Black Friday Madness

Happy December everyone! If you've been following my blog you know I'm coming off a long stressful week! I'm so happy its December! Its that magical time of year! I've enjoyed my day off by dressing my dog in ugly Christmas sweaters and watching Christmas movies!

It's hard to see but that is a reindeer on his sweater!

If you read my Thanksgiving post post and my survival tips for a stressful week you'd know even though I had to work on Thanksgiving and Black Friday I was feeling alright about it. I was at peace with the fact that its not the end of the world and it'll be fun, since the people I work with always make crazy shifts like that fun! However, I cannot express how disappointed I was, not with anyone I worked with, but with the people shopping on "Brown Thursday" and Black Friday. Last year I also worked on Thanksgiving into Black Friday, and I can honestly say I only saw one person who was extremely rude. This past holiday however, I left work mentally defeated and really hating people as a whole. People made the rudest comments to me and my coworkers when we were honestly only trying to help them. We were called horrible names and spoken to in inhumane ways. One lady was upset because her young daughter, who was holding her spot in line, got out of line (who can blame her? She was just a little kid!). This woman got so upset she sped to the front of the line. Now, I was patrolling the line talking to people while they waited, helping them in any way I could, making sure people didn't cut, and keeping the line organized and moving quickly. I saw this woman speeding to the front of the line so I asked her if I could help her, thinking she was going to cut in line. She just looked at me, started screaming "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" and walked past me pumping her arms so hard her knuckles caught my knuckles and it honestly really hurt! She continued to the front of the line, threw down her paper towels and basket of items and just made a scene, yelling and pointing and the employee who was at the front of the line! Once she was done throwing a temper tantrum she picked up her stuff and went to the next open cashier. 

It amazes me that saving $5 on a crackpot will make people go that insane! And I know my personal story is tame compared to others I have heard. A store near the one I work at said many of their employees were spit on by customers. Spit on. What would even bring someone to do that? People forget that this is our job. Nobody comes into your office when you're working and spits on you. That's disgusting. There are also so many news articles reporting stabbings, shootings, people getting shoved, getting hit, getting hurt. I am appalled at what people will do to save a few bucks. 

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Not only is the violence shocking and horrendous, but it happens on a national holiday now! I don't know about you but I used to love getting up at 5 in the morning on Black Friday and waiting in line to shop. Looking back it seems tame and almost innocent. People were excited, but I never remember hearing about death or extreme violence. Now people leave their Thanksgiving dinners early or miss them all together to wait in line. I think the difference between last year and this year is that people missed their Thanksgiving dinner. Last year stores opened late enough for families to still get together, have a good time, and then still wait in line. This year stores opened too early for that. I truly think people were so angry because they missed their Thanksgiving dinners because they wanted the sales. And its a vicious circle because retail companies make their sales, and think their customers like them opening early because of the money they spend, so next year they're just going to open earlier, and then earlier, until stores are opening at midnight on Thanksgiving morning. Stores are hardly open on Christmas day, or Easter day. Why would stores be open on Thanksgiving day, a national holiday? They should make a law that stores cannot open on Thanksgiving Day. People will be happier all around. Except for maybe the corporations but we cant let corporations run the world, now can we?

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Very early this morning while I was still at work, a friend and I were caught in complaining about we were still at work (since we were working overnight) and that it was Thanksgiving and we have to be back later tonight and blah blah blah. But after getting those complaints off our chest, we decided to turn our attitudes around. Yes we were tired, and yes we were still at work at 4am Thanksgiving morning. But it could be so much worse! We are lucky enough to have a job. Even though we will be missing part of our families' Thanksgiving traditions, some people don't have families or family gatherings to miss out on. I have so much to be thankful for and no reason at all to complain. 

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I am so thankful for my job. Besides working on my favorite holiday of the year, I love my job. And after talking to a military woman yesterday and hearing her plans for Thanksgiving. That's what made me realize there are others who are also working on Thanksgiving, but they won't get to spend any time at all with their families. So I was to thank not only everyone working on this holiday, but especially those fighting for our country while we are sitting comfortably in our own homes. 

I'm thankful for these guys! Who knew a dog could change your life so much? I love both my puppies more than I thought possible. To everyone out there looking for a new dog, please rescue a dog. Because as much as you will be thankful that you have a new family member, they will be so much more thankful that you saved their life. Dogs really are the perfect companion. 

I am so thankful for my family. Even though we might not always get along, and sometimes are so busy it seems we can never find time together I am lucky to have a family that loves each other no matter what. (This is not everyone, just the most recent picture with the most people, don't think I forgot anyone!)

I saved the best for last! I'm thankful for this guy, my best friend, my boyfriend, my partner in crime. I could not be more lucky to have such a great boyfriend and sch a great relationship. We've been together almost 3 years now (2 years and 8 months if you want to be exact because he does like when I round up!) and its been the best time of my life! I don't know what I would ever do without him. This is my favorite picture of us, standing on a mountain in Colorado. We need to go back there!

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

How To Survive a Stressful Week

For those of you who don't know this week and possible the next two weeks are going to be pretty stressful! So I apologize ahead of time for being somewhat MIA. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, all the food, cheerfulness and family and no matter how busy I am I plan to thoroughly enjoy it! Let me just give you a quick glance at my week here... I just got home from work now, I work tomorrow (Tuesday), Wednesday overnight to Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), Thursday overnight to Friday, Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, I'm off Tuesday (but have class all day) then work Wednesday through Friday, get a weekend off and then finals week begins! I feel ready to tackle this week head on! Here's some tips on how I got to this point:

1. Get organized! This always seems to be very hard for me but this morning I made a list of everything that is due for school in order of due dates so I can prioritize. I also looked at my schedule to see when I can put aside time for homework and extra sleep (because of those two overnight shifts). After doing this I felt I could finally take a deep breath.

2. Get rest! Many people like to spend their weekends out all night partying and while it can be so much fun, it doesn't really give you enough rest to hold you through the next week. Since I still needed to get homework done this weekend I didn't set an alarm and let myself wake up whenever my body felt rested enough to wake me up. I slept 11 hours for 2 days! Clearly I needed the sleep! And while this may totally bore you, I did still have time to get homework and see friends and family.

3. Stay healthy! It's important to exercise and eat healthy. I ran 5 miles yesterday and (other than some pain in my hip) I feel great! Also when you're feeling tired have a little coffee, or some fruit like an apple. I can say I'm guilty of always reaching towards artificial sugar to give me an energy boost and I always end up feeling crappier than before. Also planning meals ahead of time helps give you some time back during the week. I love to get pre-packaged (healthy) dinners you stick in the microwave. Simple, easy, and still healthy.

4. Plan your clothes out ahead of time. This will save some time in the morning when you're frantically looking for something to wear. 

5. Paint your nails. Painting your nails can really relieve stress. I know I always feel better after painting my nails a new color for the week, plus during the week I feel more put together with nail polish that isn't chipped.

6. Light a candle, sit in a bubble bath or hot tub, (maybe grab a glass of wine) and read a book. There is nothing, NOTHING, more relaxing than this! I love watching tv or movies but it's so easy to get distracted watching tv. When reading a book you're more concentrated and it's easier to get away for your stressful week, even if only for a chapter.

7. Once you're done reading and soaking put on your most comfortable pajamas, some aloe infused fuzzy socks and get to sleep! That way you are rested up for tomorrow!

And on that note, I should be taking my own advice. Goodnight everyone!