Five months.
It's been about five months since I've posted. I'll try to catch up with what I've missed.
School:
School's going really well so far. Took those three classes during the Spring semester, got a 4.0. That was pretty neat. The day of Finals was kind of funny. They schedule like 2 hours for each final, and mine were back to back to back. Each final took me around thirty to forty-five minutes to do, giving me between forty-five minutes and an hour to kill between each final, in addition to the half hour break they already build in to the schedule. The obvious answer would be to use that time to review the material and/or study for the next final; the only problem with that, of course, is that I don't like to count on such intangible, unsure variables like that, so I was completely ready for each final. I went to a dining hall and grabbed some breakfast during one break, and I don't recall what I did during the other final. After the last one, I had to walk to work where Mom was picking me up to give me a ride home.
Something had gone crazy wrong with my truck. Ended up dropping quite a bit on new tires, then I had to have the engine remounted and stuff (they did it wrong during the original installation). That was fun. I ended up only taking three hours during summer school, one class during Summer I. Phil 1305, Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking. The class was okay, I guess. Every morning at 8 am, for two hours, Monday through Friday. I ended up late to work quite a few days because of it, which was fun. I pulled a strong A in that class as well, which was really good, 'cause it was a Writing Intensive class, and I hate writing. It seemed like the more outlandish I made my conclusion, the better my grade on the test was. I don't know if it just did a better job of making my point, or my writing just got stronger as the semester went on, or the professor just appreciated someone who could effectively communicate the material and their understanding thereof, while still making their conclusion fun to read. I hope it was the latter, but I'm not counting on it. Whatever.
So I didn't take any classes during Summer II, 'cause of the money I had to drop on my truck. I'm registered for 13 hours, 4 classes and 1 lab, for the Fall. Chem II, Chem II Lab, Prob & Stat, Data Structures, and Intro to Fine Arts. I even got some financial aid for this and the Spring semesters. It's pretty awesome. Class starts in about two weeks. I've got most of my textbooks, bought two textbooks online - ebay and amazon are pretty neat, around half price of what the bookstore wanted, *and* I could flip them back for most of the price. I still have to pick up my Chem book/lab manual at the bookstore; the professor wrote both of them. So that's fun. Got my classes blocked Monday/Wednesday, which works out well. I start at 9:30 both mornings; Monday, I go to 6-something, on Wednesday, I'm out around 3-something. Long days, but I'll be taking both days off work so I don't have to go in that night. I might take the occasional Tuesday night off as well, to give me some time to get some real sleep. Of course, that's all depending on the work situation, which will have to get better before I'm able to do so, but we'll get to that later.
And I'm officially a senior.
So I don't feel like going into work just yet, so I guess I'll go with personal stuff next. I finally started a good diet that I'm comfortable with, and I feel confident that I can stick with it, for the most part. Coupling that with the amounts of exercise I have lined up, I hope, I really hope, that I can finally lose some weight.
Socially, it's just as much of an abyss as always. Didn't talk to anyone in any of my classes over the fall semester, or the one I had in the summer. I ended up sitting behind this semi-cute girl over the summer, didn't really get her name or anything. She was a hippie (Wait. Her parents were hippies. I'm not sure?) from Austin. Anyway.
So still friends with Matt, we work out and/or play racquetball in the mornings when our schedules work out. Haven't talked to Cullen recently, though I hope to remedy that soon. Rose is moving out of her parents place, which is cool, getting a little one bedroom; I'm helping her move (no big surprise there). Haven't made any new friends (except at work, but that gets covered in the work section) lately. Maybe that'll change in the Fall. I doubt it, but whatever.
Work's been interesting. Our new GM is working out really well, he's a really cool guy. We're getting pasta and sandwiches in the next few weeks (Sh! Nobody's allowed to know that!), which means we have to regear a lot of things, and find room for a bunch of new products, and retrain everyone on new stuff. It's going to be somewhat more labor-intensive, which kind of sucks. The only good part is that we're getting some good stuff, like sliced provolone, genoa salami, and chicken. Of course, they don't really fit in with my diet, so I'll only taste them sparingly, but it'll probably positively impact sales.
Bill no longer works there; he left to go to Colorado or something, leaving me as the only MiT right now. Jen Fee almost came back, but she went to Kyle instead. I've mentioned to Ambra that she should come back and be an MiT for us; new gm, new dm, there's a good chance they'll let her. They should - she's well trained, she's smart, they let her GM a store for over six months. Oh, and we're NOT DATING, nor WERE WE EVER. They're cracking down ever harder on employee dating, transferred a GM to a completely different district because she was dating another GM. Whatever. We did hire this awesome insider named Becky, but she only worked here for the summer. That made me sad, especially when she left like two weeks ago. Thanks to that, we're still working on improving our inside staff. We need another shift runner or MiT, probably another insider or two. We did hire Janelle as a driver, that's pretty neat. She might be moving back here for her last semester and/or year of school, which would be interesting. Her and Mom don't get along as well as her and I do, so she's a little worried that it might not work out, that they're going to clash too hard much for her to live here. I keep telling her that it was hard for me at first, but that it got a lot better, especially once school started.
Anyway.
So that's what's going on with that.
Vanessa Carlton -- Nolita Fairytale
2008-03-28
Put down that chainsaw, and listen to me
Facebook is really, really depressing.
Really, really, really depressing. I mean, yeah, it's great being able to see all my friends' status updates and share pictures and trade fun games and meet friends of friends and show off your favorite quotes and all this stuff. However, if you're twenty-five, still working on your BS (your first one), living at home, working as an assistant manager at Domino's, single with absolutely no prospects, overweight, and pretty pathetic overall, it can be depressing to see all your friends from high school doing graduate work and getting married.
Now, I pretty much got over the whole social yardstick thing. It's my life, I can't really compare it to everyone else - we each have our own path to travel through life, that kind of stuff. Whatever.
Of course, that doesn't make me feel that much better when I'm sitting in Discrete I and Alana is teaching the class across the hall.
Moving on.
I registered for summer classes. I think I'm taking ten hours over both summer sessions - six in two three hour classes, then four in a three hour course with one hour lab. Good stuff - Philosphy, Chem II, Chem II Lab, and Prob/Stat. Shouldn't be too hard.
Stopped by Wal-Mart and saw Rebecca earlier. That was really cool, we hadn't seen each other in over a week. She might have seemed happy to see me? I'm hesitant to actually saw that, self-esteem and our situation and all, but I think so?
I've been kinda depressed lately, but I think that might have snapped me out of it. Maybe, we'll see. Also, I keep staying awake for stupid long periods of time without any preparation or real reason. I'm not sure why.
I think Bill's probably leaving near the end of the summer, and Josh isn't going to be working very much after the spring semester ends. Sadness. Jaoquin is quitting, 'cause we're not really giving him any shifts. Of course, he had this annoying tendency to not be able to work the shifts he was given, so I don't feel too bad about it.
"Weird Al" Yankovic -- Dare to be Stupid
Really, really, really depressing. I mean, yeah, it's great being able to see all my friends' status updates and share pictures and trade fun games and meet friends of friends and show off your favorite quotes and all this stuff. However, if you're twenty-five, still working on your BS (your first one), living at home, working as an assistant manager at Domino's, single with absolutely no prospects, overweight, and pretty pathetic overall, it can be depressing to see all your friends from high school doing graduate work and getting married.
Now, I pretty much got over the whole social yardstick thing. It's my life, I can't really compare it to everyone else - we each have our own path to travel through life, that kind of stuff. Whatever.
Of course, that doesn't make me feel that much better when I'm sitting in Discrete I and Alana is teaching the class across the hall.
Moving on.
I registered for summer classes. I think I'm taking ten hours over both summer sessions - six in two three hour classes, then four in a three hour course with one hour lab. Good stuff - Philosphy, Chem II, Chem II Lab, and Prob/Stat. Shouldn't be too hard.
Stopped by Wal-Mart and saw Rebecca earlier. That was really cool, we hadn't seen each other in over a week. She might have seemed happy to see me? I'm hesitant to actually saw that, self-esteem and our situation and all, but I think so?
I've been kinda depressed lately, but I think that might have snapped me out of it. Maybe, we'll see. Also, I keep staying awake for stupid long periods of time without any preparation or real reason. I'm not sure why.
I think Bill's probably leaving near the end of the summer, and Josh isn't going to be working very much after the spring semester ends. Sadness. Jaoquin is quitting, 'cause we're not really giving him any shifts. Of course, he had this annoying tendency to not be able to work the shifts he was given, so I don't feel too bad about it.
"Weird Al" Yankovic -- Dare to be Stupid
2008-03-16
Can't stop loving you
Talked to Rebecca last night. She mentioned that yes, she hearts her boyfriend (through an anecdote about something at work). However, she did give me what I feel is final, incontrovertible proof that she doesn't think I'm a creepy bastard that's stalking her. We were talking as I was about to leave, and she kind of mentioned that I was in one of her dreams. She couldn't remember what it was about or anything. However, I submit that under no circumstances would you tell someone that if you fear they are a creepy bastard that's stalking you.
Moving on.
Only two more shifts in my eleven shift marathon. Today's is going to be particularly interesting, since it's basically just me and Trey inside during a Sunday night, with all the kids coming back from Spring Break. Q said it's steady at best, trending towards slow, so that's a decent sign, though I think it'll get busier as the day goes on. Of course, we did manage to survive Saturday night doing about 25, so we'll see how it goes. Monday is going to be easy-peasy, with Sandra as my closing insider. The only negative part is that we're going to be doing the 3.99 medium 1 toppings again. Of course, we didn't really advertise it this time, so we'll see how that goes.
Vinylworxx -- Stop Loving You
Moving on.
Only two more shifts in my eleven shift marathon. Today's is going to be particularly interesting, since it's basically just me and Trey inside during a Sunday night, with all the kids coming back from Spring Break. Q said it's steady at best, trending towards slow, so that's a decent sign, though I think it'll get busier as the day goes on. Of course, we did manage to survive Saturday night doing about 25, so we'll see how it goes. Monday is going to be easy-peasy, with Sandra as my closing insider. The only negative part is that we're going to be doing the 3.99 medium 1 toppings again. Of course, we didn't really advertise it this time, so we'll see how that goes.
Vinylworxx -- Stop Loving You
2008-03-11
Finally got to get into it with a customer today about the whole "You Got 30 Minutes" thing. First, I do think it's really, really dumb for them to be using that. I mean, yeah, the vast majority of our orders do get to our customers within thirty minutes, and I don't think it's necessarily wrong to play up that; the problem, however, is that we did that 30 minute guarantee in the 80's, so *anything* with Domino's and the number 30 is automatically going to make that connection in people's minds. It's pretty unfortunate. Anyway. He also got pretty mad that our drivers don't carry parmesan or crushed red peppers on them. Seriously, though. I mean, if you can't eat something without a given condiment, that condiment has ceased to be a condiment, and is instead an integral part of the dish. Well, those aren't. Deal with it. We do charge for them. Think that's ridiculous? Shop somewhere else. Customer's choice, and all that.
So the guy placed his order, and I told him at the end of the order that it'd be 35-45 minutes. The guy calls back at thirty-one minutes, almost exactly. I know this because when someone calls back that's already placed an order, when you bring up that phone line, it says when they ordered. There's that, and there's the clock right next to that, so it's pretty easy to see how long ago they ordered. So yeah, he called back right at thirty-one, thirty-two minutes. He was calling about our 30-minute guarantee, which we don't have. He kept bringing up the commercial, which just says "You've got 30 minutes". It doesn't say "You've got 30 minutes, or it's free." It definitely doesn't say "You've got 30 minutes (or it's free)". It says "You've got 30 minutes (or keep waiting)". Again, I'm not defending the fact that they're almost definitely playing to the fact that we did have one, a long, LONG time ago, and people are definitely going to make that association whenever they see the 30. Whatever. But it's there, and we're doing the best we can.
So yeah, the guy calls at 32 minutes, and I explain about it being an estimate, not a guarantee. We go through this several times.
He then calls back another twenty-ish minutes later, to make another complaint. Basically, (a) his pizza took 40 minutes, and (b) the driver didn't have any peppers or cheese on him. I would have had a little more sympathy for this complaint if we hadn't already discussed (a) when he called back ONE MINUTE after thirty minutes, and I told him that it'd be 35-45 minutes for delivery. And (b), well, there's not a lot I can do about (b). It's how our franchise operates. I can't really defend it.
