It's been a long few days. I had a family emergency on Saturday, and now I'm out of town helping out. I haven't slept since a bit Saturday night so I'm a little loopy.

Things are a little better, and I should be able to return home tomorrow evening or Thursday at the latest. I brought my homework along with me but of course I'm not getting any of it done. I'm going to have to bust my tuckus over the next few days. I've got a test in Trig on the 11th and I'm not really steady on the concepts. I'd rather not bomb this one, because then I'd have to retake Trig and that's just sick.

Happy Super Fat Tuesday to all of you. What are my predictions on this day of caucuses and over-indulgence before Lent?

I think there will be a sweep for the Republican candidate, and a crazy close race for the Democrat, that probably won't have a 'winner' so to speak. Also, there will be many drunk people, and not just because it's Mardi Gras.

I've got about 3 hours before I have to put on my hostess mask (and by this I mean pants, of course) and pretend to be human. I have some relatives coming in today, and then more people coming tomorrow, which I guess marks the inevitable arrival of Christmas.

I'm happy to say that this year I've completed my shopping, rapped everything, and have even started my baking, all before Christmas Eve. I'm proud of myself Figs, you should be proud of me too.

I've got to get some last minute house cleaning done (No, not my kitchen! You don't know me!) and get the beds in the guest room made up so that people have places to sleep. Other then my floor, which I swear is not as comfortable as people claim.

I'm going to take pictures of the tree today, before packages start vanishing from under it, so I can prove to certain people who don't believe me that it really is 9-feet tall, and 9-feet tall is taller then me.

HoTD:

I have a sore throat.
There are so many jokes here,
But lack voice to speak.

I've got the Baby here with me. We're watching Spongebob and eating lunch. He's excited because after lunch we're going to paint. I'm not so excited about the whole paint thing, but who am I to tell a three year old cutie patootie no?

I've got a class tonight until 10, and it's supposed to snow. Whee!!


HotD:

I need to clean, yo.
It's only me living here,
I am so messy.

Mike just left, he came by this afternoon to play with me, because let's be honest Figments, my house is the funnest house around for a three year old.

We watched some Backyardagans and Wonder Pets. He was very sad Blues Clues wasn't on, since that's his current favorite after Scooby Doo. Monsters are all the rage this year. We played some games and spent about an hour and a half drawing pictures in MS Paint. I've always been a big fan of teaching preschoolers how to use Paint, because not only does it teach them basic usage of computers, it's a huge novelty, and it saves my furniture from being drawn on with crayons 'by accadidn't'.

However, I have to say, that spending the afternoon with him totally wiped me out. It used to be that I could keep a whole group of the cheese smelling twerps going all day long and still have energy left at the end of the day. Now I just want a nap.

James also agrees that I'm old:

Rhea Rhyolin: I must be getting old, three hours with a preschooler totally wiped me out, and I used to be able to go all day with a group of them
nine2000james: LOL
nine2000james: You're totally old.
nine2000james: You were 11 when I met you, and that was like what... how long ago now?
nine2000james: You've gotta be like 16 or 17 now
Rhea Rhyolin: Aren't you proud of how big I am?
Rhea Rhyolin: I can cross the street by myself now!
nine2000james: I *am*

James - I can't believe you remember that. That's hysterical.

James and I first became buddies during the first Blogathon, where I caused a great scandal across the 'Net by blogging in a Graveyard for 24 hours. I also became the topic of great debate on mailing lists, listservs and blogs everywhere when someone started the rumor that I was only 11 and/or 6 years old, was posing as two or three people, and should (and I quote) be 'tarred and feathered' for asking for donations for charity, because everyone knew I was just going to keep them anyway.

James, his sweetie Kelly, and Cat (the organizer of the Blogathon) were the only ones who took me seriously that year, and didn't threaten my life, the lives of my family, and various appendages. We've been buddies ever since.

That is also the year I met Melissa, over at Blessed Blogger. She found my blog via one of the lists talking about me, and we became friends soon after.

Good times, you guys. Good times.

The Sister, as many of you Figments may well know, is currently 16 and works two jobs. Both are in food service, which is disgusting, one is at a private local University as a caterer which she doesn't mind so much, and the second is at a internationally well known fast food franchise which she hates.

First off - I want to commend her for being 16 and holding down two jobs. Lots of 16 year olds barely hold down one, or none at all. She's a good responsible reliable smart kid who works really hard, and she's a cutey patootie too. Personally, I'm not sure how we're related because she's freaking gorgeous.

So the second job, which is at a fast food join who tells their employees to make every moment a 'Golden Moment' for customers (that should help you figure out who it is) is one where The Sister is constantly being verbally and physically harassed and abused by the customers. Since the customers are 'always right' - a saying that I, as a business owner completely disagree with, you do everything you can for your customer to a point, but if they become physically or verbally abusive then they are not the type of customer you want for your business - the managers and other employees do nothing to step in and help each other out.

I love how in America everyone is so expendable. Employees are a dime-a-dozen, so lets treat them like they are shit, and then pay them less then a living wage so they just barely scrape by, and maybe even have to get a second shit job. As long as we make the Almighty Dollar, that's all that matters, and who cares who gets screwed in the process, employees or customers.

That, also, is a crap way to run your business. I see it all over. I have friends who work for major companies who handle major clients who are told that they are too friendly or too helpful to their clients, they are just supposed to smile and nod and shove them on their way to get to the next buck as soon as possible.

Oh, oops...I was ranting. Ok, so The Sister has a job thats none too good. Take for instance a few weeks ago, the store was understaffed, the lines were out the door, and all the managers had gone to a softball game or to get their hair done (with money from the safe...no less). There were three people working, The Sister at the counter, Worker #1 at the window and Worker #2 making food. Worker #2 was being trained by The Sister at the same time because it was her first day.

So The Sister is out working trying her hardest to get everyone taken care of, and this woman comes up and places this huge order while her half-dressed kids climb all over the counter and other people. TS calls it back for Worker #2 to get going, and W2 has some problems so TS goes back to help. She serves this woman her order, and moves along.

Within five minutes this woman's husband comes back with a complaint, TS fixes it, then the woman comes back with the same complaint and TS tells her she already fixed it and the woman walks off huffy. The woman comes back three more times with complaints, screaming and cursing at TS. Then, the whole fiasco ends with this woman smearing hamburger all over the counters and throwing a hamburger at TS.

Yeah. Threw it at her.

Was anything done to this woman? Of course not, she received three refunds one for food at the counter, one for food and money at the window, and she called in a refund for money about four hours after this happened.

This, however, isn't the end of it.

Two days ago TS was working counter and a woman came up and said her fries were cold. TS replaced them and the woman left, but came back. This is the conversation, as transcribed by me, from TS:

Woman: Can I talk to you for a moment?

TS: Can I help you?

Woman: There are two boys outside who say they know you personally (take that as you will, Figments!), and they say you have herpes and I need to know before I feed these fries to my son.

TS: excuse you?

Woman: It's ok, you don't have to be embarrassed, I understand these things happen with young girls, you should just tell me the truth.

TS: Dumbfounded...

Woman: I don't see any sores on your mouth yet!

At this point TS went and got her manager, who only told the woman he didn't see any signs of herpes. TS was pissed. I was pissed for her, Figments.

Then yesterday one of her friends mom came in, and let the kids go play while she ordered food, and another woman got in her friends mom face and cursed her out and so she got her kids and left, and then another woman got into the other woman’s face and cursed her out...all while the manager was standing right there and did noting.

So, TS is fed up.

TS put in an application for a job as a customer service assistant at an upscale grocery store in the town where she lives. The grocery store is part of a chain, but it's a local chain, rather then national, that is owned by a local man who is very involved with the community and takes care of his employees. Yesterday she had an interview and got the job within five minutes, today she's giving her two weeks notice at both places.

I say, good for her. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, especially not over some poorly made hamburgers and fries that are going to clog arteries and kill someone anyway. "It's food service, that's what happens" is not an excuse, it's a cop-out.

HotD:

Today is Tuesday.
Weirdness abounds my Figments,
In the shape of jobs.

Since I very rarely get to see all of my family in one spot, it was really fun today to spend the day with them being childish.

Robin came by with the majority of my siblings for some help with some health assignments, and then we decided to run out and grab some lunch. I also got two (two! Talk about splurging) pairs of new shoes because I completely killed my last pair of tennies yesterday by ripping the entire left side out of my left shoe.

We grabbed some Chinese at a buffet place we like that actually has good Chinese buffet food. I always feel so wasteful at buffet places though.

Then afterwards we all decided to revert completely to nine year olds and go to Wunderland, a five-cent arcade that, like most arcades, is loud, stuffy and smells of kid-sweat. It was a blast. They have a Dance Dance Revolution machine (not my favorite remix, but hey, DDR is DDR), so I spent the majority of the time playing rounds of DDR, shooting zombies in House of the Dead (my second favorite arcade game) and giving the evil eye to my arch-nemesis, skeetball.

All in all, it was a hoot. Those five-cent places are killer though, it's easy to buy twenty bucks worth of nickels before you even realize what you're doing. No, I did not spend twenty bucks in the DDR machine...I only spent like five bucks in it...so there. I play a pretty mean game of DDR, people. Partly though because I cheat and play it at home, but the Playstation version is nothing like the arcade machine. Those arcade machines, they are addictive. Think I could get away with buying one, instead of paying my rent this month...and next? Yeah? Oh...nah, I didn't think so either.

Now, I'm going to spend the rest of my Saturday doing absolutely nothing productive at all. I so rarely have time to myself where I don't have to be somewhere or do something, I want to take advantage of it while I've got it. Plus, I've got all those tasty, tasty books to read. Mmm...books.

HotD:

It's raining outside.
Little droppies falling fast,
Plunking on the roof.