I would never make it in the corporate world. I’m way to nice. I finally hired someone to help me out in the shop, but I must because he had trouble with basic interview questions and his dominant language isn’t English. I pretty much went with my gut on this one. Besides it’s not like I made him assistant manager here, just shop assistant. You know someone to shelve books and sweep up and stuff, can’t have him do much more than that yet. I want to make sure he can handle that much first. I’m sure he can. He seems like a good guy.

I hope everyone had a great Easter. Mine was pretty good. My mom made her famous holiday ham and cheesy potatoes. Good stuff. I got to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Aunt Willa was there, sassy as ever. I don’t think she would pass up an opportunity to tell me to comb my hair. It’s not my fault my hair refuses to lie flat. I use gel to work with it, not against it. Mom’s sister, Samantha, brought her kids, Cayden and Meghan. They have gotten so big since I saw them last but their hair is as red as ever. Brian, Rachel, and I set up the egg hunt for the kids in the backyard with the eggs we had previously stuffed with candy and spare change. Christopher insisted he was too old to run around looking for plastic eggs. Well at least until we told him there was money in some of them. After that, it was hard to tell who was more competitive, him or the twins, Carrie and Jenna. After the egg hunt was over, we all sat down to dinner. We had to sit at a few different tables since there were about 24 of us total. ( Brian, Me, My mom and dad, 5 from my dad’s side, 13 on my mom’s, Rachel, plus my cousin Alexis brought her boyfriend, Patrick) It seemed like it was a scene from a movie or something. I don’t really think my life is interesting enough to have a movie made about me though. Hell, I’d be surprised if anyone besides me reads this journal.

 

Brian and Rachel are engaged!

I knew Brian was going to propose because I went with him to get the ring, but I am still so proud of my little brother. He and Rachel have been going out for the past two years. I really can’t think of anyone better for him than her. Rachel is fun, smart, very kind and patient. She works over at the Division Center back in Halida, working with deaf children and their families.

In fact, that’s where Brian and I first met her.. We were running errands and decide to stop by the center to sign up for a few volunteer hours while we were home for the summer. Rachel was there as part of her summer student internship so most of our hours were with Rachel. Brian saw her more than I did since I was also helping out at the Book Nook with Beth and her mom. But they must have hit it off fast because it was only like 2 weeks before they were texting each other like crazy, talking to each other using video chat. Next thing you know, Rachel is coming over for the weekly Sunday dinners and holiday gatherings.

And then last night they made the announcement just before we all sat down to dinner. It doesn’t even seem like its been 2 years already. They said they are thinking of a spring wedding, probably outdoors. And even though the wedding is over a year away, Brian asked me to be his best man. It was all I could do not to cry.

This morning I went to the Kitchen Works store in the mall to get new mandolin slicer (the one I had was starting to get dull) but ended up being distracted by the bridal shop en route. I couldn’t help but look at those dresses and imagine Rachel in them, Brian standing next to her.

Yes, I know I’m sentimental.

I'm not really a star wars fan but I still thought this was pretty neat. My best friend Beth sent it to me. I'm probably going to go see her this weekend. Or have her come up here if I can't leave. I really need some help at the bookstore.

Ok, so the shop opened on Thursday and now it’s Monday. It’s only Monday and I have already worked 49 hours. I really don’t know how I thought I could take on this many hours single handedly. The chances of me getting someone in here to help me out any time soon seems kinda slim considering the only person I know is on tour. (plus I probably wouldn’t hire him anyway) I can put ads out but they would take a few days to circulate and the classifieds don’t run until Sunday. I don’t have much of a choice but to cut back on hours. Now I just have to decide what hours to cut. Probably Sunday and Monday closed and reduced hours the other days. If I were to try and work 85 hour weeks… well, I’d rather not think about that.

Your result for The OkCupid Kissing Test...

The Boyfriend

You are 39% Passionate, 64% Romantic, and 20% Experienced!

I finally have all the books unpacked at the store. Every time I look at all the shelves neatly organized, I get this odd sense of pride. I know that sometimes I can be a bit OCD but still, reshelving all those books without any sort of guide was a really daunting task.

Now that all the books are in place I can focus more of my attention on getting the cataloguing system up and running. Even though the shop opened yesterday, right now I am running a pretty primitive operation with most of my records being on paper and the rest on my laptop. The most advanced piece of equipment is the cash register that I have to type the prices in by hand.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. It’s just a work in progress. Just like life, I guess.

On a side note, I really need to learn to shut my mouth. A guy came into the shop and I was babbling like a fucking idiot. Not cool. I just moved here. I don’t want people knowing how messed up I am already. As I kept rambling about food and stuff, inside I was horrified. But I still couldn’t keep my mouth from moving. Could have been worse. The guy didn’t seem that bothered by my word vomit. Might even come back for another cookbook if the one he got works out.

I still need to learn to shut up though.

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I found an appartment down on Madison st. in chicago. Nice place. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, nice kitchen. Really nice kitchen. Great island/breakfast bar. Plenty of space to cook. That's all I really need in an apartment. A nice kitchen and a comfy bed.
Right now, most of my stuff is in boxes. And when I say most I mean everything except my bed, a set of clothes for tomorrow, and my toothbrush. I know that if i didn't pack it, it would be liable to be forgoten. I forget things all the time it seems. Good thing I start moving in tomorrow. Living out of boxes sucks.
I'm going to have a hard time sleeping tonight. I can feel it. The fact that this appartment is where I lived with Ethan for those 11 short months brings up memories that I have been trying to stifle for the past year does not make for good sleep.
I know that I want this change, need this change.
But part of me just doesn't want to let go yet...