I lost some time once...

..or, close enough, anyway.

I worked 10am-7pm today, and I busted butt the whole time. I got there, and checked until I went to break just before noon. Then, I had maybe 40 minutes free when I came back, and used it to refill the coin changers in UScan (the self checkout lanes -- each "robot" has a tray filled with about $100 in coins, which our store runs through pretty quickly, so we refill them daily). My intention following that was to do a midday drop sweep (get cash drops the checkers had done) and do a count in the accounting office. Unfortunately, it got hellishly busy again, and I was back on a register until 3pm. From around 230pm on, I was so worn out (from checking -- I am a fast checker, and we're graded on our speed, er, "efficiency" *rolls eyes*) that I felt like I was going in slow motion.

I finally got my lunch, though, and walked off the Front End feeling a great deal of relief. I ran into the manager by the time clock, though, and his phrase, "So I heard you wanted to talk to me?" meant I had to address my issue regarding my position on the Front End. Over the next 15 minutes or so, he wound up doing most of the talking, explaining that things have gotten tight company-wide in an effort to rectify poor sales earlier this year, and that it's affecting everyone. He acknowledged that my CSM is not very "tactful", but also explained that she almost stepped down two weeks ago.

I don't *REALLY* think that addressed my issues, but I do think that talking to someone about it eased my mind enough to keep working. However, I decided then and there, if things are that tight now, I am going to begin going to school for SOMETHING that can get me a "real" job (y'know.. the kind where I am off on the weekend?). I realize that this fall might be a little soon, so I'm planning on having something picked out, and signing up for classes in January. (Shit, I'll be 33. Time is beginning to slip past me faster and faster. I hope there's something out there for me still. Bah. I must think positive.)

I had a shortish lunch at McAllister's (I really need to start bringing my lunch), and came back to finish my shift. Again, my plan was to do a midday when I returned, so that SOMETHING would have been done in the back by the time the closing accounting person came in at 6pm. No such luck. The supervisor had to go upstairs for a meeting with the manager (I got the impression it was SERIOUSLY important, even though he wasn't in trouble), so I was left watching the floor. In no time, we were backing up again, and I spent the next hour and a half running -- at times, almost literally -- from register to register, bagging orders and scanning beer for underage checkers. When the closing accounting person came in, I took a short break to gather my breath (and give my knees a break -- they were hurting. That's an issue I'm going to have to address soon, too).

I came back, and finished my shift by covering Guest Care while the clerk was on lunch. When I got off, I grabbed a six-pack of Hoegaarden and came home. Leftover jambalaya from last night was in the fridge, so I had a quality dinner. I then got on World of Warcraft, and ran Karazhan with my guild again, clearing it from Attumen up through Curator. Before I logged off, though, there was mention of a Gruul's Lair run on Sunday the 17th. Now, I know you guys aren't privy to events that occur to me much now, because of how often I update my journal (*slaps wrist* Bad Anthony!), but I've been doing nothing on Sunday after I get off work, except taking a short nap and spending time with Charles and/or Scott.

Oh well, most of the guild is on on Sundays, but there is no way I'm going to let them make my Sunday into a "must attend" raiding day. I work one job, thanks.

Now, it's a little after midnight, and I'm falling asleep while I type this, so I will post this and get some shuteye. After all, I'm off tomorrow, and I plan on getting enough sleep. :)

It has been over a month since I last posted on this journal, and I've not really posted much here this year, either.

Before I go into that, though, let me start by whining.

Why is it that when I'm off, I cannot sleep well the night before? I toss. I turn. I constantly wake up. I get indigestion, which wakes me up. I have headaches. Whatever it takes to keep me from sleeping soundly till morning. Sometimes, it's my fault, as I stay up late, and the morning sun around this time of year gets past my best efforts to block it from my window (at around 8am). But a lot of the time, this isn't the case. It's just an inability to rest when I don't have something pending. As you might expect, this was the case last night.

Anyway, I just haven't felt the urge to post like I used to. I still read it daily (sometimes, multiple times daily), and I comment from time to time. Yet, when it comes to my own journal, I usually decide "Ahh.. I'll do it later." Later invariably is when I'm going to bed, and then I decide "I can't now, I have to sleep".

I've also learned that it's not WoW's fault since, from May 1 through the 21, I wasn't playing WoW at all (I'd even cancelled my subscription). At the same time, though, I WANT to post, because it's nice to be able to go back and read it later. Looking back, it also seems to tie into when I had my surgery (I was definitely posting more before it, than afterward.)

So, what *have* I been up to? Well, working, sleeping, and trying not to think about work. The third option doesn't really have much interesting in it (a little WoW, some LotRO, book reading, movie watching, quiet time stuff). I recognize that I need to get around to that Top Ten movie list I promised back in March, as well as pics of my room (it's changed a teensy bit since I posted that I finished decorating, but not much). I guess I can break each thing up into a paragraph (or less), so you need not read what you don't wanna.

( Work )

( World of Warcraft )

( Lord of the Rings Online )

( Health and Fitness )

More has been happening, but it's mainly been the release of D&D 4e (and the campaigns that go with it) and an influx of new heavy metal (I'm particularly partial to the "new" Symphony X CD: Paradise Lost). More later. I hope this isn't too much at once. I want folks to read this. :)

I know I've been absent lately. For that, I apologize. I worked the end of last week, did andric's yard sale on Saturday, and then worked Sunday through Wednesday this week. As a result, I didn't care about anything when Thursday came. I spent the two days off I had doing laundry (but not putting it away... yet) and playing WoW to get my blood elf paladin to level 40 (which I did last night).

Today, when I went into work, I learned that my new job starts tomorrow... well, tonight. See, since I still have to do payroll, I have to work 12a-8a on Saturday night/Sunday morning. The only problem is that since I went back to work today, I'm in full on normal sleep schedule. I was tired when I got in, but not badly so. However, someone suggested Heroic Sethekk Halls (or so I thought), and so I wound up playing my druid, finally obtaining my epic flight form. It's very sexy! :)

I have to see how the rest of my schedule will go, but I suspect it will be: Sunday night 12a-8a, Monday night 12a-8a, Tuesday night 12a-8a, Thursday night 12a-8a. Then, on Satuday night, I'll be doing this 12a-8a shift again. Not a bad schedule, and it allows me to play in lordreaibn's game on Wednesdays, and in the game with dragonpurr on Fridays.

I've got to confess, too. I fell of the exercise wagon this week. I blame the long work week, but that's honestly an excuse. I am going to get right back on beginning with when I wake up for work on Sunday night. I like being healthy, and I want to continue to improve. (This third shift business might be beneficial in one aspect: I could stop by the park after work, and do my walk, which I've been putting off.)

Well, I think I've calmed down enough to get SOME sleep before work. Sheesh, I am going to be up in less than 3 hours. Good night!!

---

Query: Does anyone actually listen to my voice posts? I have no idea why they aren't being auto-transcribed, since the option is chosen and I *think* I'm speaking clearly. I doubt that I'd stop doing them just because people aren't listening to them, but it'd be nice to know there's SOME interest in them.