HOW MANY TIMES CAN I SAY "TONE CHIMES" IN ONE POST?

Pey is a member of her school's tone chimes group. Have you ever heard of tone chimes? I hadn't until Pey made the band, so to speak. When I was in elementary school, we had handbells. Those still exist, of course, but apparently the big thing now is the tone chimes.

A couple of weeks ago, the choir and tone chimes groups from Pey's elementary school held an outdoor concert in Old Town Spring. It was the first time I got to see Pey in action, and it was very cool. J (stepmom) videotaped it and sent me the footage. Since I figure I'm not the only one who's never seen tone chimes in action before, I thought I'd post the video. You can see it here.

(Pey's the dark-haired beauty just to the left of the director. I may be a little proud.)

I'm still in awe of the fact that my 10-year-old can read music. In my mind, she's still six ... which, coincidentally, is the number of times I said "tone chimes" in this post. Seven if you count the title. :)

PLEY'S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BAKING DAY

Yesterday I hosted our family's 2nd annual Baking Day. Basically, my sisters and stepmom (J) come over and we all use my stove, Kitchenaid mixer, and two ovens to make Christmas goodies to share. It's always fun and even if things don't turn out perfectly, we have a good time visiting and laughing.

Last year's Baking Day was more successful than this year's. My Puppy Chow was clumpy, I burned the crust on the pumpkin gooey butter cake, J's lemon bars didn't taste lemony, and Tnk's almond-coconut brittle never did set. Nothing tasted bad, but we were pretty disappointed in the goodies. I guess we were having too much fun visiting to care much about the actual baking. (The sibs and J don't know it yet, but I'm scheduling another Baking Day for two weeks hence. We're going to get it right this time!)

Below is a short video from Baking Day. I'd bought a Santa apron and mitt from Kohl's a couple of weeks ago and wore them yesterday, and J thought they were cute so she videotaped me. EMTsis is the one who's "wired" - she went in for an exam yesterday, and her blood pressure was through the roof, so her doctor put her on a heart monitor for a day. She says she's not worried, so we shouldn't be. Yeah, we'll call that Plan B.

Anyway, you can see the quick video clip here.

Tnk, by the way, is the one with her back to the camera, washing dishes. You can also see some of my kitchen and my cool KitchenAid mixer, plus you can get a quickie glimpse of our Christmas tree in the background. The video isn't very long, but I'm happy J took it.

Update: Next Baking Day (Baking Day, Part Deux) has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 19th. Hope I don't burn anything this time!

JEN'S OUT

I think I'm becoming a little too familiar with the process of firing employees. I let Jen go today. I did it over the phone and told her that contractual issues, overstaffing, etc., was the main reason, but that's actually not true.

What is true is that she didn't really care about her job or doing it well. She has misbalanced the till twice - since the meeting where I asked her specifically if she knew how to do it correctly - and she deliberately began closing procedures 45 minutes early last night. Forty-five minutes! All employees were told rather bluntly not to even begin balancing the till until the store closed, and not a minute sooner. Yet Jen decided to do things her own way and bail out early.

Gary came in last night and caught her, which is why she got snippy with him.

He and I debated for hours today over whether we should write her up or let her go. In the end, we decided it was best to cut her loose, as she obviously does not care what management thinks, nor does she want to do her job well. Jen is still under her initial 30-day contract, which she signed, and which states that we can terminate her within that time frame with no prior warning nor reason. She gave us lots of "reason," but I left it at "contractual issues" when I spoke with her.

Okay, so now we're down to six employees:

Gary, who is never, ever there anymore
Me, who is always, always there
Pho, the assistant manager, who I think will step it up a bit now that her friend Jen was let go
Watson, who works so hard it's a shame we can't pay him more
Zac, who is okay, although I had to tell him today to stay off the Internet when the store is busy
Will, the newbie, who is getting rave reviews from everyone he works with

I think we're good, but I may start interviewing again soon. I hate that almost as much as I hate firing people. Sigh.

FINALLY, AN ACCOMPLISHMENT

I'm not used to actually accomplishing goals that I set for myself, but this is one I'm proud of. No, I didn't balance that national budget, establish world peace, or write the Great American Novel. But I did set a small goal for myself, and dang it, I reached it.

