Reflections on Walmart 9/30/05

Although my last two blogs were about shopping, my friend M* brought up a good point.... why am I shopping at WalMart? I know better that to shop there. And I must admit that I was embarassed when M* pointed it out! So, I had to do some thinking about this. Why do I and other folks shop at a place that we know undercuts competition, shorts their employees on overtime, doesn't provide health care coverage, and forces suppliers to sell their products to WalMart at a lower price than they will sell it elsewhere?

My first impluse was to say that it is because the prices are so low - and with all of the burden of paying the mortgage, taxes, etc... by myself, I have to cut corners wherever I can. But I basically went on a spree.. So it isn't cutting corners when I spend more because Iimpulse buy than I would if I paid a little more per item at another store and really only purchased what I walked into the store to purchase. And this is a very self centered way of viewing and doing things.

My next thought was that WalMart was close to work.... but no - Longs is closer.

My third thought was that maybe this says something about actually living what I say that I believe.

ouch.

Yup - walking the talk --- is a lot harder than it seems.

So, I think that I need to reevaluate what it is that I believe in --- not shopping at WalMart is only one of many --- and decide what I am willing to sacrifice for my beliefs. Am I willing to sacrifice paying higher prices at another store even when money is tight? Am I willing to invest in companies that has business philosiphies that match my values - even though I may get a lower ROI? Do I really believe in the things that I say that I believe in? Just saying that I believe in something doesn't make it so.

Hmmm... maybe there was some value in my shopping trip to WalMart after all...

Entry #2 for 9/29/05

I know, I know ... Walmart is EVIL. I know.... I read Nickle and Dimed ... I won't use MerryMaids, blah, blah, blah.... I am a democrat and work with the most poverty-stricken folks in our society. And I agree... I shouldn't shop at Walmart.

But the POINT is... the shopping problem. It could have been Longs, or Walgreens, or the local Hallmark store. I'm reaching out here, people....

10-steps, 12-steps... maybe it should be 2-steps?

10 steps anyone? 9/29/05

Shopping intervention. That is what I need. Yup, tough love.

I went to WalMart yesterday at lunchtime. I just went to enlarge some prints - should have cost <$10. Then I realized that I needed emergency dog food (the dog food to use when I run out of Booboo's regular dog food). And I couldn't leave without getting her some treats. And what is the use of two large photos without frames? Oh yeah, I also needed an alarm clock as my alarm doesn't work. I could use my cell phone but would rather use an actual clock. And I did see a cute blouse that was on sale... oh yeah, needed some hair product, popcorn, and beef jerky. All in all it added up to $89.86!!

What??? How did I go from $10 to $89.86????

I know, I can justify all of the items that I listed... but to jump $80 from what I thought I would spend to what I actually spent.... that isn't good. Nor is it fiscally responsible (oops - thought I was at work for a moment!)

So, I asked my boyfriend for help. He reminded me that he has dropped a bundle on home brewing supplies over the last month. Okay, he won't be any help. And my daughter is as bad as me. She isn't any help....

I think I need a 10-step group for this.....

sigh....

You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish... 9/22/05

So I finally cleared out the dining room... If anyone tells you that they can move a piano by themselves, slap them hard. They are crazy. I tried it (moving the piano part) and was amazed at how heavy a piano really is. Now, I'm a pretty strong person, and playing cyms helped and all... but the piano was like a wall! I ended up having to use my entire body to push it away from the wall - yes, wedged myself between the piano and the wall, to move it a little. This was not a pretty sight - stuck between a piano and a wall... I don't know how I managed it without breaking something vital. But I managed to move it into the living room - the new home of the piano....

And wouldn't you know, Maegan and her boyfriend come walking in about two minutes AFTER I am done. mmrfff.....

We are having fish for Diane's party on Saturday. Gary is going to do some kind of balsamic/honey reduction... I dunno. I do know, however, that the man is a excellent cook! The 15 lbs that I have gained since we began dating are result of that! Hope everyone likes fish!

Back to work... 9/19/05

Today is my first day back at the office. I spent the last two months in another office. And now I'm home.

I have noticed that the pace here isn't as crazy as it was in the district office. Probably because we were face to face with our clients every day. So far, I have answered email, read throught a couple of reports, had lunch.... maybe I'll clean my desk next. Weird, after being soooo busy, I don't know what to do now.... maybe I'll go to WalMart....

My boss, S*, and I met this morning to discuss what I should be doing next. She brought up the possibility of me being transferred to another division. I, of course, thought that would be a terrible mistake. Hopefully I can continue to report to S*... she is cool. She gave me a Starbucks gift card before I headed out to the district office two months ago.... I likey coffee. And, she has a great sense of humor. AND, the county owes me 125 hours of comp time.... S* told me that I could just take the time off as I needed it... Hmmm... what can one do with 125 hours of comp time? That is like over a month of vacation. Seems like an awful lot. I'd better re-add this.

