Time and Tide

Why don't I blog any more? What's up with that? That doesn't make sense. I should be blogging now that I have more time in my awesome new job.

Right, I should be working out more too.* Hmmmm ... I'm beginning to think that these things don't really have to do with "time."

Time is a tricky thing. It can be both too fast and too slow. It's never there when you need it. And yet you hate when you have too much of it. You can try to save it, but ... it's not as if you'll be able to use it later. "Oh yeah, I've been saving this extra time right here in my purse. Lemme just pull it out and we can use it."

People will even try to tell you to "make" time. Ha!

When did I get so old?

Yeah, you heard me. I got OLD. I'm not happy about this. I certainly didn't authorize it. This year I got together with the Bday Gals and I DIDN'T make a video. I think in some way, it makes me think that it didn't really happen. (Although it was a lovely birthday).

You know what's really making me feel old? The fact that I'm not doing anything with my TIME. It's just slipping away, to use a very old cliche, even though I never ever had a hold of it. "Hey, Time, I've got you in my hands and you feel slimy and squishy and alive, like a writhing eel. HEY! NO BITING!"

So ... this is the year that I'm going to do something.**

I'm going to complete one of the three following things:

1. Write a book.

2. Write another movie.

3. Get a boyfriend.

My hope is to pursue all three things, but I only need FINISH one of the three by year's end. Here's hoping. Time to fly.

*Incidentally, latest medical news: I have since gained 5 pounds from my weight 2 years ago, pre-trainer.

** In addition to the already-in-progress Kim Jong Il Experiment - My Own Cult of Personality. It's going really well!!!

BDay Gals Boston 2010

Click to Play

The girls visited me in Boston in May 2010. ;We toured Boston and then we did the Walk for Hunger.

What have I BEEN DOING!!!!

I opened a store. That's what I've been doing. That's why I haven't been on here in a while. I know things that I didn't know I knew. I learned'em. I'm good at that, learning stuff.

Anyway, that's not why I got on my blog. This is why. I read an article that confirmed what I predicted: the middle class is disappearing.

We're spiraling into a corporate-sponsored oligarchy that, with any luck, will lead to a peaceful revolt in the form of the masses finally tearing up their credit cards.

One can only dream.

Neverender

I wrote a movie. Yes, I did. I know! Crazy, right? I can't believe it myself. Unbelievable.
What's it like? It's good. It's pretty damn good. It sucks you in and wraps you up. You feel what the characters are feeling. The dialogue is realistic and to the point. (I did that.)
In the end, you can tell that it's a low-budget independent film. But what you have to admit is that it's a captivating story and it makes you take the journey and suspend your disbelief.
He did a great job. Casey did a fantastic job. I am truly blown away by what he was able to accomplish in such a short time, on such a small budget, with such a small (but dedicated) group of people. Talk about resourceful. I am awestruck.
It's available on DVD. Please buy a copy. The proceeds from sales will go towards the cost of entering the film in festivals. If you need proof that this is a legitimate film, check us out on imdb.
That's right, bitches! IMDB!!!

I wrote a movie and it's on IMDb. I didn't even know that was on my bucket list, til I got it. Next stop,

OSCAR.

We've got spirit, yes we do!

So my 20 year HS reunion is coming up. wow. 20 years. I really can't believe it. You know for four lousy years, it's amazing how much of an impact it had and has ever since. It becomes a sort of yardstick that we measure our lives by - 10 years since we graduated, 20 years since we graduated, 50, 100, whatever.

Why is high school the milestone? I know that some people have college reunions, but we really don't mythologize college reunions like we do high school reunions. How come we need to compare ourselves to everyone else we went to high school with? What do I mean by compare? Well, have you ever had a high school reunion by yourself? It's no fun, unless everyone else is there. Why are they there? To compare yourself to. "How far did I come?" you're thinking. "Did I do better than that person?" "Do I look better?" "Are they better?" "Are WE better?" See ... we compare ourselves.

Maybe I should try finding another milestone of adulthood to celebrate. How about the 20th anniversary of the time I lost my virginity? They'll only be two of us, but probably a better chance of having a good time (wink wink). How about the 20th anniversary of my first root canal? That's another 18 years from now - no telling what my tooth will look like. Aha! the 20th anniversary of the purchase of my first car. That really was the first time I felt like an adult.

Well, I guess those would be pretty lonely; I'd be mostly by myself (well, except for the virginity thing but I never even got that guy's last name.)

In any event, I plan to lose another 20 pounds by the reunion. It's July 9 (I think). I'm already supposed to meet up with my high school best friend, Amy. She has lots to be proud of - a great husband, beautiful kids, her dream job, and she runs now. Like a lot. She's always posting her times on Facebook. This was the girl who wanted to avoid sweating when I knew her in high school. If I had to compare myself to her, I'd have to admit that I haven't changed that much.

I guess that's what it really is. I don't feel like I've changed all that much. Maybe I need to go to find out if I have.

Go Wolverines!

Can of worms

Whew! Busy. Getting ready for Xmas - I just barely got my Xmas shopping done. And Kati and I kept meaning to get together, but it's Dec 23 before we can finally make it happen. And then I'll drive home on Dec 24. Where I will stay for almost a whole week. I can't believe it. Can I tell you that I will enjoy every minute? Time is a luxury - I hope you appreciate that.

Yeah, that means I am no longer working at former place of employment. I didn't tell many people when my last day was. In fact, it wasn't supposed to be last Sunday, it was supposed to be tomorrow, but somehow wires were crossed and I got cut off. This means that I shall have to buy my brother-in-law's present at full price! Scandalous. I'm not sure I even know how to read the price tag without automatically taking the discount off. Seven years of internal math will do that to you. That whole thing is typical of why I got so tired of the place at the end.

It was a fine place. Some very good people. But there were idiots too - both fellow employees and customers. My sister would have me believe that every workplace has these problems, these idiots working there. But I like to hold on to the dream that somewhere out there is a place where only sensible, clever, and fun people work. A place where team work is second nature. Where people aren't afraid to do something that's outside of their job description.

Well, I love where I work now. Ummm ... I don't know if it's the dream. But we'll see.

Meanwhile, I cleaned out some of the former place of employment memorabilia. For example, I have a small purse that I used for the last 7 years specifically for my old job. It started out that I needed a bag 5" x 7" or smaller to carry things to work: lunch money, necessities, etc. We weren't allowed to take anything larger than 5 x7 into the store. So I had a small purse, given to me by a friend in Japan, measuring almost exactly 5 x 7 that I used. I kept money, fingernail clippers and nail file, feminine hygiene products (when necessary), contact info, and business cards in it. I never cleaned it out, except when I got new business cards. I would replace the old ones with the updated ones with a new address, number, etc. I also kept the business cards of other employees. Like MaryAnn, when she got her Customer Service award, she got new business cards that said "Customer Service All-Star." I kept one. Or Pam Henderson, who gave me a card, with her personal number on the back, just in case I'd need to call her to cover a shift or something. I also have a post-it that has my very first official job offer for a management position. A post-it! Can you believe it? Would you like to know how much I started out making?

$20,808 base salary + $10,192 in commission = $31,000 average yearly salary

not including overtime and bonuses, and the maximum per month for the bonus was $1734. My sales per hour expectation was $35.

That's what the post-it said. In case you're interested, I did make bonuses, and I ended up making quite a bit more than the post-it said. At first, I forgot the post-it was in there. But then I found it and I kept it, to remind me of how far I had come. Plus it represented good times, a good job, a good boss. I did very well when I first started. Well, ever since. As it turns out, for the six years that I was a manager, I only missed my bonus 5 times. I bonused every other month that we were able to sell. There is a caveat though. For the whole first year that I was in Boston, I didn't bonus, because I didn't have last year figures to compare to and the plan was impossibly high. Maybe that was the beginning of the end.

Yeah, I think you could rightly call that the beginning of the end.

I really liked being instantly rewarded for having done a good job, whether with money or with recognition. Somewhere in the end, it just stopped happening for some reason. I guess I felt like I wasn't ever getting rewarded. It was not a good time, not a good job, not a good boss.

Ok, I'll say it. She wasn't a good boss. She thinks she was. Other people think she was - think she IS. She's able to fudge her way through it because she's pushy. And pushy works on most people. But it doesn't work on everybody. Her inability to recognize that is why she wasn't so great.

Well, she's been gone a while, so that's over. Aw heck - it's all over. It's a little sad.

But it's over.

GingAwesome

oh em gee, it's been so long since I've updated. And I was trying to be better about it.

Do you like my new blog pic? I Pop-Arted myself. I'm rather proud of it. I had taken photos of myself because I had gotten my make-up done by the MAC girls in a Mad Men fashion. I got my makeup done because I was supposed to go this theme party where people dress up pre-1960's. I was going to go when my closing shift ended at the store. I didn't go because I found out during the middle of my shift that I had to stay an hour later than I thought. The store extended its hours. If you're asking yourself why I'm still working there, you must be reading my mind. I just have to get through the craziness of the holidays and then I'll quit and live a normal life.

Whenever I think about that, I sigh. I get kind of a glazed look in my eye, and I look up and slightly to the right, you know, in that far-away way. "Normal ... it must be so grand!" I whisper. People must think I'm weird.

Other normal things that I've been doing:
I've been working.
I've been performing improv.
I bought a hat. (It's a great hat.)

I went home for Thanksgiving and it was awesome! I went shopping on Black Friday and it was awesome. We spent 30 minutes looking for a parking space and it was awesome! I spent an outrageous amount of money and it was awesome! I had leftover turkey with gravy and stuffing and it was awesome! The awesometude of the awesomeness was of such an awesomnity that you would have been blinded by sheer awesomation. I am not overstating this.

Why? you're thinking. Because I NEVER get to go shopping on Black Friday. I'm always rushing back to the store (no matter where I've lived) in order to open or close and work ridiculous hours, while my family plans Black Friday hunting and finds great deals, and later talks about how they love their new things, while wolfing down a turkey and cranberry sandwich made on a leftover roll, with a little bit of homemade noodles mushed in, because my family is weird and mixes carbs like that. I missed that EVERY year. This year, I ate that sandwich with GUSTO! And I don't even like cranberry.

It's my year, baby. I have decided. I never thought when this year started that it would have ended so well, but it did. It is the year of Ginger. And ... it is awesome.

P.S. Casey says that the movie should be finished by end of Jan. Exciting!