August Part 1
Bagpipes? Huh?
8-1-02
It's nearly two in the morning now, but I thought I should probably write something even though I still don't have any new pictures. I started the day with tomato soup and biked to work, noting on the way that indeed my back tire was looking a bit on the flat side. I worked until 1 or so and then Paul let me go home to do laundry. I decided to swim in the pool while I washed my clothes so that I could wash everything I have that's dirty yet go out in public. So I donned my two piece black swimsuit and headed for the laundry room with my lunch in a bag and my backback as well as my dirty clothing. I left my basket in the laundry room and headed to the office so I could pay my rent (due today) and get quarters. I got there, but they said the machine took only dollars and I only had two and a twenty. So I asked if they had change (assuming with all the money they take from people that they'd have some) for my twenty but they said they don't have money like that and that I'd have to go to the liquor store or something. I gave Tam my debit card to pay my rent (the amount which I wrote on my hand as I ran out the door), but she said I'd have to wait because they were getting a fax. I worried that my cold turkey sandwich and pop would get warm or be poisoned by some villain before I'd ever get back. Finally Tam charged me for my rent and I ran to the liquor store in my bathing suit, towel gripped in one hand to get change for my twenty. The two guys there were exceptionally nice to me and I ran back to the office with money for laundry quarters. As I reached the laundry room I found it was locked still and I'd have to use my laundry key, but an exceptionally nice maintenence man opened it for me before I could get my own key. Finally I got my laundry in and sat to eat my sandwich. Another guy who was doing laundry talked to me throughout my entire meal about how he loves his vaulted ceiling and thinks our apartments are great. Then he left and I went swimming. As I floated there in the chlorinated cool water, I looked up at the sun-bathed palm trees against a blue sky with white clouds and thought, "Wow...this is really nice..." and then I remembered how I'd decided that this is the worst experience of my life and thought, well, it might not be so bad. I mean, next month I could be bankrupt on a grayhound home to be a parasite to my mother, a failure and a disappointment, but I expected that to happen already and it hasn't. Heck, if floating in a pool under palm trees is part of my worst experience ever, what am I complaining about?
So then I finished my laundry and went home to get ready for work. I knew I should air up my flat tire so I decided to stop at the gas station before going to work so I could use their air pump. When I got there I saw that the pump only took quarters and even though I had twenty-five cents, it was in dimes and nickels. I parked my bike in front of the store so I could keep an eye on it and went inside to get a quarter real quick. The guy poked his head out of a closet of some sort and said "I'll be with you in a minute - I have to change the soda..." This was mildly frustrating since I was already running later than I wanted to and all I wanted was a quarter. So I turned to the other guy who was waiting in line and said, "I don't suppose you have a quarter, do you?" and he did and said it was a fine trade for my dime and nickels so I thanked him and ran out to air up my flat. I got to work just in time and found that it was pretty dead, so they didn't miss me too much - which was good. I rattled on as usual, trying to keep things interesting as I worked, talked to Carol about different things...I asked if she liked musicals...and laughed at the brail on the microwaves as though a blind person would be making sandwiches. She told me how to lift one end of the giant cutting board and clean one side then lift the other because it was too heavy to do all at once. I said, "Like in nursing homes when they move the people to one side of the bed and change the sheets then roll them to the other side and do the other side? And she said yes and so then I told her about how my mom once worked at a nursing home but quit because it was so horrid and how she said that if she ever got altzheimers she'd kill herself. Then I talked to Eric about books and movies and before I knew it, work was over. I stayed after to show Eric and Carol my art and they said it was good and that I might be able to go places with it.
So then I biked home in the twilight. It was nice because it was not stiflingly hot or blindingly bright. At the first corner as I waited on the light to change, I could swear I heard bagpipes. But with all the traffic going by, I couldn't make anything definite out. It could be an alarm or a really really loud cell phone ring...
