Climbing the Rungs of the Ladder…

“I hated to do this,” my supervisor said this morning solemnly after she had arrived at seven. “But there is an opening for a nightshift associate in electronics.  Derrick and his supervisor both think you would be the perfect fit.  I recommended the position for you to my big boss this morning. I am going to miss you.  You have been a joy to work with.”

I didn’t know what to say.  I love my current job.  Thoughts started to cascade through my brain of all the extra responsibility and working with the public for a change.

“What are the details of the job?” I asked my supervisor wanting to know about hours, benefits and pay.

“Your first full night would be Sunday night working from 11pm to 7am in the morning.  They are going to train you during the day on Friday and Saturday.  You would be the sole person working the counter for the night.  It would mean several more dollars per hour as you will now be an associate.  You would now have full benefits and 401K.”

My supervisor could see I was very visibly conflicted about taking the job.

“I would love to see you stay with me, but I think it is the perfect opportunity for you.  You deserve it. You have worked very hard for me. Take the job. I started out as an associate and worked my way up to supervisor and you could too.”

I thought for a long moment before I told her I would take the job.  This is going to be very interesting.  I love electronics and spend all my free time at work hanging out there helping customers and talking to Derrick about all things gadget, cellphone, TV and computer related.  I know my stuff as far as the department goes.  I am excited and conflicted at the same time.  I am just going to do my best and not let this opportunity pass me by.  Social anxiety be damned!

Saying Goodbye to Digital Cable and HDTV…

I just don’t watch much TV these days and the channels I do watch are in the “basic” lineup offered by my cable company.  I thought I would enjoy HDTV, but it is just an expensive gimmick in my opinion.  I’ve been trying to get up the courage to call my cable company and cancel digital TV and take back my DVR and cable box, but my phone phobias have been getting the better of me these days.  I called dad last night and told him to cancel them for me as I just couldn’t do it myself.

“Thank you,” he said. “Your cable bill is running a $100 dollars a month and the pharmacy is paying for it.  I had your account on my business plan along with Charlie’s accounts and my home account.”

“I just don’t watch all those channels,” I told dad. “It is a waste of money.”

“I was going to say something to you about it, but I didn’t want to upset you.  I was keeping the peace.”

“Just put me on basic cable, tell them to come pick up the DVR and let me keep my fast Internet and I will be happy,” I replied.

“Sounds like a good plan,” dad said. “You are thinking good for a change.”

I will probably miss it once it is gone, but the only digital channel I watched was WeatherNow and it has been consistently broken for months now making it practically worthless.

Travels with Mom and Supper with Stacey…

I had one lawn to mow yesterday from a call I got the other day.  He was a very nice elderly man with a medium sized yard that only took me 30 minutes to mow.  He paid me and I loaded up my mower on my trailer and headed home to take a nap.  It would be awhile before Stacey would be off of work and I had time to kill before getting supper ready.  It was the perfect opportunity to curl up with my pups and grab some sleep. 

I hadn’t been asleep for long when there was a knock on the door.  It was mom wanting to go for our daily drive down through the Valley.  She had just been grocery shopping and to the hairdressers. 

“Let me see your face,” mom said worriedly of my abscessed molar as I turned to look at her. “Good! The swelling  has gone down.  I called your father to call the dentist to get you more antibiotics.  The dentist is going to start you on a Z-Pak and then wants to pull that wisdom tooth.”

I didn’t argue about getting the tooth pulled.  I just hope Medicare will pay for part of the cost.  Mom had been by dad’s pharmacy before she drove to my house and had two diet Cokes for me at the ready to drink as a treat.  These kinds of things mom will do, dad would never think of.  I appreciated it very much.  Mom always pays careful attention to the details.  We were on our way down through the Valley to talk and enjoy each other’s company.

I arrived home to find Stacey’s Eclipse parked out in front of my house.  I was excited to see her.

“Your home theater is entirely too complicated to operate,” she told me, throwing problems on me as soon as I walked in the door. “I can’t figure out how to turn on the sound to your TV!”

I walked over to my entertainment center and pushed the on button on my theater receiver and instantly there was surround sound. Stacey glared at me saying she had been trying for thirty minutes to figure out how to turn on the sound.

I then got supper started.  I put mom’s tangy chicken in the oven and started to steam some rice and broccoli on the stove. I also made homemade biscuits last night using Mrs. Florene’s recipe. They were delicious.

The evening ended as Stacey left to allow me to go to bed at 7:30pm.  I took my Ambien and a Klonopin at seven and was soon so sleepy I could barely stay awake.  I ate one more tangy chicken breast and a few biscuits and retired to bed thus ending my day.