People Are. . .

You get to fill in the title as we go.

So, I got to work a very long shift yesterday for my new Hallmark job. That was fine. We had a ton to do. Believe it or not, Father's Day is huge for cards. Of course, the whole card dept. being stuck in the middle of a Walmart helps a lot. Oh, and we're not talking piddly fixtures, we have nice big wooden ones that are almost a store unto themselves. But I digress.

Anyway, the day after a holiday the plan is to take down all of the leftovers and then either put up the next holiday or something else. Since the next one is Halloween, we put up "summer-flex" until the company says it's time the holiday. Let me tell you. . .that Father's Day cards were decimated. Oh, yeah, we have about 2-3 boxes left of cards to send back but that is but a small percent. And the bargain gift bag section? Poof!! It's like a hoard of locust swarmed the place. Well, I suppose that's an apt analogy for shopping mentality.

Liz and I got there at 7:30a to get at least the card part of it looking good on that side. Btw, don't judge certain parts of a big store like Walmart. Cause if they have a section that is a "brand" name, chances are they have merchandisers who are expected to maintain it. There were a lot of vendors listed in the book so I now have a new perspective on this. Liz and I are the only two Hallmark employees for our Walmart so that could be the case for yours.

Now, I make no bones about the fact that I dislike Walmart about as much as I love Hallmark. Which is to say, a lot. I figure the two balance themselves out. The good thing is that I am not expected to do customer service though I have been a little. That suits me fine because I can ignore people and not feel guilty about it or I can help people if they need it. Mostly I just want to make everything look pretty and get paid for it. lol But helping someone find a card when they are at a loss has been rewarding already.

Which leads me to a major point: don't get upset if you go somewhere the day after a holiday and they have already removed the cards for that holiday. No one did but that was mainly because we happened to have a box of FD cards handy that I offered to let various customers throughout the day look through. I don't think it occurred to Liz to do that until I did and we made about a dozen or so people very happy. One couple even told me that I deserved a raise because I helped them find the perfect card in like two minutes (something told me to suggest a particular one because mostly I just let people paw through the box). lol And, of course, we had people looking for "sale" cards.

Ok, listen up, folks. . .since when have cards been discounted? I mean the single ones, not the boxed cards. Yeah, you can go to the Dollar store and get cheap cards that aren't too bad but that's about it. I have honestly never seen Hallmark or any other store that sells single cards sell them at a discount. Unless they were in some kind of bundled deal because they were leftovers. And I can't remember when or if I have ever seen that. So, when I get asked that question and get looked at like I'm nuts and only saying it because my name tag says I work for H., well, give me a break. Oh, and please, all card companies sell cards for a variety of prices but for the most part they are in the same general price range. The average card has gone up to between $2.49 and $4.99. I know this as a long-standing customer of greeting cards and not as a merchandiser. Mom was a card person and she definitely passed that on to me.

Second thing. . .yes, Walmart has an overall "brand" that they put forth. But that doesn't mean that every individual store has the same products. The majority of stuff, sure. However, as with any other store, there will be differences. Hell, the one I work at doesn't even look like the typical Walmart store because they just built it, like, two years ago with a "new" color scheme: creams and browns. And the layout is different (actually none of the Walnarts here are exactly the same layout as the others anyway). So, I can't help it if I want to bite my tongue when someone says something like, "Well, my Walmart has. . ." or "The other Walmart sells. . .". It makes me want to ask them why they don't just shop there. Sheesh

Oh, and for God's sake, do not EVER talk on the phone in the bathroom! If I'm on the phone and you do. . .don't tell me. I so don't want to know. It's bad enough that I would have the image of you in the stall. I realize that you can't actually hear anything but it's the thought that creeps me. I'm sorry, I have never heard a conversation in the bathroom that was life and death for that. Do you know how many students I've had tell me they've lost their phone to the toilet? Sheesh. You're just asking to drop it somewhere icky.

Anyway, I worked a lot but I enjoyed it for the most part. Liz does good work and I was pleased to keep up with her. We did a decent job and that row looked awesome at the end of the day. I know it won't stay that way but I am not letting it bother me. So, when you go and see cards out of place, there's a good chance it was because people just didn't care. I always moved them when I shopped before, now it will probably become just one more thing for Michael to pick at me about. lol

And so. . .

Let me see if I can sum up the year thus far:

Taught nine classes this past spring. Yeah, you heard me right. Doesn't matter that they were all the same course, it was very busy.

Was sick twice: once in January when that nasty bug was going around and then right after Easter. The second time lasted longer with me hacking for a month. That was because I got hit with the worst allergy year to date. March and April were soooo much fun. I hate this stupid state.

We are new parents of a bouncing baby horse. Well, not really a horse though he's big enough. 84 pounds of whipcord and muscle. His name is Chugalug (that was so not our idea) and he's a 4-year-old brindle rescued greyhound. I'll post pics later. I wanted a dog and Michael kind of did too but agreeing on one was a chore. He was going for either a greyhound or a dacshund. How's that for size difference? Me? I was fine with either though I would love another German Shepherd puppy from Char-Will Kennels up home in PA. Charlotte is still breeding them.

Anyway, Chug's been a handful to get used to. Most of them are big couch potatoes and have two modes: full speed and sleep. lol Chug turned out more energetic than we had first expected but he's a pretty good dog most of the time. He was way too interested in the cats when we brought him home and they hated him (of course). Now they all just ignore each other. He sleeps well in his crate at night and loves playing with his tennis balls in the backyard. I've never seen anything love to run as much as he does. Yes, I know that's what they're bred for but that doesn't mean they have a joy in it. He just seems to love it.

As for work, right now I am triply employed. I have a class at USC, I'm doing independent contract work (merchandising) and I just started working for Hallmark as a Retail Merchandiser at one of the Walmarts here. Why? Cause we need the money. Why else? The summer is the lean season for me and what I did save up went poof in bills already. (sigh) Also, my fall session is two classes shy of the spring and I started paying back my student loans this past March/April (don't remember exactly which one).

The Evening School created a new position in the fall that is temporary right now but may go tenure track next year. I applied because it was half the classes for better pay (though I still would have needed at least one or two more to balance it all out) but they went with someone else. Someone not as experienced as me. Very nice person but still. And why this other person? Oh, the reason I got was because they want me to finish my dissertation. Uh huh. Yeah, I told them that it was obvious they weren't math majors when saying that I needed more time to do it was off by not the position since I will still be doing 7 and not 4 or 5. And I lost two of "my" sections to the new position. I've been doing the Saturday class and the Fort Jackson ones forever. Nobody else ever wanted them so I have. I've even done the oddest hours for them too. I don't mind the Saturday one so much but I really like my FJ groups. So, to say I am peeved. . .well, yeah. I think the real reason is that they didn't want to try and find someone to cover my daytime sections (the person they gave it to has a newborn and help in the evenings).

So, yeah, so much for loyalty. But I still have classes and all. And yes, I have been given an incentive to get the damn thing written but not for the reasons they want. I was told to apply again for the position next year and that the PhD would help. uh huh So, that is why I started adding extra jobs. But it means I gotta get my rear in gear and get the diss as done as possible this summer.

(sigh) All of this means me still being a phantom of your imagination unless you call or whatnot. I'll try and be in touch via here and online but I've been slack on the emails. Just don't feel like writing much when I'm doing that with the diss, ya know? But we're usually home on Sundays so that's a good time to ring. And some of you have been slack there too. lol Oh, and I may just do Facebook and Myspace more. No promises but that stuff can eat up so much time. You know who you are who spends a lot on there.

Well, I'm typed out. Gonna let my brain chill. Many hugs.

Just a Little Something

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