroll through direct deposit. There is some sort of setup between corporate and B of A so that when you are hired, you are set up with a specialized account at B of A. I don't love B of A, but there's a drive through one block from the store and another about a mile from the house, so it's been convenient. I went to the branch by the store to cash out my last paycheck. Due to an unexpected bonus, I could not get the whole paycheck--I had to leave $40 in that account. Somehow i've misplaced the ATM card. I've searched my desk, creating a horrific mess, numerous times. My van is now cleaner than usual due to the cleanup I did while searching it. I could not find the debit card anywhere. So after work about 10 days ago, I stopped at the branch by the store on my way home. They claimed they were not able to issue me a duplicate card for the account. According to them, I could only get that through the company. Sadly, I didn't think that would be easily achieved. The ditsy young thing with whom I was dealing did not seem to know what she was talking about. I know she went off to ask other people what to do at least 3 times. Finally, it was decided I would have to open a new regular checking account and that was done. Supposedly, they were going to close the payroll account and move the balance to the new account. In the meantime, I found out I could change my direct deposit arrangement with the company via the internet and I did that. Last Friday was payday. I wanted to get things set up so I could go online and check my balance, pay a bill, or whatever. I tried but the B of A website insisted on routing me to the old payroll account and would not allow me to even sign in to create a new account. I ended up having to call for technical assistance. I was on hold for 32 minutes. When I finally got to a human, She asked me a few questions and then the call was cut off. I tried to call back, held for 15 minutes and gave up. I drove down to the ATM by the house and found only my paycheck in the new account. I want my $40. And, I want internet access! Need I tell you I still don't love B of A?!!!!!!!!!!

 

Something good in my day

I ate a vegetable. I have discovered there is one good thing about these early shifts I dislike so much. I get home early enough to have recovered some energy/strength by dinner time. I sliced up 3 zucchini and threw it all into my big cast iron skillet with some olive oil. I sprinkled on a couple of pinches of salt and let it fry til it was well on the way to carmelized. I added a bit of my strong garlic powder and stirred that around. Then I put it into my dish. I sprinkled with a bit of parmesan cheese and some black pepper. Then I chowed down. it was delicious. And it was a vegetable!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to ask "Why me?"

I worked the early morning shift today. I overslept but still ended up clocking in with 3 minutes to spare. THAT had to be the hand of God. I ended up standing the whole shift on "the refrigerator". It's been a while since I've had to stand through a whole shift.

As usual, even with oversleeping, I made it to work on very little sleep. I knew if I could hold out just 6 hours, I could come home and sleep as long as I wanted. So, soon after returning home, I toddled off to bed. About two hours later, I woke up in pain. Charley horses, leg pain, an angry muscle in my side, all one right after another. I'd get a charley horse stopped and the big muscle in the calf of my leg would form a hard ball. I'd get that relaxed and another charley horse would hit. The pain in my side felt like someone had pierced me through with a knife. At the moment, i am sitting very still, trying not to set anything more off.

I am solid on my potassium and magnesium supplements. I have no idea why all this has happened.

The supervisor (head cashier) today was the person I refer to as "the little fireball". I got the sting of the fire today. And completely unfairly, I believe. I had a long line of folks when a lady appeared to pay for some wood flooring. She paid me with 20 $100 bills. Every one of those 20 had to be fed through a machine to scan for counterfeit bills, a time consuming process. I gave her her change and, sure enough, the next customer paid me with another $100 bill. I apologized to the next guy in line and called to have the fireball do a cash pickup. Now, it is the responsibility of the head cashier to monitor our drawers, via the computer, and pick up cash when we have too much cash in the drawer. We have one head cashier who fairly drives us nuts with "borrowing" our machines to check the various cash balances. Not the fireball. 70% of the time she is not visible. She's stocking something or she's in receiving at the back of the store or she's carting "go backs" to Lumber or wherever. Her saving grace is that she is quick on her feet and, when called, can come from the back of the store or wherever fairly quickly. Maybe she monitors our drawers, maybe she doesn't but it's not something I've ever noticed her doing in 3 years. Note that I took the correct step, realizing that I had too much cash in the drawer, and called her to come and pick it up. In essence, I went the extra mile. I am not required to do that. However, if at that moment we'd been robbed, I'd probably have been the one to catch an earful. She proceeded to tell me I'd waited too long to call her. I worked my way through one additional customer after that wad had been dumped on me! I protested, telling her the cash came from one customer. According to her I still waited too long. I guess less than a minute is too long? i like this person, but when she is in a mood, you know it and so does everyone else.

