new job

Last night was my first shift as a deli clerk.  That's right, a vegan slinging meat and cheese.  I'm actually a little depressed about it, but I know that it is temporary while I am in school.  It's also something new, and therefore normal that I have a little anxiety about it. 

Overall, the job is easy.  Customers come to the counter, order a 1/2 pound or whatever, and I slice it, label it, and bag it.

The time went by quickly, which is good.  The other clerks were all friendly.  I'm sure the anxiety I have about it will pass once I get in to the routine of things.

It's been four years since I had a full time job during the week and an extra food service job on the weekends.  I've gotten to enjoy the weekends off, but its going to be crunch time for the next 18 months: school all day and all night Monday through Thursday, then working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the deli.

Jason is going to be helping pay for things at home, but I wish he made more money.  It will still be tight around here, even with me working, too.

I will at least have the opportunity to join the meat cutter union, get health insurance, a pension, and a discount on groceries.

office girl gets sentimental

This afternoon at work, I did two very involved consultations.

The first patient needed all her teeth extracted and wanted them replaced with dental implants.

The second one already had lost all his teeth and had ill-fitting dentures that he hated.  He wanted to have dental implants to replace the missing teeth.

I spent nearly two hours with each patient by the time everything was completed...patient education, the CT-Scan, diagnosis, presentation of the fees, consent forms, etc.

Both left feeling impressed with me and in our office as a whole. 

The whole afternoon was a great confidence booster.  Not that I needed it, but I am just aware at how good I felt about myself at the end of the day after talking to these people about a life-changing investment in their mouth.

It's afternoons like this one that I am going to miss.

school supplies

Yesterday I went up to school to buy my textbooks.  I was just going to rent them online, but I will need them both semesters.  Also, the school has a special deal with a publisher that when a student buys the book in the school bookstore, she can register it online with a special code and also have access to a digital copy as well as other study materials including sample quiz questions and flash cards.

So I went to school on Monday morning and came home with a very heavy bag full of 11 books.  I didn't really pay any attention to the clerk at the cashier desk or to the amount I signed on the receipt.

Late last night, I was going to start reading some of the books, and I went through the bag, and I had two duplicates....like the girl had given me two of the same book....twice!  So I looked at the receipt, and she had only even rung me up for three books!  The total was $245.

This was a significant error in my favor, but I decided that I should go back to the bookstore and pay what was due.  It's not like there was a tiny little error in my favor that no one would probably ever catch; I had been undercharged almost $400!   Plus, there was the dilemma of the two books of which I had duplicates.  I wasn't charged for either of them.  I know there are exactly 32 students in my class, and if I had two books (that I didn't even pay for), then some one was going to be out a book.

So I went back to the bookstore tonight after work, and a nice young man named La Rue helped me.  He took back the duplicate books, credited me a charge that was incorrect, and rung me up for the books for which I still had to pay.

All said and done, I purchased just under $600 worth of books.  My conscious is clear.

I still have to pay for my instruments packs and name tag; those are not in stock yet.  But I have all the other supplies needed.  School starts in less than two weeks!  I am so excited!

High Rockies 2014

I've been in the high Rockies for the past 48 hours for a wedding.  It was gorgeous.  I loved the trees, the smell of the air, the wildflowers, the kind people, the coziness of the fire in the ski lodge even though it was summer, the mountain streams, the wild west look to the tiny towns.

Flew into Denver on Friday and rented a car.  Drove to Vail and checked in the hotel.  Went for a little hike around town with my dad.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner at a saloon in Minturn.  It was quite scenic with the creek just behind the patio of the bar.

Saturday morning, Uncle Fred and I got up super early and went hiking.  We chose the Big Horn Creek Trail and it was initially quite chilly!  We were the only ones on the trail for the first two hours (turn around point).  On the way back, we encountered 11 people total, only two of whom were local.  They seemed to have known to not go out of the trail at dawn because it would be too cold!

The hike was awesome, though.  I loved being the forest.  The aspen trees are beautiful with their white bark, the silver blue tint to the blue spruce is lovely, too.

The scenic overlook was about 2miles in.  The sun was out by this time and air temps were on the rise!

There was one small area that looked like the type of forest I'm used to around here.  There was about five big evergreen trees with soft dirt/needles on the ground all around.  A nice little creek with waterfall, too.

As we climbed higher and higher (total elevation gain: ~2100ft), we encountered a lot of wildflowers and a narrower and narrower trail.  It was obviously marked, but it was easy to see that not a lot of people came through that far.  There was one part where there had been an avalanche and rocks had fallen over the path.  We had to climb over large boulders for probably 50 meters until we connected with the trail on the other side.

