So Friday I have an interview for store mgmt at Bed Bath & Beyond...I submitted my resume one night when I was especially burnt out from a hard couple days at work and actually got a prompt call. Not completely sure about it yet, but really that's what an interview is for...for both sides to evaluate their fit. I'd say if I can get an additional $10k/yr out of it, I'll jump ship, provided I don't find anything I object to and get a good feeling in the interview.

I do like my job don't get me wrong, and I know there will be hard frustrating times everywhere, but I don't like when my labor budget has been cut so dramatically I have to be the only one in the store for hours a day with a huge laundry list of tasks that need to be done and hordes of miserable, overly needy customers who think their shit doesn't stink because they live in Williamsville/Amherst.

Plus today I got my review..3.4% raise and $9300 bonus. Hello new roof for the new house! 3.4% is good for my cheap company, and that bonus is very atypical. In fact, next year if I stay I'll probably get no bonus. Anyone ever heard anything from current or former BB&B employees?

I finally bit the bullet and bought an HDTV. Decided on the new
Panasonic 42" Plasma with 3 HDMI inputs. Of course it's not available in local stores so I have to wait for it to be delivered!! Very exciting. With this I will sell my old 32" Sony Wega Trinitron SDTV. It has served me well for about 10 years and has been a great TV!! Anyone looking? :)



The old guy.


The new one!

I really can't believe this. There's a ticker on the bottom of the local channels showing all these places closed. CLOSED. For a little snow...in BUFFALO. I always heard how even with a ton of snow and bad weather everything in buffalo kept on going as usual but we get a dusting of snow and it's A) hyped up beyond belief even though it's BUFFALO and B) results in near shutdown of the entire county. WTF!!! Hell my drug store in Orlando stayed open during hurricanes....and we close businesses due to snow in the snow capital? Very disappointed.

The Sabres are a bunch of assholes!

That is what the headlines should read. Ok team, playoffs are on the line, we play the Rangers.....oh let's get our asses kicked. Okay another chance against the Devils. Leading 3-0...alright we can stop playing now and allow one of the stars we chased out of town to score the winning goal against us. Our defense needs help...let's allow our star defenseman to leave town and then NOT REPLACE HIM ON DEFENSE but instead trade him for a no-talent left-winger and draft pick.

EVERYONE RUNNING THIS TEAM SHOULD BE FIRED IMMEDIATELY!!!!

so my soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend wanted to run in Abercrombie because they had a sale on some stuff (9.99 instead of the normal 49.99 for shirts that cost 12 cents to make) and one of the kids that worked there needed to get by me and said....'excuse me, sir"...SIR!! I WAS CALLED SIR!! In my head I'm still in that 21 year old frame of mind but I guess people see my age (all of 28). It was my first "sir."

My great uncle came into my store yesterday, haven't seen him since I moved back into town, and invited me over for dinner. My cousins were there and all, had a good night playing a domino game called "Mexican Train." Played until midnight in fact. Was a great time but at the same time I thought, "damn, I'm having a great time playing a domino game and am the youngest one here by far...I AM getting old!"

I'm convinced that's what UB stands for.
First a little background...
I have a BSBA - my major was MIS, which is about as useless as a degree can get (I screwed up and didn't get into internships when I was in school because I had to work and make $$$ to survive, didn't have the parents paying my way). Can't get into the field without experience, can't get experience without getting a job...that old story. I've determined that I cannot be a store manager for too much longer before I lose my sanity. It's definitely not a career move, and moving up any higher almost definitely requires relocation which I'm not willing to do. I moved back to Buffalo because this is where I want to live!!

Anyway, as I bust my ass 50 or so hours every week taking crap from customers, employees, my boss, my boss's boss, sales reps, you name it, I look back and see the Pharmacists kicking back and making 2-3x what I am. Now I know their job is serious and important and involves people's lives, but it's a completely different kind of work. And it's in insane demand....a Pharmacist has power and can pick and choose where he/she works...it's on their terms. So I look into it and decide I will try to get into the PharmD program at UB which is very competitive. First I have to complete some prerequisites of course.

So I have 7 prereqs I have to complete. This is my first semester. I graduated in 03...only 5 years out of school right? No problem. Never had a problem with school before. Well it's week 4 and I'm debating on whether or not to drop the class and give up!! I have absolutely no clue what the professor is talking about and don't even understand where to start to get back on track!! It's all bullshit memorization....and is irrelevent...ahhh prereqs.

And UB is trash. Whoever designed the campus (North at least) was smoking some serious crack...it's the worst college campus imaginable. I literally spent 25 minutes trying to get back to the building near where I parked because everything looks the same and in many instances, nothing is marked....you often have no clue what building you're in as you make your way through the continuous "spine." That's number 1.

Second, the school is woefully outdated. They use blackboards and have transparancy projectors....I haven't seen either since middle school. Even the poor shitty Florida high schools I went to used whiteboards and PC projection. The desks and rooms are ancient and in really poor shape. My God, I spent $2500 to take this one course since they wouldn't consider me a NY state resident...they certainly aren't hurting for cash.

Third, the staff is worthless. As I sit in the lecture hall, surrounded by 18 year olds playing games on pogo.com on their laptoips, listening to their Ipods, playing games on and sending texts on their cellphones, I try to concentrate on what the professor is talking about but he's only reading the powerpoint slides verbatim...which are downloadable via the web. So why am I attending lecture???? He's not a teacher, he's an expert in his field. Which in some cases is great but probably not for a lower level course. I need someone who knows how to teach!! The TA doesn't give a damn and is even more worthless as nothing is explained and everyone is confused as hell. Then in lab, the woman in charge of the labs comes storming through screaming "PUT YOUR GOGGLES ON EVERYONE THIS IS A LABORATORY!!" and walks out. I only know who she is because her picture was on the website and she's so damn ugly. But she did not introduce herself in any manner...wouldn't it be logical to do so?!

Basically, UB doesn't give a damn about it's students and is a craphole. And I suck at chemistry. Wow this was long, sorry but thanks for listening if you actually read this!!!

So does anyone have a roofer they can refer? The house I'm in the process of buying has a very old roof and it needs to be replaced in the next couple years....may as well do it asap especially since I probably won't see another sizable bonus from work after the one I get in March. I suppose they don't do roofing in the winter up here? At least I could get an idea of what it would cost?

Why does it still say Orlando, FL at the end of each of my posts? I changed my location in my profile. I'm missing something :/

Went to see Juno last night at the Regal on Elmwood. Great movie. Jason Bateman did a fantastic job in his role...everyone did actually. Lots of dry humor. Highly recommended.

So I just accepted a counter-offer and have purchased my first house! Very excited! It's in N. Buffalo on Winston. Now for all the paperwork, inspection, signatures, etc etc!