Once I crossed the street the music grew louder and then I was sure it was bagpipes...but I didn't know why. There's this huge company surrounded by fences and electric gates that I pass every time I go to work, and in the parking lot behind the fences and gates I saw a man walking around playing bagpipes! Seriously! I kinda liked it so I stopped and listened a while, hoping that he'd see I was interested and come talk to me and tell me why he was blowing bagpipes at twilight in a parking lot. But he didn't come over...only paced back and forth. No one else was there with him and the two vehicles that pulled out of the lot didn't tell me anything, so I finally left with a shrug, not wanting to be out much longer since it was starting to get a lot darker. I concentrated on signs, trying to figure out what sort of company it was when I finally realized that it was the United States Postal Service. Aha! I guess that explains things...crazy postal workers. Maybe someone died and his last request was to have his Pal Play the Pipes in the Postal Parking lot. It was very weird. Then I passed the dead mourning dove and almost got hit by a car, then I rode through the thorn bushes and made it through without getting bloody. Another vehicle almost ran me over outside Honey Bears, but I stopped, being quite wary...it's dangerous enough in the daytime on your bike let alone when it gets darker. One must always be prepared for drunks and idiots. So I made it home just fine and I think I'll not be staying after or listening to bagpipes again in the future because I don't like riding in the almost dark.
One Outta 800 Ain't That Bad
8-2-02
Well here's something sort of new, but hardly art. At least it's something new, though. I pretty much just worked all day. Our credit card machines have been acting up - being incredibly slow recently. The customers have to wait about two minutes on it to go through. That's a very long time for an instant gratification culture. At first we started rubbing the numbers on the cards manually onto carbon copy forms because it was faster (at least...when other people besides me did it), but then we ran out of forms. Then I had to apologize and sit there and look at the ceiling and tap the card impatiently and make idle conversation,
"Hey, is that a Phil Collins hat?"
"Your sandwich might get done before the credit machine, heh heh..." *tap tap tap*
"Have you lived in Arizona all your life?"
"Are you a mailman?"
"Do you get to choose the picture they put on your card?"
"Were you named after a relative or a famous emperor?"
"Is that a pig on your keychain?"
"If this thing had a neck I'd choke it."
One guy signed his receit and started to take off with the pen. I said he forgot something and pointed at the pen with a smile, thinking he'd think it was funny too that he'd almost stolen the pen, but he gave me this evil glare. Maybe he really WAS trying to steal it. Then I got this really mean guy who ordered five meals. I typed "5" and "discout" and then he handed me a credit card. I pushed "charge", then realized that only one discount went through instead of five. I hadn't run his credit card yet, so I called Paul over to help me out. He figured how much to really charge the guy (about a dollar twenty less) and then I put the card through the pokey machine. The guy was really ticked off and I didn't get it. I mean, I'm just a new person and I don't know everything, plus I was just trying to save him money. I was really upset about it for a while, but then got over it because I think it was really just him and not me.
I went home for only an hour today, so I could make up for the extra time I took for laundry yesterday. I ordered a sandwich for lunch and rode my bike home. I had to take a shower because I didn't have time in the morning and I really wanted a cold one after biking through the early afternoon sun. I finished, leaving myself only enough time to eat half of my club sandwich. I grabbed "Ender's Game" for Eric (a book trade for Crime and Punishment), and rode off. I was delayed once when I missed a trashcan with my empty cup (I don't litter) and had to stop and pick it up, and then again when the stoplight turned on me just before I could cross. Boo. I got to work on time though and met the family's kids. Jack, one of Paul's boys, was talking about dinosaurs. He was really shy when I started talking to him, and whispered his favorite dinosaur to his dad instead of telling me outright. I told him about how T-rex's teeth replace each other and are the size of bananas and are serrated and stuff, but he seemed too scared of me to really pay much attention. After everyone left I told Carol about the mean guy and she told me about how the babies spilled water on her brand new dining table and destroyed it. She was really bummed about it and I felt bad for her. It sounded like it was valuable.
