There's a reason it's called BLACK Friday

I was scheduled to work the 5am shift at Sam's Club this morning. My first real Black Friday. I had never shopped for them, didn't find anything I really needed to be up before the crack of dawn. Who does that?

A lot of people I tell you. But most of them sleep in till noon.

3:40am I got out of bed, showered, ate breakfast (Thanksgiving left overs, something everyone is thankful for!), and left for work. I snuck in the backdoor around 4:40am and got the run down on the sales for the registers. We didn't really know what was going on with the floor sales, I didn't even notice any differences. When a member would bring something up and say "Wow! It's only 45 dollars!" I would nod and smile like I knew all along.

People were lined up outside, and then the doors opened and they all lined up at the member service desk. The cashiers just stood there. I didn't get my first member till around 5:20am. They all bought electronics.

I was chipper, selling Plus memberships for a 25 dollar gift card, until around 7. The store died. Members were shopping for the normal stuff, and they weren't in a rush to get out the door, so I had no one. I started falling asleep. I had to walk in circles, pat my cheeks, clap my hands. It is very possible to fall asleep on your feet, mid conversation even. I didn't want to go on breaks, I didn't want to go home. I was happy to be working and making Plus membership sales.

It didn't get busy in the store till around 12. And it wasn't just busy it was super busy, lines all the way down, every register open. Busy. I couldn't get to my break without someone stopping me and asking where something was.

Finally, 1 hour after my shift ended they kicked me off a register and told me to go home. I did reluctantly. I get to go in tomorrow, but it will be at 2, so i won't make as many sales. We don't sell that many in the afternoon.

Overall it was a crazy day, full of laughs, patience testing, sales, and shouting (my voice is tired tonight, it is cracking). Can't wait till tomorrow. Sales at Sam's don't last a day, they last a weekend. Wish me luck!

P.S. The ice started melting today, we have road again!

The Big Move

This is going to be a big picture/movie post so be prepared. I took pictures of every room in the apartment (except Amanda's).

First lets start off with how Gus is handling the whole thing. Below are a couple videos of our trip to Idaho Falls. You can see how well he took it:

This is how he is now:

Relaxed, fat, and happy.

Now for some pictures of the apartment! (caption below the image)

Staircase leading downstairs/view from my room

My room from the hallway.

Bathroom from the hallway.

Staircase/first thing you see when you walk through the front door. You see this and to the right the hallway to the living room.

Hallway from the living room to the front door. We keep our shoes there ^_^.

Kitchen, it looks small but it isn't half bad.

The living room, Amanda is putting a puzzle together. We keep dvd's on that bookshelf for now. They will be moved into the white hatch when it is fixed. Just waiting for Amanda's brother to come back with all the parts.

My closet, it is huge, and super messy. Surprising how messy you can get when you just move in.

Other side of my closet.

My computer desk. I just pack the whole thing like it was at my parents and moved it here. Tyson said I didn't move, I just picked up my room and put it down, no boxes. It looks like that too.

I was watching You've Got Mail while I unloaded, the credits are on the TV I believe. Gus is chilling on the bed here, completely relaxed. Spencer (the dragon Spencer gave me and named for me from Lagoon) is next to my TV.

My bed.

I keep my shoes under the hotel like air-conditioner.

My bookshelf.

My bedroom door.

Notice anything odd in any of the pictures? The blue tabs on the walls? Our landlords said they wanted to fix up the holes in the walls, but never got around to it. We are going to give them a month before we rip those suckers down and start hanging more things up. The apartment echoes too much with nothing there.

A scary story, one night while we were sleeping some random kids decided it would be fun to shoot Idaho Falls up with a BB gun. Our kitchen window was hit. The bullet went through one panel of glass and bounced back out. Luckily it didn't go all the way through. We did have to file a police report, the cop said it was the thing going around so there were no worries about living in the area.

Here is a picture of the shot: It is about the size of a 50 cent piece. Not sure when it will be fixed, or if it will ever be fixed.

Not a bad place to live. I am happy here, I love my job, my apartment, etc. You should all stop by to visit if you are in town. Text and I will send you the address/directions.

