In which I find a name for the color of my carpet

One could call it "Oreo cookie." I dropped one and the colors blended so perfectly that I couldn't find the cookie, even when I was using a flashlight.

I can prove that I've done battle with the car jack. I have a blister on my hand. I just noticed it when I was washing my hair. And my various limbs hurt. But I did battle and I triumphed -- Thanks to God -- and my dad. :-)

I think this chick needs some sleep . . . I heart you!
~MK

In which the devil goes down and I have an adventure

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." ~Matthew 16:19

Joyce told us about this verse one Monday night. She was talking about the power of words and when we agree with Satan by speaking the lies that he tells us, they give Satan power. Words are much more powerful than we think they are. For example, I had a rather stressful day, but I called it "an adventure" up until I talked to Matthew, who reiterated some negative words that had been passed to him. Then I started to worry and doubt and cry.

Another way that Satan tries to get at us is through our thoughts -- and that's where he tries to get me the most. It's like I get a good thought into my head ("This would be a good thing to do") and then all of a sudden, I start to doubt it. My best example of this happened the first day of classes.

I was all pumped for Cru that night. I left church, all excited to see old buddies and meet new freshmen. I knew that God was giving me the "ok" to go -- I mean, it's a Christian organization, so why not? But, once I got there, I began to feel very uncomfortable about being there and I had to leave. I didn't feel right about just going back to my room, so I sat on the couch outside CH201 and prayed. I asked God to give me peace about going back in there if I was really supposed to be there, and I immediately began to calm down. I prayed that I'd be able to understand why this had happened -- why was I ok with going and then all of a sudden, I freaked out and had to leave? Then I knew . . . It was a spirit of confusion. Satan was trying to sound like God to me -- he was showing me all the ungodly things about Cru, and even though God had made it clear I should go back, Satan's pointing out the definitely bad parts *seemed* a lot like something God would show me. Immediately, I quoted that verse and told Satan to be gone from me because he has no power or place in my life. I went in after a little while, but still, Satan nagged at me -- until we began worship.

That was interesting because . . . someone (don't remember who . . . ) told me this Monday that Satan can't be in the presence of worship and he will flee even if we turn on a CD of worship music.

That monday night wasn't so hot for me. It was ok, but I've had better . . . I was certainly very excited to hear our mission statement and what Cru is all about discussed, but I was really shy and I didn't talk to anyone.

This week, I felt very strongly that even though I was ok with the notion of going to Cru right then, I was going to have the same thing happen if I didn't talk to someone about it. So, after prayer at church, I asked Nancy if I could talk to her for a minute before I left. We went into the sanctuary and I told her what had happened the week before and I told her that I felt really strongly that I needed someone else to know what was going on and to pray for me. She prayed for me and then I had to run. I spent my drive back to campus addressing the devil and telling him that he has no authority over me and to leave me alone and then praying that the Holy Spirit would cover me and be present and evident in my life that night.

You guys probably would have loved being an invisible audience that night. Oh my goodness! It was SO great! I had the best time ever! I talked to a ton of people (something that I can do only on very rare occasions) and I found Katrina from Montana and we went to Perkins and I was loud and almost obnoxious and I didn't stop talking for two hours straight. It was almost as if Satan had taken string and tied me up at some point and I didn't even know it until I told him to leave me alone and he had to -- and he had to take the string with him too. We do a song at church that starts out "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" -- I didn't know how true that was until Monday night. (And the Banana Slugs hat is still around! Yay for the Banana Slugs!)

Everything was nifty until I had an adventure. Eeek! I am so proud of myself! On Tuesday, I had to stay late at work and so I was running 15 minutes late and I was in a hurry and the first parking space I found at school was one that I had to turn around to get into. I managed to get into the spot, but when I got out, I heard a very loud hissing sound coming from my front passenger side tire. I had an inkling that I was going to be changing a flat tire in the next 24 hours. But I couldn't really stick around to do anything because I had class in a half hour and it was a good 1/2 mile from my car and I had to stop at my room on my way to class. After class, I went to check on my car, and sure enough, the tire was as flat as a pancake. I panicked and almost cried and then I decided that it was going to be an adventure, because I'd never changed a tire before and I didn't have a clue as to how to go about doing it.

I asked Wade to help me with my tire and he said, "I don't know how," and changed the subject. I thought to myself, "or else you just don't want to." I couldn't find anyone to help me, so with much fear and trembling, I went out to attempt it by myself this afternoon. My jack didn't work and I couldn't find the thing to loosen the lug nuts, and I gave up in despair. Then I tried calling my dad and then I called Timmy and asked him to give the phone to Dad. I was on the phone with him for like 2 hours, trying to get it taken care of. It was so cool, cuz I did it all by myself! (In order to operate machinery, you have to either be smarter than the machine or else know someone who is.)

Dad told me that I needed to pump my baby tire up and I felt that I should try to do that before I tried to drive the car because it was really low, so I called Matthew to ask if I could borrow his pump. He said that his brother-in-law has his pump, and I told him it was ok because I was planning on going to HyVee Gas to do it anyway and I just thought that if he had his, I should probably try to do it before I left instead. He started talking about how gas prices are going to be above $4 by Monday because there was only 2,000 gallons left in the entire city of Marshall and that if I went home, there was a good chance that I'd be stranded in Fargo because the prices were going to be too high for me to be able to fill up in order to get back to Marshall. Then my dad called me and when I answered, I was in tears and I told him that I shouldn't go home because even though I know Matthew is probably stupid, he still says that there's a "fuel crisis" going on and we're going to run out of gas and I'm going to be stranded in Fargo if I go, and I don't have money for this because I have to pay the school $1200 by the middle of Oct., and I still have to buy books and . . . I was freaking out and crying and Dad said, "Get the tire fixed, put gas in your car and come home. We'll get you back on Monday."

Dad told me to try to get home early on Friday so that he could get my tires replaced before everything closed for the holiday, so I asked my prof if I could be excused from choir, and he said, "If you are absent, it will be unexcused. I understand the necessity and urgency, but I can't excuse you." I went to choir and I was crying and Kate asked what was wrong and what she could do to help, and I told her and she said, "I can't do anything to help, but I do have a tissue if you would like one . . . " That made me giggle and the rest of the sopranos wanted to know what was wrong and I told the story and they were very sweet. I've honestly never had a soprano be nice to me aside from Rebekah . . . It was really nice.

I sat with Beich and my RA and two people from my house at dinner tonight. It was interesting . . . I love Beich. He makes me giggle. He and Nick were trying to outdo each other with their knowledge of Australia.
~MK

In which I attempt to get drunk on milk

I want to skip class tomorrow, so I'm trying to get a hangover. However, I have to do it in a non-alcoholic fashion. And so, I'm drinking milk.

I'm kidding. If I really wanted a hangover, I'd just go to Happy Harry's and get me some chardonnay or something. I am of legal age and able to drive . . . However, I think the closest Happy Harry's is probably like 2 hours away at least, so that doesn't work well. Yeah -- I've decided that if I ever drink anything alcoholic for any purpose, it will only be wine or champaign. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm of noble . . . ish . . . (sorta, kinda, maybe) birth -- I AM a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, after all! For some reason, the notion of drinking beer just doesn't do it for me. Wine and champaign are much more refined.

I was in such a predicament this evening. I was hungry, so I ate some cheese. (Here we go with the wine thing again . . . ) Then I went to HyVee to get some food and by the time I got back to my dorm, I wasn't hungry anymore. BUT, I had gotten a pizza, and having no place to store a pizza, I had to eat it. THEN, I remembered that I didn't have a pizza pan. And I didn't have a pizza cutter. And I didn't have a plate. Oh dear . . . Then I remembered that my freshman year, my (now) sister-in-law gave me a plate, bowl, and silverware, so I was able to pull it off. But still -- it was really quite intense for a minute here . . .

You know, this thing is really much more fun when people comment and I can say stupid things in response. (See yesterday's comments.)
~MK

In which Church Rocks my Socks off

It rocked my socks of quite literally.

This morning, Amethyst and I decided to walk to church. We really decided to walk earlier in the week, but today was the day. It was beautiful this morning. Beautiful seems too shallow a word to describe it. It was simply gorgeous. When we got there, I took my shoes and socks off and we sat on my blanket in the sunshine. It was cool cuz we got a little of the sun and the Son. :-) I think I got a little burn today, too.

I saw my eye-candy, too. He was handing out Bibles to those who didn't bring one and he gave one to my aunt. After Amethyst and I got back (we stopped to have lunch at McDonald's on our way back), I called her and said, "Eeek! Andy gave you that Bible!" She said, "I was wondering if he was one of them . . . " Lol -- yeah . . . I should see if we can have a party at their house. That would be fun. :-) She says that there will be a right moment, even if it doesn't seem like it is possible. (I mean, based solely on our schedules. Yikes -- I'm always late and it's impossible to have a right moment when you're continually late.)

I had a mango raspberry shake today. It was yummy.
~MK

In which various and sundry happenings occur

I got up this morning to go to my 9:00 and I got there at about 8:45. I saw Beth, my psych pal going into the room that I THOUGHT my class was in and as I was walking in, I said, "Beth . . . is this the right room?" She said, "yeah . . . " I said, "But the chairs were facing the other direction on Tuesday . . . " Then I said, "Beth . . . are you in my class?" She said, "I'm in Marriage and Family." Yeah -- that's not me. I was supposed to be in the room next door. Lol -- I was SO out of it this morning . . .

I decided that Dr. Pavot and Dr. Holm are some of the most interesting fellows I've met . . . They both let it be known how much they . . . enjoy . . . and . . . appreciate . . . certain physiological and biological functions of the human body. And they fully expect each of their students to be equally appreciative of both the function and of their using it as examples in class discussions. We were talking about how motivation varies over time and Dr. Pavot said, "This chart illustrates some of our basic motivations -- this one is food, this one is water, and this one is sex. Let's say that you don't want sex very much because you just had some last night . . . " Enough already . . . And Dr. Holm was making fun of the Pilgrims because they executed a guy because he engaged in what Bradford called "bestiality." He seemed to think that it was utterly deplorable that not only did they execute the dude, but they executed every beast he'd done things with, too. Well, what's a colony who fears the Lord supposed to do when it says clearly in Leviticus that anyone who "lies with" an animal is to be put to death along with the animal?

I got out of my 9:00 and ran over to State Street to grab a bagel and gobbled it down and ran off to work. But, my car was at East and I was at West and so I started walking across Campus -- about 1/2 mile -- at about 10:30 and I got to the parking lot at about 10:37. I started looking for my car and it was nowhere to be found. I looked in both of the lots that I thought it could be in and it wasn't there, so I called work and told them I'd be late because my car was missing. I was frightened because I hadn't had a chance to put my permit in the car and I thought they might have towed it. I was almost in tears and Jennifer answered and I freaked out even more and she said, "just get here when you can." So I continued to look and I couldn't find it and then I called Timmy and he said, "hit your panick button!" I said, "dude . . . You're a genius!" through my tears. Finally, I FOUND it, and I was 15 minutes late and I had to stay 15 minutes late at work and I had to run directly to choir and then I had to run to class half-way through choir and then I had to run to the RR so I could get food before they closed, but they had closed while we were still running. They let us in anyway because we told them that we were in class the entire time they were open and they told us to tell the prof to let us out 5 minutes earlier so we could get food. (We'll tell him, alright!) I ate hastily and ran to church and no one was there. Hm.

Dr. Holm was telling us about Thomas Morton or someone and how he was much more jolly than were the Puritans and he turned to me and said, "Are you sure he's not your ancestor??" Lol -- I think I'm his favorite . . .

I'm an office supply freak. I have every pen and pencil and type of paper known to mankind. I have regular pencils, mechanical pencils, ball-point pens, retractable pens, gel pens, retractable gel pens, pink erasers, cap erasers, retractable erasers, two kinds of whiteout, two kinds of black sharpies, silver sharpies, pink highlighters, purple highlighters, orange highlighters, yellow highlighters, a green sharpie, pink pens, blue pens, green pens, orange pens, purple pens, fat primary markers, fat bright markers, skinny markers, crayons, scissors, tape -- you name it, I've got it. (I ran out of gluesticks, but I'll get more . . . ) That being said, you'd think I'd be thoroughly prepared for my art class. But no. On the list of supplies, I needed to purchase were colored pencils -- the only thing I don't have . . . So, I went to Shopko tonight to get colored pencils. I got a box of 50 short colored pencils -- they're cute! And at half the price of the regular ones, you can't go wrong . . . It was exciting for me -- now I have a sharpener too. (I had to get one to accomodate the pencils.)
~MK

In which my lit class rocks the institution

Not really, but you probably know what I mean . . .

Yesterday, I went to my 9:00 and then I had a smoothie because the eating places were closed and then I went to work and then to my 5:00.

My 5:00 is very interesting. I was almost late to class and when I walked in, the professor was engaged in a discussion with the class on . . . I don't remember what, exactly. They somehow deviated to computers and my prof said, "You're safely in the hands of a paper person. I've never turned on a computer in my life." Dr. Holm is an older fellow -- perhaps in his sixties. He has a longish, whitish beard and messy, sticky-upish (and sticky-all-over-the-place-ish) whitish hair. He turned out to be rather eccentric. When he started the class, he first took role. When I told him to call me MJ, he said, "I love seeing all these perfectly good names that your mothers gave you that never get used . . . " I only do it because it's easier to remember than my real name. Then he handed out the syllabus -- a hand-written, photocopied affair that completely deviated from the standard syllabillical norm. You know how most syllabi will start out? Prof's name, contact info, and office hours, followed by course objective and outcome, the required texts, followed by expected behavior from students, then grading, a description of any assignments that may be given, and then a schedule of readings, quizzes, assignments and exams. This one had the prof's info (minus office hours, I believe), the required texts, then the schedule of readings -- but only up until the middle of Sept. -- and then a note saying that as Lit. majors, we really ought to "sigh and write the check" for the entire Norton Anthology of American Literature and keep all 5 volumes until we're 90. (So, does that mean we can burn them the day after our 90th birthday?) He explained the texts that we have to buy and then he started talking about the Puritans and how they considered everything they did, thought or said to be a sin. Then he went off on a tangent about The Great Gatzby and how North Dakota is full of German farmers who eat hotdish. I was pretty much giggling throughout the entire 2 hour class. It totally rocked. After a while, he started talking about ancestry and how we tend to not know where we've come from or how long we've been here (in America) and he said, "By the way, do we have any Yankees in the class?" We all sat there like bumps on logs cuz we didn't know what he was talking about. (I had visions of Northerners and Southerners during the Civil War dancing through my head -- how would I know?) Finally, he said, "The first people to sail to America were called Yankees." I said, "Oh -- I am!" He looked at me and said, "You're kidding! I've never had a Yankee in one of my classes before!" He asked about my ancestors and when I told him that I'm a descendent of John and Priscilla Alden, he asked if I'd read Bradford's Diary (which we'll be reading in the class) or Walt Whitman or Longfellow. I told him I'd wanted to read Bradford's Diary but I never got to and that I had read Longfellow and he's my favorite poet. (What I didn't tell him was that Longfellow being my favorite poet isn't saying much because I hate poetry with a burning passion from deep within my soul.) We talked about Longfellow's poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" and then he was about to talk about something completely different, but before he changed the subject, he stopped and looked at me and said, "You seem far too cheerful to carry the guilt of the Puritans within you." I so could have said, "It's interesting that you brought that up . . . " and explained that I was raised in a very much Puritan background and I used to be just how he thought the Puritans should be, but God has completely freed me of that bondage by the blood of Jesus and now I live in freedom and victory -- in spite of the guilt of the Puritans.