After the hike, we came back I headed to the pool.  I was nearly lunchtime and straight up hot outside (air temps approaching 90F but no humidity).  I did apply sunscreen, but as I was closer to the sun, I got burned, even on my lips!

Early afternoon, Mom, dad, Nancy, Fred, and I drove to Avon, where there was a man-made lake.  The afternoon was gorgeous.   I should have worm my swim suit!

The wedding was on Saturday night and was lovely.  Chris and Kate were married by a creek and the ceremony was short and sweet.  I don't have any pics of it.

On Sunday morning, I went for a walk/hike around town again before we had to drive back to Denver to go to the airport.  We stopped in Idaho Springs for some gas, and this fire station was across the street.  Pretty cool, old building.

Colorado was awesome.  I hadn't been there since 1994, and it was awesome to get back out West as an adult.  I remember being in awe of the mountains twenty years, and I fell in love with them again this past weekend.

One last photo:  A pan from the hike

new swim suit

Jason and I went swimming at the pool in my parents' neighborhood.  The water was a little chilly but refreshing.  I was glad to wear my new swimsuit.  I have received a lot of compliments on it.  Not to toot my own horn, but it's deserved; the suit is badass.

My flower garden

Here are some photos of the flower in my yard.  I'm really pleased that things are finally starting to bloom.  I love just walking around in the backyard looking at the plants.  I've also grown some Alyssum and sunflower from seed.  They are still in containers, but I think two of the sunflowers will be ready to go to their final locations tomorrow. They are about 8" tall and hardy, will grown to about 6'.  The leaves are a dark, healthy green.  But its too hot out today (97F).

The Alyssum is doing well, too.  Some of the shoots around about 2" tall already, and I was going to transplant them this weekend.  I have them in containers, and they have been wilting in the afternoon sun.  So I need to put them in a shady location.  They would look gorgeous on the side of the house, but they would cook there; it faced south and gets constant sun.  I have a place for them in the back yard under a giant maple tree that will provide intermittent shade.

There are more flowers than just the ones pictured below.  I also have about thirty Marigolds in yellow, orange, and red with yellow centers.  A bee balm, a lantana, some forget-me-not, a hosta, and some ivy, and a heavenly blue morning glory (that has yet to bloom, but the vine looks healthy).

These white cones in the back yard are a true survivor story.  The rabbits ate the soft, new leaves down to the crown, and I had to cover the plant with a jar and then a gallon water jug to protect it.  It started to grow again and toughen up.  The first day I took the jug off, I saw TWO rabbits eating on it at the same time!  They ate all the leaves and left only the stems.  I protected it with a barrier, kept it fed and watered, and it came back!   At first I wasn't too wild about the white bloom because I love the pink so much, but the white is a nice splash among the pink, orange, yellow, and purple of everything else in the yard.

This is the Astra or balloon flower.  It only blooms for one day, but there are constantly new shoots.  It is amazing to me how quickly the plant grows new blooms.  This perfect pentagon is what is looks like just before it opens.

 This is what it looks like when it opens.  I love purple flowers!

There are two coreopsis plants in the side yard that have been just thriving. They get full sun and look as pleased as ever about it!

more coreopsis in the side yard





















This is one of the Chicago Peace rose bush blooms.  I've been pruning the spent blooms more timely, and there is a lot of new growth.  A vigorous bush, indeed!

I love petunias! I love the brilliant color varieties!  These have not done well in the side yard, though, and are dead now.  They just got cooked.  I will plant them in another location next year, maybe the front yard, which only gets sun in the morning.

 These are some of the pink cones that are in the side yard.  This is one of my favorite flowers!  A Missouri native, this plant does really well in the hot hot sun and oppressive humidity.  There are five pink cone plants in the side yard, and I haven't pruned anything; hoping they seed and spread next year.

This is a close-up of the pink cone.  I just love the orange/green center!  So beautiful!

This Aztec Cabaret is thriving.  I had originally planted it in the ground and on the first night, rabbits came and ate the whole thing down to the crown.  I transplanted it into a hanging basket, and it came back.  There are currently about ten clusters of these little vibrant red flowers.

 
 There are about two hundred tomatoes in the garden, in cages and protected by a chicken wire fence.  All green right now, but various sizes.  Some are the size of little baseballs, some are cherry-sized.  I have Celebrity and Big Boy varieties because I want to make sauce and soups with them, and those are good varieties for cooking.




