The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

I am going to try to keep this short. Let's find out how well I do with that.

This morning I woke up and got ready for work. At six, I woke my brother up and asked him if he would take me to town. It was freezing outside, and I wanted to finish my route as soon as possible. That way I could work on next week's paper. This week's paper was at the office when I arrived, so nothing was stopping me from working on my route. And to make sure that not even the cold could hinder my progress, I folded the papers in the office. I am so glad I have a key now. It was so warm in there. But I felt weird being in there so early. Though I have a key now, I felt like I was breaking in. It's just how I felt. I probably should have asked beforehand, even knowing that would say yes. It just would have felt better if I asked.

Anyway, I was finished with the residential route at 8:40 this morning. I checked the office mailbox while I was putting papers at the Post Office. When I finished the deposit, it was only 9:38am. So, I worked on the paper. I typed up an obituary. Then I worked on the ads and checked the E-mail. I did my best work yet on this Super Eighth ad for a Jewelery Company. I found the perfect picture to use, and input their contact info; then sized it to fit. Here's what it looked like before I put in the contact info.



After that, I had the rest of the day to tackle the Shoestore ad. This ad kicked my butt (since their shoes, it kicked). I had a little help from Misty, whose only real advice was that it would take a long time to finish it. I guess that's more of an observation, but all the actual advice she gave ended up not helping. Basically, the ad is a collage of shoes with a big "20% off storewide" smack in the middle. I still haven't found a background for it, and there's seven pictures I still have to put on as well as the Sale's title. Oh well, it's a $175 ad, so I will put in the effort to make it look good.

One thing I am getting tired of is having middle-aged dudes compliment me on my legs. It's getting to be embarassing. I walked in the barber shop to deliver, and I got the usual "Legs like tree trunks" and other similar comparisons. I was wearing shorts, and they also asked about that. When they asked, I should have said the normal response of "My legs stay warm because they're always moving." But the first thing that came out of my mouth was "Shorts are easier to take off than pants." I immediately silently cursed myself for saying that. Kinda like a mental smack to the forehead. Why in the world did I blurt that out? Because I was thinking it before I even walked in the barbershop. I was thinking, "When I get home, I am gonna take off my shorts, slip into bed, and take a nap. It's quicker to take off shorts than pants, because shorts are shorter." The things I think about while on my bike.

Back to talking about work. Because the ad was giving me a hard time, I took a break and filled out the money order I bought at the Post Office to pay for my computer. Only problem was that I blanked on what the company's address and my what my account number was. I didn't bring the info with me. So, I logged on to my E-mail, and sent a text to my brother. I asked him to go in my desk and find the info for me. Then, someone showed up at the office, and to make them think (whoever it was, I didn't know yet) I was working I closed down the tab with my E-mail. And therefore I lost the info. I had to text my brother for my account number again.

Then, Iris came in and had to call Pam about an E-mail we received. I got to not work on the ad by going to the store for her. The she left. Gabby came in, and I got to not work on the ad by unjamming the paper shredder. The girl does NOT know how to read instructions. Then I was able to not work on the ad by finding UPS locations in our area. And by the time all the not working on the stupid shoe ad was done, it was 3:03pm. So, I gathered my stuff, and closed the office. All of a sudden, the FedEx people pulled in. They delivered a set of inserts for the paper. I looked in the box and it was from MCDonald's. Yay for coupons! So, I will be delivering free food papers along with the actual paper soon. I don't know when they get delivered, but I will definitely try to keep one for myself.

I ended up not taking that nap I was thinking about today.

Anyway...

I work tomorrow, and then I am off until Monday. The rest of this evening will be filled with watching anime (I have an episode of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou loaded up). This weekend I am planning on gaming. I also have a letter from Mom that I need to reply to. She finally sent me a letter yesterday.

But yeah, this week's paper looks great! And the status of my computer is set at "Paid for!", so I am now counting the days until it arrives. The jury is still out on whether I get my $1 raise or not. I haven't had a chance to ask, but I left the spot on my Time Sheet blank just in case I do get the raise. I think I should, because I work really hard, don't complain (out loud), and am very pleasant to work with. Not to mention I learned how to build a paper in such a short amount of time. That's got to mean something.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I hope to see you around the forums, and until then...

Later!

Michael