Today's joke:
CNN reported a problem at the Tickle Me Elmo factory. Apparantly, the production lines had backed up and chaos had ensued. The foreman walked the lines to see if he could identify the problem. And he was finally successful. At the far end of the plant, a new employee sat with a large amount of the Tickle Me Elmo fabric on one side of her, and a box of marbles on the other side. The foreman watched her carefully cut a small swatch of the fabric, wrap it around two marbles, and sew it between Elmo's legs. The foreman reported this to the Plant Manager, who realized the problem. "I'll take care of this", the Plant Manager said to the foreman. The Plant Manager walked over to the new employee, interrupted her, and said, "I think I mis-communicated your responsibilities when I hired you. I said that you would be responsible for two test-tickles.....

hahahahahaha.... oh, okay. enough for now. Back to work...

Musings,... 9/18/05

My wonderful boyfriend, (who is the greatest boyfriend ever) is currently sitting in front of his 42" tv watching the Raider/Chiefs football game in hdtv. And he is screaming at it.... hmmmm..... I don't think that this is a good time to tell him that those guys, or bitches as he currently calls them, can hear him.... nope. I definately don't think right now is a good time to enlighten him about the beauty of hdtv - how it "appears" that you are right there. But you really aren't there....

Update... his team did something good. He is currently dancing around the living room, screaming and hollering....

I am painting my dining room.... green. Well, not just any green, a lovely, celery/pear green. I like it. I am probably the only person in the world who likes it. And that is okay by me. Because I pay the mortgage. And I am going to trim it out in white. I will leave one wall white/swiss chocolate. It is an off-white neutral color... hmmmm can't wait to get the air hockey table out of the dining room so that I can start painting.

Oh! And that darn little dog that we found! We discovered "Louie" a couple of weekends ago. He is a wiener dog/ chihuahua doggie. He was a tiny, tiny dog.... with HUGE (ahem) balls. We kept him in the house while we were trying to find his family. And he peed. Damn dog. He peed in the dining room - and now Booboo is trying to reclaim her house... by peeing in the same spot. And Mijo decided that he needed to pee there too... Damn Louie. Had I known we wouldn't have located his family - we'd have had a dog on the barbie. So, I noticed that the carpet was wet. And I pulled it up. It was sooo wet that the pee had pooled on the wood underneath. Too bad plywood flooring isn't in style. So, I cut the carpet up - and the padding. And I poured bleach on the pee -- interesting smell. Guess I'll extend the flooring from the hallway into the dining room. I wanted to do that anyway... damn dog....

Gary and I worked at the house yesterday. He planted grass and sealed the foundation - a huge crack between the cement pad and the garage wall...and I loaded up all of the trash into the back of Daddy's truck. I did a lot of other work - but can't think of it right now. We ended the day by dining on chicken and dumplings.... mmmmmm.... comfort food......

Ahhhhhh... 9/14/05

At last - my most recent work assignment is over. I have spent the last seven weeks managing implementation of our new computer system at a couple of sites. Well, managing is really too big of a word for what I did.....

So, I returned to my old office this afternoon. I already have assignments from my boss. Luckily she is on vacation through Friday. I think I am going to take it easy for the next couple of days.

I had a great time this weekend at Diane's bridal shower. Lots of fun and good food - specially the raspberry sorbet champagne thingeys. They rocked!

That's it. Nothing more to say..... lalala.....

Dog Days of Summer... 9/5/05

Wow, I can't believe that it has been over a month since I have written anything! I guess things have been a little busy for me. We "went live" on a new computer system at work in early August. I am coordinating the "go live" support for three buildings in east county. It has been really busy and I've worked lots of hours. But for the most part, it has been satisfying. And I hope that now things will settle down...

My mom and dad left for Hawaii on Friday morning. The house feels so empty now. I miss their "bantering" with each other. And I miss having dinner with them after work every night. And I miss being able to spend time with them. Ever since Jake and I split up, I have gotten used to my solitude. I enjoyed my time alone - or at least with my doggies. Now I have to get used to it again.

Brewing beer has been the 'to do' of the day. Gary has been happily puttering around, adding hops and malt to the concoction that is boiling in a BIG pot on the turkey fryer. He is on his second batch - a Chocolate Hazelnut Porter. The first batch was Nut Brown Ale. Sorry ladies and gents, he's mine! I made dog biscuts out of the used grains (after steeping in boiling water). Oh, and I made bread. (not out of the spent grains - although some folks do add it to their homemade bread... yccchh...) Kind of a lazy, enjoyable Labor Day... one of the last of the dog days of summer...