In addition to the tomatoes, I have romaine, which is doing well, and some herbs.  The onions are completely buried under the tomatoes, which are going in a different location next year.  The herbs are okay, I have cut some fresh mint multiple times to put in some freshly brewed tea, and I have also cut some fresh chives for a stir-fry.  I pick romaine leaves regularly, wash them thoroughly, and have a salad for lunch.

The zucchini and bell peppers were a bust; will probably not plant those again next year.  I'd like to look for some asparagus roots because I love asparagus, but it is so expensive.  Maybe some peas or green beans next year, too.

I've entertained the idea of a fruit tree, but I think that will just be a dang mess with rotting fruit falling in the yard and birds and squirrels getting into the fruit on the tree.

4th recap

Forth of July was quiet here.

Jason and I went to Illinois.  My dad and I rode bikes for about an hour, and Jason chilled in the house with wienie dog.  The ride was wonderful!  The floodplain is gorgeous right now.  We've had a lot of rain here and the vegetation was lush.  Air temps were perfect and humidity was low.

After the ride, the three of us went to pool.  The water was cold but refreshing.  I wore my R2D2 swimsuit, and Jason wore hit Batman trunks.  Hi.  Nerd alert.   Buuuuut, I look super hot in the R2 suit.  After a dip, we basked in the sun.  Dad listened to his iPod, I did the NYT crossword, and Jason read from the Dark Tower Series.  Hi.  Nerd alert (again!) HA!

We came back to the house and Nancy called about meeting for dinner at Pi with her and Unlce Fred.  Dinner was great, Nancy and Fred are really great at telling stories.

Jason and I were at home and asleep by 11pm.  No fireworks viewing or BBQing, but that is fine by me.  It was a relaxing day, and tonight is a party at the cove.  Nato is in town, and both Jason and I are looking forward to watching the band perform.

Wiener dog digging

Attached is a video of wienie dog digging in the back yard.  He loves to dig.  He will dig until he passes out! 

I made a commercial

I made a commercial that is currently airing in Illinois.  I agreed to make it because I want the exposure and the portfolio entry even though I was slightly miffed about the circumstances.

Circumstances being that I had been on the people organizing this thing for about two months about putting together some promotions.  No response, so I let it go and focused on other projects.  Just under two weeks from the date of the event, I get an email about putting together a commercial.  There is not script, no photos, no material whatsoever.

I originally said no, but then changed my mind.  I went online to collect some facts, put together a rough script, make some cue cards, and drove to Ken's house to record the voice parts.  He did not want to read from the cue cards.  We did a total of eight takes, some of them were rambling for nearly a minute!  But I knew what all sound clips were needed for me to piece together what I wanted.

Came home, uploaded the footage, made some titles, Jim sent me some photos that (thankfully) were already clipped and masked, and pieced together the sound clips.  I used footage that I captured at the three most recent events, when I had my new HD camera.  It took me about two hours to put it all together, and I'm really pleased for what it is.

My only issue is in beginning, when he says he wants to talk about the #4 killer in the US, which is stroke, and then there is NOTHING mentioned about stroke after that.  I should have clipped that part out and just said, "invite you to the stroke benefit."  But, it's done, and I think that no one else but me will really notice because they are going to see it once or twice on tv and not be paying attention and picking it apart like I am/did.

first blooms

I bought a rose bush at the nursery by my house.  It was $8, and I thought, "Why not?"

I selected the Chicago Peace variety for the color of the blooms (yellow to pink) and because the label said, "Vigorous bush."

Jason and I planted it in the side yard, gave it some food, and kept it watered.  We initially piled mulch over the furcations, but once we started seeing new growth, we scaled the mulch back.

The roses are beautiful!  I did not prune the first blooms soon enough, and the bush rested for about two weeks before putting out some more blooms.  There is a lot of new growth, too.  I'm really pleased with the purchase.

final (fingers crossed) disgruntled office girl post

Today at the end of the day, Cori and I were working on something in room 2.  Heather came and stood in the doorway, said, "Cori, I'm leaving for the day.  Are you ok?  Do you need any help?"

Cori answered, "No."

Heather said, "Ok, see you tomorrow."

And then she turned around and walked away, ignoring me standing right there next to Cori.  She did not say goodbye to me, or even make eye contact/acknowledge that I was in the room also.

This type of behavior leads to a toxic work environment.  Who would want to work with some one who treats a co-worker like she doesn't even exist or isn't just standing right there?

