Tuesday (4/27)
I left work at 6:00 PM and headed out. I opted to stop and pick up something for supper; once I had the "to go" order, I made my way on home and found that my housemate had not been in yet. Whether she was working late or what, I didn't know. I went on to bring my gear and food inside; I retrieved my Josephus book and my notebook from my briefcase and put them on the table, along with my purse. I ate supper, cleaned up behind myself and then got ready and headed out.
I made my way to the church - it wasn't hard to find, especially in the daylight. It turned out that I got there quite a bit ahead of everyone else - at least 15-20 minutes, that is. Eventually the pastor drove up - and he brought an older lady with him. He said that his wife was not attending as their son is being married this weekend and she's busy with those preparations.
We had a good class meeting - it lasted somewhat longer than usual - we were about 9:20 PM finishing up. He gave us our next reading assignment and instructions:
Josephus Reading Assignment for Tuesday, May 25, 2010:
The War of the Jews:
Book Seven:
From the Taking of Jerusalem by Titus to the Sedition of the Jews at Cyrene
The Antiquities of the Jews:
Book One:
From the Creation to the Death of Issac
Book Two:
From the Death of Issac to the Exodus Out of Egypt
Book Three:
From the Exodus Out of Egypt to the Rejection of That Generation
He suggested that I get the same edition of Josephus books as he has as it'll make it easier for me to keep up. He also shared with the group about the possibility of a group trip to Israel.
I left about 9:25 PM and headed home - backtracking to the Interstate - and it was closing in on 10:00 PM by the time I got home. My housemate was still up and making some phone calls when I got in.
I did a few things once I got in before going to bed somewhere close to 11:00 PM.
Wednesday (4/28):
At lunch several of my co-workers and I went out - we had to drive to get there - to a local restaurant to celebrate one of the women's birthday - it was yesterday. We had a nice time and it was a treat to get away from the usual area of the city in which we work.
Things have been quiet around here this afternoon. Hopefully they will stay that way.
- Wings Like Eagles....
- PJ's a native of Louisiana - lovea those LSU Tigers and New Orleans Saints - and Sukiey is the kitty cat that lives with PJ.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday evening and Tuesday, April 26 & 27, 2010
Monday (4/26)
I left work at 6:55 PM and stopped by the post office to pick up my mail. It was all junk. I went on home from there and found the garage door down but knew that my housemate had been home and was gone again when i raised the door and then entered the house after I pulled in and parked and gathered my stuff.
I dropped my stuff in my bedroom; Sukiey was laying on my bed. I hadn't seen her before I left for work, but wherever she was hiding, she had surfaced from by the time I returned. I went on to have supper - I was finishing up eating when my housemate returned. She had been to the club to work out.
We talked - she told me that her daughter and grandson had left to return home in the late afternoon. He had played 3 matches that day and won all 3 so he raised his seeding for the next tournament. I asked and she said that she was able to go and see him play in one of the matches as it was near her office and during her lunch break. One of her co-workers was stressing out about something, so she invited the woman to join her to go and watch the tennis match - as she has a son about my housemate's grandson's age [14] - and she said that the co-worker went with her and felt better when they returned.
She also shared with me about another co-worker's family experiencing damage from the tornado over the weekend and having heard about it from that co-worker. She said that the co-worker's 9 year old daughter was trying to console her. The family members weren't injured, but they did have damage to their homes.
Later we each went on to our bedrooms and that was pretty much the end of the evening for each of us. I made a couple of phone calls before going on to bed. I spoke with an aunt of mine and also with someone in a circle of friends who is attending the Josephus class with me - she said she is excited and ready for the class tonight.
Tuesday (4/27)
Today hasn't been too bad other than the construction [or is it destruction?] work that is ongoing around here. They're making some noise and I'm surprised it hasn't given me a headache sitting here having to listen to it.
I plan to leave work early tonight so I can scoot home and get supper before going to the Josephus class. I just sent my housemate an e-mail asking her to confirm that I have the directions to the church where the class is held. I brought my Josephus book and my notebook with me so that if I don't get to stop by the house I can go straight to the church.
She responded and confirmed that I have the directions correct - it will be daylight when I'm heading there anyway, so I shouldn't have a problem finding the church. It'll be dark, though, by the time the class ends. I think I'll be able to find my way home, though!
I stopped and Googled the name of the church and got the address and phone number. I have saved that information in my Josephus notes folder in my PIM. It's a beautiful church and in a nice location.
Not much else to include for now....
I left work at 6:55 PM and stopped by the post office to pick up my mail. It was all junk. I went on home from there and found the garage door down but knew that my housemate had been home and was gone again when i raised the door and then entered the house after I pulled in and parked and gathered my stuff.
I dropped my stuff in my bedroom; Sukiey was laying on my bed. I hadn't seen her before I left for work, but wherever she was hiding, she had surfaced from by the time I returned. I went on to have supper - I was finishing up eating when my housemate returned. She had been to the club to work out.
We talked - she told me that her daughter and grandson had left to return home in the late afternoon. He had played 3 matches that day and won all 3 so he raised his seeding for the next tournament. I asked and she said that she was able to go and see him play in one of the matches as it was near her office and during her lunch break. One of her co-workers was stressing out about something, so she invited the woman to join her to go and watch the tennis match - as she has a son about my housemate's grandson's age [14] - and she said that the co-worker went with her and felt better when they returned.
She also shared with me about another co-worker's family experiencing damage from the tornado over the weekend and having heard about it from that co-worker. She said that the co-worker's 9 year old daughter was trying to console her. The family members weren't injured, but they did have damage to their homes.
Later we each went on to our bedrooms and that was pretty much the end of the evening for each of us. I made a couple of phone calls before going on to bed. I spoke with an aunt of mine and also with someone in a circle of friends who is attending the Josephus class with me - she said she is excited and ready for the class tonight.
Tuesday (4/27)
Today hasn't been too bad other than the construction [or is it destruction?] work that is ongoing around here. They're making some noise and I'm surprised it hasn't given me a headache sitting here having to listen to it.
I plan to leave work early tonight so I can scoot home and get supper before going to the Josephus class. I just sent my housemate an e-mail asking her to confirm that I have the directions to the church where the class is held. I brought my Josephus book and my notebook with me so that if I don't get to stop by the house I can go straight to the church.
She responded and confirmed that I have the directions correct - it will be daylight when I'm heading there anyway, so I shouldn't have a problem finding the church. It'll be dark, though, by the time the class ends. I think I'll be able to find my way home, though!
I stopped and Googled the name of the church and got the address and phone number. I have saved that information in my Josephus notes folder in my PIM. It's a beautiful church and in a nice location.
Not much else to include for now....
Monday, April 26, 2010
Update for Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday, April 24 - 26, 2010
Saturday (4/24)
The Jackson Metro area escaped - dodged a bullet here yesterday. We were under the gun for severe weather. However, nothing happened in our neighborhood. Instead the worst of it was to the west and north of us. To the west - in Warren County, outside of Vicksburg, there was a tornado and it went to the northeast and stayed on the ground for some 200 miles and 2 hours or more and was about a mile wide. It did some major destruction in Yazoo City - which is the hometown of Governor Haley Barbour. He held a press conference there and a TV news anchor noted that the Governor was about to cry near the end of the press conference.
The tennis tournament finally began late yesterday afternoon - once the severe weather had cleared the area and the skies cleared out and the sun returned. My housemate's grandson's match was rescheduled for around 4:30-5:00 PM. His Mom took him over to a nearby court to warm up; they returned for a while, then they went back to get ready for his match. My housemate settled down for a while and waited - her daughter was going to call her when he was about to take the court for his match. The court is only about 7 minutes from us.
She came back around 6:30 PM - I was eating supper at that time. I asked if the match was over and she said yes. he won his match, so he will be playing again today. We watched some TV and she prepared supper for herself. Finally, around 9:00 PM we both went on to bed. Her grandson had wanted to go eat dinner with some of his tennis buddies; his Mom was going to try to arrange for some of the other parents to drop him off at the house when they were done, but apparently that didn't happen and she had to go with all of them. I have no idea what time they got in last night.
Sunday - 4/25
The newspaper this morning is full of pictures and stories concerning the destruction and aftermath of what happened yesterday. One picture that caught both mine and my housemate's eye was a photo of a muddy puppy laying on a bunch of boards that used to be part of his family's home. It was destroyed in the tornado. At least he survived and was only muddy - he can be given a bath. At last report the death toll was 10 people and the damage is widespread - homes destroyed or otherwise uninhabitable. This makes us feel thankful and grateful that our area was spared - even though we may not understand why.
This morning I woke up ahead of my alarm clock - actually in my cell phone - and shut it off and got up. I heard someone stirring - I went out to the kitchen and it was my housemate. She let Rusty in for a bit; I prepared my breakfast and was heading to the table with it when her daughter came through the door.
She got a cup of coffee and settled down with us for a few minutes, then she had to go rouse her son so he could get ready. She was taking him over to that nearby court to warm up for his match this morning [9:00 AM]. They left while I headed to my bathroom for a shower and were gone by the time I was done and dressed.
My housemate was in the process of getting ready for church; she came and told me that I should go on to church and not wait on her - she would be there at some point. She said that her daughter and grandson are on their own for lunch; she said she's going to cook some chicken she got so I can eat here with her if I want to. I guess that I'll do that - I may stop and pick up a 6 pack of Coca Cola Zero, though, on the way home.
Well, I'll pause here and continue at a later time - I need to head out so I don't have to rush once I get on the church campus. Later....
Monday (4/26)
Good morning! I'm back at work today - although it's a state holiday - Confederate Memorial Day. Yep - that's a state holiday here in Mississippi. However, we never shuts down - regardless. It's because of what we do.
Allow me to back up and pull forward....
I left the house about 8:30 AM and headed into Downtown and pulled into the church garage and parked my car. Then it was over to the Sanctuary. I attended the 9:00 AM service; then it was down to Sunday School.
Our teacher shared with us that our classmate had called him on Friday and let him know that they had reached Casablanca, Morocco. She said that the airline (Royal Air Morocco) had made a mistake and had put them on the wrong flight. They were supposed to fly from Casablanca to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Well, they wound up flying to somewhere else [he said that she told him, but he couldn't remember the name and couldn't pronounce it if he could] and when they got there and the mistake was discovered, they were put on a return flight to Casablanca. He said that Debbie told him that they had accounted for 5 of their checked bags and that they were hoping to leave Casablance on Sunday to fly to Ougadougou.
I don't know when I'm likely to get an update on my classmate and her ministry partner. She had shared with me prior to leaving that our teacher is going to be out for the first 3 Sundays in May; she may try to call me in order to pass along an update - if she's able to call from Ougadougou, that is.
He taught from Acts 21. We finished a few minutes early. On my way out, another classmate caught me and asked for my cell phone number. She said that daughter is nearing her due date and so she may be heading to Florida at any time to be with her as she delivers her baby. She said that she would either call or text me so I can alert the class to pray for her as she travels and for them. Then she will let me know when the baby arrives so I can share that as well.
I headed on home as Linda had said she was going to cook; no point in stopping for lunch. When I got there, the garage door was up and my housemate's car was inside. I pulled in, gathered my stuff and went inside. I found her in the kitchen - she was both cooking and doing laundry. I said "so you didn't go to church today" and she confirmed that she had stayed home.
I found that her grandson was in the den watching TV; his Mom was gone. I went and put my stuff up, then came back out a few minutes later. I asked where she was and my housemate said that she had gone to Pinelake Baptist Church. She has some friends who go there so she likes to attend with them.
Eventaully my housemate had lunch ready - I helped her finish up. She asked her grandson if he wanted to eat with us, but he declined. So, she and I ate, then cleaned up and put the leftovers away. I went on and changed to shorts and a tee shirt. His Mom came in and she informed us about Pinelake's service.
He was to play a match at 3:00 PM at Jackson Prep's tennis facility. They headed out, We followed them [yeah, my housemate asked me to go] and we got out there and watched the match. He had won his match earlier that morning, so he was 2-0 in the tournament; unfortunately, he lost this match, but we were told that there was a chance he could still play again.
I sat in my housemate's car with the windows down and watched, while she and her daughter sat in the stands. By the time she returned to the car, I had a sinus headache. I told her; we headed on home and a little while later Barri and Austin came in. She got ready and went to church for the evening service - the AWANA program. I went and got in bed and talked with an aunt for a bit, then took a 30-45 minute nap and when I woke up and got back up, she was back, but her daughter had left.
She asked how I was feeling and I told her. She insisted on driving me to the store to pick up something to take for the sinus/allergy issue. I went in while she drove through the parking lot. I found that they had a "generic Claritin" and that I could take it and it wouldn't interfere with my regular prescription medications. I read the package carefully and a couple of times - and there was absolutely no mention of not taking it if you have certain issues. So, I purchased it and a 6 pack of Coca Cola Zero.
I went out and she saw me and pulled up and picked me up and we headed home. I put the Coca Cola Zero with the other drinks and we went inside. I opened the box of "Claritin" and took one of the tablets. It's good for 24 hours and is non drowsy.
I ate a snack to balance it in my stomach. Then soon after, we both opted to head on to our bedrooms, leaving her grandson in the den and waiting for his Mom to come in. I have no idea when she got in.
The alarm went off this morning and I kicked off my regular workday routine - but I was trying to be quiet as I expected that they were still there. I still had a bit of a headache, so I took 2 ES Tylenol before getting in the shower, then went on to shower and dress. When I went out to the kitchen, I went and got the newspaper and came back with it.
Soon after, my housemate was up; she asked how I was feeling and I told her. I went on to prepare and take my breakfast to the table. She got Rusty's breakfast ready, but went back to her bedroom - probably for just a minute and got distracted. When I finished with my breakfast and cleaned up after myself, I went and gave Rusty his food and water.
Then I went on to gather up the garbage and take it out and put the can on the curb. I finished getting ready; by the time I was ready to leave, her daughter was up but my housemate was still in her bedroom. I told her that I had fed Rusty and put the garbage out.
I got finished up and headed out and in to work. We've had to handle some issues; things are quiet for now.
It's almost time for me to head over to the Women's Luncheon at FBCJ. I'll stop here for now....
Alright - I'm back from the Women's Luncheon. Cyndi Grace finished up her series today. We were told us who will be speaking for the first 2 weeks in May. I'm still not sure I know who she was referring to, but if it's who I think it is, I'm not all that interested in going and hearing her speak.
I sent my housemate an e-mail this morning and told her that my headache was gone, but I could take more Tylenol or Excedrin if I needed to. I also mentioned that I had told her daughter about feeding Rusty and putting the garbage out and asked if she had let her know and she responded and said that she did tell her and she was glad I was feeling better.
I will pause here for the present time....
The Jackson Metro area escaped - dodged a bullet here yesterday. We were under the gun for severe weather. However, nothing happened in our neighborhood. Instead the worst of it was to the west and north of us. To the west - in Warren County, outside of Vicksburg, there was a tornado and it went to the northeast and stayed on the ground for some 200 miles and 2 hours or more and was about a mile wide. It did some major destruction in Yazoo City - which is the hometown of Governor Haley Barbour. He held a press conference there and a TV news anchor noted that the Governor was about to cry near the end of the press conference.
The tennis tournament finally began late yesterday afternoon - once the severe weather had cleared the area and the skies cleared out and the sun returned. My housemate's grandson's match was rescheduled for around 4:30-5:00 PM. His Mom took him over to a nearby court to warm up; they returned for a while, then they went back to get ready for his match. My housemate settled down for a while and waited - her daughter was going to call her when he was about to take the court for his match. The court is only about 7 minutes from us.
She came back around 6:30 PM - I was eating supper at that time. I asked if the match was over and she said yes. he won his match, so he will be playing again today. We watched some TV and she prepared supper for herself. Finally, around 9:00 PM we both went on to bed. Her grandson had wanted to go eat dinner with some of his tennis buddies; his Mom was going to try to arrange for some of the other parents to drop him off at the house when they were done, but apparently that didn't happen and she had to go with all of them. I have no idea what time they got in last night.
Sunday - 4/25
The newspaper this morning is full of pictures and stories concerning the destruction and aftermath of what happened yesterday. One picture that caught both mine and my housemate's eye was a photo of a muddy puppy laying on a bunch of boards that used to be part of his family's home. It was destroyed in the tornado. At least he survived and was only muddy - he can be given a bath. At last report the death toll was 10 people and the damage is widespread - homes destroyed or otherwise uninhabitable. This makes us feel thankful and grateful that our area was spared - even though we may not understand why.
This morning I woke up ahead of my alarm clock - actually in my cell phone - and shut it off and got up. I heard someone stirring - I went out to the kitchen and it was my housemate. She let Rusty in for a bit; I prepared my breakfast and was heading to the table with it when her daughter came through the door.
She got a cup of coffee and settled down with us for a few minutes, then she had to go rouse her son so he could get ready. She was taking him over to that nearby court to warm up for his match this morning [9:00 AM]. They left while I headed to my bathroom for a shower and were gone by the time I was done and dressed.
My housemate was in the process of getting ready for church; she came and told me that I should go on to church and not wait on her - she would be there at some point. She said that her daughter and grandson are on their own for lunch; she said she's going to cook some chicken she got so I can eat here with her if I want to. I guess that I'll do that - I may stop and pick up a 6 pack of Coca Cola Zero, though, on the way home.
Well, I'll pause here and continue at a later time - I need to head out so I don't have to rush once I get on the church campus. Later....
Monday (4/26)
Good morning! I'm back at work today - although it's a state holiday - Confederate Memorial Day. Yep - that's a state holiday here in Mississippi. However, we never shuts down - regardless. It's because of what we do.
Allow me to back up and pull forward....
I left the house about 8:30 AM and headed into Downtown and pulled into the church garage and parked my car. Then it was over to the Sanctuary. I attended the 9:00 AM service; then it was down to Sunday School.
Our teacher shared with us that our classmate had called him on Friday and let him know that they had reached Casablanca, Morocco. She said that the airline (Royal Air Morocco) had made a mistake and had put them on the wrong flight. They were supposed to fly from Casablanca to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Well, they wound up flying to somewhere else [he said that she told him, but he couldn't remember the name and couldn't pronounce it if he could] and when they got there and the mistake was discovered, they were put on a return flight to Casablanca. He said that Debbie told him that they had accounted for 5 of their checked bags and that they were hoping to leave Casablance on Sunday to fly to Ougadougou.
I don't know when I'm likely to get an update on my classmate and her ministry partner. She had shared with me prior to leaving that our teacher is going to be out for the first 3 Sundays in May; she may try to call me in order to pass along an update - if she's able to call from Ougadougou, that is.
He taught from Acts 21. We finished a few minutes early. On my way out, another classmate caught me and asked for my cell phone number. She said that daughter is nearing her due date and so she may be heading to Florida at any time to be with her as she delivers her baby. She said that she would either call or text me so I can alert the class to pray for her as she travels and for them. Then she will let me know when the baby arrives so I can share that as well.
I headed on home as Linda had said she was going to cook; no point in stopping for lunch. When I got there, the garage door was up and my housemate's car was inside. I pulled in, gathered my stuff and went inside. I found her in the kitchen - she was both cooking and doing laundry. I said "so you didn't go to church today" and she confirmed that she had stayed home.
I found that her grandson was in the den watching TV; his Mom was gone. I went and put my stuff up, then came back out a few minutes later. I asked where she was and my housemate said that she had gone to Pinelake Baptist Church. She has some friends who go there so she likes to attend with them.
Eventaully my housemate had lunch ready - I helped her finish up. She asked her grandson if he wanted to eat with us, but he declined. So, she and I ate, then cleaned up and put the leftovers away. I went on and changed to shorts and a tee shirt. His Mom came in and she informed us about Pinelake's service.
He was to play a match at 3:00 PM at Jackson Prep's tennis facility. They headed out, We followed them [yeah, my housemate asked me to go] and we got out there and watched the match. He had won his match earlier that morning, so he was 2-0 in the tournament; unfortunately, he lost this match, but we were told that there was a chance he could still play again.
I sat in my housemate's car with the windows down and watched, while she and her daughter sat in the stands. By the time she returned to the car, I had a sinus headache. I told her; we headed on home and a little while later Barri and Austin came in. She got ready and went to church for the evening service - the AWANA program. I went and got in bed and talked with an aunt for a bit, then took a 30-45 minute nap and when I woke up and got back up, she was back, but her daughter had left.
She asked how I was feeling and I told her. She insisted on driving me to the store to pick up something to take for the sinus/allergy issue. I went in while she drove through the parking lot. I found that they had a "generic Claritin" and that I could take it and it wouldn't interfere with my regular prescription medications. I read the package carefully and a couple of times - and there was absolutely no mention of not taking it if you have certain issues. So, I purchased it and a 6 pack of Coca Cola Zero.
I went out and she saw me and pulled up and picked me up and we headed home. I put the Coca Cola Zero with the other drinks and we went inside. I opened the box of "Claritin" and took one of the tablets. It's good for 24 hours and is non drowsy.
I ate a snack to balance it in my stomach. Then soon after, we both opted to head on to our bedrooms, leaving her grandson in the den and waiting for his Mom to come in. I have no idea when she got in.
The alarm went off this morning and I kicked off my regular workday routine - but I was trying to be quiet as I expected that they were still there. I still had a bit of a headache, so I took 2 ES Tylenol before getting in the shower, then went on to shower and dress. When I went out to the kitchen, I went and got the newspaper and came back with it.
Soon after, my housemate was up; she asked how I was feeling and I told her. I went on to prepare and take my breakfast to the table. She got Rusty's breakfast ready, but went back to her bedroom - probably for just a minute and got distracted. When I finished with my breakfast and cleaned up after myself, I went and gave Rusty his food and water.
Then I went on to gather up the garbage and take it out and put the can on the curb. I finished getting ready; by the time I was ready to leave, her daughter was up but my housemate was still in her bedroom. I told her that I had fed Rusty and put the garbage out.
I got finished up and headed out and in to work. We've had to handle some issues; things are quiet for now.
It's almost time for me to head over to the Women's Luncheon at FBCJ. I'll stop here for now....
Alright - I'm back from the Women's Luncheon. Cyndi Grace finished up her series today. We were told us who will be speaking for the first 2 weeks in May. I'm still not sure I know who she was referring to, but if it's who I think it is, I'm not all that interested in going and hearing her speak.
I sent my housemate an e-mail this morning and told her that my headache was gone, but I could take more Tylenol or Excedrin if I needed to. I also mentioned that I had told her daughter about feeding Rusty and putting the garbage out and asked if she had let her know and she responded and said that she did tell her and she was glad I was feeling better.
I will pause here for the present time....
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday afternoon/evening, Friday and Saturday morning - April 22-24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I just completed a 60 page letter to a friend a few minutes ago. I've printed the remaining pages and have put them with the rest of the printed letter; the flat rate envelope is sealed and the stamp is on it. I have to hand it to a human window clerk because of that dumb 13 ounce rule. But, I have to stop by the post office anyway - since I have photo mailers to send out to a couple of my aunts. Maybe getting there after 2:00 PM - which will be after the lunchtime rush - will help me to avoid standing in a long line. But there's also the possibility - in fact, probability - that there will only be 2 human window clerks working at that time when there are spaces for 4 human window clerks to be open and working.
It's 11:20 AM - so co-workers are due in to work in 40 minutes. I'll be interested to see if they're on time or purposely late [in one's case]. My supervisor is leaving at 12:00 PM as he said he has stuff to go and do.
I'll stop at this time and continue again when time permits....
Good evening....it's now 8:55 PM. I'm returning to continue writing. The flat rate envelope is out in the mailstream to my friend, but not exactly as I had planned. Allow me to explain....
I had intended to stay until 2:00 PM today, but the construction workers were making some noise that was beginning to give me a headache, so around 11:15 AM, I took 2 Excedrin Express Gels, but they didn't seem to touch the pain. So, I went on about 11:30 AM and asked my supervisor if I could change my mind and leave at 12:00 PM. He said yes, so I quickly did the leave paperwork, printed it, revised my time sheet and printed a new version, then retrieved the one that I had turned in. I gave him the leave paperwork and he signed it; I signed it as well along with the new time sheet. I shredded the old, incorrect, paperwork and took the new, correct, paperwork and put it in the mailbox.
Since my other co-worker would be staying until 2:00 PM, the supervisor told me, around 11:55 AM, that I could go ahead and leave. I walked out of the Center and out of the REL soon after; as I was heading across the street to the Clark parking lot, I saw my co-workers standing on the corner where they had apparently just come out of the garage. I went on over and put my stuff in my car, got in and left. As usual - those 2 guys were late to work. I'm sure one of them was relieved that he didn't have to see me again today.
Well, because I had the headache, I didn't feel like stopping off at the post office or Kroger on the way home. Instead, I came straight home and changed clothes, then got in bed - I turned out the lamp on the nightstand - and fell asleep for about 30-45 minutes. Then I woke up and I felt somewhat better, so I got up - it was about 1:15 PM - and got my stuff together and headed out.
I went over to the post office and picked up the mail, then went to the window area. Not all that surprisingly, there were only 2 human window clerks working; there was also a line of people waiting - about 5 or 6 ahead of me. Soon after I joined the line, it began to grow behind me. It seems to never fail that when I go, there are only 2 human window clerks working (out of the possible 4) and there's a line to wait in. Well, while we were waiting, one of the 2 closed her station - and I thought there was going to be a protest, but then another clerk came and opened her station. So, it was apparently a matter of one returning from lunch and the other going to lunch.
Finally I got to the male human window clerk. He was rather unpleasant to deal with. He had to look the flat rate package over - I can only suppose that it was to see if there might be some reason he could decline to accept it. When he looked at the stamp, I asked if I had the correct amount of postage on there and he agreed that I did. So, he put it aside and turned his attention to the 2 photo mailers. He figured the postage for each and printed the postage labels. Then, when he told me the amount, I handed him a $5 and he asked if I had a dime - as it was $2.10 - and I said no - that I did until I had dropped my change in my change bucket at home. He seemed to be unhappy to have to give me $2.90 in change instead of just $3 back. I'm not sure what his problem was. I stood there and watched him cancel the stamp on the flat rate envelope to make sure that it was accepted - so that it doesn't get kicked back at me.
Once I was finished at the window, I went on back to the car with my mail and then went on over to the grocery. I found a parking space and parked the car and went in the store. There I did some shopping - I finally settled on getting a bottle of Soft Scrub Gel Cleanser with Bleach to clean the shower - actually to clean the grout at the bottom - where the wall tile meets the tub and there's also some segments of the tile that needed cleaning. I can still use the other cleanser for the tile itself, though. I may need to buy more of it - or something similar - before long, though, as I'm not sure how much is left in there. I got a few other items, including cereal, bread and a gallon of milk - code dated May 6. My housemate had told me to use out of her gallon of milk when I ran out this morning, but I decided that since her daughter and grandson are coming in for the weekend, I would leave hers alone and get myself a gallon since they might want milk and could use hers.
I eventually got finished, checked out and then loaded up the car and left and headed back home. I unloaded and put the perishable stuff away, then ate a late lunch. I followed that by going and cleaning the bathroom - using the cleanser I had bought on the problem areas and I had to do some scrubbing, but I finally seemed to get the grout clean. At least I hope I did.
After finishing with that, I got back in bed - with the intent of taking another nap. I called a friend and got her voice mail; I left a message and she called me back soon afterwards. I hung up with her and rolled over to try to get that nap - uh, the phone rings and it's another friend. She's calling from New York [JFK] and said that they had decided to check the baggage all the way through from Jackson to Casablanca, Morocco. They were assured that the transfers would be made for them. She said they had a couple of hours of layover time and that they were at the gate at JFK that they would be departing from.
When I hung up with her, I rolled over again and lo and behold the phone rings again - it's my brother. I had left a message for him earlier; he was returning the call. He and I talked for 40 minutes exactly - I saw the call timer when I hung up! He told me that they were on the road heading home from Virginia. They had left at the end of last week to drive up there to visit with their daughter, son-in-law and their children and grandchildren. He told me about some of the activities they had been involved in while there and that they were taking their time coming back. He did say that they stayed at a motel in Ft. Payne, Alabama en route to Virginia. They had hoped to make it on to Chattanooga, but when they reached Ft. Payne, it was almost 11:30 PM, so they decided to stop at that point. He couldn't remember the name of the motel they stayed at, but said he would be able to tell me when he gets his credit card statement. My sister-in-law chimed in that she thought it was a Days Inn.
After I hung up with him, I rolled over again and this time I succeeded in going to sleep for about 30-45 minutes. I woke up just in time to hear my housemate come in. I laid there for a few minutes to see if she would call out to me to see if I was awake, but she didn't. Finally, I got up and headed for the kitchen. I was in there when she came out from her bedroom. She said she had more stuff for that co-worker she had visited on Wednesday night; she called the woman to see if it would be okay to stop by and drop it off to her. She was told yes, so she got it together and left; she planned to stop by the fitness club while she was out.
Rusty was in the house with me - I fixed my supper and turned on her TV in the den to ESPN to watch the NFL Draft. After I finished eating and cleaned up behind myself, I was laying on the couch watching the draft when she returned. I muted the TV. She told me that she had heard on the radio while she was out reports concerning the severe weather that's being called for. She said that in case that we all have to huddle in the hall, we need to get Sukiey's pet carrier out [to put her in it to protect her from Rusty] and she had me to work on the emergency radio. I finally changed the batteries and then realized I had them in there wrong; I corrected that, now it will run off of either battery power or the hand crank power. I have it tuned to US 96.3 FM - a country station - since I tried to get MISS 103, but couldn't pull it in.
My housemate fixed herself some supper and ate, then cleaned up behind herself. Soon after, we turned off the TV and each retired to our bedrooms. I'm going to stop here and head off to bed....
Friday, April 23, 2010
Good afternoon! It's 4:26 PM. I'm going to back up and pull forward....
I woke up this morning about 6:35 or so and got up and went to have breakfast and check out the newspaper. Then, around 7:30 AM, I came back to my bedroom and went back to bed. I was actually in bed when my housemate left for work this morning around 7:55 AM I think it was. I fell back asleep and lo and behold, woke up again at 9:45 AM. Well, I finally got up and got myself in gear. I went on to take a shower and get dressed. I put on a pair of shorts and my Vancouver 2010 tee shirt. Once dressed, I updated my checkbook, then got ready and headed out. I made a quick drive in to Downtown and stopped at the bank to get some cash out of my account for over the weekend - rather than using the ATM. En route back home, I stopped and got something for lunch.
When I returned home, I started a load of laundry [I don't usually mention doing this though you know I have it to do] and turned on my housemate's TV in the den to catch the Noon newscast while eating lunch. All week we've heard about the potential for severe stormy weather on Friday and Saturday. When I left to run those errands, the weather was pleasant - sunny and a little warm - but by the time I had gotten back to the house, clouds were starting to move in. I began monitoring the weather as Paul Williams, the meteorologist on Channel 3 [Midday Mississippi] was reporting on what was expected.
Rusty was cutting up and carrying on, so I brought him inside and he settled down. I mostly stayed out in the laundry/kitchen/den area for a while - with the TV on and watching for news bulletins on the weather - as it got kind of dark and we had some claps of thunder and flashes of lightning plus some rain and possibly even some hail. I got the first load of laundry completed and put away; the second load was in the dryer and when it shut off, I checked and found that it wasn't completely dry, so I cleaned the lint filter again and turned it back on to run some more. I turned the TV off, put Rusty back out on the patio and returned to my bedroom and got in bed and took a short nap [yep, I've slept a good bit today!] and when I woke up, I got up and went back out to the den.
I turned the TV back on and tuned to Channel 3 - this time it was chief meteorologist Barbie Bassett doing the weather on the 4:00 PM newscast. I watched her forecast and got the laundry out of the dryer, folded and put away, then I put Rusty back out on the patio [he had gone to barking and I let him in] and came back to my bedroom to get on the computer and write this update.
Oh yeah - I did go out in the garage and retrieve Sukiey's pet carrier. I put it in the dining room - out of sight of Sukiey and Rusty [and us humans] though I will be able to lay my hands on it easily if necessary. I also changed Sukiey's litter box as it needed to be done. I did these tasks while I was also doing laundry.
We're not out of the woods of the bad weather by any means, although conditions are calm here in my neighborhood at the present time. More bad weather is expected to roll in overnight and through the day tomorrow. I'm not sure what my housemate's plans are - if she's going to come on home when she gets off at 5:00 PM [currently it's 4:53 PM] or stay and work a bit late or what. Since I had gone back to bed this morning, I didn't get a chance to ask her before she left for work.
I'm not sure what time her daughter and grandson are expected in this evening - again because I didn't get a chance to ask my housemate this morning. However, if they were to get here and find the garage door down [which is its current state] her daughter would probably call her first and if she got her voice mail, she would hang up and call my cell phone [yes she has my cell phone number]. However, I doubt they'll get here any earlier than 7:00-7:30 PM - and that would be if they left Shreveport by 3:00-3:30 PM and didn't have any traffic or weather issues to deal with. She does drive a bit faster than her Mom, though.
Oh - I did stop by the post office this morning before going to get lunch - but there was only a piece of junk waiting for me. So, I trashed it. At least there were no bills! I didn't have to go to the window area so I have no idea how many human window clerks were working at that time.
It's now 5:09 PM - I will pause here and continue at a later time.....
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Good morning....let me back up and pull forward.....my housemate arrived at home about 5:45 PM I think it was. She wanted to go to the fitness club, but she also had some laundry she wanted to do and a couple of other things. I did ask her if she had spoken with her daughter and she said yes. She said that when they talked, they were in Vicksburg and they were going to stop and get Austin registered for the tennis tournament and then they would come on here.
I was out in the den - I had already eaten supper and taken my PM meds by that time. Linda had gone to her bedroom to do a couple of things whenthey came in (her daughter has keys to the house and we had left the garage door up) about 6:30 PM. They unloaded their gear and were visiting with me when she finally came back out to the den. She was wondering why we didn't let her know they were here.
After a short visit, her daughter took her son down to Subway to get him something to eat and then dropped him back off here and she went out to meet some of her college friends for dinner. I came in my bedroom and did a few things, then I took Sukiey out to the den - well Sukiey didn't like that and she scratched me some. My housemate came back to my bathroom and patched me up on my back - another area where she got me I took care of putting neosporin and a band-aid on it.
I returned to my bedroom a little later and got in the bed - I went on to bed around 10:00 PM. Then, this morning, around 6:15 AM, I heard thunder rolling. Well, I just laid there awhile, then about 7:30 AM I got up. I gathered my AM meds and went on out to the den. I prepared breakfast and ate and took the meds. While in the process of prepping breakfast, I discovered that Linda's car was gone - and since I knew she had discovered a nail in one of her tires and had used a can of "fix a flat" yesterday before coming home, I figured she had gone to Upton's to get the tire fixed.
I went on to eat breakfast and look at the newspaper. They had it cold in the house - almost cold enough to hang meat - so when I went to go get in the shower, I opted for a pair of sweats and the Canucks jersey to put on when I got out. When I was done, I went back out to the den and found that her daughter was here. I had assumed she had gone with her Mom to get the tire fixed.
Well, we learned that Upton's told her that she needed new tires for her car, so that's what was going on. She was waiting for them to be put on. Her daughter called her - and was shocked that her Mom had her cell phone turned on. She'll carry it with her, but usually doesn't turn it on. I guess she figured she should in case we might need to call her.
Eventually she returned and I explained to her what the latest was with the weather - that apparently Channel 3 had gone off of the air - it was down on both DirecTV and Comcast - but that David Hartman [Channel 16] had said that there is a line of thunderstorms stretching from Monroe down to Alexandria, LA and that they were en route towards us. She wondered about Rusty - she had let him inside earlier because he was becoming "unnerved" [as her daughter put it] by the weather this morning. She wanted to know if he had eaten his breakfast and I said that I had seen him out there drinking water. She went and checked and he had eaten the food she had put down for him.
I came on back to my bedroom soon afterward and opened your letter file and started writing. I didn't have any idea what they were planning - I figured to stay back here and out of their way so they could have some visit time without me in the middle of that. Then, a little while later my housemate came back here and said she was going to the fitness club and that they were going to order pizza for lunch and asked if I wanted anything. I told her what I wanted; she said that she would go by and pick the orders up on her way back home. I don't have any idea how long it might be before she gets back - she usually spends about 30 minutes or so at the Courthouse, I know that.
The tennis tournament that her grandson is playing in has been delayed. Her daughter needed her password so she could log on to her computer to check the status of the tournament. The website had been updated to indicate that the weather was causing delays and that there would be another update posted at 12:00 PM. It's now 10:56 AM, so her daughter will need to check the site again in just over an hour to see what the status is.
I will pause here and continue later....
I just completed a 60 page letter to a friend a few minutes ago. I've printed the remaining pages and have put them with the rest of the printed letter; the flat rate envelope is sealed and the stamp is on it. I have to hand it to a human window clerk because of that dumb 13 ounce rule. But, I have to stop by the post office anyway - since I have photo mailers to send out to a couple of my aunts. Maybe getting there after 2:00 PM - which will be after the lunchtime rush - will help me to avoid standing in a long line. But there's also the possibility - in fact, probability - that there will only be 2 human window clerks working at that time when there are spaces for 4 human window clerks to be open and working.
It's 11:20 AM - so co-workers are due in to work in 40 minutes. I'll be interested to see if they're on time or purposely late [in one's case]. My supervisor is leaving at 12:00 PM as he said he has stuff to go and do.
I'll stop at this time and continue again when time permits....
Good evening....it's now 8:55 PM. I'm returning to continue writing. The flat rate envelope is out in the mailstream to my friend, but not exactly as I had planned. Allow me to explain....
I had intended to stay until 2:00 PM today, but the construction workers were making some noise that was beginning to give me a headache, so around 11:15 AM, I took 2 Excedrin Express Gels, but they didn't seem to touch the pain. So, I went on about 11:30 AM and asked my supervisor if I could change my mind and leave at 12:00 PM. He said yes, so I quickly did the leave paperwork, printed it, revised my time sheet and printed a new version, then retrieved the one that I had turned in. I gave him the leave paperwork and he signed it; I signed it as well along with the new time sheet. I shredded the old, incorrect, paperwork and took the new, correct, paperwork and put it in the mailbox.
Since my other co-worker would be staying until 2:00 PM, the supervisor told me, around 11:55 AM, that I could go ahead and leave. I walked out of the Center and out of the REL soon after; as I was heading across the street to the Clark parking lot, I saw my co-workers standing on the corner where they had apparently just come out of the garage. I went on over and put my stuff in my car, got in and left. As usual - those 2 guys were late to work. I'm sure one of them was relieved that he didn't have to see me again today.
Well, because I had the headache, I didn't feel like stopping off at the post office or Kroger on the way home. Instead, I came straight home and changed clothes, then got in bed - I turned out the lamp on the nightstand - and fell asleep for about 30-45 minutes. Then I woke up and I felt somewhat better, so I got up - it was about 1:15 PM - and got my stuff together and headed out.
I went over to the post office and picked up the mail, then went to the window area. Not all that surprisingly, there were only 2 human window clerks working; there was also a line of people waiting - about 5 or 6 ahead of me. Soon after I joined the line, it began to grow behind me. It seems to never fail that when I go, there are only 2 human window clerks working (out of the possible 4) and there's a line to wait in. Well, while we were waiting, one of the 2 closed her station - and I thought there was going to be a protest, but then another clerk came and opened her station. So, it was apparently a matter of one returning from lunch and the other going to lunch.
Finally I got to the male human window clerk. He was rather unpleasant to deal with. He had to look the flat rate package over - I can only suppose that it was to see if there might be some reason he could decline to accept it. When he looked at the stamp, I asked if I had the correct amount of postage on there and he agreed that I did. So, he put it aside and turned his attention to the 2 photo mailers. He figured the postage for each and printed the postage labels. Then, when he told me the amount, I handed him a $5 and he asked if I had a dime - as it was $2.10 - and I said no - that I did until I had dropped my change in my change bucket at home. He seemed to be unhappy to have to give me $2.90 in change instead of just $3 back. I'm not sure what his problem was. I stood there and watched him cancel the stamp on the flat rate envelope to make sure that it was accepted - so that it doesn't get kicked back at me.
Once I was finished at the window, I went on back to the car with my mail and then went on over to the grocery. I found a parking space and parked the car and went in the store. There I did some shopping - I finally settled on getting a bottle of Soft Scrub Gel Cleanser with Bleach to clean the shower - actually to clean the grout at the bottom - where the wall tile meets the tub and there's also some segments of the tile that needed cleaning. I can still use the other cleanser for the tile itself, though. I may need to buy more of it - or something similar - before long, though, as I'm not sure how much is left in there. I got a few other items, including cereal, bread and a gallon of milk - code dated May 6. My housemate had told me to use out of her gallon of milk when I ran out this morning, but I decided that since her daughter and grandson are coming in for the weekend, I would leave hers alone and get myself a gallon since they might want milk and could use hers.
I eventually got finished, checked out and then loaded up the car and left and headed back home. I unloaded and put the perishable stuff away, then ate a late lunch. I followed that by going and cleaning the bathroom - using the cleanser I had bought on the problem areas and I had to do some scrubbing, but I finally seemed to get the grout clean. At least I hope I did.
After finishing with that, I got back in bed - with the intent of taking another nap. I called a friend and got her voice mail; I left a message and she called me back soon afterwards. I hung up with her and rolled over to try to get that nap - uh, the phone rings and it's another friend. She's calling from New York [JFK] and said that they had decided to check the baggage all the way through from Jackson to Casablanca, Morocco. They were assured that the transfers would be made for them. She said they had a couple of hours of layover time and that they were at the gate at JFK that they would be departing from.
When I hung up with her, I rolled over again and lo and behold the phone rings again - it's my brother. I had left a message for him earlier; he was returning the call. He and I talked for 40 minutes exactly - I saw the call timer when I hung up! He told me that they were on the road heading home from Virginia. They had left at the end of last week to drive up there to visit with their daughter, son-in-law and their children and grandchildren. He told me about some of the activities they had been involved in while there and that they were taking their time coming back. He did say that they stayed at a motel in Ft. Payne, Alabama en route to Virginia. They had hoped to make it on to Chattanooga, but when they reached Ft. Payne, it was almost 11:30 PM, so they decided to stop at that point. He couldn't remember the name of the motel they stayed at, but said he would be able to tell me when he gets his credit card statement. My sister-in-law chimed in that she thought it was a Days Inn.
After I hung up with him, I rolled over again and this time I succeeded in going to sleep for about 30-45 minutes. I woke up just in time to hear my housemate come in. I laid there for a few minutes to see if she would call out to me to see if I was awake, but she didn't. Finally, I got up and headed for the kitchen. I was in there when she came out from her bedroom. She said she had more stuff for that co-worker she had visited on Wednesday night; she called the woman to see if it would be okay to stop by and drop it off to her. She was told yes, so she got it together and left; she planned to stop by the fitness club while she was out.
Rusty was in the house with me - I fixed my supper and turned on her TV in the den to ESPN to watch the NFL Draft. After I finished eating and cleaned up behind myself, I was laying on the couch watching the draft when she returned. I muted the TV. She told me that she had heard on the radio while she was out reports concerning the severe weather that's being called for. She said that in case that we all have to huddle in the hall, we need to get Sukiey's pet carrier out [to put her in it to protect her from Rusty] and she had me to work on the emergency radio. I finally changed the batteries and then realized I had them in there wrong; I corrected that, now it will run off of either battery power or the hand crank power. I have it tuned to US 96.3 FM - a country station - since I tried to get MISS 103, but couldn't pull it in.
My housemate fixed herself some supper and ate, then cleaned up behind herself. Soon after, we turned off the TV and each retired to our bedrooms. I'm going to stop here and head off to bed....
Friday, April 23, 2010
Good afternoon! It's 4:26 PM. I'm going to back up and pull forward....
I woke up this morning about 6:35 or so and got up and went to have breakfast and check out the newspaper. Then, around 7:30 AM, I came back to my bedroom and went back to bed. I was actually in bed when my housemate left for work this morning around 7:55 AM I think it was. I fell back asleep and lo and behold, woke up again at 9:45 AM. Well, I finally got up and got myself in gear. I went on to take a shower and get dressed. I put on a pair of shorts and my Vancouver 2010 tee shirt. Once dressed, I updated my checkbook, then got ready and headed out. I made a quick drive in to Downtown and stopped at the bank to get some cash out of my account for over the weekend - rather than using the ATM. En route back home, I stopped and got something for lunch.
When I returned home, I started a load of laundry [I don't usually mention doing this though you know I have it to do] and turned on my housemate's TV in the den to catch the Noon newscast while eating lunch. All week we've heard about the potential for severe stormy weather on Friday and Saturday. When I left to run those errands, the weather was pleasant - sunny and a little warm - but by the time I had gotten back to the house, clouds were starting to move in. I began monitoring the weather as Paul Williams, the meteorologist on Channel 3 [Midday Mississippi] was reporting on what was expected.
Rusty was cutting up and carrying on, so I brought him inside and he settled down. I mostly stayed out in the laundry/kitchen/den area for a while - with the TV on and watching for news bulletins on the weather - as it got kind of dark and we had some claps of thunder and flashes of lightning plus some rain and possibly even some hail. I got the first load of laundry completed and put away; the second load was in the dryer and when it shut off, I checked and found that it wasn't completely dry, so I cleaned the lint filter again and turned it back on to run some more. I turned the TV off, put Rusty back out on the patio and returned to my bedroom and got in bed and took a short nap [yep, I've slept a good bit today!] and when I woke up, I got up and went back out to the den.
I turned the TV back on and tuned to Channel 3 - this time it was chief meteorologist Barbie Bassett doing the weather on the 4:00 PM newscast. I watched her forecast and got the laundry out of the dryer, folded and put away, then I put Rusty back out on the patio [he had gone to barking and I let him in] and came back to my bedroom to get on the computer and write this update.
Oh yeah - I did go out in the garage and retrieve Sukiey's pet carrier. I put it in the dining room - out of sight of Sukiey and Rusty [and us humans] though I will be able to lay my hands on it easily if necessary. I also changed Sukiey's litter box as it needed to be done. I did these tasks while I was also doing laundry.
We're not out of the woods of the bad weather by any means, although conditions are calm here in my neighborhood at the present time. More bad weather is expected to roll in overnight and through the day tomorrow. I'm not sure what my housemate's plans are - if she's going to come on home when she gets off at 5:00 PM [currently it's 4:53 PM] or stay and work a bit late or what. Since I had gone back to bed this morning, I didn't get a chance to ask her before she left for work.
I'm not sure what time her daughter and grandson are expected in this evening - again because I didn't get a chance to ask my housemate this morning. However, if they were to get here and find the garage door down [which is its current state] her daughter would probably call her first and if she got her voice mail, she would hang up and call my cell phone [yes she has my cell phone number]. However, I doubt they'll get here any earlier than 7:00-7:30 PM - and that would be if they left Shreveport by 3:00-3:30 PM and didn't have any traffic or weather issues to deal with. She does drive a bit faster than her Mom, though.
Oh - I did stop by the post office this morning before going to get lunch - but there was only a piece of junk waiting for me. So, I trashed it. At least there were no bills! I didn't have to go to the window area so I have no idea how many human window clerks were working at that time.
It's now 5:09 PM - I will pause here and continue at a later time.....
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Good morning....let me back up and pull forward.....my housemate arrived at home about 5:45 PM I think it was. She wanted to go to the fitness club, but she also had some laundry she wanted to do and a couple of other things. I did ask her if she had spoken with her daughter and she said yes. She said that when they talked, they were in Vicksburg and they were going to stop and get Austin registered for the tennis tournament and then they would come on here.
I was out in the den - I had already eaten supper and taken my PM meds by that time. Linda had gone to her bedroom to do a couple of things whenthey came in (her daughter has keys to the house and we had left the garage door up) about 6:30 PM. They unloaded their gear and were visiting with me when she finally came back out to the den. She was wondering why we didn't let her know they were here.
After a short visit, her daughter took her son down to Subway to get him something to eat and then dropped him back off here and she went out to meet some of her college friends for dinner. I came in my bedroom and did a few things, then I took Sukiey out to the den - well Sukiey didn't like that and she scratched me some. My housemate came back to my bathroom and patched me up on my back - another area where she got me I took care of putting neosporin and a band-aid on it.
I returned to my bedroom a little later and got in the bed - I went on to bed around 10:00 PM. Then, this morning, around 6:15 AM, I heard thunder rolling. Well, I just laid there awhile, then about 7:30 AM I got up. I gathered my AM meds and went on out to the den. I prepared breakfast and ate and took the meds. While in the process of prepping breakfast, I discovered that Linda's car was gone - and since I knew she had discovered a nail in one of her tires and had used a can of "fix a flat" yesterday before coming home, I figured she had gone to Upton's to get the tire fixed.
I went on to eat breakfast and look at the newspaper. They had it cold in the house - almost cold enough to hang meat - so when I went to go get in the shower, I opted for a pair of sweats and the Canucks jersey to put on when I got out. When I was done, I went back out to the den and found that her daughter was here. I had assumed she had gone with her Mom to get the tire fixed.
Well, we learned that Upton's told her that she needed new tires for her car, so that's what was going on. She was waiting for them to be put on. Her daughter called her - and was shocked that her Mom had her cell phone turned on. She'll carry it with her, but usually doesn't turn it on. I guess she figured she should in case we might need to call her.
Eventually she returned and I explained to her what the latest was with the weather - that apparently Channel 3 had gone off of the air - it was down on both DirecTV and Comcast - but that David Hartman [Channel 16] had said that there is a line of thunderstorms stretching from Monroe down to Alexandria, LA and that they were en route towards us. She wondered about Rusty - she had let him inside earlier because he was becoming "unnerved" [as her daughter put it] by the weather this morning. She wanted to know if he had eaten his breakfast and I said that I had seen him out there drinking water. She went and checked and he had eaten the food she had put down for him.
I came on back to my bedroom soon afterward and opened your letter file and started writing. I didn't have any idea what they were planning - I figured to stay back here and out of their way so they could have some visit time without me in the middle of that. Then, a little while later my housemate came back here and said she was going to the fitness club and that they were going to order pizza for lunch and asked if I wanted anything. I told her what I wanted; she said that she would go by and pick the orders up on her way back home. I don't have any idea how long it might be before she gets back - she usually spends about 30 minutes or so at the Courthouse, I know that.
The tennis tournament that her grandson is playing in has been delayed. Her daughter needed her password so she could log on to her computer to check the status of the tournament. The website had been updated to indicate that the weather was causing delays and that there would be another update posted at 12:00 PM. It's now 10:56 AM, so her daughter will need to check the site again in just over an hour to see what the status is.
I will pause here and continue later....
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday evening/Thursday, April 21 & 22, 2010
I got rather outdone with my co-workers. I finally decided I was tired of coming in early so that they could leave by 6:45 AM when they won’t get their tails in here so that I can leave by 6:45 PM. It’s especially irritating on Wednesday evening because then I have to deal with not only the school traffic – college students getting out of class – but also the prayer meeting traffic from FBCJ. So, I decided that I would no longer get in a hurry to get here for 6:45 AM – starting this morning.
As soon as one of the guys came in, I got my stuff and left. I headed home – having to fight some traffic – and when I got there, it appeared that my housemate had not been home; I raised the garage door and pulled in and parked, then gathered my stuff and went inside. But, based on the inside of the house, it was obvious that she had been home and had left again.
I went on to put my stuff away, then got the photo mailers out and got them ready to mail; I put them in my briefcase so I would take them with me this morning and put another envelope in there as well. I changed clothes and went out and prepared and ate supper. Rusty was barking – he wanted in the house, so I decided that I would let him in – once I had cleaned up after myself. But, since the garage door was still up, I got his leash and put him on it. I laid down on the couch in the den and commanded him to lay down on the floor by me – which he did. I looped the leash under my leg and laid down on it where the handle was where I could grab it. I went on to make a couple of phone calls – ending one just as I heard my housemate in the garage.
She came in the house and noticed Rusty laying on the floor in the den, but she didn’t see me at first. Then she looked again and saw me laying on the couch. I got up and let Rusty loose – took the leash off of him and put it up. She said that she didn’t remember letting Rusty in when she was home earlier and she was wondering how he had gotten in. I explained what I had done.
I also gave her greetings from a mutual friend of ours – and also delivered another friend’s message to her. She said that she had come home and changed clothes, then went to the fitness club and worked out. After that she had gone to visit an injured co-worker. Ironically, what her company specializes in is worker’s comp claims and the co-worker’s injury is a worker’s comp claim. She had an accident in the parking lot and messed up her shoulder. I believe my housemate said that she broke a bone in her shoulder. Anyway, the co-worker had thought she would be able to return to work quickly, but it turned out that the doctor said otherwise – she had to have surgery on the shoulder and is now out from work for a while as it heals. My housemate said she called the co-worker and asked her what kind of groceries she might be in need of and got a list, then went to Kroger and got the items and took them over to her. She visited with the woman and her daughter – I think she said the child is 9 years old. She told me more about the woman’s story as well. She loves the digital camera she bought while in Canada – she took it with her to the co-worker’s apartment and took some pictures and she showed them to me.
She ate a late supper and we talked for a few minutes. I asked if her daughter and grandson were still coming this weekend – with bad weather predicted – and she said that they would be in Friday evening – they still have to show up for the tournament. It’s something to do with points and also with not getting their entry fee back – I don’t understand how that works.
Soon after, she got Rusty back out on the patio and fed and then we both headed to our bedrooms. I sure as heck didn’t want to get up. I did, though, and silenced the alarm and shut if off since today is Thursday. I kind of took my time this morning – I didn’t get in a hurry – and so I wound up making sure that my co-workers didn’t get to leave here till 6:55 AM.
I have already done my time sheet – I’m staying till 2:00 PM – even though I have a couple of errands to run. The post office doesn’t close till 6:00 PM so I have 4 hours to get there and get the packages in the mail. J J
I spoke with a co-worker – I was asking her advice about a shower cleaner. I have something I use, but it doesn’t seem to be working very well – it says that you just spray it on and go – no scrubbing needed. But I’m not happy with the results I see. She said she has something that works well for her, but she couldn’t remember the name of it. I have to stop at the grocery store this afternoon so I’ll look and see what they have and hopefully find something there. When we have company, my housemate shares my bathroom and gives them her bedroom and bathroom. She sleeps on the couch in the living room or takes the “blue room”. I want to get the shower cleaned up before she gets in there. I’ve been spraying what I have on the tub and tile daily, but it doesn’t seem to be working – at least not to my satisfaction! L L
My co-worker said she needs to walk some stuff down to a couple of friends [they work at a law firm] around 10:00 AM. She wanted to know if I would like to walk with her. I said that I had my sandals on and didn’t bring my tennis shoes. I asked her to check with me when she’s ready to go and I’ll see if I can break away and I’ll go. J J
I’ve done some nosing around on the Internet – I found out the particulars of the NFL 2010 draft. It will be on the NFL Network and in primetime tonight and Friday night, then during the day on Saturday. The Saints pick last this year in all the rounds in which they have a pick – and that’s a good thing – because the last pick is always made by the Super Bowl Champions. J J
It’ll be interesting to see how another co-worker reacts when he comes in and discovers that I’m staying till 2:00 PM. I haven’t done that in a while and the guyk seems to purposely come in late in order to avoid seeing me after the stunt he pulled that backfired on him – he was the one that got in trouble over it, not me – as well he should have, since he instigated it. J J
I had to stop for a awhile but I'm back now....
I walked with my co-worker down to the law firm to deliver the items to our friends. Walking in my sandals bothered my feet some; I took the sandals off when I got back to work. It was a nice and pleasant walk over there - several blocks from here.
I'll stop here for the present time....
As soon as one of the guys came in, I got my stuff and left. I headed home – having to fight some traffic – and when I got there, it appeared that my housemate had not been home; I raised the garage door and pulled in and parked, then gathered my stuff and went inside. But, based on the inside of the house, it was obvious that she had been home and had left again.
I went on to put my stuff away, then got the photo mailers out and got them ready to mail; I put them in my briefcase so I would take them with me this morning and put another envelope in there as well. I changed clothes and went out and prepared and ate supper. Rusty was barking – he wanted in the house, so I decided that I would let him in – once I had cleaned up after myself. But, since the garage door was still up, I got his leash and put him on it. I laid down on the couch in the den and commanded him to lay down on the floor by me – which he did. I looped the leash under my leg and laid down on it where the handle was where I could grab it. I went on to make a couple of phone calls – ending one just as I heard my housemate in the garage.
She came in the house and noticed Rusty laying on the floor in the den, but she didn’t see me at first. Then she looked again and saw me laying on the couch. I got up and let Rusty loose – took the leash off of him and put it up. She said that she didn’t remember letting Rusty in when she was home earlier and she was wondering how he had gotten in. I explained what I had done.
I also gave her greetings from a mutual friend of ours – and also delivered another friend’s message to her. She said that she had come home and changed clothes, then went to the fitness club and worked out. After that she had gone to visit an injured co-worker. Ironically, what her company specializes in is worker’s comp claims and the co-worker’s injury is a worker’s comp claim. She had an accident in the parking lot and messed up her shoulder. I believe my housemate said that she broke a bone in her shoulder. Anyway, the co-worker had thought she would be able to return to work quickly, but it turned out that the doctor said otherwise – she had to have surgery on the shoulder and is now out from work for a while as it heals. My housemate said she called the co-worker and asked her what kind of groceries she might be in need of and got a list, then went to Kroger and got the items and took them over to her. She visited with the woman and her daughter – I think she said the child is 9 years old. She told me more about the woman’s story as well. She loves the digital camera she bought while in Canada – she took it with her to the co-worker’s apartment and took some pictures and she showed them to me.
She ate a late supper and we talked for a few minutes. I asked if her daughter and grandson were still coming this weekend – with bad weather predicted – and she said that they would be in Friday evening – they still have to show up for the tournament. It’s something to do with points and also with not getting their entry fee back – I don’t understand how that works.
Soon after, she got Rusty back out on the patio and fed and then we both headed to our bedrooms. I sure as heck didn’t want to get up. I did, though, and silenced the alarm and shut if off since today is Thursday. I kind of took my time this morning – I didn’t get in a hurry – and so I wound up making sure that my co-workers didn’t get to leave here till 6:55 AM.
I have already done my time sheet – I’m staying till 2:00 PM – even though I have a couple of errands to run. The post office doesn’t close till 6:00 PM so I have 4 hours to get there and get the packages in the mail. J J
I spoke with a co-worker – I was asking her advice about a shower cleaner. I have something I use, but it doesn’t seem to be working very well – it says that you just spray it on and go – no scrubbing needed. But I’m not happy with the results I see. She said she has something that works well for her, but she couldn’t remember the name of it. I have to stop at the grocery store this afternoon so I’ll look and see what they have and hopefully find something there. When we have company, my housemate shares my bathroom and gives them her bedroom and bathroom. She sleeps on the couch in the living room or takes the “blue room”. I want to get the shower cleaned up before she gets in there. I’ve been spraying what I have on the tub and tile daily, but it doesn’t seem to be working – at least not to my satisfaction! L L
My co-worker said she needs to walk some stuff down to a couple of friends [they work at a law firm] around 10:00 AM. She wanted to know if I would like to walk with her. I said that I had my sandals on and didn’t bring my tennis shoes. I asked her to check with me when she’s ready to go and I’ll see if I can break away and I’ll go. J J
I’ve done some nosing around on the Internet – I found out the particulars of the NFL 2010 draft. It will be on the NFL Network and in primetime tonight and Friday night, then during the day on Saturday. The Saints pick last this year in all the rounds in which they have a pick – and that’s a good thing – because the last pick is always made by the Super Bowl Champions. J J
It’ll be interesting to see how another co-worker reacts when he comes in and discovers that I’m staying till 2:00 PM. I haven’t done that in a while and the guyk seems to purposely come in late in order to avoid seeing me after the stunt he pulled that backfired on him – he was the one that got in trouble over it, not me – as well he should have, since he instigated it. J J
I had to stop for a awhile but I'm back now....
I walked with my co-worker down to the law firm to deliver the items to our friends. Walking in my sandals bothered my feet some; I took the sandals off when I got back to work. It was a nice and pleasant walk over there - several blocks from here.
I'll stop here for the present time....
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wedneday, April 21 - Part Two....
Today is Administrative Professionals' Day. I used to be one of those, but have long since changed job titles! Anyway, we have a favorite AP among our crew, so our manager took her to lunch - and I and another supervisor joined them at a local restaurant. We had a nice lunch - the place was busy - busier than usual due to some other activities also going on in the area today.
Anyway - when I left to go to lunch, I made sure to take my sunglasses. The sun is out in full force and I needed them. Our AP also had hers on. We took a walk down the street to eat - no need to drive when where we were going was only a couple of blocks - plus there would've been the hassle of parking!
Soon after I returned from lunch, my co-worker left for lunch. He has a heating pad in his chair to help his back. I hope he has it turned off - since he's at lunch. I'm not sure where he was going or what his plans were. Okay - he's back now.
I was trying to find out when the Mission Mississippi Prayer Breakfast hosted by First Baptist - Jackson is. I sent Tom an e-mail; I've since looked on the church calendar and learned that it's next Thursday - April 29, 2010. I want to attend if possible. I've noted it on my calendar and requested an e-mail to alert and remind me.
In other news....
Prior to going to lunch, I received my latest Avon order - for a jar of moisturerizer. I had the cash on me to pay for it - as it took me by surprise that the order was in already. It seemed like it was just last week that I placed the order! I guess I'll give it a try in the morning and see how I like it.
This is all for now....
Anyway - when I left to go to lunch, I made sure to take my sunglasses. The sun is out in full force and I needed them. Our AP also had hers on. We took a walk down the street to eat - no need to drive when where we were going was only a couple of blocks - plus there would've been the hassle of parking!
Soon after I returned from lunch, my co-worker left for lunch. He has a heating pad in his chair to help his back. I hope he has it turned off - since he's at lunch. I'm not sure where he was going or what his plans were. Okay - he's back now.
I was trying to find out when the Mission Mississippi Prayer Breakfast hosted by First Baptist - Jackson is. I sent Tom an e-mail; I've since looked on the church calendar and learned that it's next Thursday - April 29, 2010. I want to attend if possible. I've noted it on my calendar and requested an e-mail to alert and remind me.
In other news....
Prior to going to lunch, I received my latest Avon order - for a jar of moisturerizer. I had the cash on me to pay for it - as it took me by surprise that the order was in already. It seemed like it was just last week that I placed the order! I guess I'll give it a try in the morning and see how I like it.
This is all for now....
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 ~ Thus Far.....
The alarm went off at 5:00 AM. I noted that it seemed like I had just went to sleep and it was already time to get up again. I did - silenced the alarm - and kicked off the morning workday routine. I went on to take a shower and get dressed. Then I headed to the kitchen and found my housemate in there. She had retrieved the newspaper and was looking at a section of it.
I went on to prepare my breakfast and sat down and ate and read the newspaper - my housemate was done with it and she headed back to her bedroom after taking Rusty's breakfast to him. He woke up as well and began barking. She was going to start getting ready for work.
I finished up breakfast, cleaned up behind myself, then went and finished getting ready for work. Once I was done, I gathered my stuff and headed out, but had to go back in to retrieve my sunglasses. I did that and finally got in the car and headed out and in to work. When I arrived, the parking lot again gave me a choice of spaces, so I picked one, parked and came in to work.
My co-worker is here today, but he has a restriction on lifting, so I'm having to do that kind of stuff - unless it's too heavy, then I have to get my supervisor or manager to do it. We don't yet know when the guy is going to have surgery and be out for a while.
Today is my baby cousin's birthday - he's a year old! A year ago we had no idea we would be celebrating his 1st birthday today - as he had such a rough start to his life. First of all, he was born a month premature and so his lungs weren't fully developed. He spent 16 days in NICU at the hospital. It was touch and go for a while as to whether he would live or not. However, praise be to God - he turned the corner, they sent him home and he began thriving. Today you wouldn't know to look at him that he was a "preemie".
I'm not sure what my cousins will be doing for the little fellow - to celebrate his first birthday, that is. I guess they'll have a party of some kind - probably this weekend.
This is all I have for now.....
I went on to prepare my breakfast and sat down and ate and read the newspaper - my housemate was done with it and she headed back to her bedroom after taking Rusty's breakfast to him. He woke up as well and began barking. She was going to start getting ready for work.
I finished up breakfast, cleaned up behind myself, then went and finished getting ready for work. Once I was done, I gathered my stuff and headed out, but had to go back in to retrieve my sunglasses. I did that and finally got in the car and headed out and in to work. When I arrived, the parking lot again gave me a choice of spaces, so I picked one, parked and came in to work.
My co-worker is here today, but he has a restriction on lifting, so I'm having to do that kind of stuff - unless it's too heavy, then I have to get my supervisor or manager to do it. We don't yet know when the guy is going to have surgery and be out for a while.
Today is my baby cousin's birthday - he's a year old! A year ago we had no idea we would be celebrating his 1st birthday today - as he had such a rough start to his life. First of all, he was born a month premature and so his lungs weren't fully developed. He spent 16 days in NICU at the hospital. It was touch and go for a while as to whether he would live or not. However, praise be to God - he turned the corner, they sent him home and he began thriving. Today you wouldn't know to look at him that he was a "preemie".
I'm not sure what my cousins will be doing for the little fellow - to celebrate his first birthday, that is. I guess they'll have a party of some kind - probably this weekend.
This is all I have for now.....
Tuesday evening, April 20, 2010
I left work at 6:00 PM - I did take an hour of leave time. I prepared the paperwork and held on to it to have my supervisor sign it Wednesday morning.
I made a stop at the store that I wanted to shop at and pick up a 16GB flash drive. I had a coupon for 50% off of the regular price, so I saved $35.00 by using it! I had been looking for a larger flash drive than what I currently have - an 8GB. This was a good deal!
I also picked up a pack of 3 photo mailers - not really the kind I wanted, but I got them anyway. I only needed 2, but they came as a pack of 3. I have copies of the photos of Sukiey tucked in bed to send out to family members and that's why I needed them.
After shopping, I headed home and found the garage was up; my housemate was laying on the couch and Rusty was inside when I went in after parking the car and gathering my gear. We talked briefly; Rusty began being a pest to her, so she asked me if I could put him outside.
I said yes, I could put him out and I went and got a dog biscuit and went to the patio door, opened it and went out, calling him as I did - he knew I had a dog biscuit, so he followed me out there. I shut the door and put him through a couple of his tricks, giving him a piece of the dog biscuit as he did them. Then I slipped back inside and locked the door down.
My housemate was tired from her late night on Monday, so she wanted to rest and watch TV. I went on take my stuff to my bedroom and change clothes, then i came back out and had supper. From that point, I went on to work on gettng my photos all put in my album - I had let them kind of pile up.
Once that was done, after making a phone call, I went on to bed. I have no idea what time my housemate got up off of the couch and went to bed as I didn't hear her.
I made a stop at the store that I wanted to shop at and pick up a 16GB flash drive. I had a coupon for 50% off of the regular price, so I saved $35.00 by using it! I had been looking for a larger flash drive than what I currently have - an 8GB. This was a good deal!
I also picked up a pack of 3 photo mailers - not really the kind I wanted, but I got them anyway. I only needed 2, but they came as a pack of 3. I have copies of the photos of Sukiey tucked in bed to send out to family members and that's why I needed them.
After shopping, I headed home and found the garage was up; my housemate was laying on the couch and Rusty was inside when I went in after parking the car and gathering my gear. We talked briefly; Rusty began being a pest to her, so she asked me if I could put him outside.
I said yes, I could put him out and I went and got a dog biscuit and went to the patio door, opened it and went out, calling him as I did - he knew I had a dog biscuit, so he followed me out there. I shut the door and put him through a couple of his tricks, giving him a piece of the dog biscuit as he did them. Then I slipped back inside and locked the door down.
My housemate was tired from her late night on Monday, so she wanted to rest and watch TV. I went on take my stuff to my bedroom and change clothes, then i came back out and had supper. From that point, I went on to work on gettng my photos all put in my album - I had let them kind of pile up.
Once that was done, after making a phone call, I went on to bed. I have no idea what time my housemate got up off of the couch and went to bed as I didn't hear her.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday evening, April 19 & Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday (4/19):
I left work about 6:45 PM last night – some of my co-workers were here, but one hadn’t made it in yet. I headed towards home, but did detour by the post office. There, amongst my mail, I found the package from a friend that she had told me about when we talked last week. I headed on home and determined that my housemate had not yet been home – I raised the garage door, pulled in and parked, then lowered it back down and unloaded the car, then went in the house.
I took my gear to my bedroom and then changed from dress pants to shorts, then went on to prepare supper and eat it while going through the mail. The item that got my most attention was that letter. I read it eagerly and also went through the coupons and the other items. I found them to be quite interesting.
My housemate had plans – she was leaving straight from work to go out to some friends' home. The Vancouver group was reuniting to share stories and their pictures. She had printed extra copies of some of her pictures from the memory stick so that she could give them to the others in those pictures.
I did upload the 3 photos of Sukiey “tucked in bed” from my camera to my flash drive. Then I mulled over about getting prints made of them – I refuse to go back to the store which is maybe a mile from the house – after the way I’ve been treated there. Sunday’s episode was not the first experience I’ve had like that – it had happened previously on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday when I went there to print pictures – I don't think I shared with you about the woman monopolizing the machine that she used. The store manager acted in the same ugly manner towards me that day.
Well, I got ready and went on to bed sometime after 9:00 PM. I have no idea what time my housemate came in – I was asleep and didn’t hear her. I woke up again sometime after 11:00 PM and all was quiet; I went back to sleep and woke up again about 4:00 AM and got up briefly, then went and laid back down till the alarm went off at 5:00 AM.
Tuesday (4/20):
I tried to be quiet when getting up and ready to go take a shower. I knew Linda was home because looking down the hall, the lights in the den were out – and I knew that I had left them on when I went to bed. I did go on to take a shower and get dressed. Then I went to the kitchen and on out to get the newspaper – I raised the garage and found that it had rained some overnight and the paper was in a plastic bag – then I lowered the door back down and came back inside – and as I did, she appeared in the kitchen.
I was kind of startled to see her. I noted that I must’ve been asleep when she came in last night and she said that she was out there later than she had planned on. She also said that the Missions Deployment Directors, were there. She said she had to follow some of the group out so that she could make her way back to the main road and head for home. And, she said that they did have a great time visiting and sharing pictures and stories with the directors.
I told her that my co-worker didn’t come in to work at all on Monday and that we already knew he wasn’t going to be in this morning – supposedly he is to be in around 2:00-3:00 PM. She agreed with me – why bother to come in so late in the day?! She got her coffee made and took a cup and headed back to her bedroom while I ate breakfast, read the newspaper and then cleaned up behind myself. I also went and finished up getting ready and headed out and in to work.
When I got to the parking lot, I had my choice of parking spaces. I chose one and parked and came on in. My co-workers were here; I relieved them. My supervisor came in soon after they left. I’ve gotten the “top of the morning” work done and now have some downtime. I uploaded the 3 pictures of Sukiey to my photo account and then finally settled on sending the order for prints to the store on nearest here. Problem is, it closes at 6:00 PM. The pictures are to be ready after 11:00 AM. I told my supervisor and said I would call and verify that they’re ready, then sometime after that I’ll make a quick trip over there to pick them up and also get something for lunch since I forgot to grab something out of the freezer this morning.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave at 6:00 PM. It hinges on whether my co-worker shows up this afternoon or not. Bob has something he needs to leave and go do. Oh well, if I can’t, I’ll just have to go to that store when I leave here around 7:00 PM. I checked and the website says that they have the flash drive I want in stock.
I did take the time to log on to the photo store's regular website and send them an e-mail using their website form concerning my experience at the store on Sunday. It does me no good to complain to the store manager because the person who treated me the way he did is the store manager. I expect that I will get a response of some kind – phone or e-mail – from someone at the company as I’m sure they don’t want to lose a customer as a result of his actions. My theory is that they can’t fix something if they don’t know it’s broke!
On the other hand, I stopped to check my e-mail and see if I had any sort of automated e-mail from them in response to what I sent them on the website. No, but I did have a personal response – from Stormie Omartian’s assistant – Susan. This must be Stormie’s sister – since she went by Sue at the conference. She said that the photos were wonderful and thanked me for taking the time to share them and said she would make sure Stormie sees them! She also thanked me for working their table and said they had a lovely time in Jackson and I had a lot to do with that. So, that makes me feel good.
I do have the 3 newsletters ready to go in the mail along with an envelope to an aunt of mine with some of the coupons that you sent me that she can use. I don’t know when I’ll go drop them in the drop box on the corner of the Clark Building. Maybe I’ll be able to do it when I leave to go pick up my pictures and lunch. While at the store I’ll see about getting photo mailers; if they don’t have what I want/need, I’ll get them tonight at the other store.
Alright, I’m back now. It’s 2:11 PM as I’m getting a chance to resume writing. When I stopped earlier, I called the store near here to make sure my photo order was ready so that I wouldn’t drive over there for no reason. Well, I wound up having to call 3 times – the 1st 2 times I got transferred to the wrong area and then back and eventually got disconnected; the 3rd time the guy I was talking to was able to check and confirm that the order was ready. So, I left here about 11:20 AM and drove over to the store and picked up the pictures. I took a moment and went to see about getting a couple of photo mailers, but they didn’t have what I needed. So, I’ll need to pick up a pack of them at the other store when I stop by there tonight.
As a result, I purchased only the photos. Then I left and headed back to work. I was in hopes that my spot in the parking lot would still be available, but it was not, so I had to go in the garage and up to 4B. When my supervisor leaves at 3:00 PM, I’m going to go to the garage a few minutes ahead of him and pull my car out and go sit in the parking lot and then take his parking space when he leaves. I’d rather get it out at 3:00 PM so that I won’t have to mess with going in there to get it later – it's not normally locked until 7:00 PM – but I’d rather not take a chance on everyone being gone and the other supervisor and his guys running behind schedule and pushing it close to 7:00 PM; if it were to be locked by the time I would get out of here, I would just have to call the dispatcher and have him/her send an officer back over here to unlock the garage so I could get it out and I might have to wait a little while for that to happen.
Anyway….after parking in the garage, I came out and headed down the street to get lunch. I carried my pack of photos with me and along the way, I showed the pictures of the cat to some people and they all thought they were cute – and that if they hadn’t seen the pictures, they wouldn’t have believed me if I had told them about Sukiey being tucked in bed – like a child. I got my lunch order and ate it there, then returned to the work.
I’ve got to pause here for a bit – so I can be ready to head to the garage soon and get the car. I’ll continue at a later point….
Here I am again….and my supervisor has gone for the day. As he was getting ready to leave, I ducked out and went up and got my car and pulled it down; by the time I got to the parking lot with it, he was already gone – and yes, amazingly, the parking space he vacated was still empty, so I pulled in and parked. Then I returned to work.
My co-worker did arrive a little before 3:00 PM. Thus far I have learned that he is going to have surgery but what kind of surgery and when I don’t know yet. I’ll try to find out when and how long he’s going to be out of commission – at least – so I can plan accordingly – about taking any days off. His doctor’s note said no lifting.
My supervisor had said, when I went ahead and took a lunch break, that if my co-worker showed up I could take an hour of comp time this evening. So, I have filled out my leave request paperwork and will present it to him in the morning for his signature. I also have my time sheet up to date.
Alright I have to pause here for now.....
I left work about 6:45 PM last night – some of my co-workers were here, but one hadn’t made it in yet. I headed towards home, but did detour by the post office. There, amongst my mail, I found the package from a friend that she had told me about when we talked last week. I headed on home and determined that my housemate had not yet been home – I raised the garage door, pulled in and parked, then lowered it back down and unloaded the car, then went in the house.
I took my gear to my bedroom and then changed from dress pants to shorts, then went on to prepare supper and eat it while going through the mail. The item that got my most attention was that letter. I read it eagerly and also went through the coupons and the other items. I found them to be quite interesting.
My housemate had plans – she was leaving straight from work to go out to some friends' home. The Vancouver group was reuniting to share stories and their pictures. She had printed extra copies of some of her pictures from the memory stick so that she could give them to the others in those pictures.
I did upload the 3 photos of Sukiey “tucked in bed” from my camera to my flash drive. Then I mulled over about getting prints made of them – I refuse to go back to the store which is maybe a mile from the house – after the way I’ve been treated there. Sunday’s episode was not the first experience I’ve had like that – it had happened previously on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday when I went there to print pictures – I don't think I shared with you about the woman monopolizing the machine that she used. The store manager acted in the same ugly manner towards me that day.
Well, I got ready and went on to bed sometime after 9:00 PM. I have no idea what time my housemate came in – I was asleep and didn’t hear her. I woke up again sometime after 11:00 PM and all was quiet; I went back to sleep and woke up again about 4:00 AM and got up briefly, then went and laid back down till the alarm went off at 5:00 AM.
Tuesday (4/20):
I tried to be quiet when getting up and ready to go take a shower. I knew Linda was home because looking down the hall, the lights in the den were out – and I knew that I had left them on when I went to bed. I did go on to take a shower and get dressed. Then I went to the kitchen and on out to get the newspaper – I raised the garage and found that it had rained some overnight and the paper was in a plastic bag – then I lowered the door back down and came back inside – and as I did, she appeared in the kitchen.
I was kind of startled to see her. I noted that I must’ve been asleep when she came in last night and she said that she was out there later than she had planned on. She also said that the Missions Deployment Directors, were there. She said she had to follow some of the group out so that she could make her way back to the main road and head for home. And, she said that they did have a great time visiting and sharing pictures and stories with the directors.
I told her that my co-worker didn’t come in to work at all on Monday and that we already knew he wasn’t going to be in this morning – supposedly he is to be in around 2:00-3:00 PM. She agreed with me – why bother to come in so late in the day?! She got her coffee made and took a cup and headed back to her bedroom while I ate breakfast, read the newspaper and then cleaned up behind myself. I also went and finished up getting ready and headed out and in to work.
When I got to the parking lot, I had my choice of parking spaces. I chose one and parked and came on in. My co-workers were here; I relieved them. My supervisor came in soon after they left. I’ve gotten the “top of the morning” work done and now have some downtime. I uploaded the 3 pictures of Sukiey to my photo account and then finally settled on sending the order for prints to the store on nearest here. Problem is, it closes at 6:00 PM. The pictures are to be ready after 11:00 AM. I told my supervisor and said I would call and verify that they’re ready, then sometime after that I’ll make a quick trip over there to pick them up and also get something for lunch since I forgot to grab something out of the freezer this morning.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave at 6:00 PM. It hinges on whether my co-worker shows up this afternoon or not. Bob has something he needs to leave and go do. Oh well, if I can’t, I’ll just have to go to that store when I leave here around 7:00 PM. I checked and the website says that they have the flash drive I want in stock.
I did take the time to log on to the photo store's regular website and send them an e-mail using their website form concerning my experience at the store on Sunday. It does me no good to complain to the store manager because the person who treated me the way he did is the store manager. I expect that I will get a response of some kind – phone or e-mail – from someone at the company as I’m sure they don’t want to lose a customer as a result of his actions. My theory is that they can’t fix something if they don’t know it’s broke!
On the other hand, I stopped to check my e-mail and see if I had any sort of automated e-mail from them in response to what I sent them on the website. No, but I did have a personal response – from Stormie Omartian’s assistant – Susan. This must be Stormie’s sister – since she went by Sue at the conference. She said that the photos were wonderful and thanked me for taking the time to share them and said she would make sure Stormie sees them! She also thanked me for working their table and said they had a lovely time in Jackson and I had a lot to do with that. So, that makes me feel good.
I do have the 3 newsletters ready to go in the mail along with an envelope to an aunt of mine with some of the coupons that you sent me that she can use. I don’t know when I’ll go drop them in the drop box on the corner of the Clark Building. Maybe I’ll be able to do it when I leave to go pick up my pictures and lunch. While at the store I’ll see about getting photo mailers; if they don’t have what I want/need, I’ll get them tonight at the other store.
Alright, I’m back now. It’s 2:11 PM as I’m getting a chance to resume writing. When I stopped earlier, I called the store near here to make sure my photo order was ready so that I wouldn’t drive over there for no reason. Well, I wound up having to call 3 times – the 1st 2 times I got transferred to the wrong area and then back and eventually got disconnected; the 3rd time the guy I was talking to was able to check and confirm that the order was ready. So, I left here about 11:20 AM and drove over to the store and picked up the pictures. I took a moment and went to see about getting a couple of photo mailers, but they didn’t have what I needed. So, I’ll need to pick up a pack of them at the other store when I stop by there tonight.
As a result, I purchased only the photos. Then I left and headed back to work. I was in hopes that my spot in the parking lot would still be available, but it was not, so I had to go in the garage and up to 4B. When my supervisor leaves at 3:00 PM, I’m going to go to the garage a few minutes ahead of him and pull my car out and go sit in the parking lot and then take his parking space when he leaves. I’d rather get it out at 3:00 PM so that I won’t have to mess with going in there to get it later – it's not normally locked until 7:00 PM – but I’d rather not take a chance on everyone being gone and the other supervisor and his guys running behind schedule and pushing it close to 7:00 PM; if it were to be locked by the time I would get out of here, I would just have to call the dispatcher and have him/her send an officer back over here to unlock the garage so I could get it out and I might have to wait a little while for that to happen.
Anyway….after parking in the garage, I came out and headed down the street to get lunch. I carried my pack of photos with me and along the way, I showed the pictures of the cat to some people and they all thought they were cute – and that if they hadn’t seen the pictures, they wouldn’t have believed me if I had told them about Sukiey being tucked in bed – like a child. I got my lunch order and ate it there, then returned to the work.
I’ve got to pause here for a bit – so I can be ready to head to the garage soon and get the car. I’ll continue at a later point….
Here I am again….and my supervisor has gone for the day. As he was getting ready to leave, I ducked out and went up and got my car and pulled it down; by the time I got to the parking lot with it, he was already gone – and yes, amazingly, the parking space he vacated was still empty, so I pulled in and parked. Then I returned to work.
My co-worker did arrive a little before 3:00 PM. Thus far I have learned that he is going to have surgery but what kind of surgery and when I don’t know yet. I’ll try to find out when and how long he’s going to be out of commission – at least – so I can plan accordingly – about taking any days off. His doctor’s note said no lifting.
My supervisor had said, when I went ahead and took a lunch break, that if my co-worker showed up I could take an hour of comp time this evening. So, I have filled out my leave request paperwork and will present it to him in the morning for his signature. I also have my time sheet up to date.
Alright I have to pause here for now.....
Monday, April 19, 2010
Good morning! I’m finally “caught up”. As you may have guessed, the answer is yes to your question – yes, my co-worker is not here. He either called or texted our supervisor and let him know that he would be going to his doctor this morning. It remains to be seen whether or not he comes in at all today. My guess is that the answer is no – we won’t see him today because that is typically what happens. When the supervisor informed me that he was heading in to see his doctor, I told the supervisor that I almost called him earlier this morning myself.
I went to bed around 8:30-9:00 PM last night. My housemate had returned from AWANA and she announced to me that last night was the last night for AWANA for this semester; next Sunday night the kids will do a presentation and receive awards in “Big Church” as they call it. So she’s free of AWANA after next week – if she actually has any involvement in that – until August.
When I went to bed, I had a headache. I had taken 2 Tylenol PM. I finally went to sleep and then woke up about 1:00 AM and still had the headache, so I got up and took 2 more regular Tylenol (not the PM that is). When the alarm went off at 5:00 AM I was free of the headache, but felt “drained” by it. So, I almost called my supervisor asking to take the day off. He said he was glad and relieved that I was able to come in. I told him I still felt drained and asked him to just bear with me.
I have since gotten all of the “top of the morning” stuff out of the way. I didn’t get the class newsletter done last night; I hope to get it written and sent sometime today if we have a quiet period. I’ve sent an e-mail to a co-worker about some surprises I have for her from the E-Women Conference and asked her to call me if she would be able to come by the Center to get them since I probably won’t be able to run them up to her because we’re apparently going to be shorthanded today. I also called and left another co-worker a voice mail checking with her and letting her know that I have some surprises for her from the E-Women Conference. There was a tanker truck accident in the vicinity of where she lives over the weekend and part of a state highway is shut down. I don’t know how that is affecting her but the newspaper said that some people had been evacuated.
I typed up – in Notepad - my SS class newsletter and then copied and pasted it to an e-mail in my Hotmail and sent it, then logged in to Yahoo Groups and approved it. The e-mail popped up in my Inbox and I printed copies for the 3 that I send to via snail mail. I didn’t bring envelopes addressed to them, so I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to drop them in the mail.
I talked with my co-worker – she asked about the E-Women Conference and I shared with her about it. I learned that she wasn’t affected by the state highway shut down, but one of her daughters and her family were, along with Vicki’s parents and a couple of her brothers. So – she had extra people staying with her. I told her about my busy weekend too.
I called and left a voice mail for a SS classmate and told her that I had just sent the class newsletter and also told her about having the headache and feeling drained this morning and that my co-worker is not here – no, he has not come in yet – if he’s even planning to.
There is rain around us, but I don’t think we have any falling here in Downtown at the present time. It might behoove us to take our umbrellas along with us to FBCJ if we walk over.
I did update my checkbook after having made some expenditures over the weekend. I didn’t spend anywhere close to what I was prepared to spend at the E-Women Conference. I didn’t even break out my debit card! .
I will pause now as I'm heading off to FBCJ. Later….
Good afternoon…..we walked over to FBCJ for the Women’s Lunch and we toted our umbrellas. It came a sprinkle while we were en route, so we did put the umbrellas up. By the time we came out, though, the sun was out. However, I’m not sure that rain is out of the area.
When we came back, she accompanied me to the Center so that she could pick up her work plus pick up the surprises I had for her from the Conference. She was surprised with what I brought her. I showed her the pictures that I got over the weekend. Then a little later I called to check with my other co-worker and see if she was in today and she was – she said she had been really busy, but that she was going to take a “restroom break” soon and would come down at that time and see me.
She came in and I gave her the stuff I had for her – she was surprised and she said that it was disappointing that she had to miss the conference as she had especially wanted to hear Stormie. I told her about Stormie being such a trooper and doing all those meet and greets when she wasn’t feeling well. She told me what they had learned on their weekend visit to see her father-in-law in the hospital – he’s 86 years old and has cancer.
Some other things happened; I’ve since logged on to my e-mail and I sent photos to the volunteers I worked with in Stormie’s booth, then I sent a few photos to Stormie herself via e-mail – separately so that the others wouldn’t get her e-mail address. Actually I sent theirs BCC (blind carbon copy), so that they wouldn’t get each others’ e-mail addresses. But the real reason for sending Stormie a separate e-mail was that I wanted to include a note in there to her. Sue (her sister) will be looking for an e-mail from me and I used a subject line similar to what I said that I would so she’ll know they’re from me.
I have learned that – as I expected – my co-worker will not be in today; additionally, he will not be in tomorrow morning, at least. According to what the supervisor said, he hurt his back when he was moving about a week and a half ago. So that’s why he went to the doctor this morning; I have an idea that he may not be in tomorrow either. Oh well…..I’ll deal with it!
I need to pause here; I’ll continue soon…..
I forgot to grab Josephus this morning and bring him along in case I had some down time so that I could read. Oh well…..
We have a mix of clouds and sun this afternoon and we’re cooler than we have been in a week or so. I’ve had my light Starter jacket on since I left for lunch as my co-worker called to see where I was and she said it was cooler outside than she expected, so she had gone back and retrieved her jacket. I had left the jacket in the car since Thursday of last week so it was there when I got out this morning and decided I might need it and so I put it on and wore it in this morning. I had taken it off but put it back on when she called.
I guess I'll stop here for now....
I went to bed around 8:30-9:00 PM last night. My housemate had returned from AWANA and she announced to me that last night was the last night for AWANA for this semester; next Sunday night the kids will do a presentation and receive awards in “Big Church” as they call it. So she’s free of AWANA after next week – if she actually has any involvement in that – until August.
When I went to bed, I had a headache. I had taken 2 Tylenol PM. I finally went to sleep and then woke up about 1:00 AM and still had the headache, so I got up and took 2 more regular Tylenol (not the PM that is). When the alarm went off at 5:00 AM I was free of the headache, but felt “drained” by it. So, I almost called my supervisor asking to take the day off. He said he was glad and relieved that I was able to come in. I told him I still felt drained and asked him to just bear with me.
I have since gotten all of the “top of the morning” stuff out of the way. I didn’t get the class newsletter done last night; I hope to get it written and sent sometime today if we have a quiet period. I’ve sent an e-mail to a co-worker about some surprises I have for her from the E-Women Conference and asked her to call me if she would be able to come by the Center to get them since I probably won’t be able to run them up to her because we’re apparently going to be shorthanded today. I also called and left another co-worker a voice mail checking with her and letting her know that I have some surprises for her from the E-Women Conference. There was a tanker truck accident in the vicinity of where she lives over the weekend and part of a state highway is shut down. I don’t know how that is affecting her but the newspaper said that some people had been evacuated.
I typed up – in Notepad - my SS class newsletter and then copied and pasted it to an e-mail in my Hotmail and sent it, then logged in to Yahoo Groups and approved it. The e-mail popped up in my Inbox and I printed copies for the 3 that I send to via snail mail. I didn’t bring envelopes addressed to them, so I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to drop them in the mail.
I talked with my co-worker – she asked about the E-Women Conference and I shared with her about it. I learned that she wasn’t affected by the state highway shut down, but one of her daughters and her family were, along with Vicki’s parents and a couple of her brothers. So – she had extra people staying with her. I told her about my busy weekend too.
I called and left a voice mail for a SS classmate and told her that I had just sent the class newsletter and also told her about having the headache and feeling drained this morning and that my co-worker is not here – no, he has not come in yet – if he’s even planning to.
There is rain around us, but I don’t think we have any falling here in Downtown at the present time. It might behoove us to take our umbrellas along with us to FBCJ if we walk over.
I did update my checkbook after having made some expenditures over the weekend. I didn’t spend anywhere close to what I was prepared to spend at the E-Women Conference. I didn’t even break out my debit card! .
I will pause now as I'm heading off to FBCJ. Later….
Good afternoon…..we walked over to FBCJ for the Women’s Lunch and we toted our umbrellas. It came a sprinkle while we were en route, so we did put the umbrellas up. By the time we came out, though, the sun was out. However, I’m not sure that rain is out of the area.
When we came back, she accompanied me to the Center so that she could pick up her work plus pick up the surprises I had for her from the Conference. She was surprised with what I brought her. I showed her the pictures that I got over the weekend. Then a little later I called to check with my other co-worker and see if she was in today and she was – she said she had been really busy, but that she was going to take a “restroom break” soon and would come down at that time and see me.
She came in and I gave her the stuff I had for her – she was surprised and she said that it was disappointing that she had to miss the conference as she had especially wanted to hear Stormie. I told her about Stormie being such a trooper and doing all those meet and greets when she wasn’t feeling well. She told me what they had learned on their weekend visit to see her father-in-law in the hospital – he’s 86 years old and has cancer.
Some other things happened; I’ve since logged on to my e-mail and I sent photos to the volunteers I worked with in Stormie’s booth, then I sent a few photos to Stormie herself via e-mail – separately so that the others wouldn’t get her e-mail address. Actually I sent theirs BCC (blind carbon copy), so that they wouldn’t get each others’ e-mail addresses. But the real reason for sending Stormie a separate e-mail was that I wanted to include a note in there to her. Sue (her sister) will be looking for an e-mail from me and I used a subject line similar to what I said that I would so she’ll know they’re from me.
I have learned that – as I expected – my co-worker will not be in today; additionally, he will not be in tomorrow morning, at least. According to what the supervisor said, he hurt his back when he was moving about a week and a half ago. So that’s why he went to the doctor this morning; I have an idea that he may not be in tomorrow either. Oh well…..I’ll deal with it!
I need to pause here; I’ll continue soon…..
I forgot to grab Josephus this morning and bring him along in case I had some down time so that I could read. Oh well…..
We have a mix of clouds and sun this afternoon and we’re cooler than we have been in a week or so. I’ve had my light Starter jacket on since I left for lunch as my co-worker called to see where I was and she said it was cooler outside than she expected, so she had gone back and retrieved her jacket. I had left the jacket in the car since Thursday of last week so it was there when I got out this morning and decided I might need it and so I put it on and wore it in this morning. I had taken it off but put it back on when she called.
I guess I'll stop here for now....
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Good evening! I went on to bed and was asleep before my housemate returned home from her reunion. She was so quiet entering the house that I didn't notice that she had returned.
I woke up this morning about 5:30 AM, but stayed in bed till my cell phone alarmed at 6:15 AM. Then I went padding out to the kitchen and found my housemate was up. She noted that I was up early. I went on to have breakfast and read the newspaper, while she took her coffee - in her new mug! - and went back to her bedroom to start getting ready for church.
After finishing up with breakfast and cleaning up behind myself, I went on to take a shower and get dressed. We were ready about the same time and dressed similarly in that we both wore black, although the clothing was not actually alike. We left about 8:20 AM and headed to church - she drove. I went to Worship while she went to Sunday School, then we would flip flop.
I met back up with her outside the Sanctuary in the Atrium and we headed back to the car.
When I left off, I noted that I had placed an order online for prints - a total of 50 - via my online photo center account with a local store and that they would be ready after 11:00 AM today. Our plan was to stop at the store and pick up my photos, plus she had her camera with her and we were going to select some photos from her memory stick for her to take to the get together with her mission team on Monday night.
Well, we got there and she put the memory stick in and we brought up the pictures on it and she selected the ones she wanted and then we submitted a print order. We followed up by getting a CD of the photos she had taken since the last time we put photos on a CD for her.
This is when the hassles started....the clerk seemed to be unconcerned about taking care of us. I had to ask her twice for a CD to write the photos to before she ever brought me one. What happened was that I asked her and she was headed to bring one when someone came up to the register to check out; she dropped bringing me the CD and went to take care of that customer instead of acknowledging them and saying that she would be with them in a moment. Finally, I got the CD. While it was writing, my housemate realized she had forgotten to order 2 more prints of 2 pictures, so when the CD was completed, we had to put the memory stick back in and order those.
When I first asked the clerk for a CD, I also asked her to see if the pictures that I had ordered online were ready. I asked her a second time while the CD was writing. She went to check, and again, while she was looking for my order, someone came up to the register to check out and she stopped what she was doing and went and waited on them.
While she was waiting on them, the store manager came along. I politely told him what his clerk had done and that I had asked her twice about my picture order and she kept dropping me to go wait on other customers. He went to check on the order and said that it hadn't queued up yet to print - which I couldn't understand because I submitted the order last night and it was supposed to be ready after 11:00 AM. It was already after 12:00 PM - we had skipped stopping for lunch to go and do the pictures.
The store manager got a bit ugly and disrespectful with me about the print order not being ready and said he wasn't sure what the hold up was. The clerk finally stopped waiting on people at the register long enough and came and located my print order - it was actually ready, but she wouldn't make people waiting to check out wait so she could come and get it for me.
When he gave me the package of pictures, I opened it up to check them and found that once again, they were sticking together with some chemical residue on them. I called it to his attention about them sticking together and that I was having to pull them apart and there was some residue on the prints. I questioned it and told him that this was not the first time that this had happened and that I found this to be unacceptable. In other words, I wasn't accepting those prints in that condition.
He admitted that there is an issue with their machine and that it needs to be upgraded or something. So he was going to reprint the pictures. Someone else had submitted pictures from a kiosk that has to go through the regular system instead of the automatic printer machine that my housemate used. Hers would be coming out ahead of mine.
I kept waiting and finally I asked him how much longer it would be and he said that he didn't know - he couldn't tell me. I began to get upset with his attitude and was in tears by that time and basically wanted to just leave, but my housemate thought it ought to be anytime and so we waited.
Some other customers came in and were using the machine that the memory cards work with; with my housemate and I there waiting for my prints, finally, I think he realized that he had crossed the line about how to talk to a customer - my housemate agreed that he lost his cool - and while he didn't apologize, he said that if he could get the machine to work - he was having issues feeding the paper through it - he was going to give me the prints for all the inconvenience.
Well, by that time it was almost 1:30 PM! She went and talked to him and asked him if we could just go get my memory card and come back and do the prints off of it. He said yes, bring the memory card in and make the prints using the automatic printer and he wouldn't charge me for them.
I bought a couple of items and then my housemate got her stuff and we left and came home. It was nearly 2:00 PM by that time. I was in tears over how I was treated. I changed from dress pants to jeans and took my top off - I had a black tank top on underneath - and I retrieved the memory card and got my wallet out of my purse.
After a conversation with my housemate about it, we decided that it would be best if I did not return to this particular store to print my pictures. So, even though I would have to pay for them - instead of getting them free - I opted to go elsewhere with my memory card. I left and went to another location of the same chain. I walked in and learned that the automatic printer machine was down, but the kiosks were working.
I went on to put my memory card in a kiosk and order the 50 prints that I wanted. When I placed the order, I went and told the clerk. She went to the computer, found my order and submitted it to print immediately. No hassles whatsoever. I told her about the problems with the other location and she said that they had heard from other customers about the issues with residue on prints generated there and that they need new equipment.
The entire experience in this location took maybe 15-20 minutes - and my prints did not have residue on them! The clerk was pleasant to deal with - I was checking the prints as she handed them to me and I showed some of them to her and she was interested to hear about where they had been taken.
Yes, I had to pay for the prints at this location, but I had decided I would prefer to never set foot in the other location ever again. I also plan to contact the company's headquarters and file a complaint about that location when I have time on Monday. I've not named the name of the chain on purpose - so that they won't be able to come after me for anything because I've written something negative about them.
I left with the prints and my memory card. I wanted to get something to eat as I really hadn't eaten anything. I headed for one place, but wound up going to another and got a "to go" order, then came on home. When I pulled in the driveway, I parked and got out and hosed off my car, then got back in and pulled on in to the garage and parked and went on in the house.
I ate my late lunch, then cleaned up behind myself and occupied myself with sorting the prints and then writing on the backs of the ones I was sharing about who/what/when/where. I left them face down on the table for a few minutes to allow the Sharpie ink to dry so it wouldn't bleed onto the face of the next print in the stack.
Then I called a class member and left her a voice mail about needing to talk to her about a couple of items to go in our class newsletter. She called me back soon after and we talked for a few minutes - my housemate emerged from her bedroom. She was getting ready to head to AWANA.
The organist was doing a concert tonight but I just didn't feel like going back to church, so I stayed home and have chilled out. I talked with an aunt of mine about last night's engagement party for her granddaughter and about my cousin's birthday and how she took turning 50. She said the party went well and that her daughter said she got lots of calls and text messages wishing her a happy birthday.
Well, this is about all I've got for today....
I woke up this morning about 5:30 AM, but stayed in bed till my cell phone alarmed at 6:15 AM. Then I went padding out to the kitchen and found my housemate was up. She noted that I was up early. I went on to have breakfast and read the newspaper, while she took her coffee - in her new mug! - and went back to her bedroom to start getting ready for church.
After finishing up with breakfast and cleaning up behind myself, I went on to take a shower and get dressed. We were ready about the same time and dressed similarly in that we both wore black, although the clothing was not actually alike. We left about 8:20 AM and headed to church - she drove. I went to Worship while she went to Sunday School, then we would flip flop.
I met back up with her outside the Sanctuary in the Atrium and we headed back to the car.
When I left off, I noted that I had placed an order online for prints - a total of 50 - via my online photo center account with a local store and that they would be ready after 11:00 AM today. Our plan was to stop at the store and pick up my photos, plus she had her camera with her and we were going to select some photos from her memory stick for her to take to the get together with her mission team on Monday night.
Well, we got there and she put the memory stick in and we brought up the pictures on it and she selected the ones she wanted and then we submitted a print order. We followed up by getting a CD of the photos she had taken since the last time we put photos on a CD for her.
This is when the hassles started....the clerk seemed to be unconcerned about taking care of us. I had to ask her twice for a CD to write the photos to before she ever brought me one. What happened was that I asked her and she was headed to bring one when someone came up to the register to check out; she dropped bringing me the CD and went to take care of that customer instead of acknowledging them and saying that she would be with them in a moment. Finally, I got the CD. While it was writing, my housemate realized she had forgotten to order 2 more prints of 2 pictures, so when the CD was completed, we had to put the memory stick back in and order those.
When I first asked the clerk for a CD, I also asked her to see if the pictures that I had ordered online were ready. I asked her a second time while the CD was writing. She went to check, and again, while she was looking for my order, someone came up to the register to check out and she stopped what she was doing and went and waited on them.
While she was waiting on them, the store manager came along. I politely told him what his clerk had done and that I had asked her twice about my picture order and she kept dropping me to go wait on other customers. He went to check on the order and said that it hadn't queued up yet to print - which I couldn't understand because I submitted the order last night and it was supposed to be ready after 11:00 AM. It was already after 12:00 PM - we had skipped stopping for lunch to go and do the pictures.
The store manager got a bit ugly and disrespectful with me about the print order not being ready and said he wasn't sure what the hold up was. The clerk finally stopped waiting on people at the register long enough and came and located my print order - it was actually ready, but she wouldn't make people waiting to check out wait so she could come and get it for me.
When he gave me the package of pictures, I opened it up to check them and found that once again, they were sticking together with some chemical residue on them. I called it to his attention about them sticking together and that I was having to pull them apart and there was some residue on the prints. I questioned it and told him that this was not the first time that this had happened and that I found this to be unacceptable. In other words, I wasn't accepting those prints in that condition.
He admitted that there is an issue with their machine and that it needs to be upgraded or something. So he was going to reprint the pictures. Someone else had submitted pictures from a kiosk that has to go through the regular system instead of the automatic printer machine that my housemate used. Hers would be coming out ahead of mine.
I kept waiting and finally I asked him how much longer it would be and he said that he didn't know - he couldn't tell me. I began to get upset with his attitude and was in tears by that time and basically wanted to just leave, but my housemate thought it ought to be anytime and so we waited.
Some other customers came in and were using the machine that the memory cards work with; with my housemate and I there waiting for my prints, finally, I think he realized that he had crossed the line about how to talk to a customer - my housemate agreed that he lost his cool - and while he didn't apologize, he said that if he could get the machine to work - he was having issues feeding the paper through it - he was going to give me the prints for all the inconvenience.
Well, by that time it was almost 1:30 PM! She went and talked to him and asked him if we could just go get my memory card and come back and do the prints off of it. He said yes, bring the memory card in and make the prints using the automatic printer and he wouldn't charge me for them.
I bought a couple of items and then my housemate got her stuff and we left and came home. It was nearly 2:00 PM by that time. I was in tears over how I was treated. I changed from dress pants to jeans and took my top off - I had a black tank top on underneath - and I retrieved the memory card and got my wallet out of my purse.
After a conversation with my housemate about it, we decided that it would be best if I did not return to this particular store to print my pictures. So, even though I would have to pay for them - instead of getting them free - I opted to go elsewhere with my memory card. I left and went to another location of the same chain. I walked in and learned that the automatic printer machine was down, but the kiosks were working.
I went on to put my memory card in a kiosk and order the 50 prints that I wanted. When I placed the order, I went and told the clerk. She went to the computer, found my order and submitted it to print immediately. No hassles whatsoever. I told her about the problems with the other location and she said that they had heard from other customers about the issues with residue on prints generated there and that they need new equipment.
The entire experience in this location took maybe 15-20 minutes - and my prints did not have residue on them! The clerk was pleasant to deal with - I was checking the prints as she handed them to me and I showed some of them to her and she was interested to hear about where they had been taken.
Yes, I had to pay for the prints at this location, but I had decided I would prefer to never set foot in the other location ever again. I also plan to contact the company's headquarters and file a complaint about that location when I have time on Monday. I've not named the name of the chain on purpose - so that they won't be able to come after me for anything because I've written something negative about them.
I left with the prints and my memory card. I wanted to get something to eat as I really hadn't eaten anything. I headed for one place, but wound up going to another and got a "to go" order, then came on home. When I pulled in the driveway, I parked and got out and hosed off my car, then got back in and pulled on in to the garage and parked and went on in the house.
I ate my late lunch, then cleaned up behind myself and occupied myself with sorting the prints and then writing on the backs of the ones I was sharing about who/what/when/where. I left them face down on the table for a few minutes to allow the Sharpie ink to dry so it wouldn't bleed onto the face of the next print in the stack.
Then I called a class member and left her a voice mail about needing to talk to her about a couple of items to go in our class newsletter. She called me back soon after and we talked for a few minutes - my housemate emerged from her bedroom. She was getting ready to head to AWANA.
The organist was doing a concert tonight but I just didn't feel like going back to church, so I stayed home and have chilled out. I talked with an aunt of mine about last night's engagement party for her granddaughter and about my cousin's birthday and how she took turning 50. She said the party went well and that her daughter said she got lots of calls and text messages wishing her a happy birthday.
Well, this is about all I've got for today....
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Extraordinary Women Conference 2010/Friday & Saturday - April 16-17, 2010
Good evening! The Extraordinary Women Conference 2010 tour stop held in Jackson at First Baptist Church - Jackson is now history. I'm going to attempt to recap my experiences as an attendee and share with you some of the highlights, plus what has happened otherwise in my life outside of the conference over these past couple of days....
Friday (4/16) I was ready and about to head out - around 2:45 PM - so I could make a couple of stops en route to First Baptist. Well, I happened to glance out the kitchen window and saw a car in the driveway that I at first thought to be my housemate's.
I opened the kitchen door - it opens into the garage - to make sure hers was still there and it was. I went on out to my car and unlocked and loaded my field bag inside - I had my Stormie Omartian The Power of A Praying Woman Bible in there, along with my camera - in its mini carry bag - and some other things that I thought I might need.
Then I went back and hit the switch on the wall to raise the garage door. When it went all the way up, I had a startled housemate standing there! I learned that she had finally located her garage door clicker - she had taken it with her on the trip - and had not yet hit the button. So - she was rightfully startled when the garage door went up since she didn't know that I was still at home or that I was about to leave.
She introduced me to the co-worker who was dropping her off. She said that the woman had to go return the rental car. I'm not sure if this was the co-worker who flew in from out of state to attend the conference or not. I didn't ask her.
Anyway, she left and I helped my housemate inside with her baggage. We talked briefly and I warned her that I might be 11:00 PM getting home. Then I headed out. I made a stop to pick up the mail, then made another stop to pick up something to eat. We had been told to bring something to have for supper because we would not have time between the conclusion of the volunteers meeting and the opening of the doors to the conference attendees to leave and go get something.
Once all that was done, I headed to FBCJ. I found that after 3:00 PM parking is allowed in the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board parking lot, so I parked there and gathered my gear and went inside the church. I was told that they weren't quite ready for the volunteers to check in yet, so I went on to go and eat the meal I had brought along.
While I was eating, I learned that they were ready for us, so I went and checked in and got my assignment - I would be working with Stormie Omartian - which was what I had requested. This was my 3rd time to work as a volunteer at the Conference and the 1st time that I was assigned the position I requested! Oh well - 3rd time's the charm, I guess! I returned and finished up eating and disposed of my trash.
By that time it was almost time for the volunteers meeting to begin. I reported to the meeting place and Beth led the meeting, then assigned us to our team leaders based on categories of what we were doing, among them:
Well, I went to Stormie's product table and met the others who were assigned to work there. Then we met Lou and Sue - Stormie's "road managers". We received quick training on what it was that we were to do. Having done this twice before, I already pretty much knew the drill - but there were some specifics that I needed to know. They got us ready to go.
Soon afterward, Sue is standing out in front of the product table and a woman comes walking in and up to her and starts talking to Sue that looked like Stormie - and sure enough, it turned out to be Stormie Omartian. After a couple of minutes, Sue brought Stormie over and introduced us to her. Stormie extended her hand to me and I shook hands with her and she personally thanked me for helping with her booth this weekend. She went on around to all of the other volunteers and did the same.
Lou and Sue had had us to each pick out an item that we wanted - as a "thank you" for helping out. I chose a copy of Stormie's autobiography, entitled Stormie:A Story of Forgiveness and Healing, and so it was put aside on a table off to the side of the booth with a post-it note on it with my name written on it. Well, Lou and Sue asked Stormie about going ahead and signing our items for us. She agreed; so each of us went over there to claim them. I took my camera along and Amanda - whom I would later learn is Stormie's daughter - took a picture of me with her mother. We also wound up getting a group shot of Stormie with all of us volunteers. I got some other pictures of the volunteers with Stormie as well and a shot of her autographing my copy of her book.
There was another guy working in the booth as well - Chris - and he turns out to be Stormie's son. Lou and Sue are her brother-in-law and sister. They were all really nice people. They live outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
We got somewhat busy - selling product - Lou, Sue and Chris were handling credit card transactions; Amanda was assisting Stormie at the meet and greet. Stormie was under the weather - her allergies were getting to her big time - but she sat at the table and signed for a multitude of people and posed for pictures with them.
Lou and Sue finally sent all of us volunteers up to the Sanctuary for the beginnning of the conference. Mandisa - an American Idol contestant - opened the conference with a mini-concert. Then Chonda Pierce was brought on stage and she did a Christian comedy routine.
There was a break afterwards; we returned to the booth and sold more product. I was able to slip away and get my picture taken with Chonda. I also slipped away and went and purchased an E-Women coffee travel mug. We worked the booth awhile longer, then went back to the Sanctuary for the Jeremy Camp concert. Lou and Sue had told us that after the concert we would not need to return to the booth.
Well, about 9:45 PM I was to the point where I was unable to listen to any more of Jeremy's music. I had also forgotten to bring along my PM meds so that I could take them. So, I got up and made my way out and to my car and came on home - getting in about 10:15 PM. I changed clothes and got ready and went on to bed.
By the way, I did get some pictures of Mandisa, Chonda Pierce and Jeremy Camp performing. Yes, I did come in earlier than expected - I had based the time on previous conference experiences.
Saturday (4/17) I woke up about 5:00 AM. Lou and Sue had told us that we didn't need to be back there until about 7:30-7:45 AM. This was contrary to the 6:55 AM on the sheet from E-Women, but I went with what they said since they were my "bosses" for the weekend. I finally got up about 5:30 AM and went and and took a shower and got dressed, read the newspaper, had breakfast and then went and finished up getting ready. I left home about 7:10 AM after talking with my housemate and saying it would probably be around 5:00 PM when I got home from the conference; I was expecting to be held over afterwards to help sell product afterwards and also break down and pack up the merchandise.
I got down to FBCJ and found that the MBCB parking lot was already full - it was almost 7:45 AM. I went around to another parking lot that my housemate likes to park in when she drives. It had only one car in it, so I parked there and made my way to the Fellowship Hall and reported for duty.
We got to work and began selling product. Stormie arrived around 8:15 AM I think it was - earlier than I thought she would - and had another meet and greet with the attendees. We were shipped off to the Sanctuary to catch the Pre-Show with Mandisa; then Sheri Rose Shepherd did a teaching segment; following Sheri Rose, there was a break. I was able to get my picture taken with her before the crowd arrived. We made more sales, then went off to hear Angela Thomas speak.
I saw where a number of volunteers were heading out, so I got up and left and went back to the booth. I was early. That was okay - a few minutes later, Angela came to her booth and I took the opportunity to go and get my picture with her. Then they dismissed for lunch - I had already eaten by that time. A local deli had catered with boxed lunches for the volunteers and everyone who had ordered one. I helped with doing more business; as I had eaten and the other volunteers hadn't.
After lunch was over, Mandisa put on a mini-concert. I was there for a while listening when I had to obey my kidneys. At that point I went on back to the booth. There was a break in place soon afterwards; then the last speaker of the day was our own Stormie Omartian.
Of course I wasn't going to miss Stormie's message. I went up and got a seat and sat there the entire time listening to her. As she wrapped up, I got up and made a beeline back down to the booth and I informed them that Stormie had just left the stage. Amanda thanked me for the "heads up" so that she would be ready when her mother arrived.
I had picked out and purchased 2 books - for the bride and groom - suitable for wedding gifts. I had their names and notes on there about the occasion. I had put them over on the table for Stormie to sign when she came down. I also had the idea of getting a picture of Stormie with Amanda and Chris.
When she got down there, a crowd followed and we were doing some business. Amanda and Chris posed with Stormie, but the photo was blurry - I know why - I had the setting wrong on the camera. After about 20 minutes, Stormie signed our books - the volunteers' extra purchases - and she, Amanda and Chris posed again for me and this time I got a good one of them. I showed it to Stormie and she loved it and asked me to send it to her. She was about to grab a slip of paper and write her e-mail address on it, but I told her that Sue had already given it to me.
Stormie, despite not feeling well due to allergies, was such a trooper. She did a total of 3 meet and greets while at the conference. Mandisa only did one to my knowledge and the other artists I think only did one - some of them may have done 2, though. I was very impressed with how sweet she was.
I got a hug and thank you from both Stormie and Sue and then I left. I headed for the car, got in and drove away. I headed home. It was around 4:00 PM when I got in. I'm not sure what my housemate was doing - if she was napping or what. I unloaded my stuff - and put a box out on the den table containing a coffee mug I had gotten for her, plus I had picked up extra copies of some materials that I thought might be of interest to her and I put those out.
I came on back to my bedroom and changed from jeans to shorts. Then I laid down and made a couple of phone calls. Since then I called and placed an order for supper and scooted back out and went and picked it up. My housemate was getting ready to leave as I was returning. Tonight is her high school reunion and she was finishing up getting ready. She nearly forgot her camera till I reminded her and she went back and retrieved it.
After I finished supper, I uploaded the Conference photos from my camera - I took a total of 50 - and saved them to a folder on my flash drive. Then I uploaded some of those to an album I created in my photo center account with a local store and even ordered some prints. The order will be ready on Sunday after 11:00 AM.
I suppose this is all as I'm about to go feed Rusty and head off to bed....
Friday (4/16) I was ready and about to head out - around 2:45 PM - so I could make a couple of stops en route to First Baptist. Well, I happened to glance out the kitchen window and saw a car in the driveway that I at first thought to be my housemate's.
I opened the kitchen door - it opens into the garage - to make sure hers was still there and it was. I went on out to my car and unlocked and loaded my field bag inside - I had my Stormie Omartian The Power of A Praying Woman Bible in there, along with my camera - in its mini carry bag - and some other things that I thought I might need.
Then I went back and hit the switch on the wall to raise the garage door. When it went all the way up, I had a startled housemate standing there! I learned that she had finally located her garage door clicker - she had taken it with her on the trip - and had not yet hit the button. So - she was rightfully startled when the garage door went up since she didn't know that I was still at home or that I was about to leave.
She introduced me to the co-worker who was dropping her off. She said that the woman had to go return the rental car. I'm not sure if this was the co-worker who flew in from out of state to attend the conference or not. I didn't ask her.
Anyway, she left and I helped my housemate inside with her baggage. We talked briefly and I warned her that I might be 11:00 PM getting home. Then I headed out. I made a stop to pick up the mail, then made another stop to pick up something to eat. We had been told to bring something to have for supper because we would not have time between the conclusion of the volunteers meeting and the opening of the doors to the conference attendees to leave and go get something.
Once all that was done, I headed to FBCJ. I found that after 3:00 PM parking is allowed in the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board parking lot, so I parked there and gathered my gear and went inside the church. I was told that they weren't quite ready for the volunteers to check in yet, so I went on to go and eat the meal I had brought along.
While I was eating, I learned that they were ready for us, so I went and checked in and got my assignment - I would be working with Stormie Omartian - which was what I had requested. This was my 3rd time to work as a volunteer at the Conference and the 1st time that I was assigned the position I requested! Oh well - 3rd time's the charm, I guess! I returned and finished up eating and disposed of my trash.
By that time it was almost time for the volunteers meeting to begin. I reported to the meeting place and Beth led the meeting, then assigned us to our team leaders based on categories of what we were doing, among them:
- Product Table
- Encouragers
- Greeters
Well, I went to Stormie's product table and met the others who were assigned to work there. Then we met Lou and Sue - Stormie's "road managers". We received quick training on what it was that we were to do. Having done this twice before, I already pretty much knew the drill - but there were some specifics that I needed to know. They got us ready to go.
Soon afterward, Sue is standing out in front of the product table and a woman comes walking in and up to her and starts talking to Sue that looked like Stormie - and sure enough, it turned out to be Stormie Omartian. After a couple of minutes, Sue brought Stormie over and introduced us to her. Stormie extended her hand to me and I shook hands with her and she personally thanked me for helping with her booth this weekend. She went on around to all of the other volunteers and did the same.
Lou and Sue had had us to each pick out an item that we wanted - as a "thank you" for helping out. I chose a copy of Stormie's autobiography, entitled Stormie:A Story of Forgiveness and Healing, and so it was put aside on a table off to the side of the booth with a post-it note on it with my name written on it. Well, Lou and Sue asked Stormie about going ahead and signing our items for us. She agreed; so each of us went over there to claim them. I took my camera along and Amanda - whom I would later learn is Stormie's daughter - took a picture of me with her mother. We also wound up getting a group shot of Stormie with all of us volunteers. I got some other pictures of the volunteers with Stormie as well and a shot of her autographing my copy of her book.
There was another guy working in the booth as well - Chris - and he turns out to be Stormie's son. Lou and Sue are her brother-in-law and sister. They were all really nice people. They live outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
We got somewhat busy - selling product - Lou, Sue and Chris were handling credit card transactions; Amanda was assisting Stormie at the meet and greet. Stormie was under the weather - her allergies were getting to her big time - but she sat at the table and signed for a multitude of people and posed for pictures with them.
Lou and Sue finally sent all of us volunteers up to the Sanctuary for the beginnning of the conference. Mandisa - an American Idol contestant - opened the conference with a mini-concert. Then Chonda Pierce was brought on stage and she did a Christian comedy routine.
There was a break afterwards; we returned to the booth and sold more product. I was able to slip away and get my picture taken with Chonda. I also slipped away and went and purchased an E-Women coffee travel mug. We worked the booth awhile longer, then went back to the Sanctuary for the Jeremy Camp concert. Lou and Sue had told us that after the concert we would not need to return to the booth.
Well, about 9:45 PM I was to the point where I was unable to listen to any more of Jeremy's music. I had also forgotten to bring along my PM meds so that I could take them. So, I got up and made my way out and to my car and came on home - getting in about 10:15 PM. I changed clothes and got ready and went on to bed.
By the way, I did get some pictures of Mandisa, Chonda Pierce and Jeremy Camp performing. Yes, I did come in earlier than expected - I had based the time on previous conference experiences.
Saturday (4/17) I woke up about 5:00 AM. Lou and Sue had told us that we didn't need to be back there until about 7:30-7:45 AM. This was contrary to the 6:55 AM on the sheet from E-Women, but I went with what they said since they were my "bosses" for the weekend. I finally got up about 5:30 AM and went and and took a shower and got dressed, read the newspaper, had breakfast and then went and finished up getting ready. I left home about 7:10 AM after talking with my housemate and saying it would probably be around 5:00 PM when I got home from the conference; I was expecting to be held over afterwards to help sell product afterwards and also break down and pack up the merchandise.
I got down to FBCJ and found that the MBCB parking lot was already full - it was almost 7:45 AM. I went around to another parking lot that my housemate likes to park in when she drives. It had only one car in it, so I parked there and made my way to the Fellowship Hall and reported for duty.
We got to work and began selling product. Stormie arrived around 8:15 AM I think it was - earlier than I thought she would - and had another meet and greet with the attendees. We were shipped off to the Sanctuary to catch the Pre-Show with Mandisa; then Sheri Rose Shepherd did a teaching segment; following Sheri Rose, there was a break. I was able to get my picture taken with her before the crowd arrived. We made more sales, then went off to hear Angela Thomas speak.
I saw where a number of volunteers were heading out, so I got up and left and went back to the booth. I was early. That was okay - a few minutes later, Angela came to her booth and I took the opportunity to go and get my picture with her. Then they dismissed for lunch - I had already eaten by that time. A local deli had catered with boxed lunches for the volunteers and everyone who had ordered one. I helped with doing more business; as I had eaten and the other volunteers hadn't.
After lunch was over, Mandisa put on a mini-concert. I was there for a while listening when I had to obey my kidneys. At that point I went on back to the booth. There was a break in place soon afterwards; then the last speaker of the day was our own Stormie Omartian.
Of course I wasn't going to miss Stormie's message. I went up and got a seat and sat there the entire time listening to her. As she wrapped up, I got up and made a beeline back down to the booth and I informed them that Stormie had just left the stage. Amanda thanked me for the "heads up" so that she would be ready when her mother arrived.
I had picked out and purchased 2 books - for the bride and groom - suitable for wedding gifts. I had their names and notes on there about the occasion. I had put them over on the table for Stormie to sign when she came down. I also had the idea of getting a picture of Stormie with Amanda and Chris.
When she got down there, a crowd followed and we were doing some business. Amanda and Chris posed with Stormie, but the photo was blurry - I know why - I had the setting wrong on the camera. After about 20 minutes, Stormie signed our books - the volunteers' extra purchases - and she, Amanda and Chris posed again for me and this time I got a good one of them. I showed it to Stormie and she loved it and asked me to send it to her. She was about to grab a slip of paper and write her e-mail address on it, but I told her that Sue had already given it to me.
Stormie, despite not feeling well due to allergies, was such a trooper. She did a total of 3 meet and greets while at the conference. Mandisa only did one to my knowledge and the other artists I think only did one - some of them may have done 2, though. I was very impressed with how sweet she was.
I got a hug and thank you from both Stormie and Sue and then I left. I headed for the car, got in and drove away. I headed home. It was around 4:00 PM when I got in. I'm not sure what my housemate was doing - if she was napping or what. I unloaded my stuff - and put a box out on the den table containing a coffee mug I had gotten for her, plus I had picked up extra copies of some materials that I thought might be of interest to her and I put those out.
I came on back to my bedroom and changed from jeans to shorts. Then I laid down and made a couple of phone calls. Since then I called and placed an order for supper and scooted back out and went and picked it up. My housemate was getting ready to leave as I was returning. Tonight is her high school reunion and she was finishing up getting ready. She nearly forgot her camera till I reminded her and she went back and retrieved it.
After I finished supper, I uploaded the Conference photos from my camera - I took a total of 50 - and saved them to a folder on my flash drive. Then I uploaded some of those to an album I created in my photo center account with a local store and even ordered some prints. The order will be ready on Sunday after 11:00 AM.
I suppose this is all as I'm about to go feed Rusty and head off to bed....
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