Friday, September 30, 2005  

I may win the prize for strangest 30th birthday in the history of the world. Because i'm on overnights, i slept until like 3:00 p.m. But i kept having to wake up because the phone rang about 4 or 5x all morning long. It was all these stupid calls (nothing birthday related) and one was an s.o.s. from work asking me to get a 19" Starlogic flat panel monitor from another store for a transfer and bring it in. I had to get to my Greek class (i leave early and go sit at the library near there to avoid traffic jams on 35W North) so that put me in a time crunch. I get to the shakopee store for the monitor and of course no one there knows what i'm talking about and i guess my store didn't fax over the request after making the phone call. So wait, wait, walk around, talk to people etc.

Anyways i am ROCKING like Crosby Stills and Nash at Greek class. I aced my quiz and got the 5 extra credit vocab words correct. I was the first one done with the quiz. When we had to do our oral reading exercises i read it flawlessly unlike some ppl who obviously did not study and who obviously did not use the CD-rom to learn pronunciation. I'm completely freaked out in love with this class and the opportunity to study it but as i've already said that in just about every other entry i'll move on.

After class, I get to work about 45 min. early because i discovered a shortcut across MPLS (take 62 to avoid 494 closures) and pick up my Subway sub for a "lunch" later - and get to work on the digital cameras/overlay planogram. The highlight of my night was when my manager could take no more of JACK FM playing on our floor stereo and asked if i would be mad if he put in a CD. I like any type of music (mostly) so i didn't care. Little did i know my manager is A FREAAAAAAAAAK and puts in ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW sound track. OMG. This is highly unsuspected because you have no idea how straightlaced this guy is.... He knows the whole cottonpickin thing by heart and then comes up to me and says, "I suppose you are too young to remember this, the Rocky Horror Picture Show?"

"Oh, yeah, i've never seen it but i've heard a lot about it..." I say.

He says, "My kids say, 'Dad you must have seen it like 100 times!'"

"Oh is that right? Did you dress up when you went to the shows?"

"No, i didn't, but my friends always wore the costumes. They would go and bring squirt guns and [here his back was to me and he rattled off some other trinkets they would bring which mean nothing to me because i have no idea about the Picture Show - all i know is it's a freak show that involves something related to fish net stockings and other things that a student studying biblical Greek probably should not know about]."

OMG

That was not the end. So he finishes that CD and then puts in a mix cd he must have made [you have to remember this guy is in his 50's and reminds you of a no-nonsense perfectionist army general that is never happy and never relaxes work work work work] which had everything from Stixx to German chants to MARCHING MUSIC on it.

After 10 hours of finishing up the TechMax side of the store (you would never believe how much extreme makeover revisions we made these last two weeks, we literally have a brand new store...) i had to sit thru a one hour manager's meeting zzzzzzzzzzzzzz at which time our hard work paid off because i was given a (gasp) $25 Target gift card because our district mgr sees how much work we did in such short time. It doesn't seem like a lot for a gift of recognition, but for a company that is SO TIGHT with expenses, this was a big deal and i really did appreciate the appreciation. And they must have appreciated the appreciation of their appreciation which is why they appreciated me with an appreciation gift of target gift card.

It is also the official kick-off to Christmas now that the birthday is over. Do you know how it is officially OFFICIAL? It's because yes that's right, yes it's okay. Let's all talk about it......... WE GOT OUR SANTA, REINDEER, SILENT NIGHT, SNOWFALL SCENE POPCORN TINS IN AT THE STORE! IT'S TIME FOR THE CHRISTMAS BABY! The Christmas merch. is rolling in! (Don't ask me why pop corn tins are an office supply either, buddy.) Just HEAR those sleigh bells jingalingringtingtingaling tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I had a friend ask me if i was freaked out about turning 30 like some people have this major wig-out session and just lose it. It must be God's grace but i could have cared less and it was just a normal fun-o day with some highlights (like listening to my manager sing about transexuals from across the aisle at the top of his lungs; imagining him as a cross-dresser etc.) and you know "whatever" as my mom says. I remember when i turned 26 for some reason that was such a hard bday and i remember a freak out session at that point - but heck sign me up for the rest of life!!!!!!! One day closer to finally meeting my best-friend face to face (JESUS OH YEAH BABY! IMAGINE THE HUG SESSION WE'RE GOING HAVE! HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND!)

And if you don't have JACK FM where you live, i think it's the most inventive most creative radio format in existance, and i love it !!!!!!!!!!!! They don't take requests and there is no set list. They just play random stuff. From Verve Pipe to Elton John to Pink to Dave Matthews to Cher to Avril Lavigne to Dolly Parton to Hank Williams to The Pretenders... it just rocks. And every commercial break it seems they have a Menards commercial, at which i always sing at the top of my lungs YOU SAVE BIG MONEY
YOU SAVE BIG MONEY
WHEN YOU SHOP MENAAAAAAAAAAAARDS!

What was your 30th bday like?

   [ posted  @ 4:08 PM | ]

I do have an update on the really large man that i was training who had to go home after an hour because he was feeling dizzy.

OMG he went to his doctor who told him that he had a HEART MURMUR and could no longer work this physical job. HOLY CRAP. Okay so i know that as my mommy told me you don't just develop a heart-murmur on the spot but omg! So he had to quit.

This leaves me with count 'em ONE logistics team member, and one who is on the rocks (i think she's going to quit) and two logistics managers. I need at least 4 on the crew plus the leadership team. OMG. And there are NO APPLICANTS! Helllllllllllllp! I'm going to be doing overnights for the rest of my cottonpickin life!!!! Who's going to care if i drive a Dodge Charger if i'm driving it only in the middle of the NIIIIIGHT!!!!? NO ONE WILL SEE ME! No one will see my awesome huge grill plate or my big fat tires with the huge rims and no one will want to stop and look as i pass them going 120 mph! There will be no one to pass fast bc no one is on the road that late! No one will hear my HEMI engine roar in terror!

Let's recall since i came to this store how many people have came and left logistics team:

Derek, Patrick, Kevin, the other Kevin, Tim, Sean, the other Derek, Bill the big guy who just quit, Paul, and there's probably some others i am forgetting. What's the greek word for "help" ?

   [ posted  @ 3:34 PM | ]

Since Christmas is coming up [okay not really but whatever] Here's my GREEK THOUGHT for the week, something i learned!

Remember Linus in Charlie Brown saying "And on earth, good will toward men" from Luke 2:14? This is from the King James. But most modern translations to this angel's song reads differently.

Example, NIV says "on earth peace to men on whom his [God's] favor rests"

or NRSV: "On earth peace among those whom he [God] favors."

The difference between KJV and others is the difference between the nominative and genitave forms of the words. The Greek manuscripts used to translate the KJV contain eudokia (nominative), where as the older manuscripts used to translate the modern versions contain eudokias (genitive) - literally translated "of good will" or "characterized by God's good pleasure." In other words, the peace that the angels sang that belonged to the earth as a result of the birth of Christ is not a generic, worldwide peace for ALL humankind, but a peace limited to those who obtain favor with God by believing in His Son Jesus. What a difference a single letter can make to the meaning of the text!

We did "alphabet time trials" this week in class and i was second only to the TEACHER who beat me by one second. Then, a guy in the back (i'm going to be calling him mr. scholarsmartypants from now on) beat me by one second as well, bc he accidently slid 2 letters together (theta and iota became "the-ota") haha.

I aced my test and got extra credit for knowing the capital letters! Also when we did oral reading exercises i did it perfectly but only messed up by saying a long "a" in hamartias because i was so concerned about where to put the accent. He said i still did a good job.

I LOVE MY CLASS!

   [ posted  @ 3:23 PM | ]

Make-a-bet ?

Let's say H. Rita fails to be a big player and does not do much damage to Galvaston and Houston and all those ticked off people who sat in their cars for days get mad -- who wants to make a bet they will force the government to pay for their gas, travel expenses, meals, lost wages, incidentals, etc.?

And then who wants to make a bet our stupid government will take care of them and pay for trying to protect them?

I already heard an interview with an angry couple who were pulled over on the side of the road after the storm was called Category 3 -- and they were acting like they sat stranded for these days for nothing. I could almost hear the disappointment in the reporter's voices: "Oh it's only a Category 3 now..." like all this hullibaloo was for nothing and Bush will get blamed again for evacuating all those people.

Okay i'm going to go back and watch the TV now!

haha

   [ posted  @ 11:16 AM | ]

OMG not another hurricane. Seriously. Maybe it's all a conspiracy to tie up the news media from researching something bigger like a terrorist plot, don't you think? I'm so glad the only weather catastrophes i have to worry about in the mid-west are tornados and thunderstorms. God save our country!!!!!!

God also save our outofcontrolpresident when this hurricane destroys Houston and he pledges another 10,000,000,000,000,000$ to rebuild a city. When the stock market crashes because our nation is super-broke i'll NEVER BE ABLE TO BUY A DODGE CHARGER! THIS IS A CONSPIRACY ON TWO LEVELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME ON ! THINK OF ME HERE!

I have something new to put on my resume. Apparently working with me can lead to dangerous health conditions...

Listen. When i interview people for logistics, i warn them this is a very physical job. We bound thru those doors at 4 or 5 a.m. and we hit the pavement hard and running. I tell them we are never caught up because there is always another project in the pipeline and we work on deadlines the best we can but we work fast and hard, and have to be able to climb ladders and do a lot of lifting and bending and stooping and crouching and yadda yadda.

Well i interviewed a man who based on his resume and application was very qualified with years of experience. When i met him, i should have thought more about the fact that he must weigh 300 or 400 lbs. Some guys are big like that and can still fly around and keep up. I mean think LINEBACKERS! And tho he wipes himself with a towel that he brings to work constantly as he sweats buckets just from walking around i thought well, he thought he was up to it and i was not the final say on his hire (you have to go thru 2 interviews) we'll give him a shot.

I'm on overnights this week so when this guy comes in at 5 a.m., i'm his trainer, but i'm hopped up on sugar free Red-Bull and am raring to go as always... And we picked out the lightest task for him to learn - nothing too physical besides a lot of bending and stooping to make a report of all the things the computer says we have but we can't find on the shelves. You do this with a hand-held scanner and push a cart around. No real big deal. Well all he kept saying was his years as a convenience store manager have spoiled him and how out of shape he is and i told him that if he gives me 2 weeks i'll whip him into shape because this is a very physical job. I told him it's the KT ROCKS DIET: If you stretch before you start work and stretch after work and drink plenty of water you'll not only lose weight but build muscle!!!! So today (day 2) after about 45 min. he had to go sit down and take a break bc the bright store lights combined with the information i was trying to teach him, the pace i was trying to go (we had a deadline of 8 a.m. to scan the whole store) he got real dizzy.

Then he started coughing like he was going to puke and called his wife to come pick him up because he could not drive because of how dizzy he was. He said the last time he felt like this he had TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am i responsible for this???

I said with the combination of new information, the pressue of the job, the bending and squating we have to do to get the low shelves, and the early morning wake up time, it does amount to a physical toll on your body (however it's not THAT terrible). There WERE harder things we could have had him do... this is actually the lightest task we could think of. So he went home after about an hour of work and i don't know that we'll see him again. The last thing i want is for him to try to climb a ladder, get dizzy, fall off and get workman's comp.

OMG.

What can i say? When i joke about telling people after working with me they'll wish they were never born, maybe that's not funny anymore. If i'm responsible for sending someone to the hospital today, it's not the kind of thing i should be proud of!!! It's not like when you hire someone you can ask them to show a feat of their strength. I've often joked that the priority of a company that does not require the passing of an IQ test but only the passing of a drug test will never be able to get quality workers... maybe we have to have people take a physical too before they can work with me!

   [ posted  @ 3:13 PM | ]

I think summer is giving Minnesota it's last final ghasps this weekend. Not sure that's how you spell "gasps."

At any rate I have a rare weekend off here and will be spending it swimming in chapters 1-4 of my new textbook for my very cool new class in Biblical Greek, cleaning, and getting ready for a new year of band with the kiddies @ church. My guitar is in the shop because the pickup finally decided to go on strike after 13 faithful years of service. OMG i've had the same guitar for 13 years. Can you say "traditionalist" ? Maybe it's more than i've just never had the cash to splurge on one that i really want.

So yeah my Greek class is going to be amazing. I am one of 11 students - all range of ages... we even have a snappy little guy who is 14 in there but i can tell he's a real brain so he's going to add a lot to the class. By May i will be able to test out of 1st year Greek in any seminary! I plan to get 100% on all my quizzes and the exams... and i am also planning on doing extra credit. They say reading the Bible in English is like watching black&white TV but when you know Greek it's like watching TV in color. I was very happy to discover that all of the self-taught stuff i've been doing the last few years was nearly right on the money, and that i taught myself correctly and am probably going to breeze thru the first few class sessions. At the same time there are students in there from Bible colleges or seminary who had taken Greek years ago and have several years under their belt but forgot most of it. There are some blank-slate people as well. Most of us are somewhere in between. Plus my teacher is a cutie who is going to Bethlehem's Institute right now and he's fun to listen to. My ultimate goal beyond just learning (i'm fairly sure i'll go on to take the 2nd year of this as well) is to possibly take a lot of courses at the Institute so that if i ever do go to seminary i can test out of a lot and save money - hopefully someday i'd love to be able to teach NT Greek! I can't explain it but it's a little obsession of mine.

And yes it's an hour drive if i hit traffic just right (and don't get stuck) and the best part of it is i get to drive my favorite drive up I-35W and get to look at the awesome Minneapolis skyline -which is ultimate cool at night all lit up. I feel like i'm driving thru New York or something.

okay back to woorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk:

ALPHAbetagammadeltaepsilonzetaetathetaiotakappalambdamunuxsiomicronpirhosigmatauupsilonfeekeypsiOMGEGA

   [ posted  @ 4:03 PM | ]

Little did i know...

Maybe the reason why i'm so fond of Christmas is because the birthplace of the ALUMINUM CHRISTMAS TREE happened right where i grew up. Holy cow.

   [ posted  @ 6:15 PM | ]

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