For the first few seconds, I was kind of stunned.  For a moment, I thought about stepping out into the hallway and shouting to Heather that I was okay, too, and I would see her tomorrow, but I decided against it.  I am not going to stoop to her level or let her know that she gets under my skin.  Plus, I feel like that type of response from me would just make the situation even worse.  Heather is bitter and spiteful.


Heather is a toxic leaf, and I can't wait to prune her from my vine. 

I happened across some articles in the New York Times online edition about a cabinet maker in Philly who started conducting employee reviews to thwart any problems on the production floor.  The articles have been really helpful.  The most important thing I took from the article was a line written, "A bad employee is a person who makes a good employee feel badly about herself."  I've been making great efforts to conduct myself with grace in the presence of others, even when I have not been treated with grace or respect.

disgruntled office girl update

I talked to my parents about the sabotage comment, and my mom recommended that some time, when the opportunity presented itself, just make an aside, "Oh, that chart you are looking for is on the desk in back.  I was hiding it from you.  Isn't that just like me! I'm so sneaky!"

This aside, is sarcastic, of course.

Well, the opportunity did present itself.  Kim was looking for a chart, which I had noticed was on the counter in the dark room (I did not put the chart there, I just remembered seeing it there when I was working on something).  She asked if I had seen it.  I commented, loudly and scarcastically, "Oh, it's in the dark room!  I was hiding it from you.  I'm such a sneak.  Isn't that JUST like me to hide things!"

Kim laughed.  She knew I was joking around and that I am not a sneak.  She did not know that Heather had accused me of sabotage.

As soon as I said it, though, I immediately regretted it.  I sounded like a snarky bitch.  And a snarky bitch is something that I am not.

I have calmed down immensely.  I do not want to burn a bridge at work, but I am going to submit a formal complaint to my boss, so she has a record.  In case there is a future problem, it would probably be helpful if there is a record/history of this kind of pettiness from Heather.  My dad got attacked by a dog a few years ago.  He filed a report with the police and animal control.  The dog attacked another person, and it was helpful that there was a record/history.  I understand that a co-worker is not a wild animal (HA!) but I don't want Heather to think that she can get away with treating people like this.

Hike to Salt Lick

I took Jason to Salt Lick today.  It was his first time there, and he seemed to enjoy it, even though it was hot as hell.  We went to my parent's house and picked up wienus dog, too.


Gorgeous view from the scenic overlook.  I love a brilliant blue sky big puffy clouds!  The flood plain was looking lush, too.

everquest for dexamethasone

I've had terrible aphthmous ulceres, aka canker sores in my mouth.  They are stress induced.  I had one so big in the back of my mouth I didn't even want to speak.


Look how pissed off this thing is!!!!
 

Then, in Montreal, I noticed a second one forming!

On this one /\ /\ /\ /\ you can even see how enlarged my tonsil is.

When I arrived back in the states, Dr. S gave me a prescription for Dexamethasone Elixer. It's a steroid.  I went to three different Walgreen's before finding one that had it in stock.  I have to gargle 15mL four times a day and then swallow it for three days, then gargle 10mL four times per day and swallow it for three days,  then gargle 10mL four times daily and swallow every other time for three days, then gargle 10mL four times daily and spit out each time until the ulcers are gone.

If they return, I'm going to quit my job, because it is the source of my stress.  That was compacted with the stress of the international flights and my fear of missing a connecting flight as well as the end of the semester/finals, plus getting into hygiene school in the fall.    

disgruntled office girl

Tonight at the end of the work day, I wanted to spit nails.  I was so angry that I let and took a walk around the parking lot.  My blood pressure was so high I could feel my pulse in my face.

Unsolicited, a co-worked told me that another co-worker was talking about me behind my back.  I was told that when I was out last week on my vacation, there was some implant piece that could not be found, and Heather said that I was purposely hiding it from her, and that kind of sneaky behavior was just like me.

When I heard this, I was was angry because it is untrue.  I only have the best intentions of the office in mind and am not sabotaging anyone.  I was also angry, because the girl who told me this was said about me didn't stick up for me/stand up for Heather.

I went to see my mom at work.  She told me to forget about it; everyone at work knows me/knows that I am not sneaky/a saboteur.  I talked to my dad about it.  He wants me to confront Heather.  "Hey.  I heard you talk about me behind my back.  And you accused me of being sneaky and hiding things from you.  That's not true, and I don't want to hear any more that you are saying untrue things about me or I will go to our boss."  I don't think that is going to happen, though.  I will probably drop the c-word or get really riled up and punch her in her big mouth.

