Visit from the SBAM

This entry is back-dated.

So our Seasonal Business Associates Manager, or SBAM for short, came to visit us from Boston. I'd give a name, but since some of this stuff is some harsh personal opinion, I'm not going to. Lawsuits and all. :P

I... REALLY DO NOT LIKE HIM.

Here's why...

We're selling these bears right? Well he told us that to maximize sales, to carry them around and force the customers to hold and touch them, to make them want to buy them. And to engage anyone that got close to the kiosk. That's fine and dandy and all, but a lot of people just want to be left alone. And they don't like pushy sales people like the SBAM wanted us to be.

He also told us that we have to sell these test gift cards whether we like it or not. Now, that'd be fine, except that we don't have the space to. Most kiosks have these free standing pods for a good quarter of their product to sit on--we don't. So all the stuff that's supposed to go on the pods is shoved into our kiosk. We are incredibly short on space. And in order to sell the gift cards, we'd have to remove an entire end basket of calendars and fit them in with everything else to do so. We don't have that kind of space! And we haven't been able to successfully download the Verifone update to allow us to sell the giftcards anyways, so Alix said just to not worry about it for now. Fine by me.

The SBAM also decided we are to not have a stool. We already had gotten rid of the chair before he came. Since none of us (that I knew of) had any reason to use the stool, he took it back to Saratoga with him. Alix is bringing it back tomorrow. But like, he said no one should ever use a stool without reason. And Alix said she did have one pregnant girl in Saratoga. Know what the SBAM said? He said that she could use one if she needed, but even she shouldn't be sitting down. SHE'S AT LEAST 6 MONTHS PREGNANT AND SHE SHOULDN'T SIT DOWN!? I swear... men... >:\

He also told Alix to make sure there were always two people on so that we could have one person at either end of the kiosk, but to stay away from the register because it turned people off. And that we didn't need to bring books or anything nor to sit down because there was plenty to keep us occupied.

...Oh really? Yeah... it takes an hour tops to clean the kiosk up by yourself. And I'm the only one who does paperwork so...

He also said that even though the mall was dead, that we could still make goal. Excuse me? Does anyone else see the flawed logic in this?

We took him out to the backroom as well, and he told us it wasn't that bad of a walk (I wanted to slap him) and that we needed to spread out and open all the boxes so we could flip through the calendars instead of reading the sides. Sorry, but I find it much faster to read the sides instead of flipping through everything.

I was being very pessimistic about it all. And the SBAM asked how long I'd been in retail, at which point I asked Alix when I was hired, which was September. So I told him since September, since that was the truth. And he seemed shocked. Told me I was doing a good job, but that I needed to be happier or customers wouldn't want to be around me. Well, both Alix and I told him I was good around customers, just not around others that saw the truth. Yeah, he didn't seem to like that answer. Oh well.

He was just a total jerk. I hope I never see him again, because I don't like him. The only thing we actually put into practice was placing calendar wraps behind calendars to make people want to buy them more, and it's kinda worked; and to keep track of customers and sales per person. I even made up nice sheets for this. Alix said the SBAM was going to love me. Good, he should. LOL

And he tried to put his selling tactics into play, and the lady got so disgusted with him that she practically threw the calendar back at him and stormed off.

Good job dude.

Sometimes, I REALLY HATE my job. >[

Today was just NOT my day. And it started in the morning, too!

I just couldn't wake up. Like... at all. So it was like everything was in slow motion. I wanted to bring hot cocoa with me too, so I would be warm and the slight caffeine in it would wake me up. But the only thermal travel mug we had with a lid was way too big and is my Mom's (like literally, there is MOM written on it...) so I couldn't take hot cocoa to work. And I couldn't find my knitting to bring that since Mondays are always slow.

Well... when I wished for a busy day... this is NOT what I had in mind. I wanted more customers, instead I got HELL.

When I got there, late by a few minutes because of this bitch on her cell phone that COULD NOT DRIVE, I was opening the kiosk to find it in a state of horror. There are no words in the English language that can describe just how appalled I was at what I found. So I ended up spending an hour, at least, fixing up the kids, sports, and dog sections, not to mention out giftwrap holder broke so I had to fix that. Like... it seriously looked like no one had bothered to do any clean up all weekend.

Then I was on the phone with Kiosk Support, because they called to inform me that we needed to download the latest updates for the verifone. Well... six tries later after many failures, he decided to give up and said he'd call back later. He never did.

I also got shit from the FedEx guy who came this morning. He delivered a box of Jonas Brothers calendars, and then wanted to know if our stuff was ready for pick up. Well, I told him no, and he was up in arms about how we needed to have it ready and that he'd be back tomorrow and that we only had two more chances and I finally snapped and said "Look, I can't leave the kiosk without another person here, and I'm alone until the afternoons. So come back then. And also, tell Borders to send us the boxes first so we have the ability to ship the stuff back to them." He left after that and I had signed for the package.

I then cleaned up the main stand for the kiosk since it was messy, and did some bookwork. I was so pissed that I actually messed it up, and have to correct it tomorrow when I have white out.

BUT THE DAY CONTINUED TO GET WORSE.

I was in the middle of bookwork when I get a call from the Sales and Audit's section of the corporate office. Oh goody. Well, since their damn register is a piece of shit and wouldn't record to the floppy disk properly, they're missing several days worth of sales records and need the receipts. Asked that we FedEx them and call with the tracking number. WHAT.EVER.

I had time to read for maybe half an hour before Megan got there at 12:30. I then followed what Alix asked me to do, and asked her about James.

It turns out he's the reason for the kiosk looking the way it did. Megan cleaned up most of it the day before, she just didn't have time to finish the rest before she left last night. And James flat out told her he didn't really care about this job since it was just for a little extra spending money anyways. It also turns out the idiot doesn't know how to close still even though he had been shown how before and screwed everything up on Saturday. And he refused a check sale because he didn't know how to do it, and couldn't be smart enough to look in our idiots guide that tells you how. HOW INCOMPETENT. I guess he's coming in sometime this week to watch how closing works, but I seriously think he's on the way out. He doesn't sound like someone that deserves the job with that kind of attitude.

I then went to do the deposit, as I need to every day, and got shit from Bank of America because Home Office STILL has not managed to get us more deposit bags, and I had to ask for more. And they were on me about if I had ordered more, and that I should do that today, and they just didn't seem to understand that Alix and I already tried, and were told we couldn't because we didn't open the account. So! Stupid Borders is screwing us over in banking relations as well. I did manage to get more deposit bags though, since Saturday and Sunday they had to use some of out plastic bags instead since we ran out.

I got back and had lunch, which the pizza place now has my order memorized since I've been on a grease binge as of late. Forget Subway, I need grease for happiness. That, and the mall is FREEZING so the pizza warms me up. I also went to this confectionery kiosk and got chocolate... >.>

Good thing I did, too, because after a while of boredom I get a call from Alix asking if the FedEx guy had shown up. I told her about the one from that morning... and she said another one was coming. He had been lost but now he wasn't...

SHIT.

He brought us AT LEAST 60 boxes of more calendars. SIXTY!!! When he got there I told him, in a most seriously sarcastic voice, to take them back and that we didn't want any. I felt bad for a split second because he actually believed me. But only for a second because this was such a bad day.

And he couldn't even take them all to the storeroom for us, since I called Alix and told her just how much we were getting and she said to not even open them. So Megan and I took turns hauling boxes to the storeroom after borrowing a clothes cart from Vic at Zoomies to do so. Even the workers at Zoomies think it's bullshit what we have to deal with at the kiosk. Now that's bad.

Let me tell you... I didn't think I was going to make it. Some Chinese guy that looked like a chef helped me at the warehouse, but other than that no one did after Megan and I got it up the ramp. Shit, I hit some girl with the cart because the dumb bitch decided she couldn't use the rest of the hallway to walk and instead had to stay right near me with a cart that was fishtailing. GOOD! I HOPE SHE HAS A BRUISE! >[ And NO ONE held the doors for me, and since they don't have a handicap button... GOD I HATE THIS FUCKING MALL. And, by the time we were doing this, it was dark out.

This is why I'm taking mixed martial arts. For days when I get screwed over like this and have to cross a deserted, dark, un-patrolled parking lot to and even less patrolled storeroom. AUUUUGGGGHHLAKGJ;AFDLHJHK

Needless to say, I didn't get to leave until a little later than 5pm. And then I had to wait to pee because the damn maintenance guy just couldn't pause in washing the sink so I could use the bathroom. What an ass.

I think next time we have to haul boxes, I'm going to ask the military recruitment guys to haul them. They always look bored. And what would I have done if I were alone!?

I. HATE. BORDERS. CORPORATE. OFFICES.

My day REALLY SUCKED.

And when I left, some ASS pulled RIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF ME on the road and I almost creamed him. He got the bird, you better believe it.

I cannot WAIT until I am DONE with Clifton Park.

And joy... tomorrow Mark comes from Home Office to see just how bad the kiosk is... and we have a snow storm coming tonight. JUST NOT MY WEEK. >[

I'm going back to my hot cocoa so I can stop being pissed. This fucking blows.

Mom's Surprise 50th

This entry is back-dated.

So yesterday was Mom's surprise 50th party, and it went off without a hitch for the most part. Mom was shocked (for the most part), and it was a blast.

She was definitely suspicious though, because I left so early for what she thought was someone else's party, someone that none of us kids knew. And Mia went to get Cory fairly early, and Ethan suddenly decided he was going, since we filled him in a bit late.

My family had no say in the planning at all really. My Aunt was in charge, and I'm sorry, but that woman can't plan shit to save her life. I was an email away, ONE EMAIL, and she was SCREAMING at me when I got to Aunt Diane's to help out where I could at 2pm. She told me that I was supposed to be there an hour ago to help out, and where the hell was my sister, blah blah. Well, I told her flat out that I didn't know, and then she said she was going to beat Amelia since she was supposed to tell me and I was like "You know, I have a damn email. You could have used it!"

I... really hate that woman.

And honestly, if you're not going to include me in the planning of my mother's surprise party, don't you dare expect me to help pay for a porta-potty (that no one used) and come do the manual labour for you. I am not a pack mule, and I have better things to do!

Another thing was how they were getting mom to come. Dad had to freaking stall her because she wanted to show up early to help set up too. I got there and she was like, ready to leave when I was. So I had to warn them. It was bad. And when I told my Aunt that it was hard enough to get out of the house as it was, she told me "Well you could have just said you were going to the mall"

Yeah, okay. We're going to go to the mall because:
A) Ethan loves to shop.
B? Mia has money.
C) That's totally in the same direction as Aunt Diane's.

If you can't tell, that was loaded with sarcasm.

God that woman PISSES ME OFF. So I have completely blocked her from my email, and I told my mom flat out that I wanted nothing to do with her any more. This is the second time she has totally screwed up and overstepped her bounds. I'm not dealing with it anymore.

Other than that, the party was a blast. I lost about $5 gambling between Left, Right, Center; and Screw your Neighbor. xD But it was worth it because we had fun. There was also loud music, which I didn't care for very much, and Wacky Ball.

I. LOVE. WACKY BALL. LOL It's just a lot of fun. And it seems that when you're drunk, you play better.

Speaking of drinking, both Uncle Ken and Aunt Diane would have let me get wasted. x'D I was responsible though, and just tried some of Aunt Diane's Captain Morgan and Iced Tea. It was yummy. :3 One sip doesn't impair my judgment to drive.

I also took the kids down to Stewarts to get some stuff to amuse them, since no one brought any games for them to play. They mostly hid out in the house anyways, since the adults were all doing their own thing at the party. I felt bad.

Well... I also felt sore, but that was because I had done karate the day before and was feeling the workout. x'D Vic says we'll have to grapple, so it'l be cool. Gotta love my cousin.

That was about it.

And in case you're wondering, this is me playing wacky ball. Ignore the photo quality, my other drunk cousin, Kate, took it. ^^;



And here are some more Wacky Ball photos that I took, totally candid and not for art at all. Even us photographers do some average stuff.

Gelatin Arms

So I did two hours of exercise tonight, working at my martial arts. We decided to do another two hours and call it a month since the last Friday is Black Friday... and neither one of us is up for it on that day. Me because I'll be tired, and him because he has stuff he'd like to do. SO! Two hours it was!

And now I can hardly use my arms. >.<;;; We decided to focus on upper body strength and abs, so that I could throw a more effective punch, and take a hit better. Great idea... bad sensation. I'm glad it means I'm getting stronger though and that he's able to get me to push myself. Effectiveness is key. But like... we attempted (loose interpretation of that LMAO) a push-up pyramid. If you don't know what that is (like I didn't until now xD), it's where you do 9 push-ups, rest, then 8, rest, then 7, so on and so forth. Well, I did the 9... barely. And he told me to focus on using the left arm more since it was obvious to him that I was doing more support on my right one. Understandable. Well, then he matched me for 9. And we attempted 8... and did 5. ^^; Steve did 8 though. So now we were going to try to make 7.. yeah, barely got to 5. BARELY. Steve then did 7... and I couldn't even do one more. x'D Steve then did another 6, the show off... >.>

Of course, that was just because I showed off in flexibility... >.>;

See, we were trying to stretch my lower back, so he had me get on hands and knees, and then turn my legs inward, and arch my back. I felt... nothing. So he had me crawl forward and try again. This time I felt it in my knees. So we went forward a bit more and tried again... still in the knees. So he told me to try turning them in more... nothing. I ended up flat on my stomach feeling nothing. But when I pushed back while keeping my stomach down and really applied force I felt it.

...Steve decided I was a mutant... >.>;;;

So yes, he's jealous of my flexibility. And the other guys in his group jujitsu class don't believe how flexible I am. I think I'll have to make a guest appearance... Fufufufufu~

We also worked at stretching my knees... and almost did serious damage. ^^; Turned out the muscled just tightened up, but the stabby pain I was feeling when it bent was bad. Oops... >.>; Like, when Steve pushed me the extra bit, there was PAIN. But I can stretch better now. \OwO/ WIN! I always wanted to be flexible!

I also did the gymnast ab rock thing... for beginners. x'D That was actually pretty fun, but I know I'll feel that tomorrow too.

So I won't be lifting anything heavy for a while, and probably not moving too fast either. x'D

BUT! During grappling/sparring (we did a combo session), even though I took a lot of hits, I managed to land blows, constantly worm away, and I got a pin. :D I just kept pushing forward until I did. Hell, when he tickled me I caught him near the collar bone with a backhand and left a bruise on accident. Natural instinct when being tickled: flail and hit. I think Steve figured this out... for now. x'''D

It was fun though. And it really helps keep my mood up without meds. Which is GREAT, because I keep forgetting to take them. And I really hate taking them anyways.

Steve is such a good instructor. Seriously, if you're in the area, check out Inpakuto-ryu. It's totally worth it. We had two drop ins tonight who are considering it, so be quick about it. Or Steve might be at his limits. ;) And if you do go, tell him Samantha sent you. ^^ Referrals mean discounts or even a free month of lessons! So join, tell your friends, and have a blast! And be able to defend yourself!

And ladies, Steve is teaching me how to escape and maim any rapist/attacker, and how to get over the panic. IT IS WORTH IT. Of course, we were laughing because in some of them you could just sit and hold your attacker at bay with one hand while you called the cops with the other.

Can you imagine being the cop that gets the phone call "Yeah, so I just had a guy attempt to rape me... I'm currently sitting on him and may or may not be close to breaking his arm. Kinda immobilized the fuck."

If I were the cop, I'd be laughing. Hard.

But really, totally worth it. I'm glad I'm going there.

Imaginary Numbers

Today was pretty dull at work, mostly because I missed the (expected) Twilight rush and crowd. Thank god. But while I was there, we (Megan and Andrew came in at 1, I left at 1:30) somehow ended up on imaginary numbers.

Well when I was in high school, we actually asked the math teacher where we would use them, and someone said to build your imaginary house. And the teacher didn't have a better answer for us, so we considered them pretty useless. I still do.

Andrew is a quantum physicist. Yeah... I don't know how he ended up at the kiosk either. But that's what he went to college for and he says you use them in the field.

So... I summarily decided quantum physics is imaginary. LOL

We had a playful argument over that.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the excitement of my work day. *bows*

OUTSIDE OF THAT!

I went Christmas/Birthday shopping after depositing my ($515) paycheck! :D It was sooooo much fun, and I actually only bought one manga for myself. :O Though I did get three for myself yesterday... >.> BUUUUT! TODAY IS TODAY! And I bought stuff for my family instead. So I feel good. I'd mention what, but since they sometimes read this I better not. Tehe~

I love the Wilton Mall at Christmas when all the kiosks are open, I really do. AND THEY'RE OPENING A FUDGE SHOP IN THE FOOD COURT. OwO OMNOMNOMNOMNOM~

Random Facts

So I learned some disturbing information at work today from Megan, our local forensics major. And believe me, this was the highlight of the day, because there were like... no customers. >.o;;; As per the norm.

I learned that the most common substance found on a dollar bill is cocaine to start. And that when they did a random sampling, most cities tested and found 70%-90% of their bills had the residue. Denver, on the other hand, was 100%. Well Denver... is there something we should know? LOL

Lunch and deposit and stuff was right after that, so I learned the next bit later on.

Are you ready for this? Probably not but oh well.

I learned that the most common substance to find on doorknobs and gas pumps is semen. Men... you are gross. Wash your hands, kthnx! Doorknobs I can see... but gas pumps!? What in the hell!? Man... not cool. I am sooooo carrying hand sanitizer now. Gross.

Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful. Alix came and did the schedules and as you know, I'm on for Black Friday, and gave us the Packet o' Bullshit. It basically was trying to tell us things we couldn't do at this remote kiosk... like making frequent trips to the store room. Yeah... no. That's just not happening. Maybe once a week at most. MAYBE. Black Friday will be the big one next week... possibly. I'm not getting my hopes up. But yeah, the packet doesn't take into account that most times... the world isn't perfect. So screw it, I don't care. Told us we couldn't have book there either. Aha. ha. ha. FUCK THAT SHIT. I mean, damn, I was playing pyramid solitaire on the stool with a deck of cards today! BOREDOM IS KING AT THIS KIOSK.

We also have to try and push the bears. Ugh... stupid things. Though I do want one... they're really soft... >.> I might have to skin it and use the stuff to make a pillow... >w>;;;

We also got a shipment today. Only nine boxes, thank goodness. Two went to overstock, and Megan and I just carried them over. We also got another display for the gift cards we're supposed to sell... but are going to try very hard to get out of.

When I went to take out the trash, these two boys held the door for me. So I said thanks, because you know, that's polite. And I got a "You're VERY welcome." Greeeeaat... >.o So not interested. And I could feel them watching me as I walked away. Uuuugh. So I tossed the boxes in the compactor and started it up and came back. I went in the far door. And the one kid who held the door said to the other "Dammit man! You scared her!"

Um no. More like I didn't want to deal with you two idiots. Got a job to do, kthnxbai.

The two Middle Eastern men at the other kiosk also keep acting suspiciously when they get near our kiosk. Oi...

On the plus side, I made Alix laugh, and Megan and I had a very enjoyable conversation. She's a smart girl, and she's respectable. So we can just talk about anything and be honest and have some good laughs. I definitely feel a connection to her.

She also gave me a website that I can go to and possibly get an in for forensic photography. It'd pay well and (technically) be in my field. Win. :D

When the kiosk closes in January, I will miss her. I'll have to exchange emails or something so we can keep in touch, since she is moving out of state after all this.

Oh, and Mark (Alix's boss) is coming on Tuesday to assess just how bad the situation is. I'll finally get to meet the guy I've butted heads with on the phone in person. ...Joy. Man, just wait until he sees how dead it is. I'll just have to be certain not to be late though, in case he shows at 9:30am too. :x

God... Next week is going to be even more of HELL. >_<;;;

Oh, and James, who is a weekender, came in to see his hours for today so I finally met him. Briefly. He seemed like an older man. Probably in his 30s like Jason. Yikes.

I think that's it... Yeah, has to be. Unless I forgot to mention that we got George Carlin calendars in... >.> I will own one!

PAYDAY TOMORROW/FRIDAY! I pick the checks up tomorrow though so... >w>

Anyways, I'm off. Still sick so I'm done with this update. Good night, and happy travels. Don't forget the hand sanitizer! xD

Black Friday

...So... since I'm the head person at the kiosk... I have been scheduled to work Black Friday. That in and of itself is not a problem. It's my hours that make me want to throw myself off the nearest cliff.

I am working...

.....

5:30am-2pm. EIGHT HOURS OF TORTURE. TOOOOOORTUUUUUURE. QAQ

Like... I'll have to be up at 4am so I can leave by 4:30am to be there by 5:30am.

SOMEONE. PLEASE. KILL ME NOW. IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME YOU WILL.

Oh god... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

This is going to be a horrible day. I am not looking forward to it.

Told my Mom she was getting up too. Dammit, I will NOT be the only one up early!! *shakefist*

Visit me for sure...? Please...? ;A;

Home Office

So today I spent a good hour on the phone with Home Office. I even made the record logs, it was that long.

We started on the regular phone, but had to move to m cell phone as we ended up working with the modem. Yeah... dial-up internet for us. >.o;;;

Turned out that the phone line for the modem was plugged into the wrong place, and the reason they were calling was because they weren't getting any sales data from us due to this problem. We had plugged it in to what we thought was another phone jack, but it turned out it wasn't, and the line also had to go into the splitter. Lemme tell ya, it took FOREVER to communicate this to him, since he's out in Anarbor(sp) Michigan. Then we moved on to the cash register...

See, since the disks weren't downloading, this came up too. So we went to the register, and I learned how to do an admin75, which tells me all the sales that day. At this point we'd only had one. Then he wanted me to try an admin99, which probably would diagnose stuff... but it wouldn't accept the command. I also had to do a no sale for some reason or another.

Well, this was when we popped the disk into the PC to see if it'd download the information to him, which it did. Meaning that it probably wasn't the disk. Still, he wanted Alix to make some new ones just in case.

Then he got a ticket number and put in a request to an electrician to come out and look at the register since it definitely isn't working right.

Cool, said he'd be there within the next few days.

I was NOT expecting him to show up later today! He got there about 3pm, since I hadn't been back from lunch long (Huma thought she worked Thursday, not Tuesday, and was late by 40min), and got to work.

He dusted out the whooooole computer inside of the register, and the floppy drive. he also poured 90% rubbing alcohol onto the floppy disk and stuck it in the drive. That disturbed me because I didn't think you were supposed to combine liquid and electronics. LMAO But he said it was okay, and it seemed to be.

I mean, this guy tried EVERYTHING. Did diagnose scans at least 15 times, and just was as thorough as can be. Buuuut... nothing worked. I mean, he even ran it through his laptop via a USB Floppy Drive.

His diagnosis: It's junk. I'm serious.

So he's ordering us a new floppy drive, if one is even available (we're talking an IBM system here from the stone age), and he'll be back to install it.

He said that it can't right to the higher sectors, only the lower ones. Greeeeaaaat.

Alix is still going to make new disks for us, since we're probably going to want fresh ones.

God, this kiosk is such a pain.

While I was on the phone with that guy, and we were waiting for things to load, we had chat time and I told him as much. He wanted Alix to come down to the kiosk too, and almost choked when I said that the base store was about 30min away if you had light traffic. He wanted to know why it was so far so I told him in plain English that it was should be run by the Borders five minutes down the street, but that somehow we'd ended up with it in Saratoga. And he said it was good that we were sticking it out, and I told him I wouldn't be if they weren't paying me well. LMAO

I also asked if they were shipping a whole new register and he said no, that the only way they really broke to that point was if you dropped them on the floor. And then he said that I probably wanted to by now. I told him if I could lift it, probably. xD

He said that he would put in for it to be fixed, and that he thought it was the drive, and I wanted to know how long that'd take to get here so Alix could be here to help install it. And he laughed and asked if I really thought they were going to make Alix do it. I told him yeah, since that'd been the general pattern. Modem broke--they sent a new one and Alix fixed it (turned out it was only a wire plugged in wrong...); the monitor was broke--they sent a new one and I fixed it; the LDT broke--they're sending a new one for Alix to fix... Yeah, definitely a pattern.

But he assured me otherwise, and it must be true since the electrician showed up.

He was a nice guy though, so it wasn't too bad. Both were nice guys, actually. Home Office and the electrician. Yeah... I don't have names. LOL

The guy at Home Office told me I was getting 15min of fame in his diary log for the day. xD I told him I wished it had come in a different form. He said never know, maybe I'd get a promotion. I just laughed and said that'd only be good for better pay to put towards student loans. Hahaha

I like people with a sense of humour.

To top the day off though, I had to FIGHT with the register tape to get it to work when we ran out. Which coincided with when I was on the phone with Home Office. Go figure.

Today was not my day. In fact, most days at that kiosk aren't. I hate it SOOOOOOO MUCH. Can't wait for it to be OVER.

And... we only made $193 out of the $577 goal yesterday. Hahaha, $577 a day at Clifton Country Mall? What are they, nuts? I mentioned the dead mall status to Home Office too. And for some reason they seem to think we'll yield $60,000 at this kiosk. Yea--no.

Oh, and wouldn't you know it, we had a sale during the fixing of the register, so I had to do it all manually without the computer and put it in after. Oi.

So um... yeah. Save me? xP

PS: This stomach bug BLOWS. Had it since last Thursday and it just CLINGS. ;A;
PSS: The microwave died, so I am without a way to cook. Nooooooooooooooooo *sobs*

Bad Parenting in ACTION

So apparently there are more bad parents in Clifton Park than Saratoga, because aside from the screaming from the play-place down there, I never had issues with the kids like I do here.

And it's RAMPANT. Kids constantly knocking stuff over or touching it while parents watch. This one mom in particular brought in five kids, the oldest maybe 8, and let them roam. They touched EVERYTHING and put it back wherever they could reach and it was just CHAOS. But the worst part? She stood there and LAUGHED as they decided to look at the PLAYBOY TYPE calendars.

I'm sorry... what parent lets her barely-out-of-diapers children look at nude women? Did I miss something here?

I was disgusted. And then I had to play maid to top it all off.

Other things include kids running off with calendars that we have to chase down, and the sticky hands.

PLEASE PARENTS. CONTROL YOUR OFFSPRING. I am not a maid, and I'm definitely NOT A BABYSITTER.

Bank of America

So I've decided that the Bank of America is WAY TOO PUSHY and WAY TOO LENIENT ON STAFFING.

First off, they're pushy.

Alix went with me to do the first bank deposit, since I had NO CLUE as to what I was doing. Good thing too because it turned out we needed different bags and that we needed to speak with a representative about getting a night drop card to make things easier. Well, no big deal. So we made our deposits and had a seat. Got in to see someone like... instantly. Guess no one wanted to sit down near lunch time. LOL

So we're talking about getting stuff, and it turns out we can't do the ordering, Home Office has to because they're the ones who set up the account. From out in Michigan... Greeeeat. We're still waiting for that delivery.

This being done, Alix and I get up to leave when the lady asks us if we have our accounts with them. Well, Alix does but I don't. And this lady, I swear I almost clocked her, went into her sales pitch. I'm sorry, what part of "I'm with First NY" didn't she get? Telling me their not local... what a bunch of shit. They are to me lady, I don't live in Clifton Park like the rest of you faux-rich (since that's what a lot of them are) people. And she tried to get me to switch. NO THANKS. I told her I probably had my student loan through them, and we left. Like, didn't give her a chance to say another word kind of left.

HOW RUDE. We were obviously on our company's time and she's trying to make a personal sale with me so I'll use their bank? What kind of nonsense is that!? And Alix almost shit herself when I told her they charge a fee per day if you can't keep a $5,000 minimum balance for business accounts. Yeah... Bank of America isn't friendly to the entrepreneur.

BUT, that's not all!

So yesterday I went to do the deposit, and I got a teller who barely spoke English. I wish I could say I'm joking, but I can't. And she was slow as hell too. Didn't understand when I tried to tell her that my night person made a mistake in where to put the contents per slot in the bag and stuff, and then when I asked for more since we needed some, she kept asking me what, and that she didn't know what I wanted.

...How hard is it to understand "Can I get more deposit bags" when you're HOLDING ONE.

So the teller next to her had to put the person he was helping on hold to come get the bags for me. Talk about a bad representation of the bank.

Seriously folks, I'm all for equality in the workplace, but if you're going to be working with people, you should be able to properly communicate. Especially at a bank. That's like... common sense. Come on now, not that hard to figure our.

So yeah... definitely not impressed with them. At all.

Witnessed by Old Ladies

Man... you know how much it sucks to have people witness to you? Especially when you're working? Yeah, me too.

And usually, I'm really rude to people like that. Either through debating (though that obviously doesn't work with some) or by just plain being an ass. But this time... I couldn't.

See, we had these two old ladies come in on the 10th (I think...) and they were so cute. Couldn't make up their mind on what cat calendar they wanted. They were deciding between 365 Cats, Cat Naps, and Garfield. How Garfield got in there I don't know, but that's what they decided on after 15min of debate. And not just the box, but the wall calendar too.

Hey, I'm here to please (sort of). If you want to buy two calendars for no particular reason, be my guest.

So they're ringing out and making comments about the Christmas music (yes... it's been on for a while now. Since like... that day. >.o;;;) and I mentioned that I would prefer it after Thanksgiving since that was an important holiday too, and they agreed. By now the sale is rung out and they're getting ready to leave.

BUT NOT QUITE!

Just as they're about to go one of them turned around and pulled out a pamphlet.

You know it's not going to be good after that.

She genuinely seemed worried though. Told me that with the holidays coming up she wanted to make sure I had good faith and could be as happy as possible by knowing where I was going.

Well, I knew she had to be either a Jehovah's Witness, or a Born Again. In the case of the former, all I could do would be to offer her money to offend her and make her leave. Which I really didn't want to offend her because I just don't have the heart to do it to sweet old people. But upon opening the pamphlet, I recognized it to be the latter and kindly declined.

Told her through other circumstances, my soul had already been saved. And she then asked if I knew Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior, to which I was able to reply that yes, I knew, and I knew that he died on the cross for me.

Her parting words were "Oh, bless your soul. That must be why you're so nice."

She took the pamphlet back and left...

And I CRACKED UP.

Seriously... come on. If anything at least dealing with the bible-thumpers at the county fair got me out of dealing with that lady super easy. But I don't really practice any faith at all and here I was convincing a poor old lady I did.

Man... I'm such a sinner. Lying like that to my elder. x'DDD

Ohhhh, how some people amuse me. LOL

Possible Cure for AIDS

Click here for the Article

Been reading about it lately. It's a bit out there, but it seems like a solid lead for where research can go. I have to say, it gives me hope to know that future generations may not suffer from such a disease. But I definitely think a cost-effective cure is at least 10 years in the making.

Inpakuto Ryu

So tonight marked my first private karate lesson at Inpakuto-Ryu, located on RT50, near the City Mission and such. It was AWESOME.

Steve is a friend of mine, which definitely made this first session easier. And I had seen how it works already from when Tabby was taking lessons from him, and I watched. It's definitely a lot more fun to participate.

We started off with some traditional stuff, stances and punches and kicks. Which was pretty cool, because I've never been that coordinated with them. However, this being a private lesson, he can devote full attention to helping me improve. WIN.

Then, we moved on to self defense. Why? Because it's a big concern. I learned how to deter any rapist, and should he somehow get his pants off, I can now rip off his nuts. You heard me right, I have effectively learned how to rip off a guy's family jewels. I also can turn pretty much any situation into my benefit too. Just gotta remember everything... I feel a refresher course happening. xD

After that though, we moved into jujitsu. Jujitsu is one of the more deadly forms of martial arts out there, because it's intended for critically harming your opponent to keep them down. If I got you in the right position, I could dislocate your shoulder with just a little bit of pressure. And it wouldn't take much effort on my part. That's jujitsu. And I LOVE it. Fufufufufu~

After that we grappled/sparred. I honestly don't know how we got into this... it just sort of happened. o_O; I never got him to tap out, but he only got me to do so once. Which was shocking because he's a black belt and I'm a beginner. He told me though that he was having trouble because I'm small and I can worm. Which is very true. He also said I had a natural ability to pick up on things since I instinctively knew to pinch, scratch, bite, apply pressure to his fingers, and I could work in some of the jujitsu we had been using before hand. It was AWESOME.

...And then he tickled me because I'm a glutton for punishment and just don't know when to quit. x'D Oh well.

OH! He also taught me how to punch hard... and how to backhand someone so harshly that it'd break bones. Yes boys and girls, I can shatter your cheekbone with the back of my hand.

So I guess I should say not to mess with me with intent to harm? >.>; I definitely feel better knowing this stuff though.

And he's helping me stretch too, since that's important or you'll hurt yourself. He's also able to make sure I'm definitely doing the moves properly so that I do not damage my body. WHICH IS GREAT. This is why private lessons rock. Because I was totally doing the round house kick wrong to start and could have really hurt my back. But he helped fix that issue.

A lot of girls wouldn't like it though because it can seem very intimate. I don't care though, because Steve is a good guy, and his girlfriend joins him to watch and stuff. So no worries. ^^

This has definitely been one of the best decisions of my life. Munchback-sensei did great lessons, but I am just not cut out for group study; and he showed the moves way too fast for me. Doing it privately is a lot easier for me. Definitely. And for $55 a month... that's like $14.25 an hour. Seriously, how many instructors would give you lessons that cheap? NOT MANY. Not when you're at his skill level. So yes, totally worth my time.

And, I'm going to drop in on his class on Tuesday. So that I can meet the guys and grapple with them a bit for fun. And to help him attract more women, and to get them to stay. Totally free for me, too. WHOO! That's fine by me! :D Tuesdays, if you're wondering, is his jujitsu class.

But yes, very fun. If you decide to join, tell him Samantha sent ya. :D Referrals get me free lessons! \OwO/

Here is the MySpace: CLICK ME, YO!

Enjoy!

I am off to go be sick, thanks to the humidity and the fact that I apparently ate something I shouldn't have. Hurk oxo;;;

Lunch with Karen

So I was able to go to the Whistling Kettle (great place) with Karen for lunch, and it was wonderful. We finally had two hours to spend chatting (while Nicholas, the baby, had his way with whatever he could grab lol), and we got caught up on stuff. And the food was really good, even if they got our orders backwards. lol No big deal.

