The In-Between Time

[imood mood at time of entry: happy]

So today is the in-between time when I start work and spend time panicking about my ability to complete the tasks that lie ahead of me.

I spoke to Jen this morning and she told me that I needed to make certain that I wore black jeans (black down to the outer stitches) that had five pockets on them and slip-proof black shoes. The shoes, I already had; as I went ahead and bought myself a pair of non-slip black tennis shoes with the tax return check I received earlier this year. I knew that I didn’t know when I’d see anymore money, so I did what I needed to with the money that I had on hand.

I asked Jen if I could wear black pants in the place of black jeans until I could get the situation sorted. Read: Until I could borrow some money or get my first paycheck. Right off she offered to loan me the money if that was the case. I was rather grateful to continuously see just how cool this new job is. I mean, Jen answers the phone with a line that includes “Tell me how I can rock your world.” Not only this, the fact that their ad for employment said something along the lines of “Would you like to work in a kick ass environment?” I mean, how cool is that?!

I told Jen that I would get back to her after I called a couple of people to see if I could get the money from them. When that seemed sketchy at best, I called Jen back and told her that I would need to borrow the money from her after all.

I went to pick the money up and asked for a generous-ish amount of $30. I haven’t gone pants shopping in ages, and things tend to cost more for me, because I am not exactly a stick figure. Besides, I usually can get the cheapest pants on a Wal*Mart special. Again, it’s been a while, and I didn’t know what sort of sale Wal*Mart might be running, so I went with an amount I was certain would cover what I needed.

Not only was I able to find pants at under $20, I found the single pair of black socks that I needed for under a buck! In total, I spent just under $23. I have the rest of the money with me. Some of it is going toward bus fare. Five of those dollars might go toward my LJ Paid Account. I’ve had a Paid Account for ages, and I don’t want to lose any of my site loyalty reward icon spaces. Regardless of future, possible plans, I am going to hang onto the money and only use it if it looks like I won’t be paid before November 25, 2006.

I did ask Jen if she wanted me to bring the change back to her and she told me that I didn’t have to.

*sighs*

I am sort of tired and a tiny bit worried. Most of that is left over from running around all morning and most of the afternoon. I was going to get a ride to the store from my mom, but she took forever and a day to iron her shirt, so that went out the window. She had a walk through to go to, so she dropped me off at Target and gave me directions on how to get to Wal*Mart from there. That is, directions in addition to what the Metro information line told me.

Target didn’t have a damn thing close to what I needed. However, they were very big on sweat pants and tee shirts. If I ever feel the need to spontaneously buy loads of workout clothes, at least I know where to go. You know, aside from Wal*Mart. In their defense, they did have a Starbucks, and I was finally able to break in the Starbucks gift card I got last year for Christmas from my friend Chessie. I bought a much-desired Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti. I munched on it happily and hummed my way across the parking lot toward the bus stop. I just barely managed to catch the bus, and was then on my way to Wal*Mart.

Upon arriving at Wal*mart, it took a bit of wandering around in the Women’s section before I managed to find stacks of jeans that were not only all black, but were also in my size. I have to admit that I did start to panic there for a moment. I just told myself that I would simply check other Wal*Marts until I found something, because my brand new job depended on me locating and purchasing these clothes. Not only this, today is Tuesday, the day that most stores restock their merchandise. So, at least one store was bound to have what I needed.

My panicking was not unlike that of yesterday’s (Monday, November 13, 2006). I was technically 3 minutes late to my interview, but I mistakenly planned to ride the wrong bus Downtown. Now, the bus I chose does go Downtown, but it has some funky rule where it only goes Downtown during certain hours. I am guessing that those hours are limited to when the HOV lane is open. Thanks to this little-known-to-me fact, I found myself riding an alternate bus route and powerwalking for all that I was worth several blocks further than I originally planned to. In heels, no less! Go me.

So! I have the clothes I need and the time that I need to show up tomorrow (Wednesday, November 15, 2006) memorized. Now, I just need to wash my hair and find a way not to feel so nervous or ready to run in the other direction. I am attempting to do this by constantly reminding myself that I need this job, and that it took me a damned long time to find a job. Not to mention the fact that it took me no time at all to get this job. I put in an application last Thursday (November 9, 2006) and got it yesterday. In my experience, this sort of thing tends to be unprecedented.

*shrugs*

I hope that everyone is well. I am going to go watch videos on YouTube now.

Danielle