The sniffles, coughs and bloody eye

One of the pitfalls of working in retail is that you are exposed to a lot of different germs. When you interact with that many people, 5 days a week, you are going to get sick. It's just a fact. And when you work with cash and interact with a lot of people, your chances of getting sick are higher. I am currently getting over my second cold this fall. I suspect that I never really got over my first cold so that is why this last one was worst then the first. I actually had to go to the doctor. Something that I avoid. Why go for just a cold? They can't do anything for that. Well, I popped a blood vessel in my eye so the doctor I went. I didn't go because I thought I needed to but everyone told me I had too. I have to admit it was a good thing because I do have an ear infection (Surprise!) and "yuckiness" in my lungs. My eye however is fine and will clear up on it's own. The other good thing about this visit, was I finally found a doctor in Brooklyn I really like. Dr. Azad was so nice and very warm. I really felt comfortable talking with her. So maybe, next time I get sick I won't need a blood vessel to pop to go the doctor.

In other news, I am watching Iowa vs. Michigan on TV. I miss watching my boys play. It's kind of funny. When I went to Iowa, I could have cared less about watching them play. I voluntarily worked on game days because they were the easiest days to work. We were dead during the game, giving us plenty of time to get work done that we normally get done on a Saturday but since leaving Iowa, I've become attach to the team. I guess it's one thing that keeps me connected to home. It's something that I still have in common with my friends who still live in Iowa. I know we have more in common then that but it's comforting to know that they are at home cheering on the Hawkeyes, while I am here. Iowa Alumni have a New York chapter that meets every Saturday in a bar in the upper east side to watch games. I have always wanted to go but didn't want to go alone. I haven't been able to convince anyone to go with me and I mostly have to work on Saturdays anyway. This Thanksgiving, with my Sister and Dad are in town, we are going to try to go for the Iowa-Nebraska game. I think that will be fun and get a chance to meet some fellow Iowans in New York. So, with that I say, Go Hawkeyes!!!

Whats on my book shelf

I have been reading a lot of teen or YA (young adult) novels lately. I blame my sister. She lent my Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Trilogy last summer and since then I have been hooked. Ok, so may be it's not fair to blame her because I read many Teen novels before then but since then that is pretty much all I have wanted to read. Some of coworkers make fun of me because I am an adult reading books written for kids but they are so Good! Well, most of them. I like them because they are easy and fast and fun. They are not going to challenge my world view or make me think. They are just easy, breezy fun books, mostly about vampires, werewolves, fairies and an occasional dystopia world thrown in. It's all those reasons that I need to read them. I'm stressed out at work. Frustrated that I haven't been able to find another job that will pay me more. I'm not exactly where I thought I would be at this point in my life that I just need an escape and Teen books give me that. So my friends my scoff but I have already read 23 books in 2011. How many have you read?

Here are some of my favorites Teen novels I have read in the last year. I'm posting in no particular order.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: If you haven't read them, Why the hell not? The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay make up the best series I have ever read. They are very complete. The characters are strong and well fleshed, the story is interesting and Collins perfectly balances the action/violence with the romance and stops every now and then for much needed comic relief. Go buy them now!

White Cat by Holly Black: It's part crime novel, part mystery and part family drama. It was recommended by several of the authors I follow on twitter and it didn't disappoint. I can't wait for the second book Red Glove to come out in a week.

The Mortal Instruments Trilogy (part 1) and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare: Both series are about Shadow Hunters. Humans ascended from Angels who protect the world from Demons. It has a little bit every super natural beings, which is fun. TMI takes place in modern day New York, while Clockwork Angel takes place in Victorian England, giving it a little Steampunk feel to it. There really should be more Steampunk in teen fiction.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride: I picked this up because I thought the title was awesome. I was so glad that the book was just as awesome. Sam, is a college dropout, he works at a fast food restaurant and he just found out he's a Necromancer. It's a tough life. Very funny and I hope she continues with these characters because I want to read more!

Shiver, Linger, Lament and Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater: Shiver and Linger are about werewolves and are pretty awesome and Lament and Ballad are about fairies but really should be read for James. He's kind of the perfect boy ever!

