Black Friday Madness

Today was the infamous Black Friday, and I was scheduled to work from 5am to 2pm. I knew, with it being Walmart, that is was going to be packed with people, but I had no idea the insanity that awaited me when I arrived at work at 4:45am.

First off, the parking lot was full, there wasn't a parking spot available unless you parked way over by the Staples and Petco, and even that was filling up quick. Sheriff SUV's were parked outside, patrolling the area inside and out, and people will just filing in. The first thing I noticed is that all the carts were gone and the poor cart pushers were out there running around trying to bring in whatever carts they could find around the parking lot. When I got into the store, however, is when the real madness began.

Around the store areas were roped off and there was displays all around that were covered in plastic. The sale started at 5am and people were just piled around these displays and roped off areas, just waiting. Trying to get to the back of the store to the time clock was almost impossible and seeing as where we clock in at is right by Electronics, where they were selling 32" flat screen TV's for $388, it was like a zoo! I finally got clocked in and headed out to check it and see which door I was needed at and I had just passed Electronics when someone yelled "ITS 5!". Suddenly people were screaming at the top of their lungs and ripping off plastic around the displays and throwing things in the air...like literally, I couldn't see the TV's on the wall in Electronics because there was just stuff flying around in the air as people sorted through what they wanted and filled their carts. It was insanity!! I've never seen anything like it!

They ended up putting me in the Garden Center to watch the door and check all receipts that came through. The line was backed up through the garden center and out into the store, and inside the lines were backed up from the registers to the back of the store. I had to check every receipt, highlight the large items they bought, and initial it. The bad thing was that it was freezing cold, and being garden center, it is open air. I was shivering all morning.

It finally started to slow down around 8am, but there always a steady stream of people. Three guys were arrested for fighting over one of those video game chairs, and one lady smacked another lady in the face over trying to get to sale items early. And one manager was even accosted by a customer. It is amazing what people will do for a stupid toy or TV. Nothing is that important to me that I would fight someone over it, or cause such a pandemonium over it.

So the holiday season is finally here, and seeing that I am working tomorrow, I am sure it is going to be busy from now on like today until the holidays are over. I am just glad I survived that whole mess and made it home in one piece.

A Sad Day

This time last year, I was in the hospital with a severe kidney infection that the doctors said if left untreated, could have killed me. Scary to think of how close I was to losing my life just a year ago, and then to see here, a year later, how things have changed. Phil and I got married, we have a beautiful new home, and I am working away at my little greeter job.

But what makes this a sad day for me is that it was a year ago today that I lost Peanut, which is what I called my baby. While I was in the hospital with my kidney infection, I had a miscarriage. I was 7 weeks along. It was, undoubtedly, the worst day of my life, and one that I think of constantly. I spent the entire day in terrible pain, and with incredible guilt and sadness. At the time, I felt I was the reason I lost our baby, that I didn't take good care of myself or the baby, or I had done something bad in my life to make me deserve what was happening to me.

Phil was great with me that day, he never blamed me, he just made sure I was OK, and I felt and saw his sadness as well. In fact, to this day, it is really something we don't talk about, because it is painful. But we both know what today was. There really isn't a point in dwelling over it and making ourselves upset.

It took me awhile to finally realize that it wasn't my fault for the miscarriage, that I was very sick and the baby was so fragile, and that it was nature's way. As my doctor said, every women has at least one miscarriage in her life. I've come to the point now where I've accepted what happened, that is happened for a reason, and one day we will be reunited in Heaven together. They say that when you have a miscarriage or lose a child, it goes with God and God will protect it and raise it for you until you can meet again. I can't think of a better person to be looking over my child.

I'm not as sad as I thought I would be today. I haven't shed a tear, just been reflective, and wondering what life would be like today if this day hadn't turned out the way it did a year ago. But I think of my Peanut on a daily basis, especially when I see kids coming in to work. It is a grieving process, and I know that I will always think of Peanut and what they would have been like. I may not openly talk about it all the time, because it is private to me, but that baby will always have a special place in my heart, and has forever changed me. It made me realize how badly I want to be a mom, and how wonderful an experience it is to know you have a little one growing inside you. I'm at the point where I feel very ready to experience that again and I know that one day we will when the time is right.

What was America thinking?

The election is over, and Obama won. I can't say I am really surprised, seeing as how many people seemed to latch on to his idea of change. I just think that a lot of people really didn't take a look at his whole platform and what he would really like to do to this country. I think, as what happens after a president such as Bush makes things so terrible for our country, America decides oh, well I guess we need a Democrat in there now. Four years from now, Obama could make this country even worse off then it is, and then what, will we be screaming, Now we need the Republicans back!

As you can tell, I didn't vote for Obama. It wasn't because he was black, or anything stupid like that. It is because after spending time researching the platforms of both candidates, I felt that Obama's ideas of free universal health care, and free education were along the lines of those in Socialist countries. It has been said time and again, Obama would turn us to Socialism, and I agree, he could. Now, is that going to happen, let's hope not. I believe there is enough people around him and enough obstacles he would face trying to do that, that would put a stop to it before it began. And I also strongly believe he does not have the experience needed yet to be President. He's young and hasn't spent enough time in the Senate, plus he has no military experience and we are in the middle of a war. I believe McCain would have been the better choice for us right now, and I don't believe he would have been another Bush.

Now, all this being said, I know there are those of you out there who are happy that Obama won, and that's great. I'm glad people went out there and voted and participated in what's going on in this country. I think this is the time when we should all start helping our country and letting our opinions be heard. Do I think Obama is going to be a good President...well gee, I don't know yet. I can only hope so, because if he isn't, we are going to be the ones who are suffering. Maybe he will offer the change we need, maybe he'll have the answers and turn this suffering economy back around. Who knows! A lot gets said during campaigning, about how they will change this and that, and nothing ever gets done. If free universal health care and education could be done, wouldn't it have been already???

Now, these are just my opinions in this blog, so I don't need anyone commenting and bashing my views or telling me how Obama is better because of this or that. America decided and we have to live with that decision, and now is the time were we need to put aside those party lines that divide us and unify as a country. Let's just hope Americans knew what they were thinking, and the next 4 years really do show us the change we really need.

So much to do....

I really hate moving. Your whole life has to be packed up, then unpacked at a new place. You have to find a place to put everything and when your working all the time, there just isn't time to do it. We still have a bunch of stuff over at the house to bring over, the majority of our things are here, but our bedroom there still has clothes and boxes that contain everything that goes on our bookshelves in the living room. I have been working most days, and having only one or two days off and like today, I am just so tired and trying to get some energy so I can work the next four days in a row. The actual work isn't stressful, but I can get flare-ups just by doing too much, so when I do have a day to myself I have been trying to take it as easy as possible.

Phil headed over to the house a bit ago to get what he can, but he was injured at work the other night and can't lift anything big. He was unloading a truck and the guy helping him took a box from the bottom of a big pile, and a box of irons fell on Phil, landing on his right thumb and taking it down with it. He ended up going to the doctor his work sent him to, and they said he didn't break the thumb, but he has either broken the ligaments or stretched them really bad. He is wearing a cast right now as he can barely move it and its so swollen and he has an appointment on Thursday with a hand specialist they are sending him to. They will be able to do more tests to see whether the ligaments are torn or broken, and if they are broken he is going to most likely needing surgery. So I might have to find someone who can help us move out anything heavy or bulky in the house because I don't want him injuring his thumb anymore.

I've been having a lot of trouble with my right ankle ever since I had to have my chair go in for repairs. My chair shorted out of me about two weeks ago, and I actually had to call in to work because I didn't trust the chair to run since it would run a bit, then it would just flash its lights at me and would stop moving. I found a place in Gilbert that could not only fix my chair, but also could give me a rental chair, since Medicare covers a month rental of a chair. Well, this chair is very different from mine, the seat is shorter, which makes keeping my feet and butt on the seat hard, and it is putting a lot of strain on my right ankle, which is my bad one. It is locking up on me and causing me so much pain that at times I think it must be broken because I won't be able to move it. It has also been very swollen and something sitting at work for even a few hours has just been unbearable because it hurts so bad, but then I come home and put it up with some heat or ice, take a few Tylenol, and it will start to relax. They said my chair should be ready this week and I can't wait!! Because I am so uncomfortable in this chair, I haven't been able to do anything here, and because this chair doesn't lift up like mine does, I haven't been able to do dishes or really cook well because everything is so high here and I can't reach. Phil has been a sweetheart doing dishes for me and helping out, but I feel so bad complaining all the time about how much my ankle hurts and such. He is so understanding, I just hate sounding like a whiner.

So, as soon as I get my chair back I know I am going to feel a lot better, and with being able to raise the chair up, I'll be able to really get in the kitchen and get things put away and go back to cooking like a normal person. I'll also have the ability to start unpacking more things and getting this place looking like home.

As soon as I get everything settled in around here, I'll take pictures so you can see our new home. I was going to take pictures before we got things moved in, but silly me packed the camera!