I've also dropped 12 pounds this year - and kept it off. That's a biggie for me. Two and a half more pounds and I won't weigh enough to donate blood, lol.

This weekend's goal is setting up the Christmas decorations. Before we can do that, however, the living room has to be dusted and vacuumed, and lots of furniture has to be rearranged. It's hard to find the motivation to do all that.

On the up side, hubby bought the new Josh Groban Christmas CD for me while he was in California last week. I did a little happy dance when I saw that. Maybe if I put it on and turn the speakers up really loud, I'll find that Christmas motivation.

And then I'll be proud of yet another accomplishment. Go me!

AND THEN THERE YA GO

Wow, 30 consecutive days of blog posts. Whodathunk I could do it? Hopefully I'll be able to continue the trend.

I'm sitting here typing through closed eyelids because I'm exhausted and was asleep on the couch until three minutes ago. It's been a long, hard week at work, and I'm glad it's over.

Tomorrow Pey has a choir performance in Old Town Spring. I'm looking forward to hearing some good Christmas music. Then tomorrow night we're going to hubby's sis's house to watch OU vs. MU (go Mizzou!) while the kids play Halo 3 on their XBox 360.

Ooo, big news - I'm about to fire yet another employee. I haven't told you guys about her yet, I don't think. I'll call her Jen. She's a friend of Pho's and is one lazy girl. She has directly disobeyed more than one instruction she's been given, and tonight she snapped at Gary! I can't believe someone would act snippy to the owner of their company. Not exactly good job habits for someone who's only been at the store a few weeks.

After tomorrow, she's out. She (and everyone else) was warned that layoffs were possible, particularly if someone wasn't giving 100 percent. She was barely giving 50. I'm not sorry to see her go. Buh-bye, Jen.

Now I'm off to find one of those cool "I did it!" tags for this page. See ya next year, NaBloPoMo.

ONE MORE DAY UNTIL DH GETS HOME

The kids and I can't wait to see him. It's only been five days, but it feels like it's been a year since he left. We've only spoken on the phone maybe five times, and darn it, I miss my husband.

Just finished watching Rachael Ray, which I DVR every day. I fell asleep at some point, and the show started over. It was weird to wake up and think, "Hey, didn't I just see this?" I am thankful that I woke up, though, because I almost missed posting today - and since it's the second-to-last day of NaBloPoMo, it would really suck to goober it up now.

That said, however, I'm doing the head-bobbing thing that people do when they're extremely tired. Guess I'll toddle off to bed now - the quicker I get to sleep, the quicker hubby will get home!

NOT A BAD DAY

Today was much better than yesterday. First of all, I felt better. I've still got some congestion that's causing me to clear my throat a lot, but overall I'm much healthier than I was last week or even yesterday.

Second of all, we hit our sales goal at 4:38 this afternoon. The store's open until 8:00, so we still have time to make even more money today. Woohoo!

Third, hubby called from California this morning and sounded happy. It was so good to hear his voice.

Fourth, I put on a crockpot full of spaghetti and sauce this morning when I left for work, so when I got home, dinner was waiting. Better than sex. Okay, almost.

Fifth, I just got out of a hot bath. With the chilly weather we've been having, I love me a hot bath. Again, better than sex. Okay, almost.

Watson came in today, even though it was his day off. He picked up the keys to the warehouse, then went over there in his own car and loaded up all the Christmas trees that we still have stored. He brought them back to the store and apologized a bunch of times for his mistake yesterday. AND - he brought me lunch from Boston Market. Seriously, y'all, he is such a great kid. It's a shame that the feeling of remorse is lost on some people (I'm not naming names, but her initials are "PHO.")

Willie is working the closing shift tonight. I don't think I've introduced him yet - he's a 17-year-old high school student and Eagle Scout, and a good worker, to boot. He organizes the store and keeps it looking good, but also takes care of our customers. He's been with us three weeks, I think, and so far I'm impressed.

That's it for now. Have a good night!