Divergent by Veronica Roth: This book isn't even out yet. I got an advance reader copy from Harper Collins. Several of the authors I follow on twitter where raving about it so I had to read it and it lived up to the hype. It's a dystopian novel that takes place in Chicago. The people have broken up into factions based on what they value. Knowledge, Selflessness, honesty, Courage and Peace. At 16, you choose which faction you want to belong too. For Tris, her choice is difficult. Does she stay with her family or abandon them for another faction. It's kind of like the Hunger Games because it has a strong female protagonist and is at times very violent but that's about where the similarities end. I highly recommend it when it comes out in May.

Ok so I'm tiring here so I'm just going to post a just a few more titles that I really like and you can find them all on my goodreads page.

Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck Before I fall by Lauren Oliver Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

So what are you all reading? Any suggestions on what I should read next?

People Suck and I'm not loving my job right now

I think I need a new job. I had such a great week with Kat but as soon as she left, my week just went downhill. I kind of hate retail. Maybe it's just he clientele at my store. Park Slope is a fairly wealthy neighborhood in Brooklyn. If you look around, you wouldn't really notice that we are in an economic downturn with their Louis Vuitton bags and Gucci sunglasses. They all feel entitled to everything and for too long the store had been letting them get away with everything. Well, we are in an economic downturn so we are not being as carefree with our exceptions as they have been in the past. I hate when they pull out the "I'm a member and shop here all the time" excuse. Well, so am I, so you're point being? Plus if you shop here all the time then how is it that this is the first time I have seen you? Anyway, they suck. The other reason I'm not really enjoying work lately is some of my cashiers have been really getting on my nerves. Ok, only really 2 of them and unfortunately they are like the only full-time cashiers we have and even more unfortunately, their hours seem to always coincide with my hours. If I open, one of them is my opener. If I close, they are my closers. If I am a mid, one is already there before I get there and the other one comes in to replace them later. I feel like I get no relief! I know they are not only working with me but it really does feel like that. One of them is hearing impaired but it's not that she can't hear me, she just doesn't listen. The other one is just so unsure of herself. She has no self-confidence. I would feel sorry for her if she didn't make my life that much harder. Between the two of them, I spend more time correcting their mistakes and basically cleaning up after them. It's exhausting. So basically, I am saying a need a new job because I don't know how much I can take this. I need a vacation.

Updates of sorts

So, Challenge update. I did reach a minor milestone. The 10 lbs mark! but then I had the weekend off and didn't really exercise (it rained all weekend) and I wasn't really watching what I was eating! PIZZA. So I gained 2 lbs back But I'm still down 8, so that's good. I know I'm not winning but I think I am one of the leaders. So I'm pretty happy about that. The challenge ends on June 1st but I think this is just the beginning for me. I want to keep it up all summer if not longer. I really do want to lose weight. I don't want to be over 200lbs anymore. I want to be able to go into the Express or H&M and fit into their clothes. Not just squeeze myself into. I want to be able to wear the latest trends without feeling stupid. But really I'm tired of my feet hurting after a day of work. I know that If I wasn't carrying around all those extra pounds that they wouldn't hurt so badly. I don't want to be fat anymore.

It's been a pretty stressful couple of weeks at work. My friend, Lourdes and fellow head cashier, broke her arm and wrist playing kickball. She is out for at least six weeks, longer if it turns out she needs surgery. If that wasn't enough, a few people are leaving to go to the new store on the Upper East Side and 1 was fired. We have already been working on a thin schedule (which is still pretty robust compared the thin schedules I'm used too from my old store) so we have gone from understaffed to severely understaffed. The morale in the store was pretty low before and this has only made things worse. To cover things, I have had to work on days I don't normally. I'm closing tonight and opening tomorrow. Luckily, the closing Manager is Laurie, so she is going to let me leave early and she will finish up the nights paperwork. There isn't that much when you close, anyways. It's just counting down all the tills and I'll have all the ones we are not using down before I leave anyway. I'm planning on calling a car to take me home. I'm not sure I want to wait around for the bus and or train. It's days like this that I really miss my car. Yesterday, I just missed the bus because I was across that street and didn't feel like risking my life to catch it. Fortunately, it was in the middle of the day and there is like a bus every five minutes but still annoying.

So that's what's going on with me right now. I'll try to update more often but I say that all the time. ;-)

The Challenge

A group of us at work are having a weight challenge. I think they are 7 or 8 of us who are participating. We have all set a goal of how much we want to lose (or gain in the case of the few of the guys who are participating) by June 1st and who ever gets the closest to their goal wins the pot. We each put in $10. Yesterday we all weighed ourselves so it kind of made it the first official day of the challenge even though many of us have already been dieting for a week. I have already lost 4 lbs! It would be really nice to win because hey that's $70-80 but I'm just happy that I'm doing something to lose weight. I have struggled with my weight my entire life, as you all know. Three years ago, I lost 30 lbs with Nutrisystems and I was really proud of myself but in the three years since I have gained it all back. I thought, naively or wishful thinking, that after I moved to NY that the pounds would just come off because I don't have a car and I pretty much walk everywhere but that's not really true. I do do a lot of walking but I mostly walk to the bus or subway and take them places. So my brilliant plan was not so brilliant. So the new plan is when I have close at work, I'm going to walk to work. I figure it will take me at least an hour to get to work. I do live about 40 blocks away so it's not that bad of a walk. I just have to make sure to bring deodorant so I don't smell when I get to work. I have already started bringing my lunch to work so I'm not tempted to eat out at say, Five Guys once a week. (Which is delicious!) and I have started eating breakfast. I'm never really been much of a breakfast eater. I'm usually not hungry in the morning so I don't eat. I know this just makes me hungrier later and then I over eat at lunch or whenever I do eat but it didn't make sense for me to eat when I'm not hungry. But I am eating breakfast now and having small snacks through out the day so I don't over eat. I'm really exciting about the whole thing and I hope I do well. I hope we all do. Wish me luck!

Dumb Criminals

Very rarely do we catch shoplifters. You have to be pretty dumb to get caught especially in a climate where companies are afraid of being sued for false accusations. Businesses have to be 100% sure that the person really did steal the items they have been accused. So basically, the only way they are going to be arrested if they actually admit to it. Well, we had 2 people try to shoplift from our store. The first guy tried to go out our ramp thinking that since he did see the security gates on both sides that it had no security sensors. He was wrong. His books beeped. The best part of the story is our Security guard asking the guy "What do you think your doing?". Really the best question ever! The guy so embarrassed. Put the books down and quickly left the store and that was it. The real genius was on Saturday. I wasn't there for the first guy but was working on Saturday. I was in the middle of doing a return when in the corner of my eye I could see one of my cashiers trying to get my attention. So, I ask her what she needs and our conversation went kind of like this.

cashier: "um... I just saw someone leave the store with a bunch of books and our paid-detail go after them. What do we do now?"

me: when did you see this?

cashier: a couple of minutes ago.

me: have they returned yet?

cashier: no.

me: ok, um, well. Let me tell (my manager) Laurie.

So I relay this story to Laurie and as I am finishing up, the Security guard (who looks 12) calls her to tell her the same thing I just did. At this point, it's time for my break. So, I clock out. Go downstairs to get my bag and as I'm leaving the store to get dinner the paid-detail cop has returned with the shoplifter in handcuffs. He didn't exactly look like you expect a shoplifter to look like. He was definitely in hipster gear. horn-rimmed classes, hoody jacket, fedora and converse. He looked so embarrassed, as he should be, when she brought him in but it was my break time and I was hungry so I wasn't going to stick around to see what happened. Well, I missed the excitement because like I said, we don't catch that many shoplifters. Laurie called our store manager, she wasn't in, so she called one of ASM's to ask what to do. He said call the cops and if they think we have enough evidence to charge him they will arrest him. So, she did call the cops but so did the paid-detail officer and our other manager who was there too. So there was like 20 cops walking around with nothing to do. The shoplifter was obviously not a pro because he immediately confesses. I guess he figured that if he admitted to it that we wouldn't arrest him but he was wrong. He admitted to it and he was going to jail and since it was a Saturday night. He would have to spend the weekend in jail and all for $180 worth of books. The best part was he was wearing a name badge. He works for Saturday Night Live! So he definitely wasn't going to work that night! I really hope that they do a skit on it next week!

