Constant Transitions and Squeaky Wheels

Interesting title, isn't it? It seemed to hit the spot. Life is full of so many little changes that we learn very early on to adapt, to the point where we don't even notice that change has occurred. Some circumstances force us into quick side-steps or small leaps over temporary obstacles, thereafter allowing us to settle into our latest, comfortable routine. Then there are the changes that necessitate the entire revision, sometimes even replacement of that routine. Times during which we learn of ourselves, and have to exert our will and act to progress, trusting that God knows what He is doing and has His hand in the outcome.

This is such a time.

Rather dramatic, right? Sometimes I let myself think so. I have a great tendency to over-analyze many a situation I find myself in. I subconciously (and, yes, conciously) exaggerate my position, as we all do to some degree or another. It probably doesn't help that many of the books I read feature so prominantly on one character, with reference their companions or enemies, that little attention is spared for background characters past some small desire of or service to the "hero". As the main character in my own narrative, I also at times lose sight of the bigger picture. Let's face it, who doesn't? Am I the hero, though? Time will tell, I suppose. For now I'm sticking with my parents as my heros.

As for the changes that lead to this, well, ramble, rant, hot air, they are many and yet oh so few. First: I have been released from my calling as Literacy Specialist at church, and been called to be an FHE group leader. I think that Brother Boulter finally got his wish, as he has been encouraging me to be more social for over a year :) I have to say that I am slightly intimidated, but I hope, with the Lord's help, to rise to the challenge.

One thing should help to some degree, and that is that, with Lisa and Christian (and, it must be said, Dalton) moving out, I will be moving into the back of the house- what now amounts to a full apartment. This second change is the one that I am most immediately excited for, as I will have four rooms and several closets to spread out into from my current one room, one closet personal area. While I will be leaving behind my very pretty purple room, I believe it's worth the sacrifice :) I am still slightly lacking in furniture, but thanks to the acquisition of a couch from Amy (thanks again!) and the return of a very good coffee (or in my case hot chocolate) table from Sarah (my thanks to you as well), my space will definitely be less barren. My continually increasing book collection will also go a long way to filling the space, I'm sure. I love books :)

The third change. Ah, the third change. The one that I have been the most dramatic about stems, as usual, from my job. For starters, Inventory is finally complete. So much learned, and progress was, I feel, made. I spent a very good portion of June practically running around in circles trying to prepare for it, and then the first week of July recovering from it. The entire two weeks prior to June 30 were spent in as much preparation as possible, though we often found ourselves righer tightly-staffed. I was somewhat frazzled, I must confess, but I have learned a great deal, which shall stand me in good stead for next year's inventory and also for other similar circumstances.

June 30 saw me arriving at work at 9 am as usual. I finished cleaning all of the inventory areas, including sweeping the floors. I took a fifteen minute break to run to the food court for lunch, and then forged ahead. From 1 pm to 11 pm I had a couple of minutes to myself at a time, I spent so much time running around. Far from alone, though. Mike and Joe were there just as long, and the rest of the retail department weren't so bad either ;)

Thursday dawned much earlier than I wanted it to, but at least it was a productive day. I was sore from the day before, but was at work by about 7:15 to help Julie import the counts from the inventory company. The computer program was down for the first several hours, but we prevailed. Sadly, were things that were missed or mistaken on. I spent the rest of the day, with a break for a physical therapy appointment, going through the over 150 pages of our inventory list to determine what items needed to be re-counted and adjusted. It took me until the end of that day to go through the list, and then to determine just where some of the items were. I was tired.

It showed quite prominantly the next day. I awoke with a headache. Oh dear. I made it to work, but was sent home shortly after noon as I was quite obviously (at least to my coworkers) unable to continue. Only on the way home did I realize how bad off I was, as I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open and my mind focused on driving. I spent the rest of the day in bed. I couldn't even watch my favorite tv shows, though they didn't even come on until after I had already slept for about 9 hours. Sigh.

I was able to make it to work the next day, though, and complete the inventory recounts and adjustments (with much help again from Joe and Mike). I was then able to enjoy a family barbeque, a long nap, and finally fireworks on the 4th of July. Monday and Tuesday saw the final recovery of my sleep schedule and blood sugar levels to normal. Fortunately I also have a week-long "stay-cation" in two weeks, a much needed break from work right before the next big change there- Nate is leaving DG. After working for the museum for, what is it, four years? he is moving on to bigger and better things. With his departure, the entire dynamic of our department will change. New people will come in, tasks will be shuffled around a bit, and someone will have to learn how to juggle :)

What does this incredibly long-winded post have to do with squeaky wheels? Nothing, really, except that my thought process was kindled today when I took advantage of the perfect weather to take my infant nephew on a walk, my monologue accompanied only by the squeaky wheels of his stroller. And there you have it.

Root Canals and Project Gutenberg

Okay, okay so I haven't updated in a while. This day, therefor, is brought to you by my second root canal, courtesy of which I have a hard time eating, and talking, lest I'm on painkillers. I consequently took today off as a sick day in hopes of giving my mouth time to recover.

Now on to more fun topics. Here in ye' olde United States, the copyright on books runs out after (I think) about 150 years, meaning that any book published more than 150 years ago is now in the public domain and can be published/reproduced by anyone. Enter Project Gutenberg. The source of free ebooks from authors such as Jane Austin, Shakespeare, Tolstoy and more. I spent at least an hour last night downloading over fifty classics. I started reading The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, but I'll have to put it on hold until the next book for our book club is chosen. Now that I've finished the most recent Brandon Sanderson book, I'll be reading Yearning for the Living God, by F. Enzio Busche.

Speaking though of Brandon Sanderson, I had the opportunity to go to a reading/signing of his at the Barnes and Noble at Jordon Landing with my friend Rebecca from work. He did a reading from The Way of Kings, to be published some time next year, and from Alcatraz vs. the Knights of Crystallia, the third book in the most hilarious series of odd magics ever :) I won a medallion with the sixteen allomantic medals from his Mistborn series, and got his autograph on copies of Warbreaker (the new one I just finished) and on Elantris, his first book. Brandon Sanderson is the author that has been chosen to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. You can download a free copy of Warbreaker from his website, though I definitely think its worth having the hardback.

High Time

I figure that since it's been almost two months since I last updated, its high time that I finally let people know what's been going on.

At work, we learned mid-March who our new supervisor would be (for those of you who don't know we waited for around 5 months for this answer)-his name is Mike Picardi, and as far as I'm concerned he couldn't be more welcome!! While I did apply for the job, I had reached a point where I just wanted the question answered! I also admit that it was something of a relief- while I believe that I am capable of doing the job, I had hit a high-stress point in my life and was ready to let some things go. Now I can enjoy my job and not worry so much about possible drama, both within my department and without. I do have to say though that it is rather interesting to train your own boss.

At home, I've been babysittting my nephew Dalton every Wednesday (well, more often than not). What a cutie!! He's filled out quite nicely and has most definitely grown. As much as I love taking care of him, though, I recently decided to try to take a day off last week for a break. What an ordeal-not getting the time (thanks, Sarah!), but what happened with it.

Even with another person working in our department, until he is trained there's only so much he can do. I have recently had to pick up extra hours for various reasons-staff absences, getting backed-up on processing paperwork, the museum being very busy due to Spring Breaks across the state. After working a few overtime hours a week for several weeks, it ended with working a total of 15 overtime hours in one week. Wowzer. While I appreciate getting the work done, and I know I'll appreciate the paycheck when I get it, by Saturday I was quite drained. I slept in on Sunday, broke down a bit, regrouped my emotions and faced Monday with a positive outlook.

On Tuesday morning my mom helped me take my car to the shop to get it through safety and emissions. My dad kept me updated on the repairs, etc, and we were able to get it through the tests, fix an oil leak (knock on wood-still testing the results on that one), and get the registration renewed. I got off work at 4 pm, made it to the shop by about 5 pm (give or take), and was home before 6 pm. I knew before leaving work that something wasn't quite right- I felt a bit light-headed and weak. I chocked it up to the week before. At the shop, however, I knew something more was up. By the time I made it home, I decided it was time to find ye olde thermometer. My average temp is somewhere between 97.6 and 97.8 degrees- I had hit 99.4. A bit of a fever, but not much, right? Within one hour I was up to 100.7. At this point (obviously not thinking entirely straight, but erring on the side of caution (ok, probably paranoia)) I asked my dad to check in on me occasionally, and then added a blanket or two to the bed and more or less crashing. Before I fell asleep for the night I was up to 102.7. My throat was killing me, and I just couldn't get warm.

Fortunate I suppose that I had previously asked Lisa, Dalton's mom, for a "day off", right? I spent the entire next day in bed. I got up a couple of times knowing that I needed to eat something, despite having no appetite whatsoever. I ended up with a package of Ritz crackers. I think I remember making Ramen that night, but ate only about half of it. I just couldn't bear thinking of eating more. So much for my "personal day" that I was going to spend out doing whatever the heck I wanted. Though it really was fortunate that I wasn't depended on to care for Dalton that day. Thanks again for the Nyquil, mom.

The fever finally left around 4 am Thursday morning. I was scheduled to work, but called Mike and got permission to only come in for our scheduled meeting. Thank goodness-my throat was still absolutely killing me. I spent the morning in various pursuits while recovering-taking my brother to school when my dad didn't have keys, weighing in at Weight Watchers (I lost 6.6 pounds last week!), and then driving up to my favorite restaurant for breakfast/lunch before the meeting in hopes of gathering some sort of energy. Sadly, Litza's wasn't open yet. I then went to the Gateway and killed the pre-meeting time with some very light shopping and a quick trip to the food court. I guess it was a good thing that Litza's wasn't open as I could only actually stomach part of a cheeseburger at that point.

After the meeting, during which I was mostly silent-being reluctant to talk due to my throat, not lack of opinion-I finally made it back to Litza's, starving after having had very little to eat over the previous 2 days. I quite thoroughly enjoyed my meal, and took a larger-than-usual portion home for dad to share. I quite gratefully spent the rest of the day in bed.

After spending most of Friday being weak and coughing a ton, I awoke on Saturday with, joy of joys, pink eye. I went to work nonetheless, being very careful to use plenty of hand sanitizer and frequently washing my hands. Sadly, though, my energy was pretty much gone within the first hour of work. I set up an appointment at my clinic for just after noon and left work as soon as Nate got in. No wonder I was so tired- my blood pressure was way low! They tested me for strep. Even though the rapid test was negative, I was treated for it anyways, along with getting a prescription for the eye. Oh joy. I spent the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday in bed, hacking up lungs left and right.

Finally on Monday I was feeling ok-I kept hydrated, and was also grateful to find out I didn't have strep when the more reliable 48 hour culture was also negative. I spent the day getting caught up on paperwork...again. I guess its a good thing that its actually my favorite part of my job :). Today I spent doing other office work that has been waiting a very very long time to be worked on, and anxiously checking ups.com.

Why check ups.com? I was tracking a package, of course. What package? The package containing my new toy-an Asus Eee PC 1000 HE netbook :) In otherwords, its a 10 inch laptop. Yay! It's not meant for gaming, or heavy-duty processing, but for basics its perfect! I mostly want it for internet and basic word processing, and possibly for music. It has built-in wifi and bluetooth, a webcam, and a 160 GB hard drive :) Even better, its a cool shade of blue! ;) There was a fair amount of drama initially-I had incorrectly installed the upgraded RAM I got for it. Not until I had let it sit for a few hours could I come back to my broken toy to fix it. I'm just glad that I figured it out.

So far so good-anyone with questions about my netbook, feel free to ask! Chances are I'll probably even have it on hand and can show you personally. Right now I'm trying to run down the battery before charging it again- I'm at 51% with almost 4 hours remaining.

Butterflies, Birthdays and Books

This last weekend was a rather interesting one. I set the butterflies free on Friday, as I frankly was worried about them due to the cats (there are paw prints on the sand Zen Garden I had set up next to them), and the fact that I am frequently gone all day and therefore don't always remember to feed them. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the temperature and it was colder than it should have been. Hopefully they are okay. Here are a couple of photos of the event:

On Saturday I worked from 9:00 am to about 8:30 pm. An hour or so of that was on the museum floor-even when I was a Discovery Host (the ones who typically staff the floor) I never actually worked in any of the exhibits-that was back when they also staffed the Admissions and Retail registers, making this a unique and therefor somewhat exciting experience. I got home that night and thought to go straight to bed, but instead stayed up for a few hours, finishing one book and then another. I got to sleep somewhere around 3:00 am.

My actual birthday was rather tough to begin with- I overslept a bit, and so got in the shower a bit later than planned. That worked out really well-after only a few minutes the water twice got really hot, and then went very very cold. I confess I was rather frustrated by this. I finished up and got out the skirt I wanted to where only to remember that I needed to iron it. I was rather frustrated, but still managed to make it to church only a couple minutes late. After a roller coaster of emotions during church, from frustration and loneliness to peace, gratitude and love (several circuits through these and a couple of others), I returned home and had a good day with my family. Mom made lasagna, garlic bread, and a really really good chocolate cake. Grandma and Grandpa Petty came up for dinner, and we watched the last 60 laps of the Nascar race. Why, you ask? Didn't know I was an avid Jeff Gordon fan, did you. Okay, so I'm not. Dad, on the other hand, is, and was at the race with my uncle Darren. Mom waved just about every time we saw the stands, and we were all somewhat disappointed when Kyle Busch won. At least he had a cute car, though ;) I was asleep sometime around 11:00 pm, after taking Nyquil for my cold.

I slept so well last night. I didn't wake up until 10:00 am, when my bishop called to wish me a happy belated birthday :) After trying to set up lunch with the gals at RE/MAX and not succeeding (hopefully we'll be more successful on Wednesday), I went to lunch with my brother-in-law Christian and my nephew Dalton. We had a good time, and fortunately Dalton slept through it. I spent only a few moments at home afterward before heading to Great Clips for the long-awaited hair cut. I last got my hair cut right before starting in the Retail department at work, back when I was 23. I decided recently that it was time to get it cut again, but knowing that my birthday was coming up I chose to wait until afterwards, thereby being able to say that I didn't get my hair cut at all while I was 24. I think it made a pleasant way to celebrate turning 25. I think I got a good 3 to 4 inches chopped off. I spent the rest of today watching tv, working on my finances, and chatting a bit with dad, who got home late last night.

There's not actually anything much to say on the book front, its just that I always talk about books in some form or another. Right now I'm reading Enna Burning, the sequel to The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. So far so good :)

Of Babies and Butterflies, Busy Days and Books

Much has happened since my last post. Time to play catch-up.

Dalton James Mortensen, the cutest little nephew I have (being the only one, time will tell), was born January 27th after a long, hard delivery on my sister's part. Here are some pictures of the happy family, along with one video I received just a few moments ago:

This one is Dalton the day after he was born, shortly before going home from the hospital.

Here is the happy family the day of Dalton's birth :)

Courtesy Michael's cell phone

As I have Wednesday's off, I have the great privilege of babysitting Dalton every Wednesday starting next week, as Lisa will be going back to work. More updates there to follow :)

About two and a half weeks ago I brought home something I never thought would enter this house-butterflies. Well, caterpillars to be exact. We carry a product called "Live Butterfly Garden" by Insect Lore at work and recently placed an order so that we'd have it in stock for the spring. In the catalogue it stated that a free live butterfly garden was included for display with an order of twelve or more. We placed our order for twelve, me suspecting that the display would only include some sort of set-up of the kit and information on getting the butterflies. That is until we received a package stating "Live Butterflies Open Immediately." You can imagine my surprise. I thought that there were actual butterflies in there, though how someone could ship them is beyond me. Nate and I cautiously opened the package in a closed room to discover the caterpillars in a nicely sealed container. Our boss would not allow live butterflies, and so I brought the package home in excitement.

As cute as they were to begin with, those caterpillars got huge! After about 10 days or so they formed their chrysalids (cocoons) and are now hanging on the side of the net, where they shall remain for a few more days (the stage lasts between 7 to 10 days) before becoming Painted Lady Butterflies. I confess I'm at something of a loss of what to do with them after they emerge-you can't release them until the temperature is above 55 degrees. Maybe I'll give them to Michael...

More pictures will be posted soon :)

Work continues to be busy. Not that we have a lot of guests every day, but there is much to be done in my department and only a handful of us to do it. This last weekend was President's Day weekend. Most people see it as a break-and so as something of a tourist destination we of course were rather busy. I worked from the Thursday before all the way through Tuesday, including all three days of our busiest weekend. Saturday, courtesy a snow storm in the morning and Valentine's Day in the evening, was not as busy as we had anticipated. We were able to get a fair amount of cleaning in, particularly in the office. I now have a much more efficient way to store the paperwork I process next to the computer I always use. Yay! It does make it much easier to organize myself and keep track of what I'm working on.

Kim called me on Sunday morning, asking to trade shifts with me-her Sunday for my Friday. I haven't had to work a Sunday in about four or five months, and so agreed. Jessica, Morgan and I were able to sell 20 memberships that day-a rather impressive number for a Sunday, if I do say so myself. Still, it took its toll. Monday, President's Day, was about as busy as I had anticipated it would be. Not as busy as last year, but definitely busier than normal. We processed more admissions and memberships in the first two hours than we often do on an average weekday. We had a total of 2021 admissions and sold 45 memberships that day. Fortunately we were adequately staffed, if a bit tighter than what I would have like. Oh the joys of working in a recession. Still, I know that I have learned a great deal more in taking over many of the tasks that would not have fallen to me had we still had a manager. I process all of our department's paperwork, as well as the orders from our online store, among other things. As most of you know, I have applied for the Retail Supervisor position, along with Nate. No word yet, but I believe it will be resolved in the next couple of weeks.

Not to be outdone by her new young cousin, here is a video I just received of my niece, Jane. Forwarded to me by Michael, who got it from our sister Laura, Jane's mom:

I dare say she's the cutest niece I have ;)

So after having a very long week, I decided that today would be a good day-a day I could relax and do whatever I wanted to do and not worry about work. I slept for around 9 hours, had a leisurely morning, and then took myself to two movies-Inkheart and Taken. Inkheart was very cute, one that I will most likely own someday. I then had almost an hour between movies, during which I called my dad and then relaxed in the food court of the Jordan Commons' food court..plaza..area.. and read a new book. Quite an interesting place to read, I dare say. But then I've trained myself to read in any number of places and situations by virtue of much practice ;)

Taken was a rather more extreme version of the movie I thought it would be. Five years ago it would have been rated R. Very testosterone-driven, it is about a retired spy who's daughter gets taken while she is vacationing in Paris. Using all of his incredible talents, he hunts down not only the ones who took her, but the ones who later bought her from the female-traffickers who took her to the people who bought her, leaving the wreckage and the dead in his wake. This movie had a much more "real" feel to it than other spy/assassin related movies and shows I've seen. Despite it being very well made, I will nonetheless probably never watch it again.

Not quite yet ready to make my way home, I decided to go to the dollar theatre and see what was playing there. Not being interested in waiting over an hour for either of the shows I was interested in, I went to the Century movie theatre in Sandy instead. Not wanting to wait for any of those movies either, I ended up spending a bit of time at Barnes and Noble. One of my favorite places :) I wandered around a bit, finally purchasing a novel-writing kit by Chris Baty, founder of Nanowrimo, in anticipation of my participation this upcoming November. I also purchased the newest Trudi Canavan book-a bit of a stretch for me, but as the cover and actual book were both done in purple and white, it was obviously meant to be. It also helps that it's set in the same world as her Black Magician trilogy, of which I am a fan. After stopping in the cafe for a hot chocolate and a fresh chocolate chunk cookie, I finally made my way home, relaxed, refreshed, and ready for tomorrow.

A Wonderful Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day. After two months of stressful, though manageable, action and pressure I had a day all to myself. Nothing to do but what I personally chose to do. I took advantage of my shoulder, the reason I had two days off in a row, to sleep in and do nothing. Literally. I spent a good five hours watching Highlander episodes (starring the incredibly attractive Adrian Paul) and working on Sudoku puzzles. It was an incredible relief, a day that both my body and my mind rejoiced in.

Owing to my ever-increasing sense of efficiency and productivity, however, I did take the time in the evening to clean my new room. Having just moved into it, there were pictures to be hung, clothes to be put away, and curtains to mount (thanks again Christian!). I begin again to reevaluate my perspectives from this new stage in my life-after two days of not much going on, I can see how it would be possible to have too much time to yourself. Only so many hours you can spend on tv and sudoku. Fortunately I have a good job that I truly enjoy. There's always something to do, and I'm constantly working hard and learning from the experience.

Speaking of work, and the benefits of taking a break, my shoulder is finally getting better. The muscles are feeling more like they are sore and less, well, injured. Its not perfect yet, but I'm not as limited in my range of motion now. Yay! I'll be able to get back into the tasks I'm used to performing uninhibited-like lifting boxes and reaching product on higher shelves. The register is certainly getting easier to use-owing both to my improving right shoulder and my increased proficiency with my left hand.

Well, its getting late and I have a new book to read. To days off, finding satisfaction and joy in hard work, and healing shoulders. Cheers!

To Read, To Crochet and To Write

Having just ventured once again into the glorious place that is Barnes and Noble, it shall be no surprise that I did not exit empty-handed. Five new books have just joined the ranks of those awaiting a spot on shelves that I do not currently own. I haven't even finished all of the ones I bought last time, not that that's a bad thing. At least I've got my fill (temporarily) of book shopping. Minus the one I have on order, of course.

This trip was a bit harder than some. Not in book choices-courtesy my remaining gift cards I was able to splurge and get books that I haven't been waiting for. No, I recently decided that it would be a good idea to carry a full box of about 10 reams of paper on one shoulder, thereby straining my biceps and leaving me unable to do everything that my relatively physically-demanding job entails. Working in a gift shop one of the things I do every day, at some point or another, is to work a register (be it for minutes or hours at a time). While I can move my arm sideways, moving it forward just plain hurts. NSAIDS help, but I haven't been able to take the 2 to 3 days off that my doctor recommended to let it rest. Yesterday was just no fun at all in that regard. Its very frustrating not to be able to do everything that I normally don't even think twice about.

It is an interesting learning experience, however. Its humbling to have to ask for help where I've typically been very capable and independent, like in carrying boxes, stocking the store, especially vacuuming. I'm typically the one who vacuums the store in the mornings. I've got a very nice, efficient system worked out. Twice though this week I've had to take other tasks while Nate vacuumed. It really does take a whole new mindset. One that I'm glad to learn-not in order to take advantage of others, but more so in learning a new aspect of teamwork.

I also picked up my crochet hook for the first time in a long time. I crocheted something of a sling for myself- a more obvious reminder to myself not to do as much lifting. Its also more comfortable for my shoulder than to have my hand forever in my pocket, for all it looks rather tacky. I tell myself that its a new kind of scarf when my arm isn't actually in it :) I admit though I wouldn't even have bothered if I didn't occasionally here a faint popping sound in my shoulder (much like the sound of popping knuckles) where I haven't ever heard it before.

And now for the final part-the writing. It seems I'm more likely to get comments where I've posted another excerpt from my 'novel'. I still haven't decided whether or not to continue it, nor what my pen name would be, but here is the next installment, directly after the last:

"The conversation continued after they boarded the train, Sally appreciating how the mother of the young trio was able to calm them down for the ride, or at least curtail their exuberance by not letting it progress past limited bouncing in their seats at each stop and excitedly pointing out the window at the train’s speed and the mural- and graffiti-covered buildings flashing by. She silently applauded the mother for letting her children work out some of their energy at the platform.

The train ride seemed to fly by, startling Sally with how quickly they approached her stop. Apologizing to the kind gentleman, she began gathering her things. “Perhaps we could continue this delightful conversation by other means. Do you perhaps use email very often?” Pleasantly surprised at his question, she gladly exchanged email addresses with him, promising to send him information on the book that day. With a satisfied air, the man graciously thanked her for her time and bid her good day.

She breezed through the exit, making her way towards work with more grace than she ever remembered possessing. She barely heeded her surroundings as she pondered the strange yet utterly rewarding adventure she had just been party to. While sifting through her memories, however, she realized that she’d never found out how she had first drawn his attention, let alone warranted the conversation they’d had. Warning flags went up when she considered some of the negative possibilities of why a young woman would attract such attention. Unable to reconcile such predatory acts with the compellingly trustworthy man she’d just met, however, she determined to put such thoughts away, while keeping the warning signs simmering on a back burner in the event that she’d been mislead. It wouldn’t do for her predictable life to be overturned by the upset that unknown men had been seen to afflict on their victims.

Returning to the new insights she’d gained of the book in her hands, Sally lithely bounded up the steps to the private employee’s entrance of the book store. Upon entering, she took a deep breath of that wonderful paper and ink smell she loved so much. There was something incredibly calming, and yet energizing, by that inticing, memory laden scent. She had loved libraries and book stores for years, and had many happy and joyous experiences in such places. She always took a moment to “stop and smell the roses” as it were in anticipation of another wonderful day at the job she loved.

As her thoughts returned once again to The Last Lecture, and the insights she’d had through her conversation with the still unnamed man (his e-mail address didn’t provide any particular hints in that regard), Sally began the procedures to open the store for the day. Cash drawers had to be counted, activated and put into the registers. The registers had to be turned on and keyed in, ready for the cashier to log on to the point of sale system. A quick run through of the store had to be performed to make sure the night janitors had been thorough, and then another, slower journey made to that each book was shelved. She made a mental note to have Benjamin and Susan help her go through each section within the next couple of days to make sure each book was shelved properly.

As the day shift employees started to arrive, Sally made her way back to the manager’s office and started generating to do lists. One list was a set of tasks for each employee based on their general knowledge and strengths. Another list involved various book displays and the racks of related merchandise scattered throughout the store and her suggestions on which should be replaced soon and with what merchandise, to help the store seem “fresh” and the merchandise updated. It was also a great way to market the items that otherwise weren’t selling. She made suggestions on which merchandise should be shifted to the front after viewing their inventory. Items they had large quantities of went up front and by the audio visual section. New items for the secondary sections and also scattered so that they were placed close to their genres. Each section also included books on related topics, books by the same author, or books in the same genre though not necessarily closely related. Novels suggested by Oprah’s book club and other various talk shows went both in the front and next to the café.

The third list included items that needed to be ordered for the upcoming holiday season. Halloween was just around the corner, soon to be followed by both Thanksgiving and the ever busy Christmas holidays. Richard Paul Evans books topped the list, of course. This was, after all, Utah state. Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box, Grace, and several other novels and financial independence books, had a great following in his home state. He was also known to give firesides and speeches in the area on a regular basis. She also thought to showcase some other up and coming local authors next to his works. She enjoyed his books, but as she listed his publications her thoughts slowly drifted back to The Last Lecture and her conversation with the strange gentleman she had met that morning."

Sorry for the weird spacing, I'll fix that up later.