Chix Chat

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 Anne!

Well, I taped Angel for you!  I tried to get the picture as best as I could.  It didn’t turn out too bad.  I will hold it for you, as you requested.  You didn’t have to send the postage out to me, but thank you anyway.

I laughed when you mentioned Nora putting down the crack pipe.  Now that’s all I can think about!  Once again last night I worked my ass off!  We had to take a whole card section down because we’re starting to put out our Christmas merchandise (gosh, so soon?).  I was sweating like a pig by the time everything was finished!  People get on my nerves so bad sometimes.  I mean, here I was, struggling with this big, heavy shelf, trying to put it up and trying to concentrate and everything and this lady walks up to me and goes "Where are your get well cards" (or whatever she asked me).  I wanted to say to her, "Hello?!  Can you not see that I’m a little busy here at the moment?  Why don’t you ask Cindy or Sue or why don’t you just try to find what you’re looking for yourself?  I mean, the store isn’t that freaking big!"  Of course I didn’t say that.  I just pointed to where she needed to go and grunted an answer.

I have a question for you.  Danielle and I were discussing this yesterday.  Ok, put your thinking  cap on.  Ok, say you live like in Alaska or somewhere that it gets really cold in the winter.  ANd you’re going on vacation to say Hawaii.  Ok, say the the day you leave for your trip it’s like 10 below zero where you live and it’s like in the nineties in Hawaii. So how do you dress.  I mean, you need to dress warm when you go to the airport but once you get to Hawaii, you’re going to be sweating your buns off!  Danielle suggested that someone would just wear their "Hawaii" clothes under their "Alaska" clothes and when they get to the airport, they just run into the bathroom and whip off their "ALaska" clothes and give it to the person who drove them to the airport.  That sounds like a pretty good solution.  ANy more ideas?

We’ve never really had that problem when we went to Disneyworld.  Last time I went I wore a short sleeved shirt and jeans and a long sleved jean shirt over the short sleeved shirt.  When we got to Fla, I just took the long sleeved shirt off and tied it around my waist.

Speaking of Fla, Did you hear on the news or something that there MIGHT be annother terrorist attack sometime over the next week?  Anne. I am VERY SCARED about this!  Please say a double prayer about our flight!  I mean, part of me is really calm, feeling God’s reassurance, and the other part of me is just freaking out!  And So many people I know have been flying these past few weeks and everything went okay, so why shouldn’t it be okay for me and Danielle?  As I keep thinking about September 11th, I angerily wonder "Why the FU*@ did that have to happen!"

I just got Jeff Foxworthy’s latest concert album- "Big Funny."  I love him.  He’s halarious!  Do you have any of his albums?

Well, I got to get going now.  Danielle and I are both off work today, and we’re off to the mall to get some last minute Disney things.  I haven’t even packed yet!  Yikes!!

see you soon.  Take care and God bless!

God bless the USA!

Michele

Hi Anne!

I don’t know if I like this yahoo mail so much. I might just get another hotmail account and use the same name, *****. Yes, I know I’m driving you crazy!! I’m just so used to hotmail and I’m not very good with change. What do you think I should do?

The CLD continues! Brian came over here a little bit tonight. I just felt so … well, left out. That’s the only way I can describe how I was feeling. THen my dad will unknowingly say things that really hurt me. For example- Brian bought danielle yet another stuffed animal ( our house looks like a toy store!) and my dad commented, "He better start saving his money for a wedding." I know my dad doesn’t mean to hurt me, but whenever he says things like that, it’s just a painful reminder that I don’t have anyone. I think according to my dad, I’m perfectly content with being single, and believe me, IM NOT! I mean, just because I’m a content person, it doesn’t mean I don’t long to find my soul mate and get married!

I get zits on my chin too right before my period! And I always get one right between my eyes too.

Okay, so I’ll tape Angel and I’ll send it out to you the next day. I’ll have to run out to the store before Monday and buy a blank tape. Or maybe I have one lying around here. I’m going to be pretty busy next week, getting ready for the trip. OUr flight is six am Saturday morning, which means we have to be there extra extra early! Yikes! A whole week of not e-mailing each other?! Well, if you still want to write to me every day, you can. You can just send short, one paragraph e-mails!

