Work Tension

It probably started from dreaming about struggling to catch catfish for customers because we'd combined all the catfish/plecos/snails into one huge tank/pond thing and me having to go wading in the pond to try and catch the fish....

But then the tension continued to build when I was actually at work itself (and not asleep dreaming about work) where I had to fully instigate a new way of opening which slows down our opening process by...hours upon hours because the Regional Manager was in the building snooping around and we had to show that we were following the new procedure exactly....even though the RM never actually looked or stepped into the dept at all, instead choosing to focus on other aspects of the store....

So needless to say...I was rather tense and sleep deprived...so its no surprise that I ended up with a headache....
Thankfully it went away with some food, some rest, and a bit of water. :) 

Uncapped: Dr. Pepper

What happens when you place an uncapped bottle of Dr. Pepper in the Microwave you may ask? 

Well: 

Ten seconds in: Nothing is happening, feeling disappointed.
Thirty seconds in: The liquid within the plastic is bubbling.
Two minutes in: Plastic seems to be melting.
Two minutes and ten seconds in: An awful gag inducing stench is starting to emanate from the microwave.
Three minutes in: Cannot breathe due to the smell of rotten prunes and melted plastic, liquid within is splattering the microwave's walls.
Five minutes in: Smoke is beginning to billow out of the microwave. Hazmat suits are required to approach.
Five minutes forty-five seconds in: BA BOOM!!!
Six minutes in: Microwave no longer functions. Plastic bottle is melted, Dr. Pepper has created acid holes in the walls across the room.
Seven minutes in: Desperately searching for ways to explain to roommate why our home has now been declared chemically unsafe to be lived in.

-Inspiration from nearly placing a bottle of Dr. Pepper in the Microwave, posting about it on Facebook, someone telling me to do it, and then extrapolating what could happen if I actually did it. 

-No microwaves, Dr. Pepper, or Homes were harmed in the writing of this story.

If I Ever -CEO

If I ever end up as a CEO for some major company.
Or even on the deciding board of directors or whatever the titles are. 
Where they decide on new policies and procedures and such that have to deal directly with the company and the business we're running.

I'm going to make sure I actually know what I'm talking about before I decide a change needs to be implemented.

You see at my work.
They implemented a new opening procedure.
That's completely idiotic. 

Because they want us to do the cage cleaning tasks LAST out of everything. 
Which....when the cage cleaning can take 2-4 hours to perform.
And the rest of the opening tasks take an two hours or so to do themselves....

You'd think that they'd want to get the 'messy' bit of the opening done first.
So that the cages would be clean when the customers come into the store.
And the customers wouldn't have to be picking their way around the mess we're making.

Yet, instead.
The people in charge of deciding procedures decided that we would be able to multitask.
Cleaning cages AND helping customers at the same time.

Which if you've ever tried multitasking at all....
It doesn't work. 

Tasks get drawn out much longer than they should.
Because you keep getting interrupted.
*shakes head*

I mean. 
It does make a little bit of sense.
To have the rest of the department opened. Animals Fed, Dead Fish pulled, Crickets swept out, etc. So that customers are presented with a clean set up (besides the bedding changes) 

But....
It just doesn't work.
Cage cleaning should be done first.
Because we can more easily step away from feeding animals, than from cleaning cages.
*shakes head*

So that's why...
If I ever get in a position where I can be in charge of coming up with procedures.
I'd actually want to go try it myself.
If I've never done something, how can I accurately judge if a new method will be effectual?

I'd also try the new method in more than one location.
Because I doubt that each store would be exactly the same size or have the same set up if it's been a long running company.
So I'd want to make sure that new procedures would work in all locations for all store sizes.
And if they didn't. I'd make adjustments. 

I'd ask people who actually work on location day in and day out their opinion.
And see where we could improve, or keep things as they are....

But that's just me.
If I get in a position where I can decide procedures.
I'm definitely taking on a more hands on approach. 
That's for sure. 

If I Ever -Side Attractions

If I Ever own land next to a highway.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to set up something random along side it to entertain passerby's, and see if anyone would actually stop to check it out. 

Create a little pullout area for cars to pull off the side of the road. 

And maybe it would start simple.

Like a patch of trees there with a picnic table underneath it.

Would people stop there for lunch?

It could be more creative though.

Like a sign that says: J Q Z You're welcome! 

Or giant snowmen in the winter.

Random statues in a line.

