September 28, 2012

  • Got a Laptop!

    Lemme tell you a little somethin' somethin' about the eSchedule at Kroger -- right now, my manager has the schedule to schedule our work times randomly. Although it seems like a good idea, it doesn't account for the fact that the meat department opens at 7 AM and closes at 10 PM. Today, I wasn't even supposed to be working because I wasn't scheduled to work on Friday (which was a new experience since I usually work Monday-Friday). However, I noticed that one of my co-workers was scheduled to open up the department at 9 AM, and I knew that it wasn't going to sit well with management. So, of course, naturally I offered to get here at the usual time of 7 AM and work till 1 PM (considering I had an appointment at the post office to request a US passport around 2:30 PM). Management approved my offer last night, before I got off from work, and I worked today. I expected to be opening up by myself so I specifically set everything to be easy for me to open up the department. When I walked in at 7:03 AM, my boss was taking all of the out-of-date products and putting them in carts. I was startled, of course, but something seemed kind of off. He wasn't very enthusiastic to see me. He told me that he wanted me to work Friday morning, which I accepted, but I've had those expressions when managers have wanted to say something to me but waited until the right time to say them. As it turns out, my suspicions were correct.

    I didn't want to work yesterday, but I didn't have much of a choice. At 3 PM yesterday, my co-workers left for the day and I was left by myself -- without me working the department, no one would be working at the meat department. Management wouldn't allow that. So I didn't overly-exert myself. I "chilled," mostly because one of my co-workers said that everything was done and I didn't have to do a whole lot. The way the department works...well, used to, was that you had certain things to do during the day and whatever you didn't finish, you left for the guy during the night. My manager doesn't like that idea and insists on constantly keeping busy, which is fine. Sometimes I'm willing to constantly keep busy, but when I'm really not feeling well, I don't really want to do a whole lot. I retaliated, naturally, because most of the things I've failed to do was the result of the failure of the morning shift. In the end, I accepted responsibility because we are...after all...a team, so I can't really say that it's my fault or anyone else's. When it comes to mistakes, when one person makes a mistake...we all suffer. I already had a bad start to the day because someone was already giving me shit about something, and I was pissed off to the point that I worked my ass off. I was throwing fish around like it was nobody's business, throwing empty boxes into the trash can, packaging seafood up like a champ, and just thinking...well ain't this just fuckin' great. I had over 700 dollars in my bank account, more than half is going to my car insurance, another 150 dollars is going to my US passport, and I always spend a lot of money during the weekends. Last Wednesday,  I took my girlfriend out on a date to Carraba's (a decently nice Italian restaurant), and wore a dress shirt and pants. She likes a man in a suit, so that's the reason why I wore it -- otherwise, I would've wore jeans and a t-shirt while paying 65 dollars for a meal. In the end, I didn't think the date was NEAR as romantic as I had hoped, but I really wanted to treat my girlfriend. And I did, so I'm pretty satisfied in my decision and sacrifice.

    I kind of just forget about my boss and think about future plans. I really was excited about getting my US passport because I'm really excited about going to Brazil. I've always wanted to go outside of the country, and I really want to see her mom. I really want to be a part of the family, because I know...soon enough, they'll have no choice but to accept me. I know that deep down inside, my girlfriend wouldn't give me up if her family told her too. I'm not worried about it, and I should be considering the fact that I can't speak Portuguese. For some reason, I believe that Kathleen and I give off this good vibe to people. You see some couples laugh together, but you don't see a couple and say "they look good for each other" all the time. Maybe once in every blue moon, but not every "happy" couple seems like they "fit" together, and I have this feeling that her mom will know that I was made for Kathleen, and that I won't fail as a husband. I believe, in every fiber of my being, that Kathleen was made specifically for me. Based on what Kathleen has told me about conversations with her mom about me, I think I've got this in the bag. My family loves Kathleen, and now it's my time for her family to love me. Even if they don't understand me. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm sure a smile from my girlfriend will say enough. I ain't worried a bit.

    Around 12:45, one of my co-workers wanted me to pick up the supplies for the meat department -- I had some time left, didn't realize how fast time would go, but I was lead into a trap when she told me to empty all the cardboard from the bailer. I had to go at 1:00 PM considering I was supposed to get off at 1 PM, but I got off at 1:10. I had to stop by Quicktrip to get gas, and it took at least 35 minutes to get there. I had to fill out an application and print it out on my girlfriend's printer because I didn't have printer ink back at the house. In order to use the printer, I had to drop by my girlfriend's job, get the keys, and drive to the dorm. I got to her job around 1:55 PM, filled out the application and left around 2:20 PM. My appointment was at 2:30 PM, and I got there 5 minutes before. As it turns out, I printed the application incorrectly and had to re-do the application. Twice after I had an argument with a post office employee, ex drill sergeant in the military, based on what was required to complete the application. I was pretty pissed off at the guy because I was about to pay 155 dollars, and I was unaware that he wasn't having an attitude problem...that's just how he was supposed to be in the military. I just thought he was an asshole without knowing his background, but then once he mentioned about it in casual conversation while he was taking my picture for the passport, I stopped being upset. It was funny because once he mentioned he was a drill sergeant in the military for X amount of years, I said "oh...no wonder." Even still, I was pissed. My car has been acting strange lately...drives fine and all, but it just doesn't start-up that great all the time. Sometimes my car will start at 2,000 RPMS and gracefully go down to the normal idle speed...other times, it'll quickly descend the a dangerous 500 RPMS. I haven't stalled out though, but I've been in the situation where it started out a small issue and ended up developing into something better. So I wasn't too happy about coming to the realization that my car just may start having problems again because I've been saving up too much money. I don't know.

    After all that, my girlfriend was waiting for me to drive with her to put oil in her car along with taking it to emissions. What ended up happening was that her engine started smoking. When we realized that, my girlfriend started freaking out and crying, and we were heading to an shop that does oil changes anyways. The mechanics suggest that the engine wasn't properly cleaned, so oil residue was left on the engine and causes smoke when the engine gets hot. We also found out that her friend put too much oil in the car.

    I don't want to get all into it, but the car that my girlfriend purchased off a friend has given her nothing but hell. It's illegal to sell a car without a passing emissions, so the friend has been helping fix the car up. I want to say that I'm not very surprised that the mechanics have done low quality service on the vehicle, but saying stuff like that really upsets my girlfriend. Even still, it's been nothing but a stressful day. To end the day, I couldn't be at Kathleen's place because she was having girl's night at the dorm. I sure as hell didn't want to turn around at 7:00, drive home and then come back the next day. So you know what I did?

    I bought reservations at Day's Inn for 30 something dollars, which is why I'm typing up such a long entry. I have nothing else better to do. Having a hotel room to yourself isn't actually that bad -- it's very quiet and relaxing. Would I rather be with my girlfriend? Well, yeah. It's kind of the reason why I'm over here. But after that long day being pissed off at the world, I think taking some time off and enjoying my new laptop is good too.

    That's all I have right now. Haven't decided when I'm going to sleep. All I know is that I got 6 cans of Coke left in the mini-fridge, and I don't anticipate on waking up early for the mediocre breakfast at Day's Inn.