Like a Boss!

When I was in the fourth grade my grandfather gave me a blue plastic brief case for Christmas. He was always getting me something that I would have never thought of asking for and this was one of those things. I don't remember what was on my Christmas list that year but I am pretty sure a blue brief case was not one of the things. But, nevertheless, I thought it was pretty cool and I knew that none of my friends would have one. So, after Christmas break I happily loaded all of my papers in it for school, which was not much at the time. Those were the days when you didn't have to carry two tons of school books home with you and lug them back and forth to school. So, I put my handful of papers in it and headed to school. All of my friends thought that it was pretty cool too and had never seen anything like it before. I must admit it was a unique gift. Plus I thought it made me look like a business woman. A business woman in a Catholic School uniform. We had green uniforms at the time. I wore a green sweater, green plaid skirt, green tights, and white shoes, with a crisp white blouse to top everything off. Looking back I probably resembled a human green frog. But, at the time it was what we had to wear so I wore that uniform proudly and I proudly carried that blue briefcase with me back and forth to school for months, until the school year ended. That was the last year I carried any sort of backpack. Once I got to the fifth grade which was considered the upper grades, I guess because in the fifth grade you had to walk up 3 stairs to get to the classroom and we were all proud to walk up those extra steps made us feel grown up. After the forth grade I carried my books in my arms all the way through high school. 

What made me remember that plastic blue briefcase was that I was looking at backpacks with my son the other day online and we happen to see some briefcase, I think that we clicked one too many times. But, he asked me if I ever had one when I was a kid or an adult. I told him about my blue one and later on when I was around 20 I think, I had an interview with the local school for office assistant, by then my grandfather had gotten me a new briefcase. It was a brown leather one with a short handle and so for the interview along with my "business suit" which consisted of a rust colored skirt, white blouse and tan jacket, I took along my brand new leather briefcase I had gotten for Christmas of course. I guess since the blue one was a hit many years before he decided to get me another one years later.  So, armed with my briefcase in hand I walked with confidence to the front desk and told the receptionist I was there for an interview. She sort of eyed my briefcase and probably wondered what I could possibly have in it since I was so young and so inexperienced. I really didn't have anything in it but my resume, the application I filled out for the job, and some references in case she asked. I took a seat and waited to be called. I was the only one there and felt good. A few minutes later this tall professional looking burnette woman with long, long hair called me into her office. I was a little disappointed that she didn't ask for my resume or anything else I had in my briefcase because it would have given me a reason to open it. I had practiced opening it with precision and it only took me a few seconds to get it open and closed. But, she didn't ask for anything just the routine questions they used to ask back then and I answered to the best of my ability and figured that it wouldn't hurt to tell her that  two summers ago I had worked there for the summer with the youth job program helping out the receptionist, a different receptionist though that probably had moved on to another job. She seemed impressed that I knew the old one and thanked me for coming in. On the way out she eyed my briefcase somewhat and was probably wondering what I had in it also. 

Although, I didn't get the job what I did gain was some newly acquired confidence thanks to my brown leather briefcase. I carried it around to many interviews afterwards like a boss.  And a few times even got to open it up.

Happy Ears, Happy Me!

Last year I think I have purchased about 20 million headsets for my son. OK

, maybe not  that many but it sure feels like it sometimes. He has had just about every kind that we can afford that Amazon had to offer. From the red ones, blue ones, black ones, fancy ones, plain ones, etc...you name it he probably has had it. So, when the last pair mysteriously broke as he put it I told him he would have to save up for another pair. I thought this would teach him to be more responsible for things and not be so careless with them. I don't know how many times I have found them lying on the kitchen floor or dangling from the computer after he was done. Not that he didn't have some help with them mysteriously breaking my nephew who is on the computer more then the law allows at night had a hand in that too. He is much older then my son but just as careless with things. 

Well, I gave my son this ultimatum a few weeks ago and he has managed to save some of his Christmas money that he got from his paternal grandmother minus a few dollars he was determined to spend at the dollar tree on a couple items he had to have. So, after weeks of "suffering" hearing his cartoons that he watches online and a couple of games he plays on my Facebook page and of course all the stuff my nephew manages to watch and laugh loudly at, my ears couldn't take anymore.  I must be getting old cause lately they can't take a lot of noise. lol I asked my son how much of his Christmas he had left and he showed me. I told him it was time to buy more headphones. I told him I would pay the difference. 

This place is very small and since the computer has to live in the kitchen for now, the biggest room in the house and not too far from the living room, or what is called the living room, since we do most of our living in the kitchen it seems most days, the noise level can get pretty bad with the computer and the television  just a few feet from each other. My mom likes the TV louder then I like because she is older and can't hear as well so with that TV loud and the computer on blast it was more then my ears could take. I really do miss sometimes when we used to live in a bigger place where the TV was  actually far from the computer and noise and my ears didn't bleed every time someone turned one or the other on full volume. 

