TOP DAWG

Just a quick note...I hate that spelling of "dog", but I had to get the "dawg" sound.

Anyways, I had a pretty interesting weekend, and I will start with X-Mas Eve at Target. (The stories that I tell are not in the right order.) Something that I found interesting, but others may not...I had an auctioneer come through my lane on X-Mas Eve. I always wear this very sparkly vintage necklace that I get tons of compliments and comments on and people are always telling me I should have it appraised. Well this guy comes through and told me that I had a "very nice necklace." I told him thanks and said, "I love vintage jewelry."
"So do I. I sell jewelry and accessories at auctions."
So I took off my necklace and had him look at it and he said it was a very nice piece, but not much more came out of that.

On X-Mas Eve at Target I also got hit on by a young black guy. I was finishing with another "guest" when he came to my lane. The first thing he said to me was, "I like the pink." As he said this, I could see him looking me up and down and I thought, "Fuck, I don't want to deal with this." (I blush really easily when guys hit on me and it's embarassing.) When I turned to him to start scanning, he got real close and said all "smooth-like", "Can I take you out sometime?"
Suddenly Tony popped into my head and told me, "Tell him you have a bf or that you're 17."
So I told the guy that I had a bf and he just jeered, "Is it serious? Has it been like...one month??"
I am such a bad liar and said, "No...it's been like 10 months..."
He just left saying that he'd be back to ask again. I'm "sure" he will.

The biggest story of that night though....everyone remember my "Ball Straps" story? Well, this is sort of like that. I had this older couple come through my lane; not older as in elderly but older as in like 40. The guy was joking around the whole time he was in my lane; he was just giving me a hard time and such. When they were turning to leave, he said to me, "You getting any toys for X-Mas?"
In my head, I'm thinking back to last year when I got a cutlery set, a coffee maker and a crock pot and I'm thinking of these items as the "adult" versions of toys, and so innocently I just blurted out, "Adult toys."
I realized my mistake right there...The guys eyes opened wide and he said, "Adult toys?!"
I tried in vain to save myself and said, "Yeah, like a crock pot!"
There was no hope for me; I could hear him laughing all the way out the door.

X-Mas Time?

It's 2:42 pm, and I just woke up just a little bit ago. I got off at about about 1 am last night and Target and met up with Tony in Uptown, where he was at his friend's house. It was his last night in town for today he left home for Pittsburgh. I didn't think we were going to be there too long, for he had to be at the airport around 8, but we didn't leave his friend's place until around 3:30. We ran to his place in downtown to get some things and then came back to Uptown to his uncle Mark's place. Tony was dead tired and was falling asleep on me just on the car ride. And then while he laid in bed, he had me go through his laundry and decide what he should bring. Tony got about an hour of sleep, while I got about 20 minutues worth. When the alarm went off, I had to shake and yell at him to wake up and then had to literally drag him out of bed to go take a shower.
So yeah, I got back from the airport and went to bed.

I'm not going home for X-Mas this year, which is how it was last year. But at least last year I was able to go home before AND after X-Mas to celebrate. At the beginning of December, a notice went up at Target that said no more time off would be granted for 16th Dec - 1st Jan. So there you go. I told my "Pa" that if I were able to get a couple days off then I might come down, but the schedule has not been so kind.
Oh well, I'll celebrate in January I suppose.

I've told a couple people to call me over the break; guess I'll see what happens with that.... I did get invited to an X-mas party for "people who have nowhere to go" by a guy that works overnight at Target. Heh...yeah, that would be interesting. Imagine: a naive 19-year old amongst beer drinking 30-year olds. Oh yes, I WILL fit right in. : )

Ball Straps?

So...I guess I'm famous at Target now. Here's why:

The other day I was working on the floor putting away stray. (Stray is what people return, leave in odd places, or decide they do not want at the register.) While on the floor, you're always approached by people asking you where something is and whatnot. This night I was working, I was approached by a man who wanted to know where something was. When he asked me where an item was, I could have SWORN he said "ball straps" and I was confused by this and for some reason, common sense just did not kick in and I said, "Ball straps?"
A guy that works on the floor, Muhammud, was right there and he turned and started laughing. As soon as "ball straps" left my mouth I realized the intensity of what I had said and started to laugh to. The guy smiles and says, "No, Mouse Traps."

Oh...

So, Muhammud had to tell him where the mouse traps were.

So I'm talking to Brian tonight, a guy who works on the salesfloor, as we're walking out to our cars and I said, "You want to hear a funny story?" Somewhere along the line, I said something about "ball straps" and he goes, "Oh, I already heard this story."
"From who?" Muhammud was the only one there.
Brian then asked if I was questioning who told him the story (which ended up being a guy named Pat) or if he knew who had said "ball straps." Brian claimed he did not know who it was that said "ball straps."
"It was me!" I shouted.
"That was you?! You're the infamous "ball strap" sayer??"

Yeah, so I guess the story has been going around the store, but my name is a mystery.

Funny.

Meh?

First off, check out my pictures!

For some weird reason, I got the whole weekend off at work; a very rare event indeed. I usually only have a couple days off a week and they usually never follow one another. But this week I was only scheduled for 30 hours and so I asked if I could come in on Sunday. And I did. It's weird, I always complain aboue never having time to myself and just time to sit around and do "Liz" stuff like reading and journaling. Hell, I don't always have enough time for studying. But yet when I get a day off, I feel like freaking out, just because it feels like I have nothing to do. I just can't focus and when I sit down to read I feel like I should be doing something like studying, but yet I don't feel like studying...it's annoying.

I went X-Mas shopping this weekend. "Fun." Gotta "love" spendin' money on others. Saturday night I headed over to Ian and Em's place since I haven't seen them in awhile, and I ended up going to a party with them. A guy that Ian goes to class with had the party at his little apartment. It was kind of funny because the three of us aren't exactly the "social butterfly" type and so were on the outskirts of the party for most of the time. Every now and then, someone who knew or recognized Ian would come up and start talking to us. While there, I had a beer from Ian and a glass of wine from Em...so nice of them to share. It felt good to drink and be at a party with them, just because that's the first time I actually went to a party with one of my brothers, excluding wedding receptions and such. It just felt good to venture into that territory.
Ian ended up leaving to go sledding with some of the people there. Em and I stayed back and took up residence on the couch and she got into a rave about how guys are assholes...which was very amusing for me and the spectators. After awhile, Em got impatient and we ventured out into the biting cold to get Ian, who fortunately was on his way back, and we left.

So nothing extradoarinary (sp?) happened, but I don't need anything special to keep me entertained and happy. : )

"UpDation"

Here is the updated story that I have written for Tony for his birtday, let me know what you think!

There once was a boy…

There once was a boy who lived in a land of plenty. His childhood days were sunny and warm and free from all bothers and worries. He lived with a loving family in a little grey house that stood atop a small hill. They lived in a little village surrounded by green, rolling hills that resembled a vast green ocean. The little village was untouched by the evils of the world; the villagers all lived within the safety of one another. Children were raised and most left once old enough to places far beyond eyes view into lands unknown to them. There, they began their new lives.
Day after day the boy would play in the misty green grass with his brother as they gazed out abroad the distant paths that scoured the hilly landscape. Blue skies laid like a blanket over them. At night he dozed safe in the warm embrace of his down blanket and dreamt of his future life beyond the hills.
But as the boy grew older, his days became darker. Nights became an inky black which even the strongest light could not penetrate and a dense fog settled itself in every crack and crevice in the village. Paths that crossed distant hills and far off lands, once seen by day, were now obscured by thick clouds that dragged themselves across a forlorn sky, blocking out the warming rays of the sun. The darkness was unheard of in the village, for none that lived had ever experienced it before. Children were kept indoors and shielded from the darkness and the evil that usually accompanies it. But the boy did not fare so well. Day after day, he watched through the kitchen window as the distant lands were swallowed up by the fierce sky. In losing sight of these lands, of these distant dreams, he felt his hopes trickling away.
In the wake of the darkness came demons who searched for the weak to consume and grow strong off of. Sensing weakness like a hunger, Demons came to visit the boy and instead of shutting them out, he invited them in. He was a vulnerable boy at this time in his life; with obscured paths on the horizon, he felt lost. Days became darker and melded into one another. The boy put off everything. No longer did he still gaze out with hope on the fogging hills to try and catch glimpses of what he had once been able to see, for he had lost interest in many things and his dreams began to wane. He let time slip slowly by without a thought. Family and friends looked on with worry and fear. But with his hood pulled up, he seemed untouchable to everyone.

His friends left to seek greater things in distant lands and his family grew. But the boy remained the same.

Then one day, the boy chanced a glance out the window for the first time in many years. With the world dark and his hope vanquished, he had never had the desire before. His world had grown far darker since he last remembered. He saw his reflection in the window and pulled down his hood to reveal his face. How much he had grown, how much he had never realized. He wanted to question that it was him. He touched his face and his fears were confirmed: it really was himself that he saw staring back. But there was something else that scared him. He could see the hint of his demons’ destruction within his face. It showed radiant in every line that had been furrowed into his youthful skin and in his dull and dying eyes. He seemed hollow; there was no hope nor future to be found. It now became apparent that his demons were slowly consuming him; he was only feeding them and making things all the worse. The boy was suddenly brought back to reality. His past childhood and adolescence flashed before his eyes. Days of sunshine that had turned to days of darkness; days of joy that had turned to days of numbing. He saw his friends leaving and himself remaining.
Suddenly, an anger arose within the boy; anger with himself for letting his world get so dark, for allowing life to just pass him by. He knew that staying here would not cause the fog to lift, nor for the clouds to part. He cast out his demons with a promise to himself, and shut the door on them.

The next morning, he left.

He traveled day and night, for they seemed to be just a continuum of one another; it seemed day never ended and night never began. He traveled with his hood pulled tight, for he felt utterly alone and at times hopeless. But he trudged on through the broken terrain of brambles and thorns with the feeling that this was the right thing to do. Upon sleep; he dreamed of lands he had once glimpsed as a child and he awoke each morning with renewed vigor and set out to seek such places.
One day the boy came upon a very tall hill with sides that seemed to stretch for miles. In the far distance of the sky, he could see its tones becoming lighter, even if only minutely, foreshadowing a hope of lands he dreamed of. He set out without hesitation and began to climb. The boy was weary and pantingwhen he finally reached the top, but the sight before him caused his breath to catch in his throat. He fell down on his knees and gaped at the beauty he saw before him. Miles and miles on he could see. In the far-off distance, he could see lands of deep green and skies of pearlescent blue. He threw back his hood and down the hill he began to descend.
With each passing day the sky turned a shade lighter. No longer was it an inky black, but instead a grand blue, and on into an amber orange. Every day gave promise of much more. Paths were clearer and there were more and more that he came upon. The grass became fuller and the flowers ever so vibrantly colored.
But the boy knew that this was still yet the beginning. There were many paths to take, more hills to climb. He knew he’d happen upon gullies and brambles, but he did not fear this. For whatever gully or bramble he came across, he knew there’d be greater sunshine and even more paths to follow. He kept his eyes locked on the distant horizon and took each step with an unwavering heart.

And now there is a boy, who is turning into a man; he’s crossing paths he once could not see, and never chancing a look back at the things that used to be.