That's what happens after Thanksgiving: you get full. Right now I find eating to be a difficult thing, seeing as either my stomach feels like it's going to rebel or I simply don't feel hungry. Like, at all. So it'll be a few days before my system is back into swing. I hope yours has had less trouble getting over the gluttony that is America's favorite national holiday. :)
(I say Thanksgiving is America's favorite holiday because if you say "Merry Christmas" anymore you get yelled at for pushing your Christianity on other people, which is so totally un-PC. Scroo dat.)
It's cold. That's fine but a little annoying, because I get a tad depressed in the evenings because it's a pain in the rumpus to regulate my temperature. As long as I don't wear shoes and I keep the hoodie on it's a little easier. But it's still a bit more than is necessary, I think.
Tomorrow will be occupied with tree decorating. I'm dreading this somewhat, as it means I'm going to be kept in the same room for about four hours while I attempt to find just the right place for each of our million billion ornaments. At least we all know where the GOOD ornaments go: Star Wars things go front and center. Garland is wrapped around my neck and upper body while we drape it exactly right. But our tree is fake so we have to set that up before we do anything else, meaning another half hour of straightening out the branches on said fake Christmas tree. Fun times. We attempt to make a runway of our front yard while we set up the outdoor lights (which are actually pretty once we get them all up... It's the getting them up). Really though, it can be fun, at least if I don't have to do it alone. It's a lot better to do with at least my sister; having the brothers around makes it that much more fun, because we start poking around at each other and cramming me in the corner behind the tree, haha.
So Mizzou's playing KS tomorrow. GO TIGERS!!!! DOn't fail us now, or else Mom will be in a bad mood!
Blah. Sleepy now. That and I need to go put my pants in the laundry because this is my last clean pair. I'm sure people would prefer it if I wore pants. I would, too.
Current Mood: Hot and tired
Random useless Fact of the Day: Since it's the day after Thanksgiving... Every year, it's American tradition that the President 'pardon' one turkey from death. Usually, this turkey comes from a petting zoo. Talk about respect for the bird that would've been our national symbol...
Friday, November 23, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
You! With the Face!
Yes, you. You with the face.
I've recently become addicted to that particular expression. Thanks a lot, Joel. Just remember, you started it.
Speaking of Joel, for those that didn't know about his getting brain surgery a couple of weeks ago, he's doing well now. He's been cleared for full days of school (which I'm sure he was just THRILLED about) and for driving (not that that'll help much). His hair is still trying to grow back, but it's at the stage where it feels really weird if you rub it. It's fun. I'd do it more often if he weren't a foot and a half taller than I am.
Being short can suck, you know. I get poked about it all the time by some of my taekwondo classmates. They seem to think it amusing that I'm almost too short to function. My friend Scotty especially is laughing at me, saying that his kneecaps are about at my face level. Oh, wait... that was LOW of him. Excuse me while I grab an axe and chase him around with it. Sharp objects are dangerous.
I prefer to say that there's nothing more dangerous than a short person with something to prove. Hehe.
Midterm are going well. Just one more to take, and I want to get those dang trig identities down. Not my fault they're so incredibly obtuse they're almost impossible.
Voice lessons tonight. Taekwondo tomorrow. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Yeah, life's been somewhat boring lately, in case you couldn't tell.
Right then, should probably get back to chemistry. let's see how long it takes me to fall asleep. XD
Current Mood: Warm
Random Useless Fact of the Day: The Amish, in accordance with the Second Commandment ("Thou shalt not make graven images") refuse to have their faces photographed. So to help out those wanting a picture, they compromise by allowing photographers to get pictures of the backs of their heads. (Yet another good reason for proper hair care.)
I've recently become addicted to that particular expression. Thanks a lot, Joel. Just remember, you started it.
Speaking of Joel, for those that didn't know about his getting brain surgery a couple of weeks ago, he's doing well now. He's been cleared for full days of school (which I'm sure he was just THRILLED about) and for driving (not that that'll help much). His hair is still trying to grow back, but it's at the stage where it feels really weird if you rub it. It's fun. I'd do it more often if he weren't a foot and a half taller than I am.
Being short can suck, you know. I get poked about it all the time by some of my taekwondo classmates. They seem to think it amusing that I'm almost too short to function. My friend Scotty especially is laughing at me, saying that his kneecaps are about at my face level. Oh, wait... that was LOW of him. Excuse me while I grab an axe and chase him around with it. Sharp objects are dangerous.
I prefer to say that there's nothing more dangerous than a short person with something to prove. Hehe.
Midterm are going well. Just one more to take, and I want to get those dang trig identities down. Not my fault they're so incredibly obtuse they're almost impossible.
Voice lessons tonight. Taekwondo tomorrow. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Yeah, life's been somewhat boring lately, in case you couldn't tell.
Right then, should probably get back to chemistry. let's see how long it takes me to fall asleep. XD
Current Mood: Warm
Random Useless Fact of the Day: The Amish, in accordance with the Second Commandment ("Thou shalt not make graven images") refuse to have their faces photographed. So to help out those wanting a picture, they compromise by allowing photographers to get pictures of the backs of their heads. (Yet another good reason for proper hair care.)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
I'm Old
Yes, I celebrated my 17th birthday yesterday. I feel old now. Or somewhat obsolete at the very least. (Hey, if my siblings get to whine about how old they are, it's my turn to get in on the fun.) But I can't exactly say that I'm technologically obsolete, even though the laptop that I'm typing this entry on is old. (Hey... It's a laptop and it works. I'm not going to complain.) I mean, hey, I OWN the laptop and a new Bluetooth headset (which I now am wearing so I don't have to be so productive as to reach over and grab my phone while I am typing...).
But yes. Revel in my ability to check my email in front of the fireplace instead of downstairs, where it's cold. I can also join in the laptop parties that tend to ensue whenever my siblings come to visit (everybody sitting around on whatever they can find, checking email and their respective computers). Yay for wireless internet!
Just got done with a trigonometry assignment. Man, I hate that subject. My book does a pretty crappy job of explaining things, so I have to look in yet another math book to figure out exactly what's going on. Combine that with an inability for actually work very quickly, and it takes three weeks to get anything worthwhile done. Lit is almost the same way, but I'm actually not bad at that. The only thing that takes forever is writing the papers that I have (which alone would take anyone a while), so there's two weeks to get a unit done in there, at least. Blarghag. At least accounting's going ok.
The fireplace is one. That makes me happy. It's warm now. :)
Just thought I'd give a short update. Behave, Kids!
Current Mood: Sleepy
Random Useless Fact of the Day: The average person consumes 8 spiders during sleep in his lifetime. (Can we say... EEEEWEEEWGROSSGROSSGROSS!!!)
But yes. Revel in my ability to check my email in front of the fireplace instead of downstairs, where it's cold. I can also join in the laptop parties that tend to ensue whenever my siblings come to visit (everybody sitting around on whatever they can find, checking email and their respective computers). Yay for wireless internet!
Just got done with a trigonometry assignment. Man, I hate that subject. My book does a pretty crappy job of explaining things, so I have to look in yet another math book to figure out exactly what's going on. Combine that with an inability for actually work very quickly, and it takes three weeks to get anything worthwhile done. Lit is almost the same way, but I'm actually not bad at that. The only thing that takes forever is writing the papers that I have (which alone would take anyone a while), so there's two weeks to get a unit done in there, at least. Blarghag. At least accounting's going ok.
The fireplace is one. That makes me happy. It's warm now. :)
Just thought I'd give a short update. Behave, Kids!
Current Mood: Sleepy
Random Useless Fact of the Day: The average person consumes 8 spiders during sleep in his lifetime. (Can we say... EEEEWEEEWGROSSGROSSGROSS!!!)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Five Deer and a Lovebird
So the wildlife in my backyard has gotten a bit more interesting lately. Usually I only see one, maybe two deer out there. A few days ago, however, there were five. Yes, five. Three adults, two fawns (which didn't have spots but were still suckling). Funny thing is, I didn't notice said deer until I was out in my backyard, walking Pepper the Boston terrier. (But Pepper's not exactly bright, so she didn't notice them either.) Dumb things just stood there and stared at me and the dog, wondering what we were going to do (answer: Pepper did the business that she's supposed to). Once Pepper started growling, though, then they scampered off into the woods.
They'd better not be pooping all over the backyard.
Deer aside, the animals back there are pretty boring. Then Phil makes the lovely discovery of a very strange bird living in the birdhouse, being a friendly neighbor to the sparrows. This bird looks a little bit like a parakeet, only a tad larger and with a shorter tail. It's mostly green, with a pinkish head and parrot's bill. In other words, this bird is something very much not native to the state of Missouri. I did a quick search on Google Images, and it turns out that this thing is most likely a lovebird. What a lovebird is doing in my backyard birdhouse is a complete mystery. I'm thinking that it's someone's liberated pet; it seems to have no fear of humans at all. I mean, I was standing right under the tree branch where it was perched this afternoon and it only sat there and looked at me like I was some sort of retard.
Dumb bird. I have a couple of buddies in my taekwondo class that own parrots; perhaps they can give me a few words of wisdom as to what to do with the lovebird.
Speaking of taekwondo class, it's going really well. I had sparring class tonight, which was pretty interesting. My instructors have been reshuffling the sparring classes (by what standards the rest of us have NO IDEA), so I'm stuck in a class with not very many adults. The oldest of us is probably 18, and the majority of people I would even attempt to spar are about 15-17. Unfortunately, these folks are in short supply: the rest of the people in the class are KIDS. That's right... I'm in a class with a bunch of 12-year-olds. Needless to say, I'm not very happy about this. I don't want to fight kids. I don't feel right attempting to hit kids, especially since they're shorter than I am. It doesn't work. Not, don't get me wrong; the folks I did end up fighting were good people; they're in my normal Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday classes. But KIDS? In my SPARRING CLASS?!
I'm hoping I get reshuffled to the class with older folks... You know, the ones that I actually like sparring and getting beaten by. Because honestly, if we're being arranged by ability, then doesn't that stifle our development since we're not able to get tips from the ones better than we are??? Ah, well. We'll see what happens with that. In the meantime, I'm only 22 more classes away from being eligible to test for my black belt. That makes me happy. :)
Photo shoot tomorrow. Oh, joy.
Birthday in a week and a half. Here I come, #17!! :D
Got my ticket for "Wicked!" I'm excited about this one! This is where I get down on my knees and thank God that I have friends that know how to use their presale connections... Because we got the GOOD SEATS!!! Second row in the first mezzanine, yo! None of this "Hey, being on the floor sucks because I can't see over you people" stuff! Plus, I've been wanting to see "Wicked" since I first heard the music for it. It's supposed to be a really sweet musical, so I'm sure my girlfriends and I will have a great time mouthing along to pretty much every song in the play.
Going to see "Body Worlds" next weekend! For some reason, I'm fascinated by the prospect of seeing actual dead bodies being put on display for educational purposes. It should be really cool. I'm calling it my 17th b-day party. :)
School is going. I've scheduled one midterm and have taken two others. I still tend to have homework up to my eyebrows, particularly in Lit. Blargh.
I get to sleep in tomorrow... Again, that makes me happy. I don't get to sleep on many Saturdays any more, which is pooface because I'm still a lazy bum.
Right then... I'm going to go wash the sweat off of my stinky self and go to bed.
So there ya go, Charlie!! :D
Mood: Tired
Random Useless Fact of the Day: In the early days, people with syphilis were cured by being given malaria (yes, THAT malaria). The fever killed the syphilis germs, and once the malaria was offed by a few doses of quinine, voila! Cured!
They'd better not be pooping all over the backyard.
Deer aside, the animals back there are pretty boring. Then Phil makes the lovely discovery of a very strange bird living in the birdhouse, being a friendly neighbor to the sparrows. This bird looks a little bit like a parakeet, only a tad larger and with a shorter tail. It's mostly green, with a pinkish head and parrot's bill. In other words, this bird is something very much not native to the state of Missouri. I did a quick search on Google Images, and it turns out that this thing is most likely a lovebird. What a lovebird is doing in my backyard birdhouse is a complete mystery. I'm thinking that it's someone's liberated pet; it seems to have no fear of humans at all. I mean, I was standing right under the tree branch where it was perched this afternoon and it only sat there and looked at me like I was some sort of retard.
Dumb bird. I have a couple of buddies in my taekwondo class that own parrots; perhaps they can give me a few words of wisdom as to what to do with the lovebird.
Speaking of taekwondo class, it's going really well. I had sparring class tonight, which was pretty interesting. My instructors have been reshuffling the sparring classes (by what standards the rest of us have NO IDEA), so I'm stuck in a class with not very many adults. The oldest of us is probably 18, and the majority of people I would even attempt to spar are about 15-17. Unfortunately, these folks are in short supply: the rest of the people in the class are KIDS. That's right... I'm in a class with a bunch of 12-year-olds. Needless to say, I'm not very happy about this. I don't want to fight kids. I don't feel right attempting to hit kids, especially since they're shorter than I am. It doesn't work. Not, don't get me wrong; the folks I did end up fighting were good people; they're in my normal Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday classes. But KIDS? In my SPARRING CLASS?!
I'm hoping I get reshuffled to the class with older folks... You know, the ones that I actually like sparring and getting beaten by. Because honestly, if we're being arranged by ability, then doesn't that stifle our development since we're not able to get tips from the ones better than we are??? Ah, well. We'll see what happens with that. In the meantime, I'm only 22 more classes away from being eligible to test for my black belt. That makes me happy. :)
Photo shoot tomorrow. Oh, joy.
Birthday in a week and a half. Here I come, #17!! :D
Got my ticket for "Wicked!" I'm excited about this one! This is where I get down on my knees and thank God that I have friends that know how to use their presale connections... Because we got the GOOD SEATS!!! Second row in the first mezzanine, yo! None of this "Hey, being on the floor sucks because I can't see over you people" stuff! Plus, I've been wanting to see "Wicked" since I first heard the music for it. It's supposed to be a really sweet musical, so I'm sure my girlfriends and I will have a great time mouthing along to pretty much every song in the play.
Going to see "Body Worlds" next weekend! For some reason, I'm fascinated by the prospect of seeing actual dead bodies being put on display for educational purposes. It should be really cool. I'm calling it my 17th b-day party. :)
School is going. I've scheduled one midterm and have taken two others. I still tend to have homework up to my eyebrows, particularly in Lit. Blargh.
I get to sleep in tomorrow... Again, that makes me happy. I don't get to sleep on many Saturdays any more, which is pooface because I'm still a lazy bum.
Right then... I'm going to go wash the sweat off of my stinky self and go to bed.
So there ya go, Charlie!! :D
Mood: Tired
Random Useless Fact of the Day: In the early days, people with syphilis were cured by being given malaria (yes, THAT malaria). The fever killed the syphilis germs, and once the malaria was offed by a few doses of quinine, voila! Cured!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
I Officially Hate Google.
Why, you ask?
They won't let me keep my password.
This seems to me a bit awkward, seeming as I have had to reset my password to Blogger about 5 times thus far, plus two JUST TODAY. This is simply getting insane. I'm cranky enough without their resetting my password every two seconds-- can't I have Facebook for that???
Anyway.
Otherwise, life here has been all right. I'm still moving along in school (though in some subjects, the moving is slower than I would like it to be; blame Missouri higher math requirements for that). A few of my subjects, though I really enjoy, AP Lit/Comp being one of them. The teacher gives me smiley faces on my work, and I find that highly amusing! I mean, I haven't had smiley faces on ANYTHING since kindergarten. This is a BIG THING. But yeah, I think the school will work out, especially since I received some literature on how to actually use my graphing calculator. (We spent big money on that thing... but have I become technologically literate enough to use it properly? NO! Even with the user's manual!) So now I have TI-89 Graphing Calculator for Dummies. How special!
My social life has increased a lot these past couple of weeks. Extreme (the high school choir) has started up again, which has me all a-flitter. I love Extreme. It's not very large, and we really do need more guys to join (seeing as we only have about two when Nick decides to show up to practice), but the friends I have in there are great. The music is really good this year. We're already working on the stuff we'll be using for our concert in the spring. It'll sound great, I know it. Now if we could magically recruit more guys, life would be amazing there. I've already tried roping in a couple of my guy buds, but one of them has been throwing excuse after excuse (Psssh, who needs his health?), while another's parents are being a tad unreasonable (in my opinion) and are not letting him do anything outside of their church-- even though quite a few of his friends are already attending Extreme. Wacky.
