Back at home
It's kinda remarkable how much easier it is to be at home for the summer when I'm not suffering from jet lag and reverse culture shock.

I'm still a cashier and hopefully this summer I'll get more hours. It never ceases to amaze me how being a customer can bring out the stupid so strongly in people. The credit/debit card reader is a great example of this: if I give someone verbal instructions (in addition to the written instructions on the machine itself) the customer will, without fail, do the exact opposite of whatever I just told them.

For example:

Me: Press the green button to run your debit card as credit!
Customer: *presses red button and cancels transaction*

This happens about every third customer. What happened to people's listening/reading comprehension skills?

Also, I've spent a few afternoons out in the lawn and garden center outside during which time I have had the opportunity to display my spectacular lack of knowledge of all things green and growing (remember, I killed Lars the Cactus). Usually I can just say: "Oh, I'm just a cashier from inside who they brought out to do the watering, let me go find someone who can answer your questions!" But there are, unfortunately, a few highly determined and scary old ladies who grip my arm and demand that I show them the spikes.

Spikes, contrary to my first thoughts, are not to kill the dreaded lawn!vampire, nor are they for tomatoes or other vine-y plants to use to grow on, they are, in fact, plants.

Green plants. With long, spike-y leaves. Hence the name, obviously.

I trained a new kid today. His name was Sam. I'm sure there is a Green Eggs and Ham joke here--I'll let you know when I think of it. He was concentrating so hard on doing everything right. I mean seriously concentrating. Tongue sticking out has he rang people up and everything. He also was trying valiantly to fold the shirts before he put them into the bag. Sadly he'd never folded a shirt before, but the origami-esque shapes he managed to get those shirts into was quite impressive.

My sister Emma graduates on Sunday. I had to miss Dan's graduation last year (he graduated the same day my friends were having a Goodbye Sarah and Almut picnic by Växjösjön--I believe this was the day that Almut and I united against Kristian and Simon and insisted that one goes "out" of the water, not "up". Silly Swedes). Emma got her honor cords tonight, and apparently she and Mom broke the rules and crept out before the ceremony was over. Tsk, tsk. I remember having to sit through the entire thing.

I bought the first two seasons of Bones on DVD and have been watching them after work and on my days off. Allyson would probably not approve that I am plotting out a fanfiction instead of original fiction (just like she did not approve of my short story written to please my class), but in my defense, I'm writing it to practice writing mysteries and not because Booth/Brennan is super romantic. Honest.

This coming semester is going to be hard. 18 credits. A job. My capstone. But I'm also kind of excited. I also need to come up with ways to get out of taking poetry in the spring. My loathing of poetry knows no bounds. I tore one poetry book to shreds and then I burned another.

Now Emmy and I are going to watch Bones. Don't tell her I called her 'Emmy' though, cause then she'd probably smack me.