God's Way of Telling Me to Do Laundry

Okay. So I check my copy of the schedule in my drawer in the office at work yesterday. See that it has been changed to show that I am opening today instead of closing. Fine. I didn't want to sleep in anyhow. So I get to work this morning and while I am getting keys, fellow cashier supervisor, Lisa shows up. Sez that our boss told her on Tuesday that she'd flipped me and Lisa on Thursday's schedule and then flipped us back to the original. Lisa didn't think much of it and presumed that our boss would let me know. Nope. No note, no nuttin'. Just the copy of the schedule that showed the change where I open and Lisa closes. If my boss is in this afternoon when I go back to work, she is getting an earful from me. I am tired of a schedule that changes every 15 minutes. I am tired of not getting the time off that I am entitled to, which should be every other weekend and one set day a week. I am tired of not being able to plan anything in advance because the schedule changes every 15 minutes and I am not getting every other weekend off and one set day a week, especially when everyone else is getting their time off, including the people at the store that make the big money, like my boss. She's cute and friendly as a puppy and means well, but she's also young and needs to know that the current situation is a crock of shit and she really, really needs to start doing something about it. Like crawling up HR's ass and dying to get the position that needs filled posted. Like giving up some of HER time off to pick up some of the shifts that we are trying to cover.

Anyhow, since I'm up, I might as well do that pesky laundry that I've got sorted. Especially since being only slightly less madder than a wet hornet is giving me the energy to tote laundry baskets up and down three flights of stairs. At least all of my clothes will be clean and put away!

Not much else right now. I do seem to have licked the cold bug. I'm still a little snotty, but nothing more than usual for this time of year and I'm back to drinking coffee. I don't like coffee when I am the least little bit sniffly, so being able to drink it again is a sure sign that I am on the mend.

Time to refill my coffee cup and go check on the clothes........

New haircut

I got my hair cut on Saturday afternoon. My ex-sister-in-law has a small (two-chair) shop in the shopping center close to Dad's and one of my nephews got me a gift certificate. People might find it odd that our families all get along so well, I suppose. I always enjoy seeing Deb and visiting with her. Heck, I go to her family get together on Christmas Eve! My brother still goes hunting and fishing with her dad and her folks have Dad over for dinner regularly, as does her aunt June. Anyhow, I went a few minutes before my appointment so I could look through the books. I wanted something easy to take care of because 1) I am not good at fooling with my hair and 2) I don't like having to fool with my hair. I found a picture that I thought would work with some modifications. It's a shoulder length style with a part just to the right of center. The girl in the picture had some pretty deep bangs, which were the part I wanted to change. I just wanted a very light bang. The hair is blow-dried to frame my face. When Deb was done cutting and styling, I could tell I liked it even without my glasses on. I also re-did my color last night. I've been using L'Oreal light reddish brown, but decided to try a medium auburn. It looks very natural. I must have chosen well because everyone at work really liked my new 'do. Guys from the backroom even noticed and complimented me. I've worn my hair mostly pinned up at work for over a year now, so coming in with a shoulder-length cut was enough to cause several co-workers to not recognize me at first glance. Even my boss said she had a moment when she came in where she thought, "My dreams have been answered and we have a new cashier supervisor from somewhere!"

Best of all, even though it looks even cuter when Deb does it, I can actually style it without a lot of fuss. Whew!

What To Do When You Are Sick

Curses. It announced its presence on Saturday morning, around 2:30 when I got up to take Dogzilla out to pee. That sinusy drainage feeling high up in the back of my throat. I've avoided everyone's germs so far, but now I've got whatever the vague upper respiratory bug is that is making the rounds at work. So this is what I do to make myself better and to try to ward off a trip to the doctor.

1. Get plenty of rest. There is no substitute for this, IMHO, so nap often. Especially if you can do so with a beagle curled up behind your knees and his little head resting on your leg to keep an eye on the rest of the world.
2. Drink plenty of liquids. Lots of tea and lemon-lime soda or ginger ale and water. Orange juice if you can tolerate it. A nice hot cup of water with honey, lemon and little whisky never hurt anyone either when they had an upper respiratory infection.
3. Get those soft tissues with lotion on them. Your nose will thank you.
4. Find a nice steamy bathroom or a sauna a couple times a day to get the nasal passages open. Sleep with a vaporizer running at night.
5. If your boss says you may go home early, then go home early. Don't be a hero.
6. Let the dishes go, let the vacuuming go, drop the social calendar back a notch. You can catch up on everything when you are actually feeling better. And people will probably appreciate it if you don't show up at the candle party spreading your germs and contagion.
7. Chicken soup. I don't care what cuisine or culture you are from, there's a comforting chicken soup there somewhere. Heck, branch out and try several kinds of chicken soup. They'll all make you feel better. At a bare minimum, buy a big can of chicken broth and some noodles. You'll feel better for it.
8. Before you nod off, engage in some positive imagery. Imagine yourself bathed in a healing green light. Imagine yourself feeling better. Imagine the germs being chased out of you. Whatever works. The mind is a very powerful thing and it can give the old immune system a nice boost.
9. Go ahead and watch the Jerry Springer Show. Or Judge Judy. You know you want to. What better excuse than to claim that you only saw it because you were too weak to change the channel.
10. If you've already got the shower running to steam up the bathroom, go ahead and hop in there and wash your hair and feel clean again. Lying around like a slug can make you feel really grungy, so a little soap and water can provide some very nice TLC. Get some of that lavender baby bath that Johnson & Johnson make when you lay in your sick supplies. I don't usually like lavender all that much, but this is actually very relaxing, which is what lavender is supposed to do.

Those are all the things that I do when I have a cold. Actually, I've found that if I start doing some of them the moment I feel a bug coming on, the bug doesn't last as long or incapacitate me. Of course, I am a big advocate of frequent hand-washing and using that sanitizer gel when you can't get to the soap and water to prevent catching a cold. I've worked with the general public for three years now, and can't remember the last time I was really sick with anything for more than a few days, so I'll continue to keep on doing what I do. Of course, I always advocate getting proper rest and eating right most of the time as ways to help prevent catching and spreading the common cold, too!

Okay. Off to get another cup of tea and see what they are doing over at Food TV.