My Favorite Holiday Commercial

I do love this commercial. It always makes me smile.

Hershey's Kisses Christmas | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

They're your dishes too

Recently I underwent surgery and because of that I was put on work restriction for 6 weeks. At the zoo this meant I couldn't work in my usual area, Children's Zoo, because the work required a lot of heavy lifting, so during my restriction I was trained in and worked the Diet Prep area. Much less heavy lifting here. It was a new experience and I was happy to be trained in another area of the Zoo. Aside from that, the other thing I took with me from working in the kitchen is the fact that the other Keepers don't help out enough with the dishes.

In the kitchen is where just about everyone washes their diet dishes. The exception is Children's Zoo, being so far away from the kitchen and having their own sink in the Main Barn, they handle their own dishes and only bring up clean ones. It frustrated me that even though all the other areas put dishes into the sink and bleach bin they rarely continued the process of rinsing them after the disinfection time or put away any rinsed dishes. I guess in theory it's the job of the kitchen person but I don't think that's fair. They all spend time in the kitchen so why is it so hard for them to help the process along? They will shove, cram and pile dishes into the bleach bin to the point where some aren't even touching the bleach water and just walk away. A dish doesn't get disinfected if it's not in the bleach water. How they can justify that action is beyond me.

Like the other areas in the zoo, the kitchen has a lot of stuff going on so it was hard to keep up with everyone's dishes and still complete all the kitchen tasks. It frustrated me that no one else seemed to care one bit about the back log of dishes. It really annoyed me, still annoys me hence this post. I mean they're your dishes too why can't you help out the process? We all know where the dishes go so why not put a few of the dry dishes away to at least make room for a few to be rinsed from the bleach water and set to dry? It's not a hard process, it just takes a few moments to help out a little. Lazy inconsiderate mother effers.

I'm going to try and be the change I want to see here and help out with dishes even though I'm back in CZ now where I'm not part of this problem, but maybe being part of the solution may help others change their ways. Yeah.....it's a nice theory but what I think will happen is my helping out will just give them another excuse to not help. "Oh don't worry she'll do it" thinking. Like with a lot of things here they miss the true point and only see a way for them to do less. I find it annoying and sad that a group of "adults" would act this way and still claim that we're a team. Sure we're a team when you have a project that you need help with, we all need to jump when you say so, but for everyday stuff like dishes it's all a lot of NMP mentality. *NMP=not my problem* Just makes me shake my head in disbelief. So sad.

Tripped at the Finish Line

I'm very aggravated right now. It's now nearly midnight and I've only been home for maybe 20 mins. My shift was supposed to end at 11pm so I should have been home by 11:15 at the latest depending on traffic lights. Not so tonight. These two bitches delayed my departure a good 15-20 mins. Why they insisted on doing their shopping in the few moments before the store closed is beyond me, and what's worse is they EACH had like 4 or 5 WIC orders.

Now for those of you who have no idea what WIC is it's a program NY has to help out women with children (WIC = women, infants & children). Basically they have these prewritten checks that they can use for specific food items. They are a pain in the butt normally since each check has to be processed as it's own order and every item must be exactly what the system allows or it won't accept it. So here I am 3 mins before 11 thinking soon I'll get to go home and crash. Been running on high for a few days now with triple back to back shifts so I'm beat, but NOOOOOO, I have to deal with these two yahoos. My shift leader was just as thrilled as I was. Apparently our announcements that we were closing didn't matter to them cuz they didn't even get to the registers until 2 mins after 11. That's when I saw the checks and groaned. These two ree-ree's didn't even have half the right stuff for their orders. We overrode a lot of stuff just to get them the fuck outta the store so we could go home. It was ridiculous. Oooooh I'm still so freaking pissed about it. Granted I got paid for the time I was there but seriously it's not a secret that WIC checks are a pain in the ass so why would you ever try to do that kind of shopping right before the store closes?! As hard as I tried not to give them dirty looks I'm sure I did and I don't give a fuck. Fire me! I don't care that was B.S. that we dealt with and I'm sure we'll get spoken to for over riding so much stuff but they can just eat me!