A few weeks back, we were training two new cashiers. I noticed last week that I had not seen either of them for a while. I asked this morning. Seems one of them, the most promising (in my opinion) got accepted to a nursing program and left. That's certainly a better career option for a young woman with a lot on the ball. I thought the other was a bit of a mess. You could tell her something and it whizzed right over her head. The one thing she seemed to catch onto was greeting the customer. Anyway, I didn't hold much hope for her. Well, I was told this AM that she got into a screaming, cursing fight with another employee. Apparently managers had to physically pull her off the other employee. Then, gutless wonders that some of our managers are, they basically told her she either needed to resign or she'd be fired. The crazy thing is that apparently she'd transferred to us from another store (she sure didn't know much for having been a company employee before) and had gotten into a fight there as well. I am disappointed that managers didn't just fire her. Surely with her record and the incident at our store, there was just cause?

Anyway, that's my day so far. It's gotta get better..........

Hiding in the house..........

It's hot out there, or, at least so the weather service says. I wouldn't know. I haven't stuck my nose outside for even a moment. That makes me a happy woman.

I took a nap today and even though I only slept about two hours, had a dream. It has me in an emotional whirl ever since. Most of it is pure drivel, but part of it was all too close to reality and it's that part that has had me messed up. I dreamt I was about 12 years old and my parents were out of town. I was staying with a family friend. The person I was staying with was SO very kind to me. I felt very special being with her. She and I prepared something special to eat to welcome my parents home. But, when they arrived, my father was in a bad mood. He ripped into me for some "wrong" and did so in front of my hostess. He was sarcastic and mean. Then he turned on my hostess. Meanwhile, my mother stood by, looking embarrassed and mumbling about the food we'd prepared. I woke up then, crying. My parents never went out of town and left me with anyone that I can remember. I never "saw" my hostess in the dream, just felt her kindness and warmth. So that part was all bunkum. But the parts about my father's and mother's behaviors was all too real, hence my tears.

Have you ever wondered how different your current life might be if you'd had different parents? I can't let myself think about that too much. It upsets me. Of course, I could have ended up with parents who were alcoholics or who abused me, but maybe i could have had parents who gave me the confidence to perform up to my potential. However, a person could go a little crazy with such thoughts.

Another dream I've had recently has also been disturbing. In this dream I was in some sort of prison. My ex-husband, my daughter's father, was also there. Funny enough, one of our jailers was one of the head cashiers from work. I was receiving some packages which contained some things for my ex. I took them to him and found him in a very depressed mood. i mentioned I would be praying for him. he asked me exactly what I would be praying. I replied I was praying God would give him peace. He said he didn't believe that would ever happened. I replied it would happen when he learned to believe in the fact that God loved him like a son and that could and would take care of him because of that love. He gave me a long, measured look and then I woke up. In the dream he looked exactly as he had looked the last time I saw him, some 30-something years ago. And he looked at me exactly the way he had looked at me in real life hundreds of times. I woke up realizing once again that, though he's deceased now, I still love the man. Maybe I always will..............

 

Hotter than Hades

Yesterday wasn't too bad. We had cloud cover so thick that I started turning on the lights by about 4:15. All those clouds and not a drop of rain, at least not where I live. I didn't hear about any rain elsewhere in the area but it wouldn't be unusual. And I DID hear thunder on one of my many trips to the van yesterday. But, today, the sun is blazing. We have a forecasted high of 103. I had the a/c blasting in the car and it really wasn't quite enough to offset the heat of the sun.

Yes, I worked again today. And tomorrow I'm scheduled for my 10th Sunday in a row. Usually they send me down to Lumber and it's not too bad. I get to sit. Today, however, I was on the busiest register in the store, the one I call "the refrigerator", for 5 hours. I did get to go to Lumber for my last hour which was a relief. But, even Lumber, which is usually pretty slow, was fairly busy today. I figure tomorrow will be pretty bad, being Father's Day. I'm expecting hordes of Dads, possibly with wives and kids in tow, to descend upon the Tool area which is right next to "the refrigerator". Ugh!

