My Frustrations With Wal-Mart

It may just be me, but the enter/exit automatic doors at Wal-Mart drive me insane! First off, nobody goes in or out the correct doors. People just kind of enter and exit through whichever door they so desire. Which causes traffic jams and annoyance and confusion. And there are those couple of people who get really pissed off, because they noticed you used the wrong door. And you just give them a weird look while screaming in your mind, "HELLO! NO ONE IS USING THE CORRECT DOOR! GET OVER IT!" Plus, the doors are only marked "enter" or "exit" on the outside, so if you're exiting it really isn't your fault if you go out the wrong door. Plus, the doors are so slow to open and close that my clothes practically go out of style waiting. Especially if you have someone in a wheelchair or one of those motorized chairs or a mom pushing  a stroller in front of you... it's ridiculous! Plus, the exit-marked door is actually on the right side, while the entrance-marked door is on the left, which seems completely weird to me considering automobile traffic is the exact opposite! It just doesn't make sense in my mind!

And if we are going to be talking about Wal-Mart, I might as well say a few more things...

If anyone ever says, "Ya I am just gonna make a quick Wal-Mart run..." just look at them and laugh, because there is nothing quick about Wal-Mart. First there is the whole automatic door deal. And then there's the fact that there are a million store associates running around, until you actually need one to help you and then you can't locate a single one of them. And then there's the million vacant cash registers, while you are jammed in a line of five with three more people behind you.

And then, (and this isn't Wal-Mart's fault necessarily) there is that one great day, when you actually think you are going to accomplish "a quick Wal-Mart run," because you managed to park, make it through those crazy doors and grab your shampoo and toilet paper (which are on opposite sides of the store with the toilet paper now in the grocery section) all in a short five minutes. And then, because you have only two items you think to yourself, "Wow! I am going to hit up the "20 Items or Less" cash register line and get our of here in no time." And your luck continues because there is only one person in front of you when you jump in line...

But then of course the lady in front of you has exactly 25 items, not 20... and you know this because you counted them... Then one of her items is missing the price tag, so the cashier has to call for a price check.. And then once they decipher the price, the lady decides to pay for a check, of which she has to borrow a pen to write out and in which she wants to get extra cash back...

So fifteen minutes later... you set your items on the counter and the cashier asks, "Did you find everything alright today?" And you manage to squeak out a "yes" without going off about the damn lady in the "20 items or less" line who actually had 25 items, who had  a price check, and who paid with a check!!"

But you feel better when you are finally checked out, items in hand, receipt in your purse, and heading towards the exit, when you are stopped. "Excuse me, but can I see the receipt for that toilet paper!" Damn Nazi Wal-Mart employees! Just let me go... so you search for the receipt which you finally find after  dropping your keys and spilling your purse all over the floor.... Then the employee highlights your receipt without even really looking at it (which is actually quite pointless, because who ever really looks to see if your receipt is marked once you walk out the door) and sends you on your way, FINALLY! And you scowl as you exit through the "enter" door sick and tired of "quick one stop shopping." What a nightmare!

Bucket List Entry: NYC for New Year's Eve

Today, I was looking at the number of PTO days I have going into the last two months of the year. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had more than enough, and that I could probably even take a mini-vacation sometime here soon if I so desired. So I started to think about a destination that could be a fun vacation in the winter, and for some reason, one place popped into my head right away! No, not traveling to Colorado to go skiing. and no, not trekking down to Florida to warm up. But I thought about how I've always wanted to go to Times Square to celebrate New Year's Eve one year! And while I have been to New York City and Times Square before, I've never been there for New Year's Eve. You could say it's one of the things on my bucket list, as I am sure it might be for many people. And today I thought to myself: Why not make this year, that year! Right away, I got really excited and started looking at prices of hotel rooms and flights online, but it turns out the hardest part for me is going to be finding someone to go with me... No one seems to have enough money or enough time off work to go. And what would New York City be on New Year's Eve, if I had no one to share it with, no one to hug and scream with, to yell HAPPY NEW YEAR! with... It would probably be about as good as a really buttery bag of popcorn in front of the T.V. So I didn't do anything crazy and book a flight today, but it would be really awesome if this would work out. It makes me feel so GREAT when I am able to cross things off my bucket list... It makes me feel like I am actually alive and experiencing the world around me. I don't want to be just some bum on the couch, picking kernels out of my teeth, who falls asleep before the ball even drops... Ya... that would be lame. I want to experience NYC on NYE... Honestly, is that too much to ask?

Reading for Fun

I have been doing a lot of "reading for fun" lately, which is good because it stimulates my mind and really gets me thinking about my own book. I take a half hour or so during lunch and open the book I am on or while I am waiting to operate the catch cart for my dad in the field, I flip on the overhead light in the tractor and find my dog-eared start page. I've never had a chance to read much before this. College was overloaded with reading for all my classes (hence this being titled "reading for fun")... and quite honestly, as a child, I hated to read. (And now I want to write novels so other people can read them? Weird, I know!) So this has been a pleasant change for me. But since normally, I don't have this extra time to read, you will more than likely never EVER catch me reading the same book over again. I mean, I'm limited, and I am not going to waste my time on a book when I already know how it is going to end. However, just last night, I started a book that I thought I'd never read before. Turns out, I have... but by the time I realized this, I was so engrossed in the storyline and characters, I decided to keep reading anyway. And I kind of decided that I think this is what makes a good book AND a good writer... when you can't put it down, even when you know you know you've read it before or it's two hours past your bedtime or a half hour late coming back from your lunch break (Oops!). I hope my book can do that for people. I hope my book can be either so emotionally stimulating and interesting that my readers can't put it down... or so wonderfully well-written that readers must read it again!

P.S. I've set a goal for myself regarding my own book. I want to have my book done and sent into a publisher by my five year high school class reunion next spring. Why then? Two reasons. I need a reasonable timeline to work with so I push myself to get it done. And two: I want to be able to say I've accomplished something in my life since high school. Okay three reasons: And so I can brag! :)