Moving on.
Four of
Hmm. I got caught up playing around on Facebook, and I'm really not sure where I was going with that "Four of" thing. I'll get back to that, if possible.
Oh! I remember. Maybe. I might have been going to say something about I've done four of my eleven consecutive shifts? Probably not. I can't see me saying "Four of" as the beginning of that sentence. Anyway.
So yeah, been dealing with a lot of ex's lately, primarily through Facebook. I let it do the 'automatic friend finder thing' with my gmail inbox, and that brought up Chelsea and Lilie, got to see them. Oh, and Terri. Saw Mindy while going through some photos to upload, and Carrie, and Nikki. Ashley ordered pizza last night.
So the guy placed his order, and I told him at the end of the order that it'd be 35-45 minutes. The guy calls back at thirty-one minutes, almost exactly. I know this because when someone calls back that's already placed an order, when you bring up that phone line, it says when they ordered. There's that, and there's the clock right next to that, so it's pretty easy to see how long ago they ordered. So yeah, he called back right at thirty-one, thirty-two minutes. He was calling about our 30-minute guarantee, which we don't have. He kept bringing up the commercial, which just says "You've got 30 minutes". It doesn't say "You've got 30 minutes, or it's free." It definitely doesn't say "You've got 30 minutes (or it's free)". It says "You've got 30 minutes (or keep waiting)". Again, I'm not defending the fact that they're almost definitely playing to the fact that we did have one, a long, LONG time ago, and people are definitely going to make that association whenever they see the 30. Whatever. But it's there, and we're doing the best we can.
So yeah, the guy calls at 32 minutes, and I explain about it being an estimate, not a guarantee. We go through this several times.
He then calls back another twenty-ish minutes later, to make another complaint. Basically, (a) his pizza took 40 minutes, and (b) the driver didn't have any peppers or cheese on him. I would have had a little more sympathy for this complaint if we hadn't already discussed (a) when he called back ONE MINUTE after thirty minutes, and I told him that it'd be 35-45 minutes for delivery. And (b), well, there's not a lot I can do about (b). It's how our franchise operates. I can't really defend it.
Moving on.
Four of
Hmm. I got caught up playing around on Facebook, and I'm really not sure where I was going with that "Four of" thing. I'll get back to that, if possible.
Oh! I remember. Maybe. I might have been going to say something about I've done four of my eleven consecutive shifts? Probably not. I can't see me saying "Four of" as the beginning of that sentence. Anyway.
So yeah, been dealing with a lot of ex's lately, primarily through Facebook. I let it do the 'automatic friend finder thing' with my gmail inbox, and that brought up Chelsea and Lilie, got to see them. Oh, and Terri. Saw Mindy while going through some photos to upload, and Carrie, and Nikki. Ashley ordered pizza last night.
2008-03-10
We journey over oceans, five fathoms deep
So. Good times.
I'm doing eleven 5-C shifts in a row (by choice, I'm not whining or anything, just recapping), and I just finished up #3. Eight to go.
Work's been kinda blah lately. Julianne quit, no big surprises there. She called in a *lot*. She was kinda worthless, but she could at least answer phones. Or something. I have to work with Trey a lot this week while Bill's on vacation. Good times. Oh, almost went into it with Dylan a few nights ago. So we have this dual-layer heat rack. They each have a switch to turn it off, but the one on the bottom has been redone as a master cut-off switch with an indicator light. That way, you only have to switch one switch to turn it on, and you can see the light to make sure it's on. Long story short, when you're closing, you turn off the main switch, and leave the other switch on. I keep having to tell him not to turn off the top switch. It's such a stupid little thing. Seriously. It should have just taken one "Hey, don't turn off this top switch" and that should have been the end of it. Of course, it wasn't. I've said something to him about it three times, Bill's brought it up at least once. Other than that, whatever.
Went to Wal-Mart the other night, talked to Rebecca. Turns out she's probably moving home this summer when her lease is up. Home is Rockport, a good distance away. It kind of puts an end to the whole thing. Sandra said something like "Well, you'd better make your move! Take her to lunch or something." I think she was just being nice. They do humor me. Anyway. Yeah, it's kind of depressing. Of course, I'm fully aware how pathetic it is for me to be depressed that some girl I've had a crush on for a while now is moving away. I mean, I refer to her as my 'pretend girlfriend' and everything, because it's not like there's ever a chance of something happening. I haven't lost all touch with reality. Whatever. So yeah, wa wa wa, I'm a big pathetic loser, whatever. Of course, it would be the next day that I go through facebook's friend-finder thing and end up with some slight contact with Lilie again. I mean, it's not like I'm still in love with her or anything, but she was the last person I had anything with, so when things seem kinda bad, and then to have that shoved in my face (or whatever), yeah. Good times.
Of course, it's fun to go into a negative emotion spiral, start taking things in the worst possible light. I'm twenty-five, living at home, working at a pizza place. Then start feeling as down as possible about various facets of life. I'll work on that later.
Vanessa Carlton -- Home
I'm doing eleven 5-C shifts in a row (by choice, I'm not whining or anything, just recapping), and I just finished up #3. Eight to go.
Work's been kinda blah lately. Julianne quit, no big surprises there. She called in a *lot*. She was kinda worthless, but she could at least answer phones. Or something. I have to work with Trey a lot this week while Bill's on vacation. Good times. Oh, almost went into it with Dylan a few nights ago. So we have this dual-layer heat rack. They each have a switch to turn it off, but the one on the bottom has been redone as a master cut-off switch with an indicator light. That way, you only have to switch one switch to turn it on, and you can see the light to make sure it's on. Long story short, when you're closing, you turn off the main switch, and leave the other switch on. I keep having to tell him not to turn off the top switch. It's such a stupid little thing. Seriously. It should have just taken one "Hey, don't turn off this top switch" and that should have been the end of it. Of course, it wasn't. I've said something to him about it three times, Bill's brought it up at least once. Other than that, whatever.
Went to Wal-Mart the other night, talked to Rebecca. Turns out she's probably moving home this summer when her lease is up. Home is Rockport, a good distance away. It kind of puts an end to the whole thing. Sandra said something like "Well, you'd better make your move! Take her to lunch or something." I think she was just being nice. They do humor me. Anyway. Yeah, it's kind of depressing. Of course, I'm fully aware how pathetic it is for me to be depressed that some girl I've had a crush on for a while now is moving away. I mean, I refer to her as my 'pretend girlfriend' and everything, because it's not like there's ever a chance of something happening. I haven't lost all touch with reality. Whatever. So yeah, wa wa wa, I'm a big pathetic loser, whatever. Of course, it would be the next day that I go through facebook's friend-finder thing and end up with some slight contact with Lilie again. I mean, it's not like I'm still in love with her or anything, but she was the last person I had anything with, so when things seem kinda bad, and then to have that shoved in my face (or whatever), yeah. Good times.
Of course, it's fun to go into a negative emotion spiral, start taking things in the worst possible light. I'm twenty-five, living at home, working at a pizza place. Then start feeling as down as possible about various facets of life. I'll work on that later.
Vanessa Carlton -- Home
2008-03-01
They don't love you like I love you
I'm in kind of a bad place right now.
I fully realize that everything I'm going to complain about in this post is, in the grand scheme of things, relatively minor. I'm completely aware that my life is pretty good - decent job, loving and supportive family, health, etc.
That being said, it's bitching time.
WORK
Work is the source of my current bad mood. Things are changing, and mostly, not for the better. First and foremost, Q. I mean, he's a great guy. But I'm starting to have some issues with him. Let's start with putting the truck up. I mean, we organize the walk-in a specific way. He just kind of throws all the shit in. I should clarify, I'm not dead-set on OUR specific way of organizing everything. If he wants to reorganize stuff and put things in different places, that's fine. But it definitely needs to have specific places, keep everything together. We're too busy, our walk-in is too small, we get three trucks a week, we can't do inventory until a little before close. Seriously, I'm not an organizational freak or anything, but I recognize that there's time when it's necessary. This is one of those times. I mean, seriously. Gina instilled it in me that we have to keep that walk-in organized, and it's true. I'm going to ask him about it tomorrow, see if there's a reason, maybe it was just the last two trucks with mitigating circumstances. Whatever.
It's kind of annoying. I came back to Domino's to work for Sergio, not for Domino's. Fuck Domino's. I mean, I'll grant that it's definitely a better gig for Sonic, but that's not saying too much amongst menial service jobs (especially when they restructure our MiT bonus plan, see below). Whatever.
Then, they're changing the MiT bonus plan structure. They're making it more of a 'pay-for-performance' thing, which I don't disagree with.
In principle.
However, there's a few things they need to point out that they're not really saying. They're presenting it as removing the current cap on the MiT bonus, and replacing it with 2% of the store's EBITDA. In principle, it's reasonable. The better the store is doing, both in sales and translating that sales to profit, the higher the bonus the assistant managers get. However, it's worth noting that we have the second highest EBITDA in the company, and it would make our new cap 180-something instead of 200. Everyone else's goes down substantially. They don't really mention that in the flyer that EVERYONE's bonus cap is going to go down. DRASTICALLY. It follows from the information presented, but you have to dig down a little to really look at it. The other caveats aren't really that big a deal - an 80 or above on your MiT eval, no criticals, and a minimum of a 4 on your WCMSC. That last one is basically just a grading of your store across a variety of metrics - labor, food, personnel, sales, etc. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll be getting a 4 any time soon. Our last one was a 2, and we need something like 20 points to raise that to a 4. 21 points, I think. I mean, the reasoning underneath all of it is sound, I guess. The idea that we influence the WCMSC and profitability is understandable, and they're trying to reflect that. Whatever. It's just annoying.
What's next, what's next? Oh, they're making that 3.99 medium 1-topping carryout special a periodic thing. It's really, really annoying. The drivers hate it. The insiders hate it. The MiTs hate it. Basically, it's only really good for boosting sales in low-sales stores. It didn't really help ours.
Hmm.
What else?
Co-workers.
Some of them are kind of annoying. I mean, hell, it'd be too easy to pick on Adam or Kyle here, but that's too easy. I'm talking about inside people. I'm really trying not to dwell on this one, because I'll start going nuts. Trey kind of reminds me of Ben from Sonic. It's frustrating. Yes, our job is simplistic, menial, entry-level, unskilled, etc. But there are specific ways to do those jobs, ways they have to be done. I hate sounding as stupid as I know it does, but you have to do things the way they're supposed to be done.
Anyway.
And Bill, the rush is so, so much easier if you MAKE PRESLAPS and PREP BREAD.
I don't mean to sound all high and mighty. I'm just venting.
Moving on.
I'm going to dye my hair pink on Tuesday. Well, Rose is going to. Very, very, very pink. That should be fun.
What else, what else?
Rebecca, I s'pose. We talk every time I'm in there. I haven't lost touch with reality or anything, I'm not getting my hopes up or anything. It's weird, we are sort of slowly becoming friends. Maybe, I guess? I'm not going to overthink this one. I overthink every single one of our interactions and encounters as it is, I'm not going to ruin the whole thing.
Moving on.
Paid off one of my student loans, that was really exciting.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- Maps
I fully realize that everything I'm going to complain about in this post is, in the grand scheme of things, relatively minor. I'm completely aware that my life is pretty good - decent job, loving and supportive family, health, etc.
That being said, it's bitching time.
WORK
Work is the source of my current bad mood. Things are changing, and mostly, not for the better. First and foremost, Q. I mean, he's a great guy. But I'm starting to have some issues with him. Let's start with putting the truck up. I mean, we organize the walk-in a specific way. He just kind of throws all the shit in. I should clarify, I'm not dead-set on OUR specific way of organizing everything. If he wants to reorganize stuff and put things in different places, that's fine. But it definitely needs to have specific places, keep everything together. We're too busy, our walk-in is too small, we get three trucks a week, we can't do inventory until a little before close. Seriously, I'm not an organizational freak or anything, but I recognize that there's time when it's necessary. This is one of those times. I mean, seriously. Gina instilled it in me that we have to keep that walk-in organized, and it's true. I'm going to ask him about it tomorrow, see if there's a reason, maybe it was just the last two trucks with mitigating circumstances. Whatever.
