Cyclone journal entry

My dad's here!

This is the third time he's been to our house since Cherry's been born. That means he TIES with my MIL in amount of visits since Cherry came along.

My mother in law lives one and a half hours away.

My father has visited from 16 and a half hours away.

Not that I'm complaining. A visit every three months from my MIL is plenty.

Anyway, my dad now has a job on the island. He's back "home" now. He arrived on our doorstep today while I was at work and Armondo was home. I got a call at work today from the hubby saying "Uh, your dad is here, and he's taking a ... shower." And I laughed. Because every time he visits, he breaks our shower head!

Dad told me he was going to be arriving some time in the middle of April, but he never called to confirm or anything, he just showed up. Which is fine, I don't mind, I love my dad! But what would he have done if no-one was home?

We're going to put him to work though, while he's staying here. We're going to use him and his truck, and go and load up on free scrap wood from the cedar mill, and to do a dump run. We never seem to have access to a truck, so we're going to take advantage of it!

We're also going to get him to babysit tomorrow night so Armondo and I can have a nice dinner out. Dad doesn't know this yet. We'll let him know in the morning.

I don't know how long he's staying with us, he'll be calling his work tomorrow to see when he'll be able to start working and when he can move into the residences on the little island where his job is.

***

In other news..

I think I've caught up on my sleep now. Armondo made sure I went to be early last night, 'cause I was "Acting like a Zombie-a HOT zombie, of course." I still feel over worked though. I've worked full time before, but for some reason it's way harder now. I've always been one to need a lot of sleep, but I used to be able to work a full week (and party at night) and not feel as exhausted as I have lately. I can't blame it on the baby either. She only wakes up one or two times a night now, and I don't even have to get up anymore!

That one day when I worked two jobs went pretty well, and it was worth it money wise! I raked in a LOT of dough! I shared a big table with another server and we split the tip to make $93 each! I also had a few other pretty good tips and walked out with a pretty good haul even after tipping out 30%. (and no babysitter to pay!)

I'm happy though, that I'm back to work. My feet hurt, I don't see much of Cherry, and I'm tired, but it feels good. I feel productive. I like getting out of the house. I like that I'm doing something nice for Armondo and Cherry. It's a two-three month stint where I'll be working full time so that Armondo can have some time to bond with his first born. After the parental leave is over, Armondo will go back to work and I won't have to work again until the kids are in school, or if we go broke.

And I like my job. I mean, I know I complain about my idiot customers, but in reality, I actually like my job. (I can't remember if I told you this, or not, but...) A couple of days before Armondo came home this last time, he mentioned that he was worried about money. The next time I talked to him, I told him that I was probably going to get some shifts back at the hardware store. He says "I'm worried about money, but I didn't mean for you to go get a second JOB!" I say, "But I LIKE it at the hardware store!" He says, "I know you do!"

It's too bad that there really isn't any money in retail, unless you own your own store. I would love to take all the courses and learn as much as I possibly could about all of the things in the store, but it seems like there's not much point, 'cause I will probably never earn more than $9 an hour. This is the second hardware store that I've worked at, and at the first one (where I worked with Sarah) I never made more than minimum wage. It really pissed me off when a new woman started working there and was making more money than me right off the bat and who had never worked retail and who hadn't had ANY sort of job for the 16 years previous while she raised her children. I didn't hurt much to leave that store.

At this store though, I know there are other people working there who are making more than me, but it feels like they deserve it. There are people who actually know plumbing, there (used to be) people who had their horticulture certificates, etc. But even with all their extra training and knowledge, they still aren't making that much more than me. ANYWAY.. like you all care about this stuff, but hey, this is my journal, and this little part is just about my own ramblings! And the point is, ONE DAY I WILL OWN MY OWN HARDWARE STORE. And my other point is, if my boss offered me the manager position that is opening up, and offered me some good money, then I'd be HAPPY to stay here. And I could take over the scheduling that the other manager does, 'cause.. well, he really sucks at it!

***

Ok, I'm only pretending to change the topic here. I'm still going to talk about work ('cause, geez, this is my whole life these days!) Now I'm going to talk about my co-workers though. Hardware people are more my people. I worked with Sarah in a hardware store, and although she's psycho and pretends to eat her pet guinea pigs, I love her. And L.B., who often leaves comments and who baby sat my kid when Armondo was gone, is one of my favourite people, and her and I met at the hardware store I work at now when we both worked there over a year ago. I've got some awesome bosses, and I don't hate any of my co-workers right now. (When I left the hardware store a year ago, half of the reason why I left was because of two guys who were always pissing me off and who were bordering on "harassing" me. One of them found another job, and the other is out due to knee surgery, but might be back soon.)

When some of the crew decides to get together for drinks after work, everyone is invited. Even when it's the "young" ones planning it, the older ones are invited. There are no "cliques". No one cares if your pink shirt and red apron clash. It is so different from working in the restaurant! Don't get me wrong, there are always people in any work place who are annoying and who tend to be more on the "outside", but I find that with the hardware crew, (people more like me), we tend to try to include everyone until they alienate themselves. We're just more down to earth, I think. I've never felt like I fit in at the restaurant. I'm not flirty enough, I'm not sexy enough. I find it really hard to sell myself in order to get a good tip. But I like the money, and I like the hours. And every time I leave a restaurant, it only takes me a few months until I want to go back to make the good money again. *sigh* I need a "career"!

So, the other day, I get to work at the hardware store and as I'm walking to the back, I see a girl who looks like Chase. Later, I find out she's the new girl, and as soon as she starts talking, I instantly think that she has a voice JUST like Shane. Funny thing, really, because both of these women like women. Half way through the day, the new girl, (We'll call her T.) and I start chatting, and I decide to take over training her on the cash 'cause it's obvious no one else really wants to, and I find out that T., as well as the two people she resembles ALSO likes women.

Oh yeah, my people perceiving skills are EXTRAORDINARY. Yup, I'm cool.. I could be like a .. profiler or something. Not that I'm saying that women who like women need to be PROFILED.. oh crap.. am I getting myself into trouble?

Anyway, I like T. She has her flaws, like she can't seem to figure out how to count change back properly, and can't seem to see the importance in this act, but she's pretty cool. I think she'll fit right in! She's nice, she's no-nonsense, and besides the money counting back thing, she's eager to learn. I could see us becoming friends. Which is good, because A. is leaving the hardware store, and I really like her, so I'm happy that someone else cool is filling her place.

***

So, as you may of read in the comments from my last post, Belinda isn't able to send Jacy tomorrow. I'm sad that she's not coming right away, and I'm concerned that things aren't going well in the Ninja Poodle dojo, but I'm almost relieved that I'm getting an actual day off tomorrow, where the most traveling I'll be doing is to the library. And it will be neat to hang out with my dad!

***

Yeah, this post is long. That's what I do. I don't write anything for days, then I post a novella. Off to bed now!