Dear Me; Stop Stressing

 I hate it when doing 'new' things can trigger major migraines for me. 

Like. Just because it's 'new' or 'different' doesn't mean that I should stress out about it to the point where my body rebels against me and triggers a migraine.

And honestly, I shouldn't be surprised that I ended up with a major migraine late last night/ early this morning. 

Because yesterday, for the first time in forever, I had part of my shift stuck on the register.

Like it's been years since I've had a register shift.

But due to a coworker getting sick, we needed someone to cover 4ish hours of the register until the closing crew could come in.

And out of everyone...that left me as the best possiblity.

Thankfully since I'm so good at my job in petcare, it's not likely to be a common occurrence to stick me on the registers.

And like overall it wasn't a bad four hours. 

I was able to keep myself entertained despite there being barely any customers in the store. *exhales*

But I think it was stacking multiple new things on top of each other that probably did me in.

As after my register shift I had to finish some manager training courses which included forklift training.

And learning how to work the forklift is pretty simple. But like I'm pretty sure I was just tense the entire time as I'm well aware of how things can go wrong on the forklift and I didn't want to screw up my first time. 

So yah. Stress and more stress at work even though I didn't think it was that stressful in the moment.

But add onto that the pressure of trying to finish a story in time for Halloween tonight, all the while having to interact with people via text and my roomies in person....

Yah. Not quite surprised that I got a nuclear migraine as the night progressed. 

*exhales*

I need to stop stressing me out so much. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A 'Protective' Cover

So back at the end of June I bought a new phone right?

And you know how new phones come all wrapped up in plastic and such?

Well. There was this plastic on the screen of my new phone.

And I had this brilliant thought that I would 'use' that plastic as a screen protector for a while to keep the face of it safer. 

And it was kinda...disheartening to only have the 'protection' on my screen for a few days before I noticed that there were already scratch marks on it-the plastic.

And I had the thought that I should just take it off.

But when I went to peel it...I couldn't find a spot to peel it at.

So then I was like....maybe I already peeled it off? I don't think I did...but I can't peel the plastic thing off. 

Yet, everyone I talked to agreed that it was weird for my phone to get 'scratched' so easily as the 'glass' on the front of the phones is usually far more durable. Especially since my phone was only a couple of weeks old. 

And while it looked like the plastic was still on the phone...the fact that I couldn't find a way to peel it off made me wonder if just by constantly using the phone -and having the phone get hot and such- that maybe the plastic had melted onto my phone? :S Yikes if that was the case.

Unfortunately this was occurring when most phone stores will still on lock down and weren't really open to the public. As I figured I could go be the 'dumb customer' and go to the phone store and ask them if the scratches on my phone were from the protective plastic thingy...or if that was actually part of my phone.

I never got around to it though.

And as the months passed by...the sillier it seemed to go to a phone store to try and fix a problem I could have fixed ages ago.

BUT THEN

Last night.

Yes. I know months later.

After noticing more scratches and dings on this 'cover' 

I decided to try again to peel it off.

So I picked a corner of my phone and just kinda started trying to peel back the edge.

And my thumb slipped...and suddenly there was this "crack" on the bottom corner of my screen.

I had a moment of panic. Thinking I'd somehow just managed to crack the glass on my phone. 

But then I noticed a slight bubbling effect in that same corner. And I'd seen those bubbles before when placing stickers on our sliding glass doors at work.

Which meant I'd just dislodged a cover on top of my phone. Woot!

So with some hesitation, definitely paranoid I'd break my phone in the process, I picked at the corner and finally finally managed to peel the plastic top off my phone.

lol it only took me like 4 months to do so.

But woo!!! I finally got it's worn scratched surface off my phone. :D Yay me! ^^;;

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

All the Questions

 It's that time of year where we're (finally) hiring more people in order to try and have enough coverage to deal with the uptick in holiday shopping that will be occurring for the next couple of months.

Which I do wonder how the pandemic is going to affect the holiday season.

Like with the increase in cases here and in other areas...I don't quite know what to expect that way.

And like usually the holiday season means we get in a ton of christmasy things and such.

But it also is shown by us getting in a ton more animals into the store. To the point where I often run out of room to put animals in because we don't have enough space to keep them all.

Yet...with the pandemic...everyone has been buying animals.

To the point where even now, nearly a year later, our breeders of our small pets are still unable to keep up with demand. 

Of course, they have another month really before the expected uptick in animals being sent to the store should start. 

Yet, today's shipment of animals they shorted me all my hamsters...

So it's not looking likely that we'll have an 'over crowding' issue this year if the breeders haven't 'caught up yet'

In any case.

Back to the new people. 

We've been hiring new people this past couple of weeks.

Which means we need to train all the new people on how to do things.

Like work the registers and catch the animals and such.

But another thing that we also have to teach them....is where everything is.

Which, I get it. People are new, they're not expected to know right away where everything is.

But when I'm sensitive to noise, specifically repetitive noises....it does get irritating rather quickly to constantly have my new workers coming onto the radio asking if we carry such and such products, or where this product is located, or if we have this thing....

*sighs*

Honestly...I feel like we just need to make time and put the new people on a couple of stocking shifts where they're required to put away product in the store so that they can learn where the product is.

As I'm getting rather tired of having to explain where 'everything' is.

At least maybe we need to work to make time to give the new people time to explore the store and find where things are on their own so that they can commit it to memory.

As it's hardly useful to have more people if you end up having to do their jobs for them. 

*shakes head*

Yah...it's gonna be an interesting holiday season trying to teach all the newbies and deal with customers at the same time.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Break?

 It's a thing I've noticed with myself...where I write in order to process things in my life. To better understand them, get them off my chest, or you know just shoot the breeze.

But at the same time...if I don't want to face the thing...I notice that I also tend to stop writing. I don't want to write because I don't want to deal with whatever I want to write about just yet. I'm not yet ready to process it.

And I have noticed it happening more and more on my blogs.