Doesn't help my case that I'm wired on coffee. I was practically falling asleep when I got to work so on my break at 9 I bought a small coffee knowing it would keep me up later than I wanted but I just couldn't stop yawning. Something had to be done. Now not only am I wired on caffeine but I'm still worked up about those two hoochies! God! It just pisses me off how inconsiderate these two were. They didn't even say the obligatory "sorry for keeping you so late" like other last minute shoppers do as if that makes up for not hearing the announcements that we'll be closing in 15, 10, and 5 mins and the we're now closed announcement followed by 1/3 of the lights shutting off. Fucking bitches. I hope their Baby Daddy's smack them around, might knock some sense into them. Well...ok...maybe that was going too far but Jesus Effin' Christ have a little consideration. Just cuz you got the checks doesn't mean you're entitled to ignore the rules of common sense and decency. Those two probably wouldn't even know the meaning of those two words, too many syllables for them. Stupid hoes.

My Melancholy Tranquility....Ruined.

Damn you Criminal Minds! Not only are you an addictive show that has sucked me into your Profiling abyss, but now you ruin a favorite song of mine. The episode is "Ashes & Dust" with an opening of a family getting trapped in their house as it is set on fire. The song that they play whilst the family tries to escape their fate is "Boadicea" by Enya (see below). I totally dig Enya, have since college. Always good music to listen to when studying, or working on projects. Lets my mind focus on what it's doing but breaks the silence nicely. Sometimes when I write it inspires.

I'll admit the song does fit that opening scene quite well, it's calmness an erie balance to the frantic family struggle. In general I enjoy Enya's more melancholy songs and this one was no exception, but now every time I hear it I think of that opening scene. No other images can replace that powerful beginning. It just sucks because it was sad watching the tragedy. For now I will have to switch CDs until I can change the images brought to mind by that song. Damn you Criminal Minds.

Enya - "Boadicea" in "Criminal Minds" [Diboan Audio Emphasiz
Uploaded by diboan. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Slacker

So I've totally been slipping about blogging. I knew it had been awhile since I posted something but I was still surprised that June was the last time. Really thought I had done something in July, but no matter life got carried away with me so I missed a few months. I'm sure I've forgotten subjects I wanted to talk about and share, but should those thoughts reenter my brain I'll try to play catch up.

I've really had little to no motivation lately. Things I'd have been Johnny on the spot about before have fallen by the way side. I don't know if I was run down from work, the issues with my bad ear and subsequent surgery, or what the cause was. At times I was overwhelmed by how much I had going on that maybe I just shut down on somethings as a survival mechanism. I do tend to take on too much and have often burned myself out. I need to find a happy medium between crispy critter and raw slacker.

Inconvienient Technology

This is an ode to Register #5. Oh Register 5, how I loathe thee. It was such a let down to be assigned to you tonight. In short you suck Register 5! Your belts are frayed and clunky. Your scanner needs a seeing eye dog. Your conveyor ramp is offset so it rips many a package open much to the dismay of cashier and customer alike. Your money drawer pops out far too slowly if it pops out at all. Your touch screen? HA! More like pound screen. Banging away at your unresponsive screen has caused more miskeys than when I learned to type oh so many years ago. Some of those miskeys have even forced me to make change in my head and you know I totally suck-diddly-uk at math. Why they continue to even use you is beyond me. None of the other 8 registers cause as much trepidation and woe as you do. I truly feel that every cashier assigned to you should get a shirt at the end of their shifts saying, "I survived Register 5"

Powerful Petals

Ok so I haven't done anything on here in awhile but that's what happens when life grabs you by the hand and starts running down the street full tilt. Now that I finally have a moment I felt the need to put something up to keep my followers checking in. Or at least let them know I haven't died.