Or set up a full on action scene or something lol.

I'd just have to be careful, that whatever I ended up doing, wouldn't be too distracting....
Because the last thing I want to do is cause a car accident because I distracted the driver. :S 

Still.
it's a fun thought.
Especially if I end up owning land out in the middle of nowhere. No houses, no people. Just random land with a random thing set up by the highway. 

Definitely would be fun. ^^

Hot

Heat and Me don't mix very well.
Bring in the bright glare of the sun into as well...
And the results are a headache apparently. 

Me: *writing happily in a story idea*
Brain: Hey! Hey! Hey!
Me: *half distracted* What?
Brain: LOOK AT THIS STORY IDEA!! *shoves current story idea to the side* 
Me: Uh....*blinks at idea. glances at old idea* But...
Brain: ISN'T AMAZING! You gotta write it now!
Me: But!
Brain: Right now.
Me: ....
Brain: Right now. Like right now.
Me: *exhales* Okay. *pulls out new sheet of paper*
Brain: Yay. :D

Small Irritations

It probably comes from fighting irritation today.
Just little things people do getting on my nerves. 
Which considering little things are getting on my nerves, 
probably means I've been around people too much and I need some 'away' time to be by myself to help me recharge.

If I Ever -Own a Tourist Store

If I Ever open my own store

You know, like one of those gift shops stores. A touristy sort of store? 

I would be the trend setter. 
I would be the one who would introduce something new to sell for each tourist season. 

I would place the new items in the windows to catch the customer's eyes.
And slowly rotate my stock to the back of the store.
I would probably have like a five or six year rotation. 
Where stock would move further away from the front of the store with each year, until I send it into storage for a couple of years.
And then....bring it back to the front.

Because it's not unusual once one store starts selling something like crazy, for other stores to want to get in on the action, until every store on the block is selling the same items. 
*shakes head*

That's why I would be the trend setter.
And then, once the product was inundated everywhere else, I would take it off the shelf until it disappears from other store's shelves, and then start it anew. 

Because it's rather frustrating, to visit one store and know...that you've basically seen everything that is in all the other tourist stores as well. 
You'd think stores would try to keep themselves a bit more unique....

Which is why, if I ever own a touristy store...I'm going to do just that. 
Keep my store unique. 
Keep my inventory different.

So that the tourists can have something new to look at besides the same thing after same thing. 

A Sudden Wake Up

Pretty sure it was tension from waking up suddenly from a rather intense dream last night.
One where I was a) first unsuccessful in counting a till of money for my managers. Mostly because I kept discovering the bills hadn't been organized correctly and I had to start all over constantly and b) because I went from counting money to braving a raging flood that had already destroyed many many homes in the small town I was in to save horses that were in my parents back yard....

It's no wonder that I forced myself to wake up.
It's no surprise that I ended up tense.
And that I ended up with a slight headache behind my right eye. 

*exhales*
At least distracting myself wandering around Meteor Crater helped a lot. :) Yay for distraction! 

Another Life

She hardly looked like I remembered her, the skin color was wrong, the hair style was wrong, she just looked wrong. 
Yet, as she lifted those familiar dark eyes from the ground, a familiar smile on the wrong mouth graced her face. Those were her eyes, that was her smile. And as she paused to take in the view, the view that she once saw everyday. She shifted her weight, standing as she had stood before. I saw her shoulders relax, the tension between her eyes fading like they'd never been.
And she probably had no idea why. 
She moved through the ruins of the home she'd once ruled, a fond smile on her lips. Her hand straying to touch stones she'd loved, to trace symbols she had drawn herself when this place was completed. 
All around, out of all the foreigners I'd seen grace our site, she...she belonged. Her skin may have been the wrong color, but the way she interacted with my people. It was her. Through and through. It was her.

-Inspiration from visiting Native American ruins 

The City

It's a city of secrets, a city of lies.
Where everyone walks around in disguise.
Where no one is truthful and people can hide. 
Plus, you can't ever trust what you see with your eyes.
The foolish will stay, but others are wise.
Getting away from those who can't see the sky. 
For they watch, they hunger, circling like flies.
Might as well call and say your last goodbyes.
For in the city of secrets, this city of lies.
You're lucky to get away from that sinful hive.

-Inspiration from going to Las Vegas

New Place

Looks like the stress of vacation travel got to me.
Headache central from sitting in a car all day, going to a new place, dealing with a ton of people and energies.
Especially when that place is Las Vegas....and there's just an odd feel to the entire valley. A high strung energy that isn't a good type of high energy. 
*exhales* 
Whatever the case.
New city, odd energy, or just sitting in a car all day traveling....
I hope this headache doesn't linger past tonight....

The Amount of Sleep

It came on after a long day at work, where I came home and crashed for like 3 hours to try and get some rest...
Only to wake up with a headache, because I'd probably slept too much, or messed up my sleep cycle in some way, which was odd since I'd gotten enough sleep the night before.
I must have just been woken up at the wrong part of the sleep cycle.
or the fact that my dreams were of me working...
That left me tired. 
Fatigued.
And lacking energy.

Thankfully, after the nap and some writing, I went to bed last night and woke up this morning refreshed. So hopefully things are back in sync in regards to sleep at least.

Not Enough

I couldn't do this. Trying to work a ten hour shift at work after only getting a couple of hours of sleep the night before? It was madness, that's what it was. But how could you blame me for thinking I could? How was I supposed to know that our vending machine would have had every single caffeinated drink that was offered, gone? Leaving me with just the options of water, lemonade, or iced tea. Nor had I expected to be asked to stay later at work either, but with the cold season upon us....we were short staffed. No, I may have thought I could have done this when I first got to work, when I hadn't yet realized how little energy I actually had. But this? I was in full blown zombie mode now. Doing my best to appear normal, while internally I was dying, dying of exhaustion. What I wouldn't give for a nap...a nice long three day nap....

-Inspiration from work.

Old Times

What had happened to them? I let the rest of the band head out to the after party without me. It was moments like this where I had to wonder, if I was the only sane one left. Was I the only one who hadn't let the sudden fame from our music go to our head? Was I the only one who remembered what it was like to hang out in the rundown barn in my backyard and play just for ourselves? Back when we had fun, when we didn't care what the others thought of us or what we played, we just had fun.

Yet, watching the rest of the group leave, sporting their new clothes, new guitars, and new attitudes. I had to wonder. What had happened to us?

-Inspiration from watching Radio Rebel

Midnight Jaunt

Cautiously I glanced around the edge of the garage door. Looking to see if there was anyone around as I slipped out to my car. It was late, and I knew it was not the right time to be making a midnight run anywhere. But...I desperately, desperately needed something to eat, and the box of cereal in my cupboard was hardly the hot food that I desired.
I winced as the engine roared to life, hoping that it was only my imagination that it sounded as loud as a cannon going off.  A quick jaunt down to the local hamburger place and I would be set for the night. I would be able to sleep without the rumbling in my stomach keeping me awake.

-Inspiration from sister's late night excursions.

Changes At Work

It was a slight ache.
That started from me slightly stressing out.
Over being woken up from a nap -to avoid said headache-
To work calling.
To being told that we were switching up how we were going to do things at work.
I.E. The days I've been doing certain tasks are going to be mixed up in the next couple of weeks or so.
And how we're going to need to prep for that....
Tomorrow.
As work was just calling me to ask me a question basically,
And I'll get more info in the morning.
But the unknown has this tendency to make me worry and stress out.
Sooo....thankfully....it was just the faintest of twinges.
It didn't become a full blown anything.
Yet.

Me: Wow the first movie was amazing!
Brain: Yes! Soo many ideas on things to write!
Me: Right! I bet the sequel will have even more ideas!
*watches sequel*
Brain: .....that was...
Me: Mind numbing?
Brain: Exactly.
Me: ....let's not do that again.
Brain: Agreed. Let's go find something more amazing to watch!
Me: *face palm* How about we go write something amazing instead.
Brain: After we find something amazing to watch!

Internal Fuming

It's internal fuming that did it.
Gave me the tension in my shoulders, the ache behind my eye.

It's the "I'm so irritated about this and I'm still trying to understand why so and so thought the way they did when that's the furthest thing from the truth." sort of internal fuming that's hard to get out of your head.
Because you don't fully understand Why.
And you don't understand how.
And you're irritated that the person misunderstood your intentions.

And even though the issue has been resolved already...
My mind is still keeping that irritation on the back burner,
Churning it up in a constant cycle.
Wondering. Wishing. Thinking. Fuming.

Until something else comes along to distract me from that internal fuming and help me relax so I can get rid of yet another stupid headache that decided to make its presence known because I can't not stress about things this week apparently.

A Visit?