Goodbyes

So, I'm watching the replay of the TRL finale and it is kind of making me sad. I loved this show. I remember coming home from high school and putting it on. I remember watching the madness of Time Square and having a little crush on Carson Daly. It really wasn't the same after he left. It was just a great show. Where else could you watch 'NSYNC, Limp Bizkit, Snoop Dogg and Korn in the same show? No where. So, Goodbye TRL. You had a good run and you will be missed.

Last night after my marathon shifts at work, I went out to a Goodbye party for my fellow coworker, Brian. Brian was one of the cafe leads but unfortunately that didn't pay the rent so he is moving back home to upstate New York. I really like Brian. I thought he was a really good guy and liked chatting with him when I was counting the cafe drawer or letting him into the cash room to get his Godiva for the cafe. It's a shame this city is so expensive. I mean, other then that it's a really great city. His predicament did get me to think about how I am doing financially. For the short term, I'm doing ok. I'm not going to go hungry ok. It's a good thing that I have worked for B&N for so long because I my salary is high enough that I can cover rent and my bills but barely. If I made anything less then I do now I would be in trouble. I do know that in the long term, what I'm doing now is going to cut it. I'm going to have to start looking for something that pays better but for now I'm not going to worry about it. I think at this point I'm going to wait for the new year to hit the pavement. I don't know if that is a good or bad idea but I just can't imagine of dealing the stress of job hunting and the holidays.

ick

It's going to be a rough 24 hours. I am about to leave to go work. I am closing tonight and opening tomorrow. Meaning I will be at the store until midnight, it'll probably take me about 30 mins, give or take, to get home, go to bed, get up and go right back to work at 8am. That sucks. I thought clopening was illegal but I guess not. Well, that's not true. My friend Jessy closes every Friday and opens every Saturday but she has to because it is the only way it works in her schedule. I do not have that conflict but I'm just going to deal with it. What else can I do? But if you see me Sunday around 4pm. Watch out because I'm sure I'll be cranky.

One or the other.

The store that I work in is two floors. It has an elevator and escalator. Today they were both broken. How does that happen? The escalator is broken off and on since I have worked there so that wasn't really surprised. At least this time it was the down that wasn't working. Usually it's the up and that is killer to walk up. Well, since the escalator dudes had the down completely blocked off and we couldn't walk down it, the up was turned off so it could be up and down. Annoying. Well, when I got to work and say the escalator in pieces I was all set to take the elevator, even though I am a tad bit claustrophobic and really don't like that elevator and I'm always afraid of getting stuck in it. Surprise it's not working either. And even bigger surprise! Two of my coworkers, did get stuck in it yesterday. I knew I had reasons to fear it. So all day long I got "I can't believe both the escalator and elevator are not working". Tell me about. You only have to be for a few minutes, I have to be here all day. I can only hope one of them is fixed by tomorrow but since the escalator was still in pieces when I left and no one has come yet about the elevator I'm not optimistic.

In other news, they were filming "Flights of the Conchord" on 5th Ave, Brooklyn today. I actually have never seen a full episode of the show but it is pretty exciting to see something get filmed. I was on the bus so I didn't get see much, only what was in passing but I recognized one of the guys from the show. So, that is the second film location I have witness since moving here. Cool, huh?

My day

I had plan about what I wanted to write tonight but now that I'm sitting down I can't remember what that plan was. I'm sure whatever it was was both deep and profound and would have blown your mind. Ok, that is most unlikely but I'm sure it was better then this.

So, anyway, today was kind of crazy. I opened, which for me, is usually a bad start of the day. It's actually not a bad shift. I do get to leave at 4 and have the entire evening to do whatever I want but I mostly come home and take a nap. So really, I don't have an entire evening to do whatever I want. When I got to work, there were gentlemen there scooping out the place. They were installing more security cameras. So that was interesting. I was in the cash room when they asked if they could come in and take a look. There is a panel in the cash room that leads them inside the wall so they can do whatever they need to do hook up all the wires and stuff. It was kind fun and creepy when the guy, who was then in the wall, yelling at his partner who was in the other room. It was like this disembodied voice coming from the walls. So that made the mundane task of preparing the deposit more interesting. Then our CRM who does the institutional accounts had two classes come in. There is a fund that takes classes around Brooklyn and maybe even New York to Barnes and Noble and lets each kid pick up to $50 worth of books. cool, right. Well the first class went off without a hitch. The second class didn't. They took forever, the kids were kind of divas and left our kids department a mess. My friend Lourdes called out so I had to wait to take my lunch until the class was finished. So, I was cranky and dealing with kids. Two things that do go together with me. After I came back from break, we got in 4 boxes of CD's and DVD's. We actually don't have a Music department. Just a few spinners we put DVD's on and our back stock is already full. Where are we going to put all these new DVD's. Especially since most of them are Christmas DVD's. Where are they going to go? Or what do we take off to put them out? It was at this point that I stickered most of the strict on sales for tomorrow when my shift ended and I passed off the chore to Kathleen. Sorry Kathleen. It was a rather unusual day. I'm pretty stoked that tomorrow I have off. I think I might go to Macy's and take advantage of their Veteran's Day sale. .

Here comes the sun. maybe

The last 2 days I had to open. Which means, I get up at 5:30am. Leave my apartment around 7 so I can get to work at 7:30 and don't get leave until 4pm. When I leave my apartment the sun is just starting to rise and when I leave work, closer to 4:30 because for whatever reason I can never leave on time, the sun is just about to set. It's like I never get to see the sun anymore. Well, today I close so I don't have to leave for work for another hour so of course that means today it's overcast and cloudy. Where is that bloody sun?! It just sucks! I hope this not a trend. I'm sure it's just left over from the storms we had in the northeast this past week but I want some sun. I just a little bit of sun.

I am hoping that the sun will come out tomorrow because that is my day off. I wonder what I'll do. I'm thinking a movie if the sun is still absent. Maybe, I'll go to a sports bar to see Iowa play. I did go to that school. I can pretend to care for an hour or two. Especially if there are wings involved.

Promotion!

So, it's been a little over a month since I have moved to Brooklyn and so far things are going pretty well. So well in fact that I have already received my first promotion. I am the new head cashier. Now for those who know me probably thinks this is a little funny, I mean I do. I have had chances before to be a head cashier before but turned it down. I kinda hate being stuck at the registers all day. So why would I accept a job that would pretty much do that? Well, A) in the past when the opportunity presented itself, I was already a lead so it would have been a lateral move and not a vertical one. So, I would be taking a job with more responsibility but for no more pay. When I transferred stores, my new store didn't have a lead position open so I had to settle for just a bookseller position. Which was fine because I was hoping that I wouldn't be there for long. Either something would open in the store or at the home office. and B) my new store is set up differently then my old store, so while the position is the same, I would also be in charge of all the displays around registers (with my fellow head cashiers) and there is always at least one other cashier ringing, giving the head cashier to work on those said displays. So, I wouldn't be completely stuck at the registers all the time. I have pretty much done everything else in the store. I have worked at the registers, info, on the floor, kids, receiving, magazines and yes, in the cafe (don't ask me to make anything, though) so really this was the next step for me. A new challenge for me to conquer. Yippee! I am a little nervous about it. I mean, I know I can do it but all the paperwork is a little intimidating and then there are the customers. I want to do a give good customer service but I also don't want to have the customers walk all over me. I really don't like the mantra "the customer is always right" because let's face it, they're not. I mean, I'm sorry that the book didn't turn out the way you thought but you should checked that before the two weeks were up. Oh, and I'm sorry that you didn't like the book your friend gave you and even sorrier they didn't get you a gift receipt but you're stuck with it now and the excuse that I didn't know doesn't fly with me either. The return policy, like in most stores, is on the back of the receipt. All the customer has to do is turn over the receipt and they would know that they were over the 14 days. There is a fine line between sticking to the letter of the law and doing what's best for the customer and the store. Everyone keeps telling me that people in Brooklyn are ruder then the Midwesterners I'm used to and I keep telling them no they are not. New Yorkers, at times, can be more aggressive but really they are not any different then anyone else so I'm not really worried about that. What, I'm worried about is who do you say no to and who do you make the exception for. I would hate to be the reason someone stopped shopping at the store but on the other hand, they probably were not a good customer to begin with. So, tomorrow I start my new position. Too bad, I'm learning how to open first because I would have loved to have slept in but I have to learn how to do it eventually. Wish me luck!