Some of you may remember my super neato pix of the Water Lilies at the Zoo last year. If not reference Spring Blooms July 2008. Well here is the 2009 edition. This is a purple Iris that bloomed in front of my Children's Zoo Barn that was just so pretty it demanded photos. I still think the Lily pix were better but these aren't too shabby.

Day Dream Weaver

Everybody daydreams, don't try to tell me that you don't. Some friends would call me "the dreamer" cuz I've always got a good daydream in mind. There's nothing better to help get you through a long, boring and/or monotonous task than a day dream. It's a mini escape from this reality which usually bites into your own personal fantasy land where you can be the hero, the villain or even the damsel in distress should you choose.

Those who know me know of the odd worlds and situations that my mind comes up with. A select few have even been allowed to read the stories that have been spawned from a daydream. There might be 1 or 2 more coming should I ever find the time, so for those chosen few (and you know who you are) be on the look out for a new story from me soon,.......maybe.

It's always sad when you come out of a daydream and remember that it was just a dream and now you're back in reality. Man that sucks! I know in the past few months I've been spending more and more time in Daydream Land and as little as possible in reality. Not sure if it's a bad thing or not, but it makes me wonder "why so much time in daydreams?" Does my reality suck so bad that I'm coping by not coping? Or is this how I'm coping? Is Daydreaming really a constructive way to cope? Whatever the reason it's good to know that the creative muses are still with me out here in backward land.

Pavlov

So apparently I've classically conditioned myself much like Pavlov and his dogs. It wasn't something I did consciously but it happened none-the-less. The after effects from Cinco de Mayo were more far reaching that I originally surmised.

After Cinco de Mayo and my own lack of control I was obviously "on the wagon" while I recovered and refocused. I've had too many mornings after partying where I woke up feeling like death warmed over, put through a blender, breaded and then pan fried. It was not something I was proud of. I'm better than that or I was, but since moving to NY that quality along with a few others have changed. Not to say I never overindulged back in the Chi, just not as frequently as I have here. It was a major wake up call for me to get myself back to someone I wasn't ashamed of.

Like most, after a night of overindulgence the thought of drinking again turned my stomach. Now 2 weeks later I still get that same feeling when I think about drinking. The conditioning is not complete because I did have a few drinks last night, though I passed on the first shot which was the indicator to me that something was up. I had 2 beers, 1 shot and my friends might say 1 mixed drink, but I actually poured it down the sink in the bathroom. That really sucked cuz I payed $6 for it and couldn't drink it. For the rest of the night I drank water.

Not that this occurring is necessarily a bad thing, but I hope I can uncondition myself a little to at least be able to go out and enjoy myself once in awhile. I wanted to go back to who I was before losing control out here, but perhaps my system has gone to the extreme a little bit as my own new safeguard so I don't over do things. It was weird to have that feeling last night and unfortunate to have literally poured $6 down the drain, but there was no ignoring that "I never want to feel like this again" feeling. In fact, I feel a lil sick right now just blogging about it.

And They Call Me Crazy

So my neighbor across the hall has a new addition to her front door that I have to say unnerves me a bit. It's an autographed photo of Steve Martin. It's an older photo that reminds me of the "Wild and Crazy Guys" SNL sketch he used to do. It's the first thing I see as I leave my apartment and it just kinda creeps me out. Why of all places would you put an autographed picture on your front door? It's really odd.

B & E

Today I committed a B & E. Yes Breaking and Entering, but don't worry no cops showed up. In fact only one other person knows this act even occurred. Granted, once you read this post you'll know, but it's a funny story so I'm sharing!

Where did I break into? One of my Barns at the Zoo. The Peccary Barn to be exact, though I doubt anyone I work with even knows I have a blog let alone reads it. It is known though that I'm Notorious for leaving my keys places. Usually in doors, but locks just as often as well. That's what happened here. I had my keys in a shift lock and stupidly told my student who was shadowing me for the day to follow me out of the barn and to shut the door behind her. Moments later I realized my keys were not on my belt loop as they should be. Ah Crap! Now I'd have to walk all the way up to the Main office and snag someone else's keys to let myself back in. A walk of shame even if no one ever knew what I was doing, but then I saw an opportunity to salvage the situation.