Well, the Tour of Missouri is passing my subdivision any minute now. This is going to foul up traffic bigtime, I'm certain: there are only two ways out of here, and they both lie on the same main road, which the cyclists are supposed to be riding down about this time. Darn you, Team Discovery!! (Though not really. I'm sad you're disbanding after this. Godspeed. Truly.) But hey, I've got to be getting to taekwondo class somehow... Anyone have a helicopter I could rent for a few? Just to get over the nastiness that is sure to be Upper Bottom Road?
Man, I didn't have a Mountain Dew this morning and I'm already twitchy. Though I'm pretty sure it's because of the death-defying stunts I'm sure to be pulling this weekend. How? The Missouri Taekwondo Invitational is Saturday, and I'm competing. My parents weren't thrilled when I announced that I would be sparring in this tournament, as they've seen what happens in the very rare event in which someone catches a hard kick to the head. (Which isn't very pleasant, by the way. The victim of that kick was on some pretty hefty painkillers afterward.) But my division will be made up of the short stocky people that are not yet black belts. This means they won't be attempting a lot of headshots, but since I'm short (only about 5' 2"), it's always a concern for me. My major advantage, though, is that I'm pretty aggressive in the ring. I simply do not want to back down, even after I get knocked pretty hard. (I've taken more than one kick to the face, and last month I was fighting on a foot injured so that I needed crutches immediately afterward. Ouchy.) But I'm still really nervous. This is the first time I've ever competed in a sanctioned tournament, either in sparring or forms (not fighting, but routines of power display). That reminds me, I should make sure I've got all my sparring gear in my bag before I head out...
Yikes! I should get back to my homework-- writing this served as a break enough. I've got another lit essay to draft. (Oh, and hi, Charlie!)
Current Mood: Jittery
Random Useless Fact of the Day: An actual warning label on the hair ointment "Rogaine for Men": "Do not use if you are a woman." (*insert "DUH" here*)
They won't let me keep my password.
This seems to me a bit awkward, seeming as I have had to reset my password to Blogger about 5 times thus far, plus two JUST TODAY. This is simply getting insane. I'm cranky enough without their resetting my password every two seconds-- can't I have Facebook for that???
Anyway.
Otherwise, life here has been all right. I'm still moving along in school (though in some subjects, the moving is slower than I would like it to be; blame Missouri higher math requirements for that). A few of my subjects, though I really enjoy, AP Lit/Comp being one of them. The teacher gives me smiley faces on my work, and I find that highly amusing! I mean, I haven't had smiley faces on ANYTHING since kindergarten. This is a BIG THING. But yeah, I think the school will work out, especially since I received some literature on how to actually use my graphing calculator. (We spent big money on that thing... but have I become technologically literate enough to use it properly? NO! Even with the user's manual!) So now I have TI-89 Graphing Calculator for Dummies. How special!
My social life has increased a lot these past couple of weeks. Extreme (the high school choir) has started up again, which has me all a-flitter. I love Extreme. It's not very large, and we really do need more guys to join (seeing as we only have about two when Nick decides to show up to practice), but the friends I have in there are great. The music is really good this year. We're already working on the stuff we'll be using for our concert in the spring. It'll sound great, I know it. Now if we could magically recruit more guys, life would be amazing there. I've already tried roping in a couple of my guy buds, but one of them has been throwing excuse after excuse (Psssh, who needs his health?), while another's parents are being a tad unreasonable (in my opinion) and are not letting him do anything outside of their church-- even though quite a few of his friends are already attending Extreme. Wacky.
Well, the Tour of Missouri is passing my subdivision any minute now. This is going to foul up traffic bigtime, I'm certain: there are only two ways out of here, and they both lie on the same main road, which the cyclists are supposed to be riding down about this time. Darn you, Team Discovery!! (Though not really. I'm sad you're disbanding after this. Godspeed. Truly.) But hey, I've got to be getting to taekwondo class somehow... Anyone have a helicopter I could rent for a few? Just to get over the nastiness that is sure to be Upper Bottom Road?
Man, I didn't have a Mountain Dew this morning and I'm already twitchy. Though I'm pretty sure it's because of the death-defying stunts I'm sure to be pulling this weekend. How? The Missouri Taekwondo Invitational is Saturday, and I'm competing. My parents weren't thrilled when I announced that I would be sparring in this tournament, as they've seen what happens in the very rare event in which someone catches a hard kick to the head. (Which isn't very pleasant, by the way. The victim of that kick was on some pretty hefty painkillers afterward.) But my division will be made up of the short stocky people that are not yet black belts. This means they won't be attempting a lot of headshots, but since I'm short (only about 5' 2"), it's always a concern for me. My major advantage, though, is that I'm pretty aggressive in the ring. I simply do not want to back down, even after I get knocked pretty hard. (I've taken more than one kick to the face, and last month I was fighting on a foot injured so that I needed crutches immediately afterward. Ouchy.) But I'm still really nervous. This is the first time I've ever competed in a sanctioned tournament, either in sparring or forms (not fighting, but routines of power display). That reminds me, I should make sure I've got all my sparring gear in my bag before I head out...
Yikes! I should get back to my homework-- writing this served as a break enough. I've got another lit essay to draft. (Oh, and hi, Charlie!)
Current Mood: Jittery
Random Useless Fact of the Day: An actual warning label on the hair ointment "Rogaine for Men": "Do not use if you are a woman." (*insert "DUH" here*)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Therapy
Now, these aren't directed to anyone in particular, just to those that ever go to order something from a deli/bakery thing. I'm sure that some of my friends in foodservice can sympathize.
POINT #1: Get yourself organized enough to think ahead.
Okay, so you want to take lunch to a meeting you're going to. Great. We love orders. I'm glad to make 'em. I'm even good at it. Just please... Call us at LEAST an hour beforehand if the order is more than just a couple of sandwiches? Because if you're going to order a bunch of cookies and scones with five sandwich box lunches, then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure we actually have what you want! We don't appreciate having to call you back again and again to see if you have no problem with our being out of scones or veggie sticks. This is especially true on the first day of our week after being closed Sunday and Monday. People tend to come in and clean us out of everything...
POINT #2: Look over the menu and see if there's anything you've missed.
When you're ordering a sandwich using one of the fill-in menus, please have mercy and take the time to make sure that you've filled everything in. This is especially problematic with the bread selection; it's hard to make a sandwich (which, remember, I kind of enjoy) when you don't have any idea as to what to put said sandwich on. Also, please make sure that you've checked whether it's for here or to go... It's a pain in the rumpus to have to run back and forth and ask these things, especially at the lunch rush hours. Oh, and before you order, please make sure it's what you actually want. Having to stop and start over just because you decided you DIDN'T want mayo or something just makes time go slower and the sandwich people want to shut our heads in the coldtop.
POINT #3: We are not, I repeat, NOT a fast food establishment.
So you're in a hurry. I understand that. Really, I do. I'm going to try to make you as happy as I can with our service, meaning I will try to get your order up as soon as I possibly can. But let's think about this: It's noon, and there is a very long line of people standing around and not looking at bread. The safest thing to assume is that these folks are waiting on sandwiches. When you see us scurrying around at the coldtop making sandwich after sandwich, pounding them out at a pretty good clip, and looking at a stack of yellow papers, it's also safe to assume that your order JUST MIGHT TAKE MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES. As I said, my co-workers and I are going to be moving our fastest, but it's not easy trying to coordinate many sandwiches on the board at once. Things happen, and we might have to take even longer (this is especially true when we've received a ginormous call-in or fax order). Trust me, this is hard, and all I ask is some patience.
POINT #4: We are CLOSED Sundays and Mondays!
I know you love us. Many people do. But the owners need a weekend, so they close down the shop on Sunday and Monday. This means we bake NOTHING on these days. (Go back and read that again, if you don't mind. I'll wait.) So everything we sell when we open Tuesday morning is going to be two, maybe three days old (which is why sell it at 40% off). One batch of bread is going to take FIVE HOURS from start to finish. We take pride in our work. We make everything from SCRATCH. Using the normal timetable, this means we don't even START getting the fresh bread out of the oven until 10, maybe 10:30 on Tuesday morning. Even then, we can't slice anything for you for at least another 25 minutes, because if we try then the loaf will collapse. Not pretty at all. If you want good-quality, fresh Tuesday bread, then you might consider coming in the early afternoon; we usually have everything out by then.
POINT #5: There is a good reason we print out that calendar every month.
You see those large pieces of paper sitting by the cash register? The one that lists whatever breads we're making on whatever day? As I said, we have that for you to take and study so that you can find whatever bread you would like. Mind you, we're a SMALL TEENY TINY ITSY BITSY little bakery, so we can't make everything all the time. It's just not physically possible. So if there are any specialty breads you want, please don't hesitate to call in, or ask any of us working there. We'll be happy to take down your name and number and call you when whatever bread is being baked. Heck, we can even set some aside just for you! It's not that hard! Just arrange a time you want it! But if it's not on the calendar, then it's once again safe to assume that we're not baking it. You can put in a request, if you like, for the bread to be baked next month. I'm not promising anything, but we actually DO listen to our customers.
POINT #6: There are customers in the world other than you.
I don't mind serving customers. Really, I don't. I even like it, when the customers are friendly and polite. There are some that I've come to consider almost as friends. I know them by name. But when you barge into my shop and demand that I stick to you like glue? Yeah, that makes me unproductive. I despise being unproductive; that's not what I get paid for. Contrary to your apparent belief, when I'm getting some cookies for you, then it IS indeed possible for me to answer another customer's question and still give you the same kind of service I was already giving you. I mean, hey, I'm probably going to like the questioning customer better because they actually check to see what we have before they order their sandwich (see Point 5). But BY NO MEANS do you have the right to chew out my other customers. I don't CARE how picky you are or how much of a hurry you are in. Stop it. Right now. Take your food and go, because I don't enjoy people chewing out my customers because you think they're cutting in on your service.
Rawr. I needed that. I feel MUCH better now. I guess my main point is that the people at your local bakery/sandwich place are people too. We have lives. We have other responsibilities. We get stressed out, sometimes almost to the breaking point. You'd be amazed how much a smile or a "thank you!" or even a "Wow, that was really good!" can reduce that stress. It's great when you know that your work is appreciated and that you might've made someone else's life a bit easier by doing it. It's a good place to be in. All that we ask in return is that you come back with your business and goodwill. Thanks.
POINT #1: Get yourself organized enough to think ahead.
Okay, so you want to take lunch to a meeting you're going to. Great. We love orders. I'm glad to make 'em. I'm even good at it. Just please... Call us at LEAST an hour beforehand if the order is more than just a couple of sandwiches? Because if you're going to order a bunch of cookies and scones with five sandwich box lunches, then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure we actually have what you want! We don't appreciate having to call you back again and again to see if you have no problem with our being out of scones or veggie sticks. This is especially true on the first day of our week after being closed Sunday and Monday. People tend to come in and clean us out of everything...
POINT #2: Look over the menu and see if there's anything you've missed.
