WATER

 It's not often you have that "We're gonna die!" moment but today sure felt like that.

So there we were, driving back from looking at some Petroglyphs up at Sego Canyon, headed back to Moab where we could see the heavy clouds of a storm coming towards us. Ones that indicated that rain was coming. 

Which there was quite the thunderstorm this morning that woke me up with how loud the thunder was....but we managed to overall do all the 'fun activities' between the rainstorms.

Now though, we were heading right back into one.

Not usually a big deal since it's just rain.

But there was a slight concern because even from a distance the rain looked....heavy. 

Like you could see the wall of water approaching.

And by the time we reached the canyon just before you reach Arches National Park....we got hit with a deluge.

Like Rain so heavy that even with the wipers going at full force you couldn't really see what was in front of you because the rain was so thick.

I was halfway convinced we were going to die or crash because it was so loud, Daddoo--who was driving--- couldn't hear me telling him to GET OVER behind other cars where at least I could see their red lights and he was still going pretty fast I was like "SLOW DOWN MOVE OVER SLOW DOWN"

And we drove through what was the beginning of like a flash flood/mud crossing over the highway too which I could barely see that we were driving through it before Daddoo had plowed through it with the car...which we were lucky because they ended up briefly closing the canyon later on. I'm guessing because of how heavy the rain was and I'm guessing the water crossing the road had gotten deeper and faster and wider. 

In any case.

We made it through down the canyon and to the Entrance of Arches where the weather had rain and hail mixed together but also it was raining heavy enough that we could see waterfalls on the cliffs. So braving the crazy we drove up into the park to see the waterfalls there and it was AWESOME. Especially around the 3 gossips area. 

But also kinda stressful because there was lightening and thunder all around so there was always the thought whenever I stepped out of the car--because I was on the wrong side of the car to get pictures by just rolling down my window- of ''hope I don't get hit by lightening" because some of that sounded so close.

Not deafening but it's always stressful to see the lightening flashing from the corner of your eye. 

Still. A fun experience overall that we don't often get to see when visiting the park. So yay waterfalls!

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Quiet Hike

 You know, I've kinda, unwillingly gotten used to Arches National Park being busy. 

Since the pandemic hit back in 2020 and more people were 'working from home' it also seemed to increase people's ability to travel more because as long as they had an internet connection they could 'work' from anywhere.

So the parks saw a sharp increase in visitors. To the point where Arches would be 'filled' by like 10am some days. To the point where they were like "we need to do timed entry things" 

And visiting it seemed like there were always a steady stream of people on the trails. 

It used to be where you could hike the longer hikes and barely see anyone else.

But then it became pretty common to see people even on the less common trails.

So I've unwillingly gotten used to having people all over. 

So imagine my surprise this morning when it felt like....well like the 'old days' 

Because my Daddoo and I hiked out to Dark Angel today and we left pretty early in the morning, getting to the trailhead around 830 or so. And like the parking lot wasn't crammed full. We could easily find a spot because there were plenty of spots. 

And hiking was so nice.

Like yes, there were more people on the trail to Landscape, but after that point? The people on the trail dwindled down to basically nothing. 

Like we only had like a couple of people in front of us. Maybe had a handful of people pass by us on their way back to the parking lot.

And when we reached Double O arch? 

There was NO ONE there.

Which is basically unheard of. Like usually there's always someone hanging out at the arch there. Kids playing. You have to wait to take pictures and time it so that no one is in the shot. 

But NO ONE was there. 

It was crazy.

It was awesome.

So awesome to have such a quiet trail.

I bet the primitive trail would have been even quieter than the main trail, though we just did the straight up and down version this time around as Daddoo wasn't sure how great of shape he was in as he's been recovering from various things the past few years. 

So we took the 'easier' route to get to Dark Angel and back to the parking lot.

And it was so nice to just....enjoy not having people about. To just encounter one or two people on the trail instead of a steady stream.

Admittedly by the time we finally decided to head back to the parking lot the steady stream of people had begun to arrive where we were always encountering someone. 

But the hike out?

So peaceful.

So quiet.

It was great.

I really hope it goes back to being that way.

Though honestly it may be just because we were hiking in the middle of the week lol. As last weekend was Fall Break and the park was super crowded...and I suspect this weekend will be more crowded too. 

But for the fact that with the Government Shutdown making it so that the park is open but you don't have to pay anything to enter it...having the hike be basically empty? That was nice. So nice.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Side Quest

 So Utah had this quest start earlier in the month. A Pin Quest.

Where there are 10 pins related to important aspects of the park that you could go to certain places -museums and the like- to collect for free.

And the people who put it on were rather smart because they gave each pin multiple locations you could pick them up at. So that it would hopefully give more people an easier time to reach more of the pins without having to drive through the entire state to get them.

And while there were a good handful of locations located relatively close to me, I ended up being a bit too busy with work and exhausted after work to venture there. 

Plus considering when they did the Pin Quest earlier in the Summer and it 'sold out' within 48 hours....I had no idea how quickly pins would go.

But. Here in the Moab area, Utah Raptor State Park -which became a State Park just this spring, was one of the locations that had one of the pins.

And with it being in a more out of the way location....I thought there might be a chance there would still be a pin there. 

Hard to say with Fall Break this past weekend....but still. It was worth a shot to go check it out.

Which I stated I wanted to go look at Raptor State Park but didn't say WHY I wanted to go there beyond wanting to go there.

Because I figured the moment I said "I want to see if I could get a free pin there." 

It would be more than likely that there would be no pins at all.

So best to check it out and ask quietly if the pins were there and if they were great! And if they weren't oh well at least I didn't disappoint anyone else but myself and could still enjoy the place otherwise. 

BUT!

They DID have the pins!

So ha!!

So I got 1/10 pins. XD lol. And it will probably be the only pin I will get from the pin quest unless they do another release of it in the spring or something.

But still. Nice to have a bit of success.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Shopping Ever Shopping

 Shopping in Tourist Towns is always an experience because like...you never really shop they same town twice. There are, of course, stores that have been there in business since before you were born that are like staples to the touristy shopping experience, but then there's the rest of the shopping area where there's shops that you literally go to once and by the time you're there next time...they're gone and replaced by another store. Some may last a year or two longer....but yah....there's always shifting trends and changing store fronts in tourist towns.

Like there used to be more crystal rock shops here in Utah, you could find like two or three that sold just rocks...now there's just one, the oldest one that's been there since before you're born. While the rest are gone and the other stores maybe just have a tiny section. 

And even the staple shops have changed a bit. Like rearranging the insides some areas are more crowded others are less crowded.

And I'm sure the stupid Tariffs are affecting some of it. But the rest? Who knows. It could be changing trends it could be changing owners, it could be a variety of things.

But it is interesting just what you find and don't find every time you come into a tourist town, especially if ti's one that you visit basically every year. Like is this one store still there? Are there any new stores that have opened?

