Chix Chat

Hi Anne!

Today was strangely surreal.  I don’t even know where to begin.  I guess I’ll start from the beginning.

Danielle and I were just about to leave to go to the mall when the phone rang.  Danielle answered it and said "It’s Shelly."  Shelly was at work.  I thought she was calling me to ask if I wanted to go to the movies with her tonight.  No, she asked me if I could come into work ASAP.  She said to me "You can’t believe what’s going on here.  I’m here by myself with Susan."  Btw, Susan is the Supervisor for all the ***** Shops.  Anyway Shelly continued, "Nora went home early she couldn’t take it."  COULDN’T TAKE WHAT?! My mind screamed.  Then Shelly said, "Ed, Mary, Audrey and Sue were all fired." !!  Anne, I almost dropped the phone!  Shelly didn’t know any details beyond that and as you can imagine my mind was racing trying to think what they could have done!  I mean, I can understand AUdrey but Sue?  Ed?  and especially Mary?!  I reluctantly agreed to come in.  When I got there Susan and I went in the back  and she told me what happened.  Apparenttly, Bob Ritter (who is like the head honcho) hired "secret shoppers" to come into the store and you know, check us out.  THey came in over the course of two weeks in the morning and at night.  Well, some of the people got bad results and that’s who got canned.  I cannot believe this!  I mean, I feel as if I had dodged a bullet.  THat God truly is watching over me, because it could have been any one of us, but at the same time I feel horrible for my co-workers.  ANd Nora!  My God, she must be sick about this!  But you know what?  I think it has to do more than the whole "secret shopper" bit.  I mean. why don’t just give out warnings?   ANd this happens right before holiday open house!  We’re short staffed as it is and now we lost four people?  I know the store is losing money.  I think eventually all of us are going to be fired and all new people are going to come in.  I don’t know what the logic in that is, but I just have a really wierd feeling about it.  To think, two weeks ago I was on the verge of losing my job and now I’m probably the one person Nora needs the most (the other people who are left after this "massacare" are Dolly, Wendy, Shelly, Kristin, and Cindy).  Something fishy is going on here.  I can feel it.  You know, part of me wishes that the store would just close down so i can just find another job.  Oh, I know how they would get rid of me- because I’m going away next week and taking your vacation during holiday season is a big no no.  oh well.  That store isn’t my life.  I might lose my job after all!

you’re welcome about Angel.  Remember, I’ll be away next week so I can’t tape it.  I would just set up my vcr to tape it, but I’m planning on taping the entire week of Days Of Our Lives episodes, and I don’t think Angel would fit on that tape too.  Sorry!

Maybe I will stick with Yahoo after all.  I am getting used to it.  I hate Outlook Express!  It always gives me problems!  It must like you more!

Nice dream you had about Keanu Reeves.  As far as him stealing money from your check book, who gives a sh*^?  I don’t know what that could mean symbolically.  Maybe it’s a connection to your comments to him.  Maybe it’s your subconcious warning you not to compliment a man unless he does it first, because he might steal your heart.  I don’t know. Just my stupid analysis

I wear jeans most of the time too.  First of all my shorts always seem to ride up my butt!  And no, I don’t wear short shorts!  ALso my legs are pale also.  I don’t have the time or patience to go tanning.  I tried that sunless tanner lotion once and I ended up all orange and streaky!  I’m packing a few pairs of jeans and a few pairs of shorts.  I hope it’s cool enough to wear jeans!

Thank you for easing my mind about flying.  And I cannot thank you enough for your prayers.  I really do feel you praying for me!  I’m sure other people are praying that we have a safe flight as well.

Well, it’s getting late and I have to go to work early tomorrow.  THat is if I still have a job! (lol)

see you later!  Take care and GOd bless!

God bless the USA!

Michele

Hi, Michele!

Oh yes, did I mention? Thank you! I really appreciate you taping Angel for me. I have a feeling that I will also ask you to tape another ep for me.

How is your yahoo-ing going? My advice about that situation would be to try it for a week or two - after your trip perhaps. Then if you still don’t like it, just get another hotmail account and maybe use the yahoo one for storage. When I started using yahoo, it took me a while to get the hang of it. At work I use the very user-friendly Outlook Express. With yahoo I had to search every time I wanted to do anything. When I’d read a message, I’d wonder, "Okay, *now* how do I get back to my inbox? D’oh!" Now, I like the yahoo account at least as well as the work one.

