So it's been almost a month

So it's been almost a month since I've updated. Whoops. Here's what's new.

On Monday I started a long-term substitute teaching gig at two elementary schools in the Lima City School District. All I can say is that it is an EXTREME eye opener. WAY different than teaching around schools closer to home. It sure is stressful, but I think it'll get better with time. I'll be fully adjusted and have eveyrone's name learned by the time I'm ready to leave.

On the upside of that, it's nice to have the extra income when I'm only working 3 days a week at the JCP. There are so many things at Penney's that irritate me, but that comes with the territory of having a job-you'll always find something to complain about. However, I do like a lot of the girls that I work with, and we have fun. Even when we're busy and in the blink of an eye, 90 minutes has passed while you're standing at the register ringing out customers.

There ya go Amber.

Ya know.....

sometimes you just feel like you'll never be good enough.

sometimes you realize you should have done things in the past a little different

Random Thoughts on a Saturday Morning

So I'm sitting here, just wasting time. I really need to go running on the treadmill, but I'm stalling. I have to work today from 2pm-midnight. Not really looking forward to that marathon shift, but oh well. It's money. It'd be nice if there were no rude customers today, but I won't get my hopes up. It's not my fault if some people can't read receipts correctly and then they want to yell at me because they don't understand a simple rule.

Okey doke, sufficiently wasted enough time and now I'm going to go change out of my pajamas and go running on the treadmill. At least we get free Subway today at work.

Laura: Story of an Angry Customer

So I normally don't get this riled up about things, but I am, well, "bleeping" livid. And here's why

Two weeks ago: I got a letter saying there was security breach within 5/3 Bank, and as a result I would be getting a new debit card. The letter said when my new card came in I could use my old PIN number to activate it over the phone.

Last Friday (10/23): New debit card comes in the mail. I tried to activate it over the phone like I was told to do, and it wouldn't work. The automated service kept saying my PIN was invalid. I stopped after three tries because I figured there would be a block on my card now.

Saturday (10/24): I go into the lobby where the ATM is in Decatur (because the main branch isn't open on Saturdays anymore) and talk to one of the ladies working. The lady told me that the block was taken off of my card and that I should be able to use it now. I used it to log on to internet banking that night and it worked fine.

Sunday (10/25): I tried to use my debit card at McDonald's to get my lunch before work. The kid at the register told me it wasn't being approved, so I had to use my credit card. I don't like using my credit card for measly little purchases such as that, but what else could I do.

Today: I tried to activate my card at the ATM before going into the branch to talk to someone. The ATM swallowed my card. TICKED OFF AT THIS POINT. I go over to the main branch and talk to the guy that I normally conduct my business with, since, get this, the manager was not there. The guy told me that I could reset my PIN at any time to one I would remember (because apparently I'm forgetful like that, NOT) over the phone so I wouldn't have to come in. I told him that I needed to put gas in my car today, so I really wanted my debit card NOW. That's when he tried to tell me to get a credit card for "emergencies like this". I told him that I already have a credit card and didn't want to use it because I didn't think all of this would happen. UGH. The other lady standing right beside him said that I could sign up for a Mastercard with 5/3 today and get no interest for 12 months and that way all of my business would be through their bank. UGH again-did they not hear me say that I already had a credit card elsewhere? Then he tried telling me that my card would be out within 24 hours and I could come back any time to get it. I then told him that this was my only day off this week and I wanted it taken care of today. I gave him my home phone number and told him to call me when he has my card out of the ATM.

UGH-so now I have to make a second trip in to Decatur to rectify something that never should have happened in the first place. Not happy.

Everyday Adventures

Haven't written in awhile. Nothing too exciting though, so what's the point of updating. Went to an Indiana HS Marching Band Competition at Homestead HS awhile ago-holy cow, so intense. Way more intense than anything here in Ohio, that's for sure. Sooooooo sick of hearing about Issue 3 and whether or not I should vote for it. And no, I'm not saying which way I'm voting on anything. I'm rereading the Twilight series for the 5 millionth time. I think after I finish it I'm going to reread the Harry Potter series. That'll take longer, since there are 7 books versus 4 in the Twilight Series.

Elida Local Schools has still NOT paid me my $78.58 that I should have gotten last Friday via direct deposit. Not a very happy camper-the Treasurer's Office is going to get a phone call, AGAIN, tomorrow.

That's about it. Watching Wheel of Fortune and then going over to Amber's later for the usual Thursday night date.

This and That on a Sunday Morning

Sitting here in the living room, waiting until it's time to go to church. I don't have to work this afternoon, so I can actually go-kinda feels good.

My dog is howling and whining and being a pain in the butt. That's what he always does after he gets walked and put back in his pen-he's a whiner. And he tries to eat cats.

Yesterday was a busy day at JCP-doorbusters again. It kept me on my toes, and I always like that. I was sure glad to see 3pm roll around, though.

Last night I went over to my sister's house to help them with their 'project'. Pulled about 5 million nails out of some of their walls and then mudded in their laundry room. A little boring, but we blasted Frank Sinatra (and other songs from the soundtrack to What Women Want) so it made everything okay. The free McDonald's and Diet Pepsi made it even better, though.

I don't work at Penney's again until Wednesday, so I'm hoping some substitute calls roll in this week-would be nice.

Random Thoughts for a Sunday Evening

I worked 12-6 today. Not that exciting, but we were steady for the first 3 hours so that kept things interesting. I really do like working at Penney's-the girls are fun, and it keeps me on my toes.

This past Friday night I hung out with a bunch of coworkers at one of the girls' apartments. It was nice to just sit around with a few drinks and play some Wii. Saturday morning I went to Decatur with my little sister to go to the bank and then we got Pizza Hut for lunch. That evening I went back to Decatur with Mom, Dad, and Grace. Ate dinner at Back 40 Junction (don't go there, overpriced and the food is not worth it) and then went to Wal-Mart. Call me silly, but I actually enjoy going to town with the family to get groceries. I got two boxes of Swedish Fish, and yes, both boxes are gone.

After work I went in to Celina to play Bingo at the K of C Hall with the usuals plus a few more. They upped the payouts so there were A LOT of people there. And boy, do I mean a lot. The parking lot was nuts. I got there at about 6:20 but then grabbed dinner at Taco Bell and it took some doing to find a parking spot. UGH. And of course, did not win a darn thing. I still had fun though.

I have Monday and Tuesday off, but then I work Wednesday-Sunday. Hey, it pays. At least Monday and Tuesday I can get my usual chores around the house done.

That's all, folks.

Sleep Schedules, Baking, and Movies

So Saturday night (after working 3-9) I couldn't fall asleep until about 2am. I woke up on Sunday to an alarm and finally rolled out of bed at about 8:30am. Last night I was so pooped I almost fell asleep in the living room at 10:30. I ended up finally going to bed at 11:45. This morning I woke up on my own at 7:45 but didn't get out of bed until 8:20. Tonight I might not go to bed for another hour or so-and I'm not setting an alarm for tomorrow, so Lord knows when I'm going to wake up (although I'd bet it's around 8:30 since that seems to be the norm).

I've been googling recipes for pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin cheesecake bars. Not impressed with any of the recipes, so I'm thinking about just making a plain cheesecake and putting fruit on top or resurrecting an old favorite, my diet coke/chocolate cake mix cake.

I returned 17 Again on my way home from work tonight. Grace and I are going to watch Mall Cop tomorrow night and then I think when I stop at Family Video again I may rent Twilight. I know I've said this before, but you really can't beat the deals at FV-I got two movies for $2.41-although I do get half-price until my 30 days is up. Since I've got a tv in my room that's hooked up to a DVD player I may be renting a little bit more these days......

And now it's time to go do more logic puzzles.

Tales from Behind the WrapDesk

I actually enjoyed my shift tonight at Penney's, save for one thing, but I'm not going to blog on here about a cantankerous co-worker. Enough said.

So it's not really Tales from Behind the WrapDesk, but the beginning of the post was about work, so it kind of ties in.

I just signed up for Family Video in Celina-I really like it so far. I got my first rental for free and then I get half-price rentals for 30 days. I rented Confessions of a Shopaholic and The House Bunny and only had to pay $1.07. Good deal.

I work tomorow 12-6. Surprise, surprise.

Tales from Behind the WrapDesk

I feel like the title for my blog could be the title of a tell-all book about JCPenney's. However, I have no need to write a tell-all book. I like my job.

As I was organizing the clearance rounders this afternoon I saw a pretty white purse on that rack that was marked down to $3.97. And with my employee discount, I ended up getting the purse for $3.40.

What was the original price of the purse you ask?

$55

Yes. I. Am. Awesome.

New Addition to the Purse Collection!

No, I really didn't need this purse. This makes 14.

Logic Puzzles, The Price Is Right, and Days Off

When I was in 3rd-5th grade I was in this enrichment program called TAG (talented and gifted). We got pulled out of class once a week and the 5 of us did extra activities outside of the regular classroom. Every so often we did logic grid puzzles. You were given 4-5 things to figure. Suzy was born on a Thursday in Idaho at 9pm, Johnny was born on a Wednesday in New York at 8pm, and so on. That being said, I found a website where you can do these kinds of puzzles online or print them off. I really like these puzzles and have gotten back into doing them. I'm going to try and get a book of them eventually.

I don't think I can say enough how much I love The Price is Right. Especially when they play the old school games that I can remember watching when I was in kindergarten. Yeah, that doesn't date me at all.....

I had yesterday off and today as well. I work 10-4 tomorrow and then have Thursday off. I try to be productive on my days off. I folded Grace's laundry and put it on her bed and straightened up my room a little. I've got more laundry to do and am eventually going to go on a walk, probably this afternoon.

I tell you, I certainly do lead an exciting life.

Betty Homemaker

I don't think I can say how many times I dislike The George Lopez Show. I think it's because I've seen every episode at least 6 times.

Work was boring today. Not busy at all.

I made a cake from scratch. Yellow cake, but I put red food coloring in it so it's more of a pink-ish looking cake. It's currently cooling down so I can frost it later.

I really do like my JCPenney's job. I hope that I start getting some substitute calls soon, though.

I could go for some Bdub's right now. And some of their buffalo chips 'n cheese. Yummo.

Sabrina, The Teenage Witch

So I'm watching Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. Like I do every afternoon that I don't have to work. I think the episodes where Sabrina and Harvey aren't together are dumb. Call me the hopeless romantic. Whatever, don't judge me.

Random Thoughts on a Monday Evening

I just saw a commercial for the new Tyler Perry movie-won't that man ever learn to quit?

I got my credit card and my car insurance bill in the mail today. My paycheck that I get on Friday is pretty much already spent. Damn.

I hate seasonal allergies.

I need to do laundry tomorrow on my day off and am not looking forward to it.

I'm kinda hungry right now and can't think of anything to eat, even though we have plenty of food in the house.

I got 3 tops and a wallet today at Penney's (yes, I went shopping where I work on my day off) for $40. Gotta love 35% employee discount for the back-to-school event.

I think the K-Mart commercials (where the kids spell "rockstare" and "blingitude") are ridiculous. Seriously-who thinks of those words to "spell"? A 5th grader???

And this pair of shoes

And this purse-but in Ruby-dark red color.

I want this purse. I sold one to a lady this afternoon. Dear Santa-make it happen.

Failure Strikes Again

I had an interview this morning at North Newton High School in Morocco, IN. I got a phone call on the way home from the principal-"We went with another applicant, but we believe you will make a good teacher someday."

Yeah-didn't make me feel better at all.

Then I come home and my parents asks me what I could have done different.

I think about that after each turn down. What I might have said that they didn't like, what I could have done different. I go over every little detail. Five thousand times.

I probably could make more follow-up calls and be more aggressive-maybe that's where I'm going wrong.

But I still come home, empty handed. Feeling like a failure because I can't get a job in my field.

I don't care what anybody tells me, I'll feel like a failure until I get a full-time job. Any way you slice it.

Random thoughts for a Tuesday evening

I hate listening to commercials on the radio.
Whenever I get an angry customer at JCPenney's it makes me feel like I can't do my job.
I wish I had the patience to make my fingernails look good.
I feel like it's not a complete day if I haven't watched The Golden Girls. At least 3 episodes.
I watch The Price is Right on a regular basis and yell at the people when they make bids.
I don't think Fran Drescher's voice on The Nanny is annoying.
I text more than I talk on my phone.
I want to read The Time Traveller's Wife before I see the movie.
I already have too many shoes, but I want more. You can never have enough.

There. I think that's good enough for now. I was thinking about these things on my way home from work tonight.

Stressful Much?

I worked 2p-9p tonight. We were so busy tonight, I never stopped running. There were supposed to be 3 of us working, but one lady called in. Every time I've worked after finishing my training, someone has called in. Kid you not. There were so many clothes to put away-they didn't get all done, so of course there's a big pile waiting on us for tomorrow morning when we get in the store.

We were slammed. When Erin and I were closing the registers she made a crack about how it would suck if we accidentally got locked in the store. I almost started crying. Seriously. That would have been the straw that would break the camel's back.

But, everything is okay, and I'm sitting here on my couch with my feet up. And now I'm going to go to bed because I am extremely tired and I have another 6hr shift tomorrow.

So apparently customer service is not high on Zurcher Tire's list

So I just got back from getting a new set of tires on my 1996 Dodge Intrepid. I shouldn't be too upset, because I got one heck of a deal and only had to drop abbout $230.

But here's why Laura's not happy:

1)When we walk in and give the quote to the guy at the counter and he asks what color MY car is (while looking at Dad), Dad says "Teal." and I said "Blue" (ps-my car is like a robin's egg hue, but to keep things easier I call it blue). The guy looks at DAD and tells DAD "I put down blue because I don't know how to spell teal." The guy working at the register next to him says "I think it's t-e-e-l.". Notice how it's MY car being worked on, but I was not spoken to at all.

2)Dad and I were sitting in the reception area watching Oprah (which was actually interesting because it was about Laura VanRyn and Whitney Cerak-the girls that were in the accident in April 3 years ago and their identities were switched). I could see in the shop where my car was being worked on and saw my car being driven out. Figuring they would come get me when my car was done (and then hand me my keys) I watched more Oprah. Yeah-my Dad had to go to the counter and ask about my car to see if it was done. Apparently the guy that drove it out there left for the day and didn't let anybody know that my car was parked.

3) Once Dad found out that my car was done, they said it was parked outside in the lot with the keys in it. KEYS IN IT?!?!?!?! Yeah, even if it was just Monroe, IN, I don't care. KEYS. IN. THE. CAR.

4)We trek to the lot where we thought the car was. Yeah, totally not there. Ready to storm back in the office and raise hell, we find out that it wasn't parked where we were told, but instead across the street where customer's cars aren't usually left. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Yeah, not happy. Suffice it to say, Zurcher Tire won't be getting any of my business anytime soon.

Sitting Here on a Tuesday Night

So I'm sitting here watching The Nanny. I know several people say her voice is annoying but I still think the show is funny.

Tomorrow is house cleaning day. I didn't help out last week because I was training at JCPenney's. I have to work tomorrow, but not until 4pm, so that means Mom gets her free help again.

I know-so exciting. I lead an awesome life out here, I tell ya.

Oh and Amber-I'll make sure to look for sunglasses tomorrow.

Okay weekend so far. Friday's training went really well, and I actually got to work on the floor my last 30 minutes. Almost let one lady walk off without her recceipt, but hey, I'll catch on, hahaha.

Saturday I spent a bulk of the day with Amber. I helped her clean her house, we got lunch at Pizza King (which I do not recommend), and then groceries in Decatur. Came back to her house and made zucchini bread because Amber had a HUGE zucchini, and I wanted zucchini bread.

Today I work 11-6, kinda excited, actually. I have to take my lunch at 3 in the afternoon, so that's weird. I may just go to McDonald's and get a small sandwich.

Thrilling stuff happening out here, I know.

Welcome to the JCPenney family!!!

I started my training at JCPenney this morning. Friday I do my POS training (point of sale, as in register) and then I'll get practice on the floor on Friday afternoon.

It was a lot of reading and videos to watch. A bunch of scenarios in the customer service area (think "what would you do if....." situations). One of the things that stuck out the most to me was the safety video that was narrated by Super Dude.

I'd have to say the thing that takes the cake is what happened to my associate discount card. I had stuck it in the back of my employee badge, and when I went to the bathroom, it fell in the toilet as I was flushing it. My associate discount card is now making its way through the sewer system of the city of St. Marys. Yes-probably a JCPenney first. Go me.

So the job search is still going on. It gets so unbelievably frustrating at times and I constantly feel like a failure that can't do anything right.

I know there's a job out there for me somewhere and that I'll find it eventually.

In the meantime, I start training at JCPenney's in St. Marys on Wednesday. At least that'll give me something to do and get me out of the house.

Trying this on for size

So I used to use another blogging site, but I've grown tired of it. My older sister uses this site as well so I thought I'd try it out.

Currently watching Beverly Hills Cop 3 and contemplating making chocolate milkshakes for the family. Riveting stuff, I know.