popkin16

We have two new people at work. Both of them are young, possibly ADHD, and loud. They're constantly talking - often at a high volume - and the last two times I've worked with them I've gone home with a headache. I'm pretty sure I'm ending each shift overstimulated, and when I get home I just desperately need a dark room and no sound. They're decent kids, but their enthusiasm for the job far outstrips their ability to focus on it, and instead they like to bounce around and talk talk talk. I'm behind on my reading and shows because I can't do anything after work, and I'm starting to get irritated by it. I don't want to get snappy with them - they don't mean any harm - but god. They usually eat food in the break room and then seek me out on the floor while I'm working to chat, so I don't even get a break then. My coworkers and I have had to tell them more than once not to work off the clock *facepalm*

Sometimes I just become so aware of how I'm aging lol.

I don't post here often enough, but I really just don't have anything to say! Life is fine. I got my hair cut because it's summer and I suffer. I got a puppy named Xena, she's the light of my life and a hellion. Work is fine - we're about to start a remodel in a month so it's going to get crazy and I'm dreading it lmao. But it'll look nice when it's done! And I'm hanging on tightly to how close Squee is getting - I can't wait to see everyone and be with My People.

Speaking of...

Lately I've been feeling kind of...adrift. I still have a lot of love for all my fandoms, but I want a fic that grabs me and then you blink and it's 4 hours later and you have NO IDEA where the time has gone. None of my current fandoms are providing that. It's times like these when I look at the fandoms I know are producing a ton of fic - MDZS, Heated Rivalry, etc - and I think, "Maybe if I watch the show just to join the fandoms?" Which is a terrible way to join a fandom and tbh most times doesn't work for me. I'll watch the show and then it WON'T grab me fannishly 😂

That being said, if anyone has some recs (especially if they don't require knowing too much of canon) I'll take 'em! I've actually spent the last few days reading Phantom of the Opera OT3 fanfic, which is...weird. I have no idea how I ended up on that ao3 page, but the fic DID grab me.

ETA: PUPPY TAX!That's my puppy Xena in the front, and Rush in the background~ He's an old man that used to belong to our neighbor (also an old man lol), who can't take care of him anymore.

...where I don't bounce back or shake off injuries like I used to.

I did something to my arm. I worked a shift, went home, and when I tried to go to bed that night I discovered that it hurt to lay on that arm and I couldn't put weight on it without it aching. I figured I pulled a muscle and it'd clear up in a few days. After a week with no improvement, I decided I'd go to urgent care to have it checked out. First, they asked about heart attach symptoms - any jaw/chest pains, nausea, etc? I said no. Any tingling or numbness? No. They figured I strained a muscle, and recommended light work for 7 days. If there's no improvement I should come back.

The pain is still there, and it's been another week. Only this time my arm/thumb keeps tingling on and off throughout the day D: It was getting better, and then I walked by this pole that had a fire extinguisher on it and I banged my bad arm into the fire extinguisher, and now the tingling is worse/more frequent.

My next day off is Wednesday, so I'll be going in then. They said something about sending me for imaging if the pain persists/worsens, so I figure that'll at least happen. I confess I'm worried about how this is going to play out. I didn't report an "incident" at work that may have caused my injury (because I don't remember a specific moment where I can say, "Ah, I definitely injured it then!") so work might just be like, "Okay, take time off from work to heal up." If I definitely injured it at work, they'd put me in another part of the store to answer phones or whatever, but I have no proof it happened at work, so I suspect they'll send me home...and it could be an unpaid leave. That makes me nervous.

There's conflicting information out there about leaves and pay. Some websites that discuss Walmart leaves say if you're a full-time associate who has been at Walmart for longer than a year, you get short-term disability automatically. Other places say you have to opt in, and yet other places say opting in is just for the enhanced short term disability. I will be opting in, but 'open enrollment' happens once a year, and it starts October 11th. To be honest, I would kind of love it if Walmart sent me home, because I could use the mental health break, but I know I'll stress about money and I don't want to screw my associates over. One of our team leads, Crystal, quit recently and the other is on vacation, leaving only me. But I am also tired of not sleeping well because my arm hurts or feeling the tingles.

I'm going to go in and be seen on Wednesday, and if they recommend I do light duty, I'll go speak to my people lead. He might just say to take time off work. Either way, I'll play this one by ear.

I've never had an injury persist like this. I'm usually pretty careful and heal up just fine.

So, my co-manager Sarah has left. And they've given the job to someone I did NOT want to get it.

We don't have support from our store manager. Our market manager is the "work wife" to our store manager, so she won't have our backs. And now we have a team lead who is not a good fit with our department.

I'm so fucked.

Livejournal sent me an email saying it was shaddyr's birthday! I hope this is correct and that it was filled with things that made you smile :)

Thank you for all the happy birthday wishes 💜 I know I've been quiet on this platform, and that's more because I have nothing going on worth talking about than a desire to avoid contact.

I played and beat Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to Breath of the Wild. I love BOTW more but it was still fantastic and I really think those games are going to be in my top 5 games forever lol. After that, I fell into Hollow Knight, a notoriously difficult metroidvania game that is beautiful and hand drawn. The music is also fantastic, but the plot to the game is REALLY sad. And now I'm playing Sun Haven, which is just like Stardew Valley but with a fantasy twist (and a couple other features I really love).

For reading, I'm still slowly finishing books. My TBR keeps growing and the books I keep reading aren't even on my TBR...sometimes thinking about my overwhelming TBR gives me anxiety lol.

Fandom-wise, I'm still really bouncing around. Anime, adult cartoons, video games, books, and tv shows (mostly old favorites, like SGA and Due South). I've also been reading a ton of webtoons lol.

I've started and not finished writing a ton of fics across at least three fandoms. I'd like to write, but motivation/energy are issues.

Work is going......................ok. We're still really short-staffed and our state gave everyone summer EBT. If you already get EBT, you get more. If you don't get EBT, you get some. It's because children are going to be at home so no meals at school. So they gave parents some EBT to help pay for kids to eat, which I'm all for. But it does mean we have more and/or bigger orders on top of being short staffed. We've been so busy I haven't even really been able to do management things; I'm helping with the basics of the job just to get that done.

I really need my vacation 😂

Right after I started school, a third team lead (essentially a department manager) position opened up in my department. I was on the fence about whether or not to go for it, and then decided I would. At the very least it'd be good experience; at best I'd get a pay raise and get to do something different. It's only been about a week since it opened, but I had so many ups and downs emotionally lol. Out of 10 applicants, I was one of 4 selected for an interview for the position. And then I made it to the second round of interviews, and I was proud and nervous. I hate interviews, they're nerve-wracking. A session specifically for judging.

But folks, I got the job.

I'm still nervous, though this time it's those self-doubts. What if I can't do the job? What if I'm terrible at it? But all I can do is try, and stepping down from the position IS an option.

That said, this doesn't mean I'm quitting school. I'm taking it slow - they want me to learn SO MANY medical terms, oh my god, first 2 chapters of the textbook wanted me to memorize 150 medical terms. This will be better pay while I go to school, AND it was good interviewing experience for when I finally get my certification and begin looking around for a job.

Happy birthday, squidgiepdx! You've always been so kind and supportive to me and others in fandom, and I hope you know how much we love and appreciate you! Have the best day ever ♥

Has anyone seen it yet? I've been seeing some posts on tumblr and I want to watch it, but also...the heartbreak...

I received a postcard from the incomparable ride_4ever! It really cheered me up, and I'm going to tuck it away with my other cards for safe keeping <3 Thank you so much!