You should have said "you suck" in those e-mails you sent to that tapes site. The noive of them! XD

I chuckled at your "Angel acting like Ray" dream. Perish the thought! You probably wanted to find Ray afterwards and shake him and shout, "Stay away from my dreams, scumbag!!!" I can just see the question mark above his head and the puzzled look on his face!

It was another good day at work for me, Thank God. Nora said to me, "You’ve been doing so much better, Michele." Now mind you this is only one week since the "incident" and frankly, I’m just doing my job like I always do. I think that might have been Nora’s way of apologizing to me. I know some people can’t just come out and say "I’m sorry" (it’s difficult for me to sometimes!). If that was her way of apologizing, then I accept. But believe me, if if happen again, this time I’ll be ready!

—

Hi again!

It is now Saturday morning. I have to go to work at 2. After work me, Shelly and Kristin (and maybe Danielle) are going to the movies (AGAIN?!). We’re either going to see From Hell or Thirteen Ghosts. Either one I’m still going to sleep with the lights on tonight!

I can’t believe a week from now I’ll be in Disneyworld. There is so much I need to do. Knowing me, I’ll wait till the last minute! I’m not too worried if I forget something. I mean it’s not like I’m going to another planet. There are stores down in Floridia that sell basically everything I need. I think the most important thing to pack is a lot of extra clean underwear. And believe me, I have enough bra and panty sets that I can open my own lingere store

Oh yeah, I forgot one more movie when I was giving you that list: Don’t Say A Word=

So that’s what, eighteen movies I’ve seen this year? and it’s only October. That’s about an average of two movies a month. It just seems like I’ve been to the movies a lot more than that.

How’s the weather there? It is fuc*$#@ freezing here!! I can’t believe that not even three days ago it was warm enough that I wore a short sleeved shirt, and last night I wore my winter pj’s! I dont like it when it’s too hot, but I don’t like it when it’s too cold, either. And this isn’t even cold cold yet. BBBRRRRRR!!!!!

—

Hi once again! It is now Sunday. I got my period! Hooray!!! Normally I wouldn’t be so estatic to have my period, but I know I’m be safe for my trip. WHEW! Now all I have to worry about is having a safe flight!

Well, Shelly and I did see Thirteen Ghosts last night. It was VERY WIERD! Yes, I slept with the lights on last night! I don’t know why I torture myself like that. I still say The Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time.

Audrey screwed up on the registers again today! She just really gets on my nerves. I mean, first of all she’s ALWAYS smiling! You know, like "Love that Joker?" What’s up with that? and it also gets on my nerves the way she says "oh my gosh". She says it like Goofy "Oh my gorsh!" I just want to slap her when she says it, and she says it all the time. THen while Shelly and I were trying to fix Audrey’s mistakes, Audrey acts all innocent, like she wasn’t the one who made them! I just wish Nora would let her go! FYI- I had to call Nora last night and then this morning because I was having trouble closing out one of the credit card machines and she acted fine with me. Another WHEW! to add to the list.

Oh! My rating for 13 Ghosts is .

I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the movies again until after I get home from Floridia. THen I’ll have a ton I want to see!

I was meaning to ask you, do you belong to the Crossings book club? It’s a christian book club. I belong to it and I really like it. I think their website is www.crossings.com Check it out sometime.

well, that’s it for now! I hope you had a good weekend. Til next time take care and God bless!

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

Hi Anne!

You know, I could feel your prayers when I walked into work today.  Danielle was praying for me as well.  And I like to think my future husband was too (although he wouldn’t known specifically why).  Nora was fine with me.  It was almost as if Friday never happened.  She asked me to go to the bank to do the deposit and I did (I’m the one who usually does- I do the least amount of work-HA!) and she thanked me.  Before she left she told me to have a nice day and I returned it.  Wierd, huh?  Well, it was me Kristin and Shelly again tonight and we didn’t have anything to price, but Nora told us to dust and we went over the store with a fine-toothed comb!  Danielle drove me to work and I said to her, "I wish Anne was here right now!"  I’m sure you would have walked in with me for moral support.  ANd once again I have to point out how much it totally sucks that we don’t live close to each other!

I did mention to my mom that I was thinking about trying to get a job at the bank in a few months.  When she asked why I just replied that I needed a change.  I think God will give me some kind of sign when the time is right.  I think what happened on Friday was God’s way of preparing me.  I’m honestly not scared to move on.  In every situation I’m in, I always ask myself "What’s the worst that could happen?"  That way I don’t freak out so much.

Forgive my language, but that Joewiel sounds like a total prick!  And usually guy bosses are so much eaiser to get along with than girl bosses.  They’re not as catty and irritable.  Was he much older than you?  That’s another thing that makes me see red.  A "boss" who is only a few years older than me, and looks down at me.  When I worked at *****, Dana was one of the office managers (this was before I became one) and she was only about three years older than me and she tried to act all high and mighty.  Of course I was too quiet then to fight back.  Now I would be like, "Whatever".  Then Jeff was one of the floor managers.  He was about my age (about 21 at the time) and he was married with two kids.  Anyway, he and Monica (another office manager she was in her late 30’s at the time) were talking about his kids.  Well, I was standing right there and I just asked nicely "How old are your kids. Jeff?"  Jeff turns to me and looks at me like "Excuse me, child, but you just inturrupted an important, adult conversation," and he says really snottily, "Two and six months" (or whatever he said).  And I was thinking to myself, "Fuc*^% ass#@!(!!"  Its like HELLO?!  I am not a child!  Why does society think you’re an "adult" if you’re married and/or have kids?  Meanwhile Jeff had to get married because he knocked up his girlfriend (and she was only 16 at the time!)  Yeah, I call that a mature, responsible adult!

See, now I’m thinking at how they treated me like a child at ***** and I’m starting to get mad!!  Well, maybe this is good in a way, it’s keeping my mind off the current situation.

Oh!  Another time that made me pissed.  Ok, first of all, why do people assume that just because you’re a virgin, you know nothing about sex?  That you’re completely innocent and naive?  This story involves me, Monica (manager),  Dotty (real name Dorothy.  She worked back in the deli and she was in her 40’s at the time) and Missy (cashier who was in her early 20’s at the time).  FYI I was about 25 or so.  Okay, Dotty was standing by the office, talking to Monica and Missy and I walked over to the office the same time.  I think she was getting change and I was getting a phone card for a customer.  Well, whatever Monica and Dotty were talking about, they hushed up as soon as Missy and I walked over.  Then Monica said something like, "Well, Missy’s probably been there and done that"  Missy was a wild girl, to say the least.  She drank, smoked and I know she lost her virginity when whe was about sixteen or so.  Anyway, I got the phone card and walked away, but Missy stood there and Monica and Dotty started talking again.  I don’t know if it was what they were talking about before or maybe they started a new conversation, but I took "been there and done that " as something referring to sex.  So of course they would have continued with Melissa around because they didn’t want to damage my virginal ears.  OOOHHH!!!  That made me so mad!!  I wanted to say, "Hey!  Just because I haven’t had 20 dic&% shoved up me, doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about sex!"  Then a few times Monica said to me regarding Chaz: "He’s way over your head."  Excuse me?!  I know he drinks!  I know he messes around with girls!  There is nothing anyone could say about him that would shock me!  Why do people just assume I’m this innocent, wide eyed child who lives in her own little world?  Ok, maybe I do sometimes, but I can face reality just like anyone else!

side note- Missy has a kid now.  A boy, I think. I don’t think she married the father.  She was always friendly with me, but she was your typical "white trailer trash".  I know it isn’t right to judge, but that’s the only way to describe her.

and lets just say that she did marry the baby’s father.  Compare her wedding night  with mine  !

Anne, I’m going to end this letter now.  It’s raining and I’m afraid the power will go out!  And I don’t feel like retyping this letter!!
OH!  I’m glad everything went well with your bosses daughter!  New babies are always so exciting!
 
catch ya later!  Take care and God bless!
 
Michele

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

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!!!