October 2015 General Conference -Sunday Morning

Thomas S. Monson -Be an Example and a Light

• Each of us came to earth having been given the Light of Christ. As we follow the example of the Savior and live as He lived and as He taught, that light will burn within us and will light the way for others.
• The words we use can lift and inspire, or they can harm and demean. 
• Let us speak to others with love and respect, ever keeping our language clean and avoiding words or comments that would wound or offend. 
• I am confident there are within our sphere of influence those who are lonely, those who are ill, and those who feel discouraged. Ours is the opportunity to help them and to lift their spirits. 
• Strive to have in you lives kindness, gratitude, forgiveness, and goodwill.
• Those things which make us different from most of the world also provide us with that light and that spirit which will shine in an increasingly dark world. 
• As we make Christ the center of our lives, our fears will be replaced by the courage of our convictions. 

Ronald A. Rasband -I Stand All Amazed

• Not in the smallest part am I able to walk in their shoes, yet I am honored to stand tall on their shoulders and carry on in the Lord's ministry.
• Your faith has increased our faith; your testimonies have added to our testimony. 

Gary E. Stevenson -Plain and Precious Truths

• The Lord will qualify those whom He calls.
• Focus not on what you can't do but rather on what you can do.

Dale G. Renlund -Through God's Eyes

• The Lord has called you for what He needs to do through you and that will happen only if you do it His way. 

Russell M. Nelson -A Plea to My Sisters

• Your virtue, light, love, knowledge, courage, character, faith, and righteous lives will draw good women of the world, along with their families, to the Church in unprecedented numbers!
• The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women.
• Go to work! You need to learn more. If you quit now, others will have to painfully learn what you already know. 
• Do you realize the breadth and scope of your influence when you speak those things that come to your heart and mind as directed by the Spirit?
• Whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, and your inspiration. 
• We need you to speak up and speak out.

Gregory A. Schwitzer -Let the Clarion Trumpet Sound

• True disciples represent the Lord when it may not be convenient to do so. 
• Often it is not convenient or comfortable to stand up for Christ. 

Claudio R. M. Costa -That They Do Always Remember Him

• I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 

Henry B. Eyring -The Holy ghost as Your Companion

• Just as the Holy Ghost strengthens us against evil, He also gives us the power to discern truth from falsehood. 

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Need A Ride?

So, I've been trying to get into a gym like this entire week.
No, not an actual exercise gym. ;) lol a Pokémon Gym.
But it's rather hard to do because I'm team Instinct and yellow gyms when I do find them in the sea of mostly Blue and some red gyms....usually are completely filled when I find them. *exhales* 

So today at church, I noticed there was a small yellow gym!! And so once I got out, I headed over that way to go finally get a pokemon into it....only for the last slot to fill up just as I reached it. >.< foo.

In any case, I was heading back over to my car to head home, when I saw that there was a pokemon I hadn't caught yet located just a parking lot over from my car. -I go to church on a college campus so that place is littered with parking lots.
I did find and catch that one...
lol and I happened to be texting people at the same time I was 'hunting' around.
So I happened to pause on the sidewalk like ten feet away from my car. And I was just standing there. 

When a car pulls up and one of the people from my ward asked if I needed a ride home.
Because they noticed I wasn't with my roommates today. 
(roomies were with their families today so I went to church alone) 
So they were wondering if I had come with them and then needed a ride home.

lol. 
No....I'd driven myself so I was perfectly capable of coming home whenever I wanted to. lol. 
But I wasn't about to tell them. "No, I was just pokemon hunting." because who knows how they'd take that. lol. 

So I just told my wardmate that I was 'enjoying the heat/sunshine'
Which...since I was standing in the shade....I wonder how much they believed that....lol. 
Thankfully I don't think they know me well enough to realize that I really don't like the heat. 
(it's been waaaay too hot.) 

So I told them I was fine, and they took off. 
Only for like maybe two minutes later another of my wardmates stopped in their car nearby where I was standing and asked if I needed a ride home. lol.

Apparently standing on the edge of the parking lot after church indicates that I need a ride home or something?? lol. 
Again I reassured the kind person that I was fine, I had my car, I was just 'enjoying the sunshine' *coughpokemonhuntingcough* 

But I figured I shouldn't have a third person stop and ask me if I needed a ride.
So I finished my text conversation and headed to my hot car to head home. lol.

Still I appreciate that there are people in the ward who are aware of me enough to double check that I have a way to get back home. ^^ It's good to know that if I do end up trapped at church without a car, I can ask for help and receive it. :) 

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

On Display

One of the strange aspects of working at my job....is the fact that people both children and adults, love to stop and watch me do my job.

Whether it's cleaning cages or feeding the animals or fishing out dead fish.

There's some sort of fascination involved in watching me do my job. lol.

I'll have customers stand there for five, ten, even fifteen minutes watching me do my job.

Which kinda makes me feel self conscious on occasion.

Usually if it's feeding animals I don't really care. 

But tonight, I had to close at work. 

And because my fellow closing coworker has a bit of an allergy to feathers and fur... (which why work in a pet store if you're allergic to animals??) I volunteered to help clean out the cat cages.

The problem with doing this at night, is that the store is still open usually when we try to do an evening cleaning. 

Which means we have to kinda wait for a lull with customers and slip inside, scoop litter and wipe down cages, and slip out again before the customers come.

Tonight wasn't one of those nights where I could slip in and out without interruption.

A group of girls actually came in to stare at the cats for a while just as I was getting ready to go in and clean. So I gave them like five or ten minutes before politely telling them that I needed to do the evening cleaning and to let me know when they left the cats.

Like most customers....they didn't let me know, but I was nearby and watching, and so I slipped in basically as they were leaving.

But....they didn't leave.

Instead the girls kinda made a camp outside of the cat adoption center. -Since it's basically just a tiny room with a big glass wall for people to look in through.

And spent the next maybe 20 minutes just watching me work.... 

Normally I don't mind being watched.

Today I did.

I think in part because a couple of the girls had their phones out, and I couldn't tell if they were taking videos/pictures of me or of the cats or if they just happened to be texting in an angle that looked like they were taking videos/pictures....

And I really wasn't in the mood to be on display or to randomly end up somewhere on internet land as a picture or a video. *exhales* 

The second part of my slight anxiety of being watched over, is that we currently have a grumpy cat in the adoption center. Where she's super sweet and happy and playful inside the cage, but once she leaves the cage....

She becomes a hissy growly little monster. 

As this particular cat doesn't like the other cats, and seeing them puts here into 'defensive attack mode' Basically if one of the other cats looks at her weird, she'll hiss and strike at them, even though the other cats aren't doing anything in their cages and she's safe enough if she'd just ignore them. She doesn't need to go all crazy.

But she does go all crazy.

Crazy enough that I'm rather wary of trying to get her out from underneath the adoption cages without protection. Because I don't want my arm all clawed and bitten up.

So far, this particular kitty has been more bark than bite. But I wasn't going to take chances.

I was hoping since I had an audience, that I wouldn't need to resort to the bite glove and broom.

-bite glove to protect my hand (we only have one randomly) and the broom to shoo the cat out from under the cages so I could grab the cat with the bite glove. *exhales*

So I purposely saved that particular kitty for last.

Hoping that after watching me clean the other cat cages (there were four other cages today that had cats in them.) the people who had gathered to watch me do my job would get bored and leave.

They didn't. I think I ended up with like 10 people watching me. 

*exhales* 

Which meant that they were still there as I reluctantly opened that last cage. 

Like usual the kitty moved out, and started hissing up a storm with the other kitties, though thankfully she didn't actively try to strike at them today.

However, I was unable to coax her back into her cage....

So I had to go grab the bite glove. 

Figuring I would try to just use the glove at first to get her out, as I'm pretty sure someone in my watchers would react badly to seeing me using a broom to shoo the cat out. 

Thankfully, I was able to use the glove to first get the cat out from under the cages, and then use said glove to grab the kitty by the scruff of the neck and get it back into the cage with no further hassle. 

Dunno what my audience thought, but once the 'show' was over most of them finally left to go check out the rest of the store. while others who'd been waiting for me to finish went in to see the cats closer.

*exhales*

Needless to say it was a bit tense for me doing my job while they were watching.

I didn't like it.

Usually I don't mind.

But today I minded. And it totally got me tense. *exhales*

Oh well, at least the customers got a bit of entertainment today right?? ;) 

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Tale As Old As Time

So. Once upon a time, I bought this giant fish tank. 
125 gallons to be exact. 
And upon buying said tank and filling it full of water,
I told my sister that she could pick a couple of fish to put in the tank. 
She chose to go with a couple of angelfish. 

To which I happily bought her a couple. 
And she named them Beauty and Beast.
Because she's rather obsessed with that story. lol. 

Unfortunately....Beast ended up dying. Y_Y 

So after a bit I got a second angelfish to keep Beauty happy.
Only she didn't like that angelfish.
So I went and bought a third angelfish to ensure that Beauty didn't just focus her dislike of other angels on just one angelfish. 

But neither of those replacement angels were the same coloration of the original Beast angelfish. 
-He was striped, while beauty was fully white. 

So when work finally got in some good angelfish, I went in.....
And came out with four more angelfish. 
Giving me a total of seven....
Because I can't decide lol. 

In any case.
I ended up getting two more striped Angelfish.
And the larger one we named Beast. 
Technically Beast II because the first one had died. 

And life was just dandy for my seven angelfish. 
Until I took in a new Angelfish bigger than everyone else. 
An angel we took to naming Gaston because he was so big lol. 

And with Gaston entering the fray...
Everything went topsy turvy. 
And suddenly all my angels were fighting with each other instead of it mostly being Beauty chasing everyone else around the tank. 
*exhales* 
Difficulties. Difficulties.
Thankfully there weren't any major injuries. But there was a lot of posturing, nipping at fins, and reestablishing the hierarchy. 

And unfortunately...one of the angels....ended up acting a bit depressed.
I dunno if she was rejected one too many times by the others she tired to pair up with, or had some other internal issue.

But in an effort to cheer up the sad Angelfish, we decided -Kikay and I- to go grab a couple more angels to see if they could help perk up the one sad one. 

That resulted in me totally rearranging my tank. XD lol. 
And unfortunately....sad angelfish...ended up not surviving the night. Y_Y *exhales* 

But since we'd decided to name everyone after beauty and the beast characters by that point, we couldn't let our "Mrs. Potts" leave the tank.
So back to work I went to grab another Mrs. Potts. 

So yes....I have ten angelfish in that tank when I originally meant to only get two. lol. 

In any case. 

Funnily enough. The two angelfish that we named Beauty and the Beast ended up pairing up. Especially when Gaston entered the tank.
The two of them joined forces to ensure that Gaston was put in his place. lol. 

And it's been rather interesting to watch the two of them defending 'their territory' from the others. Watching to see who they let near and who they don't.

Beauty and the Beast had taken to being on the left side of the tank where I put in a new large Pirate Ship decoration. They loved it over there...they kept kissing the top mast post for whatever reason. lol. *shakes head* 

But we did, since all but the newest three angelfish are basically full grown, sit down and try and figure out the genders of the angelfish. -Since when they're small it's rather hard to know. 

And we realized....that Beast....is actually a girl. :S lol oops. 
and Beauty....was still difficult to tell...but it looked like Beauty was a girl as well. 
Gaston though is definitely a boy. 

However.
Today.
I figured out for sure that Beauty is actually a boy. 

Why?

Because when I came home this afternoon, I'd noticed that Beauty and the Beast had moved away from their claimed territory on the left side of the tank, and had chased the other 8 angelfish away from the center of the tank where a tall green big leafed plant is. 