I will be sure to keep you informed on whats up!

Intermission

I am just posting to tell you I will be posting soon. Its like a meeting to plan for another meeting. I have a lot of pictures and videos I want to post, and I want to make it fun and interesting, so it might take me a bit to work it all out. I don't close any night this week so I will work on it when I can.

In the mean time here are some highlights to look forward to:

-Moving to Idaho Falls
-Gus moving with me to Idaho Falls
-Starting a new job
-My new singles branch
-My apartment

Till then.

Apartment Shopping

Can you guess what I did all day today?

We called EVERY apartment listing in the paper that didn't say No Pets! I got through to about 1/2 of them, the other half I left messages. We visited two and set up appointments for another two.

The first little apartment was across from a cemetery, smelled like old socks and had the rudest land lady. She hardly spoke to us and when we had a question she snapped like we were criticizing her. I just wanted to know if she would fix the plug-in cover sheesh.

The second apartment we went through was a basement apartment, looked newish, was being cleaned at the time. The guy couldn't be there so he stayed on the phone with me while we walked through it.

Strange.
Other strange thing: He wanted to know people who know me to verify Gus didn't stink. O.o he wanted to know if he could talk to my sister or mom and ask them if he was stinky. Very strange. He said he will charge on the stinkiness of Gus. $10 being less stinky and $25 being really stinky.

It was just down the street from the place we picked.
Yup I found a place to live. Just have to put in the application and hope we get it. The guy said we can stop by tomorrow sometime and sign paperwork. It sounds like things are going to go through, we just have to wait till the current tenants move out.

Its a townhouse across from Westmark bank in Idaho Falls. It is about 2 miles from Sam's Club so I can drive or ride a bike to work (if I had a bike). I will be right down town, the mall about 5 minutes away from the house.
I am excited for the move. I will take pictures of the place as soon as we get the keys. I haven't been in the unit we are looking at renting, I was in number 6, we would be living in number 8.

I would show you the google picture of it, but for some reason it looks like the area hasn't been updated in a few years. I will give you the google image with my additions:



We would live in the orange unit on the far right side (hidden by the old apartments). They look like the yellow ones, but are townhouses, so no upstairs neighbors. There is no front yard, just parking lot, but there is a small backyard (all dead grass and shared with the neighbors). I should have taken a picture of it before we left today. Maybe next time I am by there I will snap a quick shot of the outside.

Anyway, that is whats going on in the world of Ashley. Enjoy

Advetures in life

Well ... a lot has happened since last I wrote. I will give you the watered down version of the whole thing since it is quite a bit.

Monday I worked in the Idaho Falls Family Dollar, (they fired everyone in one of them because they were stealing). While there the manager told me my boss didn't want to keep me to the end of the week, and she wondered why that was since I did such a good job in her store. I unloaded ALL chemical alone in 2 hours, that's pretty impressive.

I just stood there shocked. I shouldn't have, I knew my boss sucked. The manager told me I should transfer to another store, get away, since I wasn't wanted at mine. I told her I would take care of it and the second I clocked out I called the DM and told her I was done dealing with my boss and was putting in my two weeks.

YAY!!

She wanted to know what happened, so i explained and said I have another interview and I am done working for that woman anymore. She said she understands and left it at that.

Another interview you ask? Yes I had an interview for Sam's Club in Idaho Falls the next morning, which made me driving there very convenient. I stayed the night with Amanda and the next day she had to be to work 30 minutes before I was scheduled to be there, so I was just super early. At least I got to walk around and check things out.

I was first interviewed with a floor assistant manager, then the zone manager, and a second interview with the zone manager, and finally and interview with the store assistant manager! They said they loved my personality and could see me moving into assistant management quickly. Normally it takes 6 months of working there, but they said they have seen it happen a lot faster, and in my case it might just happen.

YAY!! I'm pretty impressed with myself.

They are hiring me for a part time cashier right now, but I am getting paid more than I was as an assistant manager at the FD. Funny how that works.

