Sunday, April 13, 2008

sunday morning before inventory night

I'm reading again thanks to the fantastic new website update by the chicago public library. Now entering the 21st century, chicago library patrons can finally place holds and renew books online. It feels good to read. It feels good to start and finish tasks. Thanks to Peter's goodreads profile, I've picked up some interesting and highly enjoyable books and I'm also anticipating his very own book in my mailbox each day I come home from work. It's still not here, Peter.

Xtina is back from Portland and seemingly already wishing she had never returned home. It appears she spent the week gallivanting around the metro area, visiting waterfalls and shopping at small bookstores and specialty food boutiques. After a week of that, who would want to go back to dealing with adult children from behind a grocery store counter all day? We'll get out of here one way or another.

On the bright side, I have someone cooking for me again.

Summer is on its way and with it I've gotten back on the bike again. Last week I completed a trip I had hoped to do last fall but was held back due to construction. Foolishly, I should have waited until I was in better shape to complete the 42 mile ride out of cook county but I made it and almost collapsed at the finish.

We're in the process of planning the summer. We're wide open save for a wedding or two, a concert or two, and ready to get into the outdoors again. We might go backpacking as soon as early June. Of course, I'll have a lot of training to complete by that time. I'm also surprisingly considering shelling out over $200 per ticket to see lollapalooza. Nah, I'm too cheap for that. Surely, our plans will involve coming back home in the near future. I suppose it has been some time already.

Work is a hassle. I had to change the prices on most items this week to catch up to the shitstorm of rising fuel costs, poor dollar/euro exchange rate and skyrocketing demand for milk. Customers are pissed and are letting me know about it. At this point in the US economic crisis, it should be no doubt to anyone that things aren't going well - costs of goods keep climbing while real wages are declining. Why then, when my store raises prices (because I can tell you definitively, I'm paying more for wholesale goods) it's a frivolous money-grab? One thing is certain - this job will change - either in goods offered or shopping habits, things will change. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing.