the following is an actual incident of identity theft.  please look closely.  this could happen to you.................

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sorry, i just couldn't resist.  i had many more, but they wouldn't load.

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_1

WRONG CHOICE? I HOPE NOT.......

remember how i used to hate working at the craft store??  well, as in all jobs, i have started wondering if i made the right choice to change jobs.  of course, i really do know i did the right thing.............but after the last few days at work, i do have to stop and wonder.

one of my co-workers thinks she should be "manager", even though we don't have a manager.  she has griped and complained over and over that she is the most qualified person there to "run the store".  there is a director and an assistant director and the rest of the employees are more or less equal......they are either cashiers or warehouse workers and usually have to do both. 

over the past week this person has been either leaving work early saying she isn't feeling well, or calls in sick.  then she comes in yesterday and more or less demands that the director make her manager or she will quit.  well, since my boss is so easy going, he told her he would make her "in charge" of the community service workers.  well, most of the community service workers don't like her anyway.  so when they found this out, they all started leaving early, except for one lone guy that is a super nice fellow. 

not only is there a problem with the cs workers and this person, but the woman i had the problems with who threatened and cursed at me, felt she had more seniority and she should have been made assigned the cs workers.  she left early as well.  sigh.

in the midst of all this, i wasn't able to take my breaks without pleading with a co-worker to relieve me.  so, there was some anger and hurt feelings over my taking the breaks that i am entitled to as stated in my job description.  i went in my boss's office this morning and had a long talk to him about this break problem.  he told me he was really sorry it happened, and if no one would relieve me for my breaks, to please come see him and he would be glad to give me my break and relieve me himself.  i had a little cry in his office and he talked to me about how he really did like me and wanted me to be happy, but he was dealing with others that were demanding things from him and i sort of got pushed to the wayside.  i felt better afterwards.  of course, in a few days, all will be forgotten and i will have to beg and plead for my breaks again.............sigh.  i guess i should be really thankful i have a job, and one where the head cashier, the director, and the assistant director think the world of me..............

i shouldn't question things, but i am getting pretty good wifi service tonight.  i just hope it continues so that i can enter this entry.

i wanted to get back up on my soapbox for a few minutes.........

i was reading paula's journal (PAULINE'S COUNTRY TALES AND OTHER THANGS) and she had an entry about cell phone usage in public places.  that is one of my biggest pet peeves.  i hate the new blu tooth technology where you plug an almost invisible earpiece and the people walk around talking into their own ear while walking toward you and looking at you.  i have often asked someone what they said, or looked at them inquisitively, wondering if they were talking to me.  and those stupid 2 way radio features.....grrrrrrrrrrrr.......all that squawking and beeping and loud talking........geeze people........now i understand on a construction site or something of that nature, but in a restaurant while you are trying to enjoy a nice quiet meal or some romantic conversation???? 

i had a woman today in the store that looked like a sweet, grandmotherly type.  in fact, she didn't even look like a cell phone type.  i had gotten a little ill over a woman earlier walking around using the 2 way radio feature, and even this "grandmotherly" woman was looking at her as if she was a nuisance.  then suddenly there is a ring tone......and miss grandmother of the year answers her phone at the top of her voice and continues to shop throughout the store for over an hour, talking to a loved one at the top of her voice, letting the whole world hear her personal conversation and not even appearing to realize it.  is this the wave of the future???  i hope not.

<<<steps down off her soapbox>>>

i wanted to mention that jeannette over at JEANNETTE'S JOTTINGS announced recently that she is one year cancer free...........congratulations jeannette.  i will be with you through the next year and beyond as your journey continues.

well, i better try to save this entry. 

