Guess what!? This weekend I finished work on a book of my poetry. Best of all, I had it published through a site called Lulu.com that my dad suggested to me, and now it's available for sale! Seriously, check it out!
On top of that, Dale heard about it, and she suggested something even more awesome than selling it online. I chose to have an ISBN assigned to my book, and because of that Dale thinks she can order it for the Local Authors Section at the Borders store she works at. She even said that I might be able to have a book signing. That's going to take some time, though, because I need to finish the assignment of my ISBN and then we have to wait until Dale can order it for her store.
In the mean time, though, it is still available for sale Here. I hope you'll check it out and consider buying.
Later,
Joshua
Wednesday, October 27
Saturday, October 9
Wal-Mart World
So, I have been spending a lot of time this semester at Wal-Mart. In general this wouldn't be such a bad thing, but it's become a bit more than I thought I was in for.
The biggest reason I feel so overwhelmed is because this store is run much differently than my last store. In Chippewa, the store was big, the staff was big, and we were well prepared for big business. Here in Mansfield, the store is small, and in general would not require a large staff. However, due to a recent boom in the natural gas industry in this area, and because school is now in session, the business is growing at this store everyday. The problem is that the amount of staff has not grown; in fact, it has declined since I started working here. That leaves a giant disparity between the amount of staff required to perform the business we are performing and the amount that we actually have.
The problem this raises is not one that everyone feels the immediate consequences of. For me, though, working in dairy has been difficult because dairy is not a service area. That means that when other departments that are service areas are short handed, I have to fill in. Since I started at the Mansfield Wal-Mart, I have worked in dairy/frozen, deli, as a cashier, a stockman, a door greeter, and in electronics. I have also helped in toys a few times and helped the receiving crew. A new spot is opening up in the deli and that is where I am trying to get moved because I honestly just can't handle being thrown into a new area every night. Deli is a service area, so I can't be taken from the deli.
Other than Wal-Mart dominating my life, I've just been trying to get back on track with classes. Every time I turn around I feel as if I've lost a week or two. Suddenly it's a week from fall break and I'm sitting here wondering what happened to the first half of my semester.
My classes are all going fairly well. I am truly enjoying my Electricity and Magnetism class, as well as my Real Analysis class (though my professor is a little too picky for my taste). The class I'm having the most trouble with is actually the class that should be the easiest: History of Mathematics. What could be more straightforward than learning about the origins of math? Apparently a lot of things, especially if you're teaching them online and you know nothing of good site setup. I feel like I'm hunting around the Web site looking for work that I'm supposed to be doing most of the time. I never feel caught up in the class because each week we're supposed to be reading two or three chapters, doing problems, asking questions, and taking a quiz. On top of all of that I am supposed to be making a PowerPoint Presentation soon and I need to start working on a 15 page paper. Suffice it to say I'd be much happier had I been able to stay in Modern Algebra.
As far as things go, that's about my entire semester thus far. I am killing myself between work and class, and I have very little free time left. A huge part of me wants to quit Wal-Mart and start back at just Manser to reduce some stress. However, I can't bring myself to give up the opportunity, and more important, the money, and Wal-Mart is providing me. I mean, honestly, if I get moved into the deli, I'm going to be making over nine dollars an hour. Manser isn't paying me anywhere near that. However, Manser is a lot more laid back and more convenient for me because I wouldn't have to drive to work everyday. Still, I have been bringing home about $500 every two weeks at Wal-Mart, and another $100 from Manser in that two weeks, and I just can't bring myself to give it up now that I finally have a chance to save some money. I'm completely caught up with my bills and I still have money in the bank. This week my car battery needed replaced and I didn't have to feel like the world was ending. I might be killing myself with work, but I'm not stressed over money anymore, and that is a huge deal for me.
As for killing myself with work, I am currently able to keep up. If my classes get any more challenging, I am going to have to ask for a few less hours at Wal-Mart. However, as of right now I have A's in all of my classes and I don't really see that changing any time soon. The only thing that would be nice would be a bit more drive to get my work done a few days ahead of time so that I'm not rushing to finish it all the night before it's due. Well, that's not the only thing. It would be very nice if I had some time to hang out with some friends. I was considering changing my availability at Wal-Mart so that I can start going back to the Math Club meetings each Thursday. I originally thought that I'd be able to make a few meetings a month, but I haven't had a Thursday off yet this semester.
Well, it's a work in progress, but other than being a little exhausted, things are looking pretty good. I'm ready for some time off, so thank goodness for fall break next weekend, but I'm not ready to quit just yet.
Thanks for listening,
Joshua
The biggest reason I feel so overwhelmed is because this store is run much differently than my last store. In Chippewa, the store was big, the staff was big, and we were well prepared for big business. Here in Mansfield, the store is small, and in general would not require a large staff. However, due to a recent boom in the natural gas industry in this area, and because school is now in session, the business is growing at this store everyday. The problem is that the amount of staff has not grown; in fact, it has declined since I started working here. That leaves a giant disparity between the amount of staff required to perform the business we are performing and the amount that we actually have.
The problem this raises is not one that everyone feels the immediate consequences of. For me, though, working in dairy has been difficult because dairy is not a service area. That means that when other departments that are service areas are short handed, I have to fill in. Since I started at the Mansfield Wal-Mart, I have worked in dairy/frozen, deli, as a cashier, a stockman, a door greeter, and in electronics. I have also helped in toys a few times and helped the receiving crew. A new spot is opening up in the deli and that is where I am trying to get moved because I honestly just can't handle being thrown into a new area every night. Deli is a service area, so I can't be taken from the deli.
Other than Wal-Mart dominating my life, I've just been trying to get back on track with classes. Every time I turn around I feel as if I've lost a week or two. Suddenly it's a week from fall break and I'm sitting here wondering what happened to the first half of my semester.
My classes are all going fairly well. I am truly enjoying my Electricity and Magnetism class, as well as my Real Analysis class (though my professor is a little too picky for my taste). The class I'm having the most trouble with is actually the class that should be the easiest: History of Mathematics. What could be more straightforward than learning about the origins of math? Apparently a lot of things, especially if you're teaching them online and you know nothing of good site setup. I feel like I'm hunting around the Web site looking for work that I'm supposed to be doing most of the time. I never feel caught up in the class because each week we're supposed to be reading two or three chapters, doing problems, asking questions, and taking a quiz. On top of all of that I am supposed to be making a PowerPoint Presentation soon and I need to start working on a 15 page paper. Suffice it to say I'd be much happier had I been able to stay in Modern Algebra.
As far as things go, that's about my entire semester thus far. I am killing myself between work and class, and I have very little free time left. A huge part of me wants to quit Wal-Mart and start back at just Manser to reduce some stress. However, I can't bring myself to give up the opportunity, and more important, the money, and Wal-Mart is providing me. I mean, honestly, if I get moved into the deli, I'm going to be making over nine dollars an hour. Manser isn't paying me anywhere near that. However, Manser is a lot more laid back and more convenient for me because I wouldn't have to drive to work everyday. Still, I have been bringing home about $500 every two weeks at Wal-Mart, and another $100 from Manser in that two weeks, and I just can't bring myself to give it up now that I finally have a chance to save some money. I'm completely caught up with my bills and I still have money in the bank. This week my car battery needed replaced and I didn't have to feel like the world was ending. I might be killing myself with work, but I'm not stressed over money anymore, and that is a huge deal for me.
As for killing myself with work, I am currently able to keep up. If my classes get any more challenging, I am going to have to ask for a few less hours at Wal-Mart. However, as of right now I have A's in all of my classes and I don't really see that changing any time soon. The only thing that would be nice would be a bit more drive to get my work done a few days ahead of time so that I'm not rushing to finish it all the night before it's due. Well, that's not the only thing. It would be very nice if I had some time to hang out with some friends. I was considering changing my availability at Wal-Mart so that I can start going back to the Math Club meetings each Thursday. I originally thought that I'd be able to make a few meetings a month, but I haven't had a Thursday off yet this semester.
Well, it's a work in progress, but other than being a little exhausted, things are looking pretty good. I'm ready for some time off, so thank goodness for fall break next weekend, but I'm not ready to quit just yet.
Thanks for listening,
Joshua
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