Rawr!

So it turns out the guy at work didn't get laid off due to economic reasons, he was laid off because he was tardy 11 times during his 90-day probation. A lot of people were really angry at him because he went around saying it was due to the economy and frankly, with how bad things are, you hear that and it does put fear in people. Not to say they aren't doing layoff's right now, I believe it has been 6 people that have been let go so far, but they are doing it to basically the dead weight, people who aren't doing their job rights, people who they can tell just don't appreciate having a job in the first place by their attitude. So was I worried, damn right! Anything can happen. But if they are going to lay people off based on job performance, then I know I am ok because I do the best job I can, and my manager has even given me compliments on how I do my job, which is a big thing. And we do need greeters, it really is a job no one wants, so they would be stupid to get rid of someone who actually does the job and does it well.

In other news, I've been really frustrated with Brandi lately because she won't poop for me. I know, this sounds silly, but she used to wake up in the morning and I could take her out after Phil left for school and she'd go and things would be fine. The past two weeks though, I've been taking her out, and she sniffs everything, plays in the grass, everything but do what she is supposed to. Of course, take her home, and 5 mins later she is whining and pawing to go back out. It would be like an all day production to get her to poop, and then he'd get home and take her out and she'd do it right away. So this morning when we all work up I said "Ok Brandi, today we are going to poop and that's final". Maybe she understood because she went right away! Yes, it is silly to get frustrated with a dog not pooping, but when you have places to go and things to do, it is just annoying to take her out for her to just play. Plus, I was also worried something might be wrong because she wasn't going. But I think the culprit was that she was getting way too many treats at my parents house, and not eating her dinner at night. So I've cut her back from that, so maybe that has helped.

Speaking of Brandi, she is laying on my bed under the covers and keeps looking at me like, "Are you coming to take a nap with me Mom?". We've been up since 6a, and we didn't go to bed until really late, so I think a little nap before I have to get up and get ready for work sounds really nice right now.

Possible Layoff's??

Yesterday morning I was reading about what they are calling "Bloody Monday", where tons of companies are letting go of thousands of their staff and closing stores and offices. It really is scary to see what is happening to our economy, and I am hoping the current administration can really change things around like they say they are. I started to worry that maybe MY job could be in jeopardy, but then I thought, well, it's Walmart, they are the only company doing well right now, so I should be safe.Fast-forward to last night, when a cashier, who has been with Walmart as long as I have (4 months), was leaving for the night and stopped to tell me he was just laid off. The reason? ""Economic conditions", the manager told him, and that since they have already cut hours, and the store is still very slow, and not making much money, this is the next step, and they are going to have to start with the newest associates. But after 4 months, you aren't new, we've passed our 90-day probation period, and there are several other people who have started within the last few weeks. So in an instant I went from feeling lucky to be working for a company that wasn't going to be in any need to do layoff's, to feeling scared for my job. Luckily, greeters are needed, and I am doing a good job for them, but when it comes to layoff's, no one is safe. You could be absolutely needed and be the best employee a company has, but if they can't afford to pay you, then that's life. I have already gone from working 28-30 hours a week, down to now 20 hours for the next 3 weeks. That is a huge hour cut, and even though working only 4 hours a day is nice, it is going to hurt in the paycheck, and we are going to struggle. Only thing I can hope for is that we are able to get a large tax refund so we can get current on some bills, and start up a savings account, so if I am laid off, we at least have something to fall back on until I am able to get something else.

What I find really upsetting though, is that no one is really taking about the layoff's that could happen, it is sort of we know it is happening, but management just isn't going to confirm it. Instead of being honest and upfront and saying that yes, we are probably going to layoff some associates, so be prepared kinda thing, it is just you go to work, do your whole shift, and then when you clock out for the day, you are told by they way, we have to let you go. I can only pray that they feel, as a greeter, I am really needed and it would hurt them to let me go, and all I can do is keep doing the best job for them that I can.

I think my dog is racist

This is something I think I have always known for awhile, but it is time to come out with it....

Brandi is racist...

When we first adopted her and brought her home, we started noticing that she would bark and growl nonstop at any of our India neighbors. At the time we lived near Intel in Chandler, AZ, so there was many families living in the complex who were from India, and she would just get this bark and growl like she wanted to eat one.

Now that we are in our new apartment, she's taken to barking and growling every time she sees someone who is Mexican or who is Black. She will sit at the living room window and will just be relentless in her barking and growling.

A white guy just walked by though, and she just stopped and looked at him, and her tail started wagging.

I'm so ashamed....

Anywho..hahaha...tonight after work I am meeting up with Mindy for dinner and I swear I haven't seen her since July! It has been a long time since I have been able to go out on a Friday night, even though I have to work it is just for four hours until 7p tonight, so I can actually enjoy myself for once and go out at night!

2008: A Review

I suppose it is that time of year again where we sit back and reflect on everything that has happened, and everything we want to happen in the upcoming new year.

For me, the biggest thing that happened was I finally married the man I love dearly. We were married on May 9th, which was the year anniversary of the day we first met. To us, that day was so special because it changed our lives and getting married on that day was just icing on the cake. We didn't have a big ceremony, the justice of the peace was fine with us, because all that matter is we took our vows and committed our lives to each other. Being married is something I had always hoped for myself, and wasn't sure I was going to get. But I love being married, and being a wife. Sure, married life isn't perfect, trust me, there are those days when I could just kill him (haha), but I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

We also were blessed in 2008 to move into our new apartment, which was brand new, never lived in, as the apartment complex was just built. This place is so much nicer then our first apartment together, and now that we are finally done with living in a mess of boxes and chaos, the place looks and feels like home.

I was also lucky this year to be able to go back to work and help out my new family financially. I got the job working at Walmart as a greeter, and as much as I would love to say that the job is amazing and I love going to work everyday, well, it's Walmart and for anyone who has worked there, you know how it is. I do enjoy meeting new people, and the greeters I work with are all so nice and we have a good time, but just like any job there are politics and rules and regulations and let's just say the famous family company really doesn't care about its employees as much as they say they do. But, its a paycheck, and I can't complain about that.

Phil decided this year to go back to school, which is something I am very proud of him about. He started ITT Tech in Tempe, AZ, and he is going to be getting his degree in Drafting and Design and Construction Management. So far after his first semester he has a 4.0 GPA and he is really enjoying the whole program.

Now, like everyone, we have had our downs too, but I try not to dwell on that and think about the positive, because dwelling on the negative does us no good, and I want 2009 to be a better year for us, with more successes and hopefully, a little addition to our family.

Merry Christmas

First, I hope all of you had a very safe and Merry Christmas!

My Christmas was very nice. Christmas Eve I had to work from 2:30-6:30p. Our store closed at 6p, but we had to make sure everyone was out of the store before we could lock the doors. I couldn't believe all the people coming in thinking we were open 24 hours and getting so mad when we told them we weren't. The manager had to keep turning people away from the door. But luckily I was able to clock out at 6:30p, and then change and head over to Grandma Joan's for dinner. Everyone else had already eaten by the time we got there, but we each had a plate waiting, so we had a good dinner, and then go to open presents and spend time with family. My grandma bought us a Kitchen Aid knife set, so very nice and it will last us a lifetime. She also gave us a really nice stainless steel spice rack that swivels and has 20 different spices. I love to cook and can't wait to try some of the new spices in my recipes! She also made me a lap blanket, and also a dog toy for Brandi.

Yesterday we had dinner at my mom and dad's. Mom made lasagna, since we had ham and turkey at my grandma's the night before and it was soo good! They bought Phil a GPS for his truck, since he never knows where he is going (lol), and for me I got a Creative ZEN MP3 player that is so nice, it holds 4000 songs, pics, and videos, has a big screen, even a calendar and organizer. It is what I have been wanting because my other mp3 player died on me.

As much as I love Christmas, I am very glad that now it is over, and we can go back to everything being back to normal.

Workin the night shift....

The past few weeks I've been getting more and more night shifts on the schedule, and at first, I hated it. I had thought it was much better to get the day over with by working first, then having the night to myself. But the more nights I've worked, the more I've started to enjoy it. I've also noticed that with the cold weather, and just my arthritis in general, working nights is a lot better for me because I can get the rest I need in the morning and get my joints up and running for the day, so when I do go to work later on I feel a lot better.

The hard part was knowing that in order for to change my availability to nights only, I was going to have to talk to my manager, and she can be intimidating. I wasn't sure if she was going to be upset that I was changing to nights, and some other associates had said that meeting with her wasn't easy. Needless to say, I was very nervous, not knowing that to expect.

She called me into her office around 8pm, and I explained why I wanted to switch to nights, and she said it was no problem at all, and in fact even went through my schedule for the next two weeks and changed the day shifts I had (just 3) to night shifts, then we went in back to change the schedule on the schedule board. She totally understood my situation, and even told me I was doing really good at being a greeter.

I went back to work so relieved that the meeting went well, and really grateful that my manager understands my situation and knows I am not just trying to get out of doing my work, but working into a schedule that allows me to not miss anymore days due to flare ups. I didn't want to lose my job over my arthritis, that has happened to me before in the past, and it is nice to know that at least now I am at a place that is being accommodating.

I do have to work this morning, she couldn't put me on a night tonight because she needed me, but she did say I could come in an hour later, which works well for me. So after I post this I'll be heading off for work, and then will have a nice big day off tomorrow. Which reminds me, I have a new Tales From a Walmart Greeter to post tomorrow, the holidays have given me some good material to share....

My good deed

Last night we had my friend Jeanine over, with her 3 year old daughter Megan. It was a lot of fun to finally get to entertain now that the house is finally unpacked, looks like home, and is decorated for Christmas.

Jeanine and Megan stayed for dinner, I made pork chops and chicken, grilled cheese for Megan, then once Megan was used to Phil and I, Jeanine went to visit her husband Nathan in the hospital. She is such a cute, adorable little 3 year old, and was perfect for us, she even fell asleep about 9:45 watching Noggin. We got to bed late, after 1am, which meant we only got a few hours sleep before Phil had to wake up and get ready for school.

The alarm went off at 6:45a, much to my dismay, and I was all set to go back to bed when Phil came in and said there was a German Shepherd running in the parking lot. Turns out he must have been lost or abandoned, and his hind legs looked hurt, since he was walking very funny. This was at 7:30a, and the emergency line to the Humane Society didn't open until 8, so I waited and finally got a hold of someone, and they said they were sending over Maricopa County Animal Control to pick up the dog. I got off the phone and decided to head outside to make sure the dog stayed over here. I went outside and the dog came right over to me, super friendly, but obviously needing help. About 2 mins later Animal Control was here, and he went right over to the lady, where she got him on a leash and started an IV and checked him out, and then they were on their way. So that was my good deed of the day, making sure the dog was OK and knowing he is going to get treatment and get adopted to a good family. Brandi was a rescue dog, and I have a special place in my heart for them.

Now I am sitting here with Megan, Jeanine needed to go to the hospital this morning and talk to her husband's doctor, and since he is in ICU right now for seizures he is having, Megan isn't allowed back there. I had no problem watching her, she is such a good little girl and she is sitting next to me right now as I type this, playing "Where is the clown?", where she took one of my clown ornaments and is hiding it from me, and then I say where is the clown and she says I don't know! This definitely is making me want to have kids even more then I have been.

OK, time to go for now, now we are playing let's make the clowns dance....