The Basement Dweller

So there is a lady I work with here at the store who works in the lower level (aka the basement) and only comes up for the following reasons:

• She is hungry and needs to go get food
• She needs to speak to my boss
• She needs to use the restroom
• She has something b*tchy to say to me

I have dubbed her the basement dweller for a variety of reasons, despite her working downstairs.  She has such a negative attitude towards every thing and everyone.  She always treats people like crap, no matter who it is.  And the way she talks to people is deserving of someone who spends their life in a basement.  She is so beyond rude that it almost isn't worth saying anything nice to her.  I have tried to be nice and it always backfires in my face.  She is just such a snot.  She is supposedly British (I have yet to hear an accent or experience anything that suggest she is) and she is supposedly months away from retirement.  God, Yes please!

She always points out other people's mistakes, and, even after an explanation, continues to reprimand them for a small mistake.  AND YET- She makes bookkeeping mistakes all the time (costing up into the thousands!!!!) and makes excuse after excuse that people are just suppose to accept.  Such Bull!

She says she is going to show you how to do something even though you know how to do it and she treats you like you are stupid and 5 years old in the process.  She supposedly use to be a teacher??  Well, if she was my teacher I would have dropped out of her class faster than a bolt of lightning!  She is worse than my 7th grade math teacher!! ugh!

OK.  I think I am done ranting about the Basement Dweller today.  Hmm... Maybe calling her Gollum for short would be good... or is that going too far?

I am seriously starting to wonder

Do I have a stamp on my forehead that says "Blame for everything"?  I feel like my boss thinks it does.  Everything is my responsibility, even stuff that isn't part of my job.
To give you an idea, here are some of the things I get in trouble for at my job:

• My coworker not being at his post 
• Not knowing how to find something completely obscure that a customer is looking for in a department I have BARELY worked in.
• My boss forgetting about something that I talked to him about only the day or two before.
• Something that happened when I wasn't even in the store.
• Something not being written down in inventory that I didn't even know existed in the store.
• Something not having the retail price in that probably was inputted by the person who worked my position before I was even here.
• Another coworker forgetting to write down a message, something on a repair tag, an item that needs to be ordered.  Aka anything a coworker forgot to write down.
• For being trained one way to do something, but it isn't the way he wants it done.  (mind-- he has never trained me or tried to)
• For waiting near where he is looking up an answer for the answer.
• For watching something he is doing because he is talking to me while doing whatever it is he is doing.
• For talking to the repair guys, whether it be about business or not. (and yet other boys I work with can go talk to them whether it be business or not and they don't even get spoken to)
• If I don't answer the phone within a certain number of rings when his highness calls.  (And yet customers are expected to wait while he finishes talking)

There is so much more, but I am already beyond frustrated when I see all of this.. I am so beyond done.

The first cut is the deepest.

I can't take it anymore.  I have been trying to be strong through everything, but I just don't know how much longer I can try to be strong.  I am not happy.  My job is stressful and I only get one day off a week in which I do all the cleaning around the house.  I do not enjoy working in the retail world.  I don't know what kind of job would make me happy.  I have been having this problem since college.  I am not happy in anything I do.  I take career tests to see what I would be good at and it doesn't help.  I think about things I could do and then I know I don't want to do them.  I am trained in music, but I don't know if I want to do anything with that.  I am sick of others having control of my life and what I have to do when I have to do it.  It is very frustrating.  I want the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it.  I hate feeling trapped.  I don't like having my freedom cut off and feeling stuck in the same monotonous routine.  The problem- I can't do anything to fix it.  I have no free time to myself to figure anything out.  I work Monday through Saturday from Opening to Close at the store and by the time I get home I have no mental or physical energy to get anything done.

Why do I bother even writing this when no one is even reading it?

What's might be right for you, might not be right for some..

So everyone who is following me on here knows I have been trying to lose weight since before Jer and I got married... that is pushing 2 years.  I have tried going to the gym, counting calories, diet supplements, and everything else you can think of.  Nothing was working.  I got excited when I started working at my new job and I lost 5 lbs!  I was finally back in the 150's... well... Christmas screwed me out of that.  I am back into the 160's, if even by .4lbs.  It is driving me up a wall!  I don't have the patience for weight watchers. I don't have the space in my house to do the at home work outs, and I am not able to run due to my knee always giving out when I try. Someone stole my bike so that isn't an option.  Plus, my work schedule keeps me busy all day and makes me want to do nothing but crash when I get home.

So what do I do?

Well, I have decided to just do what is healthy.  I am replacing those sugary and salty snacks that I usually consume with fruits, veggies, and nuts.  I am trying to eat more veggies with meal, more fruit when I can, and I am trying to drink water instead of soda and sugary beverages.  I got a 100% juicy juice that I love for breakfasts that I drink, but besides that I am going to not get other drinks.  I am going to try to not crash out all the time at home.  Even if it is something as simple as cleaning the house while dancing to the iPod, I will do it.  I wish there was a mall closer to me so I could just walk around it a few times just to get some exercise in. Maybe on Sundays... who knows...

The Anxiety, for me, that is Christmas

Every year I seem to go through a terrible bout of anxiety as the season approaches.  I get all of my shopping done early.  The wrapping done within the same day or next to make sure that gets done.  The newsletter written  to stuff into the Christmas cards that are written and stamped.  Everything is done.  I get the decorations up in a timely fashion.  I get everything done.  So why do I get so anxious every year at the Christmas season?  I mean, as I type this, I am on the verge of a collapse.  My chest is tightening, my eyes are watering, and I feel the need to go for a long run.  I don't know what causes this, but I would like it to stop.

I have what I would like to call Clark W. Griswold Syndrome.  I get my hopes and expectations for Christmas up so high that no one can possibly match them.  I can't control it.  Christmas gets closer and I start pumping up and getting ready for something amazing that no one in their right mind could ever come up with.  Then as Christmas approaches, I start to get discouraged and I start panicking about what people are getting me, if I got them enough, or if I am setting myself up for an extreme disappointment.  My husband got upset when I brought it up the last time.  I can't help but feel this way every year.  Nothing seems to be able to rattle the feeling that I am getting ready for a major let down.  I know that Christmas is about family and the true reason for the season, but my brain doesn't seem to let that be enough.  I love Christmas so much that I want it to be perfect and happy.  The problem is that I don't know how to make it that.  I don't know how to make it the perfect Christmas and make it so happy that I can't come up with anything better.  I don't even know what I want that makes me have such high expectations.  I try to keep it in check, but it isn't working.

I want to be relaxed.  I want to be happy.  I want Christmas to be wonderful.

Christmas Pains: The Story of the Scrooges

A local radio station started playing their Christmas music yesterday and tomorrow ABC Family starts their countdown to the 25 Days of Christmas.  I couldn't have been more excited to get into my car this morning to sing along to Christmas music.  I was driving down the highway and I heard the one song I absolutely HATE hearing during the Christmas season.  This is that song (bear with me... it is long):


The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Is finding a Christmas tree

The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Rigging up the lights

The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Hangovers

The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Sending Christmas cards

The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Five months of bills!

The sixth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Facing my in-laws

The seventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
The Salvation Army

The eighth thing at Christmas that such a pain to me:
I WANNA TRANSFORMER FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!

The ninth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me
Finding parking spaces

The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
"Batteries Not Included"

The eleventh thing of Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Stale TV specials

The twelfth thing of Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Singing Christmas carols

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!?  What scrooge wrote this song?  Half of these things could be avoided by using your common sense.  If you have a problem with this stuff, then DON'T DO IT!  Ugh.... Christmas is a time I love and a song like this is a HUGE downer on my happiness.  So here is my breakdown of answers to all of these "Christmas Pains".

1st Thing- If you hate the process of searching for a Christmas tree, get a fake one.  If you really need that pine tree smell, burn a pine candle, spray some pine spray, or use the car fresheners.  Think about how less annoyed you will be when you don't have to clean up the pine needles.

2nd Thing- Yes I get it that hanging lights is hard, but there are other ways of decorating that do not include stringing up lights.  How about a wreath, garlands, candles in the windows?  Or better yet, why not show your true scrooge side and not hang ANY lights or decorations?  You don't mind complaining about Christmas, but you force yourself to torture yourself every year with something that causes you "pain".  Do us a favor, either stop complaining or stop doing the thing that makes you complain.

3rd Thing- Hangovers.  Simple solution-- STOP DRINKING UNTIL DRUNK! Have a drink or two, but no one needs to be drinking to the point of drunkeness.

4th Thing-  Sending Christmas Cards... Really?  You do realize you don't need to send them if you don't want to.  Most people now-a-days send out an email that simply says Merry Christmas.  If you don't have the time or find it annoying to make Christmas Cards, then do that.  Don't waste your time on something you don't mean or care about doing.

5th Thing- Five Months of Bills is inconceivable.  I can't imagine taking 5 months to pay off Christmas.  Here is my solution for those of you who have to this problem:  don't spend outside of your means.  Buy only what you can afford and make a budget to spend on people.  If they get upset about how much you spent on them, then they don't deserve your gifts.

6th Thing- If facing your in-laws is such a problem, you must ask yourself why it is such a problem.  If it is something that you have done, maybe the awkwardness is your fault.  Maybe you should try going into it with a positive attitude.  Going in with a negative attitude guarantees a negative experience.  Grow up and get over your stupid, petty, ridiculous attitude.

7th Thing-  THE SALVATION ARMY??????  You truly are a scrooge.  Get yourself a cheap townhouse in the filthy back alleys of London, turn the heat down low, use candles for light, and count your pennies.  For clearly you are truly in need of what you own and no one else could possibly have needs out there in the world.  Stop being so self-centered and think about some one else.

8th Thing-  Your child screaming about a toy they want for Christmas.... if they are throwing tantrums, screaming about something they want, demanding things, and crying to get their way, look in the mirror.  DING DING DING!  It is your fault for most likely spoiling your child.  Don't complain about their actions and attitude when you could easily just be a parent and fix it yourself.

9th Thing-  Finding Parking Spaces... hmm... maybe you shouldn't have waited until the last second to get your shopping done.  Just sayin'.

10th Thing-  "Batteries Not Included"... another easy one... READ THE BOX WHEN YOU BUY IT!  That way there are surprises.  If it says it needs batteries, buy batteries.  Most companies don't want to pay to give you a battery.  They want you to have to buy it yourself.  Another thing you need to just buck up and deal with.

11th Thing-  Stale TV Specials... is someone holding a gun to your head and making you watch them?  No?  Oh so you have the power to change the channel and watch something else, or, better yet, turn the TV off and do something else?  Wow... another simple fix.

12th Thing-  Singing Christmas Carols.  Is there a gun in this scenario as well?  No?  Are you a scrooge?  Yes?  Ahh well that explains everything.

For those of you who read this entire thing, I applaud and thank you for doing so.  Let's all try our best to not be Scrooges this Christmas season.

Thanks Sir Points-Out-The-Obvious-A-Lot!

I have to laugh at how much people get offended when you point out the obvious.  Today, a customer came downstairs, his shirt clearly inside out.  It was an American Eagle thermal shirt.  The type where the tag is printed on the back inside of the shirt.  Well, this gentleman's shirt had the tag clearly on the back outside of the shirt, the hemming was raised on the shirt instead of smooth, and the eagle was showing from the back and it was on the right hand side of the shirt instead of the left.  Captain obvious to me since I bought my husband several of those shirts last Christmas.  I pointed it out to my coworker, who instantly disagreed with my claim stating that it was how the shirt was made.  When he came closer to the desk, you could tell the details of the shirt did not match the way it should look.  My coworker clearly was examining the shirt as the gentleman paid for his water.  It was definitely inside out.  He had the size written on the back of the shirt for goodness sakes!  I waited until he walked away and turned to my coworked to say "See!  It is inside out!" only to have my coworker say, "See! It is just how the shirt is made!  Didn't you see the raised stitching and stuff?"  I couldn't take it anymore.  "*Insert coworker's name*, it is clearly inside out.  The size of the shirt was on the back for everyone to see, the eagle was inside out, and on the wrong side!  Plus, I know how the shirts are suppose to look since I bought my husband some before."

She didn't even answer and walked away from me.  You have got to be kidding me!  She was so upset that I was proving my point that she just didn't care to listen to me or acknowledge that I was right.  Of course, my other coworker who was standing there with my other coworker would side with the other.  They were all buddy-buddy.  Neither of them said a word to me as they walked away from the desk.  Drama queens!

(This is the same coworker/supervisor that tells me not to gossip and as I am writing this *before I posted it* she is over there gabbing to her friend about what I did.  Double standards much???)