Good Times Good Times

Last night after work, I went out to a bar with some people I work with. We went to a bar called the Dram Shop. It was a lot of fun. It was the first time that I spent any time with my coworkers after work so it was a really kind of a bonding experience for me. It also reminding me of going out to the bars in Iowa City after work. I really miss you guys! We got off of work around quarter to midnight and I left the bar around 3am. I left early. From what I was able to gather, NYC bars don't have to close at a certain time, as long as they have customers who are still drinking, they can stay open until 5 in the morning if they want and apparently some of my coworkers have took them up on the offer on more then one occasion. In fact, some of them are such regulars at the Dram Shop that they went there on their lunch break and had dinner and beer before returning to work.

On the way to the bar, I was telling my friend David where I live. He gave that face, like really? It turns out my neighborhood, Sunset Park was once a not so nice neighborhood. In fact, as recent as 10 years ago, Sunset Park was in the midst of a Gang Turf War between the Mexicans and the Dominicans and most of the fighting was happening in my area of Sunset Park. It got so bad that when it was reported there was a shooting in Brooklyn, it always was in Sunset Park. Things that I wish I didn't know but thanks to the increase of police in the neighborhood and the end of the war, Sunset Park is a safe neighborhood again. Now, this was a surprise to me because as I walk around the neighborhood I see a lot of families. They sit on their stoops at night, playing cards and talking so obviously they are not worried about being shot. This was the first time anyone had ever mentioned anything negative about Sunset Park so it never occurred to me it was anything other then safe. But don't worry friends and family. It's safe now.

P.S. Maybe this shouldn't be mentioned to my mom. She worries about me enough as it is.

To the Left, To the Left

Yesterday, my coworker Lourdes, was having a bad day. Her second customer of the day called her inconsiderate. Why, I don't know. Lourdes, is one of the nicest people I have met in the store so far (though everyone has been very nice to me) and I have seen her with customers and she isn't inconsiderate so I wonder what was said to make the customer say that. Anyway, Lourdes stewed on it for awhile. I know I would, until a very burly man's cell phone and his ring tone was Beyonce's Irreplaceable. It was the funniest thing I have seen in New York so far. We were all just busted out laughing it was exactly what Lourdes needed to get out of her funk. I guess it really is one of those things you had to be there to truly appreciate the humor of it. I mean, this man was huge. The kind of guy that spends all his free time in the gym, pumping iron and to have his ring tone to be Beyonce! Hilarious!! Sometimes it's little moments like that makes working in retail fun because people are strange and you never know what you are going to get.

In other news, I have today off. I wasn't supposed too but after looking at my schedule again, I realized that that I was scheduled to work hours this week. Which I would have worked no complaints because I need the hours but it's a B&N no no. So, my manager Nancy took me off the schedule for today. So, now what do I do. If I had known last week that I would have today, off I would have tried to get day tickets for today for the US Open instead of night tickets tomorrow but oh well. I know I could have got up early and headed out to Queens and see if they had any extra tickets. I have been told, that on the day of, the USTA makes more tickets available, depending on how many tickets have already been sold for the day but I just couldn't drag myself up and anyways, I was planning on trying this on Saturday on my original day off. I have to reign my enthusiasm. If I had my way, I would go every day but I just can't afford it. So, I'm going tomorrow night and I'm hoping the USTA will come through and put the Roddick v. Santoro match at night because that would be awesome! and maybe Saturday. So back to what am I going to do today. Well, grocery shopping is a must. I'm pretty much out of all my food. I have diet coke and cereal but that is about it. Well, I do have my nutrisystem's meals but I am out of salad and without the salad or bread, those meals are not filling enough. So, grocery store is on the list but that shouldn't take me more then 30 mins., depending on the lines at the store. So, what else? There is tennis I could watch (like I'm doing now) or I could finally unpack the last five boxes I have left. Hmm...I think I'll think on this while I watch more tennis.

Spring Break!