I can relate to your customers-are-so-clueless story where you were struggling with the shelf and that lady was totally oblivious to it. She probably expected you to drop everything to help her - literally! When I was waiting tables, whenever I had both hands full of plates to deliver or take away, some schmoe would be handing me their dirty plate to remove. I’d want to sarcastically say, "Sure, I can get that one too, just stick it in my apron pocket."

That reminds me - sometimes older men customers would try to stick the tip in my apron pocket. (Pervs!) I believe they had the [restaurant] mistaken for a completely different kind of establishment! Let’s stop to praise the Lord that I don’t work there anymore. Woo hoo!

Anyway, no I don’t have any of Jeff Foxworthy’s albums, but I like what I’ve seen of him. I even used to like his sitcom - did you ever watch that? That "I see dead people" kid played one of Jeff’s TV kids, and Bill Engvall was his goofy TV best friend.

You’re not packed yet? Well, girl, what are ya waiting for? I am the same way. Do you ever have those dreams where you’re leaving for a trip and you haven’t packed anything? I usually have those when I’m going somewhere for a visit.

Speaking of dreams, I had a great dream about Keanu Reeves last night! I was over-enthusiastically hugging him and kissing his cheek and, well, his face. I was gushing on about how tall he is ("I like tall men," I cleverly said.) and how handsome he is (Yep, I said, "I like handsome.") The only bad thing was that he seemed to be stealing money from my check book. Hmmm. What do you suppose that means, symbolically?

I can see the packing difficulties because of the temperature difference. I would probably wear layers that I could peel off as the temperature increased. I have before done like you, start off with a long-sleeved shirt or light jacket and then end up with it tied around my waist. If you’re going to the hotel first, you can always change into shorts there. Do you wear shorts? I admit that I wear jeans most of the time, unless it’s about 100 degrees. I would probably wear shorts in Florida; I can handle strangers judging my lily-white legs.

I did hear that rumor about another terrorist attack. Every time I hear that stuff I think, "This is crazy!" I would think if those so-called intelligence guys knew that there was an attack "tentatively" planned, they would know where the bloody planned target is. I *really* do not think that you should worry about your trip though. My bosses have flown safely to Los Angeles and New York several times in the past two weeks. My boss, KA, just got back from New York yesterday and he had no problems. Still, as you asked, I will spend extra time in prayer for both safety and for the Lord to calm your fears.

Did I tell you that my professor is out of town tomorrow? So I will have only one class this week. Woo hoo! AND he only gave us two short problems to do AND I’ve finished one and started the other. But we do have a test coming up, and I absolutely need to start ASAP and prepare for it.

Did I also tell you that my boss asked his friend’s daughter to come sit here while I went to class yesterday? (My boss was out of town, as he returned from New York.) She was a typical teenager, just about everything I said to her, she would look at me blankly like, "Whatever." She said the phone only rang one time and it was her dad. She asked if they would need her every Monday. I replied that I didn’t know. She probably thinks I have the easiest job ever. It’s true, the job is really easy most of the time, but sometimes I do have actual work to do.

That’s it for today. I’ll talk to you soon! 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

Before I begin, could you stop what you’re doing right now and please say a prayer that Nora will act okay with me today?  I have to go into work at 1 and I don’t know how she is going to act with me.  I know I’m in the right, still I can’t help from worrying!

I’m still trying to understand what happened.  Do you know what really makes me upset and angry?  She must have some kind of sick twisted power trip doing that to me.  You know those kind of people who let other people push them around so they get thier power by pushing around people who are weaker than them?  That’s Nora.  God, I feel so terrible writing this, but I’m just so hurt and angry.  That would be like you e-mailing me and saying "I don’t want to be your friend anymore.  You’re a jerk, Michele."  Or if I said something like that to you.  You would probably be flabbergasted, hurt and angry.  Well, that’s how I feel.  I know one thing, if Nora brings it up again, this time I will defend myself.  What’s the worst that can happen?  I lose my job?  Well, big deal!  I’m sure God doesn’t want me to take any kind of abuse from anyone!

