| Stop & Shop Blues |
[Nov. 2nd, 2010|10:40 am] |
I go to the Stop & Shop on my way to work almost every morning, because I buy soda for me and baked goods for the rest of the office, and because it gives me a little bit of routine before I start my work day.
There are two women who work the cash registers at that time of day (around 6:30am) who are always together. One is older, blonde, and generally says hello to me warmly. The other is about my age, with long brown hair, and she almost never says anything to me, preferring to either ring up my purchases (if I haven't used the self-serve line) or bag my items (if I have) in total silence.
Total silence to me, that is. They're always talking to one another. Specifically, they're always complaining to one another. I never knew that Stop & Shop was such a difficult place to work, filled with drama and intrigue! It seems that everybody there, with the exception of those two, is a lying, cheating, lazy layabout who does nothing but try to bilk the both of them out of work hours, vacation days, breaks, or respect. The supervisors change their hours at whim (though not Monday through Friday at 6:30am, because they're always there when I am), their co-workers don't show up on time, or ask to take time off inappropriately (which means, "ask to take time off at all," as far as I can tell), or don't do their jobs.
The two women never, ever talk about anything but what's wrong with Stop & Shop. It seems like they're utterly miserable all the time, and that's one of the highlights of my day. I figure, no matter how bad things get at my weird little company, at least I'm not working in the evil confines of that particular supermarket. |
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| Are You My Friend? |
[Oct. 20th, 2010|07:27 am] |
I friends-lock almost every entry here now, and I am making an attempt to write daily, so if you normally would read my journal, but aren't somehow getting my entries, it's probably because I've neglected to put you on my friends list.
So let me know in comments that you'd like to read (and who you are, because I probably won't friend every single person if I don't know them), and I'll add you.
Thanks! |
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| Some Chicago Pics |
[Sep. 13th, 2010|10:31 am] |
I posted a few pics from Chicago on Flickr. Only the ones that feature me, of course, because I'm that vain.
Take a look!
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| Obsessive |
[Aug. 13th, 2010|10:18 am] |
I've been obsessive about cleaning my apartment since I moved in. It's not perfect, but there are certain things that I feel I have to do every single day, where I used to let them slide, especially when I lived by myself.
I now have a routine for the bathroom, where, after my shower and all the stuff that has to happen at the sink, I wipe down the sink, tub and toilet with scrubby wipes, making sure that everything is spotless. I spray down the shower walls with a "no scrub" spray, then hit the air with Febreeze.
The kitchen sink isn't allowed to have dishes in it when I leave the house. I'll let them dry overnight, but then they have to go back into the cabinets. The catbox gets scooped once in the morning and once in the evening. The floor under the cat's food is wiped up just before I go to bed.
This all seems relatively obsessive to me, but I think for other people, it would be considered "housework."
The last time I lived by myself, my house was like an episode of "Hoarders." This time, I want it to seem like I'm living in an episode of "The OCD Project." |
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| Tease |
[Aug. 1st, 2010|03:55 pm] |
I took a few (very few) pictures of the apartment-in-progress. It's so small that it's tough to get a good shot of anything, but I thought I'd let people see what I've been up to.
Today was a typical day on the apartment. I put up two towel racks, all the blinds in the upstairs windows, put house numbers on the columns on the front porch, and did a bunch of shopping.
On a whim, I stopped into Pier 1 while going from one Lowe's to another, and happened to see the perfect office chair on clearance! It's pictured here, a brown leather deal that goes perfectly with the fairly inexpensive desk from Target..
I'm getting there. When furniture arrives on Friday, I'm going to feel like I've accomplished something, but it's finally starting to feel like a place where I could live.
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| Apartment Pictures |
[Jun. 13th, 2010|03:35 pm] |
As promised, "before" pictures of my new apartment. It looks a lot better in pictures than in real life, though it's a nice little apartment. Mostly, it needs to be thoroughly cleaned and repainted.
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| Fly Ball! |
[May. 27th, 2010|08:34 pm] |
So Katie and I were walking around the lake tonight, since the weather turned cool enough that she wouldn't collapse into a panting puddle afterward, like she would have the past couple of days.
Just about all the way around the lake from where we start is a field called Veteran's Field, where there's a softball field that's always busy. The outfield is pretty shallow, and the sidewalk is basically right beside the center field fence. I've often wondered if people occasionally get hit by stray balls when they're near that fence.
I found out tonight that indeed, they do! I had just pressed the button for the walk signal at the crosswalk and was telling Katie to sit (which I'm trying to get her to do whenever we're waiting to cross the street) when WHAM! I felt something smack into the back of my head. I guess someone got a home run at my expense.
It was more surprising than painful, until Katie saw the bright yellow softball rolling away from us. She's obsessed with fetching balls, and was all, "BALL! BALL! BALL! BALL!" and dragged me right into the middle of traffic. Luckily, my avoiding a concussion didn't result in me getting hit by a truck, but I don't think Katie would have cared.
I may take to wearing a helmet whenever I go walking. It's not stylish, but may help avoid future head injuries. |
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| Mother's Day |
[May. 9th, 2010|06:07 pm] |
Mom and I went up to York, ME to visit with my brother Sean, his wife Heather, and her family (who all live near them) for Mother's Day.
Normally, Sean and Heather make brunch for this day, but they decided to go a little more informal and just have some snacks. It was fine, and the weather was nice enough to sit outside, if a little windy. At one point, the umbrella at the table (that must weigh 30+ pounds) flew a couple dozen feet up in the air and crashed in the backyard. At least it didn't land on any of the kids playing in the backyard!
The trip up there takes about an hour, so that was two hours total in the car. Combined with the trip to my cousin's (and the cooking and setup there) yesterday, I've been out of the house and celebrating one thing or another all weekend.
I love my family, but I don't like weekends with no alone time. Tonight, it's the finale of The Amazing Race and then hitting bed early.
A pleasant enough weekend, but not the stuff of exciting updates! |
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| Food, Food, Food |
[May. 8th, 2010|12:17 pm] |
My cousin Beth's daughter is having her first communion today, and she's having a gigantic get-together to celebrate it. She mentioned a few weeks ago that she was going to have the party catered, which I thought was kind of a silly expense, especially since she was planning on serving baked ziti and other pasta-type food.
I volunteered to make the food, and she talked me down to the baked ziti and meatballs. I told her I'd make some sausage too, since that's just a matter of heating the meat up and putting it in some sauce.
I don't make spaghetti sauce from scratch, so I kind of mix a couple of different bottled sauces together and cook meat in it for awhile, and it tastes just fine. I'm not a foodie by any means, but stuff people will pick at during an afternoon party doesn't have to be gourmet.
The party is at 3pm, and it's about 12:15pm right now. Of course...there's no food in the house for lunch. |
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| Katie in the Sun |
[Mar. 20th, 2010|04:19 pm] |
What a gorgeous day outside! Here's Katie sitting in the sun, soaking up the rays as only a black lab can.
I'm still totally sick; the sore throat/fever/ick I had yesterday turned into a full blown cold/flu, and the only thing I did today was go to the vet's to pick up Rita's new food. (She's been throwing up a lot lately, and there's nothing terribly wrong with her that the vet can see, so we're trying a very mild food and Prilosec to see if that settles her stomach a bit.)
I did sit outside for a couple of hours on and off, and the windows are wide open in the house. The forecast says that the weather is going to get much colder overnight, so I might as well enjoy it while I can.
Hopefully, I'll feel a lot better tomorrow. I haven't been back to the gym since the first time after I signed up, and I'm getting very tired of moving from my bed to the comfy chair and back again.
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