WORK CRAP

Just got home from a rather frustrating evening (yes, evening) at work. I became very nauseated around noon today and had to leave work to go home and rest for a few hours. I've never taken off from the store for being ill, so the boss checked on me all afternoon. It was nice to be missed, but his phone calls and text messages woke me up three times! Grrr.

I started feeling a little better this evening, so I trekked back to the store around 6:00. We had an employee meeting scheduled for 7:30, so I figured I could catch up a little before everyone got there. What a mess I was greeted with...

While I was out today, Watson was working. A lady came in and claimed that the Christmas tree we had put up and decorated at the front of the store was hers, and that she wanted to go ahead and take it back. Watson couldn't find its identifying barcode (I had put it on the box, which was next to the tree), so he agreed to give the tree to the lady. Then she asks, "Does this thing come apart easily?" Okaaaay, if it really WAS her tree, wouldn't she know that?

It was not her tree. Had he called me when she came in, this whole mess could have been avoided. Now we owe another consignor for a tree that we didn't actually sell.

But wait, it gets better.

We've got a very bitchy customer whom I'll call "DB." DB has been the bane of our existence for months now - it all started when she had our delivery guys pick up her stuff on our old truck, including some "expensive artwork" (or so she claims) - then she immediately proceeded to complain about every.single.aspect of our business. She couldn't believe we sold her paintings for "just" a hundred dollars because she knew they were worth thousands. Couple of side notes here: (1) Our store has the name "Garage Sale" in it. Puhleeze, who'd send "expensive" paintings here? (2) She says she had an art dealer ready to purchase those paintings from her, but she decided to consign them with us instead. Suuuure. (3) I did a lot of research on those paintings, and couldn't find a single thing about the artist. Curious.

Anyway, one of the items DB had us pick up was an antique Singer treadle sewing machine. And let me tell you, it's a beauty - perfect working condition; beautiful case; worth well over $200. We had it stored in our warehouse, as is typical for new arrivals. But then the debacle over the stupid paintings happened, and DB said she wanted her sewing machine back. Happy to be getting rid of her, we told her that would be no problem. We had the guys bring the sewing machine into the store, and I put a large SOLD sign on it in hopes that that would keep customers from asking about it.

Although it's been a few weeks, DB has not picked up the machine yet. Tonight, while neither Gary nor I (the two decision-makers) were present, a woman came into the store. She ignored the Sold sign and asked Pho (a 17-year-old) how much the sewing machine was worth. I'll be damned if Pho didn't tell her "$45." Then she sold it to her. Oh my God, when I heard that, my heart fell into my stomach, and I thought I might throw up again. I ranted to Pho over and over, and she kept making excuses. I am beyond pissed, and so was Gary when I called him to let him know.

You just know that after all these weeks of silence, DB is probably going to call tomorrow. And guess who has to deal with her?

Shit.

Anyway, there's more.

Gary took it upon himself to list two items on eBay over the holiday weekend. He used the store's account, but really, it's mine. I'm the one who has built up the 100% positive feedback, and I'm the one who does all the picture-taking, communicating, shipping, etc.

This time, he did two listings with two Buy It Now options. Of course, they both sold on Saturday. But did I know anything about this? Nope. He didn't mention a thing until late yesterday, when he said, "Oh yeah, I sold some stuff on eBay and I need to you ship it."

Two problems: (1) One of the winners paid $90 for overnight weekend shipping. He has been leaving messages that Gary has not been answering, and he is pissed. (2) The other winner is out of the country, which means that I am going to have to physically take time to go to UPS and fill out fucking customs forms.

I let Gary have it. I told him that if he wanted to do eBay, he had to do it all himself. He's risking our feedback rating and costing us money - I had to refund the overnight guy, and the overseas person already paid shipping, but it's not enough to cover shipping costs, plus packaging materials, plus my time and gas to take the package to UPS.

Gary replied with something to the effect of us needing to get back into eBay because we need the sales, blah blah blah. I don't disagree, but I'm still pissed at the way this was handled. I already wear so many hats at the store that there's just no way I can focus on eBay right now.

Gack, I need a vacation.

