We went to Virginia Tech today, and so that was fun…
February 7, 2004, 12:03 AM
On my day off of work today, Mom and I went to Virginia Tech to visit Sis. Fun time it was. We did the typical visit-me-at-JMU thing from when I lived in Potomac Hall. We drive down. That’s different from the JMU part, because unlike going to JMU, where it’s a 30-40 minute drive, it’s two hours to Tech. This also makes it a much less frequent visit than it is for going to JMU.
But anyway, first we picked up Sis at her dorm. Mind you, her dorm is Lee Hall at Tech. The side of Lee Hall that faces the road is significantly lower than the road. So water pooled (about an inch or so deep, so this was a considerable amount of water) on the sidewalk in front of Lee. Yecch. And we find out how little that my sister has gotten to know the people she lives with. I’m waiting in the lobby for her, and these other girls pass through the lobby who presumably live there. This is also about the time I’m starting to wonder what’s taking her so long. I ask the girls, “Have you seen Ann Schumin anywhere?” Blank stares. Then Sis comes in before they left the room. I tell them, “That’s Ann Schumin!” They tell me they’ve never seen her before, and Sis tells me that they don’t live on her floor. To me, that’s no excuse. When I lived in a dorm, particularly freshman year, I was a little social butterfly. I got to know a lot of people in the dorm.
So anyway, the two of us waded through that puddle in front of her dorm, and then we get to the car, and go to the bookstore. Now the entire valley had a big ice storm with both sleet and freezing rain. So Tech was a bit icy. We go to Tech’s bookstore, which, as you’d expect, was filled with cheesy overpriced Tech merchandise. And Mom couldn’t find a “VT MOM” shirt. Meanwhile, Sis and I explored upstairs, to the “next upstairs”, which is a little convenience store, and then the “next next upstairs” where they sell the textbooks. Also highly overpriced. Sis showed me samples of some of the books she bought for this semester. Heavy. Also, the textbook area is a bit of a hazard, with it being “stepped”, and steps and ramps and dropoffs without railings in places. Can we say “lawsuit” if someone ever got hurt in there?
Continue reading…Categories: Family
Freezing rain. Just what I love driving in coming home from work!
February 6, 2004, 11:16 AM
Yeah, lovely drive home on Thursday. Kind of icy, and I forgot to get that hoagie that I wanted after work. This is a big hoagie. The sandwich is like 14 inches long, and five inches across, at least. I wanted to eat it, but forgot to get it…
Categories: Driving, Food and drink, Winter weather
And it’s sleeting. Greeeeeeeeeat…
February 3, 2004, 2:07 AM
It’s sleeting outside. I found out when I dumped out my trash at two in the morning. (Hey, I was cleaning in preparation for my redecoration, and the can was full.) So I heard that specific clinking sound of ice falling all around on everything. Just wonderful. Especially when we realize that it’s coming down pretty well, first of all, and secondly, that I’m going to have to drive in this tomorrow to go to work. Yaaaaay.
Categories: Winter weather
Somehow I know we’re getting six more weeks of winter…
February 2, 2004, 10:27 AM
My good friend Ellen Bowman Kokinda had this on her away message:
Thanks a lot Punxsutawney Phil for the crappy prediction……you suck
Somehow, I think the groundhog saw his shadow. And it doesn’t bother me… I like winter.
I had a professor one time who actually was a major groundhog fan, telling us how he used to keep a groundhog as a pet. He said he had to get rid of the groundhog when his wife said it was either her or the groundhog. Then of course he also said, “I celebrate Groundhog’s Day with a test!” A real one, worth 25% of the class grade. I kind of doubt the authenticity of his groundhog stories, but they were amusing at the time. But you never know for sure, since the guy was from Deerfield anyway.
Categories: JMU
My accomplishment for today, besides those mentioned earlier: The futon is out!
February 1, 2004, 10:06 PM
Yes, the futon is out of here. It’s on its side in Sis’s room across the hall for the time being so that I have room to clean and paint and such. It looks so weird in here without the couch. And it’s soon to get weirder, since the futon’s temporary departure makes room for more cleaning, since it blocked a LOT of stuff.
See, the futon was originally purchased for Potomac Hall. It had no place here, and actually spent the summer of 2002 in storage at Potomac Hall. It still really has no place in this room, and when it needed to go here, I shuffled things around rather quickly to make it fit somewhere. As a result, my recliner got blocked in. Now I can get that loose, and clean around there, and I can also clean around the other side of the couch. I need to take some more pictures just to show the progress of the cleaning alone.
Overarching realization: it’s amazing how much crap accumulates around here. I have some stuff that’s getting straight-up dumped. Other stuff is getting sold. Other stuff is being given away. And what’s left will fill my new “adult” room. I’m excited.
Categories: Bedroom remodel
Returned the Z-Coils, and got a Breda on my phone
February 1, 2004, 7:26 PM
Well, my saga with Z-Coil shoes came to an end, as I returned the shoes to the store, and the gentleman gave me back my check, which the store had not yet cashed. I felt really bad returning them, but I felt even worse that day that I wore them to work. Wearing my Airwalks and having the heel pain actually felt good after dealing with the Z-Coils.
And I repeat, they’re not bad shoes. Just not the right shoes for me. Some people swear by them. They didn’t work out for me.
Meanwhile, I figured out how to download pictures to my computer from my new cell phone and vice versa. So now I have a picture of the Charlottesville Wal-Mart on my computer that I took from the parking lot, and I have a picture of a Breda train on my phone that I took a year ago as my phone background. Now my phone is really me, and has personality.
Plus my ring-tone is “Funicula”, which I remember as a TV jingle for a board game called “Grape Escape”. So now my phone is really me…
Categories: Cell phone, Shopping
And the cleaning continues…
January 31, 2004, 12:35 AM
And the cleaning continues. I moved the clutter line about two feet back or so from where it was an hour ago. I unearthed some decor items that were slated to go up in here eventually, or used to be up in my Potomac Hall rooms. I also unearthed a big United States flag that was still in its packaging that I bought at Pentagon City Mall on the day I did The Schumin Web Salutes America II back in 2001, but that I couldn’t hang up at the time due to space constraints plus reach constraints (I couldn’t reach the spot I wanted to put it). I also found a bunch of books that I’d forgotten about, including a Dave Barry book. The books-without-a-home pile is now about two and a half feet tall. They will go on the new bookshelf I’m getting (and getting it at Wally World along with all my other new furnishings).
The goal in this cleaning is not only to clean and get rid of a lot of junk, but also to ultimately reach my futon couch, which is at the far end of the room, next to the windows. This way, there’s a clear space all the way across the room, so that we can move the couch out and into “swing space” (i.e. Sis’s room). Then after I get the couch out, I can clear out the junk along the perimeter (we have only dealt with junk in the middle of the room and along one wall so far, but that’s a lot of junk), and then the un-decorating begins.
Categories: Bedroom remodel
And the Z-Coils are going back to the store…
January 30, 2004, 5:57 PM
It was a nice, expensive idea, but I’m returning the Z-Coil shoes. Sure, my heels feel great, and that’s what I bought them for. But geeeeeeeeeeez… that part of my foot felt great at the end of the day. But the entire rest of the foot was killing me by the end of the day. I’ll take the heel pain over the way everything felt at the end of today. Plus I think I was either on the verge of getting, or now have the beginning stages of a blister on my foot. Either way, the cure was worse than the problem. So scratch that and I’ll be going to get my $180 back from the store (did I say these were expensive as hell?), since they have a seven-day return policy, and I only used them on smooth floors so they’re still in new condition.
So I’m getting my money back. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and so I’m going to get my money back since I saved everything. Box, receipt, check carbon-copy, wrapping, everything. So there you go.
Meanwhile, I’m going to try a much less expensive method – I’m going to try some Dr. Scholls inserts that they sell at work and see how they are. And it’s a lot easier to return that way if it doesn’t work.
Categories: Shopping
Goodbye foot pain and poor cell-phone service!
January 29, 2004, 9:17 PM
Well! I dropped a bundle of money today. I got a pair of Z-Coil shoes (see an entry or so down to see what I mean) and a new cell phone.
First of all, the Z-Coils. These are shoes with springs in them. I got them to wear at work, because the heel pain I get from standing all day goes from bad to unbearable over the course of the day. And since standing on my toes all day to relieve the pain in my heels is a bother, this is a good potential solution. The lead CSM in Staunton wears this kind of shoes, and she says she is fine in them. Hopefully these will take care of the pain. And if they don’t work out, there’s a seven-day return policy. But if they do work out, then it was a worthwhile investment, despite being expensive as hell. We’ll see what happens at work tomorrow.
Also, I got a new cell phone today, having switched carriers from Ntelos (formerly Intelos) to Verizon Wireless. I switched because I was not pleased with Ntelos’s service. I didn’t think that they had all that great of service. With Ntelos, I only got 200 minutes, no night/weekend service, the local service area generally consisting of the Shenandoah Valley, and local only in Virginia. With Verizon, most of the country is local, and the service area is equally large. Oh, and it works in the underground tunnels on Metro, which is a big plus for me.
Categories: Cell phone, Shopping
I reclaimed about half the floor space today…
January 28, 2004, 1:17 AM
I reclaimed about half the floor space today, and I am pretty well impressed with myself. Actually, it’s a little less than half the room’s intended floor space, but still, that’s pretty good. I cleared out a CD tower, a bookshelf, a bunch of stuff I’ve not touched in ages, and found a good $2.00 in loose change in the process. Also found a vintage Wal-Mart receipt from Staunton (store #1344) from 1998, when Adam Anderson was manager there, according to the receipt. Changes between then and now is that Matthew Trautwein is now the manager, and they don’t use the old dot-matrix printers for the receipts anymore.
I think I actually filled up an entire garbage can out behind the house with junk that I got rid of. And that’s only the beginning.
Another interesting thing is the kind of imprints you find on the rug. Furniture that’s been sitting in the same place for years like that CD tower and bookshelf really left some imprints. Flat carpet, if you can imagine that. But even more recent stuff really left some imprints that need to be worked out of the rug. I figure that’s a job for vacuums and carpet shampooers to fix, both of which I’m taking across the carpet in here before I’m finished.
Categories: Bedroom remodel
And now we really start cleaning!
January 27, 2004, 1:34 PM
On this lovely very-snowy-and-still-snowing day, which I also have off from work, I am cleaning my room, getting ready to do a little remodeling. I’m working inwards. Start at the door, and work towards the windows. I’ve already taken “before” photos some time last week. Now to get to work, so that the job can be completed…
And this snow is also incentive to do some work, as they still haven’t plowed our road.
Categories: Bedroom remodel, Winter weather
Snow? Bring it on! You’ll have to do better than that to keep me from getting to work!
January 26, 2004, 2:16 AM
Yeah, it snowed today. Lots of snow. Several inches’ worth on the car when I left work. But I made it home. Roads were hideous, needless to say. And I saw this one idiot on 340 ahead of me swerving quite a bit as he pulled onto the road before regaining control of his truck. I may have gone 25 mph the whole way, but I did not slide once.
And needless to say, I’m getting to work again tomorrow, even if I have to hitch-hike. I should point out it’s still snowing.
And meanwhile, there is something that just really irks me that I have been wanting to talk about. Some people are the biggest hypocrites that you can think of. Any time I tell someone where I work, it seems they always have something to say about it. Well, big-company this, and mom-and-pop that. And downtown-decay this, and squeezes-out-everything that. And what’s amazing is that these people who talk about this, first of all, are educated people who should know to back their facts up before spouting off. And secondly, they tell me, the associate, that I am wrong. Two examples…
There is a certain religious group that I affiliate with (look elsewhere on the Web site to find out their identity) that I enjoy participating in activities with. Then I mentioned back in October that I had applied to work with good ol’ Wally World. I get the whole evil-corporation spiel from the minister, who then goes on to spout off some “facts” that, if they had actually done any research, they would find were totally false. Then they brag about how long it’s been since they set foot in a Wal-Mart store.
Categories: Walmart, Winter weather
I met Reo Hatfield today
January 25, 2004, 12:05 AM
Yes, that’s right. Waynesboro City Councilman Reo Hatfield came through my line at work today. Well, actually yes and no. He went through a line I was working, but I did not directly check him out. In case you’re wondering, I was the attendant at the self-checkouts, which is something that I enjoy doing at work, since after using them enough, I can make them scan merchandise, weigh produce, add up the price for donuts, wash your laundry, and sing “The Star Spangled Banner” backwards.
Anyway, though, I recognized Mr. Hatfield as being who he was, and it was kind of like meeting a celebrity. I don’t live in Waynesboro (I live in Stuarts Draft, which is part of Augusta County), so I can’t vote for him one way or another, but still, with him being in the newspapers recently regarding matters pertaining to the Waynesboro City Council, it was kind of neat to see him come through my self-checkouts.
Recall that I am/was a Public Administration major at JMU, and so meeting public officials is kind of cool. I should have gotten his autograph.
Categories: State and local politics, Walmart
Two days, and I’m beat…
January 23, 2004, 12:38 AM
Well, as I probably already mentioned, we’re open. Yaaaaay. No more stocking shelves for me.
And guess what! People love our store! It gives me a nice warm feeling to hear that, and also when I see people buying the stuff that I put up on the shelves.
Meanwhile, I think I already said that I took “before” photos of my room in preparation for the big remodel. So how much progress have I made so far? Amazingly, very little. All my work so far has consisted of is going through a single bookshelf of kiddie books that I haven’t touched in ages and taking out maybe three books that I want to keep. The rest can be donated somewhere. And I’m getting rid of the shelf. So I can just give the books on the shelf all to Mom and she’ll handle it.
My next day off from Wal-Mart is Tuesday. My goal for that day is to put a major dent in the cleaning on this room. Because right now, despite having gone through a shelf, it doesn’t look like I’ve done anything.
Categories: Bedroom remodel, Walmart
As of 7 AM tomorrow morning, Wal-Mart comes to Waynesboro!
January 20, 2004, 8:48 PM
We made it! Store #5117, the new Waynesboro store, will open for business tomorrow morning, January 21, at 7 AM.
And tonight we had an open house for all of our Store 5117 families to show off all our hard work. Dad had to work and Sis was at Tech, but Mom was free to come along. I showed her all of our hard work, as I helped set up the furniture department, hardware, the garden center, toys, and fabrics and crafts. I also showed Mom the front end, the self-checkouts, the service desk (my new home at Wal-Mart), and a lot of stuff in between.
I am excited! All of our approximately seven or eight weeks of work in setting the store up will most likely be destroyed in no less than ten minutes by our customers. And we love it.
And now that Wal-Mart finally arrived in Waynesboro, what’s next? The red planet. See?
Categories: Walmart