BANG BANG BANG
I inhaled, crowbar clenched in my hands from my position behind the closet door as I listened to the men outside banging on my door. Please go away, please go away, please go away. I silently pleaded. I didn't need this sort of drama in my life. Couldn't these people just assume no one was home and leave? Though, if they were burglars, assume someone was home and then leave? I didn't want to deal with intruders by myself, not when I was one fourth the weight and the size of the men standing on my porch. Of all times for them to come by. Why now? WHY NOW?!

-Inspiration from a knock on the door

Double Header

Honestly.
It's probably subconscious stress at this point.

That, and too much sleep/too little sleep probably contributed to the two headaches I ended up with last night and this afternoon.
*shakes head*

So it's probably some 'back burner issue' that I'm not thinking about consciously that's subconsciously stressing me out at this point.

My guess is it may be something to do with possible changes at work.
Hints of 'this might change' or 'this could work' or just the vague "I need to talk to you about something but we haven't had time to sit down and chat because life within the store got crazy hectic with customers/shortstaffed/and other things."

Who knows for sure though.
It just needs to sotp though.

Money

I saw red. "What?" I asked.
"You can get paid for doing this." My manager said calmly, raising an eyebrow.
I shook my head. "No, I can't, they stopped doing that."
The manager frowned. "No, we haven't. Who told you that?"
"It was Leanna, the manager before you." I whispered. "She said that we weren't doing that program anymore, that I couldn't get paid for leaving the store to do store errands."
My manager sat up straight and leaned forward, eyes intent on me. "You mean you haven't been getting paid for all that gas you're using up! That's just..." he spun around in his chair, fingers flying across the keyboard as he pulled up a document. "That's just wrong. See. This is the form you fill out to get recompense for running errands for us in your car." He glanced at me. "That other manager lied to you."

-Inspiration from work.

Need More Sleep

I woke up with a headache again.
*exhales*
Though I don't think this time it was due to sleeping tense in the middle of the night.
More than likely, I'd gone to bed too late last night.
And since yesterday I had expended a bit more energy than usual in being social with people...
Lots of energy, less sleep...probably is the combination that gave me that faint ache behind my left eye connected with the ache in my left shoulder.
Not enough sleep.

Unfortunately medicine didn't help it much while I was at work.
I mean, it would fade away, possibly because I managed to distract myself from how tired I was.
But in lull moments, it would come back. That faint ache of "I need sleep."

So when I got home, I did just that.
I went to bed.
And thankfully, when I woke back up from my nap.
The headache had disappeared!! Woot!!!

Yay for being right the first time in the 'cure' for this particular headache case.

First Meetings

She came into the store, brushing back the strands of hair that had fallen from her messy pony tail as she caught sight of me. "Hey, could you help me?" She asked with a smile.

I could only smile back in return, after all that was why I worked there.

"Sure, what do you need?" I asked her, hoping that I actually could answer her question.

She came closer, holding up a metallic item in her hand. "I need some screws this size, do you have any?" She asked.

I held out my hand for her to place the screw into it and studied it. "I believe so." I said confidently. "This way." A moment of searching down the aisle and I'd found the size she was looking for. "Is that all I can help you with?" I asked her.

She shot me another grateful smile, her eyes sparkling. "Yes, that's great. Now I can go fix the lock." She said. "Thanks."

I blinked watching her as she walked away. Fix a lock?

-Inspiration from work

Tension

I think I slept tense last night.
As I woke up with an ache behind my eyes that wasn't there when I went to bed.
Why I slept tense, who knows.
But it didn't help that it was Fast Sunday today at church.
Which meant....not eating food.
And while the headache faded for a bit thanks to some Excedrin before Church,
It came back, like it usually does on Fast Sundays. Because socializing and having to go with lower energy levels...never is a good combination for me.
Thankfully some rest and distraction and real food was able to solve the problem pretty quickly. :)

Me: I need to be responsible.

Brain: But we should write!

Me: Job first.

Brain: Write Please.

Me: Need to live.

Brain: Fine...but can we think about writing at work.

Me: ....sure....

Brain: Yay!!

Writing Woes

A slight ache behind the eyes.

From focusing.

Too much intensive thinking.

Tensing of shoulders.

Trying to decide.

How best to put the words and scenes in my mind.

Down on paper.

Yet the ache grows stronger.

Behind my eyes.

Because the words do not come.

I cannot focus.

So I leave to go and do.

and hope. Hope that the words will come when I get back.

Awake Yet?

The solid thud of the phone landing on my head jerked me awake when the continuous ringing of it's tone had not. I groaned, blinking my eyes blearily as fumbled to hit the button to pick up the phone. "Lo?" I mumbled, rubbing at my head as I tried to figure out where I was.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you for forty minutes! Where are you?" Came the snappy reply.
"I'm...." I glanced around again, slowly piecing together the scene. "I'm in the office," I exhaled, standing as I turned for the door. If he was calling at this time that meant. "Hold on, I'll come unlock the doors."
"Finally! You do know it's freezing out here right? What took you so long to answer the phone?"
"I didn't hear it." I said truthfully as I plodded down the stairs to the door.
He clicked his phone shut raising an eyebrow as I let him in.  "Did you actually fall asleep?"
I fought back a yawn and failed. "If I say No...."
"I won't believe you. How long have you been here!"
I locked the doors again, leading him back upstairs. "Uh...."
"Too long if you can't remember."

-Inspiration from ringing phones and a customer comment

Tensed Again

My social battery died early today. To the point where I was pretty sure if anyone talked to me I would snap at them. So I was grateful I had a shorter shift today so I could leave and go hide in my room, take a nap and try to recharge.
However, recharging came with the usual issue of I ended up sleeping tense, and so I woke up with a slight headache. That thankfully went away with some real food and liquids today. Compared to the last couple of days. This one was easy to deal with. Though not to self, less naps when tense. It only makes me tenser.

A Continuation

The headache was still there this morning.
But thankfully, I was able to work it into almost nonexistence at work....
Until I got a phone call....
That was circular in nature, where a guy kept trying to decide if he should give up his cat or not for the simple reason that the cat was peeing on the floor just outside the litterbox and he wanted her to stop doing that....but wasn't willing to try any of the suggestions I was offering him to potentially fix the problem. *exhales*
The conversation just went in circles of me repeating the same thing and him repeating the same thing for 12 minutes until the guy finally decided he could hang up.

And I was just...irritated. Because this guy kept wanting to take the cat to the pound, and after every thing I suggested he was like "So I should just take her to the pound? I dunno, I still love her you know, I don't know..."

It was like everything I said translated in his head to "Oh, so she needs to go to the pound." When I wasn't saying that at all.

And my irritation at having to deal with that situation...set the embers of my headache roaring back into full force. To the point where I felt physically nauseous. *exhales*

Thankfully, a trip to Wendy's for food and a Dr. Pepper helped to make that headache fade enough for me to get home where I could further relax.

It's still lurking off an on, but hopefully by tomorrow....this headache is gone.

Internal Fuming

Headaches are the worst. ...Will explain in more depth later.

It's now later.

It probably began with the odd dream I had.
As occasionally I have dreams about people who have really specific background life stories that make the person seem super real. Like I could have run into them on the street real.
And in this dream, it was about a girl named grace. Who had run away from a camping trip, intending to hitchhike to Vermond (somewhere in the NorthEastern U.S.) but was found two years later, trying to attempt suicide, but then there was this life jump forward where she's suddenly 55 and has spent her entire life hitchhiking around the states, meeting a ton of different people and speaking at public events. To which she'd met two nice guys just before coming to the event she was now speaking at, and one of those guys had two children, one of whom was named Grace, so she'd basically just met herself......but throughout this entire spiel...there was like this undercurrent of she was a hitchhiking serial killer and had killed all these people she'd encountered. (Because I dream weird things and probably have watched too many crime shows.)
Which was the state of mind that I woke up in. Wondering why in the world I was dream something like that. :S

So my mind was in a haze with that sort of thing when I went into work....where I managed to switch gears and go into 'writing mode' where I work on story concepts while I'm tasking.

Until....I had to deal with a trialsome pair of customers who were trying to return a dog class that they hadn't purchased at our store, to our store (which they can't do) and after going the extra mile for them found out the class they'd purchased in the other store had been purchased back in OCTOBER. Which was why they couldn't return it in the first place because we only have a 60 day return policy on those. And they were being rather...entitled trying to blame us for their mistake in not going to the class in the first place. *shakes head*
So the afterwards I was fuming on that conversation in my head, which probably tensed me up as the headache happened soon after that....

And didn't leave.
Sleep, Food, Meds, Shower, Heatpack? All didn't help.
*head desk*