So not much happened after that. I rode home at 7:30 and imagined bringing scissors with me next time to chop off the thorn branches that keep wacking me, but then I imagined being fined by police for defacing city property or something. Who knows, maybe they want the thorn bushes to grow over the sidewalks to keep bicyclists from using them. I might ride in the road, but I've been nearly run over too many times when I'm on the sidewalk to risk it. I found my transcript acceptance deal for college in the mail and was happy because now I can sign up for classes. I feel pretty good about things now. Maybe, if things go well, I can buy some good shoes and a surge protector for my computer.
Those Nutty Postal Workers...
8-3-02
So I was at work, taking orders as always behind the register when this woman walks up. I smile and ask,
"Hey, What can I get for you?" She smiles and says in a very very deep manly voice,
"I'm here to pick up an order for Stevie." I wonder just how high my eyebrows shot...I'm not very good at hiding my feelings, and I tell you what, I was very surprised that this was NOT a woman. He had his long hair back in a pink ponytail and two earrings and...I think perhaps even make-up. He was, as you might have already guessed, another postal worker. We get all kinds at Cousins, but mainly people from the big companies like banks and the airport and...the post office. What new weirdos will I serve next? Stay tuned...
I ate cake for breakfast. It was getting dry and crusty and I wanted to put it out of its misery before it was completely ruined. Then I felt guilty because Mom told me to eat healthy and cake for breakfast certainly isn't. So I opened a can of green beans and ate some.
At work Paul taught me how to prepare "special flippies". He named off the three types of Italian meat and how I was supposed to lay them out: Cataghina, Capicola, and Genova. I laughed and said, "Oh! Genova - that's that Island in X-men. Oh wait no...that's GenoSHA." Then we talked about X-men and comics and then I told him my great ideas about scanning real figures with lasers from every direction and under different lighting, similar to the Matrix freeze-action frames and Shrek and dinosaur resin replicas and using them in films after programming in their muscle-bone range of motion. It was a challenge to actually put my idea into real words, but I managed it somehow and I think he understands what I meant. His son, Jack, and his sister-in-law's girl, Morgan, were there "helping". Jack looked at some of my pictures with Paul and Morgan drew on the white board with a permanent marker. So then after they all left, it was just Carol and me and we did just fine. We closed and I sang to her as I went out the door, "So long! Farewell! Auf weider sehen, Adieu!" because she said she liked The Sound of Music the other day when I asked her if she liked musicals. Then I felt silly, but I think it made her smile, and that was the whole idea. Then I rode home and at the first stoplight I watched a guy jaywalk and said, "I don't trust Phoenix drivers that much." And he laughed. Then as I was riding my bike through the thorns again a truck honked at me from the post office mail boxes. I looked but the windows were tinted and I couldn't see whether it was someone I knew. Then I thought it was probably another Van Buren pervert, but then I thought, "Well what if they're trying to get my attention to warn me about some sort of danger? What if someone's coming towards me to hurt me and they see what I don't? No, that's silly...no one would be able to catch up with me unless they were on a bike as well..." Then I imagined "The Chainsaw Bicyclist" - a guy who rides up behind unsuspecting people and does a ride-by slaying. Then I imagined him coming after me and hacking all the thorn bushes as he went by and saving me the trouble of bringing scissors. Finally I glanced behind me, out of morbid curiosity, but there was no chainsaw bicyclist. I was mildly disappointed. I considered drawing it as a comic, but then couldn't think of how to make it funny to other people.
I straggled home and washed my piled up dishes and then cleaned my bathroom a little. It feels much cleaner now. I sat myself down and read some "Eragon" - that book that 18 year old kid wrote up in Montana. I found that he worded a lot of things wrong or weird, but I might keep reading it, just to see what the main character is like. After all, he was so very enthusiastic about it, I might as well give it a chance. Then I started working on my school schedule. I juggled credits and hours and prereq's until it got dark and almost started crying over it all because it was such a mess and I'm supposed to have it done by Monday. I finally just stopped worrying over it and ate supper and sketched the next page to my other comic which only a few of you have seen. It's not Highlight of the Day...it's something else. So then I got online and met Arkady and we had a fun time role playing and now I feel much better. Maybe tomorrow someone will take me grocery shopping after church.
"Pickle" is a Fun Word
8-5-02
I was all worried about my schedule, but Susu took me to my college this afternoon and I talked to Maryann, who was very encouraging and helped me make up a schedule. It won't leave me much space for work, but it's better than nothing. I will have to show Paul and see if it's workable. If it's not I can still shuffle. Susu was so incredibly patient. She waited for nearly an hour as Maryann and I went through paperwork. I do detest forms and paperwork. Very much so.
So then Susu drove me back to work and I closed wtih Carol and Eric again. Eric and I talked about musicals and I asked Carol what the largest creature she ever intentionally killed was. She said a worm, then a fish, but then she said she let the fish go after she caught it and so I said it didn't count. No really grouchy customers today. Things went rather well. Eric let me borrow Crime and Punishment, so I guess I will be reading that over the next few weeks. I biked home and the sunset looked neat. Like there was fire on the horizon. I took a good look so that I could draw it when I got home. And that is what you see. I stayed up later again tonight working on web pages. It's not good for me, but I just...didn't feel tired and wanted to finish what I started. Blast...I didn't get that other comic done like I planned. Guess that will have to be done tomorrow night. Sorry nothing really exciting happened today. I didn't write anything for Sunday because nothing really happened then either, but I did get to go grocery shopping with Jeanie. We both brought lists, and then both of us bought maybe twice as much stuff as we'd originally planned. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone there hungry...
The Pastey White Queen of the Night
8-6-02
Well I had a good/bad day Tuesday. At work a dad walked up to the register with his little girl riding on his shoulders. He seemed so wonderful and fun. A great dad. It made me happy just to see them interacting. I almost always have fun with the customers, joking and being friendly. Just as I started to run out of receit paper, another customer walked up. I figured there'd be enough tape left for him so I went ahead and took his order. He kept changing things after I punched them in. The system is weird - you have to do the sandwich all at once or else you have to go back and void it and do it all over again. If someone wants salt, vinegar, oil, mustard, and pickles on their sandwich, and then they decide after you've added a drink that they want onions too, you have to go back and void the whole sandwich and re-enter everything plus onions. It's a pain so I'm always grilling everyone like the inquisition to make sure I cover all bases. So this business man comes up and makes his order and I have to go back and change it and do a lot of button pushing because he changed it. After fighting with it a while as he watched impatiently and repeated what he wanted on the sandwiches, I got it in and he said, "Yeah...you have to be smarter than the machine." That threw me a bit. I wasn't positive I'd just been insulted, thinking that maybe he was just joking. I handed him his receit, which was lined with pink. He pointed at it and said, "You know, when it gets pink on it it means it's low and you should change it." He tapped the register and walked away.
AAAAAAAAAA! I was so mad. What a jerk. I wanted to throw something at the back of his head or bark some smart-aleck comeback (which I would think of later), but I'm just too polite. What did I do? I pursed my lips in fury and paced, glaring at the walls and throwing bits of paper away.
(Self-mockingly) Ooooooo. Yeah, you don't want to get Jo angry. She'll glare at you and pace. Grrrrr.
The rest of the day was better. I slew two flies - squashed one with a napkin and snatched the other out of the air with my bare hands. Paul thought that was gross and told me to wash my hands really well. Paul killed a fly too. We were all after this one that kept buzzing around our heads and landing on us. We chased it into the backroom and it landed on the ceiling far above our heads. It was impossible to reach, so Vicky and I waited for it to take off again. Paul, however, ran into the dishroom, grabbed a rag, and ran back. With a single mighty toss of the rag, he hit the fly on the ceiling and killed it - by throwing the rag straight up in the air! I was very impressed, to say the least. He told me that he went hiking with his boy, Jack Monday and they saw huge jackrabbits and a dead horse. He said it was pretty gross - all bloated and putrid with birds circling. I said that it was gross, but kind of cool because you probably only come across a decaying horse in the desert once in a lifetime. I wanted to take a break and eat since I'd not had lunch and it was three o'clock, but I found that my wallet was missing from my bookbag. I was confused, but assumed it was at home. I said I'd just not take a break since I couldn't pay for anything, and I already owed him for the mini sub I ordered Monday. Finally at around four he said I could leave (and eat something at home), but I found that if I did, it'd only be Eric the Shadow and Carol all on their own. I didn't want to leave them alone - especially if some unforeseen rush were to take place before Craig could get there. I was starving though. So Paul said I could eat and pay later and stick around. I did and talked to the Shadow a bit about college, then I went home at around 5:30 when Craig came in. I could have gone to hockey - I wanted to because I like it a lot, but I was sooooo tired and exhausted and just wanted to rest my tired feet. I talked to a few people online and created some new stuff for my webpages. Oh yeah - at work on Monday I met a guy who does comics and went to a convention recently. I'd left my art at home for the first time and was mad at myself for not having it to show him. I gave him three URLs to look at stuff I have on the internet though, and my card. I was disappointed when he used the card to write his own URL on and gave it back to me. Maybe he didn't realize that it was my artist card. Oh well. He said the college I'm going to is a good one, so that made me happy, and he gave me a URL to the comic convention deal. Things are looking up. Paul thinks my school schedule will be okay for work and is going to make up something more permanent for me now. Sorry no new picture. I have the ideas but not the time right now.
I'll Bring the Dip and You Bring the Dostoevsky...
8-8-02
I pretty much just worked, did laundry, and read Crime and Punishment today. It's interesting so far. Eric the Shadow has only read two pages of Ender's Game though. I wonder if he doesn't like it. Maybe it's just hard for him to get started. I was pretty quiet and thoughtful today after the rush. Today was probably the worst (crowd-wise) day at work ever. We were slammed pretty much all day, though I went home to do laundry at 2. I sat in the laundry room sweating miserably and reading about how Raskolnikov was miserable and hot too. I find the descriptions in this book facinating so far...I never would have thought to describe a man's face as "covered in grease like an old iron lock".
I did, by the way, find my wallet. It was in my shorts from when I went grocery shopping. Silly Jo. I spent a good deal of time looking up "The Shadow" on the internet to quote lines to Eric. I'm still not sure if I bug him or amuse him sometimes. I was thinking a lot about work and how the people at work are and wondering whether they talked about me and stuff. Carol asked why I was quiet and I couldn't give her a good answer because I wasn't sure why I was so quiet. I guess I was just thinking about things that were more private than the usual spontaneous revelations like, "I just thought of a great hand-washing invention!" I think I was also frazzled by the long lunch rush and the heat and the grouchy people. I was frustrated many times today by unfriendly peoples. Oh well. I met quite a variety of folks: Mailmen, firemen, policemen, office workers, a web designer from channel 5, airconditioner repairmen, construction workers, pilots, airplane technicians, and there was even a limo that pulled up. I don't know who was from the limo, though.
Last night I drew most of Vicky's brother. I suppose I will try to finish it tonight. I wish I'd mentioned getting paid for it when she asked if I'd do it. Now I don't know if I can bring it up. I'm very happy about winning a contest I entered a long time ago. I get money even - but I don't know how much yet. I won for one of my Montana sunset photos. They are going to put it on cards! Heh heh.
Carol wanted to close early today so we could all get out of there as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law came into play and in the last ten minutes about five customers came in. And then when it was seven (closing time) we couldn't lock the door because someone had yet to come and pick up their phone-in order. So Carol turned off the lobby lights, but it didn't stop this one lady from coming in and ordering a big meatball sandwich at five after. Carol wasn't very happy about that. Earlier I remember this guy coming in on a cell phone (this happens often), and he was talking about a girl not emailing him and pretty much all he said over and over was "You know?" It was just as distracting as a valley girl saying "like".
I, you know, decided to finally call her again, you know, just to, you know, see, you know, just what it was, you know, about..."
I thought it was funny. So after working later than planned, I had to ride my bike home in the twilight/dark. I was extra cautious and at the first stop light there were a bunch of police motorcycles. They were around a towtruck thing that was lifting a wrecked van onto its back. There was another vehicle that was wrecked behind it, so I guess there was a wreck sometime between when I got to work and left work. As I reached the thorn bush gauntlet, it was pretty dark, which suited me fine for my sly purpose. I pulled out my blue scissors and started chopping off all the most protrusive branches that kept snagging me when I would ride by. I think someone saw me doing it (There was a truck at the post office mailboxes with its lights shining), but I guess they didn't care. After cutting away all those offending thorns, I felt like laughing maniacally as I rode away, but contented myself with a satisfied grin so as not to attract too much attention to my deed. Hopefully the ride to work will be more pleasant tomorrow morning.
Revenge of the Thorns
8-9-02
I worked and hunted flies again today. We were really busy, but I felt happier for some reason. I don't know if it's just me or the people I serve food to. I felt that most people were nicer today than yesterday. Although this one guy who I thought was starting to treat me like I was stupid was thrown a bit when I said (after going over his order again to "make sure I got it right"), "Is it your hippocampus that is responsible for short term memory? I forget...but if it is, I think mine went stale or something." He sort of shook his head, smiling and backed off.
Hee hee hee.
It was much easier to ride past the thorn bushes on the way to work, but they had their revenge later when I went to the bank and found THESE things in my bike tires. Luckily, they didn't puncture the tube, but they did stick in my fingers unpleasantly when I plucked them off. I was carrying them home to scan for everyone to see, hoping that I would not accidently clench my hand on the way. When I reached the stairs to my apartment, I realized that I couldn't lift my bike up the stairs with the thorns in my hand, and I didn't want them in my pocket either. So I folded up the bottom of my pants and put them in the fold. It worked.
Jeanie has left me in charge of feeding and de-pooping her cats while she is gone to Mexico to scuba dive with her brother. I should go do that soon I guess.
I'm really disappointed in my food of late. Last night I fell asleep by accident and left my macaroni and tuna sandwich out. They went bad and I had to throw them away. What a waste! I feel so guilty. And now, despite my most valiant efforts, I have burned my banana bread. Grrr.
I was going to do a comic tonight, but I called Mom and baked/burned banana bread instead, and now I'm locked into the internet. I will have to put it off another day.
Bad Customers
8-10-02
I had a terrible experience at work today. A man and a woman came in and they were angry from the very beginning because we weren't like "Subway". They both gave me their orders at the same time and kept changing them so I kept having to go back and delete them and redo them and then when I deleted the woman's sandwich to do over again she blew up and I was so frustrated with myself because (stupid me) I had assumed that when the man said "no green peppers" that he meant to take the green peppers off the sandwich that had green peppers (hers) because they had scoffed at the idea earlier that peppers would cost them 25 cents more. But that's NOT what they wanted - she wanted the green peppers and then I had gone and deleted the whole thing and because they kept screeching in my ear about how I was doing it wrong and being an imbecile, I forgot what all she'd asked for on the sandwich. Luckily, at this point in time, Becky came out and said she'd take over and I turned around and walked into the deepest farthest back room of the store, so very relieved that I didn't have to speak/look/listen to those people anymore. When Becky came back, she asked if I was okay and that I shouldn't take it personally and that she told those mean people to get the %#$@ out of the store. More than I was able to say for sure. Sometimes I think I'm brave and a fighter. Someone strong and unbending. But then I find that I'm a terribly meek whimp when it comes down to it and I just want everyone to be happy and I hesitate to do anything that might be "impolite" even when other people are most certainly NOT being polite or nice. I pretty much just tried to forget it the rest of the day. There were some really nice, surprisingly polite kids that ate in later, though. They called me "mam" and said "please" and "thankyou" and were just very very kind children who were not demanding or snotty in any way shape or form.
I drew a lot today and I talked to everyone about illustrating a comic of them so I'd better do one! I also need to finish Vicky's brother. The pictures I have finished are not really fitting for this comic/journal, so I just put up the cat picture I drew to stick on my front door to remind me to feed and water and de-poop Jasper and the little cat downstairs. Speaking of de-pooping, I think I would like to illustrate the Annoyed Cockroach in another comic again. I have so many ideas, but my hand only draws for so long before it starts to hurt and blister, and then I have to work most of the time. Phooey I should stop making up excuses and just sit down and draw 18 cartoons in a row or something.
One thing I've noticed at work is that an amazing number of people will try to sign their credit receits with a pen that isn't clicked on. I've taken to pushing the top down for them because they have a hard time doing it. Heh heh. I've also decided that people are always going to be upset with me about the breads because once when I didn't ask what kind of bread a woman wanted, she got really mad and told me that I should always tell people that we have different kinds of bread. And then the next day when I was telling this guy about the four different kinds of bread we have he got mad and interrupted me saying, "Just give me the sandwich! I don't care what kind of bread!"
Maybe it's just that Phoenix people are mostly rude.
Maybe it's the heat that makes them cranky...
All Little Bit of Everything
8-12-02
(This is the finished portrait of my coworker's brother who was killed)
I felt really good today because I successfully communicated with a deaf guy. He wrote and I pointed and it all came out just fine. I was intrigued by the fact that he couldn't speak. It's so unusual - but very interesting. It made me want to learn sign language. He signed "thank you" repeatedly and I knew what it meant! I didn't know how to say "You're welcome" but I did smile and nod curtly. I suppose that was as good. I am also facinated by the policemen who come in. They're so cool...in their uniforms. And this one guy is so muscular - his shoulders are huge! And his arms are like...like - a body builder's almost. He's really cool! He eats at Cousins often - nearly every day, and sits with his brother who isn't a police man. Then there's the grouchy postal computer electrician. The first time I met him we talked about true friendship and how rare it is and he said that his best friend died about a year ago. It made me feel bad for him, even though he is a grouch sometimes. Then there's Hal the soup guy. An older man who orders a large soup every day. Everyone knows what he wants and what his name is.
I talked to a customer who was a pest control guy in the evening about Ecolab. I know about Ecolab because I talked to the exterminator in Montana at my cafeteria job extensively. I almost invested in Ecolab stock even. It made me stop and think afterwards because most people don't know that there are biodegradable pest control chemicals made by Ecolab. It's not my profession, but I could talk about something relevant with the pest control customer. I started to think about how I know a lot of little things...bits and pieces of information from all sorts of areas. I know a little about lasers, I know a little about ion beam research, I know a little about insects, I know a little about animation, I know a little Japanese and Mandarin, I know a little about plumbing, I know a little about electronics, I know a little about Aikido, I know a little about orthodonics, I know a little about photography, I know a little about water purification, I know a little about the piano...
I decided right then and there that I would continue to learn as much about everything as I could, so that I could be more of a universal woman. I love to learn and I love to know things - even if it's just a little. So I will continue to talk to strangers about what they do and how things work so that I will know more about all sorts of things. It's fun and it's cool to be able to talk knowledgably about anything. I love asking questions...so I guess I'll always be learning. And that is what I want to do.
I Need a Bike Pump
8-13-02
Yes, my tire is going flat again, and I would rather have my own pump than pay 25 cents at the gas station every time I need some air. I guess the patch Bryce put on is coming off or something. Oh well. It's not entirely flat...yet.
I talked to Paul about Religion today. I was trying to find out the difference between his church and mine. Lutheran vs. Bible. We came to the conclusion that we believe the same thing. It was a nice thing to discover. My work schedule was wrong, so I came home early and will have to stay all day tomorrow. I've not done that yet. I think it will be wearisome.
I wrote a song/poem. But it's long and it's kind of personal. Written to God. I don't think I'll post it because my goal is not to show it off...unlike the picture I have up right now. This is Auley. One of Arkady's characters. And speaking of Arkady - she has updated her story (in the links page). I love her writing. I hope she will become a writer so I can buy her novels.
(I plan on putting up a pic' tonight)
Don't Eat Breakfast at Tiffany's
8-14-02
I worked all day today and, actually, aside from my feet aching a little, it didn't seem so different from my split schedule. Paul gave me a half-hour break and I ate chili because I had one dollar. I drew a little, then went back to work. This fly kept buzzing in my face and around my head and I nearly flipped out...I hate flies and I react manically to them at times. Not out of fear - out of furious annoyance. I want to kill them. Kill them all! Die flies - ahahahahahahaahahaaaaa! So I was worried that my bosses might think was a little nutty, but then Becky seemed just as set on killing the pesky bug as me so I felt not so psychopathic then.
Hal came in - the soup guy - and I went to get him his soup and poured the boiling stuff onto my fingers. It hurt a lot, but I did not drop the container (prideful swell)! Alfredo saw it happen and hurried to help me. He took it from me and dumped it in another container while I wiped the soup off my fingers. I used to think that Alfredo thinks I'm a dimwit, but now I think he's a nice guy and he probably doesn't think badly of me after all. I took the next order with a grimace as the pain set in, then after it was cashed out I ran to the sink and ran my poor thumb under 'cold' water (water is never cold from the tap in Arizona) then went and got some ice to hold on it a while.
Later, when it was just Carol, Eric the Shadow and I, this guy came in and I went up front to "take his order". Carol was in the office so it was just me and The Shadow...who wasn't visible at the moment. I asked the guy if I could help him, and he asked if I knew where a place called "Tiffany's" was. I said, in my usual perky manner, "You mean like a 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' sort of Tiffany's?" He gave me a dull look and said, "No...a topless bar." And then he looked at me...but not at my face. And I got the shivers and turned around, relieved to find The Shadow at my back. The guy went on about how someone told him it was near the airport and then when he saw Eric the Shadow he brightened and laughed saying, "Well I bet HE knows where it is..." And that made me kinda mad because he was inferring that The Shadow was sick-minded like he was. Eric asked what the question was and I took the opportunity to get the heck out of Dodge. I paced in the back room waiting for him to go away. The next time The Shadow glided past me I heard him mutter, "Pervert..." and I grinned, happy that he was on my side.
Hurrah! The Procrastination Monster is at Bay!
8-15-02
Look! I posted an actual comic tonight! I'm so proud.
So today I got this blurb of a phone call saying something was wrong with my school loans (panic!). I scribbled down the number they left for me to call and ran out the door to work. It is too late to call now, and I seriously hope it's something small and fixable whatever it is. Instead of riding home during my two hours off, I rode to the bank for money so I could buy food and stamps. Then I raced this neat-o cool dust devil home - it was huge. Very tornado-like. I received a letter in the mail yesterday that said I won a hundred dollars for all rights to a photograph I entered in a contest. I sent them the information they needed today with one of my new stamps.
At work we were slammed by a bazillion orders all at once and I was more stressed out than I've ever been at work before - even during the lunch rush when the line runs to the door for two or three hours straight. I asked The Shadow what he was passionate about and he shrugged. He said he'd like to travel the world, but it's not exactly a passion. We decided that he has yet to find his niche. After we were all done closing it was dark so he offered me a ride home and we crammed my bike in the back of his vehicle and talked about the post office all the way to my apartment.
...I sure hope my school loans work out...
Back to
July
Forward to
August Part II
HOME