We have an employee who is the image of my stepson. I actually took in a photo of the stepson and showed him his double. The only difference is that the stepson is a good head taller and I've seen him 175 pounds heavier. (Yes, my husband was the smallest in his extended family.) Once our employee saw the photo I showed him, he realized the two men really do look alike and he decided I'm not really crazy. He calls me "Mama". For him, it's probably more a comment on my age, but i know he knows it makes me smile. Here's the odd part: Before becoming a born again Christian, Joe got around. I was his 4th wife (the only one he married after becoming a Christian). He was not one to tell me much about his past. i think he felt shame when he should have felt forgiven. In any case, he let slip once that he suspected there might be another child, probably in CA. Apparently he was dating a girl who began to press him about a commitment. When he finally told her he wasn't interested in being committed to anyone at that time, she completely disappeared, he suspected somewhere in CA. The double was raised in Lake Havasu and is about the right age, as best I can figure it. I wish Joe were still alive and could come to the store and see this "double". i think he'd be shocked but pleased if it somehow turned out that my suspicions were confirmed. Of course, no one from work knows I have a blog and I haven't breathed a word. i'm pretty sure it's not my place to do that, but everytime I see this "kid" i think of that conversation with Joe.

One of our cashiers lost her husband day before yesterday. He's been ill for a long time with the last few weeks being a series of trips back and forth from the hospital to rehab. He had Pulmonary Fibrosis. She called in to let management know what had happened and I don't expect to see her for a little while. It's my understanding they had quite the fancy schmancy home so perhaps she will be okay financially. I have always thought she was working just to get out and be among people, not because she needed the money. For her sake, i hope that's the case.

I feel like I should update you on my hand. It continues to improve. I can now use it (carefully) in my work. I can carry things (carefully) in that hand. I can now touch my little finger with my thumb. The wrist is still behaving less than perfectly. If I try to grab something that's a bit heavy, pain shoots through the wrist. However, the swelling is about 90% gone including the lump that appeared for a few weeks on the back of my hand, near the wrist and my left wrist is just about the same size as my right now. So, this apparently is one of those healings God does as a process. I'd prefer the overnight, eye-popping variety. I guess He's saving that for some other time. I managed to carry a 20 pound bag of dog food from the van yesterday. It was a struggle as I couldn't count on the left hand to handle its half of the weight, but I made it. Things are looking up.

 

 

Sometimes I get it right........

I fixed dinner tonight and it was scrumptious. Better yet, there are leftovers! I opened one of my jars of canned chicken breast meat and pulled out just slightly over half, probably a bit more than half a pound. I popped the meat into a skillet with some butter and browned it a bit. Then I added some canned mushrooms. Note: I drained the liquid off both the chicken and the mushrooms and saved it for later. Once the meat and mushrooms were hot and slightly browned, i added some chopped onion to the skillet along with some garlic powder. I let the onions cook til translucent. Then I added some fresh spinach and a can of mushroom soup. Last, i used some of the reserved mushroom/chicken liquid to thin down the mushroom soup. I cooked it until the spinach wilted, then turned off the stove and added about 1/4 cup of sour cream. I added salt to taste and served my creation over egg noodles. It was fabulous and I even got some veggies into me! And it was all done in about the time it took to boil the water and cook the noodles.

The allergies are still punishing. We were forecast to have winds of 20mph, enough to blow a LOT of pollen and dust around. My eyes burned and I sneezed and dealt with a runny nose and drippy eyes. I'll bet I looked a sight, standing there, trying to wait on customers.

I think i picked up a brownie point today--maybe even 2 brownie points. First, I caught a counterfeit $100 bill. There's no question in my mind that it was counterfeit and the head cashier felt the same way, maybe even more strongly than I did. She wrote it up and that was brownie point #1. Then another head cashier came over to do an observation. Once a month they watch us interact with a customer and write it up. I was told I hit every point just right! I usually get good reviews when they do this, but, most of the time, I'm observed by a head cashier who says I remind her of her mother.............I always wonder if that prejudices things in my favor just a little.

Today, besides the allergies I had problems with my legs and feet. But, the leg pain was my well-known fluoride-induced leg pain. No "flank pain" in the hips ala UTI. That was encouraging though I became much less encouraged when I found myself hustling to the restroom a little while ago and being rightly concerned about the carpet. So, the UTI is not gone yet.....I don't know what to do about the foot pain. i wear good shoes and I've bought additional insoles made of memory foam and gel. I can't think of anything more I can do other than adopt a steady diet of ibuprofen which doesn't seem wise.

No one at work even noticed my haircut. I thought surely someone would say something..........

I'm off tomorrow which is great. But I work that ghastly-for-me opening shift both Saturday and Sunday. It's a good thing i don't mind going to church on the internet at whatever hour works. i've worked so many Sundays in a row that I've lost count, but I think we're approaching 10. I don't like catching every Sunday and I don't like all these early shifts. On the other hand, I usually get to spend Sunday mornings in Lumber, being paid to sit down. THAT I do like! Sitting down hurts so much less............

Today marked my 3 year anniversary of working at this store. Is that good or bad? I dunno................