Montreal

Jason and I went to Montreal for Pouzza Fest.  All I can say is, this shit is the new shit!

Montreal was badass!  I was super anxious all week about making our connecting flights, but there were no delays.

On the way there, we rode a little regional service plane (one seat on one side of the aisle, two seats on the other side) and even that plane was less than half full.

Once we got to Montreal, it only took like 15 minutes to get through customs.  There was a line for Canadian nationals, in which not one single person was standing, and then a line for visitors.

There is a flat rate of $35 for a cab ride into the city, and Jason wanted to spring for that instead of take the bus, which was $12 and an hour long ride.  The cab driver was very polite.  He was African.  We saw a fair number of Africans, most likely from countries where French is spoken, so they already knew the language.

The ride into the city was uneventful, which is fine.  The weather was rainy.

Once we got into the city and found our hotel, we were very early.  We decided to walk around until we could check in.  Luckily, we each only had a backpack, so it wasn't like we were lugging around huge suitcases.  We got turned around a few times, but did make it to registration and picked up our wristbands, maps/schedules, and Jason's t-shirt.

There were like 14 pizza joints within a block of our hotel, but I ended up finding all the Lebanese dudes and ate falafal everyday.  Jason's favorite meal was Dirty Dog's.  They did have a veg dog as well as a dedicated fryer, but I wanted to try a veg place next door.  Back to the dogs, they were all named after different celebrities.  Jason was interested in several, but ended up choosing The Ron Swanson, which was a Bavarian beer brat topped with grilled onions, bacon, steak tips, and a fried egg.  Waling around the city was awesome, there were so many people out and about/lots of foot traffic as well as people on bicycles.  There were even protected bike lanes.  We saw lots of street art/murals, lots of big ornate churches.  Also, in Montreal, there were pay phones. Everywhere.  Hundreds of them.  We even saw a man talking on one!  We did a chance to watch Canadian television, too!  There were two channels in English, and both features severly outdated syndicated programming.  Our favorite was a show called "Beachcombers" that was about a group of teens.  We also watched a re-run of "The Young Riders!"  HA!

One thing I did notice about the Canadian programming, though, was that native characters were included as well.  There was a native girl on the Beachcombers show, and we watched several other documentary/news shows that featured native tribes exclusively.  It was just such a stark contrast to American programming.

Ok, on the music, the main reason we were here.  On Friday, we posted up a Katacombs first and new finds include Wasted Potential and Barrel Proof.  Jason made some friends.  We blew the budget.  We ended the night at Foufs for a few bands, but both of us were pretty intoxicated.  We left before The Hold Steady because we are wieners.  We did see a guy wearing a Cardinals baseball hat.  We told him we were from STL, and he informed us, in a French accent, that he knew nothing of this, and only bought the hat because every morning when he was in university, there was a cardinal pecking on his window.  HA!  Also, Barrel Proof was pretty badass, and they were a French-speaking band.  It was kind of blowing my mind to see hard core rock guys with tattoos and face piercings just shredding onstage, then speaking in French in between songs.

On Saturday we didn't go as hard in the paint for the shows.  We went to Foufs only and saw Night Birds, CJ Ramone, 7 Seconds, and Chixdiggit.  Shit was tight as hell.  7 Seconds was probably the set of the weekend for me.  Kevin Seconds still gets after it.  Jason and I were freaking the fuck out, bouncing around and singing yelling along.  We saw the cardinal-hat guy there with his friend and he told us that he was happy that we were so happy!

On Sunday, we started off a Chaos for Hold Tight!  The place was pretty cool, and the bathroom was gangster and fuck - no doors. Hi!  After Hold Tight, we went to get food then posted up at Katacombs, which was a tiny club, because we wanted to be sure to see The Lillingtons.  Our friend Dave was on tour with them selling merch, and it was nice to see him and catch up.  Other bands we saw on Sunday that totally ruled were Hashed Up and Brutal Youth.  Dude dove off the balcony.  Lillingtons played very late, I stayed for five songs then jetted.  There was a line two blocks long to get in when I left.  Oh, I saw a guy at the show wearing a denim vest with a "Painted Wolves: Vegan Pack" back patch.  It made we want to have a vegan pack to be part of, but that is not going to happen, at least not in STL.

Jason is already excited to go back, and I am, too!  Montreal was great, this fest was great, and I recommend it!