End of an Era..

...it's not just a Nightwish double live album. :)

Today is the last day that my store is open. It opened in October 1996, probably around the 8th or so. It has been my steady job since it opened, except for a period from August 1999 to August 2000, where I worked there part-time and was a full time Stream employee. Since October 2000, I've been the payroll clerk.

I've seen managers come and go, and countless co-managers. The crew has changed almost completely from the day we opened, though I counted a half dozen of us who had been there since grand opening.

I'm going to miss my commute to that store. I'm going to miss the people I worked with (possibly even the ones who suck). I'm going to miss the regular customers. I actually knew some of them well enough that I felt okay calling them by name.

I do go in for work tomorrow, too, but that's just for payroll, and the store is closed down. Then, I will just be looking at a corpse.

When I get off today, C is going to help me, and we're going to get as much moved today as possible. (Since I'm moving from my apartment to a house, in addition to the big store closing.)

About 61.27% done..

...with moving. Most of the living room is over here, as is most of my room (though my bookshelves are still there..). Still, my room is mostly in one piece. Yes, this means what it sounds like. My bookshelves are relegated to the dining room area. Still, they'll have a certain elegance to them, I hope, so it won't look bad.

I'll post a pic or two of what my room looks like, once I get something on these bare walls. :)

For now, I have to sleep, for I have to work tomorrow in a store that's closed.

That reminds me.. they were taking our sign down before I even left at 1130am today. :( When I pulled out of the parking lot, all that was left was the "K" in Kroger, and they were working that loose. *sigh* Couldn't they have waited until I was gone?

And, I went to say goodbye to one of our checkers. Very cute black girl (I say girl, but she's in her early 20s... well, perhaps girl is still appropriate), and when I said goodbye, I noticed a slight change in her facial features. Now, she was distant when she started working there, but over the last few weeks, we'd gotten to talking on a semi-regular basis, and I noticed that she *was* warming up to me. That slight change gave me a moment's pause. I think there was a moment where she might have said something, or been receptive to something I could have said. *shrug* I smiled and said goodbye again. Chances are good I'll not see her again.

It reminds me of when I left Snowden back in 1990. To this day, there are regrets I have regarding certain girls who were in my grade. I've even had dreams about some of them. I might even tell you about them some day.

For now, my bed calls me (the bed with a brand new set of box springs which have resuscitated it from extinction). Good night, all.

Night in a new room, in a new bed..

...more or less. In other words, I can't sleep.

The new box springs are such a departure from the loosely cobbled bag of sticks and metal that was my old one, that it's like I'm sleeping on a new bed. Strange beds have a tendency to keep me from falling asleep in a timely fashion.

I was dozing alright at one point, but came awake due to my bladder saying that it needed to function. :) Outside of my door, Rajah, one of the two cats here, was waiting for the door to open, and she came in. Now, if she'd just laid down and shut up, it'd have been fine.

Nope. Not her. She had to prowl around. I lay still, hoping that she'd settle down. Unfortunately, I had to call an end to her exploration, when she went to step onto my computer desk. Now, I'm more awake than I was when I laid down earlier, but not awake enough to feel refreshed, either. To be perfectly honest, I'd hoped that typing this post would make me sleepy again. Alas, no such luck. Too many new sights and sounds over here. Well, at least I don't have to deal with customers tomorrow, right? :)

Now, to try this again.