It's kinda fun. But also kinda frustrating. Especially when it feels like things are trending to being more expensive and 'fancy' rather than down and dirty. Though it does depend on the store you walk into I suppose.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Helping Hand

 I do have to say, that I'm really impressed with my niblings on how well they've done with hiking on this trip. 

For not knowing how well they would do and worrying that they wouldn't do ANY hiking. It's been Soo gratifying to see them being willing to actually walk with us on the trails. 

Especially with them being under 3 years old. It's nice that they just want to walk with you.

Though it is a much slower hike walking with them and convincing them to not stop and pick up the rocks or play with the sand or sticks....they've overall taken to it pretty well.

Today we did our last hike with the niblings which was to Landscape Arch. 

A nice short hike with a path that's pretty flat so that people of all ages and capabilities can at least make it to the Arch.

The goal?  To get to the Arch and let the babies play in the plentiful sand there for a while while the rest of us who wanted to be a bit more proactive hiked up the steeper part to the arches up above Landscape. Partition Arch and Navajo Arch. 

It was a great mellow day. 

The babies had the time of their life playing in the sand. The older adults who didn't want to clamber all over the rocks enjoyed sitting there watching the babies play and the rest of us who wanted to climb and mess around climbed and messed around for a couple of hours before we headed back out.

It was great. 

What was also fun was like....how many people I helped today?

Like, I had ventured away from the group as everyone was getting settled to get more pictures of Landscape Arch from a slightly different angle and I'd overheard some other hikers/tourists talking about the trails and such so I chimed in with some information I knew since I've been hiking these trails since I was a baby basically....and it kinda steamrolled from there lol I had a few people asking me about conditions of the trails, what the best time to hike is, what routes are good, if it's worth it to go out to Dark Angel.

It was nice to be a bit of a guide for a bit to them. Give them some help and such.

But the more memorable moment was back in the Visitor Center gift shop.

As I have sensitive hearing, and even though I was halfway back in the shop and there were a ton of other people around, I heard a woman up front ask the Cashier up there if they had any pictures of Dark Angel for sale because she hadn't been able to take her own picture because her husband had had her turn back at Double O so she was hoping to get a picture in the gift shop.

Unfortunately Dark Angel...despite seemingly more popular this go around from how often I heard people talking about it...isn't that popular of an attraction as 99.5% of people turn back at Double O and don't go all the way out to Dark Angel.

BUT. Since I've been there a million times....just not there yet this trip...and because I never seem to delete photos from my phone. I was able to quickly pull up a picture I'd taken of Dark Angel on a previous trip a few years ago and tracked down the woman in the shop and asked her "Hey, were you looking for a picture of Dark Angel? I have this one here on my phone I can text you if you want?"

And she did want lol. So I was able to make her day by texting her a picture of Dark Angel. So yay!!! :D 

It was for sure a feel good moment and I was glad to be able to help out so many people today. :D 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

New Adventures

 Today was the day I was more nervous for on our Family Vacation as it was our first Family Vacation since all the babies had been born. So we haven't done any vacations with everyone together in like...3 years or so. 

And with it being a hiking vacation....

I was nervous but excited to see how it would go.

Because it's Arches National Park. My Favorite Place in the world to go on vacation. And I really wanted my baby niblings to have a good enough time here that their parents -my siblings- would be willing to do this sort of vacation again. 

But it was totally unknown how said baby niblings would react to the hiking...or how the parents would react to hiking either with various life events going on and such. 

Like two of my baby niblings have been to Arches before. But they were babies. They weren't even walking yet.

Now they were old enough to walk about on their own if they so desired.

And it was going to be unknown how they would do. If they would want to walk. Or if they would prefer to be carried by their parents in the baby backpacks the entire time. If they would be happy or if they would cry.

So we started out easy. 

With the Windows Section. Where all the Arches are RIGHT THERE and the cars are also RIGHT THERE so that if there were any issues we could turn right around if needed. 

Plus it would allow the parents and the grandparents to gauge their own energy levels on how well they would do with longer hikes than the windows area.

Which really. The kiddos did quite well. The youngest nibling was content to be in the baby backpacks the entire time and the older baby niblings loved to wander around and walk with us.

Lol it was weird that they wanted to hold my hand while walking so I couldn't do quite as many picture as I usually do since I had a hand full. 

But overall they were quite happy to be wandering around and walking and looking about.

They're not quite old enough yet to trust to climb and clamber all over the rocks on their own, but I did really love how my niblings seemed to love being out and about.

It was a good enough experience that we decided to attempted Delicate Arch that evening. 

Which, while it's not a long hike...it is a steep hike with a huge sandstone slab you have to clamber up for a good half mile or so. It's a lung burster for sure...but way more easy to do in the current 60-70 degree weather than when I attempted to do it at the end of September last year when it was 95 degrees out. Yeesh. That was HOT.

The niblings all ended up in their respective baby backpacks for that hike. We let them walk for the first little bit but they were tired and dragging their feet enough the parents decided to just put them in the backpacks so we could move faster....as we were kinda racing the sun to get up to Delicate Arch before sunset and hopefully back down before it got dark.

Heh...we failed on the 'before dark' part as the sun was quite set by the time we all made it down to the parking lot again.

But the babies again did really well on the hike and the adults also did really well on the hike, much better than most of the were expecting.

So overall a success!!!

And we were able to end the day on a high note by driving to a darker spot in the park away from the cars and actually were able to see Comet Lemon!!! 

I'd brought it up as a possibility to look for since Arches is a really good dark zone and I was right! I was great to see the comet but also to see all the stars and the milky way that you can't usually see as well when closer to the city.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

What Do You Mean Meet At A Specific Time?

 With the frustrations I've been experiencing this past week with work and my coworkers...it's kinda no surprise that it carried over into my vacation just a tiny bit.

And really the frustrations just stem from little miscommunications. 

Where plans are talked about and one person thinks the details are one way and another thinks the details are another way and plans get messed up a bit because no one was on the same page like we thought we were.

Like due to the stress of work I'd given myself permission to just...sleep in. 

There was no set timeline to meet in Moab for our Family Vacation today so I gave myself permission to just rest my body and wake up when I woke up and I would get down to the city when I got down there to meet up with everyone. 

Which meant that I actually didn't wake up until nearly 10 and didn't really end up leaving until closer to Noon because getting up and moving and packing took a bit longer than I had planned.

As I'd originally thought I'd be leaving around 9 or 10...but I was more tired than I realized because I slept in so long.

Still not a big deal. One of my siblings wasn't leaving until 11ish anyways either so it wasn't like I was that far behind....and I was still going to be early as it turns out they were leaving later than expected too closer to 1 instead.

So I figured it would be a nice mellow drive down and I could meet up with family that was already there and chill and enjoy the time while waiting for everyone else.

Only to be told like halfway down that the original plan was to meet at 2pm so we could have lunch at my Daddoo's favorite place. 

And I was like ??? since WHEN?

Because I knew that we were going to eat at the favorite place when everyone met up.

But did not recall there ever being a TIME connected to it. It was more of a nebulous "We'll eat there once everyone gets here." 

Plus like I wouldn't be getting down there until AFTER 2 because I had no idea I'd need to be down there by that time.

So plans had to be adjusted to account for everyone's expected arrival.

But it just left me feeling wrong footed and frustrated because like....I try to be on time to things and with the frustrations of plans not going to plan this past few days at work to already have our Moab Trip plans going off the rails was even more frustrating. I just wanted to have a good time and relax with family.

Like I knew things weren't going to go fully to plan. We have multiple families with kids meeting together with various different needs so most of our plans were vague anyway. But still. It's stressful to realize you've thrown off someone's plan. Especially when it's like there was no communication that THAT WAS the plan.

Like I said. We got it figured out. Switched things around and such.

But it was frustrating. And not at all how I wanted to start this vacation.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

And The Frustration Continues

 Have you ever reached the level of frustration where you're just beyond frustration? 

Like you recognize that you should be frustrated but you've been frustrated since Tuesday for various reasons and therefore are just....beyond caring. Like apathetic levels of frustration of "Of course this didn't work out. Nothing else has worked out why would TODAY be any different?"

Yah. That was today.

We were supposed to have our District Manager come by today. To you know visit the store.

Which meant that I spent yesterday trying to get a laundry list of things done and directed my mid manager and closing manager to get certain tasks done so that I could finish the remaining laundry list of things that needed to be done but also get all the Thursday tasks done that need to be done on Thursday while also doing like final facing and presentation to make sure that the store looked all nice and pretty for the District Manager to show up. 

I gave Mid Manager ONE task. Get all of our Halloween product out onto the floor and make sure there's no holes in it. Fill it all up and make it look pretty. 

Which they didn't start said task until TWO HOURS LATER when closing manager came in. So I was like okay closing manager go help Mid Manager with the Halloween stuff.

But also I gave the closing manager like 4 things to get done last night.

1. Make Sure Halloween was out, with tags, and there were no holes.

2. Make sure the end caps were all pretty with NO HOLES.

3. Print out some 4x5 tags for certain areas that needed it.

4. Make sure the feeder tanks get scrubbed -I had told Petcare to do this as well but also gave Closing Manager this task to make sure they got done.

What did I find when I got into work this morning?

NONE OF IT HAD BEEN FINISHED.

Sure. Halloween was basically all out on the floor with exceptions of a couple of larger items but there were still HOLES in the Halloween section that hadn't been filled.

EVERY ENDCAP HAD A HOLE IN IT WHERE PRODUCT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLACED.

A certain pallet I said "Hey this needs to be tagged with 4x5 tags" WAS NOT TAGGED.

AND THE FREAKING GOLDFISH TANKS WERE NOT SCRUBBED.

Which is super frustrating because I gave Closing Petcare TWO TASKS to do to prep for today's visit and that was "sweep behind the fish wall and scrub the feeder tanks" and they did NOT scrub the feeder tanks.

So I was like "Okay. Opening Petcare the DM is coming in today I NEED you to scrub those tanks BEFORE they arrive at ONEish okay? Okay" 

And expected petcare to be done and ready by one. 

Was it? NO. 

Like I don't get it. I say there's a visit and it seems like petcare moved SLOWER because I'm here running around with my head cut off because I'm the ONLY manager scheduled for the morning shift with NO MID manager today to cover me and by the time petcare takes their lunch at NOON the feeder tanks still haven't been scrubbed and the DM could literally be showing up any minute because even if we were told 1ish they could come in earlier.

So despite telling THREE PEOPLE to scrub the FREAKING GOLDFISH TANKS I ENDED UP BEING THE ONE TO GIVE THEM A QUICK SCRUB so that they didn't look like a disaster. 

And that was on top of getting rid of the holes in Halloween and filling the end caps and trying to get pricing done and facing the store because of course closing manager DIDN'T FACE THE STORE BEFORE LEAVING. Along with a million other tasks I had to also do while being the ONLY MANAGER.

And like my closing manager came in at 1230 but we were still doing lunches for everyone so my lunch point would have fallen at 1 right when the DM came in and I was like....that would not be good so I chose to skip my lunch since I was off at 3 and about to go on vacation so me not taking the half hour didn't really matter hours wise, so that I could focus on helping Head Manager finish getting the store looking tidy and ready and Head Manager helped me finish up a few of my tasks I hadn't quite gotten to yet because I had to finish what the CLOSING MANAGER SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN DONE YESTERDAY.

And it's frustrating because closing manager is seeking to take over my spot IF I ever get promoted to the PL position and so far closing manager is hardcore failing to prove that they can handle my job because they can't even handle doing the tasks I set them in a timely manner and can't even properly do their own current job because their current job should be ensuring that the STORE IS PROPERLY FACED AND LOOKING PRETTY by the end of the night.

So yah. A day of frustrations. 

Made even more frustrating because the District Manager NEVER SHOWED UP.

So I spent 2 days stressing and running around making things looking good and SKIPPED my lunch for NOTHING. 

Like I thought the DM would be coming in to like maybe get an opinion of me before approving my promotion because it sounds like they need to approve before I can get promoted and YET they NEVER CAME INTO THE STORE.

Just ugggggggggghhhhhhh.

It's been a week built with frustration upon frustration and it's a good thing that I'm vanishing for a week from work for a vacation because if I had to see any of my coworkers again tomorrow or the next day I would probably strangle them and scream because they have been SO UNHELPFUL THIS WEEK. SO UNHELPFUL. 

I need a break.

Seriously.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Building Irritation

 I don't drink. But today was one of those days where I could really see why someone would come home and pour a large glass of wine and just...gulp it down. 

Because AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I really hate the days at work where it feels like I'm the only one working.

Like I know everyone else is working. 

but like I'm the only one WORKING. Like it feels like I'm trying to do 12 things at once while everyone else is focused solely on their one task and are ignoring all the other tasks but their one task.

Like today was irritating enough at work that I had to take one of my nurtecs to stave off a migraine because I could feel it building behind my right eye and if I didn't do anything it would probably just make the entire day worse. 

But it started like all things start with the realization that when someone says they 'did the thing' and then discovering that they didn't do ALL the things.

Because I asked my opening manager if they'd done all the opening tasks to which they said yes.

Only to discover that they had neglected to do one of said tasks so I had to do said task.

Ask petcare to move faster today because we have a visit tomorrow we need to prep for and they're like "I'll try but I've worked 12 days in a row -my fault I know, but I'm dragging--" and it was just a test in patience to not nag them constantly to try and get them to move faster so I could use them sooner. 

It was that moment I discovered I was the only one with an active phone because other manager had a phone but the ringer wasn't working and they thought that was just great for them and I was like "I DO NOT want to be the ONLY ONE answering the PHONE today GO GET A PHONE THAT RINGS" Like dude. Show some sympathy to your coworkers? Like I get you just want to focus on truck but you need to be TEAM PLAYER AND HELP OUT WITH THE REST OF THE STORE.