I had to work at the FD Thursday. I like working when I have nothing to lose. I don't feel guilty I didn't get every single thing done on my list of things to do. Especially when I was left ALONE for 2 1/2 hours because the manager didnt want to come back and cover a call-in's shift. The old/new cashier texted me she was sick and told me she was afraid to call the manager because she would kill her.

When the manager finally came back I insisted I get a lunch, I was going to be working over 6 hours so I was supposed to have one. I wasn't hungry, just wanted a break from the store. I didn't want to work there anymore.

She threw a fit so I called the DM, on the first ring my manager got really mad and said she would get in a till so I hung up. The DM called back right away wondering what happened. My manager told her everything was fine and I was just wondering if I should take a lunch. All in a sickingly sweet voice. I asked for the phone. She didn't give it to me. So I clocked out and waited till my manager was off the phone before calling the DM myself to tell her what happened.

She wasn't too happy with the manager. I got an ice cream and sat in a parking lot a bit aways for the 30 minutes I was given. When I got back not a word was spoken between us. We counted out of our tills, and went home. I am scheduled 2 days next week I hope I don't have to work. I am waiting for the phone call with my new schedule at Sam's.

I will be moving to Idaho Falls, but I will visit often. You should come visit me lots of fun places to eat and shop ^_^. I will let you know how it goes.

Sometimes we have to dance a little crazy

Why is it ...

Why is it these things never look like the picture?


Despite it's horrendous look it tastes pretty good.

Ignore the Loud Sounds Coming from the Dryer.

This is a story involving my precious (or semi-precious) Christmas gift of 2 years ago.


And his adventures with formidable foes.

Yes both of them.

One night after a long week of solid work I decided my uniform was in desperate need of washing. I pulled everything out of my pockets, skipping the left leg pocket because I never use that one and the water was getting pretty deep I was afraid my pants would miss their special cold water soaking time. I threw them in and went about cleaning my room while I waited for it to finish so I could dry the load and move my darks to the dryer before going to sleep.

The washer was rather noisy, but I figured it was because I had my jeans in there and went about my night. I moved everything to the dyer at the appropriate time. When I started the dryer it was exceptionally noisy, like I had washed with rocks or something.
Finding the noise grating I closed the laundry room door and went about cleaning again. When everything was finished I pulled the clothes from the dryer and started on my darks, promptly taking myself to bed shortly after. I woke the next morning and got ready for work.

Two days later, yes I know ... I hate laundry ... I would rather wear it wrinkled than have to spend time folding it. I started f0lding my clothes. Deciding I needed some music to tackle this ominous task I looked for my ipod.
Strange ... it wasn't on my desk. I know I didn't leave it in my car. Hm ... last time I remember seeing it I had slipped it into ... my ... pocket. I turned all dramatic like, the world moving slowly and stepped forward the pile of clean clothes on my bed. Sitting in my work pants, innocent like, was my ipod.

Well after a week long process of attempting to dry it, prep it, and prepare to connect I have come to this:

R.I.P. iPod. I knew thee well.

So if any of you were wondering ... there is about an 89% chance of an iPod dying during a wash and dry session. Those other luck few that get it to still work are just lucky.

I'm not too heart broken over this, it was a gift from my previous boss (I think it was used before because it came with finger prints and scratches). It was nice while it lasted but I can always buy a new one. Besides I'm the one who misused it by washing and drying the poor little guy.

Here is his last photo after my home attemps at fixing him.


Poor iFrankenstein.

Working and such ...

Whew it's been a while hasn't it? I have been so swamped with work I haven't had a breather to sit down and write a decent blog. How sad is that? Since my manager was removed I have been filling as a sort of morning manager while the other assistant was working as a closing manager.

It's been rough. We got the store looking nice and organized, and happen to be selling a lot more that we used to. Before the change we got a 1000 piece truck, we have upped that to 1300 pieces because we have more sales. How cool is that?

Wondering if I am still without a manager?

Nope. My coworker, the other assistant stepped up and took the position. She can deal with all the technical stuff and I can sit back and relax as the first assistant now. I work 39 hours a week every week, so I am guaranteed a certain amount on my paycheck, which makes things a little more stable. And I don't have to worry about the condition of the store when it comes to inventory time like a manager.

