Friday, November 27, 2015

B.R.O.N.C.H.I.T.I.S.

Well there's all sorts of stuff going on in my life recently.

Another, to my knowledge, first Doctor thinks I have bronchitis. Not exactly a wanted first. Sore throat, fever, sore, tired, cough, nausea.

Then to top it off my allergies decided now would be a good time to show up. Sneezing, runny nose, hard to breath, unable to think clear.

This all makes great working conditions....

On the plus side I have the next 4 days off. Hopefully I can kick this bronchitis before I go back to work. It'd be nice if the allergies went away by then too, but I'm not holding my breath.


I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

A Few Reasons You Shouldn't Support Pro-Sports

I cannot, I will not, and you should not support Pro-Sports. I'm all for people getting out and playing sports. It's exercise and for those that like sports it's fun. However pro-sports (or any who get paid to play sports) should NOT be supported. I'm sure I could write a whole book on why, but for now here's my "best reasons"


   1. Sports are a hobby/exercise NOT a job. I had to do sports for gym in school. Did I get paid for it? No. Why? It's not a job.

   2. They make WAY to much money. We live in a world full of debt and once again sports aren't a job yet they're getting paid for it and not only are they getting paid they make more than people with real jobs!

   3. You want to know where all that money should be going? Those who work in the military! They sacrifice their lives, their relationships, their sanity to protect us. Yet most of them once they leave the military can't find a civilian job, can't pay their bills, end up homeless, suffer from PTSD, some are dealing with how to live with loss of limb(s), a lot of them suffer from divorces from being away for so long, ... and there's a lot more to the list.

The highest paid athlete is Floyd Mayweather (boxer) at $300 million. (according to my Google search) $300 million to get beat up for no good reason. I'm sorry, but if you like fighting, fight to make a difference. Your little boxing match will never make a difference; it won't end world hunger, it won't provide homes for the homeless, it won't save people's souls, it won't provide purified water, it won't provide an education, it won't give us/keep freedom, it won't help the deaf,... it won't do anything.    


Why.. How could I / How could you support something so flawed?

Saturday, November 21, 2015

First Mandatory Meeting

This is my 3rd week on the job and I've already had my first mandatory meeting. I've never actually had a mandatory meeting for a job before so that was a new experience.
Our station(s) used to be through another company who decided they no longer wanted to be in the business so they reached out to the people who now own it to see if they'd like to buy the company, obviously they said yes. Everyone who worked for the previous owners really liked the way things were ran and some of the changes have left some of them upset. Change is never easy, but as they explained in the meeting the previous owners wanted to sell and sought a buyer. It was not our current owners bullying them into selling.
It seems there has been some us and them-ing and complaining, etc. They were trying to explain that we are all a team, it doesn't matter which owner we were originally hired under. We now all work for the same company; the company that signs our checks. From everything I've seen it's a great company. But as I said change isn't easy. The station(s) have been under the new owners for almost a year now so they're now cracking down on the things that need fixed or improved. Cut hours, mandatory uniforms, work harder, better customer service, etc. All normal things that happen in companies. The better we work, the cleaner it is, the friendlier we are, the more customers come in, the more we sell, the more hours we'll get; common sense.  

Semi-funny story: If you were to look up my station on Google Earth it is a picture of a female employee sitting in the ledge of our drive-thru window with her back facing the camera. I say it's semi-funny because who would have thought that's the moment google would have chosen to take the picture? But it's also not funny because that looks bad for the company, it makes us all look bad. That employee along with several others no longer work for the company.

I'm a bit amazed at some of the things that have to be explained to people...


Light It Up!

      I've been married for 6 years and FINALLY my husband, after much hinting and telling him he was ruining my Christmas, allowed me to decorate before Thanksgiving!

Also, for the first time ever I got to light up our porch! I'm so excited!

     As a teen I dreamed of all the things Christmas would mean when I was older. Part of it was decorating the outside of the house (as well as the inside, of course) We never decorated outside when I lived with my parents, which is a shame because we had a great house for it, I feel like decorating outside is just apart of Christmas (it should not be left out!). It's a way of sharing the Holiday cheer with your neighbors, a Christmas tree from the window just isn't enough.  

    We have 2 Christmas trees and I'm thinking about lightly decorating the old, small one and putting it on our porch. I've seen pictures where others have done that and I just loved it.

    I do ALL the decorating alone so it can be a bit hard on me, but I'm sure gonna try! Hopefully one of these Christmases I'll getting it looking the way I really want it... Until then just deal with what I've got, it's the best I can do. Lol.

**I LOVE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS** 

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Kitchen Only

So we left off with me on Cloud 9, but still completely aware of my imminent transfer to cashier....

