Kids, in a couple of weeks, I'll be temporarily leaving the country. This is a big deal. The last time I boarded a plane to leave the confines of the United States was in March of 2003. That was the last time I went to Brazil. I always thought that if I ever went overseas … Continue reading I’m Going to Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
On the Job
The Lure of the Dark Side
I've been a PC. All my adult life. There was a time, in high school, when I flirted with the idea of using a Mac. But that was because all of the writing labs at school were equipped with Apple products. And that was before having anything with the Apple logo on it was the … Continue reading The Lure of the Dark Side
Old Tales from Old Navy: The Broken Door
What follows is a tale from a long ago time when I worked retail for a small business known as Old Navy. What you are about to read is mostly true-ish. There are a lot of stupid people out there. Maybe stupid is the wrong word. I should probably just say ignorant. Because the people … Continue reading Old Tales from Old Navy: The Broken Door
Flying from Florida
And that was that. I'm back at home now. I'm sitting on my bed, which dips in the middle. The hotel bed didn't do that. The hotel bed supported me very nicely. And the sheets were clean. Every night. I can't remember the last time I changed the sheets on my bed. I'm kidding. I … Continue reading Flying from Florida
The Week in Florida
Kids, you won't read this until Thursday afternoon at the very earliest (because that's when I'm gonna schedule the post to go live). But I'm writing it on Wednesday night. As I type these words, I am three and a half days into a week-long training conference. I won't say what the training is for … Continue reading The Week in Florida
Working Late
This is a tale of Christmas past. It's a story from a once upon a time when I worked retail at the Old Navy. Most of what follows is true. Some of it is an exaggeration. The store stayed open later during the holidays to accommodate shoppers who were unable to get their shopping done … Continue reading Working Late
New Tales from Old Navy: Again with the Bad Parenting
Just when I think for sure that I've met the most obnoxious child in existence, someone would bring their kid into my store and prove me wrong. I'm (sort of) exaggerating. Honestly, it's not so much the kids that I had an issue with. It was their parents. Unless you're new to this blog, you've … Continue reading New Tales from Old Navy: Again with the Bad Parenting
Kids Say the Darnedest Things
Throughout my work as a school counselor, I liked to post Facebook status updates which were not actually status updates at all. Instead, they were quotes from the kids I worked with at the elementary school on a daily basis. Some of them are a priceless kind of hilarious. Others are probably only funny to … Continue reading Kids Say the Darnedest Things
Things I Learned While Working Retail
I worked in the world of retail for a couple years after moving to the New River Valley. It was a dirty job, but it was a necessity. That extra paycheck was needed to help make ends meet. Over the course of my first few months working part-time, I made some observations. They include, but … Continue reading Things I Learned While Working Retail
To the Future
When I was counseling at the school, I sometimes liked to participate in the therapeutic activities that I got my clients to do. This one time, a few years back, I had the kids write letters to themselves in five years. Looking back, I probably should have said 10 or 15 years. They didn't really … Continue reading To the Future
The Confusing Middle 