Is it better?

I'm not sure yet. When the new manager took over one of the cashiers, who is going to take the second assistant position took a week long vacation. So I have been working the 2 assistant jobs alone. I will let you know if things are better when he takes the keys.

As for more current events, today has been just one of those days. I ran to lunch, after unloading the 1300 piece truck, and couldn't decide if I wanted to bring my purse in with me. I stuffed my keys in there as well as my wallet and sat looking at it. After a second of pondering I decided I didn't need it and got out locking the doors and shutting them. I stopped looked in my car and sighed. Both sets of keys were locked in there.

I called mom, working, called dad, working, called Heather, didn't answer, called Justin who answered and his first response "I will get the Slim Jim."

He got there in minutes and started working on it to no avail. My dad showed up in his patrol car, but had to run because of a call. While we were working on it a customer ( a regular), saw us and came over. He asked what was going on and I explained I left my keys in my car and couldn't get it open. After working on it for a bit he pried my door open a little, placed a piece of wood in there, and used a wire hanger to pull the lock open.

45 minutes tops. He even bent the frame back in place (it was only a little bent) and left. Before going back into the store I stopped at his car and asked if I could buy him a soda or something, he shook his head, smiled, and said no thanks. I thanked him a few more times and we went our separate ways.

I will keep my spare in my room from now on. It was in my purse because I needed it once when I couldn't find my keys. I just never got around to returning it to its place on my cork board.

Such is life isn't it.

I will try and update a bit more now. We will see how things run. ^_^

Catching Up

My last post was before Thanksgiving. Wow. A lot has happened since then, most of it I have forgotten though haha so you get the condensed version.

Thanksgiving: Went ok. Nothing to spectacular, we ate we talked. The usual.

Kannon's birth: I was so excited to see the little guy. Too bad the sickies are bad this year or I would be over there more often, working with the public makes you sick more often. I can't believe he was 9lbs! Way to go sis! Grats to the whole fam, the little guy is just adorable.

Christmas: I had to work Christmas Eve so I really didn't feel like it was Christmas. It came and went and I hardly had time to blink.

New Years Eve: My boss was transferred. Yup you read that right. That is the story we are to tell our customers. She was transferred to another store and that's it, we aren't to tell them she demoted. I showed up to work and she was gone. That fast. I guess it was over her being stubborn and not doing what they told her for the last 5 years. Since she has left things have looked much better in the store. Very clean, very organized. I have gotten lots of compliments.

With her gone I am working every morning till about 5pm but I never get out of there till about 6. I had 50.6 hours last week and this week I have 37.9. At least my paychecks will look good. I am afraid they are going to just move me to manager and never tell me. They have a history of doing that. I don't want to be manager. I want to move on to bigger, better things. I guess we sit back and see.

On the upside I now have regular customers who come to see me. They know I work in the mornings and stop by to say hi. It is nice to have 'regulars' makes you smile when you see them coming in.

Anyway, that sums up my life. Hope you enjoyed! I will try and post the cool new things happening just after they happen so I don't forget haha. I will get better at this. ^_^

50TH Post!!

Yes ... I am still alive, and I have a lot to write about, but not quite yet. I have to plan out how to write everything without making it a GIANT post that seems to ramble. Haha. So you will have to wait to hear the drama in my life.

Here is a preview:
Kannon's birth!
Christmas
New Years
Things changing at work

Please no spoilers in the comments for those who already know. ^_^

Anyway, this post is dedicated to the number 50, since it is my 50th post YAY! I never thought I would make it this far. Anyway here goes:

In the year 50 Roman's learned how to use soap.
50 is the smallest number that can be written as the sum of 2 squares in 2 ways.
50 is the atomic number of tin.
There are 50 states in the USA (Hawaii being number 50)
As far as marriage goes, gold is the 50th anniversary gift.
President Ulysses S. Grant is on the $50
The moon is 50 times smaller than the earth.
The Roman numeral for 50 is L.
Noah's Ark was 50 cubits in width.
There are 50 chapters in the book of Genesis.

Hope your holidays went well. Look forward to hearing from me soon!