Last night I was trying to listen to a show and my son was in the background listening and watching his show and I was so thinking about when the headphones were coming that I ordered. I guess it would have been faster just to go someplace like Best Buy or Radio Shack to get some but since we don't have a car and waiting on someone to take you where you want to go or waiting on a bus is something that I really didn't feel like doing in this instance I decided to order online and wait the 3-7 days that they said it would take to arrive at my doorstep. That way I can just open the door, open the box and plug them in and be happy as a clam on the beach. Thankfully this morning I got a text that said they have been shipped and are on the way to my front door. I almost did the happy dance when I read that. Pretty soon there will be less noise in the house for my old ears to listen too. Yippee. 

I was happy until I came into the kitchen to get my last chocolate cupcake I have been saving and dreaming about eating since last night. I could just taste the chocolatey goodness melting in my mouth and me enjoying every single bite of it. My one time a week where I have little treats except that one time when I got candy at the dollar store the other day but my son ate most of that little bag so that doesn't count in my world too much. So, I came looking for my cupcake stashed in the cuts of the kitchen where I thought nobody looked. I put it in the fridge behind the veggies. Nobody looks there. Or so I thought. It was gone. A thief in the night stole my chocolate goodness.  Well, I know who the certain thief was because the evidence was all over their face in the form of chocolate. But, that is okay. I guess you just can't have everything and besides I know where to get more and know how to bake more if I want to. 

I am just happy my noise level will go from a loud roar to a softer roar by this time next week. My ears are looking forward to it. 

An Adventure in Shopping

Going to the dollar tree store is always an adventure. You just never know who you are going to meet and what you are going to really get when you go shopping for one item and come out with ten. That happens to me quite a bit. I go in for stickers and come out with stickers, paper plates, party cups, (just in case you know I might have a party this week real or pretend depending if my little cousin come over who I have pretend tea parties with), blank cards for any occasion, candy and of course toys for my son. By the time I get to the check out counter my little hand basket is full of everything. 

So, yesterday I decided to go in and get some paper plates since everyone it seems needs a break from washing dishes. Meaning they sit in the sink until I wash them. The only pair of hands in the house that can seem to wash dishes lately. So, my dish pan hands need a break and my son suggested paper plates, cups, and forks. I decided that he was indeed right we needed some and plus it was an excuse to get to his favorite store, as if he needed one. My sister, son and I got out of the car and headed in. My sister works there so of course everyone knew her and by this time they knew us too. Her manager greeted her with a sarcastic, " Long time no see stranger." and we all laughed.  Five seconds after walking in I had put a bag of candy in the hand basket. I do have a sweet tooth so that was no surprise to anybody. How fast I spotted it and put it in the basket might have been a surprise though. Walking around down the party aisle where the paper plates I like were located this man wearing pajamas and a slippers pushing a cart was coming in the opposite direction so I moved over to let him pass. Now, since everyone has a blue tooth these days and it looks like they are talking to themselves it is hard to tell or hard for me to tell if they are talking to themselves  or talking to you. So, when the guy in pajamas said hello I didn't know if he was on the phone, talking to himself or talking to me. So, I just nodded and smiled. Well, apparently he wasn't talking to me because his next sentence was, "Are you still on the phone?" I felt embarrassed but not so much since I only nodded and smiled and wasn't foolish enough to say anything like I had done many times before.  So, I proceeded to fill up my little hand basket with stuff that I probably wouldn't use for a while when I got home. I told my son it was time to go because the hand basket was getting pretty heavy and pretty full and with a groan he agreed on the condition that we come back soon. Well, I just smiled and nodded again. 

The line at the check out counter was longer then I had seen since Christmas time. Of course there was only one person open so I gritted my teeth, looked around for any good stuff at the register that I might look at while waiting for the 4 people in front of me to check out.  I was almost to the front when the woman two people in front of me started screaming. Just all of a sudden she started yelling to the top of her lungs in a primal scream or yell. No words just yelling. She caught everyone off guard and the manager came running out from the back of the store and everyone just froze in their tracks. Nobody said anything or did anything. Nobody knew what to do.  After a couple of minutes of everyone just standing and staring the woman ran out of the store. She took off like she was in a 5k race. After she left the cashier tried to crack a joke and it was business as usual. 

My sister told me that they get a lot of folks like that there in the store and they just usually ignore them. It makes me a little sad. I don't know anything about the woman  but she looked sad to me.  There was just something in her eyes that looked a little sad. She brought  a few food items before she yelled and ran out. My sister said she sees her sometimes and sometimes she will stand outside asking for change. My sister usually gives her a couple of dollars and she gets what she wants and leaves. 

On the way out a dog was coming in. I guess the dog was looking for its owner who probably was like me thinking that they would be in and out. Just grab a few things and go. And probably filled up a hand basket too. The dog probably got tired of waiting and said he was going to find his person and he did.  His person came running to the door as soon as he noticed his dog and apologized to everyone. I told him no apology needed for me. It is always a fun place to shop.