Especially when I was the one getting the backup cashier and the back up petcare and picking orders and still managing to get more done in the store than they were with their one single pallet of cat cans.

PLUS I had to drag said manager back to finish truck because they broke away from the task before it was done to go start a different task and I'm like NO truck takes priority. Just....

It was all day like that.

Plus with needy customers on top of that with complicated returns. And crazy vet stuff and me doing my best to try and knock out the laundry list of tasks that needed to get done while constantly getting interrupted and watching everyone else constantly getting interrupted because it was one of those Wednesdays where it was BUSY instead of dead and GAH.

I was so Done by the end of the day.

I got myself a Shake as a reward because I needed something to cheer me up after all the crazy.

*exhales*

Hopefully tomorrow goes well though with there being the visit tomorrow....who knows how it will actually turn out.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Mr. Goldfish

 So. There I was, halfway down the store, working on a pallet of product that had come in on our truck when I hear from up by the fish wall my petcare worker exclaim "OH MY GOD!" 

And over the radio I was like "?? What?" 

And she was like "There's a giant goldfish in this bag!" 

Which....I wasn't sure I had heard her correctly, but also like.... 'giant?' goldfish? 

Like I knew we had received in a feeder goldfish shipment and depending on if there were larger and/or small goldfish in the box....they usually keep our small goldfish at 1-2 inches in length while our large goldfish are usually 2-3 inches in length. Sometimes they come in smaller sometimes bigger. But like "Giant?" 

So I go wander over to see what the ruckus is about and sure enough, there among all the 2-3 inch large goldfish is a giant goldfish that's like 3x time size as all the others.

Like the fish is at least the length of my hand so a good 6-7 inches long at least. 

Which is crazy because like....HOW did he manage to avoid getting captured at the facility for so long to get that large but also how did he not get noticed in the bag and sent to us?

Though honestly I have no idea what sort of examination process happens at the facility where the goldfish are packaged and shipped to us. For all I know they just stick a net in their tank drag it up go "that's 300 goldfish" and toss it in and don't look any further. 

In any case.

It didn't feel right to leave him in the feeder tanks to potentially get sold as food to some creature or get sold into a tank that would be too small for him after he survived this long.

So I had my associate fish him out and place him in a separate empty tank on the fish wall so that I could take him home after my shift and place him in my 125 gallon fish tank as I had a comet goldfish about the same size that I had been thinking could use a buddy. 

That way I could ensure he had a good home to live in with plenty of space to move about. 

So far he seems to be doing great so yay!

But yah. Kinda crazy that such a large goldfish made its way to us. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Little Satisfaction

 I do have to say that there's something satisfying about like....idk how to word it...but decreasing the load? Making things more organized?

We were doing scans at work today, looking for holes where the shelves were empty of product and scanning the prices to make sure that the item that was supposed to be there actually didn't have any items available and was in fact supposed to be empty ... or if the scanners said that there was product supposedly supposed to be on the shelf...to go hunt it down and put it on the shelf, or correct the numbers in the system if the item wasn't found.

And part of that was scanning through the cat food today. 

Which was supposed to be just looking at holes.....and scanning those.

But having figured that cat food hadn't really been worked since our truck came in like a week ago....I ended up pulling out like 5 different carts/pallets of 'overstock' cat food in the back and working them out onto the floor.

And I have to say it was satisfying to like....work through the product and actually have a good like....2/3rds of it go out onto the floor.

To be able to condense everything down into smaller piles so that the back room wasn't as crazy filled....even though it will be kinda a pointless exercise considering we have another truck in tomorrow that will contain more product that will definitely have some overstock involved and therefore...will mean that basically the backroom will look exactly the same as it did today before I worked everything out onto the floor.

But for today at least I could have the satisfaction of having at least the cat food section in our backrooms be mostly emptied out. It was a nice feeling. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

What Are These Hills Made Of?

 The interesting thing about living on a mountain...is that you don't really realize.....like what the mountain is made of?

Like in the abstract you know there's dirt and rocks and such that make up the mountain.

But at the same time a mountain just kinda seems like that. One entire whole. No mini pieces. Just solid.

Of course, with the burn scar on the mountain by me and seeing all the dirt, rocks, and debris that came down through the storms it should be more clear that the mountain is made up of more than just 'mountain'

But it is kinda weird to see how like....in the abstract I kinda think of our mountain as made of dirt? Even though I can see rock fins all above us and know there's rocks in the dirt....

It wasn't until I was walking by the construction area towards the bottom of my street just to 'look' at the piles of 'dirt' there that I could see just how much rock is actually mixed in with the dirt.

Because with the mudslide that happened...it looked like it was pretty consistently just mud.

But seeing it after a couple more storms where the rain has washed more of the dirt away....there's a whole ton of rocks there. 

Which has me on the more curious side as to what type of rocks I could find there. 

Like there's probably plenty of granite and quartz. As I could see shiny among the rock piles. But like...what other stones are there that I don't recognize because they're not polished up? Are there fossils there? Are there precious stones? Is it all just various types of agate? Slate? Who knows.

Though it does have the wheels turning in the back of my mind.

Because I did, for fun, request a rock tumbler machine this year for Christmas. And like....if I actually get given it....it may be fun just to go wander down to those piles of rocks and pick up a bunch of them and tumble them and see what shiny stones I can pull out of them. Could be fun. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

This Weather

 It's always funny when the weather is like "prepare for this drastic storm that's coming your way!!" 

And then the storm ends up being like....nothing. 

Like school gets preemptively cancelled....people are told to stay home if possible...and nothing comes of it. 

That kinda happened today.

Not that parts of my state didn't get hit by severe weather.

It did. 

The storms did come. Did cause some flooding, canceled events, the wind caused issues, the rain caused issues, power went out, not sure if the lightning caused anything but yah....there was 'severe weather.'

Just....not that severe in my area.

Like we did get some pretty lightning and thunder for a bit.

but the storm was just that.

A storm.

There wasn't anything drastic about it at all for my part of the state.

Honestly the storm last weekend was way more intense than whatever this was.

Which makes it very hard to take any weather predictions seriously. Like yes prepare for the weather that may come. But like...I'm not gonna go all doomsday prepper on it.

Because like odds are...the storm isn't going to be as bad as they say. 

It's probably going to be like a fourth of the power the usually predict. 

And then the storms that are like "this is nothing" is when the trouble comes lol.

In any case.

At least I made it home from work before the 'storm' hit so I didn't have to try and deal with driving in the weather along with the weather.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

How Long Must You Mourn?

 It's probably a sign that I'm getting 'old' but I really am tired of all the 'drama' with my coworkers.

To the point where I'm really apathetic to it all.

Especially this past yearish because it feels like every day just brings another 'problem' that shouldn't be a problem. 

Whether it's call outs for being 'sick' AGAIN. 

Or call outs for other reasons.....

I am getting sooo sooo Soo very close to just snapping and being like "I'm sorry, but I actually need you in the store, you need to come in."