It's kind of annoying. I came back to Domino's to work for Sergio, not for Domino's. Fuck Domino's. I mean, I'll grant that it's definitely a better gig for Sonic, but that's not saying too much amongst menial service jobs (especially when they restructure our MiT bonus plan, see below). Whatever.
Then, they're changing the MiT bonus plan structure. They're making it more of a 'pay-for-performance' thing, which I don't disagree with.
In principle.
However, there's a few things they need to point out that they're not really saying. They're presenting it as removing the current cap on the MiT bonus, and replacing it with 2% of the store's EBITDA. In principle, it's reasonable. The better the store is doing, both in sales and translating that sales to profit, the higher the bonus the assistant managers get. However, it's worth noting that we have the second highest EBITDA in the company, and it would make our new cap 180-something instead of 200. Everyone else's goes down substantially. They don't really mention that in the flyer that EVERYONE's bonus cap is going to go down. DRASTICALLY. It follows from the information presented, but you have to dig down a little to really look at it. The other caveats aren't really that big a deal - an 80 or above on your MiT eval, no criticals, and a minimum of a 4 on your WCMSC. That last one is basically just a grading of your store across a variety of metrics - labor, food, personnel, sales, etc. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll be getting a 4 any time soon. Our last one was a 2, and we need something like 20 points to raise that to a 4. 21 points, I think. I mean, the reasoning underneath all of it is sound, I guess. The idea that we influence the WCMSC and profitability is understandable, and they're trying to reflect that. Whatever. It's just annoying.
What's next, what's next? Oh, they're making that 3.99 medium 1-topping carryout special a periodic thing. It's really, really annoying. The drivers hate it. The insiders hate it. The MiTs hate it. Basically, it's only really good for boosting sales in low-sales stores. It didn't really help ours.
Hmm.
What else?
Co-workers.
Some of them are kind of annoying. I mean, hell, it'd be too easy to pick on Adam or Kyle here, but that's too easy. I'm talking about inside people. I'm really trying not to dwell on this one, because I'll start going nuts. Trey kind of reminds me of Ben from Sonic. It's frustrating. Yes, our job is simplistic, menial, entry-level, unskilled, etc. But there are specific ways to do those jobs, ways they have to be done. I hate sounding as stupid as I know it does, but you have to do things the way they're supposed to be done.
Anyway.
And Bill, the rush is so, so much easier if you MAKE PRESLAPS and PREP BREAD.
I don't mean to sound all high and mighty. I'm just venting.
Moving on.
I'm going to dye my hair pink on Tuesday. Well, Rose is going to. Very, very, very pink. That should be fun.
What else, what else?
Rebecca, I s'pose. We talk every time I'm in there. I haven't lost touch with reality or anything, I'm not getting my hopes up or anything. It's weird, we are sort of slowly becoming friends. Maybe, I guess? I'm not going to overthink this one. I overthink every single one of our interactions and encounters as it is, I'm not going to ruin the whole thing.
Moving on.
Paid off one of my student loans, that was really exciting.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- Maps
2008-02-27
You move around like you're unbreakable
Couple things to write about. Crazy dreams, talking to Rebecca - you know, nothing substantial.
This dream I had just recently, woke up a few hours ago. It's fading really, really quickly, but one part stands out. I had a crazy swordfight with some weird French dude in the house. I mean, real swordfighting with epees that could take an ear off. I ended up beating him when I grabbed a spatula and used it as an off-hand weapon and beat the crap out of it while I used my epee to counter his (thanks Jarrod!).
That dream was pretty neat.
Then I had this other dream a few days ago. I wanted to write about it as soon as I woke up so I could get all of it, but I didn't get around to it. Basically, this girl was going to make a video of her doing some cool dive or something into her big pool, but she hit her head on the water or something, so she started sinking straight down and was going to drown. Both her father and I jumped in to save her, but I got down and brought her up before she died or anything. We had already been friends or something, so we went to hang out at her (very large) place. We had to swim across a bay or osmething to get there, that was cool. Oh, and her servants and family really only spoke Italian, and I tried stumbling through some stuff. Good times.
Been on a huge Vanessa Carlton kick lately, her last album is simply amazing.
So yeah.
Oh!
Rebecca.
Rose *and* Matt both wanted to go to Wal-Mart last night; I was only too happy to oblige. She was working the door. Overnight, that's pretty boring. Anyway, I didn't really make it any further into the store than that. Not necessary. We talked for twenty minutes or so. I keep thinking 'Maybe I should excuse myself and leave her alone?', but I don't think that was ever an issue. It's such a weird line I'm trying to walk - I'm pretty sure she knows I like her (she said as much when I ASKED HER OUT), and I don't want her to think that one little rejection will destroy my interest - I'm not nearly so fickle - but I don't want to come off so strong.
Actually, that last sentence is a complete lie. I don't put nearly that much thought into it. My thought process is more like "OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODDON'TBEACREEPYBASTARDOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD". I think that's where the deer-in-headlights comes from. I guess I don't do so well when my inner monologue is freaking out. Whatever.
So yeah, we talked. Notable things - she asked me both (a) if I have a girlfriend and (b) if I live alone. Now certainly, I'm not reading *too* much into things like that - she's just making conversation, being friendly, etc. However, I don't think those are things you might ask someone you think is a creepy bastard who you really don't want to deal with anymore.
I hope.
Anyway, yeah, we talked for like twenty minutes. She said I hadn't formally introduced myself, and she wouldn't have known my name if it wasn't for Suzie (not my ex, but one of the other cashiers), though I swear that one time, she had to bring my food out to me 'cause I ordered a burger at like 7 am, and I asked her her name, and she told me, and she asked me my name, and I told her), but yeah. I should have just taken the opportunity to say "Hi! My name's Billy, and it's my great pleasure to meet you." Of course, I didn't do that. I instead argued with her (!), citing that occurrence. She didn't remember it, which isn't terribly surprising - "Are you sure that it wasn't someone else at Jack in the Box?" - was one of my favorite lines from that conversation.
Of course, that does point at a huge psychological flaw I seem to have. I enjoy being right. I'll argue about it when I think I am, even if it does no good even if I win. Case in point: I could have just apologized, taken the chance to introduce myself then and there, and it would have been pretty cool. But did I? Nope. Argued (!) about it. I mean, gah. Little things like that, I think I should work on a bit.
So anyway. We talked.
Went to class today, spent a while cleaning up my truck, finally put the seat cover on the new seat. Emptied an entire bottle of Febreeze on it to get the smell out. Went ahead and washed the truck, since I was already there. Good times.
DJ HMX w Plural -- Cool Baby
This dream I had just recently, woke up a few hours ago. It's fading really, really quickly, but one part stands out. I had a crazy swordfight with some weird French dude in the house. I mean, real swordfighting with epees that could take an ear off. I ended up beating him when I grabbed a spatula and used it as an off-hand weapon and beat the crap out of it while I used my epee to counter his (thanks Jarrod!).
That dream was pretty neat.
Then I had this other dream a few days ago. I wanted to write about it as soon as I woke up so I could get all of it, but I didn't get around to it. Basically, this girl was going to make a video of her doing some cool dive or something into her big pool, but she hit her head on the water or something, so she started sinking straight down and was going to drown. Both her father and I jumped in to save her, but I got down and brought her up before she died or anything. We had already been friends or something, so we went to hang out at her (very large) place. We had to swim across a bay or osmething to get there, that was cool. Oh, and her servants and family really only spoke Italian, and I tried stumbling through some stuff. Good times.
Been on a huge Vanessa Carlton kick lately, her last album is simply amazing.
So yeah.
Oh!
Rebecca.
Rose *and* Matt both wanted to go to Wal-Mart last night; I was only too happy to oblige. She was working the door. Overnight, that's pretty boring. Anyway, I didn't really make it any further into the store than that. Not necessary. We talked for twenty minutes or so. I keep thinking 'Maybe I should excuse myself and leave her alone?', but I don't think that was ever an issue. It's such a weird line I'm trying to walk - I'm pretty sure she knows I like her (she said as much when I ASKED HER OUT), and I don't want her to think that one little rejection will destroy my interest - I'm not nearly so fickle - but I don't want to come off so strong.
Actually, that last sentence is a complete lie. I don't put nearly that much thought into it. My thought process is more like "OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODDON'TBEACREEPYBASTARDOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD". I think that's where the deer-in-headlights comes from. I guess I don't do so well when my inner monologue is freaking out. Whatever.
So yeah, we talked. Notable things - she asked me both (a) if I have a girlfriend and (b) if I live alone. Now certainly, I'm not reading *too* much into things like that - she's just making conversation, being friendly, etc. However, I don't think those are things you might ask someone you think is a creepy bastard who you really don't want to deal with anymore.
I hope.
Anyway, yeah, we talked for like twenty minutes. She said I hadn't formally introduced myself, and she wouldn't have known my name if it wasn't for Suzie (not my ex, but one of the other cashiers), though I swear that one time, she had to bring my food out to me 'cause I ordered a burger at like 7 am, and I asked her her name, and she told me, and she asked me my name, and I told her), but yeah. I should have just taken the opportunity to say "Hi! My name's Billy, and it's my great pleasure to meet you." Of course, I didn't do that. I instead argued with her (!), citing that occurrence. She didn't remember it, which isn't terribly surprising - "Are you sure that it wasn't someone else at Jack in the Box?" - was one of my favorite lines from that conversation.
Of course, that does point at a huge psychological flaw I seem to have. I enjoy being right. I'll argue about it when I think I am, even if it does no good even if I win. Case in point: I could have just apologized, taken the chance to introduce myself then and there, and it would have been pretty cool. But did I? Nope. Argued (!) about it. I mean, gah. Little things like that, I think I should work on a bit.
So anyway. We talked.
Went to class today, spent a while cleaning up my truck, finally put the seat cover on the new seat. Emptied an entire bottle of Febreeze on it to get the smell out. Went ahead and washed the truck, since I was already there. Good times.
DJ HMX w Plural -- Cool Baby
2008-02-26
Vanessa Carlton - Nolita Fairytale
I know you know,
We don't see
We so our truth, wait patiently
I walk the streets with a song in my head
We ebb and we flow so
Got my toes on my pup at the foot of my bed
My heart always seems to know
Now take the glitz back, I want the soul instead
'Cause I found some kind of fairytale
I used to
Hover outside my truth
Always worried of what I'd lose
Take away my record deal
Go on, I don't need it
Spent the last 2 years getting to what's real
And now I can see so clear
I hope you feel just like I feel
I found some kind of fairytale
[Nolita Fairytale lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
Want a garden by the ocean tide
Because I lose my way searching for stage lights
Well, Stevie knows and I thank her so
'Cause it's your seeds I sow
And now I know
Nolita flat on rent control
That's the life I choose
Can't drag me to the fashion show
The poses that I see through
Ruby's in the afternoon
'Cause I found some kind of fairy...tale
(HEY!)
We don't see
We so our truth, wait patiently
I walk the streets with a song in my head
We ebb and we flow so
Got my toes on my pup at the foot of my bed
My heart always seems to know
Now take the glitz back, I want the soul instead
'Cause I found some kind of fairytale
I used to
Hover outside my truth
Always worried of what I'd lose
Take away my record deal
Go on, I don't need it
Spent the last 2 years getting to what's real
And now I can see so clear
I hope you feel just like I feel
I found some kind of fairytale
[Nolita Fairytale lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
Want a garden by the ocean tide
Because I lose my way searching for stage lights
Well, Stevie knows and I thank her so
'Cause it's your seeds I sow
And now I know
Nolita flat on rent control
That's the life I choose
Can't drag me to the fashion show
The poses that I see through
Ruby's in the afternoon
'Cause I found some kind of fairy...tale
(HEY!)
2008-02-20
'Cause I found some kind of fairy tale
Life's pretty good right now.
Work's been interesting. Q, our new GM, has finally moved down to San Marcos and is going to be opening five days a week, moving Bill back to sharing the closing shifts with me. As it should be, and all that. I'm getting my near-50 hours a week, so my paychecks are pretty decent right now - not nearly the ones from Sonic when I was getting 70+, but nothing to sneeze at either. I did take off three days this week - Tuesday through Thursday, so I can rest and do stuff and generally enjoy life. Good times.
I was off on Valentine's Day, and I was going to take Mom out for dinner, since her and Billy had just broken up. I stopped by work to turn in my new insurance; they were somewhere between forty and fifty pies down. That was... well, crazy. Trey and Michelle were there, but I couldn't see how they managed to get that far down. I love Bill to death, but I wonder sometimes. Anyway. I was in my pajama pants, a t-shirt, and wearing sandals (yes, I was wearing pajama pants at seven pm. I had gone to sleep after class, having closed the night before and staying up for my eight o'clock class), but I threw on an apron, a hat, washed my hands and arms thoroughly, and jumped in. Two hours later, things were finally calming down. I hate nights like that - not because I mind having to work really hard, or that I was annoyed having to help out on my day off or anything, but because we gave a lot of people terrible service. I've taken to referring to it as the 'Valentine's Day Massacre', which I think sounds neat. I'm trying to remember if there was actually a V-Day massacre, or I'm thinking of another day. Either way. Bill and Q both thought it would be slow on V-Day, but Stan seemed to think we should have anticipated the high volume better.
They decided to do a 3.99 medium 1-topping carryout special, open to close, all this week, ending Thursday night at close. Interesting choice. It did boost sales above last year (the stated goal behind this) for a lot of stores - not ours, of course. Despite doing 2066, we were still down almost six hundred dollars from last year. Of course, we're down over twelve thousand for the period - second on an absolute level (one store is down seventeen!), and not doing *that* bad on a percentage level.
Other than that, work's been pretty much the same lately. Been on a huge Vanessa Carlton kick lately. Not sure why, but I keep queuing up her stuff to listen to. I mean, I like some contemporary singer-songwriters, at least the commercially successfully ones that I don't have to dig too deep to find - Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, Jewel, being the three that come readily to mind. But Vanessa's stuff especially has really been resonating with me lately. In fact, I might (a) change my profile song to reflect that and (b) my ringtone. It's been 'Boyfriend' by Ashlee Simpson basically since I started importing mp3s, and it might be time for a change. We'll see.
I bought the drums for Rock Band. Holy crap, that's fun. I mean, crazy fun. Michelle, of course, made the snarky comment about learning to play a real instrument, instead of pretending to play a fake one, but whatever. I can learn this one in five minutes, don't have to buy an expensive drum set, and can play it along with my friends playing their fake instruments. Besides, I did play trombone for seven years, so it's not like I'm musically illiterate or something. Anyway, lots of fun. I'm working out how to get Matt and Cullen and Ambra and Rose all together for some group fun. As for the drums, I'm still having coordination issues, especially with the kick drum, but I'm quickly getting better.
School's going well. Took my second chemistry test this morning, have my first discrete test on Thursday. Good times. Still haven't talked to anybody in any of my classes or anything, still working on that one.
I talked to Rebecca last night at Wal-Mart, that was cool. She asked me if I was avoiding her on Thursday (V-Day) or something, I told her that no, I was just anxious to get home and play drums, and that Rose wasn't feeling well, so we didn't want to dilly-dally (didn't manage to work that in there, or anything). She was all, "Oh, 'cause I wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's Day." That was awesome. We talked about stuff. I told her what I ended up doing on Valentine's Day, learned that the guy she's dating right now is only her second boyfriend. And, of course, today. Josh and I played our usual two hours of racquetball, I took the set 4-2 (putting our total record at something like 12-3 or thereabouts). Anyway. After dropping him off at the store, I went to the bank to deposit my paycheck. The first three or four lanes had a car at the kiosk, but the next one was both open and empty, so I pulled in there and started filling out my deposit slip. I glanced over at the car next to me, and lo and behold, she was sitting in the passenger set. Holy crap! She was earing like a pink shirt. It was the first time I'd seen her outside of her current place of employment. She definitely saw me too, but she didn't really openly acknowledge me or anything, leading me to draw one of a few conclusions. (A) She could have been with her boyfriend, and didn't really feel like explaining who I was ("Him? Oh, he's this guy that's had a crush on me for like two years; he comes by Wal-Mart a lot just 'cause I work there and we've started talking a little bit more each time. Basically, just some guy.") (B) Boyfriend might be a little possessive? (C) Regardless of who she was wiht, she just really didn't want to deal with me outside of work at all, perhaps fearing I'm now following her around or something (like I know what other kind of vehicle she might be riding around in? That would be scary.)
But I had this huge grin on my face as I sat there filling out my stuff, with her right there. I didn't really turn back or anything, because I was following her lead, regardless of the reason. They left fairly soon, but it was awesome.
Anyway.
Vanessa Carlton -- Nolita Fairytale
Work's been interesting. Q, our new GM, has finally moved down to San Marcos and is going to be opening five days a week, moving Bill back to sharing the closing shifts with me. As it should be, and all that. I'm getting my near-50 hours a week, so my paychecks are pretty decent right now - not nearly the ones from Sonic when I was getting 70+, but nothing to sneeze at either. I did take off three days this week - Tuesday through Thursday, so I can rest and do stuff and generally enjoy life. Good times.
I was off on Valentine's Day, and I was going to take Mom out for dinner, since her and Billy had just broken up. I stopped by work to turn in my new insurance; they were somewhere between forty and fifty pies down. That was... well, crazy. Trey and Michelle were there, but I couldn't see how they managed to get that far down. I love Bill to death, but I wonder sometimes. Anyway. I was in my pajama pants, a t-shirt, and wearing sandals (yes, I was wearing pajama pants at seven pm. I had gone to sleep after class, having closed the night before and staying up for my eight o'clock class), but I threw on an apron, a hat, washed my hands and arms thoroughly, and jumped in. Two hours later, things were finally calming down. I hate nights like that - not because I mind having to work really hard, or that I was annoyed having to help out on my day off or anything, but because we gave a lot of people terrible service. I've taken to referring to it as the 'Valentine's Day Massacre', which I think sounds neat. I'm trying to remember if there was actually a V-Day massacre, or I'm thinking of another day. Either way. Bill and Q both thought it would be slow on V-Day, but Stan seemed to think we should have anticipated the high volume better.
They decided to do a 3.99 medium 1-topping carryout special, open to close, all this week, ending Thursday night at close. Interesting choice. It did boost sales above last year (the stated goal behind this) for a lot of stores - not ours, of course. Despite doing 2066, we were still down almost six hundred dollars from last year. Of course, we're down over twelve thousand for the period - second on an absolute level (one store is down seventeen!), and not doing *that* bad on a percentage level.
Other than that, work's been pretty much the same lately. Been on a huge Vanessa Carlton kick lately. Not sure why, but I keep queuing up her stuff to listen to. I mean, I like some contemporary singer-songwriters, at least the commercially successfully ones that I don't have to dig too deep to find - Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, Jewel, being the three that come readily to mind. But Vanessa's stuff especially has really been resonating with me lately. In fact, I might (a) change my profile song to reflect that and (b) my ringtone. It's been 'Boyfriend' by Ashlee Simpson basically since I started importing mp3s, and it might be time for a change. We'll see.
I bought the drums for Rock Band. Holy crap, that's fun. I mean, crazy fun. Michelle, of course, made the snarky comment about learning to play a real instrument, instead of pretending to play a fake one, but whatever. I can learn this one in five minutes, don't have to buy an expensive drum set, and can play it along with my friends playing their fake instruments. Besides, I did play trombone for seven years, so it's not like I'm musically illiterate or something. Anyway, lots of fun. I'm working out how to get Matt and Cullen and Ambra and Rose all together for some group fun. As for the drums, I'm still having coordination issues, especially with the kick drum, but I'm quickly getting better.
School's going well. Took my second chemistry test this morning, have my first discrete test on Thursday. Good times. Still haven't talked to anybody in any of my classes or anything, still working on that one.
I talked to Rebecca last night at Wal-Mart, that was cool. She asked me if I was avoiding her on Thursday (V-Day) or something, I told her that no, I was just anxious to get home and play drums, and that Rose wasn't feeling well, so we didn't want to dilly-dally (didn't manage to work that in there, or anything). She was all, "Oh, 'cause I wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's Day." That was awesome. We talked about stuff. I told her what I ended up doing on Valentine's Day, learned that the guy she's dating right now is only her second boyfriend. And, of course, today. Josh and I played our usual two hours of racquetball, I took the set 4-2 (putting our total record at something like 12-3 or thereabouts). Anyway. After dropping him off at the store, I went to the bank to deposit my paycheck. The first three or four lanes had a car at the kiosk, but the next one was both open and empty, so I pulled in there and started filling out my deposit slip. I glanced over at the car next to me, and lo and behold, she was sitting in the passenger set. Holy crap! She was earing like a pink shirt. It was the first time I'd seen her outside of her current place of employment. She definitely saw me too, but she didn't really openly acknowledge me or anything, leading me to draw one of a few conclusions. (A) She could have been with her boyfriend, and didn't really feel like explaining who I was ("Him? Oh, he's this guy that's had a crush on me for like two years; he comes by Wal-Mart a lot just 'cause I work there and we've started talking a little bit more each time. Basically, just some guy.") (B) Boyfriend might be a little possessive? (C) Regardless of who she was wiht, she just really didn't want to deal with me outside of work at all, perhaps fearing I'm now following her around or something (like I know what other kind of vehicle she might be riding around in? That would be scary.)
But I had this huge grin on my face as I sat there filling out my stuff, with her right there. I didn't really turn back or anything, because I was following her lead, regardless of the reason. They left fairly soon, but it was awesome.
Anyway.
Vanessa Carlton -- Nolita Fairytale
2008-02-10
You like me and I like you
So life's been interesting lately. Let's see...
Sergio's been officially fired. Well, that happened like, what, two weeks ago? Three? Something like that. We've got this new guy, Q, who's alright so far. We're still trying to get him to do things our way, instead of just some random way (it's not like he's trying to introduce some better way), but overall, I think he'll do okay. I kind of pissed of a lot of drivers tonight, but they'll live. We've hired three new insiders - Julianne, Michelle, and Trey, who are all doing pretty well. Michelle is SO cute, and I'm halfway thinking about asking her out or something. I don't know, though - the difference in work levels might be an issue (though it's not like this is a real job, so I don't know, whatever). Haven't been working with Jenni very often, which makes me sad, but she came in the other day and gave me a huge hug and was like "Aw, I haven't seen you in forever!" That made me happy.
School's going good so far too. Had my first test last week, in Chemistry; didn't go to class on Thursday, but I'll get it back in a few days, we'll see how it goes. Have my first assignment coming up in Assembly Language, but it's just converting to different binary interpretations (mostly), so that'll be pretty easy. This semester is just a warm-up, anyway.
Not much has happened with Rebecca, beside me getting my creepy bastard on. Sandra made a halfway comment along those lines, and it really hurt. I thought I'd been so careful at every step *not* to be a creepy bastard, just to show some sincere interest. Whatever.
I think Mom and Billy broke up. That sucks, she seemed kind of happy with him. Kinda. Janelle and Mike are still going strong; that's cool.
Befour -- How Do You Do
Sergio's been officially fired. Well, that happened like, what, two weeks ago? Three? Something like that. We've got this new guy, Q, who's alright so far. We're still trying to get him to do things our way, instead of just some random way (it's not like he's trying to introduce some better way), but overall, I think he'll do okay. I kind of pissed of a lot of drivers tonight, but they'll live. We've hired three new insiders - Julianne, Michelle, and Trey, who are all doing pretty well. Michelle is SO cute, and I'm halfway thinking about asking her out or something. I don't know, though - the difference in work levels might be an issue (though it's not like this is a real job, so I don't know, whatever). Haven't been working with Jenni very often, which makes me sad, but she came in the other day and gave me a huge hug and was like "Aw, I haven't seen you in forever!" That made me happy.
School's going good so far too. Had my first test last week, in Chemistry; didn't go to class on Thursday, but I'll get it back in a few days, we'll see how it goes. Have my first assignment coming up in Assembly Language, but it's just converting to different binary interpretations (mostly), so that'll be pretty easy. This semester is just a warm-up, anyway.
Not much has happened with Rebecca, beside me getting my creepy bastard on. Sandra made a halfway comment along those lines, and it really hurt. I thought I'd been so careful at every step *not* to be a creepy bastard, just to show some sincere interest. Whatever.
I think Mom and Billy broke up. That sucks, she seemed kind of happy with him. Kinda. Janelle and Mike are still going strong; that's cool.
Befour -- How Do You Do
