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The fires are burning hot and whatever you set out to do now will be done with extra gusto. You have an unusually strong ability these days to put your ideas into action, even as you bump against old limitations. If you are physically active, use a bit of common sense. Being cautious might just keep you from getting too close to the edge. Thursday, June 21, 2007

I’ve only been up for three hours, and I’m already exhausted.

I just finished going through a bunch of junk in the storage building. I had a few more things to take out there, and had a mess in there to clean up.

A few days ago, I went to the building to get a few things (I had pieced an old computer together to serve as a karaoke machine – a project I had been wanting to do for Diana for about three years now), and found that the leaking roof had damaged all the boxes, and was starting to effect the equipment I had stored in there. So, I went through it all, repacked the good junk and tossed the junk-junk and garbage.

I’m tired.

So, now I’m taking a break, and cooling back down before I start into the regular housework.

I did find something pretty cool amongst the thousands of random pieces of paper (old bills, bank statements, etc. – I’m glad that Jeremy and Shandra gave us that old shredder!) – I found an old letter from Diana.

I don’t know when exactly she had wrote it, but I do know that the stamp was cancelled on 22 AUG 1998, and I received it on the 25th (I marked it with the date).

What the heck – wanna read it? Here you go:

Jeremy,

Hey! After I got off (Oh baby! Let your mind go to the gutter here) the phone with you I decided to write you. Don’t ask me why… I don’t know what is going on here in my life… It’s like I’m running around like a zombie. I guess sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock to when I was still in school. I loved being able to do whatever I wanted when I wanted to. I got here and all these restrictions were put upon my life. It’s partly my fault becasue I was the one who decided to leave but the thought of being stuck in Cynthiana the rest of my life just didn’t appeal to me. (Not as much as you do)(LOL) It was always fun messing with your mind. You seemed to enjoy it more than I do. I could always imagine you naked? (Not very hard fro me to do my mind is vivid) Or maybe you could do likewise? (Sorry! Just had to throw that one in…) Hey maybe when I come back we’ll finish what we started. (Only if you want to?) There is one thing I really miss about you. The way you could always make me laugh when I felt bad. I guess I’m home sick. I really miss being able to just be silly with my friends. (Like at Shandra’s parties) But enough about that… You having fun goofing off your senior year??? Just cherish every minute of it. You’ll want it all back when you get out. Maybe when you get out we’ll start our own prostitution ring (You can be my pimp!) Don’t ask where that came from… My mind is everywhere now. Well words on my end are running low. If you find some time maybe you can wrtie me a long kinky sexual letter. If not call my 900 number (Just kidding) Gotta go for now.

Yours truly,
Diana

P.S. Please write me back!

Aww… wasn’t that sweet?

Irene, a 77yr old working-girl in New Zealand, speaks of how she got into the business, gives advice to women, and states that the plans to continue her career until she passes…

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I really miss Crystal Pepsi…

So, a few minutes ago, I was just blogging away, when all of a sudden XP logged off, and the computer restarted, for no appearent reason.
The first thing I thought of was:
“I was writing a paper on the PC…”
Oh, I miss that commercial…

Normally, you might try to gloss over a difficult interaction or an unpleasant feeling. Now, however, you seem to be more comfortable digging into your own emotional world because you can feel the creative juices flowing. Keep in mind that you cannot rush this journey; the timing will unfold according to a plan greater than yours.

Well, I’ve gotten the all clear to share that long commentary of mine…

First, a little background…

The long comment I wrote was in response to a short quip that Jess’ mother-in-law posted on a blog entry. Jess made public announcement of the dissolution of her marraige. The in-laws aren’t happy. But from my experience with them, I don’t believe they were ever happy to begin with. For that matter when are anybody’s in-laws happy? But that’s another story.

Anyway, the high-priestess did her usual thing of snapping off with a verse, from James.

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Well, that set my blood boiling. I have heard this woman quote scripture to her advantage several times. (I used to work for her, at the local RadioShack – that’s how I met Jess). This woman is religous to a fault, and somehow always finds a way of justifying her means with the Lord’s word. Well, I had enough.

So, I posted this in response:

Ah, The Letter of James…

Let’s read some more, shall we…

James 1:20 “for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.”

I believe that your response to Jess’ post was in a form of anger, and then you follow with claim that you are “a servant of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.”

I find, and have found it to be obvious that you are a hearer of the word, but are you truly a doer? Do you honestly exercise the word, or do you merely listen, and use it for your benefit?

James 1:26 “If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is vain.”

Spouting off verse, and doing so while believing you are high in faith, and not acting upon the words you speak is self-righteous.

James 4:16 (just one verse prior to yours) “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

Funny how you used the verse following that to try and belittle a person, then praise yourself for being Christian. Quite arrogant.

James 5:15 “and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

A verse which is more appropriate than any to quote – for it applies to any situatation. Should one be failing, in any aspect, they can pray for help & forgiveness, and if these prayers are true of heart, then they shall be helped, and their sins forgiven. You chastise Jess for being a “fighter”. You may not know it, but the strength that Jess has in being a fighter may actually be strength being given to her by the Lord. Jess may vary well have been praying for help, to find a way out, to be herself again and not a prize or possession. Whether this is the case or nor not is of no matter, and since you and your family feel ill, Bryan included, this verse should be in your minds. Pray, and things will get better.

