Wednesday, July 22, 2009

You know you're a Walgreens employee if...

I know that I have worked a lot of hours when my cheerful greeting to customers is reciprocated by some variation of "Oh hey, it's you again!"

Tonight I worked the closing shift at Walgreens for the eight, yes eighth, night in a row. I've spent a lot of time there in the past week!

This impressive streak of hours has afforded me the title of official Walgreens connoisseur: I know about sales (past, present and some future!), have organized the merchandise (especially the back-to-school section), and have answered the Walgreens phone probably more times than my own home phone.

But one thing I feel that I have become a complete specialist in is the Walgreens radio station. Let's face it, I've listened to it more than some people have listened to their own mothers (sad as that is).

And I can tell you, they play all the good music during the day. Songs like "City of Blinding Lights" by U2, MercyMe's "So Long Self," even "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.

Around 4:00 p.m., there's a complete shift in music: it's like a blast from the past. Normally, I like oldies (or am at least tolerant of them), but after hearing some of them for eight days in a row, I never want to hear them again.

So here it is: the top ten songs I would rather never hear again.


10. "What a Wonderful World" - The Ramones

Not that I mind remakes: Muse covered "Feeling Good," Louis Armstrong remade "La Vie en Rose," and I loved them. They took classics and made them even classier. This just doesn't do it for me.

9. "Can't Get It Out of My Head" - Electric Light Orchestra
The title and my reason for not wanting to hear it are one and the same.

8. "My Sharona" - The Knack
I actually used to like this song. But too much of a good thing is bad, very bad.

7. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - The Animals
I really don't have a clear reason for my disdain. This song and I just don't get along. I think it's the vocals, but I can't say for sure.

6. "A Horse With No Name" - America
I know the lyrics have potential to have awesome meaning, but I can't get past the annoying tune to dig that deeply.

5. "The Break-up Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" - The Greg Kihn Band
Is this really necessary? I mean really. To mutate the song to my liking, "Nuh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh." Translation: Big no.

4. "Born in the USA" - Bruce Springsteen
At the risk of being sacrilegious, this one made the list. I'm just so tired of it!

3. "Tall Cool One" - Robert Plant
This song basically repeats, "Lighten up, baby, I'm in love with you!" over and over again. Well-written love songs with a good beat or rhythm, I love. This one should be banned from airwaves just for the sheer redundancy.

2. "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" - Squeeze
Did this topic really deserve a song?

1. "Cat in the Cradle" - Harry Chapin
Maybe it's the vocal twang, maybe it's the lyrics. But I just really have a loathing for this song now.

I may not achieve my goal of never hearing these songs again, but I know one thing for sure: I won't be hearing them for at least the next three days! Oh, sweet freedom!

Thank you for shopping at Walgreens! Buh-bye, buh-bye now!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

My kids...

No, I'm not a mother. No, I don't have any younger siblings that I constantly care for. But, yes, I have kids. My kids are the kids in the Tullahoma First Kids Choir, and they are all such precious children.

Today they performed in "big church" for all the adults. They were all so excited, and they were all so good! They made me so proud, I almost cried.

As I've written before, each one has a unique story. You may remember reading about Ashley and her brother. (Her brother is still quite the handful, but aside from a few small tantrums now and then, Ashley has greatly improved!) Well, I'd like to tell you another story from my family of munchkins.

Michael* (*name changed) has had a rough summer. He is one of the bus kids that the church picks up for service because the parents don't come. Earlier in the summer, Michael lost his grandfather, the man who had taken care of him since he was a very small child. He is now living with his mom, and things aren't going as well as they could be. He has many problems, poor thing, some of which a child should not have to deal with.

Today, Michael had a solo part in one of the songs. When his mom dropped him off at the church early, she promised she'd be back to hear him.

As the kids were lining up, one of the adults asked, "Is your mom here?"

"I don't know."

"Is she coming back to hear you?"

A shrug of the shoulders is all she got in reply.

"Well, is she coming to take you home?"

Again, no definite answer.

"Well, if she doesn't come, we'll be sure that you get home."

Michael and the others headed out on stage. No mom. I have never seen a child go from lighthearted to brokenhearted so fast. He'd never show it; he's a "tough guy." But you could tell that it hurt him that his mom never came.

It's for kids like Michael that I keep working with children. In spite of the hard work, long hours, exasperating tantrums and seemingly endless list of complicated situations that come with it, it's worth it. If I can make one child feel loved, even if it's just once a week, then it's worth it.

And I have faith that Michael and every single one of my children can and will grow up to be beautiful sons and daughters of God, no matter their situations now, no matter how hard a hand life seems to have dealt them.

So, if you think about it, say a little prayer for my kids now and then, will you? For all the children growing up in this world today, I say a prayer.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day!

I celebrated July 4th by hanging around the house all day then spent a thrilling night at a fairly customer-forsaken Walgreens. We were bored out of our minds. Never have I wished the clock to move faster.

While I was standing there passing the time, I came up with nothing profound (I bet you thought I was going to awe you with some amazing thought, but no...Walgreens just doesn't inspire me). The only think I could think was how tired I was of working weekends. Every. Single. Weekend.

That thought was still in my mind when I got home, so I decided to see what I could learn from it. (I'm a psych major, after all!) The train of thought went something like this: "I hate working weekends. But that's what this job is: nights, weekends and holidays. So this job really stinks. So I need to get a better job. Which means I need to stay in school."

So that's it: I'm staying in school so that I can get a job that I actually like having and don't regret taking.

Then I started thinking, "Why do I hate working weekends so much?"

Simple answer: Because my work schedule is keeping me away from those I love and miss.

As stated earlier, I work nights, weekends and holidays. When I work multiple days in a row, sometimes I can go two to three days without seeing my parents. And I've been keeping up with my sister more via Twitter than by actual conversation.

This schedule has also hindered my getting to hang out with friends, especially those who live any distance away. Some of them I'll see when I go back to school in a month. Others, I'll have to be content with phone calls and instant messaging for long periods of time because school will replace work (and I might continue to work during the school year), and I'll still be in the same predicament. And that's enough to make me want to cry.

So, in light of all this, I now have three, firmly established life goals: to bless God in all that I say and do, to do what I love and love what I do, and to keep those I love close to me (emotionally and spiritually if physically isn't an option) because the pain of separation has created such a hole.

Since the first one prohibits my complaining about the latter two, I will end this little note by being "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Rom. 12:12). I thank God that I have a job, I rejoice in the coming relief (school), I ask God to keep my loved ones safely in His arms until I can see them again, and I pray for the endurance to attain my goals.

But, as Miley Cyrus says, "It ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb."

May God bless each of you in your individual climbs.