Signing off now. Have a special prayer request from a friend that needs some time and attention.

The other shoe has dropped.........

At last, my magnificent raise has been revealed. I got into the website and the "stub" info for the paycheck I'll receive day after tomorrow was posted. It works out to .21 an hour or about $5 a week if I get my full 24 hours a week. (Of course, no one has bothered to discuss it with me as they were supposed to do.) This will NOT make me rich! There is one bit of good news. When I started there, there was a quarterly bonus, based on the store achieving certain goals, of $150. Then they came along and "restructured" the bonuses--meaning the workers got way less and the managers got way more. We were down to $37 a quarter. Well, it seems to have gone back up somewhat. I'm looking at a pay stub with a bonus of $100 on it. That's a good thing. It works out to about $.32 an hour payable quarterly (unless/until they change it again).

I'll not look a gift horse in the mouth--even $5 a week will help.

I gave myself the gift of a haircut on the way home from work. When they first started cutting hours, months ago, I needed a haircut. I was unwilling to lay out the money for a haircut, given that my wages were essentially reduced by 25%.  I could have done it, but it became a bit of a grudge match between me and the store. I have no one to worry about keeping interested. I don't want anyone to be in the least interested. However, I've always thought it important for first impressions to look pulled together. That became MUCH harder when my hand started acting up. Using a curling iron with just one good hand is almost impossible. Even a round brush and blow dryer hasn't worked that well. I've been trying to figure out how to solve the problem, hence, the haircut. I had it cut into a stacked bob (Yes, it had grown out quite a lot from my usual pixie cut). According to the hairdresser, I should be able to get out of bed, run a comb through it, and go to work looking presentable. We shall see............It's a bit longer than I wanted, but I will take responsibility for that. I usually go in with a photo in hand of what I want and I failed to do that this time. I'll be better prepared next time.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how the girl figured out what I owed for the haircut. As best I can figure it, she should have hit me up for nearly double what she charged. She got a REALLY good tip.............

Tomorrow is my 3-year anniversary at this job. It's hard work--the walking, standing and having to lift heavy objects--at least objects that are heavy for me. But it has saved my bacon in terms of being able to pay my bills. It's kind of cool, feeling that the Lord and I have achieved the physically impossible these three years. Here's a fun fact: On April 1st, I celebrated outliving my doctor's prediction of imminent death by 5 years. One should probably never tell a praying woman when she's going to die--God just might have other plans! I attribute some part of the additional lifetime to this job--all that physical stuff makes me stronger. But, surely, it is God who has enabled me to push through the obstacles and just do it!

 

Drive-by posting

Just about time for me to toddle off down the hall, so this will be short. Lately, it has seemed that I am having a lot of nausea. There doesn't seem to be much that I can eat or drink without wishing I'd foregone the pleasure within minutes. I was thinking about how often I've felt this way and realized nausea is a symptom of a UTI, or so I'd read whilst researching last night. No wonder...............

Remember I mentioned that I'd been asked if I'd like to work in the cash office? At the time I wasn't thrilled to face the prospect of starting work everyday at 5AM, but the idea I'd be able to work sitting down outweighed it. Today I found out, quite by accident, that someone else has been tapped for the position. Such poor management to let me find out that way. Just underscores my belief that our managers are, largely, gutless wonders..........Oh well, if God wanted me to have it, it would be mine.

I ordered my groceries for pick up today. Placed the order around 8AM before I went to work and picked them up after work. Since I can never talk myself into trying to walk around a grocery store after hours of standing on my feet, it's a good solution to the problem and not much out of my way to make it happen.

It's now 3 days from the pay date that is supposed to reflect a raise. Managers were supposed to speak to each of us about it, but, like I said, "poor management". They're running out of time. I've had two annual raises since starting there and neither of those was ever discussed with me either...........I should be able to see an image of my "check" online before the 7th, but I checked and it's not there yet. My guess is that this is some sort of effort to get us wage parity with our major competitor. Perhaps I should call that company and ask what a person in my position with my experience would be making. I might get better information that way...........

I have made up my mind--tomorrow after work I'm going to go get a haircut. I've been putting it off for so long that the bottom layers of my short "pixie cut" are now beyond shoulder length. My hair is a pistol to style. My hair is so stubbornly straight that, at this length, it even thwarts my efforts to tease a little bit of shape into it with a curling iron. Time to take action.

I have begun to belch--a good sign. Perhaps my food will begin to digest. The other day I ate a banana in lieu of breakfast and began to belch it back on the way home from work, more than 6 hours later. Who could imagine a banana would cause problems?

Off to bed now. Thanks for listening.