With Gaston, LeFou, Chip, Phillip, and Mrs. Potts on the right side of the tank, while Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Plumette on the left side of the tank. 

Curious about this sudden change in territory. 

I looked closer.

And discovered that there were EGGS on the leaf!!
Beast had laid eggs!!!

()_() 
I had no idea that my tank was set up in such a manner to encourage my angels to breed, but apparently I've set up the tank well enough for them to do just that!
But there were Beauty and Beast both defending their little colony of eggs from all the other fish. Chasing them away if they venture too close. ^^ 

Honestly, with around 80 fish in my 125....I hadn't actually expected my fish to be able to breed at all...I figured that the eggs/fry would be eaten or destroyed pretty quickly. Just with how many different varieties of fish I have....

But I've just been proven wrong haha. ^^ 
I'm rather excited.
Excited to see if Beauty and Beast can protect the eggs long enough for them to hatch (around 60hrs or so) and if they can protect the fry.

-As Angelfish make rather good parents and will protect their young.
I'm just curious to see how many of their children will make it. ^^ 
--- and if I was equipped I'd totally fish out the fry when they hatch and put them in a different tank....but I'm not allowed any more fish tanks in the house. heh. Sooo I'm just going to have to let nature take it's course.

It's rather fun.
The wondering.
The unknown.

The fact that two of my angels actually bred!! ^^ 

I can't wait to see how this all turns out. :D

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Standing Firm

A young man I know well was elected to be the student body president at a large university.
The university sent him to a leadership seminar where student leaders from across the United States gathered in Chicago, Illinois, to be trained and educated.
They participated in an initial game outdoors on the college campus so that they could become acquainted with each other.
The students were presented with current issues facing today's youth and were asked to take a position.
In response to the issue presented, they were directed to run to several trees in the grassy area marked "strongly agree," "partially agree," "strongly disagree," or "mildly disagree."

Toward the end of this exercise, the leader asked, "Do you believe in premarital sex?"
Without hesitation this young man ran to the tree marked "strongly disagree."
To his amazement, he was the only one there!
All the other student leaders were laughing and pointing at him and saying, "Oh, Jess, you are so funny.
We all know you're not really serious."
At that moment Jess said he knew exactly what he must do and so he loudly declared, "I am not funny.
I'm serious!"
There was a stunned silence, and then the group dispersed, leaving Jess standing alone by the tree.
He felt out of place and, yes, weird.
But he wasn't weird.
He was right.
And he was not alone.
During the week, many of the student leaders came to him privately and said that they wished they had known years earlier what he knew.
Jess later said, "It was easy because I knew that I represented not only the university but my family, the Church, and the Savior."

-Elaine S. Dalton -At All Times, in All Things, and in All Places -April 2008 General Conference

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Greet and Build

So I mentioned the other day that we had a work meeting that basically is going over things we need to do and change and work on for the next year. Basically a game plan to continue to keep our customers happy, but also get them to buy things. You know, the usual retail stuff. 

In any case. Part of that game plan is for us to have a 'one on one' meeting with the Head Manager in the store where we then talk about certain aspects of this 'game plan,' watch an example, do a couple role plays, and then go attempt to use what we learned in the store. 

*shakes head* Honestly, I'm a good "read it and I can do it" sort of person. I find roleplaying to be rather annoying, as is 'practicing' in the store. 
I mean, I do enjoy acting and such, and I'm rather quick to come up with scenarios and such to use in role play which is fun. ^^ lol. 
But it's really hard....because role playing with someone you know -aka the manager, vs. a customer you don't know is completely different. 

So. One of the main things that work wants us workers to do is to establish more of a connection with our customers.
Which means that the company is wanting us to ask more open ended questions that allow us to converse with the customer and find out about their needs. They want us to do more than ask a question that results in a 'yes or no' scenario. 

Which I can understand. 
"Do you need help finding anything today?" will usually result in the customer going "No." 
While "What can I help you find today?" will result in a slightly longer response that allows us to establish a conversation and such. 

But the annoying thing about this "do not ask a 'yes or no' question rule" is....
Eventually you HAVE to ask a yes or no question just to confirm that the customer is satisfied with the help you've given them and to see if the solution you offered work. 

I mean, it makes sense that you don't want to start off the conversation with a 'yes or no' question as that can easily shut down the conversation quickly. 
But once you've established the scenario then I feel you can say "Well, have you tried this particular food before?" which does result in a yes/no question can help me figure out if I need to search for a different option or give me confirmation that yes I did help the customer. *shakes head*

So yes, I agree that the beginning of the conversation should be more open ended with the questions. But towards the end...pretty sure yes/no will suffice.

Thankfully though, with this sort of scenario, work does recognize that there are some people who are the "I got this" sort of customers where they go "I know what I'm looking for thanks!" and that when we encounter these people it's okay for us to go "Okay! Well my name is Sarnic, I'll be by the fish if you need me." and back off. We're not required to chase the customer down or anything. Which is a relief. Because there are customers who don't need help and don't want help. lol. 
So I'm glad that I can take the 'back off' route if the customer knows what they need. 
Because interacting with people is draining. 
And if I have to do more of it....I'm going to end up a lot more tired. *shakes head*

In any case!
The open ended questions thing.
So my manager and I had a one on one today to talk about that and practice scenarios.  Practice greeting the customer, asking open ended questions, building a connection etc etc.

And then we applied it in the store, by approaching customers and such. 
And apparently I did really well. lol. ^^ 
As even though in our practice sessions in the office I kept asking yes/no questions...
Out on the floor I managed to keep my questions more open ended without asking any yes/no questions. 
Which woot for me!! ^^ lol 

But it's mostly an attitude thing I think....
I mean, it's just a matter of creating a connection, following the conversation, asking for more details when necessary, offering your own opinions, reading the body language etc etc. 
Which after nearly 5 years of working at the Pet Store....
I think I have a pretty good handle on it. XD Lol. 

Plus, actually talking to the customer and helping them instead of making up scenarios in an office are totally different. It's more real to do it out on the floor and such. 

So thankfully I did well in that and impressed the manager. :) Yay. 

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Too Thin

It's kinda funny how you don't realize how much something bugs you....until you're confronted with it.

So. 
I have a new manager over my department. 
And like a week or so ago, he left a note saying that we were using too much of the bedding in our small pet cages. That we should be able to do the bedding changes with only two bags of bedding. 

O.o
I had no idea how that was possible.
Because since like the very beginning, I've always used three bags of bedding to reline the cages after I cleaned them. It's basically one bag per side. (3 sides) 
More recently, its been more like 3 1/2 bags because we've been using more colored bedding and for whatever reason, the colored bedding isn't packed as tightly as the non-colored stuff. So I end up needing to use more of it. *exhales* 

But using two bags??
I had no idea how that was possible. 

Today though, I got a chance to see what the manager meant.
As he opened with me, and was the one to clean the cages. 

Turns out it is possible to use just two bags.
But not in a method I like.

The bedding is super thin. 
Thinner than I've ever seen it.
Than I've ever been told to do it. I was told to have the bedding half an inch to an inch thick.
The bedding in the cages is well under that half inch really. 
Thin enough that if the hamsters/guinea pigs move the bedding the wrong way it exposes the black bottom of the cage below. 

Which I don't think is a good idea....I feel like it would be more difficult to clean the cage because not as much would be caught by the bedding, leaving a sticky grimy mess that has to be scrubbed hard afterwards. 

Plus...I just don't think it looks good. 

*exhales*
Yah...I never knew how much thin bedding would bother me until I saw it. But oh. It's bugging me to see so little bedding there. *shakes head* I guess we'll see how it works this week....until then....I think I'm going to have to ignore that section of the store as much as possible because it's like an itch I can't scratch. I don't want to see the bottom of the cage. >.< *exhales* It's like...against everything I've been told by other managers. 
*shakes head*
Every manager has their quirks.....it's only a matter of getting used to it. Or...adjusting it to suit everyone better. 

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

October 2015 General Conference -Priesthood Session

Neil L. Andersen -Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice

• Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not something ethereal, floating loosely in the air. Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright. 
• Faith emits a spiritual light, and that light is discernible.
• Your faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker.
• Your faith does not come by chance, but by choice.
• How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. 
• Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, "I don't know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship." 
• Although your beginning fire of faith may be small, righteous choices bring greater confidence in God, and your faith grows. 

Randall K. Bennett -Your Next Step

• Loving parents are always ready with outstretched arms to welcome even our smallest step in the right direction. 
• Strength is given to those who keep seeking and trying.
• We fail only if we fail to take another faithful step forward.
• You were created "that [you] might have joy." 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf -Be Not Afraid, Only Believe

• With these great blessings and privileges come great responsibilities and obligations. Let us rise up to them.
• It falls to us to live as believers in a world of disbelief.
• We believe in God because of things we know with our heart and mind, not because of things we do not know.
• There is no magic to belief. But wanting to believe is the necessary first step!
• If we make no effort to believe, we are like the man who unplugs a spotlight and then blames the spotlight for not giving any light.
• Let me be clear: there is nothing noble or impressive about being cynical. Skepticism is easy--anyone can do it. It is the faithful life that requires moral strength, dedication, and courage. Those who hold fast to faith are far more impressive than those who give in to doubt when mysterious questions or concerns arise.
• Have courage to believe. Be not afraid, only believe.

Henry B. Eyring -You Are Not Alone in the Work

• Any calling we receive in the Lord's kingdom requires more than our human judgement and our personal powers.

Thomas S. Monson -Keep the Commandments

• Keep the commandments.
• God's commandments are not given to frustrate us or to become obstacles to our happiness. Just the opposite is true.
• Please be strong, and be alert to anything that would rob you of the blessings of eternity. The choices you make here and now are forever important.

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

To Break Away

I had to go to work tonight.
Not as an actual work shift or anything.
We were having our yearly meeting. 
Where all the associates have to gather together and be told what the goals and obligations of the year are for the company and such. 

But it has to be held at night after the store closes....because that's the only time we can get everyone there and not have to worry about customers.

Doesn't mean that we didn't have a customer walk into the store and try to shop anyways.....
-The doors were still unlocked so everyone could arrive and get into the building.
She was rather upset with us when we told her that the store had closed an hour ago. 
*shakes head*
Honestly....people should learn to read the hours posted on the door. *exhales* 

In any case.
For whatever reason....we had to dress up as our favorite movie characters for this meeting.
Which, nonsurprisingly...didn't have any connection at all to the meeting. 
....I don't understand that....why dress up if there isn't a point?

In any case I dressed up as the Winter Soldier....
And basically no one in the store knew who I was. 
O.o 
HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!?!? Gah. I'm surrounded by uncultured marvel people apparently. lol. 

But the meeting itself went well...we played games, learned some new info bits, and got food! Plus we were introduced to a new 'rewards' program. ....we'll see if it lasts longer than a month lol. 
But basically it's a "if we see you do something good you get a sticker, get enough stickers you get a pin, get enough pins you get a prize!" *shakes head* Feels a bit like being back at kindergarten really.... 

However,
The thing I found most exciting about the meeting tonight is.....
The fact that we were told that we can politely disengage with the customers.
We even went over talking points of phrases we can use to get away from the gabbers who just want to tell you your whole life story or want to know everything and a half about how to take care of their pet. 

Because while we want customers to feel valued....we also want to be able to help more customers. 
And we can't really help more customers if we spend 45 minutes listening to a crazy cat lady talk about her twelve cats. 

So it's great that we were told that we can politely use phrases to break away from the conversation.
We even now have a secret gesture that we can use if we get trapped by a customer and need help getting away. It's great. ^^ 

Wonder how long it will be before we actually need to use it. lol.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Short Shift

There's one thing I miss about school.
And it's the opportunities to leave school. 

Lol. 
Let me explain.
It's the opportunities to go into school later than normal.
To leave earlier than normal.
To have random days off of school due to holidays.
To be able to leave if a teacher fails to show or if the teacher decides to cancel class that day.
It's an amazing feeling.

Just to be able to lessen the amount of time you spend in school basically. 

With a job.
That doesn't happen.
Not really.
If the manager fails to show up it's not like you can just leave and call it a day. (I mean you could, but then that might be a mark against you whenever the manager does show up.) 
It's not like work -well retail work- will randomly go. "We're closing today! Have a fun day off." 

Nor is it common for you to be told. "Oh hey, you're scheduled to come in this time, but you can come in at this time instead." or "Hey, you're scheduled to leave at this time, but we're good here so you can leave early." 

I do know that there are stores that do that.
Mine doesn't.
There are very few opportunities to leave work early or come in late.

Mostly when it does happen it's because there's a need to cut back the hours that have been accrued during the week.

Today was one of those rare days though.
The days of early outs. 

I mean, I was already pretty happy with this week, because I'd been scheduled shorter shifts so I haven't been at work for 8 hours everyday. 
And after working like a month and a half of 40 hour work weeks....
I'm super grateful for the shorter days I'm currently having lol.
Sometimes it's only by half an hour from my normal "get off at this time" time.
But you'd be surprised how much of a difference thirty minutes can make to your mental state lol. 
I've been able to relax a bit more -and after being rather on the tense side for the past couple of weeks, it's nice to have a week where I'm less tense.

In any case.
Today. I was already scheduled a shorter shift. Only six hours at work. 
Which for having to work a Saturday is basically a miracle lol. You don't usually ask people to leave early on the weekend. :S

But. My manager pulled me aside after I was done with a customer, and told me that I was over my scheduled hours.
...By half an hour.

Which compared to some people who are apparently two hours or more over their scheduled hours...isn't much lol. 
But it's one of those weeks where we're watching our hours a bit more apparently.
So because I was 'over' my hours, my manager wanted me to cut out that half hour.
Which meant that they wanted me to leave work early. 
Woot!

Only one small slight problem.
I still needed to take a lunch.

Because if you work over a certain amount of hours, you're given a lunch break which is thirty minutes. And six hours does give me a lunch break.
But I hadn't been able to take it yet because again, work scheduled me no one in my department until after noon. :S 

So when the manager pulled me aside...I'd been planning to finally take my lunch....because I'd had coverage finally come in.
But...it was a later lunch time than usual for me.
So if I went on lunch right then....when I would clock back into work...I'd only have like half an hour before I'd need to clock out again to 'leave early' like the manager wanted.

So the manager took a couple of seconds to think it over and basically told me to wait for another 15 minutes or so and then clock out an hour early.
Basically I would leave for lunch and not come back. Because I'd have the half hour lunch and then leave the half hour early.

SWEET FREEDOM!
I mean I was already happy that I had a short shift on a Saturday.
But now I was leaving work an hour earlier than planned!!!
Ah!
So excited about that you can't understand it lol. :D 

Because early outs are rare for me. Super rare. Basically whenever the managers decide to be paranoid about how many hours people are working do I get to leave work early.

So this.
This was nice. ^^
Yay for short days. ^^

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Updated Finally

Confession time.
I've fallen into a bad habit recently.
Where....I haven't been updating my journal on a daily basis. 
Not the blogs, though I suppose those can also be considered a journal. lol. 
But my physical journal I have in my room. The paper style. 
I've kind of lost the motivation to write in it? 
Or I suppose that's not the right wording.
I just haven't found 'the time' to do it.
Things come up, where I end up writing too late, or I get a headache that makes focusing difficult, or I stay up too late and I'm so dead tired I can't think straight...
And so I put off journaling another day. 

It was bad this time, nearly a month or so that I had to catch up on. *exhales*
But today. Today I finally caught up again after spending most of the morning and afternoon updating the paper version. 
Thankfully with how much I post on blogs and on media, it's rather easy to piece together what I did which days. So updating usually isn't an issue.
Just time consuming. 

But now. I've caught up with my life.
And that stressful weight of not journaling in the back of my mind has finally been lifted.
Which has allowed me to actually sit down and work on other writing without feeling guilty.
I can relax. Yay! :D

lol. Now. I just need to be more proactive in keeping on top of journaling so this stress doesn't come back to affect me. *shakes head*

Slowly but surely I'm organizing my life so that I can push down the inconsequential 'tiny pebbles' in my 'shoes' that are weighing me down and giving me stress. *exhales*

Journaling completed!! 
Now...maybe I should actually organize my room at some point....

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

In Need of Help, Not More Problems

All of this does not begin to count the individual acts of kindness and support--gifts of food, clothing, money, care, and a thousand other forms of comfort and compassion--by which we may participate in the Christlike work of redemption.
As a boy I witnessed my own mother's actions to redeem a woman in need.
Many years ago when her children were young, my mother underwent a serious operation that nearly took her life and left her bedridden much of the time for nearly a year.
During this time, family and ward members helped Mother and our family.
For additional help, the ward Relief Society president, Sister Abraham, recommended that my parents hire a woman in the yard who desperately needed work.
In recounting this story, I will use fictional names Sara and Annie for this woman and her daughter.
This is my mother's account:

"I can see it as plain as if it were only yesterday.
There I lay in bed, and Sister Abraham brought Sara to the bedroom door.
My heart sank.
There stood the least attractive person I had ever met--so thin; scraggly, unkempt hair; round-shouldered; head bowed looking at the floor.
She wore an old housedress four sizes too big.
She wouldn't look up and spoke so softly I couldn't hear her.
Hiding behind her was a little girl about three years old.
What in the world was I to do with this creature?
After they left the room, I cried and cried.
I needed help, not more problems.
Sister Abraham stayed awhile with her, and they soon whipped the house into shape and prepared some good meals.
Sister Abraham asked me to try it for a few days, [saying] that this girl had had a really hard time and needed help.

"The next morning when Sara came, I finally got her to come over by the bed where I could hear her.
she asked what I wanted her to do.
I told her and then said, 'But the most important thing is my boys; spend time with them, read to them--they are more important than the house.'
She was a good cook and kept the house clean, the washing done, and she was good to the boys.

"Through the weeks, I learned Sara's story.
[Because she was hard of hearing,  she didn't do well in school and eventually dropped out.
She married young to a dissolute man.
Annie was born and became the joy of Sara's life.
One winter night her husband came home drunk, forced Sara and Annie into the car in their bedclothes, and then dropped them off by the side of the highway.
They never saw him again.
Barefoot and freezing, Sara and Annie walked several miles to her mother's home.]
Her mother agreed to let them stay in exchange for doing all the housework and cooking and caring for her sister and brother who were in high school.

"We took Sara to an ear doctor, and she got a hearing aid.
... We got her to take adult schooling, and she got her high school diploma.
She went to night school and later graduated from college and taught special education.
She bought a little home.
Annie was married in the temple and had two children.
Sara eventually had some operations on her ears and was finally able to hear well.
Years later she retired and served a mission.
... Sara thanked us often and said she learned so much from me, especially when I told her that my sons were more important than the house.
She said it taught her to be that way with Annie.
... Sarah is a very special woman."

-D. Todd Christofferson -Redemption -April 2013 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Shut. The. Door.

There are days when I don't understand people.
Particularly customers at work
Even more Particularly, Customers who come into work before our store opens.

You see, like a year or so ago, we changed the store policy where our doors have to open when our grooming department opens. (because they open two hours earlier than the main store) 
So instead of having the automatic doors locked and waiting for customers to ring the doorbell, the grooming customers can now just walk right in the store.

However.
Customers apparently can't read signs.
Because an automatic door opening on it's own must mean that the store is open right?

And that has become a bit of a problem for us.
Because within the last month or so we've had many customers coming in to shop like an hour before we open. >.< 
And we don't always catch those customers before they're waiting at the register waiting to check out.

I mean, it was normal to get a person every now and then who'd come into the store too early.

But the past couple of weeks it has literally been like five or six people coming into the store an hour early.
Which really customers....why are you even up! Why do you assume the store is open?! No store opens at 8am!! 

*shakes head* 
It got so bad that my manager on duty had to take action and chose to keep our doors shut so that they don't open automatically when people approach. Therefore making most of them double check the hours on the door and realize that No, we aren't open yet. 

For the most part we don't keep them locked, so observant grooming customers can figure out that they can just pull the doors open and enter the building.
-Determined normal shoppers occasionally figure this out too....
Though honestly, if the sliding doors that usually automatically open don't automatically open when you approach and you have to pull them open....shouldn't that tell you that the store isn't open yet??
*shakes head* 

However, the main irritation I have when our doors don't automatically close.
Is the fact that people will pull the doors wide open.....and then leave them wide open.
Even though they were closed when the customer approached.

And I don't get it....
Like if the doors are shut, why not shut them again after you pull them open?
It's only good manners. 

Are you thinking that you're doing the store a favor by forcing the doors open? Like you figure that we'd be grateful that customers can easily access the doors? 
Because we're not.

I'm not.
I get irritated when I have to walk to the front of the store three or four times, interrupting my cleaning duties, to go shut that door. >.< 

Ugh.

Honestly....either we should have grooming open the same time as the main store or the main store open the same time as grooming, because having two different opening times can have their bad days when it comes to dealing with customers.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Rearranging Undertaking

So for the past couple of days, my sister has noticed that one of the angelfish in my fish tank hasn't been acting as perky.

Which comes nearly a couple of weeks after adding in an angelfish to my group of seven because my manager was moving and wanted someone he knew would take good care of his fish to take his fish.
So I ended up with eight angelfish. 

But adding in the big guy created a bit of tension among my other seven angelfish. 
Basically they needed to all re-sort themselves out in their hierarchy to add in the eighth angelfish. 
Which has ended up with a lot of fighting and chasing around. Much more than there used to be.

In any case.
One of the angelfish hasn't been acting right the past couple of days.
And Kikay and I decided that it might be that that angelfish is suffering from a lack of a buddy because we think her buddy buddied up with the big guy or perhaps one of the other angelfish.
In any case. 
She wasn't happy. 
And so we were talking about maybe we needed to add in another angelfish or two to see if they would buddy up with that angelfish. 

Nothing definite had been put in place decision wise. 
And today when I got into work, my mind had gone a completely different route.
I'm not even sure how I got on that mind path lol.

But I was considering buying a couple of fish decorations to put in my tank. You know. To switch it up and possibly help mess up the territories of the fish so that they'd not pick on each other so much. 
Mostly it was because I really really wanted a particular pirate ship.
I mean, this particular decoration had been on my 'want' list since I first got my tank in November. lol We just hadn't had it in stock for ages and by the time we got it on our shelves at work....my tank had already been set up and established and I didn't want to mess with my tank.

But when we got the decoration in....I kept it on the backburner of wants. 
and now that Want had come to the forefront of my mind.
I wanted to redecorate a little bit. 
Change the look of my tank.

So I sent my sister a text while I was at work that basically said: "How crazy m I if I said I'm thinking about redecorating my 125 by adding in a couple new ornaments?" 

And her response was: "Depends on what you are wanting to replace.....an if it includes two more angelfish" lol. 

Since I already had 8 angelfish in my tank I wasn't too keen on adding in anymore.
I mean I originally only wanted to have 2 in my tank. And look I'm already four times over that limit.
Still, for kicks and giggles I glanced at the angelfish in question that we had in our tanks and actually saw a couple that I liked. 

And I did want to try and make the sad angelfish in my tank happy again. 
So if that meant adding in a couple more angels...why not? 
However, it wasn't like I could put the fish in a bag and leave them in a corner until I got off work.
and leaving them in the tanks themselves always comes with a risk because customers may decide they want the fish and get it before I can. 

So I told my sister that if she came to work to look at the angelfish, then I would get some.

Because I'd found one I liked, but wasn't sure on the second one.
But also because I wanted her opinion on other fish I'd had my eyes on since Friday that I was still debating about getting. 

Plus, if the angelfish perked up by adding in some littler angelfish, then I wouldn't need to buy new decorations. But if Kikay came and got the fish before I was off work and watched them in the new tank environment then she could let me know if she thought I would also need to mix up the territories and rearrange the decorations as well. 

So Kikay came into the store.
And we decided on a couple mostly black angelfish to place in the tank.
But I also got some help firming up my decision to get three more goldfish in my tank as well. -Two assorted fantails, and one black moor- to go with my single mini goldfish already in my 125. 

-I'd named the original goldfish TatorTot. XD lol. And so the other three goldfish are named French Fry, Onion Ring, and Corn Dog. Because why not? XD lol 

We also -thanks to my coworker showing us him- ended up buying a betta as well. This one dark blue with burnt orange fins to place in one of my empty betta tanks upstairs (because the betta in it before had died.) 

So fish in hand, I sent my sister off to discover how our newest fish would do in their tanks.

And before the workday was out, Kikay sent me a message saying that she thought it would be a good idea to redecorate the tank a bit to see if that would help the new Angelfish integrate a bit more with the older ones. 

I happily obliged and bought the ship I wanted along with a couple more plants that I thought looked cool. 

And once I got home, I spent a good hour working with Kikay with rearranging the tank. 
Because it ended up becoming more complicated than moving a couple ornaments around and switching a couple of plants.
Lol. No, because the ship ended up needing to face a different direction than I'd originally planned, I needed to rethink the plan. 
Good thing Kikay is an artist as she was able to help direct me to placing plants and decorations in my 125 so that they would look good.
And after about an hour of that....we'd rearranged everything in the tank.
But decided that we still needed a couple more decorations, namely a couple taller plants, to round out the tank and make it look great.

So we ventured back to my work to do some plant shopping. 
And ended up buying another betta fish in the process -this one red- to place in my 125 downstairs. 
I already had one betta in there (I had two but one had died on the 4th :( ) and since I was messing up the territories, it would be the perfect time to add in another betta to see if he'd get along with the older betta since everything would be messed up. 

So purchases in hand we returned home, and spent another half hour or so incorporating the new plant decorations into the tank before we had it all as we wanted it. ^^ Yay!

lol I even put the betta fish in there, and he promptly went and found the older beta's territory. *exhales* Six feet of tank....you'd think the bettas could just pick a side and stay away from each other.
The new guy eventually figured it out. Hopefully he'll do well. Time will tell. 

And so our tank was complete!

Tada!! It's so pretty!! ^^ 
lol we refer to my tank as the Pixar Tank because it's so bright and colorful. ^^ 

Everything was going well.....
Until we noticed that the one angelfish that we'd bought the two new angelfish for and redecorated the tank for....wasn't doing so good. 

Y_Y and within like the hour....
The angelfish had died. Y_Y 
So instead of having 10 I was down to 9. 

And because the Angelfish are my sister's fish (because she loves them) and had named them and such. I asked her if she wanted a replacement angel for the one that died. 
To which she said Yes. 

lol. As we've named the Angelfish after Beauty and the Beast Characters. (Gaston is the big new guy) 
and it just didn't feel right to have one missing from the set you know? 

Me...I was willing to let it wait a few days since the one angel had just died.
Let the tank settle down again since I'd just added in six fish already and stirred up the gravel a bit with all the rearranging. 
But Kikay brought up the point that Angelfish like to have friends, and if lone angelfish are put into the tank...they don't do well. And if I waited....I'd end up getting two more angelfish to make sure that the new angel had a friend. :S And like I said....I had only wanted two in the beginning. Ending up with 11 was a bit excessive.

But we decided that if we went back to my work right then, then it would all be well because we already had got two angelfish today and a few hours wouldn't make much of a difference in their attitudes lol. 

So for the third time today...I walked through my work's doors. 
And the cashier noticed and called me out for it. "Sarnic you're back again?! This is like the third time?!" 
Well...what can I say? lol. It's difficult to leave work. ;) lol. 

We did end up finding an angelfish that my sister liked to replace the one that just died. 
Took it home.
And thankfully that one has found the other two new ones and the three of them are sticking pretty close together.
Which is good considering they're like 1/6th of the size of the others lol. 

Here's to hoping that all my new fish do well!!

Plus, I'm so grateful that I didn't need to go back a 4th time today to the store. XD lol 

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

October 2015 General Conference -Saturday Afternoon

Henry B. Eyring -The Sustaining of Church Officers

Robert D. Hales -Meeting the Challenges of Today's World

• We need to tighten our grip on the rod that leads us back to Him. Now is the "day of choosing" for all of us. 
• Never deliberately fly into a thunderstorm. Instead, fly around it, take another route, or wait for the storm to clear before landing.
• You are the pilots. You are responsible to think about the consequences of every choice you make. 
• Your righteous choices will keep you from getting off course.
• The Lord will always keep His promise: "I will lead you along." The only question is, will we let ourselves be led?
• You are rich if you can live happily within your means.
• Knowledge does away with darkness, suspense and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is. 
• None of us marry perfection; we marry potential.
• Begin exercising your faith in every area of your life. If you don't, you will suffer what I would call "faith atrophy." The very strength needed to exercise your faith will be diminished. So exercise your faith every day, and you will "wax stronger and stronger ... and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ." 
• Be careful about taking advice from your peers. If you want more than you now have, reach up, and not across!
• Remember, no one can reach upward on your behalf. 

Jeffrey R. Holland -Behold Thy Mother

• No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. 
• Maternal love has to be divine.

Bradley D. Foster -It's Never Too Early and It's Never Too Late

• We cannot let society give our family a makeover in the image of the world.
• There is a difference between hearing and understanding. If our children merely hear but do not understand the gospel, then the door is left open for Satan to remove these truths from their hearts. 

Hugo Montoya -Tested and Tempted--but Helped

• Smile. This small action can help those who are overwhelmed or burdened.
• First-go the second mile. Second--please smile. Your smile will help others. Third--express compassion.

Vern P. Stanfill -Choose the Light

• No matter how intense the darkness of doubt, we choose how long and to what extent we allow it to influence us.
• while we are struggling in the darkness, there is nothing wrong with relying temporarily upon the light of those who love us and have our best interests at heart. 
• Those who truly love us can help us build our faith.
• Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. 
• There is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light.

James B. Martino -Turn to Him and Answers Will Come

• Mortal life is not easy for any of us. We are placed on earth to be tried and tested. Our response to life's experiences will often greatly influence our testimonies.
• Do not give up! Never give up!
• If you have been tempted to murmur, if you have had doubt that leads to unbelief, if trials seem more than you can bear, turn to Him.

Dallin H. Oaks -Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ

• I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 
• Earth has no sorrow that heav'n cannot cure.

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Part of the Group

It was such a family bonding moment.

So, my family met up for the evening for a celebratory dinner. 
Which in of itself tasted amazing! Our entire family was impressed with the chef at the restaurant we went to.

But the main family bonding moment happened after dinner,
When my dad, me, and my siblings all went out to go Pokémon Hunting.
and.
I. Could. Join!!

Instead of hanging out at home, or borrowing my mother's phone so I could play the game.
I was able to go out and be right in the middle of the action!
Using my own phone to play the game with the rest of my family. 

^^ Can I tell you how thrilling that was?
It was super thrilling.

Ah.
I love my new phone. 
Finally, I can feel like part of the group again. ^^ 

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

To Jump In

I got called into work last night. 
Which is something that rarely happens.
Really it only happens if work is really desperate for coverage. 
Mostly because since I work full time there, I don't really have the ability to come in and cover shifts without work needing to pay me over time for it.

Therefore, I usually almost basically never get called to help out at work.
But this week was slightly different.
In that I finally got scheduled a couple of short shifts at work.
Meaning that I wasn't scheduled for the high end of my hour range.
But rather the lower end of what I need to get on a weekly basis. 

Which I was perfectly fine with. 
Because after like a month and a half of getting scheduled 8 hour work days,
I really was super excited to be able to get off work early and have short shifts. 

But that also meant that I had a handful of hours where if needed I could come in and cover someone without it sending me into overtime.

I didn't think it would happen...
Even though the manager the day before yesterday...or maybe even the day before that, commented that they needed to find someone to help cover a shift for yesterday.
It never crossed my mind that they'd ask me.
Because I'm full time, full time people don't get asked to cover things.

But there I was, yesterday, on my day off, spending a much needed day being a hermit in my room. 
When I get a phone call.
From work.

Which is weird....
Though automatically I assumed that someone was just needing me to answer a question of where something is. Because that does happen. Especially when there are new managers. lol. 

However, it was my coworker.
Asking if I could come in for 3 hours last night.
Basically work the last 3 hours the store was open.
Because two of my coworkers had called out yesterday.
And I was literally their last resort. 
-Hence the three hours lol. I couldn't work much more than that without hitting my cap and going into overtime. 

I took about 15 minutes to think it over -saying I would call my coworker back-
Because really, I wanted nothing more than to say No and continue on with being a hermit in my room.
But knowing that two others had called out....
I couldn't make myself say no.

No, responsible loyal me reared it's head.
I wanted to help out.
Ease my coworker's burdens and such.

So I called back and said yes.

And came into work to find that the department was...well kinda in a disaster zone.
There was a mountain of store supplies in the back that hadn't been put away.
My coworker was barely getting around to changing the water in the betta cups. A task that should have been done like six hours before hand..
There were empty cages, missing tags, fish in the wrong tanks.
And of course. A ton of customers to help.

So overall it was a good thing that I came in.
That way my coworker could focus on finishing the tasks at hand.
While I helped the customers and kept them away from my coworker lol.

It was crazy.
But we managed to get a little bit of order to the dept.
Not much, but it definitely was enough to make it easier to get everything back in order today when I came in for my work shift. 

But it wasn't without it's bumps...

Literally it's bumps.
Within like the first five minutes of being in the store I managed to injure myself like three times. 
Because I was rushing to get the supplies in the back all put away so we could actually walk into the back room without the hazard of tripping over things. 

Most of the bumps and scrapes were things easily forgotten.
Except one.

As I was heading towards the back to put something away...
I wasn't watching where my hand was going, or misjudged the distance, or something 
And ended up whacking my dominate hand against our metal drying cart/rack in the back that we use to hold all the clean dishes once we've washed them so they could dry out.
I managed to hit the corner of it.

And let me tell you.
Instant.
Agony.

I may have hit a nerve or something.
Maybe even the tendon or the bone or whatever.

But it was pure agony a bit worse than when you hit your funny bone on things. 

It's towards my wrist, where the tendons of the thumb and  pointer finger head towards each other.

And that thing stung!
and Hurt.

and ow guys. Ow my hand. 

It's been 12 hours now since I've hurt it and YES it still hurts. 
I whacked it good.
It's swollen in that area.
It's bruised.
And it's difficult to grip, bend, straighten or do really anything with my pointer finger without causing some sort of agony.

Which is just weird because yes I hit it, but I didn't think I'd hit it that hard. 
*exhales*

Hopefully some rest and such will make it feel better in the morning.
Because having this sort of injury on my dominate hand, when I do everything with that hand is rather inconvenient if I want to do something without causing myself pain. 

*shakes head*
So it goes I suppose lol.
At least the dept got back in order in the end lol.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi