Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer

Starting September 19, another series of Doctor Who with the 12th Doctor begins. Hope it's even better than series 8.

Zoo and Traffic

Getting a job at the Zoo

It's been a long year. After working with NY&C I took some time off, felt listless and applied for a guest services job at Elmwood Park Zoo. Unemployment does negative things to the psyche and I was nervous yet overjoyed to be working again.

 I love it at the zoo. The coworkers and my managers are great. The CEO is really down to earth. When my manager who hired me said this zoo felt like a family, I never imagined it to be true. Now peak season is ending; many people I've met during the summer are leaving to college/school.

I'd love to stay longer but even I'm feeling my time is coming to an end. After 120 days of working full time, my hours were cut to part time. Company policy. If I worked more than 120 days full time, the zoo would've had to start paying me benefits. Bummer.
I'll enjoy seeing the animals and working with nice people until a better opportunity arises.

Getting used to a new car

During the first month of employment, I was fortunate to have parents willing to buy me a car that drives in the snow and then  month later, I got into an accident with my new car. It's fixed now but I can't afford to get into another accident.

My driving is better. I have slightly more confidence driving to unknown places with the GPS (went to Ocean City, NJ with family, visited a dear friend I haven't seen in two years). Now because of the accident, I know if I feel uncomfortable, I better call family before driving (My eyes were dilated because of the eye drops and the street signs were blurry). I crashed into someone at an intersection; now I double check before driving past stop signs.

Probably a lot more has happened since the last time I posted. Mainly it's been fun working at the zoo although, the 30-45 minute commute through weekday traffic wasn't fun.

Peter Capaldi in The Greatest Store in the World

Peter Capaldi who is a well known Scottish actor in the UK is currently the 12th Doctor in Doctor Who. Here is a Christmas movie that I discovered with Capaldi playing a doorman named Brian aka Mr. Whiskers. In the movie, a struggling mother from London attempts to give her daughters shelter in a department store during the holidays without getting caught. I thought this movie was really unique to general genre of cheesy, kid holiday movies and Peter Capaldi was just an excellent bonus to the story.

Shonda Thursday

It's Shonda Thursday, I have the day off and it's been a month since I started working in retail. A week ago I got trained at the cashier and my hands no longer shake with anxiety when I start the transaction so that's good. Part of the anxiety was that I was afraid of messing up. The last two days at the cashier, it was out of wack and wasn't taking the 40% discount automatically. The screen was displaying the wrong prices thus, I had to use the calculator. I come back to work on Friday and I hope the computer is calibrated well with the current prices.

Now Grey's Anatomy is going on and I'm watching the tension between Meredith Grey and her sister (who came from way out of left field- plot wise) Margaret Pierce. Dr. Webber keeps hesitating on telling her, he's her father. Eventually, I know there'll be a dramatic confession. Dr. Pierce seems like an interesting character to get to know and her parents sending the awkward hotdog singogram showed the difference between Meredith's and Margaret's upbringings. While Grey's Anatomy is okay, I'm more looking forward to the political drama on Scandal and the murder mystery in How to Get Away with Murder.

Spoiler:

Margaret Pierce actually told Meredith Grey. I thought this was going to dragged through for the rest of the season.

Working and Who

Two great things have happened. One, I got a part-time job at an outlet mall and two, season 8 of Doctor Who has started. I've already completed a week in retail and haven't learned how the cash registrar works yet (In addition, to correctly counting change, I know I'll be asking customers for their email and if they wished to sign up for the company's card) but for now I'm walking around the store folding untidy piles and asking customers if they need anything. The things I don't like about working part-time are the random hours and never being needed when I am on call.  The thing I like about working part-time is it gets me out of the house and I get some work experience to put on my resume. Also I've been driving by myself to work now... like a normal adult. 

Little by little, I've been working all over the clothing store from being a greeter to working in the back at the dressing room. Customers keep asking me where certain merchandise are in the store when even I have no clue and when they ask a certain size for a black pants, I talk into the walkie-talkie to ask if the company has any more in the back room. The first hours of my four or five hour shift seem long but after the half-way point, the shift seems to end quickly. Then, I clock out at the registrar, get my bags checked at t the door to make sure I didn't commit thievery and then eat my bagged lunch outside of Subways. Now, that the hunger is satisfied by a quartered peanut butter and raisin sandwich and the weather is finally cooperating, I take a walk through the outlets (This Sunday, I ventured a look into Zumiez and hopped onto a longboard priced at $219.00). Also, not only are the hours inconsistent from day to day but I only find out about my schedule from week to week. It's crazy. The first week was during the Labor day madness and I worked for five days. Labor day weekend made the hours go by like rolling water but after Monday my throat felt hoarse.
The second time I asked about my schedule, I only received information for three days. I already had months of not working, I really didn't need a four day vacation between workdays. Working retail is interesting because I am not a chatty extroverted person. Being a greeter stationed mostly near the door was easier because there was no need to go searching for the elusive size 8 three quartered jeans or answer whether the company carried a certain pants that someone saw at a catalogue. I only had to welcome people, say the deals and occasionally fold the rifled through sweaters. It's awkward standing around trying to strike conversation with a doting husband while he waits for his wife to get out the dressing room and then I wander through the clearance aisle trying to make sense of the system and rehang blouses from the floor.  The main thing is keeping busy and finding something to do because it makes the hours fly and I want to be useful. As a new to retail part-time employer (especially during the weekdays when only a few customers trickle in a few a time), I want  to feel that that company actually needs me. Hopefully, I'll get more hours the next week when the schedule gets made up.

I was excited about the new season of Doctor Who until I realized that in my mom's successful attempt to lower the cable package, I lost BBC America. My dad's lost NetGeo Wild so now he cannot watch endless hyena and lions fighting each other. Now, I have to resort to other means of watching Who. It's harder to watch episodes for free on the internet since fans cannot post them on YouTube anymore without it getting deleted right away and dubious websites make you subscribe to their channel or take annoying surveys before asking for your credit card number thus I've finally looked into Amazon. At least with Amazon, I won't have to worry about viruses entering into the computer. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou


The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom

Booker T. and W.E.B

(Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois) by Dudley Randall

"It seems to me," said Booker T.,

"It shows a mighty lot of cheek

To study chemistry and Greek

When Mister Charlie needs a hand

To hoe the cotton on his land,

And when Miss Ann looks for a cook,

Why stick your nose inside a book?"

"I don't agree," said W.E.B.

"If I should have the drive to seek

Knowledge of chemistry and Greek,

I'll do it. Charles and Miss can look

Another place for hand or cook.

Some men rejoice in skill of hand,

And some in cultivating land

But there are others who maintain

Their right to cultivate the brain."

"It seems to me," said Booker T.,

"That all you folks have missed the boat

Who shout about the right to vote,

And spend vain days and sleepless nights

In uproar over your civil rights.

Just keep your mouths shut and do not grouse,

But work and save, and buy a house."

"I don't agree," said W.E.B.,

"For what can property avail

If dignity and justice fail?

Unless you help to make the laws,

They'll steal your house with trumped-up clause.

A rope's as tight, a fire as hot,

No matter how much cash you've got.

Speak soft, and try your little plan,

But as for me, I'll be a man."

"It seems to me," said Booker T.-

"I don't agree,"

Said W.E.B.