Today I went in to work ready to learn the register like they'd told me I'd be doing today. I wore my hair in a ponytail which I don't normally do because I deal with the food, but since I'd be on register I didn't have anything to worry about. I go into the backroom nervous, but smiling. I'm thankful for my job and even if it meant transferring to a new shift and to a cashier, which I didn't want to do, I'm going to smile. Anyways as I was saying I walk into the backroom and my sister and her boss (my boss too, of course) are talking and they tell me I did a great job yesterday then my sister tells me that she won't be training me on register.. So I'm thinking that's odd.. and (not sure if I actually said anything now that I think about it. Either way with a look or words I asked why) and she said that corporate told her I'm Kitchen only! That thrilled me beyond words. I did not want to be a cashier. I'm all for hopping on a register to help when they're desperate, but for that to be my job, no, please don't make me. My sister and boss told me the inspector told them all the same things he'd told me about me taking pride in my job, how much he appreciated the pride I took, and how good I do cooking the food, etc. After that my sister walked out to do something and I looked at our boss and said well I guess I'll put my hair up LOL
My days and shift are going to change a little. I'm going to do 1/2 of my days on 1st and 1/2 on 2nd, which will make it easier on my whole family. I will be working 2 jobs on Fridays, but I'll be getting a 3 day weekend this way so it's a fair trade.
I'll have my first mandatory meeting on Friday, if my sister was correct about me having to be there. I'm excited to start this newer part of my new job. This is my 3rd week and it's been crazy and changing so quick, but I'm loving it and I'm so grateful to be "stuck" in the kitchen. God knew what I wanted and needed and He gave it to me. I'm so blessed! Now speaking of my job I need to get to bed so I'm well rested tomorrow.
Can't wait to tell you new stories. I'm sure I'll have some soon!

Inspection Time

I went to work yesterday thinking it would be a normal day. It wasn't. I come in and my sister tells me not to be intimidated, but there are inspectors in the kitchen. Of course I immediately get intimidated, but I tried not to show it. I go back into the kitchen and start doing what I'd normally do. The inspectors are going in and out of the kitchen checking things, then they bring food back into the kitchen to try. After they finished the food they started talking to me more, which was intimidating. After they asked their questions they continued to talk to me and I found out they're really nice and cool. (Awesome!) I got to ask tips on cooking some of the food to their liking.

When it was just about time for me to leave they started thanking me and telling me they loved how much pride I took in my job and that, that's something very hard to find in people now. I was about 2 seconds from doing a dance, I was so excited! I'm sure the smile on my face was huge and possibly goofy. I left for the day feeling super great about my job and how well I do.
See I'd been worried about it. I was so afraid I wasn't cooking everything as well as I should; I knew I was cooking it as well as I knew how to and I tried my hardest. It was just.. amazing (doesn't even seem a strong enough word) to hear inspectors tell me that I was doing a good job and that they appreciated it! Don't mind me on Cloud 9 over here LOL

As happy as I was I knew they still were going to teach me to be a cashier and move me into the store :-( .... But this leads to a whole new post, which took place today....

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

My First Unintentionally Rude Customer

So as I previously said I have a new job at a gas station and I like it. I'm the cook and I bring the food out into the store and so the story begins.

I just finished cooking up, packaging, and labeling some food and I walked it out to the store, I put the food in the warmer and I start to head back to the kitchen, but there's a guy standing in the way. I, of course, patiently wait for him to move. This guy is at least in his 40's, kind of looks like a guy who'd play an Ornery Uncle, not well groomed.. he looks at me and says, "Looks like you broke out in some rash" For those of you who don't know me I have always had a hard time with my face breaking out. I hate it, it's embarrassing, but you learn to just live with it. So after I mentally stumble out of my shock I say something like, "Oh no, I've dealt with this all my life." All I could think was "Wow! That's so RUDE!" (Even though I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to be)
I've had others ask about my complexion, but it's always been people that had a right to ask (Family, friends, or doctors)

Just goes to show age doesn't always equal wisdom.  

My New Job

Had you told me a couple months ago that I was going to work at a gas station I would have thought you were crazy. Had you told me not only would I be working in a gas station, but I'd be their cook I would have started setting up your sessions for counseling. And had you continued on to say I'd even like the job I probably would have tried to slap the insanity out of you.
However I am working at a gas station, I am the cook, and I do like my job. *Mind blown* LOL
The days go by fast, the employees are all pretty cool, I get to pretty much set the menu, and I get to make pizzas which I've found can be fun. (In case you didn't know, I'm not really a pizza fan. Our pizza is good though!) I get to stay in my kitchen pretty much alone, which honestly works very well for me. (I don't hate people I'm just a bit awkward around them. lol) Along with cooking I clean up the kitchen and help out with cleaning the store and bathrooms.. obviously the bathroom is no one's favorite room to clean, but luckily our bathroom isn't one of THOSE gas station bathrooms. *Insert horror movie music*
I started out only getting 2 days a week, 4 hours each day. Well that lasted a total of 2 days and I was bumped BLESSED with 2 more days also at 4 hours a day. Also I was informed that I'll probably be going to another shift soon *dun, dun, dun* and I'd be a cashier *Insert horror movie scream* So I'll only have the comfort and not lonely loneliness of my kitchen for a little while. I would prefer to stay on my current shift and in my current position, but 1. I'm needed in this other position/shift and 2. It's currently what's best for my family. *Insert me sobbing with the violin playing in the background* (Okay so I'm not really sobbing, but I seriously like what I'm doing) When Seth goes to school I'll probably try to switch back to this job, but that won't be happening for a little while.
Also a plus I've been able to see my sister a lot more because she works there too. Amazingly the company is fine with hiring family members into the same store.   
I'm sure you'll hear more about my job soon be it because I got moved into the new position or because some customer says/does something crazy. Oh actually I have a short story for that already, but I'll put it in another post...