Like I just find it difficult to want to sit down and write a blog post that evening and then suddenly a week has passed by.

Which does make me wonder if I'm just...wearing myself out? Giving myself too many responsibilities that are requiring more energy to do than I have on hand. 

At the same time I don't just want to stop blogging. I want to share my life with others. Share things that caught my attention and such.

Still...when blogging is getting in the way of other writing projects I want done...and I end up having to choose one over the other.

I do wonder if trying to keep up multiple daily blogs is such a good idea.

Like...with all the crazy that's happened this year and the lack of 'time away' that I've been able to get...I can see how not having a break has made things much more difficult.

It may be something to visit come the new year. To look into updating less often. To find better ways to inspire me to want to write on the blogs again and not look at it like a potential chore that I don't want to do on the days I don't want to write.

It's hard though. To break the habit and feel good about it.

To skip a day here and there.

Not when I've tried so hard to keep this as an every day blog.

Still...it may be a good idea to give myself a small respite. To tell myself it's okay to not blog on days where I actually don't have much going on and don't really have anything to say....

We'll see. 

I'm still mulling it over in my mind.

But hopefully I'll be able to do better in keeping up on these blog posts once I do make up my mind.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Counting

The money is mocking me. 

Like last time I closed by myself counting the money for the night everything went off without a hitch. We were able to clock out on time. It was nice.

It was a trick.

As today, it felt like every single aspect of counting money went wrong. The dollar amounts I was counting weren't matching up with what should be there. Either I was over or I was under and I had to double count like everything to try and find where I went wrong.

It was frustrating.

And should have been expected really. There's always gonna be days where things don't go right.

And just because my first night of closing by myself went well wouldn't mean every single night will go well. 

Plus, I did manage to get me and my coworkers out of the building mostly on time. We were out only ten minutes past the time we were supposed to. 

Which isn't too bad, considering that I know from both experience and other coworkers who've worked the closing shift that sometimes things take far longer and they've clocked out up to an hour later than they were supposed to.

So I'm grateful that I was able to get us mostly out on time. As I understand the annoyance at having to stay later than expected. 

Hopefully I'll be able to keep us getting out on time, but really it all just depends on how the day goes.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Wildlife

So this morning I had a customer come into the store and tell me that we had a dead bat outside.

Which...that's rather random, though my head manager wasn't too surprised to hear the news as apparently we have a colony living behind one of our store signs on the side of the building...so yah fun times.

In any case. I went out to investigate and sure enough there was a dead bat on the ground.

It looked like a baby, only around 5 inches long or so. And with how cold it got last night...I'm guessing it might have died from said cold. 

And I couldn't just leave a dead wild animal in front of our store.

So on the direction of my head manager, I pulled on some gloves, got some papertowels and a fish bag and wrapped the bat in said papertowels before placing it in the fish bag and taking it over to our vet as they have a freezer in the back where they keep dead animals.

And me being the helpful person I am, I made sure to tell the people that I was bringing in a dead bat that was found outside.

I didn't think it would be such a big deal.

But certain workers heard about it and like...freaked out?

Insisting that I double bag it and write in big letters DEAD WILDLIFE BAT on the bag and then put it in a box and like...they called wildlife officials and such because they're not sure their usual dude who takes care of the dead animals could take care of the dead bat and yah....

It was a nightmare and a half having to deal with that paranoid frentic energy. *exhales*

And like I can see where they're coming from in the fact that bats can carry rabies and apparently in the next valley over there had been a confirmation with a bat with rabies and they wanted to make sure that the bat that was outside hadn't died from rabies...

And I'm like...guys...it looks like a baby. It probably FROZE to death last night because it got COLD. I highly doubt it's rabies.

And like I wore gloves. I have the bat wrapped up. I didn't touch it directly.

So I'm pretty sure there's nothing to fear. *shakes head*

But yah...that whirlpool of chaos was not fun to deal with. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Counting We Will Go

It's rather funny to realize just how much your managers don't know.

Like it's basically a given to expect that a manager will know how to do 'all the things' just solely based on the fact that they're a manager.

It's easy to forget. Even though half of my managers have become managers within the last six months. 

And therefore know a lot about day to day things....but not always about the yearly things.

Like I'm well aware that once or twice a year we have an Annual Animal Count that takes place where for a couple of hours on a Sunday night two people have to stay after the store closes and count all the animals in the store so we can get a more official count on how many creatures are actually in the store.

It's a thing I've thought rather pointless since we count the animals on a weekly basis.

But with recent new changes to how the weekly animal counts are done, I can kinda see the need now for a more 'official' animal count.

In any case.

I was pulled into the office Monday morning by my two higher up managers who discovered that we were supposed to be having the Annual Animal Count today, Sunday.

They hadn't realized it was a thing until the new manager showed the newer manager how to check their email as apparently the email had shown up in the newer manager's mail but not the new manager's mail.

Oops.

Checking my own mail I could see that I had received the same one. But being brand new to the manager business...I hadn't realized that the other managers didn't know about it.

Lol they were in a bit of a tizzy and demanded if I knew how to do this.

Which yes. Yes I did. I've only done the annual animal count like a thousand times.

I mean...basically unless I'm on vacation the week the count happens....I end up being scheduled to work the count because I'm the most experienced with it as the manager over me usually doesn't stick around for long enough to do the count more than once.

In any case, I assured the managers that things would be fine.

But because they hadn't realized they needed to schedule time for the count to take place...I ended up cutting a different one of my shifts shorter so I could come in tonight to help out with the count.

And it went about as smoothly as I expected. I warned the head manager it would take around 2.5 hours and that's exactly how long it took so woot me. :D

But yah. Yah for counting like 4,500 creatures tonight. *shakes head*

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Voicemail Box is Full

You know that moment when you're like "I bet this is why this hasn't happened yet."and it turns out that the reason why it hasn't happened yet is exactly the reason why you thought it hadn't happened?

Yah. I had that.