Because seriously how many times can you get 'food poisoning' that only lasts like a day? STOP EATING WHATEVER YOU'RE EATING. Or DOING WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING TO GET SICK ALL THE TIME YEESH.

But it's also the annoyance I have with my coworkers who constantly go "I need more hours!" and then constantly go "Hey can someone cover my shift?" 

Like....You can't really get MORE HOURS if you don't WORK THEM. 

Like last night I had a coworker text at ten freaking thirty at night ---which GURL you SHOULD NOT BE TEXTING THAT LATE. 

Asking if someone could cover their Saturday shift.

Why? Because their dog was going to be put down today and they apparently needed the day AFTER off as well. 

Like...you don't work at all Friday and you NEED Saturday off too? For your dog? 

Like. I get it. Pets are like family. Losing a family member can hurt.

But like....it's a DOG. 

And I recognize it's apathetic of me to be like that. But seriously. I can get needing the day off for the day you are putting down your pet. We did that last week for a Groomer who had to put down one of their pets. They asked for the Saturday off. We gave it to them. But they didn't ask for MULTIPLE DAYS. 

Like. My sweet summer child. Mourn for the Friday, but please  come in and WORK YOUR FREAKING SATURDAY SHIFT.

Like this coworker only works maybe 2 shifts a week and wants 'more' hours but anytime we try and schedule more than like 2 shifts a week they call off at least one of those shifts. And usually at least one of those shifts in a normal week they end up calling off anyways or needing to leave early so like....it's not really OUR fault YOU'RE not getting hours when YOU'RE choosing NOT TO WORK. 

Especially since I found it annoying that this coworker had the gall to ask for someone to cover their shift when they refused to cover someone else's shift yesterday when I was looking for someone at all to cover a sick coworker. 

-Hence my apatheticalness. I'm so sick and tired of there being like no motivation to work. To be at work. 

And the kicker is that others in the group chat finally were able to figure out how to cover the shift for this coworker and the coworker was like "Oh hey wait! My dog is actually doing better so we're not putting her down today! So I could come in and work tomorrow if needed, but otherwise if I can still have the day off that's fine I have a lot to do." 

Like..... *face palm* 

I'm just annoyed.

Like. Yes. It's sad when a pet passes away. I'm sad for you but that doesn't mean you need to have like a multi-day grieving period for it. 

*exhales* 

Again. I recognize I'm being apathetic about the situation. But with the sharp increase we've had in call outs this year....it's kinda par for the course at this point. 

If my coworkers could just remain healthy and like...stop calling out....so I could have one less stress on my shoulders that would be nice.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Sole Problem

 It's interesting how you don't realize how like...uncomfortable something becomes because you've grown used to how it feels....and then you try a new thing and realize...oh the old is really uncomfortable. 

I get that every time that I end up buying a new pair of shoes. 

Which I did today as I've noticed that my current pair of work shoes ---which really are my 'everywhere and everything shoes-- have gotten rather raggedy.

And with me going out on a hiking vacation in the near future in a sandy area....the fact that my current pair of shoes has the seams coming apart so that sand can get into my shoes....yah that's not gonna be great for hiking at all if I'm constantly dealing with sand filled shoes.

So I dropped by a shoe place to look at new sneakers today so that I would have time to 'break' them in a little bit at work before taking them hiking all over the red rocks to actually break them in lol.

And like just trying on the various pairs of shoes it's crazy how much of a difference they have.

Like of course the old pair has it's comforts because my feet have worn them so long to wear them down so they are 'comfy' in their own way.

but like the padding in the sole has obviously broken down compared to the new shoes because wow how fluffy and supportive the inside felt. Like it didn't feel like I could feel like I was walking on concrete anymore. It felt soft. 

Which is so weird. Because I remember my old shoes feeling just exactly the same way. 

And it's crazy how it's a never ending cycle where you're constantly seeking new shoes for the same reason you bought your old shoes but you need the new shoes because the old shoes are no longer holding up. 

 In any case. After far too long in dithering I did end up buying myself a pair of new shoes. So yay! Now to break them in at work and hope that they're as comfy there as they felt in the store lol. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Sticker Shock

 Had a bit of a heart attack moment today.

Which isn't the greatest when dealing with a more major migraine that makes thinking and dealing with problems ... rather difficult.

It came down to getting more migraine medicine. As I knew I had refills but when I went into the pharmacy app...it said that I didn't have any refills...even though the doctor said I would.

And the app said I needed to tell the doctor to tell them to do the refills....so I told the doctor...who got back to me with a ??? "What do you mean you're requesting refills I gave you refills?" 

Which turns out that the pharmacy app doesn't talk to the freaking website because the pharmacy website when I ventured on there to look at it for funsies...showed my refills there just fine but the app still showed nada. 

Which gee. great. Thanks. Thanks for making me look silly in front of my doctor. *exhales* 

In any case I go to get a refill....and get quite the sticker shock.

Because instead of the expected $20 I was expecting to show up as what I would need to pay to get the rx refilled.....the website was showing that it would cost nearly $1,200 to get the migraine medicine.

Like. 

WHAT

I knew the stupid idiotic tariffs would make things more expensive but THAT?! Expensive?!

WHAT?!

How could it go from $20 to $1,200!?!?!? I can't afford that. Not gonna pay that for EIGHT pills. That's ridiculous. 

And it was heartbreaking because like the migraine medicine has been sooo helpful and I'd literally just take my last one earlier today to get rid of the migraine that decided to strike last night.

So I was....not at my best. Because WHAT?!?

And once I got my head a bit less throbby I tried to call the pharmacy itself to be like "Hey, is that the cost with insurance or without insurance?" because I know meds are more expensive without insurance.

But unfortunately stupid AI struck and I was stuck dealing with an AI person on the phone who 'could not answer' that specific question. They could tell me how much the medicine cost but couldn't tell me if that was with or without insurance. But if I tried to get to a representative I was told I would have to leave a message and I would be called back the people were able to call me back.

Like.... I just want to talk to a real person. Why can't I talk to a real person now?!

*exhales*

Ended up, once the migraine got more under control and I had my energy back going to the pharmacy itself to be like "Heeeeey, I tried to refill my Rx online but the price was much higher than normal and I just wanted to check if that was right."

And it WAS NOT right.

No. 

Apparently the website likes to glitch on occasion and show the RETAIL price of the medicine rather than the price you pay when you have insurance.

Which YIKES. Over a $1,000 for 8 pills? WITHOUT insurance? O.o That's soooo crazy and that's such a stupid high mark up. Like....I get its fancy medicine but it shouldn't cost THAT MUCH. Yeesh.

In any case.

I am extremely grateful that I still only had to pay the $20 and was able to get my Rx refilled right then and there. 

Especially since I have another trip coming up in a couple of weeks that will involve a lot of hiking and I wanted to have the meds on hand just in case I need them. 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Two Types

 You've probably heard the ...idk if it could be called a saying, but the saying "There's two types of people in the world--" and then it goes on to give you two types of people. 

Like those who like cats and those who like dogs.

Those who can count and those who can't.

Etc.

And I suppose the 'two types' that has been on my mind this evening is the "Those who think about others before themselves and those who think about themselves first." 

Personally...I tend to fall into the former category.

I tend to think about how what I do can affect or help others first. And tend to put their needs before mine. Tend to work my schedules around their schedules etc. 

Which gets frustrating a ton of the time when people don't give me the same courtesy back. 

Like the recent vacation I took. I tried to plan my time away from everyone else taking vacation...but it felt like the moment people realized I was taking vacation everyone else decided they also wanted vacation during that same time.

It's happening again in a couple of weeks when I'm using up the last of my vacation time before the end of the year. I've had this vacation planned out for months and only now are people like "OH I need this time off too!!" 

But it's in other things as well.

Like....if I'm not feeling well I try to not bother my roomies and stay away...while one of my roommates has been sick all weekend...and coughing loud enough that you can hear them through the entire house...which has put the rest of us on edge because like....could you not cough quieter? Could you not stay in your room more?

Or like it's little things like....I watch this YouTube series where Pokemon cards are given away for free in drawings. Do I have an interest in the pokemon cards or game itself? Nope. But I have a friend who is. So I enter for fun because if I win I think it would be great to surprise my friend with those cards. 

And like when I'm shopping ... I tend to be thinking more about gifts for others rather than gifts for myself. 

And it has been a bit of a struggle....something I've been working on this past year....to not give so much of myself away. To try and take a bit rather than just give give give give give. Because takers will keep taking. And sometimes...you just need to stop giving. 

So it's been "be sure to buy things for yourself" "be sure to ask things for yourself" "try to not always accommodate yourself to others but make them accommodate to you."

But really....my first thought is still for others.

Like even today I found myself in a situation where I was like "Hey, if you don't need this, I could take it off your hands and use it to help my store." Only to get the response of "No I actually want to keep it because it will become more valuable over time so I'm hoarding it for now." 

Just...little things like that. 

Where I'm again reminded that not everyone thinks or acts the same as I do.

Doesn't stop from throwing me off every time.

But I do have to remember that more than likely most people are thinking "what's in it for me." rather than "what can I do for them?" 

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

195th Semiannual General Conference Highlights - Sunday Sessions

 Sunday Morning 

Jeffrey R. Holland

• God can bless us by whatever method he chooses from the most unlikely of sources, things, and places. 
• How easy it is for us to dismiss the source of our redemption because of the ingredients or the instruments seem embarrassing or plain. 
• Are we willing to persevere no matter how much 'spit and clay' it takes?
• Is the Book of Mormon a rod of safety for your soul? 

James E. Evanson

• Service continues to lead others to the Gospel. 
• God needs people to love and serve others. 
• You don't need an assignment to do good. God loves every act of service done for good unto others. 
• If Teaching missionaries are the Lord's mouth, then Service missionaries are the Lord's hands. Service missionaries are NOT second class missionaries. They are just as important. 
• Service is the lifeblood of the Gospel of Christ. 
• Through service we change hearts and the world. 

Ulisses Soares

• Temperance harmonizes and strengthens other Christlike attributes. 
• We can be firmly anchored to the rock of His grace. 
• True spiritual strength is not expressed in haughty words but in temperance.
• The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort but in moments of controversy. 
• Don't let your afflictions become gaps in your faith. 

Peter M. Johnson

• Ministering in the Savior's way involves love without judgement. 
• Jesus is the Christ and I am HIS disciple. 
• The Savior's job is to heal and make us whole. Our job is to minister in such a way as to bring others unto Christ and bring us together. 

D. Todd Christofferson

• Turn to the Lord. Ask him to comfort your heart and soothe the pain you feel. 
• Don't look away from Him, but Look to Him. 
• Christ is with us and loves us even when our hearts hurt. 
• Looking to God is to keep his commandments, look unto him continually for his support. 
• Immorality is one of the quickest ways to lose your testimony. 
• Public opinion is not the arbiter of truth.
• Our faith can continue to grow even in times of doubt and challenges. 

Andrea Munoz Spannaus

• We can receive a personal testimony of God's prophets today and can open our hearts, our minds, and our hearts to the messages that the Lord has for us today. 
• Raise your children in light and truth. 

Henry B. Eyring 

• God is proving you, but He is also with you. 
• Your struggle with something may also be a gift from the Lord. He may be teaching you that with His help you can find the strength in Him to do what you're trying to do. 
• Never give up. Keep trying. Keep the faith.
• Your proving and strengthening won't look like other's proving and strengthening, but they will come and will be for your benefit. 
• God is with you. He will not forsake you. 

Sunday Afternoon

David A. Bednar

• Moral agency can be understood as the ability and privilege to act in ways that are honest, good, and true. 
• The fundamental purposes of agency is to love one another and choose God. 
• The fear of the Lord is not an apprehension about coming into his presence to be judged. But about acknowledging to ourselves about how things really are and how things will be.

B. Corey Cuvelier 

• The journey of discipleship takes time and effort.
• Retain the name of Christ. Have it written always in your hearts. 
• Those filled with the love of God are anxious to bless everyone around them, not just their family, not just themselves, everyone in the world.  

Matthew S. Holland

• God loves and seeks to rescue all his Children. 
• Don't wallow in contentious criticism, be merciful, be slow to anger and kind to all. 
• You can be a good person in crisis, left feeling forsaken, but there is always dry ground for hope, healing and happiness in Christ. 
• Forsake not your own mercy. You have immediate access to divine help and healing. 
• Whether we are facing a deep Jonah like catastrophe or the everyday challenges of our imperfect world. The invitation is the same. Forsake not your own mercy. 

Carlos A. Godoy

• This Church doesn't attract great people, but it does make ordinary people great. 
• There were no complaints. Only smiling faces and grateful hearts. 
• Trust in Jesus and always look unto him because he will help you in the healing process. 

Dale G. Renlund

• Focus. Get over it. Do the best you can. 
• We change for the better when we focus on Christ moreso than when we focus on ourselves. 
• Charity towards all is essential to our progress.
• The reward of keeping covenants is heavenly power and strength to face the trials that come at us. 

John D. Amos

• The simple secret for happy living is to just follow God's recipe as detailed in the scriptures. The 'good news' recipe. 
• If the recipe is going wrong, add more Christ into your life. 

Ozani Farias

• If you sincerely prioritize your Scripture study each day, you will find great spiritual strength and confidence. 
• The Book of Mormon has the power to answer the questions in our souls.

Dallin H. Oaks

• Russell M. Nelson announced 200 new temples. He loved to announce new temples at the conclusion of each conference. No new temples announced this session.
• The family is ordained of God. 
• The Church of Jesus Christ is known as a family centered Church. 
• Exaltation is a family affair. 
• Every single mother can teach of the love of a Heavenly Father. 
• We are a family church. 
• Grandparents can do much to fill in the gaps when families lose or are missing a member. 
• The perfection we seek is not limited to the stressful circumstances of mortality. 
• Christ is our ultimate role model. 
• You can turn your family On if you turn your technology Off. 
• What your children really want for dinner is Time with You. 

