www.calapitter.net

I really shouldn't be writing anything right now because I am so tired and exhausted and stupid; I know it'll all just come out wrong and disjointed. This week is going to kill me (and I've already decided not to exercise anymore this week because of my injured back and knees), but I don't guess that matters much because of a few things that are keeping me alive. I will list them, because lists are easy:

1.) Carol Casey calling today and offering me a single. With a suite bath.
2.) The knowledge that my wonderful, beautiful boyfriend will be here, holding my hand, in less than 48 hours.
3.) My 7:30 - 10:30 shift at Bath & Body Works getting cancelled because of lack of sales. ("Because it's 100 freakin degrees outside and nobody's shoppin'!" -Sara)
4.) Making mix CDs called "I order you!", so named after the best quote written on the outside of an envelope. ("I will not be so kind as to except any more letters! You are waisting your money on mail!")
5.) Earning $100 a day.
6.) Going to bed at 10:55 PM.

After seeing Bewitched with my mom, we went to the grocery store, where I bought some Garnier Fructis. You know you're in the wrong part of the country when you get a Nascar bandana/checkered flag with your shampoo.

I work at the electricity company called AmerenUE, so when our lights flicker, you know something has gone wrong. The lights flickered twice yesterday afternoon around 3:15, and when Cindy left at 3:30, someone stopped her and mentioned that there was a fire somewhere to the south of our building so she might have to leave the city a different way. I kind of thought, "Ah, well, I don't leave for an hour so it'll be cleared up by then." I was wrong.

Soon, a woman came rushing past, shouting "Evacuate the building! Evacuate the building!". Despite all my high school experiences with fire alarms (ignoring them) and college dorms with pulled alarms, I figured this might be something important, so I grabbed my purse and left. Once outside, I realized that my phone was still on my desk, but they weren't letting anyone back inside. Also once outside, I started hearing the cracking, rolling explosions, but I didn't immediately recognize them as such. Marlene commented, "Wow. That's either really big trucks running over bumps in the road or those are huge explosions." Looking up to see helicopters hovering, I decided to borrow someone's phone to call a parent to inform them that no, I hadn't burned up in the flames yet.

Rumors started to spread: "Oh, the paint factory has finally blown!" "Construction site nearby hit a gas line." "There's a crematorium and I'm sure they keep lots of chemicals there.." But I think it was Sandi (supervisor) who said that it was the nearby (like less than 1000 yards away) Praxair plant--they distribute compressed gases. Someone commented that the flames and explosions were about 300-400 feet high. I can't confirm that, since I stayed on the north side of the building (sheltered from flying gas cannisters, as it were, since they were being catapulted like half a block) and didn't dare witness in person these huge flames.

After a while, Sandi told me that they weren't going to open the building back up by 4:30 so I might as well just go home. I kind of hesitated because I wanted my phone, but ended up just leaving. I don't know my way around the city very well but fortunately for me, had an atlas in my car, even if the "detail" view of St. Louis does not help a lot. Somehow I managed to get home (18th to Market to 64 West to Kingshighway to Gravois to Germania to 55 North to Loughborough to 55 South, finally), where I sat down and had my mom hug me out of worry (she had gone downtown to try to come get me; she thought that since I didn't have my phone, I didn't have my purse; plus it's every mother's duty to rescue their children from flaming buildings).

We talked a little bit and then went to the Macaroni Grill for dinner (mmm lasagna), and then went to Illinois for some planet-gazing. Apparently Venus and Mercury were supposed to be the smallest degree of separation in 65 years, so we headed out with the telescope to look. Starry Night Backyard also indicated that Saturn would be making up a third point in the planetary triangle, but we couldn't see it even with the telescope.

After that, we went home and hung out with Ty, who had been alone in the house and thought he had heard someone opening doors. We made him eat some cereal and I gave him a math problem involving a tiny wheel to solve. The end.

P.S. I should mention that, miraculously, no one was fatally injured in the explosions.

Job + Job + Workouts + trying to get my stupid life together (and all that entails -- various doctors, post offices, laptops, etc) = Definitely No Updates. I miss my boyfriend so much, these stupid Prednizone is making me moody and sad, and I am very tired. And it's only Monday.

It's quite lovely to be back there, like I thought it would be. It feels so natural, and I remember almost everything. I was nervous that the people would be awkward around me, but it's not like that. I guess it's because these are Customer Service people and their strength is dealing with people. I tell you, these people love to talk. Imagine yesterday... the entire call-center abuzz after Michael Jackson's verdict. Comments ranged from "Ooooh, he did something he shouldn'ta done.. he just lucky he didn't get caught" to "I told you he was innocent!! I knew it all along". It's a vociferous, friendly crowd, and I'm glad to be there among them, even if I feel considerably substandard in the people-skills category. That hardly even matters, since it's overflowing out of these people. Even people who don't know my name recognize my face and say, "Hey there! You're back, huh?" And I smile my charming and slightly bashful smile and say, "Yeah, they decided to let me come back."

Plus the money is good.

Speaking of money, I have my eBay auctions up for 2 more days. I know Brad is just ITCHING to get at that angora hat... Who wouldn't be? Anyway, it's going toward a good cause: my car payments. When I get to spend my money on the things I want to, rather than on the things I have to, I'm happier and the world is happier (because I don't pillage villages and whatnot, then.)