When you're ordering a sandwich using one of the fill-in menus, please have mercy and take the time to make sure that you've filled everything in. This is especially problematic with the bread selection; it's hard to make a sandwich (which, remember, I kind of enjoy) when you don't have any idea as to what to put said sandwich on. Also, please make sure that you've checked whether it's for here or to go... It's a pain in the rumpus to have to run back and forth and ask these things, especially at the lunch rush hours. Oh, and before you order, please make sure it's what you actually want. Having to stop and start over just because you decided you DIDN'T want mayo or something just makes time go slower and the sandwich people want to shut our heads in the coldtop.
POINT #3: We are not, I repeat, NOT a fast food establishment.
So you're in a hurry. I understand that. Really, I do. I'm going to try to make you as happy as I can with our service, meaning I will try to get your order up as soon as I possibly can. But let's think about this: It's noon, and there is a very long line of people standing around and not looking at bread. The safest thing to assume is that these folks are waiting on sandwiches. When you see us scurrying around at the coldtop making sandwich after sandwich, pounding them out at a pretty good clip, and looking at a stack of yellow papers, it's also safe to assume that your order JUST MIGHT TAKE MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES. As I said, my co-workers and I are going to be moving our fastest, but it's not easy trying to coordinate many sandwiches on the board at once. Things happen, and we might have to take even longer (this is especially true when we've received a ginormous call-in or fax order). Trust me, this is hard, and all I ask is some patience.
POINT #4: We are CLOSED Sundays and Mondays!
I know you love us. Many people do. But the owners need a weekend, so they close down the shop on Sunday and Monday. This means we bake NOTHING on these days. (Go back and read that again, if you don't mind. I'll wait.) So everything we sell when we open Tuesday morning is going to be two, maybe three days old (which is why sell it at 40% off). One batch of bread is going to take FIVE HOURS from start to finish. We take pride in our work. We make everything from SCRATCH. Using the normal timetable, this means we don't even START getting the fresh bread out of the oven until 10, maybe 10:30 on Tuesday morning. Even then, we can't slice anything for you for at least another 25 minutes, because if we try then the loaf will collapse. Not pretty at all. If you want good-quality, fresh Tuesday bread, then you might consider coming in the early afternoon; we usually have everything out by then.
POINT #5: There is a good reason we print out that calendar every month.
You see those large pieces of paper sitting by the cash register? The one that lists whatever breads we're making on whatever day? As I said, we have that for you to take and study so that you can find whatever bread you would like. Mind you, we're a SMALL TEENY TINY ITSY BITSY little bakery, so we can't make everything all the time. It's just not physically possible. So if there are any specialty breads you want, please don't hesitate to call in, or ask any of us working there. We'll be happy to take down your name and number and call you when whatever bread is being baked. Heck, we can even set some aside just for you! It's not that hard! Just arrange a time you want it! But if it's not on the calendar, then it's once again safe to assume that we're not baking it. You can put in a request, if you like, for the bread to be baked next month. I'm not promising anything, but we actually DO listen to our customers.
POINT #6: There are customers in the world other than you.
I don't mind serving customers. Really, I don't. I even like it, when the customers are friendly and polite. There are some that I've come to consider almost as friends. I know them by name. But when you barge into my shop and demand that I stick to you like glue? Yeah, that makes me unproductive. I despise being unproductive; that's not what I get paid for. Contrary to your apparent belief, when I'm getting some cookies for you, then it IS indeed possible for me to answer another customer's question and still give you the same kind of service I was already giving you. I mean, hey, I'm probably going to like the questioning customer better because they actually check to see what we have before they order their sandwich (see Point 5). But BY NO MEANS do you have the right to chew out my other customers. I don't CARE how picky you are or how much of a hurry you are in. Stop it. Right now. Take your food and go, because I don't enjoy people chewing out my customers because you think they're cutting in on your service.
Rawr. I needed that. I feel MUCH better now. I guess my main point is that the people at your local bakery/sandwich place are people too. We have lives. We have other responsibilities. We get stressed out, sometimes almost to the breaking point. You'd be amazed how much a smile or a "thank you!" or even a "Wow, that was really good!" can reduce that stress. It's great when you know that your work is appreciated and that you might've made someone else's life a bit easier by doing it. It's a good place to be in. All that we ask in return is that you come back with your business and goodwill. Thanks.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Back Once Again
This is pretty much solely for my uncle Charlie, who continues to ask me why I never update my blog. Answer: I just got out of school (finally), I have a job (yeah, still! Crazy, ain't it?), Blogger has been taken by Google (meaning I had to try about a bajillion different passwords to remember which one was the real password), and I'm just a lazy little booger (read: teenager).
Life here's been all right since my last update. There has been some drama from a certain juvenile delinquent (not me), but nothing that my family hasn't been able to handle without the help of a lawyer and a lot of sarcastic humor when we're in our own little corner. I've been breezing through my taekwondo training, though I've been busy this summer. On Saturday I'll be testing for Recommended Black belt, the last belt I will have to complete before being certified as a full-fledged black belt. In other words, I'll probably get the black belt some time in the winter. Makes me glad I have a job; apparently the test costs about $160 to test, even with the Black Belt Club discount. Mind you, that price includes certification, a new uniform, and the customization of the belt (the thing gets embroidered with your name and the name of the school). But for right now, I'll focus on completing the requirements for Recommended Black as fast as I can; I'll probably try to get some private lessons in to make up for the time I lost this summer.
Why was I gone so much, you ask? Well, in the second and third weeks of June I was involved in a program called Servants, which is run out of Kentucky Christian University. The first week was spent at the university in a musical boot camp of sorts. The director was really strict, but still had a great sense of humor (often could be seen popping his collar during morning rehearsals, ew). I was reminded constantly of the director of my elementary church choir; upon leaving the first practice session on the first night, I was thinking, "I've found Perry's brain twin! SWEET!" The music practices were really tough, much more so than I expected them to be. For example, we would practice about 6 to 8 hours a day (with breaks every hour or two) in order to prepare our concert. In between practice sessions were many devos and sessions with our family groups (THOSE were hilarious fun!), during which I got the nickname "Spruce." Our family name was the First Forbidden Frumptious Forest, mostly because the only thing my entire ADD group had for sure was that we were all named after trees.
