Birthday redux
As birthdays go, yesterday was pretty decent, starting with the weather. It was sunny and warm, which isn't something you get in Chicago in November. Mother Nature wasn't super-kind to me, with one of her gifts being a lovely zit under my nose, but eh.
Work was wacky. Really, there's no other way to put it. We were slightly busy in the morning, then everyone left. We had far more people working--six of the seven in the afternoon--than shopping. And the DC was way late; it didn't arrive until 3. That meant we were punting for things to do. At one point R had Pa. change lightbulbs, and then P and I started playing Props a la Whose Line with them. I think her bunny ears were best. Also, I'd made a big enough fuss about cupcakes that R brought in a coffeecake from Panera and he told everyone it was for my birthday. K actually bought cupcakes but forgot them at home. That was so sweet of them. I think this is the first time anyone from any job has done something for my birthday. I had a Sally Field moment: They like me! They really like me!
When the DC finally did arrive, half my coworkers disappeared. I didn't even notice until I went to the bathroom; then I discovered R, K, and Pa. back there all unpacking boxes. I said, hey, wait, it's my birthday; shouldn't I be doing this? (Realize that doing DC is far preferable to standing at the counter and then shelving when enough has been unpacked.) K actually agreed with me and let me stay in the back! Sweet! She kept saying, it's your birthday, go ahead. Of course, tomorrow I have a feeling she'll call in every possible favor, which is fine. I'm prepared. :) Doing DC meant I spent my last two hours off the salesfloor, which was awesome. R brought in a radio, so we were listening to "All Things Jazz" on WDCB (which I listened to at the music store, which made things a bit surreal). R also went home at 4:15, and he'd already talked to me about finishing up the DC, so that worked out. Pa. and I had fun unpacking the erotic romance titles. They are so nasty! Seriously, between the titles (Inferno) and the cover pictures (some woman's crotch), I felt like taking penicillin just from touching them. Ew. But we also got in Charlotte's Web paraphernalia, which made me happy. Realize that when I was seven, my birthday was on Thanksgiving, and Channel 2 played the animated CW movie and I thought they played it for me. Aw.
Back at home, my mom was too tired to go out, so my dad and I went by ourselves to Bakers Square (yes, up by you, Laura). It's amazing how nice it is to drive without my mother harping on every move I make, and to eat without her trying to stick her fork on my plate...but I still missed having her there. She asked us to order her a sandwich, which we did, and we each saved her half of our slices of pie. Of course, she was sound asleep when we got home. (She ate her Reuben for breakfast this morning. Ew.)
My parents got me a card and a gift card for Target, "wrapped" in a Priority Mail envelope (because my birthday was a priority :P ); my grandparents gave me cards and checks; I got a card AND an email from my goddaughter--impressive because I didn't realize she had my address; and Avery sent me a card and a gift card to Blockbuster, which was very sweet of her. I think the gift card had to do with what we talked about at her party--she and Rita (host) kept talking about all these movies I've never seen, and even for the one movie I *had* seen, I didn't recall the part they were discussing. Of course, not being a movie person, I don't ever rent videos. I'm not looking to get a Blockbuster rental card. Guess I'll have to find someone who rents from there and go with them. Oh, and I got my annual birthday song from my grandfather. For a number of years he's called to sing his bastardized version of "Happy Birthday," and he prefers to sing it to me instead of leaving it on the machine. I was brushing my teeth when he called and picked up after the machine did; he'd hung up by then. I had to call him back, and then he thought I was my mother! Yikes, how old did I turn? But I got my song, so all was well.
Work was wacky. Really, there's no other way to put it. We were slightly busy in the morning, then everyone left. We had far more people working--six of the seven in the afternoon--than shopping. And the DC was way late; it didn't arrive until 3. That meant we were punting for things to do. At one point R had Pa. change lightbulbs, and then P and I started playing Props a la Whose Line with them. I think her bunny ears were best. Also, I'd made a big enough fuss about cupcakes that R brought in a coffeecake from Panera and he told everyone it was for my birthday. K actually bought cupcakes but forgot them at home. That was so sweet of them. I think this is the first time anyone from any job has done something for my birthday. I had a Sally Field moment: They like me! They really like me!
When the DC finally did arrive, half my coworkers disappeared. I didn't even notice until I went to the bathroom; then I discovered R, K, and Pa. back there all unpacking boxes. I said, hey, wait, it's my birthday; shouldn't I be doing this? (Realize that doing DC is far preferable to standing at the counter and then shelving when enough has been unpacked.) K actually agreed with me and let me stay in the back! Sweet! She kept saying, it's your birthday, go ahead. Of course, tomorrow I have a feeling she'll call in every possible favor, which is fine. I'm prepared. :) Doing DC meant I spent my last two hours off the salesfloor, which was awesome. R brought in a radio, so we were listening to "All Things Jazz" on WDCB (which I listened to at the music store, which made things a bit surreal). R also went home at 4:15, and he'd already talked to me about finishing up the DC, so that worked out. Pa. and I had fun unpacking the erotic romance titles. They are so nasty! Seriously, between the titles (Inferno) and the cover pictures (some woman's crotch), I felt like taking penicillin just from touching them. Ew. But we also got in Charlotte's Web paraphernalia, which made me happy. Realize that when I was seven, my birthday was on Thanksgiving, and Channel 2 played the animated CW movie and I thought they played it for me. Aw.
Back at home, my mom was too tired to go out, so my dad and I went by ourselves to Bakers Square (yes, up by you, Laura). It's amazing how nice it is to drive without my mother harping on every move I make, and to eat without her trying to stick her fork on my plate...but I still missed having her there. She asked us to order her a sandwich, which we did, and we each saved her half of our slices of pie. Of course, she was sound asleep when we got home. (She ate her Reuben for breakfast this morning. Ew.)
My parents got me a card and a gift card for Target, "wrapped" in a Priority Mail envelope (because my birthday was a priority :P ); my grandparents gave me cards and checks; I got a card AND an email from my goddaughter--impressive because I didn't realize she had my address; and Avery sent me a card and a gift card to Blockbuster, which was very sweet of her. I think the gift card had to do with what we talked about at her party--she and Rita (host) kept talking about all these movies I've never seen, and even for the one movie I *had* seen, I didn't recall the part they were discussing. Of course, not being a movie person, I don't ever rent videos. I'm not looking to get a Blockbuster rental card. Guess I'll have to find someone who rents from there and go with them. Oh, and I got my annual birthday song from my grandfather. For a number of years he's called to sing his bastardized version of "Happy Birthday," and he prefers to sing it to me instead of leaving it on the machine. I was brushing my teeth when he called and picked up after the machine did; he'd hung up by then. I had to call him back, and then he thought I was my mother! Yikes, how old did I turn? But I got my song, so all was well.