P.S. One of my items on 43 Things (I'm not ready to expose the entire list yet, mainly because I have only 5 things) is to drink 8 glasses (64 oz) of water a day. Since my water bottles are 17 oz, that's like 3.75 bottles of water. It doesn't sound like much, but I did 3 bottles during work and I made 3 trips to the bathroom during those 8 hours alone. Again, that doesn't sound like much, but I usually only go 2 or 3 times during an entire day. Shrug.

Go check out my eBay auctions, ladies especially (unless you like rather feminine hats--totally up to you.)

I probably won't be prepared to post at length about anything until Sunday afternoon or Monday evening. Tomorrow I'll be watching movies with my family until 3:25 and then (maybe) I'll go to work until 8:00 (if they don't cancel my call-in shift, which they usually do), and then I will want to relax. That'll be my last B&BW shift until Friday. Sunday will be church and then relax, maybe then I'll post. Monday I start at Ameren, which is all day. :) Money money!

I'm just trying to get my finances in order because at the end of summer, I'm going to want to buy clothes and things, and have my car payments ready for the next 12 months. So that's that.

I feel like those are the only two things that I spend my time doing these days. Either that, showering, eating, watching ER, or sleeping. I'll update at some point and tell you about how nervous I was to be working front register my first day on the first day of the big semi-annual sale when none of the items were ringing up, or how much better I felt on my second day when I was more comfortable there and more items were ringing correctly but the A/C broke so that wasn't great. I'll tell you how I'm hoping that Drew's parents decide to let him go to Florida with us. I'll tell you how I'm listening to To Have and to Hold by Chip Ingram and what I'm learning about relationships. I'll tell you how much I want to spend my entire paycheck at B&BW (but realize that much of it has already gone in the gas tank of my car). I'll tell you lots of things, but not now.

I'm getting back into my summer music, which includes Muse and Motion City Soundtrack. I discovered them last summer and I just associate them with hot weather. Who's your favorite hot weather/summer band or singer?

I did only three things today, really.. I worked out, I planted geraniums in the flowerbox I cleaned out yesterday (and squashed the skink with), and I hung out with Kristen! I met her little doggie, Zeus, who's just a tiny little guy who can barely make it up the stairs (I know how he feels). She and I saw House of Wax, which wasn't great, but I wasn't expecting it to be a masterpiece. It was fine, for what it was. Spoiler: the thing about the Siamese twins, one being connected by the face to the back of the other one's head... stupid. I did think the giant wax house was awesome when it melted.

After the movie, we went to Target where she bought some pants and shorts, and we tried on some ridiculous shoes. I'm normally about 4 or 5 inches taller than Keeb, but with these shoes on, I could easily see the top of her head and I made sure to laugh at her, about lots of things (not just about the top of her head, which wasn't very funny). I always enjoy hanging out with my Keeb. She can make me breathless with laughter. It's great.

The day didn't start out great, but it picked up later. I took care of some things early, like an oil change, depositing my my federal tax refund ($415) straight into the car savings account, and shipping the eBay items (but I am stupid and I think the S&H ended up costing more than I charged -- oh well, live and learn.) The lady at the USPS wasn't very nice or helpful; if I had had my dad there, she would've straightened up and not scowled. Scowlers are ridiculous. Sigh. Just because I don't understand the intricacies of the inner workings of the United States Post Office...

After I finished berating the post office clerk, I headed down to the Y for my workout. I was about halfway done, when I decided to check my phone because I was expecting a call from my B&BW manager telling me whether I would need to dress for the store when I came into work tonight. Instead, I had a voicemail from Ameren!!! I stepped out into the hallway and called her (Ms Douglas in HR) and she explained the situation to me: that Customer Service people had told her that she should contact me to see if I was interesting in filling the same position as I filled last summer. I said yes, and she said that she would be passing my name and number onto a woman (Ms Layton) from Manpower, the temp agency that Ameren now hires seasonal/temporary positions through. I'd officially be working for Manpower, not Ameren, but it'd be the same duties and hours, slightly fluctuated pay (hopefully still over $10/hr)..

That all sounds very, VERY good, since I talked to B&BW a while later (after I finished my workout) and they said that the floorset was cancelled because they were able to do all that stuff during the week, so I didn't need to come into work. Hrmph. That whole working-no-hours-a-week thing isn't working out. It'll be good, though, combined with Ameren, if I can get a shift in the evening here and there; hopefully I'll be able to stay on the B&BW payroll until the end of summer, because I want to keep that Limited Brands discount. *ponders Victoria'a Secret, the Limited, and Express*

When my mom and dad got home, they were thrilled. My mom said that I could put off the planting of flowers in the box on the railing until tomorrow, but I cleaned out the box anyway--it was filled with old dirt and dead plants).. I tightened the screws on the box because that thing is old and falling apart, but when I lifted the box to hose off the railing, I found that I had partially squashed a juvenile five-lined skink. I know it was a juvenile because only the young ones have the vivid blue tail like the one I saw wriggling, as the rest of the skink ran away without it.

I must admit I squealed just the slightest bit.

My scalp has been so itchy lately. I must go out and buy Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Hair & Scalp Treatment. I remember a couple of years ago when my scalp was dry and itchy, I was very satisfied with some tea tree scalp treatment, but I think it was from the Body Shop or B&BW. Whatever.