Not that any of you would know but the Peccary Barn has what I would define as "shanty town" windows. They ain't Pella that's for sure. There isn't any glass just pieces of plexi that I'm sure the Maintenance guys cut. They do have screens so there's at least that. I'm not going to rag on the poor craftsmanship of these windows because that lack of quality construction is what saved me. I always wondered why that one window had a wire running across the back of it and it turns out that wire was what was holding the screen in place on the window. With the wheels turning in my head I scrambled up on top the old salt barrel and removed the wire. Just like that the screen popped out. Ok more like fell out, but out none-the-less. Now I had access to the barn if I could hoist myself up into this window.

From the ground this window is probably 5-6ft up and even on top of the barrel the ledge was at chest height maybe less. Wasn't too focused on how high it was. Oh I should mention that the window itself is about 2' tall x 4' long so it's a good thing I'm little or this might not have worked at all. With a deep breath and hopes for not killing myself on this adventure I hopped up and into the window. Success! I was partly there. Now I just needed some hand grips to help maneuver the rest of me through or I'd end up falling about 4' to the concrete floor of the barn. Not a good idea. With the help of the rafters and a lil wiggling I was soon in the barn and had retrieved my keys, Hurray!

Meanwhile, my student had no clue what had just happened until I told her, though maybe she realized that I was back a whole lot sooner than I said I would be. Whatever. She was too busy saying Hi to the Wallabies in the air lock which was fine. Not sure I could have trusted her to not snap a cell phone pic of me halfway through the window. ;)She did help me put the screen back in the window and I'm sure had a good laugh at the crazy CZ Keeper.

At least now I know that should the need arise I can get into that barn without keys. Not sure what instance that would be but I have other useless knowledge taking up space in my head so why not this too. It was helpful today, so I guess it's not totally useless.

Hang Up and Drive

Ok so last night an amusing thing happened at work. Well amusing for me but not for the poor guy who it happened to, but it was his own fault. At least he was cool enough to laugh at himself and to us about it.

It was nearing the end of my shift, and this one had been especially boring. We weren't very busy and the manager on duty that night is not one of my favs, so this was a highlight. This customer ran his SUV into the posts we have in the parking lot for the Handicap spaces. These posts are painted concrete so he did some damage to his vehicle. He wouldn't have hit said post had he not been talking on his cell phone at the time. I hope whoever he was talking to was worth the hefty body shop repair bill he's now going to get. Needless to say it made me chuckle, and totally distracted the manager whom I don't really like so the last half hour of my shift went by in peace. I should have thanked that guy.

A Take Away About Band Aids

So this lil tidbit of fun comes from my other job. At this establishment they are of the old school persuasion regarding piercings. Yeah they no likey. So I get to wear a fashionable band aid over my eyebrow piercing. I could just remove it for my shifts but that's a big hassle and a bit painful.

Now wearing said band aid fools no one, so I wonder whether it looks worse to wear the bandage or to just show the piercing. At any rate I do get sympathy from some customers who pass through my check out line, others just look at me funny, but that might not be because of the bandage, lol.

Tonight this little girl and her father came through my line. She must have been like 5, and kids that young are as blunt and honest as can be, so it was no shock to me when she turns to her Dad and asks, "why does she have that band aid on her head?" Half the check outs probably heard this question. I just smiled and looked at Dad wondering if he wanted me to field this question or if he was going to. The Dad replied that I had to hide something so that's why I was wearing it. Now I was waiting for the "why?" question but she seemed ok with that answer and let it go. Funny thing was they were buying 3 packages of different Band Aids. Go figure. Hers were cute ones though with Disney Princesses, Hanna Montana and Care Bears I think. Mine are "neutral" and boring cuz they have to be.

I told the girl that I liked her choice in Band Aids (though I could do w/o Hanna Montana but I wasn't going to tell her that). This must have impressed her cuz she then began to show me all of the Band Aids she was wearing, which were quite numerous. It reminded me of how I like to show off my tattoos. Maybe this is how it all starts. Today Band Aids, tomorrow Tats! It was really cute and it made me wonder if any of those Band Aids were actually covering wounds or if she was just putting them on to accessorize. I only had the one to show so she won the show and tell game. Luckily I didn't have a line so no one was getting bitchy at this lengthy show and tell. I think though that Dad had about had it. Perhaps it was Daddy/Daughter day and poor Dad was just worn out. I found it very touching and just too damn cute.

It was just a really cute experience and it stuck with me for the rest of my shift. It still makes me chuckle and smile. It was a highlight of an otherwise very boring shift.

The Maiden Rides Again!

*still to be read with an English accent*

Welcome back to the land seemingly far far away. Our Maiden has had another adventure that she wishes to share with us. While she has learned many lessons from her last adventure (see "A Maiden, A Puddle and a Privy" -2008) it has not stopped her from having fun. Many nights of frivolity have transpired since her tragic episode, yet this one has been deemed worthy of sharing.

Our story begins with our Maiden receiving a scroll from her friend Johnny, a local Queen, informing her that there would be a Grand Ball at her Palace 2 evenings hence. How wondrous! A Grand Ball! Our Maiden was very excited to attend this gala event.

The Ball was fantastic! Many subjects from the land were there. Our Maiden even ran into her good friends Tony and Dan, a current HOT couple. The spirits flowed quite freely and there were trays upon trays of colorful Jell-O shots. Being a good girl our Maiden did not over do it, at first. Somehow she had agreed to play the "Sexy game" the court Jester, Cooper had started. Every time the Jester said the word "sexy" all those playing had to do a Jell-O shot. The Jester, that cheeky bastard was wasting no time in playing his game. There is after all always room for Jell-O. It wasn't long before all the players were quite tipsy including our Maiden.

While this game was very fun but also dangerous for our Maiden it is not all that happened. Just as the Ball was reaching full swing the local Constable comes to the Palace. A complaint had been reported and he was there to investigate. Well this sent everyone at the Ball into a frenzy. Some of the attendees were not quite old enough to be having spirits and others were in possession of a magical weed that was banned from the Kingdom. So when the Constable's carriage pulled up in front of the Palace, those who should not be seen attending the Ball were herded into a guest room to hide their presence. Our Maiden of course was not among those. She was more than of age to be partaking in spirits and she wasn't into magic weeds or herbs. Her friends Tony and Dan were among those hidden away. She told them not to worry, she would look out for them if it became necessary.

The Constable of course was not a nice man. There was something missing from his life which made him very unhappy and due to that he always made sure that no one could have any fun. Who could have complained? The Queen wondered. Everyone suspected that no one had, but the Sheriff had just been riding by and decided that there was too much fun going on at the Palace and had to put an end to it. He wanted to come inside but without a Warrant he could not cross the bridge into the Palace. Angered at the intelligence of the party he was hoping to bust he began to lecture. For what seemed like ages he scolded and threatened the Queen and all guests (our Maiden included). Finally after what seemed like an eon the big blowhard ran outta air and left. His parting words were, "if there's another complaint everyone here goes to jail" Good grief!

Once the Constable's carriage had gone down the lane our hidden party goers were let out of their hiding places. The band was struck up again and the party continued as if nothing had happened. The Queen, sadly was very upset, but the Jester and his Sexy game soon had our Queen laughing again. No way was the Constable going to ruin our fun.

The Constable was not seen again that night and before anyone knew it the time had come to end the Ball. Goodbyes were said and rides were arranged. Our Maiden having quit the Sexy game more than a candlemark ago and had switched to drinking water was able to take herself home. It had been a wonderful Ball despite the efforts of the Constable. While our Maiden would not get much sleep before starting her double shift day. She was very glad she had attended the Ball. For what's the point of working if you never get to have any fun?

Morbid yet Cathartic

Death Toll 2009:

I've suffered 6 losses thus far in 2009, and it's not even May yet. I hope this pattern does not continue or it's gonna be a very very long year. I'm already emotionally fragile as is.

Feb: Loss of Uncle
March: Loss of Grandmother & Childhood Pets-Nanook & Clyde
April: Zoo animals-Otto (Barn Cat) & Pippen (Parma Wallaby)

Granted these are not all people but pets and the animals under my care at the Zoo are just as special and important to me as any person. More so in some cases. Whether furry, feathered or human their losses all hurt.

Reality....Hi I don't think we've met

At some point yesterday Reality and myself parted ways. I do not remember just when it happened only that it did. It's been awhile since I've had a true mental breakdown, so I suppose I was due.

Yesterday was a very rough day for me. I lost 2 animals at work. While both losses were devastating and hard to deal with the loss of one in particular is most likely what sent me over the edge. Otto, beloved barn cat was a highlight of everyday at work. He was such a cool cat. Always a character. Losing him hurt. I miss him a LOT.

This morning was the first time since moving here just shy of a year ago, that I woke up thinking, "I SO do NOT want to go into work today" yet I did. I wanted to be a trooper and all that, but by the time I clocked in I regretted it. I was so Anti-work and Anti-Utica that I just wanted to scream. So at a lil past noon I told my boss that I was leaving. I just couldn't deal with the BS that day. So I left........... peace out.

I'm guessing a fellow Keeper saw me walking out or perhaps news travels fast cuz I was barely home when she called me asking if I was ok. I know I ranted to her for a good 5-10 mins but now I can't recall what I was ranting about. It's been a few hours since that call so I've processed and de-stressed a bit so I'm able to try and figure out how this happened.

Work frustrations along with other personal issues had been piling up a bit lately. So my best hypothesis is that the losses yesterday just broke me and magnified all the otherwise more minor annoyances into a system meltdown. A threshold had been breached and I just couldn't cope. I just had to get away. I'm not super thrilled about it. I usually try to deal with stuff before it gets this bad but, stuff just came at me hard and fast this time and it was too much.

I did learn today that grocery shopping when you're upset is just as dangerous if not more so than shopping when you're hungry. It was supposed to be a quick trip for a "few things". $50 later I now have lots of snacks and crap that I didn't really need but I suppose if I was ditching work in order to piece myself back together I can splurge on all the snacks I want. Just try and tell me otherwise, I dare you!

I have since found and reintroduced myself to Reality and we are currently working out the kinks in our relationship.

It Just Frosts Me!

Ok so this has been bugging me for a few days now so I'm venting. First a wee lil back story or this won't make as much sense. I work part-time at a grocery store as a cashier. Ok now......

It's very annoying when people are too effin' lazy to take out their items from the little hand baskets. They just set them up on the belt where I have to reach into their basket and grab them. And they just stand there whilst I struggle to reach into their basket. Lazy Inconsiderate Mother EFFERS!!!!!!! It makes my job harder and just pisses me off. I have a scanning quota to meet for every order and you're not helping me reach that by pulling this kind of crap! I know they don't know or care, but Jesus how hard is it to remove your items? Take the items out of the basket and put them on the belt. Don't just stand there. What's worse is after I finally get all their stuff they decide to write a check. Couldn't you have been writing out the check as you stood there watching me reach into your hand basket and take out your items?! My Gods people are aggravating sometimes.

Now their transaction is complete and I'm left with this stupid hand basket and nowhere to go with it cuz the holder for them is where????? On the Customers side of course so they can put it there after unloading. DUH!!!! I hate people sometimes I really do.

Three Lefts is All Right!

A week ago I donated blood. I had been slacking on that since I moved out here, but now I've gotten around to it I hope to make it a regular occurrence again. I have not tracked down any donation centers like I was used to going to whenever I wanted, but I can search for nearby blood drives easily enough.

I found it interesting that all of the people I dealt with for my recent donation were all fellow Lefties. The nice old lady who checked me in was a Lefty, we'll call her Old School Lefty since she was well into her senescence. The Tech who did my pre-screening was also a Lefty, I'll call him Lefty of a Thousand Questions because he had to ask me lots of stuff, and so was the Phlebotomist who actually stuck me, she can be You'll Feel a Little Pinch Lefty.

Kinda neat to have dealt with only Lefties. I'm sure most people don't notice those kinds of things, but I'll wager any Lefty would. We all have our little traits that we pay close attention to. I notice handedness as well as people's eyes. What do you notice?

Something New Everyday

Today I learned a new term: Unshovel. Sure it won't get you any points in Scrabble because it's not a real word, but it is a real enough action. With Spring beginning to poke its head through Winter's fog we at the Zoo have begun to Unshovel areas.

To Unshovel is pretty straight forward. Instead of shovelling snow into piles to clear space we are now spreading it around to help melt it. Snow in a large pile will not melt as quickly as it would if it were spread a bit thinner on the ground. The more we can expose to the Sun's rays the more we'll get rid of. In an odd way we've come full circle. First we shovelled now we unshovel.

What was I Thinking?!

Next week is going to be a Hell week for me and it's my own fault. I don't know what I was thinking but I have appointments/obligations on Mon, Tues, Wed, & Thur nights next week. That's on top of working an 8-hour shift beforehand.

On Mon, Tues & Wed nights I have classes for CPR and First Aid from 6-10pm each night. Thursday night I have a meeting at work that will go until who knows when. I haven't even checked my PT job schedule yet but it wouldn't surprise me if I'm working there on the few free nights I have. So it's entirely possible that I won't have a free moment to myself until Friday which is my "Saturday". I'm also going to give blood on Saturday morning. This week is going to be a rough one. Why I decided to do all this right now is beyond me. I'm baffled and amazed I didn't realize what I was committing myself to. That's what you get when you don't pay attention. Lesson learned. Now if I can just get through this coming week. Spirits Help Me!

Sign of a Bad Day

I am in such a dark place right now I cannot even put my thoughts together properly so anyone can understand them. I've tried to write this post 4 different times, but it just isn't working so I'm giving up. This is all I can offer.

I feel so unhappy so often out here that I wonder if maybe I need to leave NY. I'm torn on this but I'm not sure I'm torn for the right reason(s). I don't want to do anything rash, but I don't like feeling so unhappy.

Remembering Dewey

So I had a very random thought at work last night or was it this morning? Hard to remember since I work the overnight shift, it could have been either. Anyway as you may know if you follow this thing regularly that I've recently rediscovered the joys of the public library system. That got me thinking about back in the day learning about the Dewey Decimal System. Does anyone remember it? It was such a BFD back in Grade School, but I'm not sure if it's still used anywhere or not.

I can tell you that the library out here by me does NOT use Dewey. Pretty sure none of the college libraries I've been to do either. So what happened to Dewey? Do we need to form a search party? Should we make up some "Have you seen Me" flyers and post them around town? Did Dewey die, retire or just fade into obscurity like so many other things from our childhoods?

Maybe Dewey exists only in Grade School libraries, assuming of course that schools still have actual libraries and not just a room with a computer in it w/ Internet access. It's a very random thought I know but you'd be surprised at the thoughts I have during my overnight work. I seriously think even though I'm "awake" and working that it's my subconscious running the show. Sleep be damned! I'm running this show.

Literary Adventure

So today I went and got a library card. I know it may seem odd, but it's a good way to read books without having to pony up any cash for them. Most of the books I own I rarely read more than once anyway so why shell out my hard earned cash at some bookstore when I can rent the book for free? It only took a moment and I discovered that on Fridays you can get a free cup of coffee, tea or cocoa if you go before noon. How neat! Of course I got my free cup of goodness and even found a book to read. I checked out "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. Yeah it's a classic, one some have been forced to read for one English class or another, but I never had to read it and thought I'd check it out. I really wanted 1984, but it wasn't in. So now I can catch up on some classics that for some reason I missed out on reading and in a be eco & financially friendly.