I know my time there is limited.  Not even because of that.  I’ve been toying with the idea of leaving for several months now.  Lets just say that I’m overworked and underpaid.  About trying to get a job at the bank, do you know anyone who’s ever worked at one?  If you do, do you know exactly what being a teller entails?  I just would like some info because as you know, "knowing is half the battle."  I have a plan.  To make it look like I’m leaving on good terms, so it doesn’t look like I was "driven" out.  I want to get back on Nora’s good graces, and make her see that I’m one of the best employess she’s ever had!  And then I’ll quit.  I’m serious!  I need to move on.  I was stuck at ***** for five years because I was so afraid to move on.  I’m not going to make the same mistake at *****.

When I was thinking of Imhotep making all hell break loose, I was thinking of him in his oh-so-sexy human form.  Sure, it’s not as scary as his decayed, decrepit form, but it’s a bonus treat for me.  I imagine him lifting his hand and Nora rising to the ceiling, freaking out and he demands, "Now, apologize to Michele"  Nora chokes out "I’m sorry Michele!  I didn’t know what I was saying!  You are the best employee this store has ever had."  I smile wickedly and say, "And you’re going to give me a ten dollar raise, right?"  "Y…yes, ten dollars!" "And give me every other weekend off, right?"  Nora pauses but when she meets Imhotep’s evil glare she nodds and says "Yes, you can have every other weekend off!"  With that, Imhotep lowers his arm and Nora crashes to the ground, panting and crying.  Imhotep turns to me and we kiss passionately.  I turn to Nora and sweetly say, "I’m taking the day off.  Of course I’ll get paid for it."  Imhotep and I walk out to find a place to be alone and ….. well, what would you do if you were alone with Imhotep? (wicked grin)

Am I such a terrible person to be thinking such things?  I mean, here I am a Christian.  I’m supposed to be loving and kind and forgiving but I can’t help but think these little "revenge" fantasies when I think about the people who have hurt me, Nora being the most recent.  I’m truly hoping that tomorrow Nora will apologize saying that she was too hard on me.  I’m not holding my breath, though.  And besides, the damage is already done.

I started crying tonight and I wrote in my prayer journal and I also wrote in my journal to my future husband, I just kept on writing over and over "Where are you?  I really need you right now!  Pray for me!  I’m going through such a tough time right now!"

I haven’t told my parents about this.  I don’t know why but I haven’t.  I don’t think they need to know.  I know they would most likely (especially my mom) want to march right over to the store and give Nora what for and I don’t need that.  I need to fight my own battles. However if my boyfriend or husband came to my defense, that would be a different story all together!

Thank God about how you act around the guys you have crushes on.  I thought I was the only one!  Anne, sometimes I feel like such a freak for my lack of expirence with the opposite sex!  I mean, in my fantasies I’m this great expirenced lover, but In real life I’m this stuttering, bulshing idiot!  You know how unnatural it is for twelve year olds to go out and get pregnant?  Well sometimes I feel that being twenty eight and never been kissed is just as unatural.  These are times when I really need my future husband’s prayers.  I need to know that saving everything I have for one man isn’t just a waste of time!

Danielle and I saw the movie Riding In Cars With Boys tonight.  It was pretty good.  I tried to concentrate on the movie but I just have so much on my mind right now (gee, can you guess what?) I was only half interested.  Thank God we werein a dark, nearly empty theatre because I started crying, as quietly as I could, so as to not to draw attention to myself.  Damn her for doing this to me!  And Damn me for letting her get to me!

Parisian sounds like our Kaufmanns and Lazuraus department stores.  I haven’t been in a store like that for awhile.  I usually go to the cheapo places or order my clothes by mail.  I really like BLAIR because their medium sizes are 12-14 which is perfect for me.  Usually the size is 10-12, which is too small or 14-16 which is too big!  I feel like Goldilocks trying out the Three Bears beds before finding the one that’s "just right!"

Well, on that note I’ll say goodbye for now.  Til next time, take care and God bless!  God bless the USA!

PRAY FOR ME!!

Michele

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 Anne!

Should I start with the good news or the bad news.  Well, I’ll get the yucky stuff out of the way first.  You know, like swallowing a spoonful of nasty tasting cough medicne really fast.

