Roosters Are Still Asleep: Part I

Sorry if the volume is a little low.  It's 1:30 AM and I am getting ready to leave for work.  Today marks my 1st of five 3AM shifts at the store.  This is going to be one rough week.  I didn't get more than 3 hours sleep last night and I am wondering when I'll hit the wall today.  Fortunately next week I'll move to a different shift and eventually settle into a normal schedule, although I'll, more than likely, get a 3AM shift every week.

Ahoy There Matey...

No, this will not be a post about sailing, or pirates, or anything nautical.  Not really.  This is a post to say Congratulations To Me!  That promotion I'd interviewed for, received, and then waited for has finally happened.  I've become a Mate 'In Training'.  A Mate is part of the management team at Trader Joe's, where I work, which you knew if you are one of my few readers. 
This past year of teaching was not what I had hoped for and it became pretty evident early on that I would not be able to support myself if I continued my job at the school.  I've enjoyed my few years of teaching, for the most part, but I've known that I did not see myself doing it long long term.  So that was my dilemma.   I was working at the school and making very little money.  I was also working at Trader Joe's, part-time, making very little money.  At home I have a wife, and a baby girl - both wonderful & lovely - and I needed to better our situation.
I wasn't even thinking of turning my part-time job into a career, but I was encouraged to interview for a promotion, nailed the interview, and needed only to wait for my teaching contract to end before I could start my training.  My contract ended last week, I said goodbye to my students, and received a call from the regional manager.  I was to start June 18th at a new store!  (Now this was no surprise.  I knew I would not be able to stay in my current location; the Annapolis store.  That's not usually how things work.)  My new home base, my new store location is taking me back to my college days.
I am now working out of the Towson store.  It's over 45 minutes away, on the other side of Baltimore, and in the town where I finished up my undergraduate college.  I have not been back to Towson very much since graduating in 1998, and much of the area has changed.  Some of it has not.  The store where I work shares a parking garage with the mall in which I worked during my time at Towson University. 
This, being the 1st week of my transition, will be an interesting one.  I have said goodbye to old coworkers/friends, and will meet many new people.  I will have to get used to the new store layout, customers, staff, and difference in routines.  I am excited to jump right in and make this job my own and I am eagerly anticipating the 1st paycheck.  (Please, please, please let it not disappoint!)

Thank You, Sara

My wife is really good about trying to include me in the daughter's milestone moments.  She'll often tell me of her plans to move the Button into a crib for sleeping, instead of her car seat, or asking me if I want to be a part of a fitness class with the baby.  With my busy work schedule this isn't an easy task and I appreciate the care and concern she shows me as a father.  Sometimes it can be a bit annoying when I want to spent a morning off sleeping in and she's scheduled trips out and about in search of a high chair or baby clothes.  Then there are times like today when we, together, fed Evie Sue food for the 1st time.  The baby"s been on an all Mommy diet since day one but today she ate some brown rice cereal from a spoon.  It may not seem like the most exciting morning to some but to us, 1st time parents, it was a very entertaining and momentous meal.

Unexpected Bits Of Wisdom? Aisle 5

I was rocking out to the Rolling Stones at work last night.  We were stocking the grocery aisle when I serenaded a coworker.  'And I try... and I try... and I try... I really try, coworker.'
A customer looks up at me and seemingly smiles at my silliness.  Then he pulls a ball point pen out of his pocket, approaches me in a very serious manner, and places the pen on a shelf.  'Do me a favor,' he starts, 'try and pick that up.'
I do.
He says, ' No, I said TRY and pick that up.'
A little confused I drop the pen and then immediately pick it back up.  I look at him and he smirks.  I drop the pen again.  I start to try again and then I stop... 'Wait.  What?'
'Try and pick it up.'
'I did.  I picked it up.  It's only a pen.  If I try I'm pretty sure I can pick it up... every time,' I explain.
He nods and says, 'Exactly.  Trying isn't about success or failure.  It's a state of mind.  Don't try.  Do.  It's a process and result.  If you don't get the result you want then you tweak the process and try again.'
I thanked the grocery store Yoda, and went about my business.  I kept revisiting his words all night long and  couldn't help but thinking about his theory that it's all a process and result... Hm, who knew a little 'Satisfaction', some dry goods, and your local neighborhood grocery store could be so enlightening?

Might Be A Little Anxious...

Last night I dreamed that I was working a help desk - fielding questions and demands from an endless line of clients.  I was always paired up with a fellow employee, not always the same employee, and often left alone for prolong periods of time when my counterparts would take a break. 
At one point I was working with a supervisor and I answered a question about salad dressing.  I answered correctly that we did not have the sought after product, suggested an alternate and was feeling pretty confident that I handled myself well.  Suddenly, the supervisor corrects me, offers her assistance to the customer, and shoots me a disapproving look for not having the correct information.  I was stressed out and started to doubt myself.  
Now, in the light of day I realize that I did, indeed, have my information correct.  I was right.  My stress was unnecessary.  I believe that the dream was just in anticipation of an upcoming job interview I'm going on.  The brain is a funny thing. 

Happy Birthday To Me!

Another year has come and gone...
Suddenly I am in my late 30s and I have no idea how I got here.   It seems like just the other day I was a young whipper-snapper trying to figure out what to do with my life.  Now I'm 37 years old and still trying to figure it out.
This last year has been quite the doozy.  Starting a new job.  Starting a 2nd job to supplement the new job.  The birth of my daughter.  Parenthood!  I'm a father!  There are still days when I wake up and have to remind myself that I am a parent.  It still seems like something so foreign to my understanding.
We're making it work, though, as best we can.  Hopefully, soon I will be on track to better support this family of mine, and I will be able to focus on enjoying the 1st year of the Button's life.  That is my goal for the next 365 days.  I want to settle the job uncertainty, and give myself permission to really be present and invested in the time I spend with my family.  Right now it often feels like I'm just spending time trying to stay awake between alternating shifts at my jobs.  I know the next year will bring its own set of challenges but I hope that when I post about my birthday next year I will be able to say that the late 30s have been kind to me.

Thank You Easter Bunny!

When I was a kid my Mom would make these cookies. I loved these cookies so much. These Easy Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies were amazing.

Sara decided to use my Mom's recipe to make these Easter desserts for our family get together today.

Here you see the resulting cookies with malted milk 'Robin' eggs to make the cook look like a birds nest. I sampled one of the cookies last night when I got home from work and let me tell you it's like eating a childhood memory!


(This is a neglected post. I wrote it, saved it as a draft and then forgot to post.)

Spring Break Has Sprung!

I'm on vacation! Sort of... I'll still work my shifts at Job # 2 but I will sleep in everyday that I am able. Gonna spend some quality time with the wife and kid. We're gonna hit up the season opener at the Bowie Baysox with our family. Bert & Stephanie are in town from Chicago so we'll get to spend some time with them. Oh, and our taxes! We always seem to wait until the last minute on our taxes so we'll be trying to get those out of the way this week. This will probably not be the most exciting Spring Break ever but I will try to make the most of it.

If you look back at my Spring Break posts from last year you will see that Sara and I drove down to Asheville, NC to visit friends and enjoy the mountains. What you won't glean from those posts is that Sara and I were trying, at the time, to wrap our heads around the fact that we were soon going to be parents. We spent the whole time away wondering what life was going to be like when we came home and reality set in. It all seems like so long ago.

If you go back even further - go back to Spring Break of 2008 - you will see pictures from our adventures in Northern California. We spent our Honeymoon in San Francisco, exploring the city, and up in a cabin in Boonville, compliments of my Aunt & Uncle (Thank You Very Much!). We walked around the city, ate good food, road the ferry to Tiburon, drove into the mountains, drank good wine, and enjoyed the countryside. It was a fabulous time!

This Spring Break will be spent locally, and much of the time will be spent on little mundane tasks. There will be no great adventures. No travels. No escape from our everyday. Sometimes a vacation is just a slowing down of our chaotic existences.

What A Fool

I missed it again. Today is the 1st of April and I did not even see it coming. In fact, I was at work for several hours before I realized it was April Fools' Day. This has been a trend that's developed over that last few years. I cannot help but to be a little disappointed in myself.

Back in the day, boy, I was a funny little bugger! I would plan elaborate pranks. I would scheme. I joke around with my coworkers. I crack wise when the opportunity presents itself. I still love good practical jokes, and I believe I still have a great sense of humor I just am having a hard time being funny when society says I should. I

If You Do/If You Don't

What's the best way to resolve our current predicament? Financially, something needs to change. Our debt, and/or living expenses is almost equal to our monthly income. How can that be? Oh, and then if you factor in gas prices, food costs, and diapers we're over-extending ourselves. I work two jobs and am currently looking to replace these low-paying jobs with jobs that can pay the bills and allow us to eat.

As my father is prone to say, and Albert Einstein agrees, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."