In the fact that I've been a manager for like...two weeks now? And I still hadn't received a 'security code' that would allow me to enter and exit the building without triggering an alarm. 

I'd been told from the very beginning that I was supposed to get a call from the company to be given my code.

But time kept passing...and passing...and days and a week went by...and I hadn't heard anything from them.

Which is semi difficult because like I knew it would be a call from a number i didn't recognize. But with all the spam and election related calls my phone has been getting....I haven't been picking up any phone calls from numbers I don't know.

Which was fine in this situation because the company would just leave me a voicemail to call them back.

Only....I hadn't yet received a voicemail from the company.

And I had the errant thought pass my mind that maybe somehow my voicemail box was full? 

Though I would have received a notification if that was the case right? Right.

Mostly right lol.

My phone decided to do an update...and after the update I got a notification that...well...my voicemail box was full. 

Oops. 

^^;; So I quickly deleted some older voicemails.

And when I got to work my head manager was like "Oh hey I got an email today stating that the company tried to call you but your voicemail box was full." 

Whelp.

*sighs* 

Lol luckily they had left a number for me to contact the company in said email. So I was able to give them a call and finally get my code needed so I wouldn't have to rely on other managers to access the building anymore.

But yah. Oops on my part.

Though to be honest...it's not something I tend to think about....heh.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Last Minute Change

 I had this customer come into the store today who decided that they wanted to buy a hermit crab.

No two hermit crabs.

And they would need to buy everything for said hermit crabs as well, though the customer -after asking me where the hermit crab stuff was- assured me that they knew everything they needed to get because they have had hermit crabs before.

So I grabbed the paperwork and was telling them about our return policy and the customer was like "Oh, I won't need that, I live in *southern city* 

Which...said city has a Starsmet down there....which left me wondering why they were wanting to buy hermit crabs from our store up here...when they could have gone to the one in their city. *shakes head*

I nearly thought it was a bonding moment sort of situation as the customer did have another person with them. 

Still kinda odd though.

In any case...after placing the hermit crabs on the register for the customer to come get....I tried to go back to doing my opening tasks....only to get interrupted every time I tried to open the next cage to feed the animals. *exhales*

It wasn't all just this customer and their companion though. I was helping other people in the meantime.

But it did feel like every two minutes I would spy the companion hovering on the edge of my vision and turn to them only to be informed that the customer had a question or a concern or wanted to know if we had any 'item' in stock. 

It was like a good hour they were in the store, dithering over what products to get and what cages to get and what shells to get and what substrate to get....all while off and on asking for my help.

And it finally got to the point where they were obviously ready to check out.

They had everything in their cart to go up to the register and finally buy everything and their hermit crabs....

When for whatever reason they decided to take a moment to look at the animals.

*exhales*

An hour or so of shopping for a hermit crab ....

And the customer spies our guinea pigs and decides that they want one of those instead.

*long suffering sigh* 

Like they literally spent over an hour in the store.

Only to change their mind last second and insist that they wanted a guinea pig instead.

Which meant that everything that they'd gathered in their cart had to be put back and then all the necessary stuff for the guinea pig needed to be picked out.

Like the customer had an appointment to meet up with someone after this store visit...and they literally called this person to tell them they were gonna be late....because the customer was still at the petstore grabbing a pet.

*shakes head*

At least they actually bought the guinea pig though instead of changing their mind again.

But it was rather irritating to feel like I wasted my time helping them grab one animal when they ended up with a completely different one.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Going Out

You know. It's kinda stressful being in public spaces right now.

Like...I have kinda gotten used to it, working retail and such. I'm usually around a lot of customers and such.

But when I'm out of my familiar work area...yah.

It gets rather stressful to be around other people like when I'm grocery shopping and such.

So I was rather hesitant, especially with the rising covid cases in my state....to go to a wedding reception that my friend was holding.

Like yes it would be outside.

Yes masks would be worn....by most people.

But like I would be near a bunch of strangers I've never interacted with before....along with some friends.

And it was stressful. But also...fun?

Being able to see friends/acquaintances again. Like being able to catch up and talk. There were people at this reception that I hadn't seen in like a year.

And it was great! I could nearly forget about who was or wasn't wearing masks and such when talking with my friends away from other people.

But it's rough for sure.

Going to be social right now...there's always that wiggling worm of paranoia that 'something' is gonna happen. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Shift in Routine

It's annoying how my body doesn't like to adjust to change.

Which considering how often I've had to switch my work schedule around this past year....

It gets annoying to have to readjust to a new routine. Because it feels like every time I switch to a new schedule, I end up getting a slight illness in the process. 

Like a sore throat, or tight chest, or just aches.

And in this year of the virus. Any sort of illness always comes with the paranoia of wondering if this is the moment when I finally get it. 

Yet I'm pretty sure it's just a stress response to the change.

To having to get used to a new routine and a new schedule.

So considering that my routine at work has once again changed with me becoming a manager. I'm not surprised to be feeling slightly off kilter. 

Because I haven't yet had time to get used to my new routine. And probably won't get used to it for another week or so. *exhales* 

So yah. This is gonna be fun.

The most I can do is try and rest and drink lots of liquids and make sure I'm eating.

But we'll see how it all goes.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Closing

Tonight was my first night being the only closing manager in the store. 

Which was extremely nerve-wracking to be left in charge when I've only officially been a manager for like...a week. And have only closed the store twice with other managers.

It's scary.

Like if I had it my way I would be closing with other managers for at least a month before being left alone.

Not so. 

And I was trying to not freak out about it.

But yah I was totally freaking out about it.

Like with my creative imagination I could picture all too clearly how things could go extremely wrong. 

I knew the chances something would go wrong are more slim. But you know...over active imagination.

*exhales*

It didn't help that today was one of those Tuesdays where people decided that they needed to come into the store so it was busier than normal. Busy enough that it took petcare until dark to get the bedding change done. :/ 

Which was hard. Because like as the closing manager I have to be available to help out everywhere in the store. So I can't get bogged down doing a task even though I'm well aware that I can get the bedding change done much faster because I have more experience.