After all these things, we held the employee meeting. I tried to be nice, basically let the employees have it - they canNOT leave open boxes lying around; they canNOT leave the store a damn mess for ME to clean up every morning; and they need to stay busy and stay off the Internet; among other things. I finished up by letting them know that layoffs are very possible if sales don't pick up, and I think that may have gotten their attention. Sadly, I was not kidding.

Sorry for the cursing, and thanks for reading this far. I'm off to take some Excedrin and a hot bath. G'nite.

WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?

Okay, my last few posts have not received any comments, and I'm feeling very lonely over here. Am I not interesting anymore?

Granted, I'm not the most frequent commentator, but I do try. Katie, I know I've been remiss with commenting on your blog, but rest assured that I do read it. Every single day.

I also check the following every day:

Pez
Fish
Robin
Kimmer
Beth
Shelly
Doxie (where HAVE you been?!?)
Purl (you KILL me, girl)
Houston Dynamo (okay, not every day, but frequently)

...and a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head, but I definitely check them.

If anyone wants me to check out their blog, please post a link. In the COMMENTS section. That way I won't have to look at a depressing little goose egg every day.

Pity party over. :)

JUST SIX MORE POSTS...

...including this one, until NaBloPoMo is over. In a way, I'm sad to see it go - I've been very consistent with blogging this month, and even though sometimes it's a pain to have to sit down and think and type, I always appreciate it when I'm done.

Tomorrow means back to work for me after an almost-five-day break. Wednesday I only worked until 10:00ish, and Friday I was only there until 9:45. I went to the store this morning with Kane because Gary has said he'd pay him to help clean up the store on weekends. I guess I'm a freebie, as I didn't sign in nor do I expect to be paid for today. But I did a lot of work, which I hope does not go unnoticed.

I think being off work for several days really makes you take stock of how important you are to your job, and how important your job is to you. I still enjoy working at the store, but honestly it's not as much fun as it used to be. The whole dynamic has changed: I'm used to having Gary around to help out and to bounce ideas off of, but these days he's so entrenched in his new job that he's hardly ever there anymore. It makes the days go by more slowly, unless the store is crazy-busy. But even though the crazy-busy days do fly by, they're also much more stressful as I'm having to put out all the proverbial fires by myself.

The one bright spot is that Watson works on Mondays, and he's usually in the store by 11:45. That frees me up a little to work on other things or just run out to grab lunch. He's also there Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but on those days he's usually helping with pickups and deliveries with our main delivery guy. I may curtail that in the near future - the main delivery guy relies too much on Watson's company, in my opinion - but for now I know it's easier to move heavy items when you have two people instead of one person and a dolly, so I'll let it go.

I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow. It's really difficult to go back to work after a nice long break. But as usual, I'll soldier on and get the job done. Much like I've done with NaBloPoMo, I guess. :)

GO TIGERS!

In a heartstopping game, Mizzou just showed KU who was boss. I'm a diehard Longhorn fan, but the in-laws went to University of Missouri. Since Texas ate it the other day against the Aggies, we rooted for MU tonight. Never enjoyed a non-UT game quite so much.

On the sickness front, I seem to be improving a bit, but am still not 100%. And now Ry is complaining of a sore throat. Poor kiddo. I hate it when any of us are sick, especially the kids.

Not much else going on. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch today (at Kane's request, which is typical). The weather has been rainy and very cold, so we were all dressed appropriately for the frigid temps inside the restaurant. It's always chilly in there.

Earlier today we watched Spiderman 3. It was okay. Right now Kane and hubby are watching Live Free or Die Hard. I was going to watch it with them, but I think I'll head upstairs and go to bed instead.

Being tired seems to be my thing lately. Hopefully as I get healthier, I'll also get more awake. I know stopping the Nyquil dosages will help, too, so tonight I'm going to try to get to sleep without it. Last night I took it and slept until nearly 11:00 this morning - sounds cozy, but I hate giving up half my day like that.

For now, once again, good night. :)

LONG DAY

Man, I just can't seem to shake this head cold. I took some Nyquil a few minutes ago, so this post will be pretty short. I remember a comedian once said:

"Nyquil - the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, how-the-hell-did-I-end-up-on-the-kitchen-floor medicine."

He wasn't kidding. I feel myself fading already.

Kohl's was crazy-busy this morning, but it was kind of fun to go anyway. Fun in a circus-y kind of way, but I'm glad I went. I got a few small things, so I feel good about my Christmas shopping head start.

My morning went thusly:

2:50 - alarm went off
2:59 - Pley got up
3:15 - called sis to make sure she was awake (she was)
3:25 - made coffee in desperate attempt to stay awake
3:30 - left house and drove to Kohl's
3:40 - stood in line for 20 minutes just to get into the store - it was COLD out there
4:00 - doors opened
4:07 - I was finished shopping and got in line to check out
4:17 - finally made it to the register
4:20 - took bags to car and went back inside to help sis
5:02 - sis finishes shopping and we get in line, which at this point is all the way to the back of the store
5:36 - get checked out and walk to car
5:56 - go to Denny's for coffee
6:50 - leave Denny's and head to my store
6:59 - get to store and go ahead and open for the day
8:00 - Gary arrives and is very happy to see that the store is already open
8:01 - Gary and I realize we both have the Honkin' Tribunus* and really should be resting

Although I was on the schedule to work until 11:00, Gary sprung me early so I was home by 10:00. We spent the day back at hubby's parents' house, eating leftovers and watching football. UT lost to the Aggies, sadly. It was a dark football day in the Pley household.

Okay, now I'm really fading. Hopefully with the Nyquil's help I'll be able to snooze soundly tonight. I am so very tired of being ill.

*Honkin' Tribunus (n.) - a former somewhat crass co-worker named any sickness (head cold, allergies, whatever) the Honkin' Tribunus. "Aw man, you sound like you've got the Honkin' Tribunus. Better get yourself some Tylenol!" Technical definition of Honkin' Tribunus: When your belly button unravels and your asshole falls off. Lovely. I do not know where he got that from.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY

We spent the day at my in-laws, eating good food and watching lots of TV. We saw the original Rear Window, the network version of The Incredibles, and a little bit of The Office before heading home for the night. We also watched a bit of the Dallas vs. NYJ game, but Dallas was romping the Jets so we got bored and changed the channel.

I did take a few minutes this morning to meet my siblings at Black Eyed Pea, where they were having Thanksgiving lunch. It was nice to visit with Tree again, as I hardly ever get to see him anymore now that he's a big cop in H-town. Every time I look at him, I'm amazed at the man he's become. In my eyes, he'll always be four.

Mom would have been proud.

The pumpkin gooey butter cake was a smashing success. I couldn't taste it very well, as my sinuses and sense of smell and taste are wonky right now, but I can honestly say that the, um, texture was good. LOL. The family loved it, which is more important anyway.

EMTsis and I are going to meet at Kohl's at 4:00 a.m., which is just over five hours from now. I'd better get to bed ASAP, as I have to go to work after shopping. Yikes. So, good night!

THANKSGIVING EVE

Today was a pretty busy day for me. I had to work this morning, then afterwards I went to the grocery store (along with eleventy-thousand others who had the same idea), then I came home and got ready to make the food I'd promised to bring to my in-law's house tomorrow.

Only I'm still sick, so when I got home all I wanted to do was sleep. I hit the sofa like a ton of bricks and slept for hours. The kids graciously allowed me to rest, for which I'm thankful.

I didn't make it into the kitchen until around 5:30 this evening. Pey helped me make a Thanksgiving salad with pumpkin pie-spiced pecans (recipe courtesy of All You magazine), Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, and homemade cranberry applesauce. The salad included my first stab at making my own vinaigrette dressing, and if I do say so myself, it's pretty darn good.

I am dying to try the pumpkin gooey butter cake. With a name like that, you know it's got to be good! That, and the recipe calls for - among other things - two sticks of butter and an entire box of powdered sugar.

Dying, I tell you. I'll let y'all know how it all turns out.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

20 DAYS INTO NaBloPoMo

How's the posting going? Has anyone else experienced the frantic "OMG it's 11:30 and I forgot to post today!" thing that I've had (twice)? Right now it's only 7:30 here, but with the end of Daylight Savings Time making it dark so early, I think I may be more psychologically tired than actually tired. Does that make sense?

