May 1st, or....where is Spring?

Well here I am in a quest to journal more often.  I thought about it during the week but just didn't get around to doing it.  I did, however, have time to watch the new Bleach episode and try out a couple of other new anime's (I'm sorry my geeky side wins sometimes).

April to a lot of people means springtime, but if you live in northern Utah it usually means an extension of winter.  The last day we had in the 60's was back in February, what's up with that?  It has rained and snowed most of the month.  We are used to that but one of our store planners is from Arizona and he is always coming into my office and complaining about the cold.  I keep telling him that it is not really that cold but I don't think he's buying it.

Today is the first of May and it is a LITTLE warmer than yesterday (in which I was driving over to Logan where it was snowing).  All this rain and snow is causing my grass to green up nicely and it has reached a height of about 6 to 8 inches. This made it really easy to hide the Easter eggs last weekend.  It won't be so easy to cut when it dries out.

The other thing that is happening with all this rain and snow is that the rivers and stream are reaching the tops of their banks and the snow pack hasn't even started to melt yet. 

The Ogden river runs right behind the store and my office is on the back corner of the building.  My boss keeps coming in and tells me to watch the outside corner of my office for water.  He laughs but this is not something I want to see.  We actually went out the fire door right by my office door and looked at the river with a guy from the city.....when the snow starts to melt it could get a little damp I'm not gonna lie

The city is actually building a nice little park behind our store in front of the river.  In the summer it should be a nice place to go back and eat lunch, if it's not under water :).

One of the guys setting traps by the doors informed Jeanell and I that because of the river and the fact that there is space at the bottom of the doors we could possibly get snakes in from the river.  We just looked at each other and cringed.

Carpooling with Conly has been very entertaining. I just love him. When he drives I get to listen to Bulgarian rock music and when I drive he keeps changing my radio stations.

We've started packing our lunches in an effort to save money that we now need for gas.  Because we are in store set up there are a lot of employees working at the same hours.  This means everyone goes to lunch at the same time.  If you don't get to the break room fast enough you don't get a place to sit.  Also if you bring something that needs to be heated up you will be standing in line at one of the two microwaves for the first half of your lunch.

In order to combat this, I punch out for lunch 15 minutes before the others (I can since I'm in the office) and I go to get a table and if Conly, Sara or I have anything that needs to be heated up I hurry and use the microwaves before the rush comes.  This has been working out nicely.  Conly really likes this because he just has to come in and sit down, his lunch is all ready for him.  I'm such a nice person sometimes.........

I got to spend two days getting MTR's (merchandise transfers) ready to go out to three different stores.  Our store was traded incorrectly in apparel and we had to get rid of the excess.  Vanessa (asst. manager) asked me to help her (I told you I was a nice person).  I asked our Claims associate....Mr. Benjamin...to help me. He is crazy and we are going to get along just fine.  He asked me how he got stuck helping and I told him if I had to suffer so did he.  I think that's fair, don't you?

Then there's Fernando.  He is one BIG man. Last week he came and sat at the table with Conly, Sara and I.  To be honest I was a little scared but that has now changed.  I asked him if he was a transfer from another store or a newbie.  He is a newbie.  He also told us he works another job...I asked doing what.....he replied...a bouncer at a bar.  I'm sure he is very good at that.  I told him that he probably had some very interesting stories to tell and that I would love to hear them.  Sara asked him if he had any kids and he said no and then she asked him if he was married and he told us "I am NEVER getting married!"  I told him that was the kiss of death to actually say those words. 

We now call him Nando and he really is a nice guy, a gentle giant.  He always is smiling and is nice to everyone.  When I see him I think of the children's story "Fernande the Bull".  Everyone thought he was a big mean bull and all he wanted to do was sit under a tree and smell the flowers.

I really love my new store. The managers are great and it is so much fun.  I am on the promotional and safety committees now (I had quit being on them at my old store).  This really has been a good move for me so far.  Josh, the store manager, keeps giving me more and more responsibilities.  It's nice to have people think that you know what you are doing and they trust you to do it.  It has given my self confidence a much needed boost.