Yes, I Am Collegiate

Started today out with a run to the gym (with a quick stop by the charity clothes boxes in the back of the Acme building to drop off a bag of donations). This time, I upped the resistance on the bike and finally got a good, solid workout. Concentrated on my legs, rear, and stomach on the machines. It wasn't busy this morning at all. I timed it right; a bunch of women came on the machines just as I was finishing them, and then they went to the bike as I finished that.

Stopped at the Acme to pick up my paycheck and do this week's grocery shopping. I mostly needed chicken and to restock fruit and vegetables. Also needed cereal (Mom's Best was on sale; got the non-frosted shredded wheat), marshmallows, buttermilk, eggs, soup (grabbed Progresso's Light Chicken, Vegetable, & Rotini on sale), and paper towels. One of the managers tried to get me to come in early, but I turned her down. It was bad enough I was going to have to deal with people panicking over the mere one inch of snow we were supposed to get later in the day. Besides, I had something I really wanted to do.

There was a package waiting for me when I got in. I ordered the second Woody Woodpecker and Friends set last week. Alas, Universal doesn't seem to be in any hurry to release the rest of Woody's shorts, so this is the last Walter Lanz collection we'll be seeing for a while. I ran Woody while eating leftover beef stew for lunch and putting away my groceries.

The other reason I turned down the extra hours today was...to sign up for online, non-credit business courses. Yesterday was the last straw. I am sick and tired of this job controlling my life. I was going to sign up last night, but it was too late by the time I got home and online. I was originally going to do a course on freelance writing, but the requirements (including seeking out a writing group to show my work to) seemed daunting. I decided to try some more business-oriented courses first. I went with one on setting up an online business, and another on finding and choosing a legitimate at-home business. The second one is pretty short, which is why it was also cheap - both courses cost me $158.

Work was a pain. If people weren't panicking over this so-called storm we're supposed to get, they were fussing over the huge 3-day sale we're having. And something happened at customer service with the managers and we were short on help in that department for a while. Thank goodness I got off on time with no relief.

My schedule isn't bad. One late day, Friday, and one long day, Monday. I also have Tuesday off, which is Valentine's Day. I don't think I've had Valentine's Day off since I began working at the store.

The ground was damp when I got out, but it wasn't raining, snowing, or even blowing. It was just wet, and has stayed so up to press time.