Work today was busy but overall good. We got a smokin' 60" widescreen TV in the store today, and if we can sell that sucker, we'll be sitting pretty. The store is overcrowded with furnishings, but I'm sure we'll make room by the weekend.

The kids are now officially out of school until next Monday. It doesn't feel like much of a vacation to me, unfortunately, as I've got to work part-time tomorrow and Friday. But I'm looking forward to turkey day, and having that day off is going to be heavenly for me.

Right now, it's Nyquil (because I can) and beddie bye, I think. Could I beee any more boring? Bleh.

TODAY WENT BY PRETTY QUICKLY

I'm still sick, but the sore throat has abated somewhat. I now have a pretty good headache working, and I'm congested. My nose isn't really running, but my voice is husky so I know there's mucus in there somewhere.

Now that you're thoroughly disgusted, allow me to change the subject.

Work went pretty well today. I spent most of the morning cleaning instead of entering new products, and when Watson got there, he pitched in, too. The store looks so much better now. All we need is for the customers to stop wrecking the place. I'm not holding my breath.

Gary came in for about 10 minutes this afternoon. It really sucks that he's not there much anymore. What sucks even more is how much he hates not being there. Between doing his other job and worrying about the store, I don't think he's sleeping much. He sure does look tired. I hope the job situation evens itself out soon - Gary's well on his way to burnout, and I don't want him to sell the store, darnit!

Adding insult to injury - today's sales were low, too. After a pretty good run last week, we're hurting right now. And with the store being closed for turkey day, it's not looking good.

In happier news, we (the fams and I) just got back from Buffalo Wild Wings, where we used a "get 6 wings free" coupon. Bonus - we got another coupon on our bill! :) We really enjoy going there, although it is always SO cold that we take jackets with us even in the summer. Tonight I forgot mine, but Kane loaned me his high school-insignia'd hoodie. How cool did I look? Oh, let's not go there.

The day did go by quickly, and that's okay. My head is still hurting and I've got to get to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I BE ILLIN'

Still sick with whatever brought me down yesterday. I thought I was coming down with a cold, as an achy throat always precedes a runny nose (for me, anyway). However, the sore throat usually lasts only about a day, and now I'm pushing the 48-hour mark. I really hope it's not strep or the flu. I've got a hot date with turkey and stuffing on Thursday, and I want to enjoy it!

Last night I took Nyquil to alleviate my pain, and I slept very well all night. Then I slept very well off and on all day today, too. Nyquil means business, y'all.

Kane had a great time at the military ball last night. He forgot to have pictures made, though, so his dad and I are disappointed about that. We did take a couple before he left, so those will have to do. Here's one:















Handsome devil, ain't he?

DH uploaded all the pics from our digital camera tonight. I've been remiss, so there are months and months worth of photos on the desktop now. Just for grins, here's one more for your enjoyment:














Hubby does not like this picture, but I think he's cute. It had been a long day, and he was tired. But it was Pey's birthday so he had to put on a happy face for all our guests. What a trooper. Love you, hubby.

And now, I'm off to bed because I'm tired and tomorrow is Monday. I could not be happier that this week is a short one. People who are illin' shouldn't have to face Mondays. I'm just saying.

p.s. - Pez, Texas has the same Sudafed laws. You can buy the crappy Sudafed without the good stuff in it without "permission," but it does not work. Even pharmacists agree with me on that point.

I AM SICK

My throat is burning like crazy, which probably means I'm about to come down with a cold. Just in time for Thanksgiving - woohoo.

At least this week's work schedule should be fairly light. I have to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, but the latter two are going to be short days. The high schoolers who work at the store will be able to come in earlier than usual, which means I'll be sprung by lunchtime. Or at least, I should be.

Yesterday's workday was the busiest I've ever had. Ever. I hardly had a chance to breathe, much less sit down for a few minutes. I estimate that the store had maybe three minutes without customers the whole day. Typical days I sometimes have up to half an hour with no one in the store.

I worked 8 hours and 45 minutes yesterday during the day, then went back to work at 7:00 and worked until 8:15 (since Jay is off the schedule, we had no one to close up shop last night). I accidentally locked my keys in the car and had to call hubby to come unlock the Saturn. I'm glad we live so close to the store.

In other news, Kane is going to the ROTC military ball tonight. It's required for all cadets, and he's kind of excited, I think. I hope he has a good time. I also hope I'm awake when he calls us to come pick him up, but I'm so tired right now that that's becoming doubtful.

I hate being sick. Where's that Sudafed?

BYE BYE, JAY

Late yesterday afternoon, I got a phone call from Jay. He said that he'd just found out he was going to have to go out of town to a competition with the school choir, and would be gone all day Friday and Saturday. (A brief aside: There is NO way he "just" found out, as competition field trips - particularly out of town ones - require parent permission, practice, and other things that start with P, I'm sure.)

Coincidentally, Jay's only days on the work schedule this week were - you guessed it - Friday and Saturday.

Because I'd spent part of the morning making an updated list (at Gary's request) of Jay's problems on the job, I was not shocked when he called in saying he wouldn't be able to work. Honestly, we'd already figured that Jay's priorities lie elsewhere. Getting the call was just the impetus I needed to cut him off.

I called him back about 10 minutes after his phone call to me.

I was nice, and told him that it seemed he was really too busy with school activities to hold down a job. And that since we heavily depend on every one of our employees to be at work when they're scheduled to be, I didn't feel that this was a good fit for him right now. I said we would not be renewing his contract, and that he could come in to pick up his final paycheck a week from Monday.

Oh, did I mention that he didn't answer his phone? Yes indeedy, I left the whole "you're fired" thing on his voicemail.

I think they're making room in etiquette hell for me at this very moment...

JUST REMEMBERED THAT I FORGOT

My leather jacket is at work, hanging up behind the front desk. Oh man, they'd better not sell it. As soon as I finish this post, I've got an errand to run.

Work went pretty well today. An absolute ton of people came in, and lots of them actually bought stuff. I love it when that happens.

The day started off rough, though. Jeff, our main delivery/pickup driver, came in and immediately started making excuses about why he needs to leave a little early today. He's 26 and taking classes at the local community college - he goes to school two days a week; works three - yet this is the second time in as many weeks that he's had to leave work in order to go do something at the school. Today's reason was "I have to register for next semester at 5:30 tonight." I asked why he didn't do that yesterday, or heck, even online, and he said he couldn't. I asked why he couldn't have registered before coming to work (he starts at 9:00 - or is supposed to, but that's another story), and he again said he couldn't.

I have attended this same school before, and there is no way that they force registration on 10,000-plus students at a single time on a single day. No way. Jeff stammered something about being on academic probation and needing signatures (why he couldn't get these yesterday is beyond me) and so on and so forth. I told him it was a huge inconvenience for me to reschedule deliveries at the last minute, but that I'd try - THIS time. From now on, though, he's got to take care of school things on school days. I'm tired of his job taking a back seat, especially since he has ample opportunity to take care of things on his days off.

At first I was concerned about ticking him off, as he really is a good delivery guy and everyone likes him. Then I remembered all the times he's come in late because he had to go to school for something, or to the Workforce Commission for something else, and all the times I've gotten calls from some job-verification organization that checks up on Jeff to ensure he's working and is thus eligible for his benefits. I figure that if he bails on me, the job place will have something to say about those benefits - and being hit in the pocketbook hurts more than being hit in the face.

For now, I feel secure in having called him out. I know, I know. I'm manager of the place, and as such, shouldn't worry about being stricter with my employees. I admit I'm a people-pleaser, though, and that makes me vulnerable to the stupid "what if they get mad at me?" thoughts. I really need to learn to suck it up.

Tomorrow I have to work during the day, then go home around 4:00, then go back and work the last hour and do closing. Wanna know why? Because Jay called in today and said he "just" found out he has to go with the school choir to Brenham tomorrow and Saturday. What do you know, those just happen to be the same two days he's on the work schedule.

Tomorrow: How I fired Jay. (Oh yes, I did.) Stay tuned!