Coffee Shop Forever, It's time to kick bottom and drink coffee! Options

[treydog]

Weather here has been alternately rain and sun, warm and cold- typical Tennessee winter in other words.

The dachshund had a reasonably good Christmas- most of his favorite people came by, and there was plenty of extra turkey. His hearing is completely gone and his eye-sight is going, but the nose is still good. I took him out front the other morning, and he snuffled up a piece of stale bread I had put out for the birds. He absolutely would NOT put it down- his whole attitude was- "This is WILD bread, that I stalked and brought down myself. This food didn't come from a can- it has rain-water and leaves on it."

Hope everyone has had pleasant days and good company.

[Ibis]

Omg folks ... I had the busiest craziest 3 days of work over Christmas Eve to the day after Christmas that you could imagine. On Christmas Eve the other clerk wanted to only sit down .. sit at her ordering .. sit at the computer studying ... while I was totally busy at the counter. This is a 7/11 okay? We don't get breaks - we stand for 8 hours straight altho we are allowed to eat anytime while waiting on customers. This girl took 4 cigarette breaks! And she'd get peeved if I called her to help me when I got a line of 6 or 7 costomers. So I finally told her that I was going into to the office to take "my coffeebreak" and she says well she had to finish her ordering ... but that didn't interfere with her 4 breaks did it? Oh and Walmart at the next light closed unexpectedly at 7pm and EVERYONE came to our store. Then we got lines of 20 - 25 people from 7pm until 11:30pm when I finally went home. Miss Ciggie left at 9pm and the 3rd shift was an hour and 10 minutes late.So I was alone for 2 & 1/2 hours.



On Christmas Day I have to work with the same girl and she's pulling the same sitting in the big comfy office chair routine until I just went in and told her .. it's too busy Christmas Day for you to be studying, I need help on the counter because we were the only store open for miles around and we were busy. She comes out and proceeds to sit on a milk carton! Grumbling that she's gonna quit, gonna transfer stores, gonna go home. And she was saying Bah Humbug to the customers and telling them she hated Christmas. I was giving out Christmas candy at my register becasue I love my customers and love my job. I flat out told her "nobody is bringing down my Christmas." So around 5:30pm she calls the boss and tells him she has to go home. He asks me by phone can I handle it alone? I say "Yes, if you will schedule me the days that I need" because he'd been shorting me a day - a little blackmail I hope will be honored. So I worked until 11pm alone in a busy 7/11 - the 3rd shift was only an hour late Christmas night. But it was actually much pleasanter working alone without the complainer. And our clientelle is great - they alll visited and socialized in line with each other and no one got mad at waiting. Many ppl told me I was doing an awesome job and thanks for being there.



The day after Christmas was a great relief because I worked with a very professional older man whom I really enjoy working with and the night shift was on time ... but I was just so tired. I had my Christmas dinner of Tyson Chicken Wings and large mixed fruit cup that day because Christmas day was too busy to eat any but half a breakfast burrito.



Thanks for listening to me rant. If you read that wall O text I love you. Happy New Year Pappys ... I hope mine goes alittle bit better. But yup, I'm scheduled again for the vital days. Thank god the air force always completes its mission. If I hadn't I don't know who would have.

[minque]

So winter came to Sweden! it's -14 degrees Celsius and SNOW!!!! yayyyyyyyyyyy. Now my dear fur-ball doesn't approve, he's constantly lying on a chair near the radiator. When he needs go go out he wants me to stay at the door so he can come back inside as ASAP

Cats you know!...

[Olen]

Thats cold. Somewhat too cold.

It never snows much here, the sea wind carries enough salt to melt it. To be honest I love this, snow is horrible stuff.

No idea how cold it is here, below zero but only just probably but the wind blows all the heat out of old houses so the fire's been burning for almost a month without stop now. Mulled wine all the way.

[milanius]

So, um. Hi.

It's cold here, snowed up. Orthodox Christmas Eve and whatnot. I'm at my comp, lonely as ever, trying to get back to form and make '09 a better year. It just might work.

Anyway, it's good to be back. Hi Sarge, Minkey, Alex, Trey, Ibis, Olen, everyone... Merry Christmas and happy new year.



p.s.: free coffee [or tea, what the hell] for everyone who wants it, as always

This post has been edited by milanius: Jan 6 2009, 09:03 PM

[Ibis]

Yayzorrrzzz!!!! Milanius is back!! Hi Milan, glad to see you! It is rather lonely here too although Cullen got FO3 two days ago and I got Diablo 2 yesterday in the mail. Our late Christmas presents. After working like a dog over the three days of Christmas my reward was to get laid off along with the other part-timers. So Unemployment here I come. And I got a phone call the other morning from one of the full-timers who just found she was getting laid off too. She was afraid she'd not be eligible because he's the new franchise owner instead of corporate like before. But I told her you are always eligible as long as you were not fired for malicious behavior.



So nice to see you again, Milanius.



This post has been edited by Ibis: Jan 8 2009, 05:54 AM

[Kiln]

Yeah unemployment isn't fun, I've been there before. I feel sorry for you miss Ibis. I hate my job but I also feel lucky to have it.

[canis216]

Unemployed right now myself, and it is definitely not amusing. Getting into the spring hiring cycle for biologists though, so I am hopeful of getting an interview soon.

[Ibis]

Actually although we are having to tighten our belts I am relieved to not have to work for such a jerk. That's about all I can say. Applied for Unemployment already and waiting to hear from them. Applying online tonight to food stamps because the larder is getting a bit bare.

[minque]

uhmm....yeah, I feel sorry for you guys who are unemployed at the moment, I, too have been but that was long ago...Now my job sucks from time to time but I'm grateful to have it.

Just now I'm home though, should have been my three days of nice holiday on my own but it has turned out that I'm not well, I got some kind of flu, all joints are aching and well....no I shouldn't whine but I was so much looking forward to these days...

[milanius]

Darkness always seems to deepen, Ibis -_- the trick is to clench teeth and keep marching forward.

Other than that, having been unemployed for long periods of time, I can only tell you that sometimes it may be a change for the better. Here's hoping that you and my sister, who is also out of work, both find better jobs soon.

Today, just about everything broke down at work; programs we use, printer for receipts, even the climatisation; this last made our boss cut down worktime to 6 hours for now, since we already have 2 men coming to work ill. We need to stay healthy until this snowstorm wave calms down. But hooray for 6-hour worktime, anyway.

[treydog]

Sorry to hear about the job woes, Ibis. But it does sound as if you are moving forward.... Getting laid off was one of the most wrenching experiences I ever went through. However, it also motivated me to finally take those Computer Science classes I had been muttering about for years. If you are still thinking about the Graphic Arts classes, check the jobs board at the college- usually employers who post there are willing to accomodate student schedules. It might also be possible to find an on-campus job- certainly worth a look.

Minque- I know how you feel. Mrs. Treydog developed a sinus infection during our trip to see the grandsons (late November) and still has a cough that persisted through her 2 weeks off at Christmas. Illnesses always seem to lurk in the weeds, waiting until we think we can relax...

In the meanwhile, I have some fresh-baked apple-oat bread (new recipe- made with real apple juice) with cinnamon for everyone. Pull up a chair near the fire and I will toast you a slice. Goes great with honey.

[redsrock]

Mmmmm, that sounds very good good, Trey.

And I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, Ibis. If you need anything just hit me up.

[Ibis]

Thanks friends, it is wonderful that I can always count on you guys. Milanius you have just created my new Siggy Motto:

Darkness always seems to deepen, Ibis -_- the trick is to clench teeth and keep marching

forward.

Treydog the apple-oat bread is marvelous and very rejunvenating for trampled spirits. Oh and I picked up my final paycheck today only to find out that there was no holiday pay from the new franchise owner on Christmas despite the fact that he assured everyone that we WERE getting time and a half holiday pay. So once again I am grateful at least that I'm not working for such a blantant fire-fire-pants-no-hire liar. And I told my friend Debra there that she is working now in Bizzarro-World and she sadly agreed. As I was leaving with my check the other two clerks behind the counter checked with me on the process for applying for Unemployment, so the franchise owner has put the scare into everyone there. What a way to run a business = NOT!!!



Minky, I so hope that you are feeling better again dear. We had a touch of something here that made one feel very dizzy and a bit nauseous feeling; but seemed to be cured by diahrea .. gross but true. At least neither of us had it long. Was about 3 days ago and Cullen's had a slight fever since then but that nor nothing else will keep him from being glued to his FO3 monitor screen. Hehe



Redsrock, please keep my recent unemployment woes under you hat at TESFU, ok please? I don't want a pity party at the homesite. I look at it there like I am just getting more time to work on TESFU Town Mod and I don't know if you've looked at our thread here in Older Games Forum but wonderful news! Minque/Serene is already our healer besides Dr. James but now Treydog the Adventurer is occassionally going to submit articles to you the editor for The Union newspaper and Alexander the fearless leader here of Chorrol is going to be our Head Librarian on the upper floor above FC4's Flaming Phoenix Bookstore in front of the Mage/Tower. And of course for his background we will have him be a scholar/peacekeeper who migrated to Neacrythe from Chorrol, Cyrodiil.



Good news may come of this work lay off my friends. I have long planned to attend college for Computer Animation after we got a car and would have had to work part-time and pay the classes myself. But now after I start on Unemployment, as a veteran I become elligible for VA vocational rehab grants = so my college preparations for the Game Design world may get paid for federally although I will attend community college via bus/bicycle. I did take the tour for Computer Animation at Full Sail Media College and it was an awesome process. However, not wanting to be hugely in debt to the various loans involved with Full Sail aside from the grants and scholarships - I have opted for our community college program. I am hoping that some of my associations with Bethesda personnel and reputation in the TES Community and my planned release of some of my MW mods (and hubby Cullen's Oblivion mods) at Great House Fliggerty might maybe give me some added consideration in the Gaming Creation World once I graduate. *fingers crossed*

[redsrock]

Redsrock, please keep my recentunemployment woes under you hat at TESFU, ok please?

Of course.

[Ibis]

Thanks Reds. You are a good friend and you always understand me with little or no words.

[redsrock]

No problem, Ibis.

[Olen]

Comiserations to all those unemployed, I hope you find jobs/courses/whatever you want soon.

Its all change for me, I'm back in Edinburgh now (I'd been staying with my parents in the obscenely long winter holidays) and my flat is freezing (it was five degrees in my room before I turned the heating up). I start uni again on Monday but I have much less work this semester - only 30 hours on campus and only 23 of them in classes so lots of free time for me to write, read, walk and devise interesting practical jokes in.

[treydog]

I have been playing "road tech" this week- 2 days in Newport and then 2 days in Rogersville setting up users on a new domain. It's kind of nice to get out of the office, but 4 days out of 5 was a bit much.

A lot of my Dad's family was from this part of Tennessee, so today I stopped at a little cemetery on my way back to work and ate lunch with my g-g-grandfather and grandmother. He was born in NC in 1814 and died in 1879.

Maybe now that my road-running is slowed a little, I can spend more time here.

Ibis- definitely save any work you have done in the CG field. I recall one of our Computer Science profs telling us that our portfolio was more significant than the degree itself-

"When an employer asks what you can do, you pull out a program or disk and say, 'Well, I wrote this.' "

A couple of more hours and I can go home to read, write, and relax.

[Ibis]

Wow nice tip Trey, and I should include mentioning our little indie game project of FarFallen that Mazelure, Bofra, Kiln & I and a bunch of really talented artists and programmerw were working on for quite awhile until things fell apart. And the site is still up. That'd be a heckuva good example although I did minimal artwork I did do alot of advertising for the project. Good idea .. and my Morrowind mods, I want to put them all to one disk anyway.

How wonderful for you to enjoy your heritage like that Treydog. You are a longtime Tennessee resident to be sure.