I Thought Bad Things Came in 3's?

Today was not great but I suppose by my standards was not completely terrible either. I started it all off by going to work and during my commute I stubbed my toe so naturally some guy had to step on it. After I got to work I helped some customers including a snobby girl from Texas and  Australian lady. I don't know if it's just me and my luck but the last few Australian customers I've had have been well let's just say interesting. 


The first Australian lady was the most indecisive person I've ever met. She spent almost an hour the first day she came in trying to decide whether or not to buy something. We finally convinced her that she could bring it back and she bought it and left. Yesterday she came back twice. The first time was to return something and try some things on. But because she is very indecisive she couldn't decide whether or not to buy one of the things that she tried on so she had us put it on hold for her. Half an hour before she closed she came back and bought it. Because she doesn't fly out until Sunday she'll probably be back. 


The Australian lady who came in today was very demanding. After I helped her find some pants she asked me what the difference was between two pairs of them. After I explained it to her I guess she wasn't satisfied with the answer I provided because she hit me with one pair of them. She also came back later in the day to continue trying things on. But because the customer is always right I just smiled and helped her again later. 


After I finally made it to my lunch break, because I didn't bring a lunch I went out to buy something. My original plan was to go to Tim Hortons. Sadly that didn't work out because there was a police incident and there was a huge section of the road blocked off. Apparently some guy had a large knife and was waving it around but as far as I know no one got hurt. I changed plans and ended up buying an expensive sandwich at Starbucks. 


I finished my shift late because there was a couple and an adorable baby in the store and they weren't quite finished shopping. They ended up spending $2240.00 so we were glad we let them stay. this is the one time that I think that it's too bad I'm not on commission. Although the husband did try to tip me $10. I honestly wasn't sure what to do. I told him I couldn't accept it but he left it anyways. I work in retail, how often do you get tipped in retail? I've never seen it happen... So after I got home a lot later than I expected, I started to cook dinner and my pot boiled over. They say that bad things come in threes but technically that is at least 4 depending on what you count as bad, so hopefully nothing else happens. I don't think that anything else can go wrong today though, mostly because today is almost over. 


Moving on to my plans for tomorrow. Tomorrow's plans include going to school, grabbing lunch with a friend to talk about our projects for class, getting a pedicure (mostly so I can wear open toed shoes at work and because I want to be pampered), and finishing my outline for afore-mentioned project. Hopefully I can get that all accomplished especially the last thing because the outline is due on Wednesday. 

Juggling Acts

Lately I've been so busy I barely have time to stop and take a breath, let alone finish my readings and do my homework. (Hence why I haven't blogged in a while)

My days basically look like this:
Sun: Work
Mon: Work
Tues: School
Wed: School
Thurs: Work
Fri: Work
Sat: Work

I think I'm going to have to ask my manager if I can reduce my hours to four days a week. I don't care which day she picks as my day off I just think that I'm going to need another day off especially with this HUGE research project I'm going to have to do for school. Speaking of which the project outline is due Wednesday and I haven't even started yet...I should get on that. I did stop back in at the Starbucks by my work, but sadly my favourite Barista wasn't there. Maybe I'll just have to check back more often. And now I have to go to work...

First Day at a New Job While Looking Fantastic

I made it through my first day of work! Because I'm a paranoid person and it drives me insane when I am late for things. (and I thought it would be a TERRIBLE idea to be late for my first day) I took the bus half an hour earlier than absolutely necessary and therefore ended up with half an hour to kill. To kill this hour I went to Starbucks and got something to drink. The barista was nice and he started talking to me while he was making my drink. I told him I was going to start my first day at a new job to which he replied "well you look fantastic." I appreciated it, so thank you random barista. I may now have to visit your Starbucks more often.


As for the actual work day, it started off pretty slowly and it was boring because I had to read a manual which reminded me of reading my textbooks. I then got to try on some of the clothes to familiarize myself with different rises and fits of the jeans. Which ended in me finding a pair of jeans that fit me perfectly and me having to buy them. But it's alright because I get a clothing allowance, which is nice and may help prevent me from going broke. The only other thing I did was hang stuff up and steam some things. 


I work again tomorrow because my manager said she wanted me to be trained as soon as possible. I am also working 5 days a week. I get Tuesdays and Wednesdays off because I have school. This is going to positively affect my bank account but I'm not sure how well my social life will fare, which is probably a pretty fair trade off I suppose. Maybe tomorrow will be slightly more exciting and will continue to go well. 

Enjoys Long Walks in The Sunshine

I survived the gym! I worked out for around 45minutes-1hr, then I started getting bored. So I decided to walk home. It took me an hour and 20 minutes. But after the walk my head was clear and the little things that were bothering me and stressing me out didn't seem to matter as much. I felt good after my walk. 


I think that the best part was after the walk when I was talking to my dad. Who then said "You're crazy, your school is like the black mountain of Mordor, and the walk home was the long journey." Win for the nerdy reference. This is also coming from the man who said "Lord of the Rings, was my Harry Potter." 


Today was pretty low key. It was my day off. I started it off by making cookies. After which I spent some time outside pulling weeds in the garden while my dog sat outside. When it became really obvious my dog just wanted to go inside I brought her in and relaxed for a little. After I medicated my dog and my sister got home I walked some of the cookies over to a friend's house and we hung out for a while. After walking home the first thing my younger sister said to me was "FINALLY! I'm HUNGRY!!" Because apparently she is incapable of making her own dinner, even when it was just pasta with pre-made sauce. All that had to be done was heat the sauce and cook the pasta. Not exactly rocket science. 


I start work tomorrow! I'm excited but nervous at the same time. Just normal pre-work jitters I guess. Hopefully it will go well. 


Meanwhile, my dog is still sick. She's off the codeine now and is just on one painkiller. Hopefully it works, she seems to be doing slightly better, but it's still a little bit heartbreaking to watch her.

One Small Ray of Sunshine on a Stormy Day

Yesterday started off pretty badly. First my dad wouldn't answer his phone and I was trying to check which medications I was supposed to give my dog. It eventually got sorted out with me almost missing my bus. But the important point is that it was worked out. Then after my class I had a job interview so I went to catch the 12:30 bus home so I could let my dog out and get changed before heading out to catch the 2:00 bus to go to the interview. 


There was one minor problem. The 12:30 bus never came. So I was stuck at school waiting for the next bus which came at 12:50, seriously reducing the time I had at home. When the bus finally showed, the bus driver wouldn't let us on right away, and when he did everyone just climbed on the bus through any door, not worrying about bus fare because at school we get a bus pass as part of tuition costs. So naturally we're all loaded on this bus waiting for it to be 12:50 (it was probably like 12:45 when we were on the bus) and all of the sudden "transit police" climbs on the bus and goes "EVERYONE PULL OUT YOUR BUS FARE." So we all had to show him that we had bus fare as he walked around the bus. 


So I finally got home around 1:10 and dealt with my dog. Then when I was getting ready I couldn't find the skirt I wanted to wear, and when I finally found it it was ridiculously wrinkled and needed to be ironed (which I didn't have time for). So I had to swap that out for another outfit and then it was time to go. After much struggling with my dog and once again almost missing my bus, I made it and was on my way. I arrived early to the interview and I got the job! So that was a good part of yesterday. 


Today has been pretty uneventful, especially in comparison to yesterday. I went to school, came home for lunch and to deal with my dog, and later I'm headed back up to school to go to the gym with a friend. So I may die... Allow me to explain, in prep for this gym visit I went for a run on Monday. I couldn't even do a 10 minute run, that's how out of shape I've become. High school athlete and now after 1 year of University I'm super out of shape. I haven't been this out of shape since I don't even know when. So I'm making an effort to fix this. We're starting off slow in the exercising my friend and I. But I'm considering walking home from the gym afterwards, which may be an hour or more. The weather is finally taking a change for the better in my city and that means I better get back in shape, and fast. 

Today's Forecast: Bad News with a Slight Chance of Positive Outcomes

Because I didn't have tutorials/labs for this first week of the semester, I went to my grandparent's house. During my time there my grandma taught me how to make her "hamburger soup" and her "7 layer dip" which are 2 of my favourite things that she makes. 

I got home tonight and watched our hockey team win the first game of the semi-finals 3-2. Now we only have to win 3 more games and we will be playing for the Stanley Cup! Before I got to watch the game I was given the news that while I was away, my dog got even worse (she went and had an appointment with the surgeon, even though there is no way we could afford surgery). The surgeon said that surgery is the last resort and they usually wait until there is a serious problem with mobility before that happens, so we're not quite there yet. But she is on more drugs and has been put on bed rest for the next month. I'm trying to remain positive about her situation but it's getting hard to keep my hopes up. 

In some actual good news, I talked to the manager of a store I shop at fairly regularly over the weekend and I have a job interview on Tuesday! I'm excited and hoping that it goes well. The call was really surprising because when I applied around a month ago she told me that she didn't have anything for me, so I wasn't expecting to hear from her. She told me that she wouldn't be able to give me loads of hours, but at this point I think I would love working there and something is better than nothing anyways. 

Sick Puppy

After successfully surviving the work week, I hung out with some friends on Saturday (and got my ass kicked when we played Mario Kart, then slightly redeemed myself at DDR). Sunday was Mother's Day so I went to the mall, bought a card (which my Grandma said she loved) and my grandma's favourite flowers (miniature carnations) and proceeded to go to her house and spend some time with her. Monday I went to the mall with another friend and bought a book (because I'm a nerd and that's probably what I spend most of my money on). 


Today marked the first day of the summer semester for me. After doing the introduction thing, my prof then began telling us about his inflamed sinuses and how he "doesn't normally sound like this all the time, but he went away and had an allergic reaction...." and continued to talk about this for like 5 minutes before continuing to talk about actual course related content (which I'm pretty sure everyone already knew). This course is "Research Methods in Psychology." Needless to say, it's one of those classes that you only take because it is a requirement. After he started talking about the scientific method and independent vs. dependent variables he started going over our research project. Which is worth 40% of our grade. (that's more than the final and almost worth more than the final and midterm combined). I read the 3 page assignment outline (basic summary: we have to come up with a research proposal, get it approved, collect data and then write a research report which is 10-15 pages long) and I'm terrified. I'm sure once it get's explained in more detail it will be slightly less daunting, but at the moment it's pretty overwhelming. 


Meanwhile....


My dog is still sick. She seems to be getting worse again. Today I tried taking her for a very short walk, during which she walked way slower than she usually does and when it was finally time to come home it was just getting painful to watch so I picked her up and was going to carry her home. She was not happy about this in the least and began wheezing and making her displeasure known, so I put her down and we slowly sauntered home. When we got to my front yard we have steps to go into the house so I tried to pick her up to avoid her hurting her back. However, she still wanted to be an independent little wiener dog, and tried to run away from me. (which was an unsuccessful attempt, especially considering the fact that she was still on a leash...) She yelped very loudly when I picked her up and I got her inside and she just layed down on her bed and stayed there for the rest of the night. Even when my grandparents dropped by. Which is very unusual for her, she thinks she's a huge Doberman or something and barks at EVERYTHING that moves before it enters the house, and when people come over she's very excited and affectionate. At the moment she's on an anti-inflammatory for her back as well as painkillers. She gets the painkillers twice a day and we could up the dose to three times a day, but then she'd probably just be lethargic and we'd have to decrease it back to two anyways. 

Minutes Like Hours

I don't think I've ever been so glad that it's Friday in my life. Needless to say that today was one of the longest days of the week. But at the end of the day I made it to payday and I was in an extremely good mood by the time I got home. 


Yesterday the Falcon guy came to the office to try to scare away more birds. (The seagulls that inhabit the parking lot are fearless, they don't even move out of the way of the cars anymore). During his visit I learned that the hawk (so I guess he should be the "Hawk Guy") is from Mexico and it is the same type of hawk that is depicted on the Mexican flag with a snake in it's talons. 


But jumping back to today. I finished reading Eat, Pray, Love and began my next book "The Postmistress" by Sarah Blake. I also killed some time by writing something (I'm really not sure what to call it) about time. Which went like this:


Minutes Like Hours.


I don't understand time. Sometimes it goes by at the speed of light and things are over as quickly as they began (or so it feels). Other times time moves slower than a herd of turtles marching through peanut butter or a swamp of molasses. Time is always moving at the speed opposite of what you wish. The things you love doing (or anytime you're enjoying yourself really) before you know it, it's over. Where as when you are doing something you don't enjoy (such as suffering through a day at the office) the minutes drag on and the day feels as if it will go on forever.


The other thing about time is the way we always want the opposite of what we have. The young spend their childhoods wishing life and time away. They are constantly complaining about being treated like children, wishing that they could be older, all grown up. Before they know it they are grown up and are wishing for their youth to return. The older women spend ridiculous amounts of money buying and slathering on "anti-wrinkle creams" that promise to restore a youthful glow, while old grandfathers reminisce and lecture their grandchildren about "back in my day.." When we are young we want nothing more than to grow up, while when our wish is finally granted all we want is our youth back. 

The Working World

This week I'm working as a temporary receptionist for the company my dad works for. It's not too bad other than the fact that I have to get up at 5:30am and this makes the days extremely long and boring because there is often large amounts of time between phone calls. Usually I end up reading for a while and then feeling slightly guilty because I think that I probably look extremely unprofessional sitting there reading Eat, Pray, Love because I'm waiting for the phone to ring. Speaking of Eat, Pray, Love I have to say that my favourite quote thus far is "having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You have to be really sure it's what you want." I've never heard an analogy about having children put quite that way before.  


However, it's really sad when the most exciting part of your day is when the mail arrives simply because then you actually have something to do. Even if that something is sorting mail, and simply using a letter opener to open mail before stamping invoices and cheques. 


Today did have an interesting moment when a man walked in with a falcon sitting on his hand. I think I just sat and stared for a moment because that is quite the unusual occurrence when working in an office setting. I'll explain and put this into perspective. My dad works at a port so there is a serious seagull and pigeon problem. The bird of prey comes in to scare away these birds so that they aren't such a nuisance.


The other moment which was intriguing was when someone came in and asked me about "Dean's Tea." Once again I was confused because I immediately thought tee as in golf tee. We also don't sell tea anyways (well at least not to the best of my knowledge). Apparently there was a man who worked at the company a long time ago who got very ill with cancer, the story goes that he brewed his own tea and it helped keep him alive for a number of years. Apparently someone in the office still brews and sells it. You learn something new everyday I suppose. 


Number of days successfully completed: 2
Number of days left to go: 3
Number of books read: 1and 1/4