Category: THOUGHTS

UPS Seasonal worker (high school days) – ahh the benefits!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

 The WordPress topic of the day is to tell a story about your most memorable job interview… hmmm… here goes. Long long ago, when I was young and still lived in Michigan, I applied at UPS to work as a seasonal employee. I remember having to drive to Timbucktoo to get a background check and be finger printed. At least they paid for it! The actual interview I can barely remember, they asked questions, I answered and they must have liked my answers because I was hired. The only way to get a permanent job with UPS was to start as a seasonal employee working during the busy holiday time. I WANTED TO WORK FOR UPS. I wanted to work in the office and wear the brown uniform. Did you know they wash their trucks EVERY SINGLE DAY? I was thrilled to be working even though it was in an open warehouse where people were lined up with packages as far as the eye could see. There were heaters, it wasn’t WARM but I wasn’t going to freeze to death either. One day it was like winning the lottery… I saw Ryba’s Fudge boxes on a cart, hundreds and hundreds of boxes of the most delictable fudge you can even imagine. As luck would have it they came to my line. If you aren’t familiar with Ryba’s Fudge, it’s a wonderful shop on Mackinac Island, Michigan. There are no cars on this island, only horses, bikes and people walking. It’s a magical place (more in a future post!), and when you’re there, you smell two things… horse poop and fudge. It’s heaven, ha ha… Pretty clever how I kind of changed this post to be about fudge rather then a job interview, eh? Ok, I have to thank Fred, my husband for that one… THANKS FRED!  If you don’t get a chance to visit Mackinac Island, you can order the fudge online (www.ryba.com) and UPS (well, used to be, not sure now) will gladly bring it to your door! The next year UPS called me again and asked if I would like to work the holidays again! YES, I replied! Then I had to ask… “Is it ok if I work with a broken leg? It doesn’t bother me at all and I can keep up”… NO, it would make me a liability. Ugh, the end of a dream… ha ha. On a brighter note…  Did I tell you that Ryba’s left me a BAG OF FUDGE for going through my line because they had so many boxes? WOOHOO… Like I said, I was in heaven!

I’m thinking about taking the weekend off… so if you don’t hear from me tomorrow, see you Monday!! If you get a chance, check out our other blog… http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – Have a great weekend!

Say bye bye to Panera’s original chicken noodle…

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, THOUGHTS7 Comments
Say bye bye to Panera’s original chicken noodle soup…

It’s a rainy day… I’ve had a cold… what’s better than some chicken noodle soup to make you feel better? Last week my husband and I were at Panera. I always order a cup of chicken noodle soup with a whole wheat baguette. We place our order and when it comes to the table there is this suspicious small carry out container… ooooh a surprise, how nice! Open it up… hmmm, more chicken noodle soup, no wait, just broth, weird. Hmmm, maybe they thought mine was too thick so they gave me extra broth to add? I took a bite of the original… oh la la, too good, those nice homemade noodles that melt in your mouth, the bite size carrots, the perfectly sized, not too big, not too small pieces of clean white chicken… heaven! Then I checked into the small container… EYEEEEWWW, what? It’s different… 99% broth, three 1″  “noodles” (if you can call them that), 1 sliver of celery and one piece of carrot the size of a pencil eraser and the most awful broth I have ever tasted in my life. Cheap. It. Tasted. CHEAP. Now keep in mind, this is my opinion (and I am sticking with it!). I had a sinking feeling this was because Panera was going to save some money and pawn this soup off as, well, soup instead of bad broth, and I was right. It was a corporate decision. The employees are not happy about it, they agree that it tastes awful. I feel for them, they’re going to hear everyone and their brother’s mother complain about it. It’s still available until 1/12/11 and then it’s gone for good. Who else has good chicken noodle soup that you know of? LET ME KNOW, this is serious! I’ve downed a good bit of it this week (or so it feels) and I’m starting to feel better now!

 
The WordPress topic of the day is DO YOU PREFER TO TALK or TEXT? I prefer different types of communication depending upon the circumstance. I would like to say that I don’t think ANYONE should text and drive, yet if I’m out and about I see it more than I can believe. I can’t imagine what families go through losing someone because someone driving couldn’t wait until they got where they were going before responding to ‘wassup?’. omg. No one in the world is so important to put anyones life in jeopardy over a phone call, text message, email or anything else. Ok, I’ll jump off my soap box now, those are just my feelings. I prefer to talk to people if I know that I’m not interrupting anything and that they are available. I prefer to text if I’m in a location where talking is difficult (on the runway) but you need to get a message (we landed, please come get us!) to someone without disrupting those around you, and I prefer to email when there are details that need to be passed along so that a) the story doesn’t get out of whack, b) there are lots of details for someone to write down (a recipe) or I want documentation that I did have contact with a certain person. How do you prefer to communicate? Until tomorrow…

For the irreverent and slightly jaded…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Image via http://www.eyebobs.com

Eyewear for the irreverent and slightly jaded… Hmmm, have you seen Eyebobs reading glasses? If you’re of the age where your vision up close is heading south, you may want to try a pair of these! They’re ultra cool, check out their website! www.eyebobs.com. I know we all fight it as long as we can holding objects (omg, the MENU!) farther and farther away but there comes a point in time where you have to give it up and get some glasses, oh it’s so nice to see again.  What fun, huh? This is the pair I bought, they have lots of funky styles, check them out!

What was your best accomplishment of 2010? Hmmm, I try to think of what my best accomplishment was and I think of lots of little things but nothing substantial. Nothing that will make me sound important, ha ha… I guess to do good, help those who need it and not take the small things in life for granted. I’m very fortunate to be married to the most wonderful man in the world. I have a great life, a sweet (well, at least when he’s sleeping) dog, a house we love in a city that offers so much. So I will keep in mind during this new year not to take things for granted, no matter how small. I will love and APPRECIATE my family even more, and mostly from a distance, sigh… Until tomorrow…