DANG IT, IT DID RAIN....BUT SO WHAT!!!???

i have tried for 3 days to put this in my journal.  finally, here is part one of what i originally wrote.  the second part will come in another entry.  the journal wouldn't let me put both in one entry.....sigh....aohell.

yep, saturday was my day off and i was up and ready to go yard sale shopping when i looked out my window and noticed water droplets falling from the heavens.  the streets were wet and every once in awhile, there would be a far off rumble of thunder.  drats!!  so i crawled back into my comfy bed and snuggled up with my fat cat and went back to sleep.  about 2 hours later i awoke to intermittent sun filtering through my curtains.  what??  so now you shine......thanks alot sunshine!!!

i stomped out of bed, upset that i didn't get to drive all over the countryside, wasting gas to find bargains that are other peoples' trash or castoffs.  i ate some breakfast, watched a little tv, and decided to get dressed and see if there were any church yard sales that were possibly inside a building.  i know....even more driving around finding invisible yard sales, lol.

i had read about a couple of church yard sales, so headed toward the closest one and voila!!!!  they had set up early that morning, but had covered most of the stuff when the rain started and were pulling the tarps off and resetting the tables with fabulous junk.  of course, almost everything was wet, but most of what i was looking for was either plastic or washable, so i didn't care. 

the group holding the yard sale was a ministry for "wayward women".  the ministry went to prisons and halfway houses and aimed their message at young and old women alike who had lived a life of drugs, crime, prostitution, etc.  those that were saved and were willing to join the ministry helped with the different events.  i wondered why there were a lot of young women with multitudes of tattoos that didn't seem to go with the Christian theme.  not that i was judging them, just wondered.........

i found numerous items that "i couldn't live without", lol.  i got 2 green round tablecloths for my kitchenette table.  i got a slate sign that says "OF ALL THE THINGS I HAVE LOST IN MY LIFE, I MISS MY MIND THE MOST".  i got yarn, a plate that matches my corelleware every day dishes, and several other items.  she told me the total was $2, so, since i wanted to help out, i gave her $5.  the table cloths and dish were worth that.

after leaving the church yard sale, i saw another sign in a subdivision where my daughter and her ex roomie used to live.  i pulled in there and saw some scrapbooking  items, but the young girl wanted too much for them.  her mother sold me a liz claiborne wallet for 50 cents.

i left there and went by work.  i figured the salvation army is a giant yard sale, so i might find something there that wasn't there the day before when i worked.  i was wrong.  they were short handed.....AGAIN......so weren't able to get anything new out on the floor.  so i didn't find anything.  well, i was going to buy a double frame for some pictures, for 49 cents, but one of my co-workers told me i could have it.

so............i did get to go yard sale shopping after being able to sleep in.  best of both worlds.

PLEASE DON'T RAIN......PLEASE DON'T RAIN........

after working 4 saturdays in a row, i am finally getting one off.........whoo hooo!!!  and i want to go yard sale shopping tomorrow.  so i don't want it to rain......at least not before 4 pm.  i got paid on thursday, so i have a little money, and i am off, what a combination, lol.  now, as my luck goes, it will rain and no one will have yard sales.  sigh...............

i have decided i shouldn't go on payday to pick up my check if i am not working that day.  yesterday i decided to do just that and while i was there, 2 of my co-workers had ordered something to eat and asked me if i would work the register while they ate.  i told them i would if i could clock in.  i figure, volunteers are not allowed to handle money or work the register.  if i were off the clock, i would be, more or less, a volunteer.  so....... if i didn't clock in, i couldn't handle the money.  right???  hey, it sounded good to me, lol.  so i clocked in for about 50 minutes and worked the register.  about $8 more on my paycheck........works for me, lol.

i had a good day today, even though we were short handed at work.  there were only 3 of us working today, where there are usually 5.  the girl who relieves me for breaks and lunch was the only one working in the knick-knacks and brand label clothing.  we usually have 2 in knick-knacks and 1 in brand label.  but it was nice today.  no bickering and fighting.  just hard work. 

i had my yearly evaluation on wednesday.  my boss told me i had 3 b's and the rest c's.  i freaked...........when i went to school, a b was better than a c.  but in the workplace, it is as follows:  d = perfect, c = almost perfect, b = good, but needing a little more training, and a = not good at all, needs to really work on job description.  when i learned the c was the highest grade given to any employee at any time, i was very happy.  my boss even told me that his score was not as good as mine, lol.  everyone passed, which means we all get our yearly raise in september.  so, hopefully, i will get my 7% raise.  better than the 13 cent an hour a year raise i got at the craft store. 

speaking of the craft store, i went there after work on wednesday and richard hugged me and we talked awhile.  i really miss him.  i had a customer come over to me while i was shopping and hugged me, and told me she sure did miss me working there.  we talked a little and i did my shopping and left. 

ok, i am going to get on my soap box for a few minutes.  since a large portion of my readers are from over the water.........scotland, england, etc, etc..........i am not sure they will know what commercial i am speaking of.  but those of you here in the states might have seen it.  it is a commercial for new mentos chewing gum.  a man is sitting on a bench in a hallway next to a water cooler with one of those big water bottles.  a woman walks up toward the water cooler and instead of leaning over and getting water from the cooler, she leans over and sucks the mans mouth, making sounds like she is getting lots of fluids into her mouth.  i have never seen such a disgusting commercial.  i have to change the channel every time it comes on, or i will start gagging.  in fact, as i sit here typing about it, i am slightly gagging.  ewwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!! 

(steps down off her soap box)

i guess i shouldn't brag on my wifi connection for i am afraid i might lose it (jinx myself).  but i am getting a really good connection tonight, so i am trying to get everything i need to say into one entry and i am hoping it will take this entry.  i am trying to save up enough money to buy a booster box, but with trying to save up money to move my furniture into my apartment, i haven't been too successful.  if i get a constant connection, i can reopen my website and start selling my handmade jewelry and greeting cards and crocheted items.  i am slowly getting all my craft supplies organized, so making things will be much easier.  before i started getting all the containers to put my items in, i had a pile of crocheting stuff here, another pile of jewelry making stuff there, and still another pile of card making stuff over there.............i hate all the piles.

i have a really funny story to relate.  well, funny to those who have or have had cats living in their house with them.

a couple of weeks ago i was sitting in my den in the only chair i have and usually my kitty will either sleep in the bedroom on her little bed next to the computer, or come in and lay up under that chair while i am there.  i noticed she was edging into the room very cautiously and was jumping at every little noise.  she creeped over to my chair, peeked underneath, jumped back a little, and kept staring up under the chair. 

well of course i thought for sure there was some monster under there, like a large roach, spider or even a mouse or rat.  so i started getting uneasy as well.  after she did this for about 15 minutes, i decided to get up and pull the chair out and look behind and under it.  nothing was there that breathed or crawled, just some items that had fallen under there from my craft pile, like some yarn and a pair of scissors and i think there was a label from a skein of yarn.  i told her to quit being silly, there wasn't anything there.  she continued this little dance for over an hour.  when i was ready to go to bed, i noticed she didn't follow me into the bathroom like she usually does.  i couldn't coax her into the bathroom no matter what i tried.  i figured it was because she had to pass in front of the chair to get there.

i went on to bed and eventually, the scaredy cat came to bed with me, curled up and went to sleep.  i rolled and tossed alot, which usually makes her get down off the bed, but that night, she didn't budge.........just scooted closer and closer to me.

the next morning when i got ready for work, i headed toward the bathroom and the den looked like a cyclone had hit during the night.  every pile of craft items was scattered all over, and the fewcontainers of cat treats i keep near the chair were thrown helter skelter, as were anything else that was small enough to move.  right in the middle of the space in front of the chair was an item.  apparently, it was the MONSTER.  i can only imagine that miss scaredy cat had gathered enough guts to sneak up under the chair and swat at the MONSTER to see if it would attack, and had apparently gotten the MONSTER stuck on her claw and it followed her out from under the chair, which, in her little mind, meant that the MONSTER was real and was following her.  so....in her effort to get away from said MONSTER, she ran over everything in the room, scattering it like packing peanuts.  i picked up the MONSTER, took it to where miss scaredy cat was sitting, tossed it down beside her and she immediately imitated the sleek fast cars they advertise on tv........0-60 in 10 seconds!!!!  i had found the culprit, the MONSTER.  i have included a picture of this MONSTER, taken with my new digital camera.  please be careful when viewing it, as it might cause you to have nightmares.

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a red yarn coaster.................

GOODNIGHT, TIM

i have been trying to enter this entry since the 13th, and so far, i haven't had any luck.  hope it goes in this time.............

 usually, i am not a devoutly political being.  i follow general elections, local subjects, and foreign policy from time to time.  i never sat and watched MEET THE PRESS, but i was very aware of tim russert's face, his ability to cover political issues, and his ability to keep my attention for more than 2 seconds.  he will be sorely missed in the political arena as well as by his family and friends.

my prayers are with those closest to him......

REST IN PEACE, TIM RUSSERT........

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i am back, momentarily, if the wifi will let me continue.  i have missed my friends in j-land, and don't even know what is going on since i have been offline for so long.  i hope all are well.

as for myself, i have been rather ill.  i am still not quite sure what was/is wrong with me, other than old age, but i went through quite a time over the last 10 days.  it has been quite hot here in georgia, nearing 100 degrees on several days.  not having working air conditioning in my vehicle, i go only back and forth to work, which is a distance of 1.2 miles one way.  but with such intense heat in my car, and the fact that our work air conditioner went out 10 days ago, and for 4 days it was near 90 inside the store, i figured the heat had gotten to me.  i started by feeling feint.  not ill, or sick, just "not quite right".  on my sunday off i had to grocery shop and as i was unloading the car in the heat and trying to carry the load up the 21 steps to my apartment, i almost passed out.  i still haven't gotten all my non-perishables up the stairs, like the canned goods and things i am not ready to eat as of yet.  they sit in the hall downstairs with some other items i haven't felt like carrying up the stairs.

several nights ago i was feeling off, and my body started to feel like i had the flu.  i was hot, even though the air was cranked down to 70, and i hurt all over, even my hair.  i had a sharp pain behind my left ear, headaches, sinus pressure and choking spells.  i would cough constantly, like trying to eject my stomach out through my mouth.  during the coughing spells i would somehow manage to suck saliva back down into my windpipe and choke all over again, coughing even worse.  as badly as i felt last tuesday, i planned to go on to work on wednesday.  tuesday night i had a fitfull night in bed.  i would stop coughing and aching long enough to drift off to sleep, only to awaken to a bed that felt like it was on fire.  i can only assume that i was running a really high fever.  sometime during the night the fever broke, and i awoke swimming in my own perspiration.  i went to work on wednesday though i felt drained, and during my afternoon break, i was eating some frozen grapes when i choked again, and this time i was truly frightened.  i couldn't breathe, catch my breath or even cough.  my boss rubbed my shoulder with compassion, telling me to try to calm down and slowly breathe, and another co-worker told me to hold up my hands..........later it all seemed rather comical, but not at the time.  as you can see, i survived that bout.  thursday, after running my errands and coming back home to cool off, i got choked on some food and this time i knew i was a gonner.  i lost my breath for quite a few seconds and, being in the house by myself at the time, i feared death was immanent.  i prayed that if i passed out, i would be able to catch my breath and come out of it.  i finally was able to catch my breath and had one horrible coughing fit that has caused me to have costrocondritis. 

i still am not sure what caused the fever, but have come to a conclusion as to why i am getting choked so often.  there is a flap that closes off the windpipe when food or beverage are consumed, or when saliva is swallowed.  as i get older, that trap door doesn't work as well.  my boss and one of my co-workers is having the same problem.  oh joy oh joy!!!  isn't getting older wonderful???  NOT!!!

since i have had so much "time" on my hands by not having an internet connection, i have had plenty of time to work on my KITTYCAPTIONS.  so i will close with one tonight when i sign off if the powers that be will allow.

i have truly missed reading all your journals and hope that i can keep my eyes and my internet connection open long enough to catch up on some of them.  i hope all of you will stick around with me, even though my postings are sporadic.

well, i guess i better try to see if i will be allowed to complete this entry.

to all fathers out there................

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!

(after having time to do some online research, i think maybe what i had was a mild case of salmonella poisoning.  i had every symptom except vomitting, which i never do anyway)