Current mood:	busy
Current music:	Flopping cats waiting for the heat to die down

The Combo That Is My Life

A good idea for purse junkies, once they perfect it: http://www.bagborroworsteal.com
Allows fashionistas to pay a monthly fee of $20-$100 plus round-trip shipping charges of $10 per purse to borrow high-end bags. It's based on Netflix, and has many of the same rules.
The biggest prob is that they are concentrated at the low end and the less popular end of the high-end bag market. There is no Louis V, Marc Jacobs, Ferragamo, Hermes, or Coach, although they might try to get some since women keep requesting them on the msg boards.
I was surprised to see no Coach, b/c they are like the Kate Spades they do have at the site: ubiquitous and relatively (I emphasize the adv.) cheap. But it could b/c they don't favor leather bags in general, probably b/c it is harder to keep them in like-new condition between borrowers.
The site features mainly the items you can get real versions of on eBay, not the higher stuff that is all fake on the auction site. As some visitors complained, the bags offered are too "accessible," something they could afford themselves if they chose to. They want the purses in the stratosphere of exclusivity.
But, nevertheless, it allows clotheshorses to change bags several times a year for less than the cost of one bag, and there are plenty of people for whom a $300 Kate Spade is no more accessible than a $1200 LV.
I think it is one to watch. ;-)

I am too emotionally exhausted to write it all out, but Jane is trying to make me quit by scheduling me whenever I say not to.
Like my birthday.
I have had to contact one of the store's union stewards and a fantastically supportive guy at the head union office, b/c she is unofficially punishing me for her scheduling mistakes, including messing up me and this new Amanda who was hired last week.
(They gave me no choice in names to be used at the store, so I am "Amanda" there. If they had honored my request to be "AJ," this whole mess could have been avoided.)
B/c she made a schedule with just our first names, and we did not know of each other's existence so were not looking to see two different Amandas on the sched, the hours I thought were mine turned out to be hers.
She also gave me that Amanda's requested Saturday off for this Sat, July 24, and then scheduled me to work for July 31. That Amanda corrected her, and now she has this Saturday off, but I did not get her five scheduled hours, which I could desperately use.
I also missed 10 hours of work for the funeral, hours I did not even know I was scheduled for b/c of the schedule sheet's lack of last names and no one telling me to watch out for a new, second Amanda. Jane also told multiple people that she thought I had quit b/c of me not showing up for shifts due to her schedule mistakes, which the union guy said was completely improper to tell anyone when she had not heard from me.
I know I could not possibly have messed that up on the time-off request sheet b/c, strangely, I am 100% sure of which day my b-day is. :-P
I still need 51 hours.


I was very excited to get to meet for the first time J's few family members under the age of 45 at the funeral, including Dee, his fave cousin and someone who is actually a few months *younger* than I. Steve from Ottawa totally knew The Zone, the fab, ultra-modern housewares store J and I discovered back on Boxing Day 2003 in downtown Ottawa.
Dee had flown in from Winterpeg with her two-month-old son, R, leaving behind the hubby and toddler daughter. R was in high demand, of course, but she made sure J and I got a lot of cuddle time in. He was sooo perfect and wonderful and delightful. He squirmed even in his sleep, with movements that seemed eerily consistent with the punches and kicks I feel day and night. He liked J and J's goatee a lot, too. :-)
When I first saw Dee, recognizing her from J's photos of her wedding six years ago, I thought, "Wow, she looks good! Her uterus seems to have retreated to pre-preggo size, and those look like regular, not maternity clothes. Great highlights, too."
However, my opinion of the 5'6-7", size 8-10 Dee was not shared by my MIL, who told J, FIL, me, and three different relatives who called the house from distant places to see how the funeral had gone, "She has gained so much weight! She's huge! I can't believe how big she is!"
Which naturally made me feel svelte and lovely, and in no way suspicious of what might be said behind my back. And it really made me want to appear before this woman while in my third trimester or at Christmas, a month after Vengeance's projected birth. Esp when she deflected J's protests abt her comments with how she, at 18 yrs and six weeks of age, had weighed 130 when she went into the hospital to birth J, but was 95 lbs. 10 days later and wearing stretch pants to win a bet with her mother. Oh, and that her comment were OK b/c she would never say anything like that to Dee's face.
She also complained that Dee had chosen to stay with cool Steve in Ottawa, who is single, has bedrooms to spare, and near the airport, rather than with her, more than an hour from the airport, in a house already being taken up with J and me.
SIGH
But it was great getting to meet Dee finally, hear about how her two Siamese cats had adjusted to babies, and get to hold a teeny, real baby. :-D

Despite having to leave for the funeral, I also had Monday appts for academic counseling to beat the July 23 deadline. So before we left, I saw Evie A., Econ's academic counselor, in the morning. She laid out a five-semester plan, which is still one semester less than most going for an Honors degree, apparently.
Can I say that I am so glad I did not know she was a full prof, who will be teaching my Micro class, while I have been talking to her?!?!?
In my undergrad experience, profs never did that type of counseling. They hired a dept staff member, often with HR skills, who dealt with us. So, all this time, I had assumed the same of her.
I think I was more honest about my objectives and previous experience and knowledge, more relaxed in her presence, and unconcerned about crossing into obsequiousness as I thanked her over and over for all the books, advice, and generous help she has been giving me since January. I probably would have been much more anxious knowing that this was someone who would not only be a teacher of mine, but one teaching my alleged #1 interest. Eep! And I've been calling her by her first name, which is how she introduced herself! Aiiyee!
The general academic office was equally helpful, and they were dealing with a small horde of transfer students who had all received their admittances the same day as me last week. Didn't hurt that I had all these pre-req waivers and "admit even if class is full" notices from Prof. A. Went really quickly, and I am now registered for four classes, which are all incidentally MWF classes. So, I will just live on campus those days and pray that there aren't midterms on the same day.
Micro, Macro, Business History, and Calculus.
Y'all can smell the fear, right?
Got some final hand holding up at Financial Services, where I had to turn in my app for my tuition scholarship for spouses or children of fully recognized employees. Karen A isn't just the program's manager, but a user of the program, as her son is now a student. So, she gave some lowdown. It was all good, esp once she realized that I am an adult. ;-)
"So, your mom or dad works here?" she asked in a kind, overly gentle tone that would have fit a question like, "Do you know where your mommy or daddy is?"
I smiled and said, "No, but my husband does."
Her entire posture and demeanor changed, she started laughing, and all of a sudden I was a peer. ;-)
Now we just need to pay up the rest of the fees, including a medical and dental plan I don't need as the spouse of an employee, and a bus pass I won't use, totaling around $600/semester, plus get my books.
Is there any way I could spin a gambling excursion to Vegas as an investment scheme?