To watch/read/listen to the talks in their entirety please visit: 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10?lang=eng

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

195th Semiannual General Conference - Saturday Highlights

 Saturday Morning

Dallin H. Oaks

• Speaks as the President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles
• President Nelson is someone to model your life after. 

Gary E. Stevenson 

• Even devout people gathered in sacred places can feel burdened from what you and your families have undergone since last conference. 
• Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. 
• Can I be a peacemaker when the world is commotion, my heart is filled with fear and peace feels far away?
• Begin the most basic place to feel peace. In your hearts. Then spread to your family and then to your neighborhoods and onward. 
• Disagree without being disagreeable. 
• Build bridges not walls. 
• To build a peacemaker is to help others and then they pass it on and it goes on and on and on. 
• Kindness will do its quiet work. 
• To be peacemakers we forgive others and deliberately build others up rather than tear others down.
• Peacemaking demands action. 1. A Contention free home zone.  2. Digital bridge building. -will this build a bridge? If so send. If not. Stop. 3. Repair and reunite. 
• Peacemaking requires courage and compromise but does not require sacrifice of principle. It requires leading with an open heart and not a closed mind. Extend with open hands not closed fists. 

Tracy Y. Browning

• The singing of hymns is one of the best ways to learn the doctrine of the restored gospel. 
• Music has always been at the heart of teaching the gospel. 
• Music provides power for us to express our thoughts, testimonies, and truths. 
• God keeps his promises and offers us a refuge when we need it. 
• The Spirit and use music to engrave eternal truths on your heart. 
• Sacred music can shine the light of Christ on the hearer.
• Jesus still wants us for a sunbeam. 

Ronald M. Barcellos

• All God needs to accomplish his purposes is for us to turn our hearts to Him.
• Focus, Priorities and Motives will let us know where our hearts are. Where is our focus? Because that's where our treasure will be in our hearts. 
• Do you make the Savior a Priority in your life? 
• The Savior does not expect perfection in keeping his commandments. He does expect us to strive to keep them with all our hearts. 
• The quality of our thoughts and words is a good indication of the quality of our hearts. 
• Dedicate time daily to Christ. 

Brik V. Eyre

• Comfort first. Because Christ would Comfort First. 
• God will always remind us that we are His Children. Satan will always try to tell us differently and remind us of and label us by our weaknesses. 
• God is in relentless pursuit of you. He wants YOU. As YOU are. 
• However much you are praying. Pray more. However hard you are praying. Pray harder. 

Kelly R. Johnson

• Be reconciled to God. Align our will and actions to Him and let Him prevail in our lives. 
• Reconciliation is dependent on mercy. 
• Don't let yourself be easily shaken. Stand firm. Stay steadfast. 
• Don't let yourself become so firm that you're unwilling to change. Let yourself remain soft enough to allow yourself to change. 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• Getting good at anything, takes consistent self-discipline and practice. 
• Discipleship takes self-discipline. It's not a casual endeavor. It takes effort. It's a conscious choice that takes effort. 
• Our faith becomes stronger as it is tested as is tested against the opposition. It flourishes as we keep nourishing it. 
• The fire of yesterday's testimony can only warm us for so long. It needs more fuel to keep burning brightly. 
• God wants us to use and amplify our gifts so it can bless us and others. Our gifts only get better as we use them. 
• Your origin story is divine and so is your destiny. 
• You left heaven to come here but heaven has never left you.
• Your gifts may not always be flashy, but they're just as important. 
• God's expectations for us are high, but he doesn't expect us to do grand or superhuman things to get there. He knows things take time. That it takes small steps to become great. 
• Because of our Savior there is no such thing as a no-win scenario. 
• We are grateful for the steps we took yesterday, but we don't stop there. We keep moving forward. 

Saturday Afternoon

Ronald A. Rasband

• Everyone belongs to a family.
• The family is ordained of God. 
• You have family in your Savior Jesus Christ. 
• Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. 
• God has given Men and Women different but Equal and Essential roles that compliment and work with each other. 

Chad H. Webb

• Take charge of your own testimony. 
• Learn to be a better Learner.

Jeremy R. Jaggi

• If the Savior is the great Connector then Satan is the Great Separator. 
• Do you do a daily check in with your Heavenly Father? 
• Christ heals all wounds. Christ makes it possible to live again. 

Kevin G. Brown

• It is in God's nature to Bless Us. 
• We are responsible for the choices we make based on the knowledge we have. 
• The gift and witness of the Holy Ghost is available to everyone. 
• A testimony is not given for temporary use. It is meant to be eternal. Because the giver is eternal. A testimony should not have an expiration date. It should not weaken or diminish. It should get stronger. 
• Who. Or What. Would you allow to take your testimony away? Don't. Let. Them. Take. It. Away.
• It is the choices we make that diminish the power of the testimony. The testimony hasn't gone anywhere. We just need to choose to reconnect with it. 
• If you Know. You Know. 

Gerrit W. Gong

• Living the gospel of Jesus Christ includes making room for ALL within. 
• A journey of gospel friendship and love begins with the first hello and no one sitting alone. 
• No one sits alone. Physically, emotionally or spiritually. 
• The Lord blesses us all when no one sits alone. 

Michael Cziesla

• Following Christ's law requires constant effort and change. It's simple but it's not always easy. 
• Find joy in your daily life. 
• The Gospel can work for us even in the most challenging of circumstances. 
• Prioritize people over processes. 

Quentin L. Cook

• The Gospel touches hearts and changes lives everywhere. 
• We can help build a Zion people where we are of one heart and one mind. 
• Be patient with yourself and the challenges you face. 
• The Gospel is not a test of knowledge. 

Saturday Evening 

Patrick Kearon

• All of us can have a new beginning through and because of Jesus Christ.
• This is a Church of new beginnings. This is a Church of fresh starts. 
• We can have new beginnings every day if we want to. We can have as many new beginnings as we need. 
• You press on. You keep striving. You keep seeking help. 
• You don't have to be who you've been before. Embrace your fresh start whether it's your first, 4th, 12th, or 100th fresh start. Keep pressing on. 
• Christ is the Author and Finisher of our Faith. Constantly writing new chapters with us. 

J. Annette Dennis

• Divine strength comes from unity. And that is why Satan is intent on dividing us. 
• The pure love of Christ is Charity. 
• Charity helps to relieve one another's burdens, not pile burdens on each other. 
• True disciples lift and build each other. 

Steven C. Barlow

• When love is freely given and is freely received. A Virtuous cycle is begun.
• We are so consumed with seeking evidence of God's love for us that we get frustrated when we don't see it. But the more we are focused on giving love to God the more we can see God's love for us. 
• How we recognize and show love is not always how another will recognize and show love. 
• We manifest our love by having a grateful heart. 
• Do you have an attitude of gratitude?

William K. Jackson

• Christ has organized his Church in such a way that it should be difficult to forget a soul within it. 
• Focus in on the people. 
• Focus on the names not the programs. 

Neil L. Andersen

• The Savior continually calls. Come unto me. 
• Is your heart softened enough to help out others without strings attached? 
• Be patient. Blessings and approval will come from God by degrees. 

To watch/listen/read the talks in their entirety, please visit: 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10?lang=eng

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

So Tired

 I have to say, I was kinda expecting to crash and burn back on Wednesday maybe into Thursday. 

As I haven't really had much time to 'rest' since I got back from my vacation.

And considering the tense and semi-stressful drive I had with mental and emotional worries, and then the physical strain of driving for nearly 11 hours and then also dealing with the stress of driving in rainy weather....only to turn around and head straight into a 5 am shift at work on Monday morning and then keep running with longer shifts the rest of the week.....

I was expecting to end up with like a migraine or just .... falter much sooner than like today. 

But surprisingly I didn't. 

Until today.

Where I woke up feeling exhausted.

That sort of exhausted where you just want to turn around and go back to bed for another 12 hours because you're so tired.

Like break out the caffeine and drink it to try and stay awake first thing in the morning exhausted.

Which I haven't felt in a while.....

Yah that hit me strong this morning.

Because I've been pushing hard this week at work what with truck and trying to get other things done in the store while dealing with the stress of incompetent coworkers who you have to feel like you have to babysit the entire time because they can't get their stuff done right....or done at all....

In any case.

I've been so tired today.

And it's the sort of tired where if you sleep you end up with a headache and if you don't sleep you end up with a headache....so yah I have a headache going. 

A migraine I suppose since Tylenol and Advil have not made it go away. 

But at the same time I wasn't able to relax for longer than an hour after getting home so maybe I just didn't nap long enough.

So here's to hoping that this weekend I can rest and recover and get all my energy back to keep pushing with all the work crazy going on.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Look at the People

 It's kinda amazing how quickly something can change. Like literally in an instant the situation can go from being one thing to being something completely different. 

For example today.

After work I was meeting up with a friend at the store because I needed to check with a gift card that I had given them for their birthday.

Because I had discovered the evening after giving them their gift card and while preparing for a trip...that I had somehow ended up with a SECOND gift card in my bag of groceries...when I'd only bought one. 

And I had no idea if the gift card that I had given to my friend was the one I had bought or the one that had stuck to the other when I hadn't realized it. 

I'd tried checking the receipt to see but didn't see any indication of which one was the right one. 

And with me going straight on vacation....we had to wait until I got back and our work schedules lined up enough that we both had time to meet up so that I could figure out which gift card was meant to be theirs.

And today was that day.

And I showed up at the store a little bit late because I had just gotten off work.

And had expected my friend to already to there waiting for me...but they'd been delayed as well.

And when I walked up to the Customer Service thing there was only two people in line.

Nice and short.

but my friend was going to be another 15ish minutes if rush hour was kind to them (it was not kind to them) and I kinda needed both gift cards to make it easier to figure out which one was the one that I had bought.

And it was kinda amazing how in the space of like...10 minutes the line went from having like 2 people in it...to having like 8 people in it. 

To be honest it made me rather frustrated. 

Like. If my friend had been there at the same time as me we would have only had two other people in front of us. But now I was looking at an ever growing line that seemed to have like 15 people now in it and just for seeing it becoming like a 30 minute ordeal just to wait in the line to be helped.

And considering I'd gotten off work right at dinner time....I was tired. I was hungry. And I was just a bit grumpy from work stuff. So to be made to wait longer and to see a long line forming when it could have been avoided.

Yah....I was rather frustrated. 

Especially considering my friend ended up being like 30 minutes late.

But at the same time....it was kinda crazy....because by the time my friend showed up?

The line had vanished.

There was once again just two people in line before us.

So the wait wasn't long at all.

Like I've seen it happen a ton at my own job. Where there's like no one in line for the register and then suddenly you have a dozen people in line out of nowhere.

But it was crazy to see it happen in a different location.

And to have it be like....dead...and then 20 minutes of crazy...and then dead again.

Like my friend had no idea that the line had gotten so long it was heading out into the main part of the store out of the customer service area.....

Only I had known because I was there standing nearby watching the line grow.

Only I was aware how it had gone from 2 people up to like 12 people and back to 2 people in like 30 minutes.

It's crazy.

Crazy how quickly things can change.

And how you have no idea what could have just occurred right before you showed up or right after you left.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Can't You Just Work?

 Wednesdays seem to be such a problem day to work.

Which ... honestly every day at work probably has it's typical trends of being the 'problem work day' 

But considering I usually don't work Wednesdays....

the fact that whenever I do work Wednesdays it feels like something goes wrong...

Makes me less inclined to want to work Wednesdays.

Though I suppose the same could have been said last year about Tuesdays when like literally we could not afford to have anyone call out on Tuesday because no one else was available to work Tuesdays besides the people already scheduled and yet everyone decided that they must have Tuesdays off or call off Tuesdays for various reasons.

In any case.

Wednesdays.

I was already expecting the day not to go quite to plan as I figured that truck wouldn't have gotten as far as I would have wanted it to which would have left us behind for today's plans.

Which surprisingly truck was further along that expected....but the morning manager didn't get the remaining things done as quickly as expected and therefore...put us about on the timeline of delayed that was expected.

But the delays were kinda exasperated by the fact that our morning cashier decided that they wouldn't be able to work their full shift today.

Why?

Because they'd only managed to get an hour and a half of sleep last night.

Which.

On the one hand I do get the struggle. I've had bad nights with migraines where I haven't slept much.

But I've still managed to function well enough at work to...you know....stay the entire time like a good 99% of the time. I've only left work early a handful of times....and that's because of a still active migraine....not from lack of sleep.

But perhaps my priorities are way different than the younger generation. Which is "Work is first priority." 

In any case.

Morning Cashier wanted to leave around lunch time. About 3 hours earlier than scheduled.

Which meant we did not have a cashier for 3 hours.

Which meant that morning manager and I would need to take turns watching the register.

And I was being rather reasonable being like "Hey, I do not want to watch register for 3 hours. So I was thinking we could switch off. Either every half hour or every hour what do you think?" 

And Morning Manager agreed to every half hour.....

Only to try and get out of it twenty minutes later with "Oh but I'm so busy can't you switch with petcare?"

Like dude. YOU HAD ALL MORNING TO GET YOUR TASKS DONE NOT MY FAULT YOU DIDN'T GET THEM DONE.

Plus like. I have alllllll MY tasks I need to get done too. You're not Special. Why should YOU get special treatment when I too need to do things? At least I'm not making YOU do the entire 3 hour stint.

Yeesh.

In any case.

My empathy for my coworkers, despite the week long break from them. Is still at an all time low. Mostly because they keep creating more work for me and don't give me any relief in return.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi