Oh, the joy!

Oh, the joy of a child that has to go to the Principal's office. My boy did not listen to the teacher in class yesterday. In fact he put his hands over his ears. This was behaviour they tolerated in pre-school last year. I asked him why he went to the Principal's office and he said he did not remember. He also did not remember what the principal said. This behaviour was not bad enough to get a call home so, I will be going in to school to talk and strategize with the teacher so, hopefully, we will not have a repeat of this behaviour.

Things are afoot at the Circle K

(Not the real name of the convenience store where I work.)

This past week was just lovely. Only one of my days did not change. It was a day off. Everything else last week was different. Either I change my other day off to cover for a fellow employee who could not work, or other employees showed up late or did not come in. It is really hard to get store business done when you are stuck on a register.

The cause of the "fun", at least in my estimation, is that the store is going from corporate to franchise and the manager thinks they will not be kept on by the franchise owner. At least 3 of the workers have told me they will not work for the new owner. And who knows who, if anyone, the new owner will keep on.

Not a good atmosphere to work in. I went through a period in my old job which was very similar. About half the people quit during a 3 month period. And it was a huge strain on those of us left.

I doubt that the corporation or the new owner are aware of this. And I doubt that they care as they look at the payrate and feel they can fill the positions with anyone. The problem is that they should care because all the worker that have told me they will quit are the most experience/best worker in the store. What the new owner will have left are the worst workers (and myself). The new owner will not have anyone trained in all facets of management.

Maybe I should start looking now?

Comments?

Am I Crazy or What?

Yes, I did it. I created another blog. Why did I do it when I barely keep the two I already have updated? Well, I guess I wanted to have a separate place to put political ramblings. That way people who come here, (if they come here) can not be bothered by political ranting.

The past couple of weeks have been busy ones. We are trying to integrate my wife's grandmother's furniture into our home. As well as trying to fit my wife's piano in somewhere. It has not helped that she has been sick the last couple of weeks. Right now we are in mid-move and I have two twin mattresses and box springs in my end of the closet. That makes it very fun to try and get dressed.

The kids are doing well in school. Our daughter is flourishing in first grade, while our son continues to adjust to the new routine and rules of kindergarten.

Work is interesting. Several people have been warned for being habitually late. This does not seem like it will work as the person doing the warning is habitually late. I continue to pass tests and learn new skills, so my "career path" continues to look bright. I just wish the pay was better.

School Time

I am not sure where this post will take me.

This past week has been a joy to me. My youngest entered kindergarten this week and we have been worried about his behaviour. So far he has done well. He has not disrupted class like we thought he might. His speech has improved greatly. And he is very excited about what goes on in school.

Sometimes this summer he was a handful. I guess that is a natural part of being a 5 year old boy. But it seemed to us that he was misbehaving just to misbehave. Don't get me wrong, he is a wonderful boy and usually has a great personality. Just sometimes he knows just the buttons to push. Of course he has had five years to figure out that there are buttons and just when to push them for maximum effect.

His speech is undergoing a transformation. His word are more understandable and he is talking a little louder and with more confidence. This seems to happen every time he is away from us. At home he can be a little lazy in his speech because we understand his quiet speech pattern. But, when he is away, he has to speak clearly and louder to be understood. This is good for him.

He is really enjoying kindergarten. He likes his teacher. He likes the activities. He likes lunch and recess. And he really enjoys learning new things. I hope he continues throughout his education.

Our oldest is really enjoying 1st grade. She is an old hand at this school thing by now, but is still excited about the new things she will learn this year. The teacher is having parents read to their children this week as "homework". I think I should keep a reading list here on the blog of books read.

Our daughter is really a book hound. She can read some easy books on her own and can't wait to learn more words so she can read other books.

Well, I have a few things to do around the house before I go to work. Type at ya later!

West Virginia High on Obesity List

No real news here. An article came out yesterday from Trust for America's Health stating that obesity in the US continues to grow. West Virginia is number 2 on the list for Adults (up from number 3 last year) and is number 2 on the list of states for youths.

Not only is the high fat diet of the Mountain State helping to increase those number, the lack of daily exercise contributes greatly. We can debate causes all day long. Action is needed to reduce this serious health risk. I am not talking about governmental action here. I am talking about individual action. Take control of your weight! Get help if you need it! Get off you behind and walk a little bit (and not to the refrigerator).

In the past six years I have lost a total of about 45 pounds and I have kept it off. There is no secret to how I did it. I changed what I ate, the amount I ate, and increased my level of activity.
If you need help ask!

Busy Time

The last couple of months have been busy for me. Work has been constant learning and lifting. I weigh less now than I have in about 15 years. Both my kids are now in school.



I have worked at a major convenience store since the beginning of June. Not my first, second or 85th choice of employer, but it pays the mortgage, barely. I like the work, and the people - both on staff and the customers.



I am down to about 165 lbs. now. I attribute it to all the lifting I am doing at work. I haven't weighed this little since I ran my second marathon. Anyone interested in losing weight, send me a comment or an email, I will be glad to help.



I am getting old. Both of my children are now in school. My youngest got on the bus for kindergarten today. I know he will do well even though he was a bit nervous today. Once he gets the routine down, he will be fine.

Life... Happens

Since the last day I posted, I have been working my butt off at my new job. So far it is not bad and I think I am pretty damn good at it too. I am not sure I like the shifting shifts though. Some weeks I have worked all three shifts. My body clock is still ticking so I think I can handle this.

The school year just ended. My wife, the teacher, is now less stressed. My daughter who just finished kindergarten is ready to go back so she can be a 1st grader. And my son can't wait to start kindergarten. He wants to go to big kid's school so badly.

More later.

I See Dead Blog... They're Everywhere

I have been interested in blogging for almost 3 years now. (This is not my first, or primary blog.) And it does not surprise me that so many people start blogs and then for one reason or another, stop blogging. I have been poking around looking for dead blogs for a while now. For my purposes, I define a dead blog as a blog which has not been posted to in over six months. If you see your blog featured here as dead and you start posting, I apologize. Shoot me a comment and I will let the world know you are back posting again. Hey, free publicity, and all you have to do is stop posting for six months. So look here for dead blogs to appear in the next week or so.

A Working Man Once Again

After what seems like an eternity (11 months), I finally convinced someone to hire me. I was beginning to worry that no one would ever hire me. Oh well, now that I am getting a paycheck once more, I can look a bit more carefully and closely to find opportunities to find things which will increase substantially the money coming into this household.

It actually feels like a giant weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I can breathe a little easier.

Well, I found out last week that one of my good friends will be going back to Iraq at the end of June. This will be his second tour of the area. He went over before the fighting started there and was part of a unit that took Baghdad Airport. His mission will be different this time. I think I will be more worried about him this time.

I should update this weekend sometime.

Interests

I am a history addict. I love to read history. It doesn't really matter what kind of history. I like learning new things. Currently I am reading 1776 by McCullough. So far it is a fascinating read.

I am very interested in Genealogy. I will not be going into my family history here. But, if you have any genealogy related questions, I would be happy to answer them or help you find the answers. A few years ago, YAHOO had an experts program, I signed up as a genealogy expert and answered 5 to 10 questions per week. It was fun and I was good at it.

I enjoy keeping fit. Years ago I was a runner. I ran in high school and afterward completed two marathons. I ran up until I sustained an injury to my ankle. I still go out for a mile every now and then, but not regularly. If you want running tips, let me know.

I played in a volleyball league for a few years. I was proficient, but not great. I was the setter for my team and also the Captain/Coach/Manager. I am also a volleyball fan. I attended the 1996 Beach Volleyball Olympic Trials (the only time we had Olympic Trials) in Baltimore and enjoyed front row seats. I would like to get back into playing volleyball at some point in the near future.

I love being a father! I have two great kids. The youngest starts kindergarten this coming fall. They both are bright, active kids with great senses of humor. How could they not? They have me for a dad.

Remember, if you have any questions or comments, please either leave a comment or drop me an email.