Friday morning when I came into work, Nora said to me, "Will you come in the back?  I need to talk to you."  So I did, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.  Now, since this happened two days ago, I can’t remember exactly word for word what was said so I’ll try my best.  Nora said that she was still upset over what happened Tuesday (you know how I didn’t get finished with the ornaments and Kristin and Shelly only priced the Glass Baron ….) and she said to me "You couldn’t have worked on those ornaments for more than half an hour."  I said, "I worked on them until at least 7" (which was about three hours) and Nora said, "No you didn’t."  Anne, I don’t know about you, but when I know I’m right about something and someone argues with me about it, I get so upset I can barely speak!  Well, that’s what happened.  I just started crying and once I start, I can’t stop!  Oh, wait, the fun doesn’t stop there!  Then she proceeded to tell me how I do the least amount of work  out of everyone there!  Well, with the exception of Wendy.  She said, "Even Audrey does more work than you."  Let me tell you about Audrey.  She’s been there for at least two months and she still doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing on the registers!  Our figures have been off for the longest time because of her!  So here I am crying and weakly saying, "Yes, I do do my work!"  And Nora says, "No you don’t.  Look at how hard everyone else works.  ANd it isn’t fair that they have to do all the work.  Look at Mary.  Look at how much she gets done."  Well, Mary is Nora’s "pet" and whatever she does is gold in Nora’s eyes.  Anne, I BUST MY ASS there!  You don’t know how many times I’ve nearly made myself sick worrying about that stupid store and getting things done!  ANd the final insult to injury, Nora wrote me up and told me "If you’re not going to do your work, I’m going to have to find someone else who will."  I can’t believe I came thisclose to losing my job!  I mean, what the fu*$?!  It took everything I could not to grab my purse and walk right out of there and never come back!  And why the piss did she do that to me ten minutes before the store opened?  Did she really think I would want to deal with customers then?  It took awhile for me to calm down.  It just got to the point that I was so exhausted from crying and my body had enough. Needless to say, I didn’t talk to Nora much for the rest of the day.  I just talked to her when I had to, when it was work related.  I didn’t "chat" with her like I usually do.  When I got home, I bravely wrote her an e-mail.  I saved it.  I’ll send it to you so you can read what I wrote.  I haven’t seen her yet since I wrote it. I will on Tuesday.  I’m a little nervous, but I dont think I said anything wrong!

Frankly, Anne, maybe this is a blessing in disguise.  Maybe this is God’s way of telling me that it’s time to move on.  Not now, I would like to work out the year, but I honestly don’t see myself there this time next year.  I’ve thought a few times about trying to get a job at the bank.  I’m pretty good with money and it just seems like a nice change of pace from retail.  I’m still trying to understand what happened on Friday.  I’m not only angry at Nora, I’m also angry at myself for not defending myself.  For blubbering like an idiot!  It’s just that when I’m put on the spot like that, I can’t think of anything to say!  Oh, I can think of a comeback …. two days later!

I told some of my co-workers about it: Shelly, Kristin, and Ed and they were all flabbergasted.  Ed said, "Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing an excellent job."  And Kristin said, "She doesn’t know what she’s talking about."   Shelly said, "You do more work than most of the people here!" I feel a lot better.  Nora was in the wrong.  When I told Ed and Kristin about it (that’s who I worked with today) they both said that Nora was clearly not herself and that’s true.  Nora usually isn’t like that.  Ed said that maybe it’s the fact that she has all those physical problems and she’s more irrritable than usual.  Well, I’m sorry that Nora is sick, but she had no right to take it out on me!  I will try to forgive and forget this, but if it happens again, I will quit sooner than later.  I am not someone’s punching bag.

Anne, will you say a prayer for me reguarding this situation?  I would really appreciate it!

YES, DISNEYWORLD IS LOOKING BETTER AND BETTER!!!

Hi Anne!

Well, it’s been day two of being stressed out.  It was me and Mary until Nora got there at one.  So here I am, busting my hump trying to get everything done before Nora got there and wouldn’t you know it we were busy!  I was just so fuc*%$# annoyed!  Nora acted ok with me, but I could just feel that "bad vibe" between us today.  Who knows, maybe it’s me.  Another thing that annoys me sometimes is that Mary is really tight with Nora, so in Nora’s eyes Mary can "do no wrong."  I really wish Nora would stop pointing out everything I do wrong and commend me on the things I do right!

Please don’t think I resent my co-workers.  I like both Nora and Mary and 95% of the time I don’t have a problem with either one of them.  It’s like your relationship with Sara or me with Danielle.  There are times when Dani can really get on my nerves and I just want to slap her!  But we’re soon fine with each other.  I know when I go to work tomorrow Nora will be fine with me.  She was fine with me today, I was just getting all freaked out!

What a nice way to start my letter, huh?  I am so glad I have you to talk to.  Once again, I feel that God guided us to each other.  Now, if only He could do that with our future husbands …!

The weather here is progressively getting colder.  I held out until the bitter end about wearing a jacket.  Well, I finally did this past week.  When I need to wear a jacket, then you know it’s cold!

One more thing about the whole Nora situation (and I’ll shut up about it, I promise).  Maybe in a way this is good that this happened.  Well, that  and the fact that every person was getting on my last nerves today.  I’ve been so nervous about flying to Floridia these past several weeks, and today I thought for the first time in awhile, "I can’t wait to get away from this place for a whole week and just relax and have fun!"  I’m hoping by the time my trip comes, I won’t even think about being afraid!

So it’s two for two for Arnold Vosloo bald.  I’ve seen him bald, with hair, with a moustache and with blonde hair and any way you look at him he is beautiful!  Ok, since you saw the Mummy Returns (more than once I hope!), you know the scene where he’s out on the balcony with Meela and he’s still that disgusting corpse and he leans in to kiss her and they both "morph" into themselves in Egyptian times and he is now in his human form?  I think it’s the first time in the movie where you actually see AV. Well when Danielle and I saw it in the movie theatre for the first time, I actually gave out this orgasmic gasp.  I couldn’t help it!  I mean when I see that man, my body just reacts!

Have you ever done inventory at a ***** store?  What is the biggest store you had to inventory?

ANother question about baldness- do you perfer slick, clean shaven heads (like AV in the Mummy) or hair on the sides (like Mitch Pileggi).  I lean more towards the former.  Yes, I know I’m strange!

Since you spoke of having a crush on your professor that prompted me to ask this,  Is there anyone in any of your classes with any potenital?  What about that "cute ponytailed guy" you mentioned several e-mails ago?  How old is DR. Tutanji?  What does he look like?  You have a picture of him you can send me?  Yes, I’m very nosy!

You know we can kid around about "what if Arnold Vosloo was my professor " and all, but in a way it’s scary.  I mean, I know I am going to be incredibly turned on by my future husband and I can’t see me passing any tests God might give me unless my future husband is as strong in his convictions as I am.  That’s why we must make conscious choices reguarding our physical relationship.  Things like "we will not be alone anywhere"  and limiting any physical activity to hand holding, side hugs and kisses on the cheek.  I mean, that would be like this big bowl of the most scrumptous, red, plump strawberries right in front of me and  I’m so hungry and I’m dying for one.  But there’s a sign that warns "Do not eat unless you place $1 in the bowl next to it".  Well, I’m gonna eat the damn strawberry, regardless of whether I have the stupid $1 or not.  It’s just too tempting!  I hope you understand what I’m trying to say here!  The strawberries are like making love and the $1 is like marraige.  SO I want to make sure I want to stay as far away from those "strawberries" as possible before I have that $1 to pay for them!  So how can my future husband and I "eat strawberries" if we’re never alone together or if we haven’t kissed passionately?

I was thinking about getting dressed up for Halloween.  Tell me what you think of this.  I have this really pretty green dress.  It almost looks medieval looking.  I was thinking about wearing that, green nailpolish, green lipstick, and really heavy green eyeshadow and spraying my hair with green glitter.  I don’t know what exactly I would be maybe some kind of celtic faire priness or something like that.  You think that sounds corny?  I don’t know if I have the guts to do it though.  Knowing me, I’ll probably chicken out and then I’ll regret it.  Yes, we do get trick or treaters at Hallmark.  We do give out candy.  My neighborhood usually gets bombarded with trick or treaters.  I hope it will be a good turnout this year.  You know with all those anthrax scares and everything.  I just wish these kids can enjoy Halloween and not worry about anything!  When I worked at ***** it seemed that the day after Halloween was when all the kids were in the store and bought candy.  I remember I looked perplexed as one lad all of eight or nine plunked down his several candy bars  at my counter so I asked him, "why are you buying candy today when last night you must of gotten enough free candy to last you for months?"  He looked at me and said with all seriousness, " You can never have too much candy!"  Hmmm … wise words from such a young mind.  To be that young and carefree again!  ONe halloween I worked and one of my coworkers brought her change purse with her and said to anyone in coustume who came in the store, "I’ll give you a dime if you give me a piece of your candy."  She had enough at the end of the night that she was able to share with her fellow co-workers.  I got a reeses peanut butter cup and a tootsie roll out of the deal.  Sweet!

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