As I conclude this response, I would like to quote one more verse, from a different book. One of my favorite writers, Paul, had said in Galatians 5:25-26 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.”

I leave you with this, so that you may think on the words, regarding provocation. Your response to Jess’ post was to provoke her in some means. Had it not been with intent to provoke, would you have made comment at all? And, yes, before you think it, I too, am now as guilty as you, for it is very obvious that this commentary of mine was left with the intent to provoke you. I will however take the time now to explain that my intent is not to provoke argument, but to provoke and encite thought, and perhaps help you learn to judge yourself at the same level that you judge others around you – be they family, friends, customers of your business, or employees (present and past).

May Christ be with ALL of us, and have mercy on ALL our souls.

It seems to be getting rave reviews, as well. Well, at least from the three people that I know read it.

So, since Jess has so graciously allowed me the opportunity to share this with you, I can now break this comment down even further, and enter into a chapter of my life that I haven’t shared with you. My life at RadioShack.

In February of 2001, I went to work at C&S Electronics. C&S was owned by a dimwitted middle aged-man who lived out of town, and was run by the aforementioned Jesus-freak. The store was an odd place to work. There was hardly any traffic, and hardly any merchandise. Not a soul knew a thing about consumer electronics. Customer relations we terrible. No-one wanted to shop there. The only reason I had even went to work there was because a friend had recommended me.

Well, I went to work, doing practically nothing. I’d stand behind the counter and ring up phone cards, and talk to Jess. We’d watch movies and hang out outside. Yes, I said watch movies. And I don’t mean just glancing at the TV every-so-often, I mean we pulled out chairs, and sat in front of the TV, and actively sit and watch a movie. On several occasions we had been able to finish an entire movie without having one customer walk through the door. That’s how terrible business had been.

Eventually, I got tired of this, and started putting forth my own initiative to make the store better. I started mving merchandise around. I started changing the layout of the store. Customers noticed – and even though we weren’t getting nay more merchandise in, people fell to believe the illusion that we actually had new products. Sales started to increase.

Well, Jess moved away with her hubby, and we needed more help. I recommended a friend. He came in, and was hired. The two of us started doing what I had been doing before. We started making suggestions of new product. slowly, the new product would come in, and we would find ways to showcase it. After time, business started to grow, and the need for yet another employee came. Two were hired, only one survived. Thankfully he was the one who survived.

The three of us continued to change things up. We started excercising our interest and love in consumer electronics, and found our own separate niches, so that we could better serve the consumer.

Then I got bolder. I started playing with the POS/ICS. I started altering our ordering system, so that other items would get slipped into our weekly shipments. The items sold. We ordered more. I started altering the recommended on hand numbers, so that we could have more parts in stock, for I had discovered a trend in what quantities of a certain piece sold. I did all of this to keep our customers from going to the store in Georgetown or the store in Paris – something which happened all too regular when I first came to work at C&S.

I started making more suggestions to the manager (the Jesus-freak), as to how we should handle the business. My words fell on deaf ears.

Eventually she ended up buying the business off the dimwitted old man. The business grew even more. All thanks to me and the other two gents. But don’t even try to mention that to her – she’ll deny every word of it.

One day, I left. I went to another job that paid better. Eventually I left that job, for the distance of travel and the long hours were making me physically ill. I came back to the store. I worked there for about one more year, before I was let go.

I had continued to challenge the woman to do more with the business, and to not cheat as much as she had. Cheat! What? Yes. Ah, here’s an interesting story:

I do not remember the ex
ac
t timeline, but an incident had occurred where Jess’ father in law came in, under his wife’s advisement, and bought a camera under the name of his father. But this isn’t all, we set the date back on the comuter system, so that the purchase fell before a certain date. This had something to do with reporting the spending of finances. Then, the item was returned on the correct date. There was no money handling, or embezzlement, but there clearly wis a misreporting of an elderly man’s funds. Other cheats performed were the purchase of equipment or merchandise buy the business, and then the personal use of the family. When the usefulness of the item had been met, the item would be returned to the store and re-sold, or returned to the original vendor for some “defect”.

Ah, the biggest cheat – this involves the sale of cellular phones and airtime. When one purchases a “starter-kit” they have the right to all the contents, whether it is for new activation or replacement. Not so at this store. Should you walk in today, and purchase a phone, and tell them that it is to replace another, they shall remove the SIM card and booklet with the airtime pin, and charge you full price. The SIM and airtime are then re-sold. Hmm. Remember the woman’d quote from James, about knowing what’s good and not doing it?

This woman has amazed me. What gall she has.

There is much more that I could tell you of this woman, and the shady business, but I have grown tired of speaking of it, and wish to move on for the time being. Perhaps we shal revisit the topic another time.

Diana’s gotten Nivea into singing this song…