Big update for me, looks like I'm going to be heading back up to Pittsburgh. My aunt's boss is offering me a seasonal job at their pottery studio, so we're talking about me leaving either on Friday or Saturday. I'd be working whenever they needed me while job hunting, so that's what it sounds like the plan is

They have pre-made pottery figures and things that you only get to paint, but they let me paint 'broken' pieces before for a discounted price. I'm supposed to get an employee discount as well, so that's good.

I looked up environmental firms and laboratories in the Pittsburgh area and found a bunch of them last night, so I just spent the past hour and a half applying to as many as I could. I think I contacted about fifteen companies. Here's hoping I hear back from them.

Also apparently my Spirithood will come in the mail today 8D!! I ordered it Tuesday, it got here insanely quick! I'll have a picture of it as soon as it arrives

Probably froze my aunt going out and doing the photoshoot today, but it was as good of a day as any to do it before it got too snowy. She did an outstanding job though (and I'm going to get her Starbucks as compensation).

Oh yes, the bramble. It's been snowing too much while I've been up here this year for me to meditate, but last year I got to sit in it all the time. I actually had a really awesome experience there too - the first few times I meditated, I was watching for deer the whole time and never saw them. The last time I focused on the meditation and nothing else. As soon as I finished, I turned around and there was a doe that had walked right up to the bramble. We scared each other and she ran off, but stopped a ways away and looked back at me. She snorted several times like "You crazy human, you scared the crap outta me!", before she ran off. It was amazing.

I've had an awesome Christmas, hope you guys are enjoying it too. I got a lot of cool stuff so I wanted to show.

Also I saw a doe eating the deer food I put out yesterday, so that made me happy. The food I put out the other day when it rained sort of disintegrated , so I was glad she got to have breakfast from the new batch.

First off...



My aunt, uncle, and cousin in Florida sent me a Zombie Survival Kit! It's got everything from candy to supplies in it.



Mom got me a Coheed and Cambria T-shirt since I didn't get one when I got to see them in concert; Harry Potter Expecto Patronum shirt (since Harry's patronus charm is the stag and I love deer) ; my cousin up here in Pennsylvania got me an Oviraptor stuffed animal; and a Yoda plush



I got two canning/mason jar books with all sorts of recipes; a walking meditation guide book by Thich Nhat Hanh; Roald Dahl's book of Ghost Stories; a collapsible strainer from the deer in the back yard; and a ReCAP jar pourer for my mason jars when I make tea and stuff



Ninja Assassin DVD; Coheed and Cambria's album 'Second Stage Turbine Blade'; a 'Tea Rex' tea infuser; a Pittsburgh mug from Starbucks; my brother got me both the DVD and soundtrack to Beasts of the Southern Wild; and some Axe bodywash from my aunt


Not pictured are some gift cards from my brother and sister-in-law in Georgia and a lot of candy

My aunt had surgery this morning, so when I woke up she had left me a message with some money for me to pick out my own birthday cake.

I couldn't resist asking the nice lady at Wal-Mart to put a very specific symbol on a cookie cake for me

Well I figured out why the deer food keeps disappearing at night! I busted Quad eating it all!

Tomorrow's a very big day for me, in two ways. I've got my interview with the company in Canonsburg at 10 AM, meanwhile the company in Louisiana will be calling one of my professors and asking about me.

In both instances, wish me luck. I don't know where I will end up but either way I'll be very happy.

good luck quad! hope things go well!

X3 thanks a bunch guys!

The interview went very well. The company is very cool and do a lot of soil sampling for the state's road services (Penndot and the Turnpike), and are looking to hire 1-2 geologists for projects. I should know between Friday and Monday if they are interested. They're interviewing three other candidates

Happy 6-years!

Well another good news/bad news sort of thing.

I just got accepted to work at my brother's grocery store as a bagger, and have orientation tomorrow.

And...yesterday got a call from a geology job in Mississippi. I'm in Georgia now, so...I honestly don't know what to do. They may want me to come interview, and it's 6 hours away.

Another tough call...

I had a neat dream that I want to work into a story, so any ideas or input is greatly appreciated

In the story, there are people who protect villages (I'll call them "Guardians" for now, but plan to give them a better, more original name), but they are feared and hated by the villagers because they are frequently attacked by enemies and often cause a lot of destruction.

The guardians have specific tattoos on their face in the shape of an X (though it may have looked closer to kabuki face paint instead) which identifies them as belonging to the order of guardians, and have superhuman abilities such as improved movement, strength, and accuracy. Some use gun weapons where others would use swords and heavy blunt weapons.

They are often accompanied by heavily armored knights, who wear white 'angelic' looking armor and use pole arms. These knights have no powers, but they do what they can to defend the villagers when there is a battle taking place.

There is often heavy damage to the surroundings when a battle happens, since the guardians have powers that often miss and cause destruction.

The enemies are like assassins and are always hunting the guardians, so the villagers never want them around when they appear in town because they know trouble always comes. Even though the guardians are trying to protect them, the villagers often curse and tell them to leave. A guardian could work alone with a group of knights or team with two or three others. In the dream I was working alone.

I'm trying to come up with names for everyone, including the main guardian who I was in the dream. His power was exceptional accuracy and he used pistols with what seemed to be infinite ammunition, often firing them off so fast they seemed to act more like automatic pistols. I may make it an older timeperiod, so the guns may become crossbows or bow-and-arrow instead

Anyway, what do you guys think? Pretty cool story from a dream, right?

Update -

I have a plan for the next few months now.

May - continue saving up for the HAZWOPER course I want to take.

June - take the HAZWOPER course. Start saving for any interview trips

Late June/July - update resume and send out geology job applications.

I think this is doable. Now that I've got a set goal and deadline, I think I'll work harder at saving my money for the class and any potential interviews.

Wishing you all the best , Quad !!!

Today was great, I actually got to cashier! I will admit I was nervous as heck right at the beginning but after some practice it was very easy. I even had my first crazy coupon person that spent $20 for $120 worth of groceries! Oh and the receipts have my name at the very bottom! I feel like a celebrity

So this is pretty cool, I can work as a courtesy clerk, cashier, and produce clerk. I think I'm getting the hang of this jack-of-all-trades thing. Now all I need is for my brother to teach me the Meat and Seafood departments and I'll be all set.

So I'm playing this game on my tablet called Hellfire, it's one of those 'card' games but it's interesting.

Anyway...this creature here...



Remind anyone of anything TEF related?

Like...



...my Rock Hounds? XD

So one of my managers thinks I should see if Publix would reimburse me for the 40 hour OSHA HAZWOPER course I need to take. I sure hope so, it would be really awesome to get the course for free. I'll call them this week to find out. It would be about $300 I'd get back if it works out

Good news, I got an email from one of the companies I applied to the other day. They were just asking for a copy I my transcript (which I have on my laptop). It's the Geologging (mud logging) job in Pittsburgh

You don't need to explain yourself to anyone. Ever. They are not entitled to make you say and explain things you don't want to. Just saying (and probably constantly repeating) "I do/n't like that," is a good enough answer to a question you don't want to elaborate on. Yea, it's not enough for some people but they can get over themselves and take what you say at face value. I myself am one of those people that likes to ask 'why,' and I recently kinda pissed one of my friends off by being so insistent for explanations, but him saying his short answer and telling me to take what he says at face value made me ease up. Your coworker(s) may be like me and not mean to press things as much as they do, or they could be some bigots who need to learn to when to stop. Either way, you don't have to explain yourself if you do not want to and that should be enough for anyone. More likely then not, your coworkers will find these short answers rude or something, but.. well, again, they can get over it. You should never feel attacked, especially in the workplace, and you may want to talk to a manager about it if it continues, because that's harassment and should not be tolerated.

I feel like...it's okay to ask 'why' when you'd like to know the explanation out of curiosity. I think that's fine, and can be enjoyable to talk about to the right person. The way this guy acted, like I was some inferior person for not eating biscuits and gravy, was uncalled for. I'm sure there's something I like that he wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. I mean not everyone likes okra, dragonfruit, and sushi. Hell I bet he'd get disgusted at the idea of eating roe (fish eggs), which I enjoy.

Anyway, yeah...it's tough when you're surrounded by people that act like that all the time, like they're always right and everything they do is law. I can't stand those kind of people who are so closed-minded.

Thanks guys, I'll give it my best not letting it get to me.

lol... I've had some friends and waiters give me odd looks and a "Whaaat?" when I specifically request no gravy on my biscuits.
I just don't like gravy on most things, Texan or no.
Usually a shrug and "I prefer jelly" is the end of it, though.

So I have a little dilemma at work and I need some advice...

I've been working in the Produce department for about a month now, and everything's been going relatively good. The former produce manager and the store manager noted that I wasn't fast enough, and I've tried to work on that.

Well we just lost most of the department because a new store just opened up, so we have a new produce manager, and quite frankly...he's making working in the department torture for me. I've not even gotten to introduce myself or anything, because the second he sees me he starts barking out orders, like "stop everything you're doing and go put this out" or "hey don't put that out, go put this out". Or I'll be doing something and he'll walk by and start shouting, "Come on man, faster faster faster!". I went into the back area to get some more produce to put out, and couldn't get to the cooler because he was blocking it, talking to someone, and then the second he saw me he screamed "What are you doing back here? You have to be visible, man! Get out on the sales floor!"

Granted, I understand he just got promoted to being a manager, and yes, it is a new store for him and all, but really...I know how to do my job. I've worked in a produce department for roughly 4 years from my old job. And I'm doing the best I can at my speed, but...it's only been two days I've worked with him and the guy is driving me crazy.

I've mulled over the thoughts of asking to return to the Front End, especially as a cashier, because I actually really enjoy being a cashier. I mean I can be a bagger again, but I really enjoy cashiering. Or the other idea is to transfer to the new store as whatever they want (my brother will be at the new store too). But then it's like a step back...I won't have the same amount of hours I've been getting (32 as compared to 21-30 I got in the front end), and as my brother has said, "It's better to be in a department than the front end"...

...but all my friends are in the Front End...

What would you do if you were me? I mean, what's better - a job you don't like so much but make good money or a job you enjoy but with less money?

It just seems like I bust my butt for Produce and still am never good enough, like having experience from an 'inferior' grocery store makes it worthless.

I decided I'll talk with the managers in the front end and ask if I can be a cashier. I think it's the best option, and honestly it'll just help me drive to getting my HAZWOPER class done faster.

The way I see it, there's three reasons I'd want to go back up front that I will mention -

1 - The way the Produce department is run isn't what I'm used to from my previous experience
2 - Of the jobs I've done, I've enjoyed cashier the most
3 - All my friends are up front.

Thanks for the help, the advice really did help me with my decision