I am no longer in school but that isn't stopping me from taking Spring Break! I'm pretty sure that Tony, one of my managers isn't too pleased about it because I took this week off, my friend Jessica took this week and Jackie took a day off (3 days total because of we get 2 days off anyway) to go to St. Louis with me and then all the other students that work with us. Now the only reason I'm taking this week off is because I have too. If I don't use my vacation before the end of this month, I lose it. I personally thinks that sucks. Why should I be punished for not using my time off. I think it should carry over my unused days but it doesn't work that way so oh well. I really don't have that big of plans for the first couple of days. Today is St. Patrick's Day, so that means later I will go out drinking. I think I make potato soup or is that not a good idea? potato famine anyone? Wednesday, Jackie and I are going to St. Louis. It's not quite Vegas, which was our first choice but it will still be a fun time. Maybe, we will hit some riverboat casinos while we are there. She has never been before so I think we will have to go up in the Arch. Other then that, I think we are just going to wing it while we are there. I'm just so excited not to be working this week! Yeah Spring Break!

Snow Day

You know that the weather is bad when the University of Iowa is closed. I have lived in Iowa City for six years and I have never seen that happen before. Ever! I remember having to climb over snow drifts to get to classes when I went to school there because they wouldn't cancel classes, except for the intelligent professors who cancelled their classes because it was the right thing to do. The Mall closed today too. That was a surprise! Apparently, they didn't even open this morning but I guess no one told that to my ASM Annie, who made it too work and then is now stuck there. Oh, well, She has a lot of free time to put up tables and endcaps now without the pesky annoyance of customers. What I would give to have all that free time. Not that I want to leave my warm apartment or anything. I'm pretty stoked to get a snow day. I haven't had one since High School. The only thing that really sucks about this is that I'm not going to get paid for today but then again, the pay off is that I don't have to go to work today. So, now I have three days off in a row because yesterday was my day off and tomorrow is my other day off. That's pretty sweet. Now, I am going to enjoy my snow day. I think I do some reading, maybe later watch a movie. Now, if only I was forward enough thinking and bought more Diet Coke because I am almost out.

Indecision Decision

I am bad at making decisions. I mean, there is a reason that I usually get the same thing every time I go out to a restaurant. If I know it's what I like, why rock the boat? Well, because of my inability to make decisions, I feel like I live in perpetual cycle of indecisions. I have been talking about moving from Iowa City since I graduated. Three years later, I am basically in the same place I was when I graduated. The only difference is that I know live on my own and I am a Lead Bookseller instead of just a Bookseller. A subtle difference I know but there is a difference. In the past when I have thought about moving, I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I got there. I think that was big part of my stalling. I really didn't want to move to Chicago, just to do what I do here you know. Would that really be a step forward or just a lateral move but in a different location? But I know what I want now, it's just a matter of figuring out how to get it. I want to be a buyer for Barnes and Noble. I know that I would be good at it. My years of experience of bookselling has given me an insight to what our customers want that I think gets lost on some of our current buyers who haven't worked in a store in a while or haven't worked in one of our stores period. My first attempt, sadly didn't work out but that was to expected. I mean, I am only a Lead and I live in Iowa City. Not exactly a hot bed of activity, even if it is the same town as the Iowa Writer's Workshop. The one thing good that did come out of this is that even after rejection, this is still something I want and I am willing to go through the hoops to get it and my information and name is in B&N HR records I won't have to fill out the application again. I can only hope that I left a good enough impression on the HR representative that when another position comes up that she will think of me again. I really hope so. I have been given a lot of support from my management here in my store and they have all have given good advice but for now I am operating on the wait and see approach. I know what you are thinking, this is more of my indecision but I don't think so. I have to plans in mind and they really depend on where my sister is going come August. This is a really big decision and I want to make the most informed decision. She should know in at least 2 months what she is doing and then I can make mine. In the meantime, I do have an application out in HR and there is always the possibility that another oppurtunity will arise so who knows what will happen. In the meantime, I am going to do all that I can to learn as much as possible about my store. I want to know all the aspects of how the store runs and everything like that. So that is my plan. I think it's a good one but only time will tell.

I am so tired of winter. I know it's January but it's cold. Really Really Cold! And every weekend since the beginning of December, it has snowed. Maybe there was 1 weekend that it didn't but I'm just sick of it. I need to move to a warmer climate and stat!

So, I really don't know what to say here but I felt I should post something since I haven't posted anything in a while. This weekend I am going to the Mall of America with Mom, Kat and Jackie! I can't wait! I do love shopping. It's been a really long time since Mom and I have gone to the Mall Of America with other people. It's been like 2 years since Kat has come with us. I'm a little nervous, I have to admit. I know we are going to have a lot of fun because Kat and Jackie are awesome but Mom and I can be very set in our ways. We've been making this trip for several years now so we know each other's habits and such. It'll be fine and great! I could really use a break from work, especially since I am working 7 straight days in a row so I could have this weekend off without taking any vacation time. Come Thursday, I am going to be pulling my hair out, I'll be so ready to go! It really can not come soon enough!

Merry Christmas?

I like my job but there are things I really don't like about my job. For one, the whole month of December! Every day gets a little more busier and a little more stressful. It is almost like you can feel people on the verge of freaking out. With every passing day, people are getting less and nice and more and more impatient and in some cases down right rude. I'm sorry We don't have that book you wanted, maybe you should have started your shopping months ago. It's not like Christmas happens every December 25th, oh wait it does. And if dealing with people isn't bad enough, it's listening to Christmas music all the time. I used to love Christmas music but after listening it too all weekend long. Almost 32 hours of it! I'm just so sick of it but it doesn't matter how many times I hear the Christmas Song or Frosty the Snowman, I can't stop singing along to it. Making it even more annoying! This year has even been more challenging then usual because of the ice storms we have already had this year. It's been kind of unusual that we have had two major ice storms this early. We are still trying to make up from first Ice storm that happen while I was in Portland and last week we had freezing rain. (I didn't mind that one so much because it made the mall close early so I got paid for a full shift even though I only worked for 3 hours!) Because of these storms, we had to cut hours so we have been understaffed for all of the holiday season and that sucks. How are we supposed to give the good customer service when we are constantly running back and forth. I can't even get my v-carts shelved in a timely manner because I'm so busy cashiering or helping customers to do so. I can only imagine the sales we lost because a.) people couldn't find the book they were looking for because it was in a box we hadn't received yet or a cart that hasn't been shelved yet or b.) people who didn't want to wait in line because I was the only at info for the last 8 hours we were open or there was only 2 people at the registers. It's just really frustrating and there really isn't anything we can do. It's not like we can control the weather or anything and speaking of which. I guess we are expected to get another round of rain and snow mix this weekend. ho ho ho. Ick. I really do like my job but not right now.

And now for something happier, if you haven't read about my weekend in Portland. Click Here!

Well, since the rumor is already out there.

I really should be packing right now but I sat down and I can't get up. *lol* I am so stoked for this weekend! I really wish I could just skip work and just go straight to Portland. But alas, I do. Speaking of work, I guess the cat is out of the bag (is that how that expression goes?) So, for those of you who don't know. I applied for a Assistant Buyer position at B&N's head office. I wanted to keep it on the download just in case nothing came of it but I was asked about twice this week by people so I guess word has already spread. The reason that I wanted to keep it quiet was when I was planning on moving to Chicago a couple of years ago, I basically told everyone that was what I was planning on doing. People would ask me, "Weren't you going to move to Chicago?" and it really got to me. I was kind of embarrassed that after I told everyone I was going to and that it turns out I didn't. I really didn't want to do that this time. If I don't get this position or end up moving to New York, I didn't want to have to explain to people in a year, why I'm still here but I guess that boat has sailed. At least this time around, I can say, hey, I just didn't get the job and there shouldn't be any shame into that. I'm not really sure I am qualified for it and I am pretty positive they prefer someone already living in New York to someone who will have to relocate. I'm really not trying to get my hopes up. About two weeks ago, I did have an initial interview, I guess. The HR representative wanted to ask me a few questions and give a brief overview of the job. She did say that it was early in the job search and that she will contact me whether they want to do a formal interview or not. I'm sure the fact that I haven't heard anything yet is a good thing. It means I still in the running, right? Again, trying not get my hopes up but wouldn't it be so cool to live in New York! You all will have to come and visit me.

Ok, now back to packing. I mean start packing! Go USA!