Lured

I was lured into believing my interview today was for a supervisor position. Lurers! It was instead for a regular security guard position (which still pays better than the WalMarts). I wore my new bra and everything! How disappointing. I was ready for all the supervisor-type interview questions, too ~ "Describe a time when you had to ...", "Where do you want to be with the company in five years?", and "Why should we hire you for supervisor?" I was ready I tell you! I was, however, offered the guard position, but I have to wait for the results of my background check before they'll give me it. ** Heavy sigh ** I love my job at WalMart, I love my job at WalMart...

Here We Go Again

I've got an interview tomorrow afternoon for a supervisor position at Vickie's security company. It seems like all I've been doing for the last month is filling out job applications and going on interviews! The position I'm interviewing for is a much better job than WalMart in the pay and hours categories (imagine that!), so I hope all goes well. It would be great if Vic and I got the same hours at work ~ maybe then we could see each other more than just two days a week. I guess I better go iron my "interview clothes" now.

Work & Tigers

It was another long night at work tonight. Actually the time goes by quickly when we're busy, but when we're busy that means I'm on my feet and constantly on the move for eight hours and that's a long night! I don't really get to see much of Vic either. Right now she's still working a day shift and coming home about five minutes before I'm walking out the door to go to the WalMarts. Speaking of Vic, she picked up our Tigers tickets today! We got two free tickets to a game when we subscribed to the Detroit Free Press. Of course our seats are in the nosebleed section, but I'm still looking forward to my first Tigers game and what will probably be my first trip into the city. The game is August 7th against the Indians. If you're interested you can see what our view will be like by clicking here and selecting section 328.

Wahoo

Wahoo
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Today was just a perfect day to be outside, so Vic & I drove up to Port Huron. That was the starting point for a big sailboat race that ends sometime Sunday at Mackinac Island in the Upper Peninsula. We saw a lot of neat boats (like the Wahoo) and waterfowl. We actually waded into Lake Huron which, unlike Florida beaches, was quite rocky. We both got some sun on our arms and faces, so now we don't look near as pasty as we did before. On the way home we stopped at the Michigan welcome center and picked up tons of pamphlets on stuff to do in our new state. I really enjoy exploring with Vic and today was just a perfect day to do it!

Slaving Away

I finally got around to cutting the grass today (note the green type). I figured I'd better do it before it rains again. It's been really hot here lately and it seems like it rains every three days or so just to make it a little bit steamier. Our temps are right around the same as P'Cola's! I have to work tomorrow, but Saturday morning Vic and I are going to some big yacht race in Port Huron. All these really nice boats race from Port Huron to Mackinac and Vic said it's really quite a sight. I'm hoping to get some good pictures. That way I'll be even further behind in my scrapbooking! Actually, I made a little progress on the craft room today. I unpacked all but just a few boxes, so the room is ready for the table to be moved in and I should be able to start putting stuff where I want shortly. Has anyone read the PostSecret blog? People are encouraged to write their innermost secret on a postcard and send it to this guy in Maryland who in turn puts them on his blog page. I guess it's supposed to be some kind of catharsis for people carrying around baggage, but for most people (myself included) I think it's just a really unique insight in to how totally screwed up most people truly are. My personal favorites are the postcards involving boogers; especially putting boogers in someone else's food. Who would think to do that?!

A Walk In the Park

Vic & Shannon
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

It was a lovely evening tonight, so Vic & I took Shannon for a walk in nearby Dodge Park. I don't take Shannon for near enough walks, so I know she enjoyed tonight's excursion. She saw squirrels, ducks, bicyclists and a very small girl who "petted the nice doggie's head." She also took a swim in the less-than-clean Clinton River, so when we got home she got a bath in the backyard. All in all it was a pretty full day out for the Sweet Baboo.

Outside

I realized today that I hardly ever watch TV any more. Vic taped a BBC show for me the other night and it took me three days to watch the hour-long program! Now that we have such nice weather I would rather be outside doing something with Shannon. We listen to a lot of Tigers games on the radio and play ball whenever we can. The nice weather has made the box unpacking go a lot slower. I need a nice rainy day so I'll be forced to stay inside and unpack something. I'm headed outside right now, as a matter of fact. Not for a Tigers game, though. I have to cut our massive back lawn. I used to really enjoy cutting the grass...back when we didn't have so much grass! Now it's really a chore. I try to think of it as a really good workout.

Oh Happy Day!

After more than a month of feverishly searching high and low for the remote controls for the DVD player and stereo I finally found them last night! I scored major "girlfriend points" for this one. Interestingly enough they were in a box marked "Stuff We Bought In London." I don't know why I didn't check that box first.

Backyard Birdies

Backyard Birdies
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Vic, Shannon & I were sitting outside enjoying the wonderful breeze the other evening and watching the sprinkler water the back grass when some of our new backyard birdies came by to enjoy the cool shower. They sat on the fence and every time the sprinkler came back their way each of them would lift up a wing to get the full effect of the water. It was really cute. These are the kinds of things I really enjoy about living in the North. In Florida it was always way too hot to sit outside between May and October. Sometimes Shannon & I sit on the back porch and listen to the Tigers game on the radio and other times we just sit and enjoy the birdies!

Had I Only Known...

Do you realize it's just three short days days until "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is released?? I'm giddy. I've already pre-ordered the book thru Amazon because I figured there would be a mad rush to purchase it Friday night at midnight and all day Saturday. I ordered the last book thru Amazon and it was delivered on the release date, so I figured I'd get this one the same way. Little did I know that I would be working in the stock room of WalMart when the book is released to the general public! Just imagine...There I am working my little fingers to the bone back in the receiving dock when one of the dozen or so boxes containing Harry Potter books slips from my tired hands and falls to the floor. And the box opens (I conveniently carry a box cutter) and one of the books tumbles out (gasp!). Well geez, I'd almost be forced to pick it up (reverently, of course) and make sure there was no damage to either the book cover of any of the 700+ pages inside. I am a good employee. I don't think WalMart pays me enough. I feel a sickness coming on ~ I may not be able to make it into work Saturday.

Thinking About Work

One nice thing about working a 2nd or 3rd shift at work is that I usually don't have to rely on an alarm clock. I just wake up whenever (usually when Shannon needs to go outside) and loll about the bed messing up the covers for 10 minutes or so. One bad thing about working a 2nd or 3rd shift is that I spend the time between waking up and going to work thinking about all the things I could get done around the house if only I didn't have to go to stupid work! Today I pulled the weeds and little grass pieces that had popped up in the cracks in the driveway. I really didn't mind because it was a beautiful morning and I'm just happy to have any kind of driveway, cracks with grassy pieces or not. Then about 2 hours before I had to leave for work it started to rain. Not quite enough time to work on the dozen or so boxes crammed into my craft room, but plenty of time to sit think about how I wish I had more time to work on that darn craft room. So, instead of working on the craft room I sat under the protective awning of the back porch (with Shannon) and worked on my latest craft item ~ a French themed cross-stitch. This is the first time in a long time I've actually been able to sit outside and stitch. In Florida it was either Africa-hot or Amazon-mosquitoey. It was actually very pleasant sitting with Shannon, listening to the rain ping off of our awning. Then the sky turned black and we had the thunderstorm from hell. I had to scurry into the house to close windows and shut down the computer. Then I had to drive thru all that muck to work! If only I didn't have to go to work...

Russell & Dennis

I ended up getting the new lawnmower because it just wasn't worthe the incredible hassle of having to rake up all the grass I would've cut on our 40 acres. Okay, maybe not 40 acres, but still a heck of a lot of grass. When I got to my neighborhood Home Depot I had to wait around for what seemed like an eternity until someone in the Lawn & Garden department could help me get the lawnmower box down. Turned out it was a skinny Lawn & Garden lady, but boy did she have some muscles cuz she just grabbed a hold of that box and plopped it right on my cart. The person who helped me load it into the Jeep was also a woman. She just heeved it right in. And I work in the receiving area of WalMart moving boxes and pallet jacks all over the store. How empowering for the female race, dontcha think? Headline News just said one of the hardest hit spots in the recent London bombings was the Russell Square Underground station. That was mine and Vic's tube stop when we were in London just a few months ago! We went all over London and each trip started and ended at the Russell Square station just a block from our hotel. What if these crazy dumb shits had decided to attack in March instead of July? I get a chill just thinking about it. It looks like Hurricane Dennis is headed straight for the P'Cola area. Again! I just read that the projected landfall point is just a few miles west of P'Cola...the exact same spot as Ivan. The few friends I talked to down there seem pretty resigned to the fact that it's coming and there's nothing they can do. I sure the hell did something. There's no way I could live through another hurricane aftermath. Did I forget to mention that I made our first house payment the other day? I feel much poorer already!

Bisque

Our refrigerator sucks butt, so Vic & I went out fridge shopping today and selected a very nice Frigidaire model. The color we selected is bisque. It's sort of a sand type color, I guess. The friendly Lowe's guy will deliver it tomorrow. Yea!! Our present refrigerator leaks water like a sieve. There's a small lake in our crisper. We also need a new lawnmower, but that may have to wait a while. It still cuts really well, but the grass is somehow different here than in FL, so we need a bag. Our model apparently doesn't have a bag to be bought anywhere, so we are a bit vexed. I'm going to cut the grass tomorrow, so I'm sure what will happen is I'll get about a quarter of the way done, throw a hissy and go buy a new one. With a bag. I hear there are a couple of hurricanes possibly headed toward the P'Cola area. I have an extra bedroom...

Happy Holiday!

Happy July 4th (even though technically it's now July 5th). I spent the day at work. It seems like I have to work every 4th of July. I did get to see some fireworks this year, however, and the store closed early so I got home at a decent hour and went next door to my neighbor's for a few holiday treats and his fireworks. My job at WalMart is really a good workout. I'm on my feet for eight hours walking, lifting and pulling stuff. I've already lost 3 lbs. in just three days! I'm also drinking a ton of water every day and not near as much pop as I used to. Now if I could only find the box that we packed the damn stereo remote control in!

WalMart Name Tag

WalMart Name Tag
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Well, I completed my second full day of work at the retail giant and I've yet to do any actual work. It's been all orientation and training stuff. I know how to clean up chemical spills and what a "code adam" is along with other important life-changing info like diversity is what makes us all unique and, darn it, employee theft just ends up hurting everyone. I think I'll be unloading (or receiving) tomorrow. I'm kinda anxious to get started cuz god knows I just don't have enough packed & unpacked boxes in my life right now!

Unloader

Orientation day at the WalMarts today. I am now an official WalMart Associate. I've got a name badge and everything! And no, even though I am known far and wide for my people skills, I am not going to be a greeter. I will instead be a truck unloader. I was actually kind of surprised they offered me that position being as I'm a "girl", but "hurray for diversity!" I'm looking forward to the challenge ~ I think it'll be a great workout. It's kind of sad having to go back to work so soon, though ~ it's been about two months since I've had a steady job and I don't miss it a bit! Heavy sigh. I know something better will come along soon.