The second week was the tour. That was the most fun I have ever had on a bus since Bible Bowl: for one thing, taking pictures of people sleeping was pretty amusing, plus the fiasco with Prayer Partners (and how I was pulling many anonymous stunts on my PP, who happened to be the director of the choir, heh heh) were just PERFECT. We (all 76 of us) stayed in the houses of people attending the churches we performed at. Those folks were some of the nicest people I could ever hope to meet-- one lady took in eight girls (me included), and the first thing she did when we got to her house was to feed us chock-full of sandwiches and homemade cookies, and then encouraged us all to swim in her pool (which she opened just for us). Another couple let us four girls have the run of their basement apartment, complete with a fridge and freezer stocked with strawberry ice cream. Everyone in the choir became pretty much family, with no real cliques or groups forming within. The drama was left at home, which was a real relief and a change of pace for me. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I plan to go back next summer!
The next trip I took was to Bible Bowl Nationals in Kansas City. We did really pretty well in the competition, making it through 5 rounds of double-elimination competition (which is the best my team has ever done) and ranking right in the middle of all the teams at the tournament. Who loves the upper 50th percentile!!! We actually got our team into the standings on the Bible Bowl Web site, of which Mom was really proud. The text for next year will be the gospel of John, 1-3 John, and 1-2 Peter. Should be interesting, since there aren't nearly as many places to memorize (unlike a couple years ago with Acts...). We'll see how this year goes; hopefully we can all beat our own bests while actually learning the Word.
A week from today, I'll be flying up to Minnesota to visit my brother Chris. I'm really looking forward to it; I haven't seen Chris since Christmas. Amy should be up there as well, so we'll at least have a three-fourths voting majority. Not sure what we'll be voting on, maybe Phil. Should be fun.
Mom has already enrolled me in my courses for junior year. This year I'll be taking American History, Chemistry, Accounting, AP English Literature and Composition, and Trigonometry. The trig only lasts for a semester, though, so perhaps I'll start Pre-Calculus in January. It's either that or statistics. Either way, I start school on August 6, sooner if my books arrive. It should be an interesting year. I'm sort of nervous about the literature course, but if I work hard enough things should come to me. I'm not big on recognizing symbols and whatnot in novels, not to mention I tend to see the 'wrong' lesson within the story. For example: In Romeo and Juliet I decided that the lesson was "Don't marry the 14-year-olds," but apparently that wasn't it. (Yes, I knew that the lesson was not to carry huge grudges against random people for no reason.) Ah, well, good thing I'm getting some practice, then.
Well, I do hope that this has been (somewhat) satisfactory for those that haven't seen anything out of me for a while. (Hi, Charlie! Next time I know I'm going to see you I'll bring some bread. :] )
Current Mood: Waiting in utter excitement
Random Useless Fact of the Day: James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, dressed up in a style similar to that of George Washington. Why? Apparently he was THAT flattered by folks' comments about his resemblance to Washington. (talk about someone's fashion being out-of-season....)
Life here's been all right since my last update. There has been some drama from a certain juvenile delinquent (not me), but nothing that my family hasn't been able to handle without the help of a lawyer and a lot of sarcastic humor when we're in our own little corner. I've been breezing through my taekwondo training, though I've been busy this summer. On Saturday I'll be testing for Recommended Black belt, the last belt I will have to complete before being certified as a full-fledged black belt. In other words, I'll probably get the black belt some time in the winter. Makes me glad I have a job; apparently the test costs about $160 to test, even with the Black Belt Club discount. Mind you, that price includes certification, a new uniform, and the customization of the belt (the thing gets embroidered with your name and the name of the school). But for right now, I'll focus on completing the requirements for Recommended Black as fast as I can; I'll probably try to get some private lessons in to make up for the time I lost this summer.
Why was I gone so much, you ask? Well, in the second and third weeks of June I was involved in a program called Servants, which is run out of Kentucky Christian University. The first week was spent at the university in a musical boot camp of sorts. The director was really strict, but still had a great sense of humor (often could be seen popping his collar during morning rehearsals, ew). I was reminded constantly of the director of my elementary church choir; upon leaving the first practice session on the first night, I was thinking, "I've found Perry's brain twin! SWEET!" The music practices were really tough, much more so than I expected them to be. For example, we would practice about 6 to 8 hours a day (with breaks every hour or two) in order to prepare our concert. In between practice sessions were many devos and sessions with our family groups (THOSE were hilarious fun!), during which I got the nickname "Spruce." Our family name was the First Forbidden Frumptious Forest, mostly because the only thing my entire ADD group had for sure was that we were all named after trees.
The second week was the tour. That was the most fun I have ever had on a bus since Bible Bowl: for one thing, taking pictures of people sleeping was pretty amusing, plus the fiasco with Prayer Partners (and how I was pulling many anonymous stunts on my PP, who happened to be the director of the choir, heh heh) were just PERFECT. We (all 76 of us) stayed in the houses of people attending the churches we performed at. Those folks were some of the nicest people I could ever hope to meet-- one lady took in eight girls (me included), and the first thing she did when we got to her house was to feed us chock-full of sandwiches and homemade cookies, and then encouraged us all to swim in her pool (which she opened just for us). Another couple let us four girls have the run of their basement apartment, complete with a fridge and freezer stocked with strawberry ice cream. Everyone in the choir became pretty much family, with no real cliques or groups forming within. The drama was left at home, which was a real relief and a change of pace for me. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I plan to go back next summer!
The next trip I took was to Bible Bowl Nationals in Kansas City. We did really pretty well in the competition, making it through 5 rounds of double-elimination competition (which is the best my team has ever done) and ranking right in the middle of all the teams at the tournament. Who loves the upper 50th percentile!!! We actually got our team into the standings on the Bible Bowl Web site, of which Mom was really proud. The text for next year will be the gospel of John, 1-3 John, and 1-2 Peter. Should be interesting, since there aren't nearly as many places to memorize (unlike a couple years ago with Acts...). We'll see how this year goes; hopefully we can all beat our own bests while actually learning the Word.
A week from today, I'll be flying up to Minnesota to visit my brother Chris. I'm really looking forward to it; I haven't seen Chris since Christmas. Amy should be up there as well, so we'll at least have a three-fourths voting majority. Not sure what we'll be voting on, maybe Phil. Should be fun.
Mom has already enrolled me in my courses for junior year. This year I'll be taking American History, Chemistry, Accounting, AP English Literature and Composition, and Trigonometry. The trig only lasts for a semester, though, so perhaps I'll start Pre-Calculus in January. It's either that or statistics. Either way, I start school on August 6, sooner if my books arrive. It should be an interesting year. I'm sort of nervous about the literature course, but if I work hard enough things should come to me. I'm not big on recognizing symbols and whatnot in novels, not to mention I tend to see the 'wrong' lesson within the story. For example: In Romeo and Juliet I decided that the lesson was "Don't marry the 14-year-olds," but apparently that wasn't it. (Yes, I knew that the lesson was not to carry huge grudges against random people for no reason.) Ah, well, good thing I'm getting some practice, then.
Well, I do hope that this has been (somewhat) satisfactory for those that haven't seen anything out of me for a while. (Hi, Charlie! Next time I know I'm going to see you I'll bring some bread. :] )
Current Mood: Waiting in utter excitement
Random Useless Fact of the Day: James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, dressed up in a style similar to that of George Washington. Why? Apparently he was THAT flattered by folks' comments about his resemblance to Washington. (talk about someone's fashion being out-of-season....)
Saturday, January 27, 2007
*rises from the dead*
Okay, okay, yes, my minions, I have returned from the fictional realm of Noblogger. Who hates it when the site randomly changes hosts and so everyone has to redo their accounts? *raises hand*
So, um, yeah. Everyone knows how I turned sixteen last October. Mid-November I hit another milestone: The almighty driver's license. I even am driving a car that I call my own (though Earl the 1989 Oldsmobile really belongs to my grandmother) to just about wherever I need to go. Happy stuff. I like that car; once I figured how to handle it, it works well for my purposes.
Event number two since my last update was Journey to Bethlehem, in which I somehow landed the role of Mary. It was really very fun; that baby bump was a two-person job to take on and off. Joseph had a really good sense of humor through the whole thing, so that made it more fun. I was sorry when it was over and done.
Event number three: the red belt. I still have a scar on my hand from punching my board at that particular test. Taekwondo in general is still going swimmingly. In fact, I've got Black Belt Club this afternoon, squee!
School is, again, going pretty well. I made it through my first semester with good grades (mostly; geometry is much harder than I give it credit), and am still trucking along. That reminds me, I've still got homework to do. Oh, joy.
Running sound tomorrow in the youth service. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, seeing as I don't normally get along well with teenagers who deliberately act like idiots, but I still love fiddling around with electronics. It should go well, though; this week I get the good worship team, the one that actually knows what's going on and has some actual talent. Crazy! Hopefully, I won't have to mute the mics on the drums. Either that or hand the drummer some paper sticks.
Well, I best be off. I'd like to catch a nap before Black Belt Club, since I'm truly going to need it. After all, right afterward is movie night with some of my friends. Yipee!
Current Mood: Excited
Ranomd Useless Fact of the Day: Studies show that chickens, like many humans, like attractive people best.
So, um, yeah. Everyone knows how I turned sixteen last October. Mid-November I hit another milestone: The almighty driver's license. I even am driving a car that I call my own (though Earl the 1989 Oldsmobile really belongs to my grandmother) to just about wherever I need to go. Happy stuff. I like that car; once I figured how to handle it, it works well for my purposes.
Event number two since my last update was Journey to Bethlehem, in which I somehow landed the role of Mary. It was really very fun; that baby bump was a two-person job to take on and off. Joseph had a really good sense of humor through the whole thing, so that made it more fun. I was sorry when it was over and done.
Event number three: the red belt. I still have a scar on my hand from punching my board at that particular test. Taekwondo in general is still going swimmingly. In fact, I've got Black Belt Club this afternoon, squee!
School is, again, going pretty well. I made it through my first semester with good grades (mostly; geometry is much harder than I give it credit), and am still trucking along. That reminds me, I've still got homework to do. Oh, joy.
Running sound tomorrow in the youth service. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, seeing as I don't normally get along well with teenagers who deliberately act like idiots, but I still love fiddling around with electronics. It should go well, though; this week I get the good worship team, the one that actually knows what's going on and has some actual talent. Crazy! Hopefully, I won't have to mute the mics on the drums. Either that or hand the drummer some paper sticks.
Well, I best be off. I'd like to catch a nap before Black Belt Club, since I'm truly going to need it. After all, right afterward is movie night with some of my friends. Yipee!
Current Mood: Excited
Ranomd Useless Fact of the Day: Studies show that chickens, like many humans, like attractive people best.
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