It was a bit of a juggling act for sure trying to help petcare get things done while also helping out at the register and the phone and the salon etc. 

Thankfully...beyond a customer showing up for a nonexistant training class that I couldn't find paperwork for...nothing majorly went wrong. 

It was just a busy night with customers coming in that I ended up on register more often than not. 

But overall. Closing went well.

I even managed to get everyone out of the store on time. So woot! lol I consider that a win as I'm well aware that sometimes closing takes longer depending on how busy we are and we don't always get out on time.

So yay for getting out on time. 

*fingers crossed* that future closing shifts will continue to go well. :S

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Counting We Will Go

It feels like it happens like twice a year.

Where we have to count all the animals/fish/insects in the store in an 'official count.' 

Which is rather annoying considering how we count all the creatures in the store once a week anyways.

I don't see why we have to do an 'official' one where I get to spend a couple of hours after the store closes counting creatures.

Like with the recent change we've had in how we count the animals it makes more sense. As they've switched to counting specific animals once a month instead of weekly. 

So I could see how doing an official count once a year could help with that. 

In any case.

It was rather amusing today because apparently...my new Head Manager and VP Manager are new enough to the store and the company that they weren't aware that there is a yearly animal count.

And they discovered, going through the VP's work emails today....that the yearly animal count is supposed to happen this Sunday. 

But having had no idea that it was occurring they didn't schedule anybody to do the count. *shakes head* lol 

So they were like "Sarnic, do you know how to do this?!" 

Which yes. I've been to practically every single one we've had. 

I think the only times I haven't been to the official animal counts is when I'm on vacation.

Because my CELs usually don't ever last long enough to do more than one and I've been around long enough to know how they work and such.

So basically I get to play teacher this Sunday and show the Head Manager how to do it lol.

But because I've already been scheduled my hours for the week...I have to cut a shift short on a different day so I can come in on Sunday on my day off to do the count without going over my hours.

So yah.

Fun times. lol. Should be interesting how it turns out. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Binge Watching

It's kinda interesting how one can get in and out of interests.

Like I spent most of the day today watching Detective Conan episodes.

Because despite having known about the series since like my third year of college or so....I've yet to watch the entire thing. Or well...all the episodes that are currently out because the series is still not finished.

But I tend to go through phases with watching it.

Like I'll binge watch episodes for a day or three or up to a week or so.

And then get distracted with something else and stop watching the series for months at a time only to pick it up again.

Today was one of those 'pick it up' again moments where I was working on writing and wanted something to listen to while I did so, so I figured why not watch this series as I am eventually going to write more fanfic for the anime and figured it would be a good idea to get a better idea of the characters that were introduced later in the series. 

Which it's interesting that I like watching a series that doesn't relate at all to what I'm writing lol. But ah well. At least it helped me to finally get over a bit of a writer's block I've been experiencing so win there. ^^;; 

But yah. It was fun watching more episodes of the series today. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Voice

I voted today. 

Which is kinda odd to say, considering that the elections aren't for another couple of weeks.

In some ways it feels like the elections are an eternity away. Which is annoying considering how much politics have been influencing like....everything recently.

I'll be glad when everything is said and done and over. 

Though with the current state of affairs, I won't be surprised if the official election day in November....doesn't 'end' the politics for everything.

Considering how the last couple of elections have gone.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be political until the end of 2020.

But in many ways it's a relief.

To know that I've already cast my vote. That it's in the mail. That I've made my voice heard.

Only time will tell if my voice made a difference as to who gets selected for which positions.

But at least I took action.

Hopefully it's enough to get our country back on track. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Stuck

So like the day before I got back from my staycation, we had a mouse escape from its cage at work.

And I had had the passing thought that maybe he'd gotten stuck in one of the pest traps that we have around the store as we have those to catch...well mostly bugs, but occasionally wild mice that somehow get into the store (though it's really only bugs and the occasional loose reptile) 

But I never had a chance to look in the traps and the thought passed from my mind...until Monday when I realized that there was a 'smell of death' in our breakroom. 

I'd actually noticed the smell on Saturday...but hadn't placed it specifically as a 'death' smell. I'd thought that maybe someone had cooked something smelly in the microwave or something. 

But a scent doesn't last until monday if it's a food scent. (Not unless it gets burned I suppose)

And unfortunately, when I checked the trap in the break room....

The mouse was in it.

Dead.

Y_Y;;;

No wonder the place was starting to smell. *exhales* And I felt really bad that I hadn't checked the traps earlier because maybe we could have saved it.

Fast forward to today.

We had a shipment of new mice come into the store yesterday.

And I'd asked my coworker how they were doing this morning since I worked an evening shift.

And she responded that all six of the mice we'd gotten in were still there and getting along great.

So I was like "Great!"

And went on with my day...

Until I got to closing down the back rooms where the new mice are kept.

And when I opened the cage...I was surprised to only see five mice in the cage. 

Not six.

But my coworker had specifically stated that there had been six mice this morning.

And after checking through the bedding to make sure that the mouse hadn't buried himself within...I had to come to the conclusion that this mouse had somehow escaped his cage.

My guess is that, since this batch was younger and therefore smaller than previous batches of mice...that he may have actually managed to squeeze between a tiny gap in the top of the cage and the metal lid above as the main cage is made of plastic and over the years some areas have been worn down from previous occupants chewing on the plastic.

In any case.

It still meant that we had a mouse loose in the store. Again.

And remembering what I'd found on Monday, I decided to do a quick check of the same trap in the breakroom to make sure the mouse hadn't ended up there.

The plan was to check the trap and then write a note to my associates to let them know we had another mouse loose in the store and to check the traps daily just in case.

I never got to the note writing part.

Because when I opened the sticky trap in the breakroom...there was the mouse. Stuck to the sticky stuff.

And still alive. :S

I can't imagine how stressful that would be to get stuck to something and be unable to escape. Pretty sure the poor mouse was stressed out of his mind.