With all the big bookstores and the almighty Amazon.com I think libraries have fallen by the wayside. They are great resources and have more than just books now. Hell I can check online and see if the book I want is in, put it on hold for me, or renew a book I've already got all before setting foot into the building. As antique as they may seem libraries are pretty with it technology-wise. I recommend giving one near you a look see.

A New Obsession

Ok so this is random but it's something I just need to share. I have a new obsession. Lately I've been unable to stop buying and immediately consuming BBQ Fritos. Not sure what it is about them but I just can't help myself. If you haven't tried them I recommend them but BEWARE they are addictive! I saw them in the store not too long ago and bought a bag to try. I needed something salty and crunchy for my lunches, but alas the bag never made it that far. I got home and decided to try them since they were a new thing and the next thing I know I'm practically licking the bag clean. Ooops. I'm a lil ashamed of my lack of self control when it comes to these particular corn chips, but I just can't stop. Perhaps I'll see about attending a Fritos Anonymous meeting.

Four Letter Words

So I'm going to start out my 2009 posts with a bitch session. Well it might be more of a whine session. You decide. We got more snow recently out here in CNY. I have not seen this much snow since I was a kid vacationing at Grandma & Grandpa's house but my definition of what "a lot of snow" was probably skewed cuz I was smaller then. During my adult life so far I have not seen this much snow. Working in it is not fun. I have truly come to hate shoveling. Granted I shovel on a grander scale than most. I have no sympathy for anyone who complains about shoveling their driveway. Try shoveling out a Zoo. To me now snow is truly a 4-letter word.

Ok so yes we have a plow on our tractor and snow blowers at the Zoo, but those things can't always go where I need them to. Well, perhaps they could but would Maintenance let me take one? Not sure. I don't know how to use one, but I get the premise. I would just need someone to show me the little details about running one. Something I may look into and see if Maintenance would give lessons. They seem pretty protective about them though.

Anyway, I have done a lot of shoveling. Not just pathways to my animal exhibits but I have to shovel paths inside the animal exhibits. The animals deserve walkways too. Especially for some of my animals that aren't from wintry areas. I feel bad for those animals the most. I don't mind giving my animals paths to walk on where they aren't hoof, paw, or claw deep in snow, it's just that it takes so effin' long to accomplish this task. Almost half the day is gone and I've not yet cleaned or fed anyone. I'm too busy getting to them! It sucks. What a pain, literally. Great workout though.

We've had a lot of snow fall here thus far. Not sure if it's more, less or about right for this area. We've got at least 2 feet maybe more on the ground right now. I have snow piles in exhibits that are almost as tall if not taller than I am. That really makes it hard to see the animal(s) in that area and even more so when I have to shovel again. I am running out of places to put the snow where it's not in the way of something. Very frustrating.

Now the other night is rains, so now everything is ice. I think I'd prefer snow. Granted I don't have to shovel ice, but I have to chip it or throw sand on it. All of my nice shoveled paths are icy. We don't use salt because we would track it into the animal areas on our boots and that's not safe for the animals. At any rate I now need to haul sand around to make all those paths walkable and/or spend time chopping it which is not fun on the hands or arms. Plus getting hit with ice shrapnel hurts. Getting around at the Zoo is a fight to not slip and fall, not just because someone will see you fall and laugh, but no one wants to get hurt.

It's supposed to sleet/snow or both tonight which would really make for a craptastic day at work tomorrow. Pretty sure shoveling heavy and icy snow would truly suck. I'm looking forward to Spring but with that comes another set of problems. Not sure if there's a "good" season at the Zoo. Maybe just ones that don't suck as much.