It just happens...

Thanks to those of you who prayed for me the other day. My back is doing much better!

I need some creative brains. If you are willing to help me dream and tweak some marketing for my work, I'd love for you to email me. It won't be any more time intensive than just "off the top of your head" thoughts when you glance at something. Of course, if you're willing to give it more thought with me, I won't refuse...

I'm also in the middle of creating an extensive database of product cost for my boss. And cost comparison. And creating fax-in order forms for schools and businesses to use...

Annnd creating employee how-tos and guidelines that are ergonomic and eye-catching...


I don't go looking for this type of responsibility... it just happens...


Did I mention that I actually have an OFFICE day planned for next week? An office day...

:-)

2nd degree burns (updated)

Hey guys. I burned myself today at work and blisters developed. It hurts fairly bad, though I'm getting use to it. I'd appreciate your prayers. Hopefully I'll get it checked out tomorrow. Thanks!

UPDATE
You guys are like crazy prayer warriors, or something! My pain (until my cat clawed it!) was completely gone and the swelling had gone down quite a bit. You guys rock!

Thanks for the prayers, friends! Things have calmed down and I think most of my fears can be laid comfortably to rest.

Being in a relationship is quite the adventure! Two weeks into things and I'm fairly sure we do more conversing than most couples; figuring each other out, learning boundaries and needs. It's fun, stressful, exciting, confusing... all of these things, all at once!

It amazes me how much you can learn from another in such a short period of time and how much their belief in you can radically change your world. It's crazy how much he cares for me and believes in me. The experience has been wild. I've never felt so comfortable around another guy, never thought I'd find someone who wants me to be nothing more or less than exactly who I am; a guy who, even though it's different than what he's use to, wants to keep to my boundaries and comfort level.

I think I can safely say that I am happy!

:-)

Sick!

Hey guys, wouldya mind calling on the name of our awesome God for me? I got called into work tonight (which is sweeeeet! totally an answer to prayer!) and about an hour into my shift felt as though I was going to die... or pass out. It was horrible! I was the only one there and there were so many customers waiting. Oh man, it was a rough night! BUT, I started to feel a little better and soon another coworker came in to work with me for a couple hours and then a good buddy of mine came and chilled, just in case I felt really sick again. Thankfully, I only had to "episodes" and was able to finish the night. But! I still don't feel all that fabulous and I get to be back at work in just 8 hours! Whoa buddy! So, your prayers are totally appreciated! Please, let me know if you're praying for me, even if only for a moment. I want to thank God specifically for YOU!

Peace,

Asher

Job Fair & Social Butterflies

I went to a job fair today. Aza went as well. And as I sat there I was overcome by how stuffy it was in the room, everyone nervous, hoping they could be one of the lucky to receive a job. It was stiff! All I could think about was the huge white board and the six or seven different colored expo markers before me. Hangman. Ohhh hangman.

Tempting, but I resisted. A few minutes later Aza comes up behind me and asks if I want to play cards. So we pulled up a couple chairs to a table and played Fluxx. It was fun... and awkward once I realized that everyone was watching us... specifically me... (due to my more expressive nature) but definitely still fun. And as we were playing, Aza leans over and says, "I thought about writing on the white board, but I wasn't sure how it would be taken." Then another person, closely watching us, says, "we could play heads up, seven up."

Hehehe. Everyone laughed. It was great. When it came time for my interview, the interviewer apologized for the wait. I assured him that it was quite okay; we entertain ourselves!

Leave it to Aza and I to lighten up a situation.

I'll know next week about a new job. =)

AA

Birthday-ness

In all honesty... this birthday really wasn't much different than most days.  Other than having 30 or so people wish me happy birthday on facebook, getting a free dessert from Borders, and my Dad leaving me a happy birthday message, the day was pretty standard... and slightly negative.  I went to the Dentist, worked, etc.  Not much of a Birthday, really.  I even got to cap it off with a messy, authentic, conflict resolution conversation that really didn't fold up nicely at the end as my friend would have hoped. 

But my one piece of positiveness from the day is this:  I received a RAISE today @ Espresso Bay.  My boss told me today, but it's effective as of yesterday.  =)  It's kind of cool.  I haven't even been with them two months and, with tips, I'm making far more than I make at Old Navy (where I've worked for a year).  The raise will really help!  I'm so thankful.

T-minus 3 days.

Asher

Milestones

August 13 marked a year since I spoke at Keystone.  That was my last teaching.  (I'm itching to get back at it, too)  

August 17 marked a year since I moved to New Hampshire.

September 22nd will mark a year since I gave up and moved back to Michigan.

September 25th will mark 24 years of life

September 26th will mark 1 full year with Gap, Inc (Old Navy Outlet 2891)

Please keep me in your prayers as I move through these bitter-sweet milestones.  Pray that I would give myself grace and love and not judgment and harshness.

Asher

The story goes that I have tomorrow (Monday) off from both jobs and am then insanely busy for an indefinite amount of days. In fact, with the exception of Wednesday, each day is 10-12 hours long. I find out my schedules on Wednesday and that will let me know how long the stint of busyness will be. If I'm lucky I'll end up with a day next week where I'm completely free, like today (Monday). I do ask that you be praying for me. Not just for physically strength, but emotional, as well, as costumers and coworkers can be wearing at times. Also that I'll be able to say "no" to picking up more hours. Yes, I have my mornings free this week, but in most cases this week, mornings are all I have unscheduled. But the temptation will be there to work as much and often as possible due to the uncertainty of life right now. Pray that I would have trust and faith.

This evening at the Well was great. I finally have a parther. A guy partner. A guy partner who is a chilled individual and a hard worker who thinks I'm a great person. We're good friends to begin with and we make a great team. But seriously? We went through 6-7 airpump pots of coffee this evening. And we were only really busy for about 3.5-4 hours. It was a great time. Talking with patrons, making drinks, etc. We had a movie, scrabble and cranium going on inside and conversations on the outside. So chaotic, so much fun. Sundays are typically not like that at all. I loved the change of pace. I hope tonight's a trend that picks up some.

Now that my eyes are tired =)

Asher

oh, a day!

Well, today I worked both jobs... and it was my first day @ Espresso Bay. So far, so good! I was definitely a little gun-shy at first, but got better after about 20 minutes. They said I was doing really well and that they meant it. =) I couldn't have been doing too bad, they asked me to stay longer. I was only able to stay about 15 minutes longer though and then I had to rush off to Old Navy where I had a great shift, also. I was a little worried this AM about how long my day was going to feel, but it was goodness! Much like my days in college, it felt good to be busy. My day began at 7:45am and ended around 5:45pm. Not bad. =)

Last night ended earlier than normal for me. Usually I'm up until at least 3am, but because of needing to be at EB @9am I made arrangments to be at home at Midnight. And then it ended even earlier, around 10:30pm, because of some some other stuff, so that was was nice. I came home, took some time to myself and slept.

=) I... like people...

=)

Today was such a good day. It was definitely a day where I would have rather been outside than inside working. But here are some outtakes from today while I was working @ Old Navy.

(while expaining pear & pesto pizza to barbie)
"People put pineapple & pear on pizza... wow... say that five times fast..."

me: "I smell like gas... (weird looks from coworkers) ...I mean gasoline"

(Im walking up to Jeremiah, moving my arms to the music)
Jeremiah: "what's that?'
me: that's me grooving to the music... it's hard to tell though, I have zero coordination to begin with
J: oh, I was going to say you looked like a fighting nun. (what?!)
me: a friend and I do a happy dance when we're in the car listening to the music (demonstration... in the middle of the store)
J: you... you need help...
me: well THAT goes without saying...

(Rochelle had just demonstrated her new & improved anorak folding technique and left me... it didn't go so well for me... so, over the employee walkies...)
me:I'm sad
random coworker: what happened?
me: (best servant impression, w/hint of play-shame) "mastaw, I have faiwld you.."
Rochelle: (not on walkie, from across the store) *loud laughter* (on walkie) "aawwww"

There are MANY more, but the last one Im going to share with you is this:

We find out it's this little girl's birthday. so, all the employees decide we should sing happy birthday to her. so we lined her exit and sang as she left and clapped and cheered. I think we royally freaked her out. It was great seeing her expression, though! go team ONO 2891, go!

Espresso Bay

Hey guys! I got the job! yay. Now I might actually be able to afford air to breathe. And that's good news for me and those who love me. Hopefully I'll be getting enough hours at both places to put a little money away before winter hits.

I am now a Barista.

Bah-ree-sta.

Peace.

Asher

Just a bad day (edited)

I need a hug. I need someone to not be rude, to not assume.
I need a hug. Today's been rough.
I need a hug. And maybe a piece of chocolate.
But mostly a hug.

I feel as though I should explain this. If only I knew how. All day today customers were cantancorous and rude. Managers were cranky and withdrawn and barking orders.

I got some new dress clothes today. Lindsey and I like to randomly try clothes on together and take a pic or two. Unfortunately for me, everything I picked out looked great. Unfortunate because I have a very limited budget for clothing. There were two outfits, one a dress and one a skirt, that looked equally great... which, for the dress, is saying something because I've worn a dress once in the past 6+ years. Go me. Soooo... I ended up with the skirt/shirt combo. A couple more dollars but far more vesatile in use. And while I didn't get chocolate, I did get ice cream. And I was able to treat a couple good friends to some iced cream as well. It made me feel good to be able to get them something.




I continue to recieve encouragement and exhortation and as "uncomfortable" as it is, I think I might be growing because of it.

Another note: tomorrow I am retreating up north with a friend of mine. We hope to spend some QT together, but I really hope to get some God-Asher-nature time while up there, too. I will be "seeking His face" and trying to refocus my life. I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Breathing,

Asher

some people's children...

Remember all that earlier talk about how much I love children. Well, I actually found one I wanted to chuck out our front windows today. Instead I went and hid in the fitting rooms for 5 minutes. And breathed. His mom may not know it, but she should be very thankful that I excused myself from her son's presence for those five minutes. Her son was so unbelievably RUDE.

I have one other annoyance. This one from last night after interacting with some charasmatics at the well. I was so ready to yell at them. I controlled myself, don't worry. I'll write on that incident AFTER I've had a bit more time to breathe and process so I don't condemn others. condemnation kinda goes against the whole "do justly, love mercy, walk humbly" life-philosophy that I currently have. ha.)

On the upside of things, I treated myself to a Rockstar Energy Drink with the money I earned for signing people up for credit cards. And I found gas for the meager price of $3.33/gallon. And I'm going to watch the end-of-festival fireworks with some sweet people. (AKA Lindsey & Jess Sims)

peace out brussel sprout.

Asher, take the Leap

Well, friends... my goal for the week is to apply for three youth min jobs. It'll be my first career applications since New Hampshire.

Biggest reservation? The possibility of leaving my amazing friends... but since it has to happen eventually, and isn't even a real possibility at this point, I say "why not?"

Plus, Kristin has access to amazing job banks through Wheaton that I get to take advantage of.

Celebration

Guess who drove her car into a shift she wasn't scheduled for?

mee mee!

I was so excited for the extra 5 hours, you have no idea. So, instead of 11.5 hrs this week, I'll get 16.5... not the greatest, but hey, I'll take it...

and a mobile car means I can job search, which is MUCH needed. Please pray that I'm able to find another PT job (or heck, a FT job, even) that won't interfere with my new commitment to the EBC college group.

I'm applying for food stamps & Medicaid in the morning, along with my housemate. It'll help, but I'll still be struggling to pay what loans I couldn't defer and what bills I need to pay. I am doing really well at not stressing out about it, but we'll see how long that lasts.

I am glad to be alive =)

-Asher

What a day...

(warning, this post contains mild-to-moderate negativity... & complaining)

What a day, seriously...

Partly because I only got about 3.5-4hrs of sleep last night, and partly because customers have a bad habit of treating you like dirt because you are OBVIOUSLY less enlightened than they... I had a rough day today... silly me, I wasn't aware that toe cuticles could be sore...

Anyway, it's about 2pm and I get this costumer with an item that was originally 9.99. It rings up as 8.99 and she protests... which is fine, so I offer to do a price check for her, and radio for someone in the baby department to give me the sale price for the item. The customer was right, I override the price, thinking she'll be satisfied. Working in an outlet, prices don't always get changed in the computer, so we do a lot of adjusting by hand... satisfied? she was far from it. She continues on, making a scene, wondering if "what about the others?" Am I just going to overcharge them, too?... So I call for a manager, who calls, thinking the customer is upset because I haven't given her the right price... man... ugh... so anyway, the costumer leaves...

And the next customer offers me some hope of being easy-going and low-maintenance when she says, "man, some people can be so picky" I smile, and start ringing her order up. Okay... she was more needy and mean than the previous one... when I cashed her out I even got on my walkie and declared, "I need my break, NOW" To which my managers obliged. I've never, ever demanded a break. And I've never left the store for one, either. It saves gas and money on food... but this time I left the store and went to beaners and bought some lunch, leaned back in the comfy seating and j u s t b r e a t h e d. It was amazing. Just what I needed...