I tried my first scone while I was there too. OH MAN ARE THEY WONDERFUL! Strawberry and creme scone.... mmmm... <3

I totally ate too much though, and am feeling preeeeetty sick right now. LMAO But it was worth it. Good food, good company, who could ask for more? And it's not a heavy sick, just a nagging kind, so it's not even that bad. Just annoying. xD;;; Just gotta ditch it within the next hour or I'll have to bail on karate. Because exercise like that on a bad stomach isn't a good idea... >.>;

But the lunch was worth it! Sandwich, tea, salad, and dessert for $14.95? Ummm... HELLS YEAH!? Can't ask for a better deal!

She also gave me the PTSA newsletter where I was advertising in, and it looks great! And it was distributed to well over 500 people! :O Plus, since I got in early, I got a GOOD SPOT. Whoo!! Thank you Karen for the opportunity!

And Saturday, I'm going to get ready for the PTSA's Pizza with Santa thing. Gotta get some frames, more paper, make more business cards, ect... Because December 5th is going to be here sooner than I know it!!! xD But it's going to be SO WORTH IT. I couldn't ask for better exposure!!! *w*

Speaking of photos... I missed the fog ones. :< Oh well, I'm sure there will be another time. :3 I'll try to get something else for you guys though, since I've been seriously lacking in imagery for... almost a month now... >.>;;;;;;;;

Anyways! I'm out of here! Gotta go take care of this stomach. oxo;;;

Oh my...

I have a lot of updates that I haven't put up in here yet. Umm... I'll get to them tonight, promise. Plenty of crazy stuff has gone on at that blasted kiosk so I have things to tell you about.

Today though I'm preeeeetty busy. Going out to lunch with my friend Karen, then possibly seeing Miss. Mierzwa, and I have my first karate lesson tonight. I'm also going to get going a bit earlier maybe, because we have some awesome fog going on. I hate driving in it... but photos... >.>

SO! Enjoy your day, and I'll be back tonight with updates and (hopefully) new photos for you!

If there's one thing I miss...

If there is one thing I miss about Massachusetts... it was the peace and quiet. Mom and my brother are having a screaming match again because he was too damn lazy to do his homework and once a week chore of taking the garbage out, even after he'd been told several times, and now he's mocking my mother who is angry at him. It's loud, annoying, fucking stupid, and if my stomach weren't feeling off I would leave. To where I don't know, but I would. Wouldn't be the first time either. Shit, I'd probably just go to Uncommon Grounds or something. Stupid brother. >(

Through a Rapist's Eyes

I got this in email, and it's pretty important stuff so I decided to not only forward it on, but to post it here online. Please read it, take note, and perhaps copy-paste it into an email to send on to people.

---------------------------------

Through a Rapist's Eyes (No Joke)

This is important information for females of ALL ages. Guys - please forward to the female members of your family and all your female friends and associates.

When this was sent to me, I was told to forward it to my lady friends. I forwarded it to most everyone in my address book. My men friends have female friends & family and this information is too important to miss someone. Please pass it along.

A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:

1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed . They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.

2) The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who's clothing is easy to remove quickly . Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing.


3) They also look for women on their cell phone , searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.


4) Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning, between 5: 00am. and 8:30a.m.


5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots. Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number three is public restrooms.


6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.


7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.


8) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.


9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.
Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.


10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: "I can't believe it is so cold out here", "we're in for a bad winter." Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target.


11) If someone is coming toward you , hold out your hands in front of you and yell STOP or STAY BACK ! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.


12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.


13) If someone grabs you , you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD . One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - the guy needed stitches.
Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it hurts.


14) After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN . I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you'll
anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he's out of there.


15) When the guy puts his hands up to you , grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible . The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.


16) Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts!!!
You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.

PLEASE READ THEN FORWARD THIS TO EVERY WOMAN YOU KNOW, IT'S SIMPLE STUFF BUT IT COULD SAVE HER LIFE

The Kiosk from HELL

All right, so I've worked a total of three days in Clifton Park now... AND I HATE EVERY LAST MINUTE OF IT. EVERY LAST ONE.

I shit you not, this is the KIOSK FROM HELL.

Let me just list the reasons with small explanations. Otherwise this will get too lengthy. WAAAAAAAY too lengthy. And it's going to be long as it is. :P

Before we go there though, please bear this in mind. I am the assistant manager at this kiosk. Alix is still the head manager, but since she can't be there 90% of the time, I'm in charge. So I'll be working 40 hour weeks at this thing, and managing most of the bookwork and stuff. I'm also responsible for training the others and helping them, and for keeping everything in order. My responsibilities have gone up, and I don't mind this. And I wouldn't mind the 40hr weeks either... except that I REALLY HATE THIS KIOSK.

Let me begin...

1. As of Thursday when I got there, we did not have storage space. We were told it wasn't part of our lease agreement, and our legal department was immediately after the mall because it most definitely was a part of the agreement. Thankfully by noon that same day we had a storage space... however it is all the way across the parking lot and behind another building, not that accessible, and not safe to walk to after dark alone, I don't care how many cops are around. Alix agrees. And to top it all off, we share it with the mall who is currently building the Santa set in there. Yeah... so it's not even our own space. And it's definitely not inside the same building like it was supposed to be.

2. The modem was busted. So we couldn't boot the register fully, and had no access to the verifone, meaning no credit card sales. This went from the first day when we were just stocking, before we were open, through to the second day. About 3pm that day though, we finally got it all working. Had to overnight a new modem, and then that didn't work so I don't know what Alix did... but everything was kind of working right then.

3. We had to create a new register boot disk. Thankfully we have a backup one on hand, because the master one is totally corrupted. We couldn't get it to work right on Thursday, and today when I got there it didn't work either and I was on the phone with Alix forever trying to get the register online. Thankfully the backup one worked, and then it was just a matter of fiddling to get the base fund accepted so that we could do transactions.

4. Because of where the storage area is, we have no place for the PC that controls the kiosk and stuff. I don't know exactly how all that works, I just know we need the PC. Well, at first we were told to just keep it under the kiosk, but that meant no place for the security curtains. Thusly we gave up two bins for understock to store the security curtains. But we still couldn't have the PC there because it wasn't accessible enough. So we got a small table on Friday and that's where it now sits.

5. The security curtains still can't go under the kiosk because we need that space for the money box and our jackets and bags. We originally would have used the storage area... but that's just not possible.

6. Borders didn't ship us all the calendars so we have empty spaces on the shelves. This also means we'll be getting more, and that means more overstock. Which means more mass trips to the damn store room.

7. They told us we were supposed to sell Visa giftcards good to the Clifton Country Mall only... but then told us otherwise and we have no idea what we're going to do with that. Not to mention we have no way of selling them, and wouldn't want to because it costs $4-$5 just to activate the damn things. Screw that.

8. We have this really creepy Middle Eastern guy loitering around the kiosk. He works the one next to us but just wanders away from it to read our calendars. And he really is creepy. Asked for a job but we already hired enough people, and I wouldn't want him anyways because he can barely speak English and that bothers me a lot. Especially since we have a lot of older customers with bad hearing to start. We won't even get into the fact that he looks and acts shady. :x

9. Borders is RIGHT DOWN THE STREET from this damn thing, but they decided they didn't want the hassle and it got tossed on Alix. And they don't want to pay her mileage because it's just under 30mi to CP from Saratoga. SCREW THAT. I told her to fight them, and if they won't give her the mileage to refuse the kiosk next year. We shouldn't have the damn thing anyways, since we have our own in Wilton.

10. Our paychecks are getting sent to Saratoga because management is apparently pretty dumb. So I have to go pick them up (we're adding on an extra half an hour for this so I will get paid, but still...) and bring them back. Alix had Mark put in for a change of address for them though so that they'll get delivered to us instead.

11. We don't have the little floating islands, so eventually when we have the same amount of product as Wilton, we'll have less space to put it all out in.

12. The mall is freaking dead. It even made deadmalls.com, which is sad. Even though the article is old, it still holds true. None of the stores are really connected, and nobody gives a shit about this place. They'd rather go to Saratoga or Albany. And Clifton Park is right in the middle. We only did some good business today because Madagascar 2 opened and people were visiting the theatre.

13. It turns out that I have to drive an extra 10-20min to get there, since it's actually a bit longer, and the traffic is a lot worse. When I was going to Saratoga it was more highway and city, so people drove better. That, and it's Saratoga, so people are just generally more inclined to move their ass. Going to Clifton Park I take a lot of back roads, and people just CANNOT FUCKING DRIVE. A lot of people do 35 in a 55 and it DRIVES ME BATSHIT INSANE. And by the time I reach 146East, I'm already close to being late because of the bastards. It's just a mess, and I need a different route.

14. The mall isn't even called a mall, so I got lost the first two days trying to find it. The first day I actually stopped a FedEX truck and asked the driver how to get there. Like... seriously, there are NO SIGNS for this mall. If you can call it that.

15. We're right in the middle of the food court, which is a nice location but it still sucks because it turns out people like to have birthday parties at the mall. Yes, birthday parties. RIDICULOUS. There were THREE OF THEM today, and I couldn't have a peaceful lunch if I'd wanted to.

16. There isn't shit to eat for lunch. And everything is hecka expensive. I had the worst salad EVER my first day there and it cost me $6, with a drink. And the pizza I had the last two days... so greasy it TOTALLY SOAKED two napkins. :\ There isn't anything else healthy that I can eat. Lack of Miracle Whip and all since I'm allergic to mayo. Looks like I need to either bring lunch, or learn to drive faster so I can get across the street to Subway. Because this is just stupid.

17. They want us to park FOREVER away from the mall near a queer entrance. None of us do it, because it's not worth it. Fuck it, I'll just park a bit further back near an entrance I've sort of come to know.

18. We had, and still have, no planograms to tell us where everything is supposed to be, so I was the walk-talking planogram since I have pretty much everything memorized.

19. Because of where we are and what we're hooked to power-supply wise, we can't get the security curtain around the register part of the kiosk correctly, and I doubt the PC gets covered well.

20. The flat screen for the PC is pretty much dead, so we're waiting on the new one to be shipped out to us. So you can only see half of the screen well enough to really navigate.

21. We didn't have any employees for this kiosk until the day before thanks to Borders not giving Alix much time to do interviews, and because trying to find people who can work in Clifton Park was a pain. As it is only two people that I know of live there. Sad.

That's about it. The first day Mark wanted Alix and I to work double shifts to get the rest of the product out too, and that just wasn't happening because they don't pay overtime. Fuck that. And I needed to get to the school anyways in Galway for stuff.

I'm doing the Pictures with Santa, and needed to meet with the PTSA. It'll be free, but I get a whole table to myself to promote myself, and I get to hand business cards out with all the photos, so it's worth it. Grabbed Subway on the way out of Wilton, since I had to run there first on Thursday for my paycheck, and barely made it in time to the school.

Last night I barely made it to the bank with my paycheck thanks to a nasty accident, and then the dumb lady wouldn't shut up about her questions with Borders that were totally dumb, and got me locked in since it was past closing. But at least my check was cashed so I could pay my car loan.

And TigerDirect fucked up and didn't refund me everything they were supposed to, so I chewed their ass out last night.

And today, for the first time ever, I had to work a Saturday because of training people. I work next Saturday as well, and then that should be the end of it. I'd rather have two days off in a row and work Mon-Fri than this one day bullshit before it's back to another four days at work. Ugh.

Thursday Mark is coming out to see the kiosk. No idea what he'll think of it, but we're doing the best we can.

I really don't want to man this kiosk any more. Like... I'm glad it got me up to $9.75/hr, but this is just... ugh. Alix even told me she was ready to quit her job with all this bullshit. This is just nuts. And this kiosk is open until near the 20th of January. Blarg.

I was also looking through the Clifton Park mall hours... and on Black Friday the thing opens at 6AM. SIX IN THE MORNING FOLKS. I would have to be up about 4am to be able to get there by 5:30am to open. And on Thanksgiving we celebrate at my grandmother's in Rotterdam, an hour away. But we don't just celebrate Thanksgiving, we celebrate my Mom's, sister's, and brother's birthdays as well. Which means I probably won't be home until 9pm or 10pm at the earliest, if I'm lucky. So I'm going to need to have a loooooong discussion with Alix about having one of the people who live in Clifton Park open on that day, and I'll go in a bit later. You know, one of the employees that live five minutes from the kiosk. And I know Heidi does. So... yeah. A 4am wake-up is just not possible unless I can get to bed by 7pm, 8pm at the latest. And I will be VERY LUCKY if I can leave by 8pm from the family gathering. So not cool.

Shit, the kiosk is going to have to open at 8:30am the few days before Xmas because the mall will open at 9am instead of 10am. I'm just going to DIE those few days. DIE. But at least that's not as bad as 5:30am. -_-;

Someone just shoot me now. This is insanity.

January cannot come and go fast enough. And then I get to stay on at the store, at least, I'm 95% sure I do. THANK GOD.

I really hope these next few months go fast. And I'm glad I have my Zoloft, because I am going to need it.

And once this is done, I am NEVER GOING TO CLIFTON PARK AGAIN. I will turn this job down next year if it's offered. NO THANKS.

First time call in...

So for the first time I called in sick to work. I just wasn't gonna be able to perform as I should, let alone did I trust myself driving. I was up most of the night with what felt like the flu, sleeping very little on and off, and it was just bad. Somehow I never fell back asleep though... which is odd of me. Probably because I felt so guilty for calling in. I'm a professional at guilt tripping myself because I feel bad for letting people down. :<

So I basically just stayed quiet all day, and had to keep attempting to eat... though every time I did I got uber sick. Until about two hours ago when I managed to just feel discomfort for once. Liquids is the more difficult part though because the house basically has soda... I finished off the juice. Not that we had much juice anyways. But like... ugh.

I actually chose to eat instead of baby my stomach, too, because the hunger pains were that bad. I honestly felt like I was gonna die either way (even though I knew the situation wasn't that severe), and decided if I was gonna go (hypothetically) it might as well be fat and happy. I think I understand the desperate motives of people better now.

Tomorrow I can't miss work though, because it's the first day in Clifton Park and Alix and I have a lot to discuss. So from 9:30-5 tomorrow and Friday I will be busy. Plus, after work tomorrow I am going to meet with a PTSA member at my old HS because they asked me to help them with Pizza with Santa photos. I'm definitely not opposed to a bit of volunteer work. Besides, they're looking into letting me set up my own little stand to promote myself in exchange to help me out a bit. Exposure is good. ^^

In the down time though, I've just been watching Gundam Wing. I never did get to finish that anime, even though I was well over half-way through it. But I like it so it doesn't matter. I'll rewatch it. It's old school, and Duo Maxwell is amazing.

For the sadder news today, Prop 8 in Cali passed. Also, Florida passed one too that not only banned gay marriage, but civil unions and partnerships too. One step forward by being non-racist enough to have a black president (even if I don't support Obama, I do see the progress it took to not decide via skin colour), and two steps back in liberalism. Oh America... how retarded you are.

And speaking of retarded! I was accused of being a racist conservative christian warmonger on DA because I said I hoped anyone who tried to violate and remove my rights as defined by the Constitution got shot. This is the mentality of my generation, and I must say, I am appalled.

Someone save me from the idiots. -_-;

I'm going to bed now, so that I can feel better. And make it to work. Ja ne~

Remember Remember...

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot...

"Words of "Remember Remember" refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practiced (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason." -Rhymes.org

Today is the 5th of November, and the official end of election day, and the day that Obama is the President-elect. Irony has never been so apparent, what with all the people who believe he is a terrorist plant.

I dearly hope that one year from now I'm not saying "I told you so" to all the Obama followers out there, but I fear I will.

May the powers that be protect America.

Rambo

This might be a bit jumbled since I'm sicker than hell with whatever that stomach bug is that's going around, but I had to post this. HAD TO.

In my town there is a guy who is nicknamed Rambo, who we have all decided is pretty crazy. So we don't give him much thought. This past summer though, he went up and and down Lake Nancy (in my town) asking people to join together to form the Lake Nancy Coalition.

Basically, he wanted to get together a group of people who would band together and share firearms and food should trouble arise and defend our town. Like... mercenaries. Against something like a terrorist threat.

He was DEAD SERIOUS.

Mom just told me about it, since she found out from a close friend of ours who was asked by the guy.

I think the scariest part is, for once Rambo might actually have a good idea, because these are fairly troubled times. And like... we are our only protection where I am. We are MILES from the nearest police station, and we're not a city so I doubt we're high priority to the national guard or something. And I really am worried about the fate of the country.

But since Rambo said it, the idea won't be going anywhere past the idea stage, because as I said before, he's insane.

Yeah, these things really do happen in small towns. It's not just a Hollywood joke. I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified... or both.

Ummm... yeah. So, anyone wanna come live here? >.>;;;

Election 08

So I went out and voted. No lines for me since my town doesn't even have 2,000 registered voters. x3

And for those of you in Cali, I was told to tell you all to vote NO on Prop8. :3

After that Dad and I went and had lunch and I gave my business card to someone looking for a wedding photographer.

And to sum everything up:


Vote by *kris-wilson on deviantART

Enjoy, and pray that time goes fast so all the election bullshit is done with sooner. xP

Don't Land in my Town. orz

So, Dad just told me that while I was gone yesterday there was a plane crash in town. Small engine craft tried to land in a field or something and flipped up near Fayville. Seriously... this is kinda crazy. Two crashes near my house in under sixth months. Oi... >.<;

Wormed my way to Massachusetts

So yesterday I went ahead and wormed my way over to Massachusetts to visit friends, and I must say, getting there was a trip down memory lane.

I did get lost four times total. Two on the way there, and two on the way back. But not for that long, and it only ended up adding 15min onto both trips. So it was good. Next time I won't make the mistakes. ^^ The hardest part was finding the house, since the number isn't visible. I finally had to call Luna-kun and have her come outside. LMAO

But it was a trip down memory lane because the section of route 2 that I had to go through is the same one that the Clark is located on, which we visited when I was in Hallmark. Brought back quite the memories, especially since the current class probably visited it fairly recently. The churches and grounds looked just as I remembered them, as if it weren't a year later and a different month. I figured the grass would be much more dead and stuff, but it really wasn't. It was kind of nice. Ahhhh, nostalgia...

ANYWAYS!

So I got to see Miss Kurama and Luna-kun for the first time in about a year! And I finally got to see their apartment! It was so much fun. I'd forgotten how close I was to them and how badly I missed them until I got there. It was like no time had passed, either. There was no awkwardness between any of us, and we were still able to talk freely with one another. It was so nice. I was afraid we would have grown apart, but no such thing.

I also met their other roommate, Kimli. She is a riot. Miss Kurama had said we'd get along too, since we're both shitheads, and she was right. Both of us make the same sort of snide comments meant in jest, we both love the Revolutionary War, and we yaoi fanatics. I mean, come on, it's a perfect friendship. She was such a blast. I met her father, too, since he was driving her in from the Albany Airport. She worked in Disneyland all of October, so she was just getting back yesterday too.

Then Miss Kurama and Luna-kun got a bit... drunk. LMAO That was definitely comical to watch, and everything just loosened up completely then. Especially with Luna-kun, who is usually much more reserved. She still couldn't handle a discussion about masturbation though. I think she was starting to sober up at that point... >.>

Miss Kurama on the other hand... was just out of it. And when she's drunk, she just does not shut up. If it comes to mind, she says it. She's a very truthful drunk, but she talks in such a funny way. It was great. She and Luna-kun were worried that they'd offended me by drinking, but I didn't mind. No matter what they're my friends, and it's not like they're mean or depressed drunks, so no harm done. ^w^ I would have drank with them, too, except that I had to drive home. Work in the morning and all.

They actually told me to call in sick. xD I wish that had been an option. I didn't want to leave and they didn't want me to go. Seven hours just wasn't long enough for us. I really can't wait until the holidays when they get to come back for a lot longer, so we can hang out more. Even if I have to work, afterwards I'll probably be hanging with them. I miss them so much. They really are my best friends. Especially Miss Kurama. She and I have shared so many of the same experiences and have weathered so many things that there's nothing, short of me killing Luna-kun (which won't happen!), that could tear us apart.

I'd give more details, but those sorts of things aren't meant for the blogosphere. xD I will say this though, before I forget it happened. Nerimo Daikon Brothers... is one screwed up musical anime. o_O; But it's addictive. And Ichiro is so funny, as is Pandacon. <3