Where's The Other Shoe?

Earlier this week, we had our quarterly LP audit at the card store. We failed. 85% is passing and we scored an 82. We missed it by only three points, but nevertheless we missed it. I haven't heard personally from the DM yet, but I understand that he is less than pleased. Also this week, we had our quarterly secret shop. As soon as the lady left the store, I told my boss that the shopper had been in. He said he thought she might have been too, so we started going over what I could have done better.

Friday, I went in to work and checked the email. I was right. The lady I identified turned out to be the secret shopper. Better, when I looked at the score, it was a full 100%! I'm gonna get a nice little gold pin that tells everyone how good I really am, and a $50 gift check. Not, as my dad thought, a gift card to Carlton Cards, but an American Express check (cheque?) for $50 that I can use for...I'll get back to you on that.

Sandy, one of the girls I work with at Carlton, got a new phone. So, I got a new phone. She gave me, yes gave me her Blackberry. This is the only way I get to keep up with the times. Someone gives me a Blackberry, or a nice pair of Diesel jeans. She brought the charger to me yesterday, and today she gave me a USB cable and some headphones. It was like Christmas!

I got home from work Friday, and my check, which usually come in the mail on Saturday, was there. And Wade found the elusive key for the wireless router. When I got in to UPS on Friday night, we had food to celebrate a milestone on Monday night. We were at 108% productivity that night. The highest ever. I'm not sure how they measure productivity at UPS, but however they do it, we exceeded it. It was a nice way to end the week there.

Saturday, I got a bunch of things I needed to help simplify my life. I was able to get everything I needed. That makes the day a lot better. You know, when you need something and can actually afford to get it. Saturday night, Charity and I went to a restaurant called Lasagna for dinner. As you might imagine, lasagna was the specialty. They had 17 different kinds on the menu. Garfield would think he had died and gone to heaven. I know I did. The food was fabulous. And not that expensive, relatively. An appetizer, two entrees, three drinks, and tax, tip and title were only around $76. After dinner we went to a show.

Cranked was in an intimate theater on 42nd St, right in Times Square. It was a show about meth addiction. You might understand why, when Charity saw the email for it, she thought of me. It was a one-man hip-hop show about a teenagers battle with meth. I have seen many shows and taken issue with some parts. For instance, one scene in a passion play might not be the way I imagine or believe it actually happened, and I walk out and take issue with that scene. Everything in this play was spot on. I told Charity when we left that I had seen that play before. She said, "Really?" I said "Yes, every day for almost a year." Excellent show.

This morning, I got up and went to church. They talked about service...and how serving others can enrich your life. Then, the pastor said he would give everyone a chance to serve right now. He asked that we bring the coat we wore to the front. I was wearing a coat that Ismael had given me a few weeks ago. It was a nice black leather coat. This was a pretty easy decision to make. I took the coat and walked to the front. I have two. The zipper doesn't work on one, but the snaps do, and it has kept me warm for a few years. The other is thinner, and dirtier, but it too, keeps me warm. Giving away a leather coat to someone who has nothing was not even something I had to think twice about. Oddly, when we left church, it was warmer than when we went in. Coincidence? I think not!

It's been a fatastic weekend. The realist in me asks when the other shoe will drop. Everyone around me says I should enjoy it while it lasts, but quite frankly, I'm getting nervous. Now, it's time to clean my room. Maybe, while things are going so well, I'll make a couple Dr.'s appointments. Maybe that's where the other shoe is.

All Day Long, I Think About...

That's a line from a song that I found on my computer. I'll let you Google it to see what it is they think about. It may be true for me, but that's not what I'm writing about today. My internet connection is spotty at best in my new place, so I thought I should take the opportunity to write now, since it seems to be connected.

I get to spend a lot of time by myself every day. Walking to work, walking home, in my room at home, working at UPS. I guess that might drive some people mad. It gives me plenty of time to think. Many times, you think of the right thing to say after the opportunity has passed. I get to experience the opposite sometimes. For instance--Tuesday night, I called off at UPS. I did so because I was just plain tired. Of course, my supervisor wasn't very happy. When I went in tonight, he asked me how I was doing, and that was it. No threats of write-ups or firing. No angry words. Nothing. After the shift, I was talking to him and he started to say something, but stopped himself. "I'm not gonna touch that," he said. I said, "No, go ahead." He said something about the stunt I pulled last night. I told him, after thinking about it all night, that I should not have called off, but should have trusted him to help me out and send me home early if possible. Instead of going in to work, and working with the supervisor to solve the problem, I took a black mark on my attendance. He nearly fell over. He said, "That's the first time I've heard that this year. If I had heard that more, my life would be a lot happier." He was referring to things outside of work that I know nothing of, nor do I want to. Anyway, this little anecdote is an example how thinking ahead can work out well. My father may have been right when he suggested that about 20 years ago.

I get to think a lot when I'm walking everywhere. Sometimes, it even comes out. Maybe I'll start singing, or talking out loud. I'm sure there are people all over this city (or in the area between my apartment and the mall) that think I should be committed. Or, they don't think anything at all. After all, I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who mumbles to himself on the street.

I must get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be extremely long, and I would like to have a bit of a nap beforehand.