But the drama doesn't stop there. Oh no. About 10 to 7 one of my managers asks me to stay on for an extra hour (I'm okay with this, I'm rather pressed for finances), so I do... and then this lady comes through with what we will find to be nearly $400 in clothing... good for business... but it literally takes me 2o minutes to cash her out. All the while she's bad-mouthing her husband in front of her little son (husband in the car) and telling me all this stuff about how she was kicked out of the mall, how poor they are, and lots of other stuff that I have no idea what to do with... and when it comes time for her to pay she gives me a check, which I need a drivers licence for... which she does not have... and then she calls husband, gets in an argument with him over the phone, in the store, and tries to drag me in to it... oi... I was way glad when she left.

Thankfully, the rest of my costumers for the night were amazing.. Yay!

One costumer and I were discussing how fast October was going, and somehow the fact that I was a new college grad came up and the question came, "what is your degree in?" SO, I told her and it turns out she's a youth director at a local church, so we swapped game ideas and she invited me to come hang out with her students... I'm such a nerd. I felt my heart jump and face light up when I got to talk about youth ministry. It's a sickness. I'm not sure if I'll be visiting her youth group.. I'm still waiting to see if I'll be serving at Living Hope or not... but it made my day just talking about my students and exchanging ideas... yeah, I'm a dork, I know.

Anyhow, that's the big stuff from my day and a rather negative post..

night all, I must sleep!

-Asher

Missin' Mars :-(

Today was good :) 5hrs. And, no post voids. :) Scratch that. Today was EXCELLENT. Plus, one of my managers complimented me on my outfit. I love the people I work with. I have a good job.

I recieved my schedule for next week: 26 hrs, 4 days. I have Tuesday off, so if you have some time on your hands, I'd LOVE to see you. Really. So call me! I also have Friday and Saturday, which means I'll probably be in GR with the Millers. I love them. They love me. It works. ;)

On to the heading...

I stumbled across Mars Hill's worship team's (musicatmars) myspace. From there I discovered their new CD, Worship in Every Direction.

A wonderful discovery, I'm telling you. I can't afford to buy it... so my internet's working extra hard to give me the streamin music on demand *grin*

And, I realized today... I REALLY miss Mars. It hit me, as I realized I was there for some of these things... I really miss Mars. The teaching. The people. The environment. The legacy. The music. Never have I discovered a church where you can feel so loved and cared about and vital to the body... a body of 5000/service at times...

I miss Mars.

-Asher

Post Void

If I ever hear those words come out of my manager's mouth again, I seriously might just... take a deep breath and move on with my job. Seriously, folks. Here's why:

To be honest, I'm not sure when my first day with Old Navy was, but I think it was last week, Tuesday. If you really need to know, check the posts below this one, and I'm sure you'll find out. Anyway, I've only spent 3 or 4 of those days at the Cashwrap (read: cashier), during which time I think I've run into about every problem you can imagine. Seriously. My managers are consistantly saying to me, "Hmm, that's weird, that's never happened before..."

I think the computers have it out for me. Maybe they're jealous of my firey red hair, or even my funky groove. What do you think? Whatever it is, the worst occurred today. I got tons of rather large purchases, and while cashing out at $235 purchase, the gentleman, who was visiting from Canada, asks to split pay, putting $30 cash and then the rest on his credit card. Easy enough to process, I do it quite often, so no problem. Heh, right...

Normally, you enter the cash amount and then hit cash. But I skipped the amount part and just hit "cash." Apparently this means that the customer has given you the exact payment amount. Ha.. ha... yeaahhh. 30 dollars does NOT equal $235, though they do share a 3, don't they? So, I get on my uber-cool walkie and call for my manager, who calmly explains to me that we must do a Post Void. I look at him, terrified by the sound of this post void thing. And for a good reason. Basically, for the next lifetime, my new Canadian friend and I exchanged all types of small talk (I even employed the FORD principle from my DML training) as I, by hand, typed in every single item number on his mile long reciept. Luckily for both he and I, Canadians are pretty "laxie" (I believe that's short for lackadaisical, friends).

Right. Yeah. It was then the subject of much teasing. The teasing which I greatfully took, and then discovered that I am making none of the typical beginner mistakes, but instead, I'm inventing a whole new set. Great. Leave it to me. Well, my Pastor has always told me to be a trailblazer. I guess I've taken him more seriously than even I've realized! :-p

And, assuming I work all my scheduled shifts this week, I could get over time! *gasp* how sweet would THAT be??! Anway, it's still early in the week, so we will see. But so far, I've worked 8 hrs that I wasn't scheduled for, plus my oncall for today, so we'll see! That'd be so great! woot!

K, I've got muy things to do,

-Asher