Garden State..

This is a fantastic film, folks. I'll warn you, though: It's a movie that makes you think. I got similar feelings watching "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." This is a great film that is almost miscatagorized as a comedy. It *DOES* have humorous moments, but the underlying plot is really deep and thought-provoking and not as funny as one would think of a movie billed as a comedy. Ironically, I can see myself in Largeman, the main character. It's almost eery how closely he acted what my mind has thought. I highly recommend it.

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Now, work was crappy tonight. It wasn't spectacularly crappy. It just wasn't very fun. I was exhausted all day, due to this stupid sinus infection I've picked back up, thanks to slipjig, and his company-granted evil powers to alter the weather. :) Still, things weren't too bad tonight. I relaxed quite well, which is good, since i have to do the schedule tomorrow. I am *NOT* looking forward to that at all. *sighs* That's life, eh.

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In other news, I talked to M, and got a lot of what has been bugging me off my chest. I feel much better for it, and I would like to think that our friendship has been somewhat repaired. I'm not gonna go diving into things again, but I was pleased to be able to carry on a conversation with her, and not worry about how she'd take comment X or Y.

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Get Ilium. If you like sci-fi or Greek mythology or time travel or mind twisters at all, get that book, and read it. I am absolutely enamored with it. Right now, Dan Simmons is my favorite author. (Well, not REALLY, but dang close.. ) I cannot extoll the virtues of this book enough. Warning though: It's not written with kids in mind, so naughty words come up occasionally, and the second part hasn't been released yet, so when I finish, I'm gonna be stuck waiting. The good news is that it's due for release this year.

Now, I'll leave you with a piece of my Current Music:

"My fall, will be for you.
My love, will be in you.
If you, be the one to,
cut me, I'll bleed forever."
- Nightwish, "Ghost Love Score"

News at 11:00..

..or 12:00, if you like. :)

Work was.. interesting today. I was late, AGAIN. The traffic jam on the highway didn't help matters at all. Stupid rubber-neckers. Why can't people just drive, and ignore what's going on on the side of the road? Sheesh. Well, I got clocked in rather quietly, and began my work day. I had to make the schedule. Joy. I called Joyce, even though it was her birthday, because I ALWAYS call her, to find out what she wants to work. It'd just be rude otherwise. We talked for a bit, while I worked on the schedule, and I got quite a bit into it. I kept getting interrupted after I let her go, though. The rest of the day was on-again/off-again trouble on the front. Nothing blew up in my face, though, which is good. In fact, when I returned from lunch, I got a rather nice surprise.

The Zone Manager -- for whom I do reports on Sunday after I do Time & Attendance -- asked my manager if, since the holidays were finally over, she was going to let him use me two days a week. I thought, "Cool, I get to work two days a week, four hours a day, for the Zone Manager. This is nice." I was wrong, though. He wants me for two days a week, EIGHT hours a day. Yes, folks, that means that I am only going to be working on the Front End 2.25 days a week. (Sunday is payroll, and I open that day, so that's two hours, and then I work two other days. Nice.) He said that if she could spare me, but the manager told me to make sure that I had two days freed up for doing the Zone Manager's work.

No, it's no more money. However, it places me in a position to get noticed within the company. The more people know about me, the better things can be. After all, it was about 6 years ago that someone down in the Southaven store (which I'd only entered once in 1995 for a bagging class) cashed a check for a friend of mine, because they knew me. And I didn't know that person. Now, I'm known as the person who does the Zone Reports on Sundays, and am generally looked at as someone who can answer questions about things, including computers. So, in the long run, this can only help my situation out.

Now, I just need to get back in school for that accounting degree. For that should be all I need, coupled with the opportunities that this may provide, to get a job as one of the region's auditors. Worst case scenario? I have even MORE to put on a resume when I go somewhere else.

Oh, and though I never got around to rereading Day 7 yesterday, I read it today. I also read Day 8, and am going to read it again -- and Day 9 -- before I go to sleep. That book is wonderful, and I find that a lot of my questions are being answered. Even the ones I have that pop up during the course of my reading are getting answered by later passages. I'm so glad I began reading this book. I just need to get back to reading my Bible. (I'm not reading much of it daily, but I *AM* reading it, slowly and surely.)

Good night, all. Take care of yourselves. :)