God has been good. I went to pay what I had to pay the school today and it turned out that the figures I had been given were wrong. I had been told that after I paid the almost $300 that I HAVE to have paid by 9/2, I would still owe the school $1750. I went in today to pay, and they told me that I only had to pay $222 and after that was paid, I'd only have to pay $1280. They told me that a payment had been made on 8/2 for $332. I have no idea where it came from -- I can only say it must have been God. They told me that they had put some of my workstudy checks in there, but there were no checks because I had picked them up and cashed them after Spring Break and there's no way I would have made THAT much money in the first 8 weeks of classes. I had allowed them to take my first 4 checks because I owed about $250 -- that would be a total of $482 and I don't think I worked that many hours. I'm totally confused, but oh, so thankful. It makes it a LITTLE more doable -- I'm much more likely to make the $1200 that I owe in the next 6 weeks than I am $1750. :-)

I feel like a jerk cuz I was mean to Matthew on Monday. But I have to make it clear to him that I'm NOT going to take his crap anymore. It's just too bad that someone significant was sitting across from him at the time. I hope he realizes that it's just a "Matthew, you don't control me" thing and not that I'm really mean . . .
~MK

In which Cru rocks my socks off

I had a very busy day. Stats frightens me. And my prof wouldn't let Nikki in so I'm all alone in a room full of people who probably know more about it already than I'll ever know . . . And Art is scary because Emily told me that she didn't like the prof when she took it. Social Psych is cool though. We get to learn about why people like each other and hate each other. Yay! Choir is also rather frightening because there's a ton of rehearsals and 4 concerts . . . And somehow, I have to work all that in around my work schedule . . . Hm . . .

I had a pretty decent day, aside from my frightening classes. It took me forever to get the mail delivered because I had to train a couple of newbies while I was getting it ready. That was fun though. :-) Between mail and choir, I went to open a savings account and that was exciting because I have two nickels to rub together now! Before I only had pennies to rub together and the only reason I had those is because I found 4 since I moved in. (Yay!)

Choir was fun -- we get to do the Christmas part of Handel's Messiah! Whee! That is SO exciting! And someone is composing some music, specifically for us, and we'll be the first people to ever do it. He isn't even done writing it yet, although Mr. S. told us that it'll be done by the end of the week.

I waited in line forever for my food tonight and I was almost late for church and yeah -- everything was cool though. Then I went to Cru . . .

I almost didn't go to Cru. I got there and things felt very strange so I went to sit on the West side couches. I started to pray because I knew that if I went, I needed to have the right attitude, and I most definitely did NOT have the right attitude. I was very troubled about the whole notion of being there at all, so I prayed that the Lord would give me peace about the whole thing. And He did -- I instantly felt very calm about the whole thing. Then I heard someone talking and it wasn't what he said -- it was his voice -- that made me think, "No. Not again. I'm not doing this." And I felt very strongly that Cru was NOT for God at all and it was all a show to get people to do social stuff with people that they thought were "Christians." I was thinking about the whole situation and I knew that it was Satan telling me that and I began to bind up Satan's lies and cast them (and him) out in the name of Jesus, and I instantly knew that I had to stay. I prayed until it was time to start, and I went in for a while and then they did an ice breaker thing and I began to hear Satan again and I left to do business with him. I came back after the ice breaker and then we had worship. Worship in a congregation is different than leading worship. I'm not used to that one -- it's kinda cool. We did some songs and then Andy talked about what Cru is all about and how it's an international organization that is there to "turn lost students into Christ-centered laborers." I was like, "Dude -- that's good . . . " In all 4 "first Mondays" I've been there (and all three years that I've been involved), I've never heard anyone give an overview of what Campus Crusade is and what it's goal is, other than when our regional director came to talk to the leadership. I was SO pleased to hear Andy talk about that because it kinda sets the agenda for the entire year and people know right off the bat what we're all about. He told an awesome story too. :-)

I think I look like I might bite or something. I'm getting the impression that someone wants to talk to me but they just . . . don't. Am I that scary?
~MK

In which I am finally moved in . . .

. . . and a multitude of other exciting things happen.

Moving is crappy. (That one was for you Timmy.) I was using a cart thing to take my stuff in. It was big and bulky and I was trying to go to my car to bring stuff back when the cart decided that it needed to do what it wanted to do instead of what it needed to do. It careened into my ankle at a frightening pace -- at least fast enough to scratch some skin off -- and cause some minor swellage to occur. (Swellage was for you, Nikki-K.) It hurt like the dickens. And then I found a penny. (No, really, I did!)

Today was one of those days that you just seem to be late for everything. When my alarm went off at 6:55, I turned it off, having every intention of getting up in 5 minutes. I woke up at 7:37 -- just 13 minutes before I had to be at work. Eeeek! I took the fastest shower I've ever taken, threw on some clothes, brushed my teeth and was at work by 7:50. And then I made $28.

I filed things all day. It was fun. (I'm easily amused.)

I left work at noon so I could get ready for my other job that I had to be at at 12:45. I ate a sandwich and talked to Nikki-K for a while. At 12:35, I was walking down the steps in Lakota when I -- quite literally -- ran into Wade and Athletic Math Boy. Seriously -- they almost knocked me over. They must have been running -- cuz when I started going down the steps, they were nowhere in sight and then all of a sudden, Wade and his couch were flying at me and I was like, "Dude -- I'll move . . . " and Andy said, "Is that Mari Jo?" Lol -- it was great fun. Almost being knocked over by a couch accompanied by two studly fellows is almost better than finding money -- except that money pays the bills better than studly fellows do.

I punched in at work at exactly 12:45 and went down to find that Jennifer was there. Jennifer treats me as if I'm stupid. She talks at me in a tone that says "You need my help, you imbecile." She harassed me all day long and I HATE working when she's there because I always feel like I have to be perfect and I can't be. The first thing she said to me was "When you do shoes, you have to scan the tag, not the box." I said, "I know. I do." She said, "You didn't this morning." I told her that I had only had one pair of shoes come through my line (I'd only been there for like 5 minutes when she talked to me) and I DID scan the tag." She said, "no you didn't. The numbers were different" in a tone that said, "You're an imbecile." Then she said, "Do you need change?" as sweet as could be . . . It was a "I'm making your life miserable but there's absolutely nothing you can do about it because I'm the person who has to fix all your problems" kind of situation. Almost like a tyranical parent. And then this guy got mad at me because I couldn't scan his shoe box when there was no tag on the shoes. When I called back to active wear, they gave me the same numbers as were on the box. Um . . . He had waited forever for the price and then it was more than he thought they were and he didn't say he didn't want them so I told him the total and he got mad at me and yelled at me. I could have cried -- What was I supposed to do?? And then I didn't talk to Jennifer again all day and I just want to cry. And I made $35.94.

Then I went back to commons and filed things until 10:00 -- and I made $24.50.

Grand total of . . . a lot. $88.44 Whee -- too bad I had to work 14 hours for that.

If I hadn't run into Andy and if he hadn't recognized my voice, I would have died today. I can't handle this. HELP ME!
~MK

In which I hate the price of gas

It's $2.32-2.39/gal in Marshall for the cheap stuff. Haven't seen more than two prices in Fargo yet and don't remember what they were, but I'm sure it's not much different. This is pathetic.

May I propose a solution to this problem? I think that if we were to get a bill going in the government to start drilling in Alaska, all the countries we buy from would freak out because their primary source of income was being threatened. They'd lower prices to keep us buying and they'd fight over our business so we'd have a price war and the price of gas would go down to where it belongs. Think it would work?

Anyone remember $0.89/gal gas?
How about $8,000 cars?
Dow-Jones under 4,000?
I remember.
I think I'm getting old.

Do you remember when there was no Wal-Mart?
And Dilworth almost didn't exist?
Let's go back to the '80s for just one day.
Let's go back to the days when we didn't worry so much.

Let's go back to the days before I knew about genetic diseases.
Before I knew that my aunt had one.
Before Clark Thomas was sick.
Before he was even born.

Let's forget that this disease has
Claimed all but our precious Clark Thomas' life.
Let's go back to a time when he knew my face-
Remembered my name-

Wanted to play-
Could have a conversation-
Would listen to me read stories-
Crawled into bed with me to chit-chat

Let's forget that he doesn't remember anything about me;
That he can't go to school anymore-
Can't even walk or eat-
That if he does eat, it won't stay down.

Let's forget that our precious Clark Thomas
Will soon be done suffering.
Let's go back to a time that once was--
When he was a happy, carefree little boy.

I love you Buddy!
~MK

In which I have a novel-worthy experience

You really have an advantage if you're one of those who really doesn't say much.

I had an old duffer come through my line who was either drunk, high, or schizophrenic. Or maybe a combination of all three. The latter is probably what was going on. He had a cart full of dollar items, except for 4 items -- pink pants, a white and pink t-shirt, pink panties and a pink bra. He told me that these items were for his wife. (The first thought that went through my head when he told me about his wife was "poor thing . . . ") The first thing he said when he got to my line was "CASH!" and he brought his cart backwards through the line and told me to unload it. Then he changed his mind and said, "You do it -- I'll put the stuff up there." He told me that he only comes to town 2 or 3 times a year, so when he does come, he has to get everything. He got a ton of cleaning supplies and like 7 bottles of dish detergent. One of the detergents was open and it spilled all over everything. It was loads of fun . . . He said that he got all of his items in less than 15 minutes. He mentioned that his wife would have spent hours getting all that stuff. The detergent had spilled on his food so I tried to go get another one, but he said, "No! Hurry! I have to go to work!" His total was $105.35 and he took forever to get his two fifties and a five out and then I asked him if I could have another $1 and he said, "yeah, yeah" and handed me another one. All the while I was ringing his stuff up, he was talking to the girls in line at 'Manda's till and asking them if we had a certain type of hat. When she didn't know, he asked 'Manda, and 'Manda didn't know either, but she told him that if we did, they'd be with the other accessories. He ran off and got one and then when he came back, he asked 'Manda and her customer if it looked good on him. Then we were all done, and he was kind enough to leave me a tip -- 25 cents.

He didn't talk much to me because I was really quiet. Yay. And then Shaun, one of our GM dudes was cleaning up the mess and I pretty much decided that the guy belongs in a mental institution. (The dude -- not Shaun.) And when I was done, Shaun asked me what I was doing tonight and I was confused because he's never talked to me before -- and he told me that I'm not much fun because I didn't want to work for him.

I hate it when I fight with my mother. It makes me sad. And I always feel like even though I win, I must be really wrong. I don't know why -- like, there's absolutely no way to argue something else when I've made my point, but for some reason, I always feel like my point was wrong, even though I won.

I saw a spiffy tattoo today. I went to talk to someone at church and while I was there, her son came and asked her to help him with his new tattoo. He had gotten it yesterday and he said that it still hurt a lot. It was on his back and it was really cool. It made me want to giggle though, because he's only 16 and so his mom or dad would have had to sign for him. And then he had his mommy clean it for him, which was totally cute. :-) Yay! I love her -- she's not a normal mom, she's a cool mom. Kinda like the mom in Mean Girls, only she DOES have some rules, I'm sure.
~MK

In which I'm distracted and boring

I was at work today and someone was buying a vacuum cleaner. After I scanned it, the display said, "enter birthdate: MM/DD/YYYY" I looked at it and I said, "since when do you have to be 18 to buy vacuum cleaners?" That was the craziest thing that's happened to me in a long time . . .

So, I think I'm going to join Sound and Spirit, a Chrstian music club. Kelly is part of it and she gave me some info on it. When you join, you pick 7 free CDs and then you order one CD at regular price and when you do that, you get 4 more for free. That's a total of 12 CDs for the price of one! And then, when you get a friend to join, you get 5 free CDs. Your only obligation is to buy the one CD in the following 12 months. I looked at the choices for the 7 free CDs and I picked out about 15 that I wanted. Whenever you get someone to join and whenever you buy stuff, you get music points which you can use toward the purchase of other stuff -- and they have really good sales. If anyone's interested in joining, let me know -- I'd be happy to hook ya up!
I heart you!
~MK