Chix Chat

Hi, Michele!

I’m sorry to see that you’re having a CLD. I was having one of those myself a day or two ago! "I’m fat! I hate my face! WHY don’t I have a man?" To elaborate on that face thing, sometimes I’ll see my reflection and think, "Whoa, I am gorgeous!!" But sometimes I’ll see myself at a certain angle or in a certain light or in a photograph and think, "Egads! Is *that* what people see?!" Anyway, I think I’m also experience the joys of PMS - I have a bumper crop of zits on my chin. Yep, it’s pretty charming. You wrote a while back that it seems life is generally better with someone to love - that is so true! Even while I just had my big crush on Randy - it was so nice to feel like I had someone that I was really crazy about.

Yesterday, I checked my Angel email and there was a letter from a person in my same predicament: their Fox station that used to show Angel has stopped showing it. I wondered if she lives in this area. She was asking me to tape it for her or let her know where to find them. I wrote back and said that I am in the exact same boat and that I was still trying to obtain the eps for myself. I told her that I’d let her know what I find. The next email that I opened was from "ScoopMe" which sends out a generic email to me when they add a new Angel article. At the bottom of that email there was a link to their "tapes" site. I checked it out; it’s where members can post what tapes/episodes of various shows they have available for other viewers to "borrow." I found one with the episode I missed last week. Great! I’m "coordinating" with the owner of that tape to "borrow" it. I don’t want to do that for the rest of the season, but it’s a great short-term solution. If you could still tape the ep next week, I’d be ever so grateful! I’ll send the postage for you, and I will remind you on Monday as you requested. If you could mail that one ep to me during that week, that will be perfect. I really, really hope to find a local source in the next week or two.

After I joined that tapes site yesterday for free - today they sent out an email announcing that there is now a $12/year fee to use the tape service. This is crazy! I used to see the show for free! I have sent two "you suck" emails and a snail mail letter to our local Fox station. (blech!) No, I didn’t use the exact phrase "you suck" but I really wanted to! I may even call them to complain as well. I don’t think it will accomplish anything, but I will feel better for making my voice heard.

Look at how I go on about this situation. I told my sister, "Yes, I know that if this is the biggest problem I have in the world then I am doing very well." If I didn’t have the website, I probably wouldn’t be as anxious to see the shows, although I would miss them. I really hate this; I had been doing so well at keeping the reviews up to date!

As a side Angel note, this morning I dreamed for the second time that Angel was acting like Ray - that is like a huge jerk! When I wake up from those dreams I like Angel a lot less until I realize it was just a dream. In this dream, I think I was begging him to stay but he still left me for that Playboy bunny. I seem to recall an announcement from the WB to the effect of "We’re canceling the show, but thanks for watching." I wonder where that thought is coming from. (Sarcasm there.)

ANYWAY! In other news …. I’m trying to think of some other news. Oh! I have an inventory gig tomorrow at the grocery store where my mother works and she is working tomorrow evening as well. She’ll get to see me do my counting thang. Tomorrow morning I need to go get the oil changed on my car. This is my second gig for the month of October; I am raking in the mega-bucks now! (lol) It’s also the only gig I have on my schedule.

Since I worked over, my boss said yesterday that maybe I can leave a bit early today. That would be great! But I’ll believe it when I see it. Sometime this weekend I must finish up the HW that is due on Monday.

So is everything still going okay with Nora? I’m curious, has she ever said anything like that to anyone else that you know of?

I enjoyed reading your movie reviews! I was trying to recall one I wanted to see .. oh yes, Keanu’s "Hardball." (Talk about things that sound dirty but aren’t. Giggle! Blush!) Do you know if that’s still playing? I’ve seen Castaway; yes, Mr. Hanks’ performance was excellent. He is one of those actors that consistently does a very high quality of work.

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend! God bless!
Anne
God bless the USA!

Hi, Michele!

What a day (or two) I am having! Yesterday I was here until 7:00 (yes, pm!) working on printing and typing stuff for the booth today. We went over there about eight this morning and we got back here about 2:30. It was pretty nice, although it wasn’t as busy as we hoped. They provided a nice lunch for us there. I picked up a bunch of free handout things like pens, can holders, monitor cleaners, etc. My day is complete!

So you had to start another email account? I was thinking, "She should get a yahoo account." Then I re-read the paragraph - you did get a yahoo account. (It’s been a long two days!) *****’s babe, huh? Why can’t I have something cool like that? No, I have to be "*****." For what it’s worth, I like that yahoo account that I have (for the Angel site). I discovered a way to check my work email using the yahoo account by using the check other mail option and entering this account’s info. That could come in very handy!

That’s great that things are going well for you at work. But, I agree, that does make Friday’s episode seem much more odd. What is that, the Twilight Zone [store]? I bet you want to ask her, "Excuse me, what the heck was all that about?" On the other hand, you don’t want to get her started again! I will still keep your job situation in my prayers.

Hmm, Joy Ride? I don’t think I’ve heard of that. Who’s in it? What’s it about?

It is odd how Darrell and Ray have the same b-day, but Darrell is one year younger than Ray. I know that Ray was extremely jealous of Darrell for having a good job. No, they’ve never met as far as I know, but one time Ray and I wound up eating at the same pizza place as Darrell and his wife, but Darrell didn’t stop. He only waved at me as he passed our table. (This was when he was still working for *****.)

I know exactly what you mean about catty women and their men, although I have no idea why they have to be that way. I saw that so many times when I was waiting tables. The guy would be really nice, but the woman would be a total b! (And I wondered with amazement, "And yet *she* has what seems to be a great guy. How …?") And I know the look they give us, the attractive sales people. I remember taking an order at a middle table one time, and I turned my head a bit and leaned in so I could hear better. I realized later that it looked like I turned to look at the guy at the table next to me, the woman at that table was giving me such a look. I used to always think, "Honey, don’t flatter yourself: your man ain’t that great." I liked your sentiment, "If you are that insecure in your relationship, I don’t see you having much of a future together." So true!

I haven’t seen the Rocky movies, but I do know a little about them. No, our Rocky doesn’t occasionally shout, "Adrian!" When he enters a room though the theme from Rocky does play, and sometimes a bell rings to signal another round.

Re: taping Angel. I’d really, really, really, really appreciate if you could tape the next two or three. (Really!) Do not worry about the picture quality - since our channel went to a mainly digital format, those of us with antennas have a terrible reception. As I said, I am brainstorming hard to find a way to tape it here. I’m really angry at that channel for doing that to me, four shows into the new season no less! I do not exaggerate to say that it ruined my day! It appears that I’ll need to make some new friends that have that kind of cable. Like I mentioned, it isn’t regular cable it’s "digital cable." (Well, la - di - dah!) And it isn’t even available in our house! My lead option right now is to see if I could get it at work. My lead problem is how to explain that to the boss! I am going to find a way! And I am going to send that channel many more emails and letters to express my dissatisfaction!

That’s it for today. Talk to you soon! God bless!
Anne
God bless the USA!

Wesley: At your service. What can I do for you?
Buttercup: You can die slowly, cut into a thousand pieces.
From The Princess Bride
(That’s exactly how I feel about that Fox channel of ours!!)

Hi, Michele!

Yep, it is the birthday of both Darrell and Ray. They are a study in opposites: Ray is a physically attractive jerk (pretty much) and Darrell is less attractive physically but a super-great guy. Take a guess which one I would rather have! I secretly love the thought of Ray hoping that I’ll call him today and yet the whole day will go buy without even a word from me. Sometimes silence says more than words ever could. Actually, I doubt that he’s thinking of me; he isn’t the type to sit and pine for someone to call. He is, after all, a man.

Anyway, that is great that it went better for you at work. I was praying and generally sending good thoughts your way and wondering how it was going.

You said that you try to picture the worst thing that could happen in a given scenario; I heard that was a very good mental exercise for calming fears. I heard a radio interview with a Christian singer and she said that same thing, "If you’re going to play the "what if" game, take it all the way."

That Jeff guy you mentioned sounds like a Joewiel wannabe! I’ve known plenty of people like that; I can just imagine the look that you’re talking about. It burns me up that people do think that just because you’re not married and don’t have kids that you’re some naive child.

Definitely, guy bosses are usually easier to get along with than lady bosses. It is a sorry double standard, but more times than not, a lady boss can ask me to do something and she will come across as more of a bitc? than sounding managerial and authoritative. Do you find that to be true or am I just difficult? I’m trying to recall if any of my bosses has been younger than me; I can’t think of any but I know some that were very close to my age. I can think of one -Tommy - that is like that Jeff guy - he was only two months older than me, but he thought he was so professional and so grand. (I get ill now just thinking of him.)

Today, at work, the part-time guy Rocky is in for the first time in a long time. He’s "helping" us put together stuff for the booth tomorrow. Sometimes I don’t know why KA (my other boss) asks for his opinion; they never seem to take any of his ideas! Plus, they are stressing me out with all this last minute crap. "Here, Anne, make these changes and print this." I have such a stack of crap on my desk to do. WHY DO THEY ALWAYS WAIT TIL THE LAST MINUTE?

Adding to my stress level is the fact that I must soon register for the spring semester and I am still undecided over what classes to take. I need to take two and a lab, and I should probably take another one. I seriously wonder if I will have the time to take three extra-tough senior level classes and work. If I don’t take that third class this spring, I’ll have to take it next Spring (2003!) and I will have four tough senior level classes then! However if I am looking at the schedule right, that will be the last semester that I have to take. But what if I fail a class between now and then? These classes are only offered once a year. That’s how I’m in this mess, because I failed the class I have now last time and it’s only offered in the fall.

In other news, I sat down last night ready to watch my tape of Angel and "King of the Hill" started playing. After I stopped shrieking, "What the &^%#^??" I realized that I did indeed set the timer correctly, but the show didn’t come on! Darn it! I guess there’ll be no review next week. I checked the channel’s website and now they’re only showing the WB programming on their cable affiliate! Darn it! Is there any way that you could tape the next few Angel episodes mail them to me? You could put them on one tape and send it in a couple of weeks. I can send you a lot of postage to use. Or if you have any other ideas, please let me know. I’m going to have to come up with another plan. This really sucks! Either we can pay an extra $40 a month for cable or I must inconvenience other people to tape it for me. I wrote to that channel and expressed my extreme dissatisfaction over that situation: like they care. I was thinking that I’ll probably have to f*&^#@! buy cable but they don’t f*&^#@! offer the "digital" cable that carries it in my area! Aaargh! I guess I’ll have to rent an apartment in this area so I can get it. Or maybe I should get the business package at work; that won’t cost more than $100 a month. (Sarcasm there.) I hate this!

I am so peeved that I just want to go home! And of course *this* is the day that we’re really busy.

That’s it for today. Talk to you soon! God bless!
Anne

Per your request, I did indeed stop and pray for you today as you’re at work. Well, don’t keep me hangin’ - how did it go?

I am the same way as you: even when I’m right, I do not like to be at odds with people and I don’t like for them to think that I’m wrong. I know you can’t help what people think, but it is upsetting to say the least when they’re giving you a hard time for stuff that isn’t true!

I agree that God doesn’t want us to stay at jobs where people act that way. I liked your plan: to be the best employee there so that even Nora can see it, and then to leave.

I was wondering if you’d told your parents and what they said. It’s probably best not to mention it if you think that they will hurry over there and tell her where to go. I think that would be the worst possible thing to happen; it would definitely hurt more than help. I mean, if she won’t believe you, she surely won’t believe your family. She’d say, "Well of course they’d take her side."

I still can hardly believe that Nora is the same woman that you’ve told me about before. I remember your concern the time she had to come back so soon after her surgery that she didn’t get a chance to recuperate. And then she springs something like this on you.

Her recent tirade reminds me very much of a boss I used to have: Joewiel. (Pronounced "Joe-well".) He was the manager at the ***** where I worked for about a year. I believe I’ve already mentioned him before under worst job ever or worst boss ever. Yep, those are him! I could give mucho examples, but I’ll just give one. I was by myself in the store one day, until I was joined by one of our roving sales representatives, whose name I forget, so I’ll call him Greg. A customer came in looking for a paint sprayer, and Greg was talking to him. I figured that would be the best, because Greg knew more than I did about the sprayers. Eventually, Greg sent the guy to the commercial products store. Several days later, Joewiel called me into the office; he was literally fuming because the customer said that I sent him to the commercial store. I said, "*Greg* told him to go there." Joewiel obviously didn’t believe me, and he obviously wasn’t interested in hearing my side. As I recall this was about the time he came to me out of the blue saying that I wasn’t performing up to snuff, that I wasn’t learning all I could about the business. I was going to college at that time too, and I did not sign up there as an intern! I was a salesperson for Pete’s sake. About the time he became really impossible like that, I turned in my notice.

I remember the other guy that worked there was telling me not to let Joewiel make me quit that job. I thought, "I’m not planning to retire from here, so what exactly do I gain by staying? I am not working every day with that dictator."

Joewiel differed from Nora in that he was pretty much always a jerk, but some days he wasn’t as bad as others. It wasn’t like with you where everything was fine and then BLAM!

I just remembered another of Joewiel’s quirks: there were three employees in that store including him, yet whenever he’d tell us something it was always, "You and .. the other one" and he’d say "the other one" as if the name truly escaped him. Or perhaps he didn’t want to waste his precious time saying our insignificant names.

Anyway, here I am pretty busy.  We are having a booth in a local business exhibition, so I get to print the brochures, etc. I hope that I don’t have to stay too long at the booth during the actual exhibit, because I cannot speak intelligently about whatever business these people do. I would just hand them a brochure and the bosses’ card and say, "They’ll be happy to talk to you." I’m sure the receiver of the card is thinking, "Then why aren’t they *here* to talk to me?"

Did I tell you that my bosses’ daughter had her baby Friday night? It was a boy - seven pounds and some-odd ounces. Mother and baby are doing well. I do not know what they named him. My sister asked, "Did they give him some weird name?" I thought, "No, I’m sure they gave him the name they wanted him to have."

That’s it for today. Talk to you soon! GOD BLESS!

Anne

Hi, Michele!

I absolutely could not believe what I was reading about the experience with Nora! I had to re-read it several times and I am just so angry!! I know just from what you’ve written in previous letters that you worry about that store, and that you do indeed do your work! The nerve of her!! And to top it all, she ambushes you with those accusations right before the store opens; yeah, there’s the way to insure that you’ll be providing customer satisfaction. (Mean-spirited sarcasm here!) Every sentence I read about the incident made me gasp out loud all over again. I was glad to read that your co-workers were backing you up; they’re the ones who really see what’s going on! And how nice was Brian to give you a Sylvester? (Sufferin’ succotash!)

And I can so relate to not being able to do anything but cry then thinking of the ideal thing to say days later. That would especially be the case if someone was accusing me like Nora did you, and is totally disregarding what you’re saying. Don’t be hard on yourself for not having anything to say; it seems she wouldn’t have listened anyway! I think you have the right attitude: try to forgive and forget, but if it happens again: bye bye bye! Like you said, it *could* be the health problems that are making her smoke crack .. er .. be irritable. Seriously that is a real possibility. But if that isn’t it, I’ve had bosses before that were impossible like that and, like the song says, "Don’t try to change ‘em, just leave ‘em! Leave ‘em!" You know that I’m a big believer in anyone can do anything - job wise. So, if/when you feel like you need to leave there, go with confidence that God will guide you to the right job! I will definitely pray for you in this situation!

How cool would it have been for Imhotep to be there - in his decrepit form so it’s scarier - to kick Nora’s a$$ and say, in that charming accent, "Look, you smoker of toxic-waste-contaminated crack, my darling Michele works harder than anyone in this store, and you will never, ever say anything to the contrary or I will remove your tongue and eyes." Or maybe he’d just do that cool thing that he does and she would disappear forever into a sandstorm. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Wicked maniacal laugh there.)

Looking at the previous paragraph, I think "decomposed" would have been the word to use, but I like the word "decrepit" and I hardly ever have the chance to work it into every day conversation, so I’m leaving it in.

In happier news - November 7th is our six-month epal anniversary? I forget, is that the Paper or the Plastic anniversary? I think I already used that "joke" but it’s the only one I have for anniversaries.