In any case, I grabbed the trap with the mouse and rushed it over to our vet to see if we could free him from the trap.

Thankfully, using some mineral oil we were able to get the poor thing loose.

Though with the stress of being stuck to the trap for who knows how many hours....

It's uncertain if he'll survive the stress or not.

I'm hoping he will.

I was careful to try and rinse off the mineral oil as best as I could and dry him as much as I could before placing him in a more secure cage to recover.

But only time will tell if he'll get over the stress of being stuck to that trap.

:( 

Still crazy that it happened twice in a week...finding mice in those traps. *exhales* Hopefully we don't make it a third time any time soon. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Vet Visits

I ended up driving to and from the Vet three times today.

Which was not totally intentional...as I'd only planned to make two trips.

The first to drop off a bearded dragon that needed to have a health check because he was acting...off. 

The second to pick up the bearded dragon to take it back to the store.

Which the first two trips went as planned.

I dropped of the bearded dragon at the vet--not the one in our store as the one in our store doesn't see exotic animals, but a vet a fifteen minute drive away.

And about twenty minutes after I got back from that trip...they called saying that the bearded dragon was ready to be picked up.

Which was far quicker than we'd been expecting as most the time we drop off the animal in the morning and then don't hear back until after lunch. 

So it was pretty quick.

And I was debating about going back asap or waiting a bit so I could finish some of the tasks I still needed to do in the store to finish opening up the department.

I was leaning to waiting until closer to lunch time.

But then a customer came into the store with a Ball Python he'd purchased from us that he wanted to get checked because while giving the snake a warm soak he'd noticed an odd red spot that had appeared and some slight lumps and such...

And since I was going to the vet anyways to pick up a bearded dragon, I made a quick call to see if it would be alright to bring the snake to them when I went to grab the bearded dragon.

Which it was.

So I went to the vet for a second time.

And then for a third time when the snake was ready to be picked up.

It was like...an hour and a half of driving in total.

Which it was fun to be away from work and just keeping myself company and not have to interact with customers.

Especially since I had a closing shift last night and a morning shift today.....and a night of dreams filled with helping customers....I was glad for some alone time in my car.

But it was stressful at the same time because an hour and a half is a long time to be away from the department and my tasks....long enough that I wasn't able to get everything I needed to get done done. *exhales*

Still though...I'm glad we were able to get the animals looked at in a timely manner.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Not Manager Enough

It's kinda annoying...being in a grey zone.

Because like i'm a manager....but at the same time...I don't have experience yet with the manager duties....I'm still needing to do a lot of the trainings and such in order to 'officially be official' as a manager.

But like...I have the keys to open all the locked doors. I have some abilities on the computer to do various manager things...

But at the same time....there are situations that come up where like....I'm still not 'qualified' to be a manager.

Which is frustrating. Bleh.

Like today.... I was doing a return that needed a manager override in order to issue a refund to a customer. 

And I was like "Hey! I have the manager keys! I can do this!"

Only when I put in my manager key and put in my id and my new password that I nearly didn't remember because gah...that's still gonna take some getting used to...

The register refused to recognize me as a manager. >_<

Gah.

I tried again, just on the off chance I put in my password wrong...with it being all new and such.

But no.

I don't yet have the authority to do overrides on the registers. *exhales*

Which is so weird because like...yesterday I'd opened up the registers and my key and code had worked just fine to get the money into the til and prepare the registers for a day of selling things....

But not for overrides. *shakes head*

idk...maybe I did put in my id or password wrong.

Who knows.

I'll get it eventually....

But for now I'm gonna be floating in this grey zone until I 'know' the things and am 'trained.'

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Change Up

You know....I've been aware for a while that managers have to change their passwords for things pretty often.

As it's not uncommon to hear one of the other managers go "Oh I need to change my password can you take over?" etc. 

Which I get.

Managers have a lot of control over a lot of aspects of the store. And it's a good idea to not have the same password stay...well the same. There's too much of a chance of someone else seeing it or learning it and then using it to their advantage.

So I get the need to change your password.

But associates....don't have the same issue. 

Like yes there is one password that i feel like I have to change once or twice a year.

But the password I use to like...access the registers? Not so much.

And while I was expecting to have to change my password when I became a manager...

It was still kinda...heartbreaking when I actually had to do it.

As the four digit code I used to log into the register so that I could check people out....

I've had that code for Eight. Years.

So I've grown rather partial to it.

And today...for the first time.

I had to change it.

And it's thrown me off so bad lol.

Having to type in a different sequence of digits...it's so weird after eight years of typing the same pattern.

Like it's so weird that I couldn't quite remember my ID number either.

...I mean I also had a migraine today sooo that didn't help much with brain power.

but like the whole sequence of my fingers was thrown off today with that new password.

gah.

It's gonna take some getting used to.

And odds are that by the time I get used to the new sequence I need to put in....I'll end up having to change my password again and start the whole problem all over lol.

Hopefully I don't have to change it every month....honestly I probably should ask my other managers because if it is monthly I need to get to thinking of new codes to use quick. XD lol.

The joys of being a manager I suppose. ;) 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Father's Blessing

It's kinda a tradition really...whenever starting something new, to get a Father's Blessing from Daddoo.

It's basically a boost of confidence, to set off on your new adventure on the right foot sort of thing.

Normally this was done before the start of every school year....and since I've graduated college....I haven't actively sought out Father's Blessing's as often. Like...I did when I first got my job, and occasionally when I just needed some comfort or guidance or reassurance.

But with me starting my new position at my work as a manager....I felt the need to ask Daddoo to give me a blessing before I 'officially' started my first week as manager.

And I'm grateful that I did. Because beyond having some bonding time with Daddoo, I was able to get some insight, some blessings, some words of wisdom, and some cautions to keep in mind as I start this new chapter in my life. 

*deep breath* 

Hopefully this goes well. Overall I'm pretty excited, semi nervous for it...but it's kinda just that 'first day of school' feeling where you're hopeful but you don't quite know what to expect....

Yah fun times.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A New Pet

So for the past couple of years, my sister has been talking about getting herself a rabbit.

Just a companion animal to keep her company.

It's been a sort off and on conversation as she's weighed the pros and cons.

But today, the pros finally outweighed the cons and she went and picked herself up a rabbit from an ad she saw online. One that is half flemish giant? So the rabbit could get pretty big.

Big enough that she wants to try and teach her new bunny how to walk around on a leash so she can take her on walks. XD lol. Which is a fun concept.

In any case.

Yesterday I'd grabbed a few supplies for her, 

But today she brought her new family member into the store to grab a couple of the extras that she decided she wanted...namely the harness and leash for her bunny. XD lol

I have to say I'm excited for her.

She's been wanting a rabbit for forever.

And it sounds like the other family pets already are in love with their new bunny companion. XD lol so hopefully the whole experience goes well and Kikay enjoys her new pet that's 'all hers' :D 

Definitely have to say that when I saw the rabbit, she was super cute. ^^;;

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Vandalized

*exhales* 
Sometimes people do the dumbest things.

So, I was talking to my other managers in the office, when one of the new bathers came up to us to tell us that one of the stalls in the girl's bathroom was out of Toilet Paper.

Since I was free, I went to fill up the stall again, and as I was entering the bathroom, encountered a woman coming out of the second stall who proceeded to tell me that they realized there was TP in the first stall, they just hadn't seen it yet.

-As the TP hadn't been placed in the dispenser, but had just been left out. 

But they also proceeded to tell me that the second stall was out of seat covers before they left.

I didn't think much of it.

Made sure that there was TP in the first stall that was properly installed in the dispenser.

And then happened to glance at the door of the stall.

There in Permanent Black Marker was written the words NO TP! right on the stall door.

>_< Like...seriously?! 

Who in their right mind would ever think it would be a good idea to vandalize the stall door with marker?

Like yes, we ran out of TP but there was no need to mark out the stall especially if you told someone else before that TP was out.

And like...where did the black marker even come from?

I mean I'm pretty certain it was the customer I encountered in the bathroom who vandalized the stall door as most other people go find an associate to inform them of the problem. 

*exhales*

It's just another problem we have to deal with now as I tried to clean off the words by using soap and water, by writing over the words with dry erase marker and then with wet erase marker and then using hand sanitizer -as there's some alcohol in it- to try and get rid of it.

All with no success.

We got the words to fade a little...but not to go away completely. 

Just like....why?

What was the point of that?

I don't get it.

I honestly don't get it.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

All the Animals?

So our small animal shipment came today.

And surprisingly enough, the delivery guy informed me that we'd gotten all our expected animals in on our shipment.

As for the past little while it's been hit and miss with how many of our expected animals actually show up just because the breeders haven't been able to keep up with the demand of customers to buy pets.

But I think we're finally getting ahead to where we can actually keep animals in stock...for probably a month and then with Christmas on the Horizon we're probably gonna have another influx of people wanting pets.

Maybe. Who knows maybe everyone already got all their pets.

In any case. 

After informing me that we'd gotten all our animals, I left the guy to put them in their habitats, only when I went to check the cages to ensure all the animals did come in...I discovered that two of the cages I set up were still empty.

Which was odd as the paperwork and the delivery guy had indicated that I should have gotten all the animals.

At first we thought it was just a mistake with the supplier...but before he had me sign off on the shipment, the delivery guy decided to go double check his van to make sure that the two sets of hamsters I was missing weren't still in the van.

Good thing he checked.

Lol as they were still in the van. They'd just been placed in a different location than the rest of the boxes holding our shipment. 

So I was able to get all my animals in. Woot!

Now if I could only keep our birds in stock...as our parakeets are still basically selling out before the week is out.

One thing at a time I suppose.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi 

Spreading My Wings

It's kinda like that first day of school feeling.

Where you're excited for the new year, for the new classes, new teachers, new peers. But at the same time you're really nervous because you don't yet know if this year will be a good year or a bad year. 

It's a new chapter.

A new beginning.

As I accepted the position to become a manager at my workplace yesterday.

Which after 8 years of working in the same position...many of my friends/family/coworkers are saying "About Time!" lol 

As it feels like at least 2 or 3 times a year for the past 6 or so years...I've been asked if I want to step up into the manager position.

And until this point I've said no.

As I was rather happy being in my position as basically a step below manager.
I loved being in my department. Working with the animals. Cleaning cages.

But in the past little while I've been feeling a bit of discontent. Wondering if I really wanted to stay in this position...when I had more experience than many of my managers over me and I ended up training my managers on how to do their job. 

Honestly I'd begun feeling like a Crutch to the managers over me.

Where they end up relying on me more than they probably should because I knew more about things than they did because I'd been there longer and therefore could do a ton of things faster and easier than others in the store.

And when my manager asked me if there was anyone in the store who I thought would be qualified to take over as the new manager over me....I couldn't really think of anyone but me to take the spot.

And perhaps sensing that they had a chance to convince me, the head manager continued talking to me about why they thought I would be a good fit as manager and going over various points I'd brought up and showed me that my fears weren't as big as they were.

Like I already knew that I knew how to do a lot of my manager's job.

I mean after 8 years I've picked up quite a lot.

And while I was worried about having to work night shifts....having worked night shifts during the pandemic showed me it wasn't so bad and if I was only doing it once or twice a week it would probably be manageable for me. 

And while I was worried about how high stress being a manager could be...my Head Manager reassured me that they thought I would be able to handle stress quite well, as they felt that situations I encounter on a nearly daily basis in my department were just as stressful if not moreso than the rest of the store.

Lol and of course...being told how much of a pay raise I could get, plus the potential to get bonuses from work...was also influential.

But while more money can always be helpful.

I mostly was swayed because I was feeling the need to spread my wings a bit more. Take a few steps away from the nest and flutter about so to speak. And knowing that I was pretty much already doing most of the manager's job...helped to convince me that I might as well get the title and the pay raise if I'm already doing a lot of the work.

Lol I think a lot of people are happy for me to be taking such a step.

Many have mentioned how they feel like I'm the most qualified person to take the position and that they know I'll do well. 
Lol while the newbie coworkers we've hired in the past month were like "Yay!!" lol because honestly a lot of the had thought I was a manager already.....a common thought because I am so confident at my job.

So yah.

It's gonna be an adventure, learning the ropes of being a manager. Dealing with that whole new basket of stress.

But I'm confident I'll do well. And I know I have a good team with me so I'm sure that I'll have a good support system to fall back on if I encounter situations I'm not sure on how to handle.

Though this week is kinda a....grey period? As I'm officially a manager...but I have none of the training. XD lol. I think I'm gonna be starting that next week, but it could be within the next couple of days as well.

We'll see how it all plays out.

But I'm nervous/excited about the new possibilities. :) 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Finally Renewed

So normally during General Conference, I'm pretty focused on live tweeting the talks. Writing out snippets of things I like or things I think that other people may like while I listen.

But it's not often that I feel...idk Directly Inspired? by the talks.

Like. I love listening to them and some vibe more with me than others.

But having the talks inspire me to take action...isn't a thing often done.

But there was this one talk, talking about Temple Recommends that hit me harder than most.

As my recommend had expired back in like...April? 

And I knew I needed to get it renewed. 

But with pandemic shutting down the temples and needing to socially distance and not going to church buildings...it didn't really feel like a needful thing at the moment.

So time passed.

And every now and then I would be like..."I need to get my recommend renewed" but...never took action to do so.

Until this talk during General Conference.

Where it like...forcefully hit me. "You NEED to get your temple recommend renewed." 

And I'd happened to see on the ward facebook page a day or so earlier how to contact the appropriate people to set up such an interview.

I didn't want to distract from the Conference though, so I waited until the session was over before sending a quick text to ask if I would be able to set up an interview with a member of the bishopric so that I could get my recommend renewed.

And thankfully I was able to get an appointment for tonight. 

So finally finally I once again have an up to date recommend. Woot!! :D 

Lol though I do wonder if there was an increase in people requesting appointments to get their own recommends renewed after that talk was given.

At least it inspired me to finally take action and get my own renewed. ^^;;

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Nesting Dolls

It was my paternal grandma's birthday yesterday.

And for her birthday, we had my family and some of the extended family gather together to eat lunch and visit and such.

Which is stressful in it's own right because like...beyond being around customers at work and venturing into the grocery stores, I'm not usually around a ton of people. 

So to have like around 20 of our family members meet up to celebrate was quite different from our usual gathers. And stressful too. Just because some of these family members I hadn't seen in like a year if not longer.

In any case.

Since it was my grandma's birthday, I've been looking for a gift to get her.

Which is a bit of an adventure in of itself because while I could have just asked her if she wanted anything particular...I also wanted to surprise her and get her something random.

But I was well aware that this year she and my dad have spent quite a bit of time decluttering their homes and getting rid of things that they no longer want or need. 

So it was hard to go find a 'thing' to get her because I wasn't sure how long it would actually stay in the house if grandma was still decluttering things.

For a bit I was thinking I could get her some more bath salts or bath bombs....but I'd gotten her those for Christmas and I had no idea how much or how little of those she had left or if she would even want any more.

So I ended up just kinda surfing through Amazon looking for gift ideas because I wasn't really keen on venturing into physical stores as my state is going through a prolonged spike where we're basically having at least 1,000 cases of Covid reported in our state on a daily basis. So I'm less keen to be around complete strangers.

And I ended up looking at Nesting Dolls.

I mean, they've been on my mind before now as I ended up getting a friend a nesting doll for her birthday recently.

But I remembered that my grandma liked them as well. Though I had no idea if she still liked them, because I'm pretty sure it was a childhood memory I was remembering and nothing recent.

But I figured that that could be something fun and different to get her. 

And I thought it would be entertaining to get one of those nesting dolls that has like...well a ton of dolls within.

As I've always enjoyed the ones where the dolls within get super tiny and there's like a dozen of them inside. 

Though typically there are only like four or five dolls all together.

However, I found one that had like 10 total dolls and figured that would be fun to get her.

Lol I didn't realize that it would be fun for the entire family.

As when Grandma opened the gift I'd thought she would have been like "that's so nice! I love it!" and then set it to the side, but nope.

Lol she wanted to see how many dolls were within and proceeded to open the first one.

And at the fifth one everyone was like "Oh is that the last one?"

Nope.

Out came a sixth.

Then a seventh.

Daddoo had to take over in the opening because Grandma couldn't quite get the grip to continue opening more.

XD lol my extend family was like "THAT HAS TO BE THE LAST ONE!" and then would go all ()_() !?!?! Whenever a new doll would come out. XD lol.

Like I said, all in all there were 10 together with the smallest one being around the size of a jelly bean if not smaller. Lol. 

It was great. I hadn't realized it would entertain the entire family, but entertain them it did. XD

So glad my gift went over well. :D lol

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

190th Semi-Annual General Conference Highlights -Sunday Sessions

Sunday Morning 

M. Russell Ballard

• The Lord knows you and is aware of all your concerns.
• Exercise your faith, no matter what your faith may be, and pray for your country and leaders.
• It's not about politics or policy. It's about the peace and the healing that can come into individual souls as well as the souls of countries, towns, cities, etc.
• Rely on Heavenly Father to provide the answers to the problems that are troubling you.
• Don't limit who you pray for.
• After we kneel in prayer, we need to get up and do what we can to help.

Lisa L. Harkness

• Come unto me. Believe on my name. Learn of me and listen to my words.
• Certainly, the Savior of the world understands our mortal limitations, for He teaches us how to feel peace and calm even when the winds blow fiercely around us and billowing waves threaten to sink our hopes.
• Regardless of our circumstances we can take action to build and maintain our faith in Christ.
• Our Faith increases as we choose to believe rather than doubt.
• Faith pushes through discouragement and allows us to face the future with resolved and squared shoulders.

Ulisses Soares

• Seek the Savior in every thought and seek him with all your heart.
• Fighting against temptation takes a lifetime of diligence and faithfulness. Do not be discouraged, the Lord is there to help us through it all.
• When we resist the unexpected little transgressions that come into our lives we can have the strength to resist the greater ones that may come our way.
• Can you imagine what would happen if we were to gain strength and courage from the Savior in order to say No to the intrusive thoughts that come into our minds?
• Promises given by the Prophet are Promises given by the Savior.

Carlos A. Godoy

• I believe in angels.
• Not all angels are from the other side of the veil. They walk among us and talk to us on a daily basis.
• There must be nurturing and strengthening during difficult times.
• Do not give up when your efforts to belong don't go as easy as you wish them to.
• The Lord will send angels to help you as you traverse the path of life.
• The Lord is always looking for willing volunteers to be Angels in other people's lives.
• They Need You. Are you willing to be an Angel to them?
• If we are willing to serve, God will give us opportunities to be angels to others.

Neil L. Andersen

• There are difficulties that weigh upon us, but always before us the Lord is there to help us through those trials.
• We never need to endure a season of spiritual distancing when God is involved. While social distancing is needed at this time, you never need to feel spiritually distant from God. 
• He is the anchor of our souls. 
• It's never too late to change and become a different person.
• Everything in our lives should point to the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Speak more of Christ, make him a more complete part of your lives.
• Let us be more open and willing to talk of Christ.
• We should care more about being liked by His Followers rather than being liked by Our Followers.
• In the days ahead, those who believe in Christ will need the friendship and support of one another.
• The Lord's light will shine onto all those who are willing to open their hearts to him.

Russell M. Nelson

• We can choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives...or not. The choice is always ours.
• Are you willing to let God prevail in your life?
• Myopic -nearsighted. How myopic are you in your views?
• You need to expand your perspective and seek the eternal instead of focusing on the worldly.
• By choosing to let God prevail, you can find peace.
• The Gospel net to gather scattered Israel is expansive. There's room to gather everyone in the world within it.
• We all have Divine potential because we are all Children of God.
• God does not love one race more than another. He invites ALL to come unto him.
• Your standing before god is not dependent upon your color of your skin.
• Abandon attitudes and actions of prejudice. Promote respect for ALL of God's children.
• You know you best and how you can become who you want to become.

Sunday Afternoon 

Henry B. Eyring

• God has the power to make our way easier if we would just follow and listen to him.
• Our Savior's example is our best guide.
• The Lord can direct you to safety even when you cannot see the way.
• Our hearts can be softened to love, to forgive, and to come closer unto the Savior.
• Even though blessings are found in tribulation we do not actively seek tribulation in order to find those blessings, they come to us rather we want them to or not.

Jeremy R. Jaggi

• Losing the physical presence of a loved one can be hard on us.
• Having patience is the key to helping us get through our trials.
• When you are patient you hold up under pressure and are able to get through the trial more easily.
• Even after the faithful have done the will of God, they still had need for patience.
• Together we can overcome this difficult time.

Gary E. Stevenson

• Times of affliction and disappointment does not affect the Lord's favor in wanting to bless us.
• Is today gonna be the day you see a miracle occur?
• One day each of you will look back at this year and the emotions experienced during this time and see it overshadowed by blessings and increased faith and testimonies.

Milton da Rocha Camargo 

• As we open our hearts in prayer we can feel the love and comfort of our Heavenly Father.
• God is here. He loves you. Go on. Do your best. He will support you.
• When we seek we are acknowledging that we still have much to learn.
• Revelation often comes while we're in the act of doing something good.
• Prayer requires spiritual/physical labor but does not always lead to the outcome we want. God may not answer our prayers right away, but continuous to encourage us to keep trying. To keep having faith.
• We have great cause to rejoice.

Dale G. Renlund

• We are encouraged to strive to be better and do better.
• God delights in mercy. And does not begrudge its use.
• That which is hateful unto you Do. Not. Do. unto your neighbor. Always do honorably towards your neighbors.
• Teach the joy and seek to uplift rather then condemn those who struggle.
• Differences in outlook and belief do not preclude the ability to make friends and be kind to each other.
• Treat each other with love and understanding regardless of who the individual is.

Kelly R. Johnson

• God's power flows through ALL who are endowed in the temple and keep their covenants.
• Superficial faith is insufficient to sustain us in the long run.
• Our Faith, hope, and conviction may not endure if we do not draw upon the power of God when we face challenges.
• There is no expiration date to the power of God or a restriction from accessing that power.

Jeffrey R. Holland

• How long do we wait for relief from hardships that come upon us? Enduring personal trials as we wait and wait and help seems slow in coming.
• There will be times in our life where even our best efforts and pleadings of prayer do not yield the results we want when we want them.
• Prayer is always answered at the time and in the way that they need to be answered.
• Faith means trusting God in good times and bad. Even if that includes some suffering until we see his arm revealed in our behalf.
• One's life can't be both faith filled and stress free. It simply will not work.
• If the word of God is planted in our hearts as a seed, and if we care enough to water it and nurture it, it will then in the future bear fruit.
• The seed has to be nourished and we must wait for it to mature. Our harvest will come by and by.
• By the grace of God, the blessings will come to those who hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

Russell M. Nelson

• This is the dispensation where No spiritual blessing will be withheld from the righteous.
• The challenge for us is to make sure each of us will achieve our divine potential.
• If you really want to embrace a 'new normal' turn your heart more fully to God and his Son Jesus Christ.
• Whatever your challenges, live each day so that you are more prepared to meet your maker.
• I bless you to be filled with the peace of Jesus Christ.
• May we go forward together.

To read/watch/listen to the talks in their entirety, please visit https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10?lang=eng

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

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi