Now With Comments!

On the suggestion of my friend Tina, I now allow comments on my blog. I didn't before because I was afraid of what people would say.

Ok, I do allow comments...but please, be nice and keep it clean. Flames or nasty comments will be deleted. As Thumper said in Bambi, "If you can't say somethin' nice...don't say nuthin' at all."

What To Do Next

First of all...darn it, the Philadelphia Eagles are losing to the New York Giants, at press time 16-3! Not good, especially coming after the Phillies' huge NL East win. Doesn't help that they're facing major rivals the Giants, either.

I just don't know what to do. I really want to get out of the Acme, but I don't know if any other retail outlet would pay me $11.40 an hour for non-management work. I really need that $11.40. I live alone and pay my own rent. I buy my own groceries and clothes.

I'd really rather work in a library, archive, or bookstore, but the bookstores in Philly are hell-bent on ignoring me and most libraries and archives probably require people with library science degrees, or at least an intern. I'd really rather work in an elementary school library, but once again, you probably need degrees. (Not to mention most schools nowadays are downsizing like crazy. That's how Mom lost her job with

I want to go to college, but I don't want to go crazy doing it. I'll look up colleges with masters courses in library science tomorrow and e-mail them. I need to get scholarship and grant money. Unlike my sister Rose, I don't want to be paying debts for the rest of my life.

I wish I knew what to say to Mom when I call her and we talk about my job options. She and Lauren must be ready to throttle me. We argue, and I end up with a dry mouth and a blank mind. She says I should ignore my customers and not let them bother me and just keep working there while I go through college because it's a steady job. Of course they bother me! How can I ignore that? Some obnoxious old man who comes through my line all the time was being a total clod, rude and grouchy and refusing to slide his stupid card through the slot. He's seen us do it a hundred times! It's not hard! I'm tired of him, and all the obnoxious, ignorant idiots like him.

I want to know I can do something besides work at a grocery store. I'm starting to think that's all I'm good for. I want to prove to everyone that I can work at a real job, not something that teenagers or mothers looking for a second income or desperate people with no education do.

Try To Remember The Kind Of September

Oooh, what a gorgeous fall day! Warm without being humid or TOO warm, sunny, with a sky intensely blue, no clouds, and a bit of wind that gentled into a breeze by afternoon. The kind of day we're supposed to get in September.

I made a quick trip to the farm market this morning. I didn't really need much; just got celery, sweet potatoes, and Mollie Delicious apples. I was a little later than usual, but the farm market was still packed, understandable on such a stunner of a Saturday. I had to wade through lines of people to get those apples!

On the way to the farm market, I stopped at St. Mark's Church on the corner of East Bettlewood and the White Horse Pike, across from the PNC Bank. They had a big "yard" sale in their parking lot today. It must be an annual event, because I remember seeing the same thing there last year. Local families set up booths to sell various items. I ended up with eight records for twenty-five cents each - Johnny Mathis, jazz great Al Hirt, Lawrence Welk, a two-disc RCA set of random Broadway standards, Tom Jones, the Stray Cats (Brian Setzer's 80s band), and two Christmas albums, one from Perry Como and one of the Goodyear "Great Songs of Christmas" albums. In fact, I believe it's the one Mom had when I was little I found again at the Stockton Media Center in college and recorded for her!

Work was steady, not too bad, and fast. The worst that happened was one of the teenage cashiers fussing because oh, he had a tummy ache and he wanted to go home early. He did not go home early. Not only were we low on help, but he does that every other day. What a brat. If I complained every time I had a tummy ache, there are certain times of the month I'd never go into work at all.

Trains, Bikes, and Buses

After an early start to pick up my paycheck and deposit it in the bank, I decided a trip to the Deptford Mall area would be just the thing to clear my head. The Deptford Mall is one of four large malls in Southern New Jersey surrounded by other smaller shopping centers and freestanding stores. (The others are the Echelon Mall, the Moorestown Mall, and the historic Cherry Hill Mall.) I ride my bike to Collingswood, where I take a very short, two-minute train ride to Haddonfield. I catch a bus to Deptford or Cherry Hill at Haddonfield, depending on what I need and where I want to go. I wanted to check out Target, so I went to Deptford.

Didn't end up getting much. Everyone talks about how wonderful Target's Halloween selection is, but I didn't see much that I liked. My problem with decorating for Halloween is I don't like to go too spooky. I hate horror movies; I'm definitely not a blood-and-gore type girl. I did get a few ideas for Halloween costumes, though. Maybe I'll see if I can find a blue dress (or a blue shirt and skirt) and be Alice In Wonderland, or maybe I'll be a queen.

My only major purchase was a pack of socks from JCPenney, who was having a 30% off sale. They make the best socks, nice and thick crew socks. I can't stand those silly anklets that provide no support for your ankles and look childish.

The Next Move

I'm still trying to decide what my next move should be. I really do want to find a job at a children's library, but I'm really nervous.

I'm afraid they'll just say "no" again and again, and I'll hit the same dead end I've been hitting for six years.

I'm trying to decide where else I can go. NOT another grocery store. Maybe FYE. There's one in the store behind the Acme where I work. The trouble there is, I won't get away from those obnoxious customers (they shop in that shopping center, too), I won't have the union backing me up, and I doubt the hours or pay would be any better.

The Philadelphia Borders and Barnes and Noble have made it quite clear that they want nothing to do with me. They've ignored me for almost a year.

I need to find scholarship or grant money to go back to school, find a good local school to go to, and figure out how I can go to school and work.

I need to know I'll actually get a job from this and not go through another six years of hell. I need to meet people who can make recommendations and suggestions and steer me in the right direction.

I wonder if any of the libraries in Philly would want me?

I wish there was an easier way of doing this. My stomach is all tied up in knots just thinking of all those applications I'll have to sign and interviews with fancy executives sitting behind big desks I'll have to go on!

How can I make the libraries and newspapers and bookstores see how serious I am about finding a job? What do I have to do to make them notice me?

Work was off-and-on today, not too bad other than some cranky customers. Really, if you have a big order, don't complain because I'm doing my job and pulling all those damn cans and boxes through! I'm not perfect and I can't do everything at once!

Building A Resume

Updated my resume today. I added the new library volunteering gig and my summer job at the Cape May County Special Services Schools Media Center I always forget about and updated the thrift shop volunteering to show that I'm no longer doing it.

Now I just need to gather enough courage to contact local schools to send my resume to. I'll start with the elementary schools, which is really what I want to do anyway, and work my way up to college.

The Acme was relatively quiet today. It was on-and-off busy, but nothing like Monday.

I did get a nice surprise, though. Apparently, this month's Mystery Shopper came through my line and was so pleased with the job I did, she gave me a perfect score! I recieved a $5 gift certificate for outstanding achievement. At least SOMETHING'S going right at work.

How To Not Make Up Your Mind

Darn it. The Acme called me in twice today. The first time was when I was doing my laundry at Uncle Ken's. Did I want to come in around 3 and go until 7:45? I called them to say "yes"...but they told me they'd already gotten it filled. When I came home from volunteering at the library and running errands, they'd called again and asked me to come in. Seems the guy who called out changed his mind and decided to come in...then called out again! By that point, it was 7:30. I did not call back.

Caught cute, if typical, Dora The Explorer and Go Diego Go! episodes today. As adorable as it was to see Dora and Boots find out whose birthday it was, it was Diego's episode that really resonated with me. He traveled to the ocean to help a baby humpbacked whale that got stranded on a rocky island. I grew up at the Jersey Shore, where real baby whales (though not rare humpbacks) have been stranded and helped by real animal rescuers, some as young as Diego's sister Alicia.

Also ran into an amusing but somewhat bland Blue's Clues. It must have been new. I could have sworn Joe's sweater was orange, but here, it looks red. Shapes were the theme. I guessed right on the first clue; a supermarket IS a good place to look for shapes, as I ought to know.

TCM highlighted popular comics of the 30s this morning. A Night At The Opera is one of my favorite movies. I was glad to catch the final 15 opera-wrecking minutes. The slightly schmaltzy Joe E. Brown vehicle that came after it, Fireman, Save My Child was less interesting.

I did my library volunteering today. Reorganized the CDs, which needed it badly. They've always been a mess, at least in the year and a half I've been going to the Haddon Township Library. They are now as alphabetical as I can make them. Doing the classical CDs was a special challenge, as I know little about that music genre, but I think I got it worked out. I also organized the historical American Girls series books, from Kayla to Molly (no Julie yet, and not much Kit, either - LOTS of Addy).

I was a bit disappointed to find that while the librarians understood my wanting to be a children's librarian, they couldn't do much more than recommend local schools to look at. I was really, really hoping they could point me in the direction of a good library or bookstore-oriented job.

Mom's crazy if she thinks I'm going to look for another grocery store job. That's defeating the point of a job search. I don't want the SAME job in another store. I want a NEW job, something I feel more comfortable and useful in. Something a college graduate should be doing. Nothing would change by changing companies. I'd still be getting bad hours, dealing with stupid people, and doing a job I hate.

Rushed Hour

Urgh. Work was a pain today. This was the end of that big 4-day coupon sale, and more than half the customers didn't have coupons. I had to tear dozens of flyers apart. Didn't help that many people were cranky. Must be the full moon. Or maybe working during rush hour.

I just worked on editing more short stories Lauren and I have done over the past few days this morning. I'm so glad Lauren's more involved with our stories again. She was taking a class at this time last year and seemed to be losing interest. We just spend four hours working on some great ideas, and we're hoping to do more work tomorrow night.

Peach Spice Cake

And here's that recipe for Peach Spice Cake that was so popular at Uncle Ken's party. Make it for your next fall get-together!

1 box Betty Crocker or your favorite spice cake mix
1 egg
1 egg white
8 oz plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups strong peach tea
1 large fresh peach (or 1 cup drained canned peaches)
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons wheat germ

Mix all ingredients with electric mixer until smooth. Pour into greased bundt pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted in cake comes out clean.

Serves 8-12, depending on size of slices.

Welcome To Fall

And autumn could not have a more gorgeous introduction! Today was a perfect fall day, warm but not hideously hot, breezy but not windy, under a bright sun and a radiant blue sky.

Work was busy, but not unusually so for a Sunday when there's a major football game. I only worked until noon, which gave me just enough time to buy a new watch from Eckerds' next door (a digital Timex, which turned out to be on sale, much to my delight and surprise) and run home and change and pick up a cake for Uncle Ken's Sunday afternoon Philadelphia Eagles party.

My Peach Spice Cake was a hit...and so was the game. The Eagles won their first game of the season, ending the Detroit Lions' two-game winning streak dead in it's tracks. They dominated the game from first quarter to fourth quarter, eventually winning 56-21. It was such a nice day, I went for a walk afterwards, making a quick stop at the Family Dollar on the White Horse Pike for paper towels.

Time Out Of Mind

What a long day. I did do my usual farm market-bank run, but I got soaked in a sudden, unexpected shower while doing so. I was glad to go despite getting wet. The peaches are gone, but every kind of apple in the universe is out in full force, and pears and squash are now in season, too. I bought Bosc pears, Gala apples, mini portobello mushrooms, a green pepper, two mini-pumpkins, a medium-sized pumpkin, and a few odd-shaped decorative squash for a centerpiece on the coffee table in the music section of my living room.

I also stopped at Erica's and told her I was thinking of dropping the thrift shop volunteering gig. As much as I like it, it's not really helping me meet people or find a job, I don't need more junk, I'm not thrilled about all these new rules cropping up, and to be honest, it's getting a little boring. Much to my surprise, Erica agreed with me and wasn't upset at all.

My watch is a Casio I picked up about three or so years ago. The digital face still works fine, but the wristband is cheap vinyl and has been falling apart for over a year. I've taped it and taped it, and it still keeps coming apart. It did it today at the farm market. I was lucky to get the watch itself back, but the other half was missing. The wristband is attached to the face. It can't be removed and replaced. I have a Shark watch I bought a few years ago, but the battery ran out and the heavy black plastic buttons never wanted to work. They seemed to be stuck, or just really hard to push.

Work was crazy-busy today, but they did get in more Domino's Sugar, and there was really no major problems. I bought a battery for the Shark watch and went home.

I didn't know watch batteries took so long to replace! The other reason I held off so long on getting a new battery for the Shark was a screw got stuck in the Shark watch while I tried to take it out. I finally just broke the screw and opened the watch. It took me over an hour to figure out what went where...and by the time I did, I'd realized I hadn't had dinner yet. I ended up having to take the screws out of the Casio and put them in the Shark.

AND I STILL COULDN'T MAKE THE STUPID BUTTONS ON THE SHARK WATCH WORK! I could not figure out how to set the time correctly!

Sigh. I'll just get a cheap watch from Wal Mart or CVS or Eckard's tomorrow before the Eagles game while I try to figure out how to make the Shark work.