Ahh, Dr. Tutanji … went and got his hair cut short, think buzzcut but not exactly. You asked if I can barely talk to him; I don’t think I’ve said a direct word to him since my crush surfaced, but I know if I tried that I’d be blushing because I’d feel like he’d know about my silly crush. With the Big Recent Crush on Randy, I behaved as I usually do under the influence of "love," I can’t even hardly look at the guy - forget about trying to form an actual sentence. It’s like I unintentionally(?) do that coy glance-at-them-then-glance-away thing. Note: that has never worked for me to attract a guy.

Anyway. Parisian is a department store - obviously a Southern department store. They sell products like Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Chanel, etc. (Not that I shop there much, I’m just saying …)

That was an encouraging story about the mystery guy-on-the-street that you’ve seen while walking. You never know what’ll develop from something like that; it’s what makes life so interesting. And, yes, it is fun to imagine where those good feelings will lead!

On that happy note, I’ll say goodbye for now. Talk to you soon! God bless!

Anne

God bless the USA!

Hi, Michele!

I’m sorry to see that the stress continues! I’m guessing that you’re starting to chant the mantra, "I’m going to Disneyworld." Speaking of which, I really don’t think you should worry about that flight. I just have a good feeling about it; I’m still mentioning that in my prayers, BTW.

Funny you should mention that God brought us together; I was just a day or so ago thinking the same thing. Like you said, no if God would do the same for us and our future husbands …

I can so relate to annoying bosses. My lady boss, I usually use her abbreviation when writing - MA, is very nice, but she does have some quirks to say the least. For one, she is never wrong! Correction, she will never ever admit to being wrong. Plus when I give her some work I’ve done or suggest something she will *always* have some little thing that needs to be changed. I think she learned in some "management class" that she must never accept anything as is, so that she can subconsciously signal that she is the boss. It really irks me when I think that she’s disagreeing just for the sake of disagreeing. If she has a valid argument, that’s one thing, but saying the opposite just to be different is ridiculous. One more thing: when she is trying to prove her point she will cite some off-the-wall or totally irrelevant "reason" and act as if it proves her point. I often suspect she is making stuff up!

As I said, she is usually very nice. She is going out of town - to New York - probably for the next three months. Her daughter, who is a doctor, is having a baby, and MA is going to help. I have been remembering that situation in my prayers. MA was saying as she headed out the door that she really doesn’t want to see her daughter in so much pain; that’s understandable. I told her that I’ll be thinking about them. (I didn’t figure she would really get "I’m praying for you all.")

To answer your question (poll?) I prefer the clean shaven head like, oh, I don’t know: Arnold Vosloo? Not every bald head is okay though, they have to make it work for them.

No, I haven’t done an inventory at a *****, but I have counted greeting cards at Books-a-Million. The biggest store I’ve ever done would be the two-story Parisian in Birmingham. No, I didn’t do it all by myself. In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I really like that part-time job. I am such a math-nerd. I often reflect how incompatible I was for the job of waitress, because I’m not really a people person, I’m lousy at selling things, and I take customers’ complaints way too personally. At an inventory, I just count things and there is little to no customer contact because usually the stores close for inventory. Plus, I think that job is really helping my basic math skills; I’m getting really good at quickly adding things in my head.

Re: Avon, thanks for the hearty recommendation! I didn’t that that $4 was that bad for lipstick, although I usually buy the 99 -cent kind. I bought a tube of the kind that they donate to breast cancer research on for my Mom: I bought her the Crusade Pink.

No, there are no real prospects for me in my classes, besides Dr. Tutanji. (Just kidding!!) The cute-ponytailed guy - Nicholas (what a beautiful name!) - was a Computer Science major. I don’t see him anymore. (Sniff! Sniffy! Sniffle!) Everyone else is either too young, married or too young and married! Dr. Tutanji is maybe 35 or so. He wears thick-rimmed glasses and has a slightly receding hairline, but overall his hair is black and slightly curly. He usually wears slacks, a button up dress-shirt - usually patterned - and a sweater vest. He started out this semester wearing a tie, but he’s recently taken to wearing no tie and leaving the top few buttons open. (Count on me to notice!)

About dating and limiting physical activity, I have learned the hard way that it is very important to limit the physical activity. I used to think, shameful, that I really do need a chaperone. But you know what the Bible says about temptation, "Flee from it." In my case it’s because I’m not strong enough to resist it; doesn’t the Bible say that no one is strong enough? Plus, why even put yourself in a situation where you will be tempted? Resisting temptation is hard enough from day to day; forget about jumping right into the fire, so to speak. (Liked the strawberry analogy!)

On the Celtic look for Halloween, go for it! I’d love to see that "medieval looking" dress. What lovely romantic thoughts the word "medieval" conjures up!

That’s it for today. Talk to you soon! God Bless!
Anne

God bless the USA!

It’s been so cold in here for the past few days. Today, I boldly went to check the thermostat - it was turned completely off. Well, now it’s on and it shall remain such. It’s been gorgeously sunny and clear-skied outside lately but cool. How is the weather there? About what degree range is the temp? Here it’s in the forties in the morning and may warm up to the low sixties.

Yes, Arnold Vosloo is so incredibly fine! What is it about a handsome bad guy that makes me think all sorts of deliciously wicked things? I especially liked the scene where he was stepping out of that river, and he walked by and patted the kid on the head. And I definitely prefer him bald. It’s so raw and primal!

The inventory gig went pretty smoothly; we were counting beauty supplies at a store that only sells to beauticians and cosmetologists. To answer your question; I don’t usually work with exactly the same people every time. They have about fifty employees and usually 10 or less work at the stores that I get.

Re: domain expenses, I thought the one I got was pretty reasonable at about $9 a month. Let’s face it, you can’t buy much at all for that, and that site gives me 200 Mb of space. Yahoo! wants to charge $9 for 25 Mb of space. Do they even know what other companies are charging? If people shop around at all they’ll find a better deal than Yahoo. Except of course for the free stuff; you can’t beat free!

Ah, yes, Dr. Tutanji. Yes, he does have an accent. Sigh* . . . I know he has a kid because he mentioned it. He also mentions his wife frequently; they say that is a sign of a committed person if they bring up their significant other in casual conversation. For example, if you’re chatting with a guy and mention a great new restaurant, he’ll casually remark, "Oh, yes, Gina and I have been meaning to check that place out. I hear it’s really good." Then you think, "Darn that lucky, lucky Gina!" But I digress. Back to Dr. Tutanji, you are absolutely right: if he wasn’t married I wouldn’t find him nearly as attractive.

Let me pause here to revel again in that Arnold-Vosloo-is-my-professor fantasy. Can you imagine him turning and looking at you and saying, "Do you know the answer to the problem?" I’d be so intent on looking at him I probably wouldn’t realize that he was speaking to me. I’d definitely want to stay after class for some …. er… tutoring. Yep, this is why God doesn’t put me in situations like that because I know that I would fail that test miserably!

I’m sorry to see that you’re stressed. I know how tough it is to live up to impossible expectations. Doesn’t Nora know about how long it takes to do all of the store’s tasks? I would think she does, so she should know that y’all did what you could. I feel the same as you: people know what their job is, and you don’t need to stand over them barking orders. I think that is a sure way to tick people off and be counter-productive.

Oh, yes! Are you dressing up for Halloween? I’m planning to come to work dressed as Anuck-su-namun, in her outfit from the first Mummy. Just kidding! (But if I thought I would see a dreamy cop . . . maybe . . .? ) Seriously, I would love to come to work dressed as something off-the-wall, but maybe I’ll just wear blue jeans. (I will be "Someone who has a Cool Boss.") I wonder if we’ll get any trick-or-treaters here. I’ll bring some of the candy that Sara brought from home. Do you get any trick-or-treaters at the ***** store? I know that’s a silly question, but I’ve seen some kids that would go anywhere if they thought they would get more candy.

Got another question for you: do you have any experience with Avon products? I’ve ordered some from a lady that I see at work and she’s left the next brochure with me. I wondered if you have any opinion about Avon one way or the other. I see most of their lipstick is about $4 - that seems like a pretty average price. I ordered a few things for mom for Christmas. (Thanks! As I sat here typing this paragraph I thought of something to get Sara: earrings! But not from Avon …)

That’s about it for now. Talk to you soon! God bless!
Anne