Song on Repeat in my iPod...because I just found that feature...Pussycat Dolls-Halo

It's been a crazy past couple of weeks.

Work-our evil District Manager is threatening to fire my boss! Which is SO not cool because he's been with the company for like a million years and comes in EVERY SINGLE DAY. Like seriously he's there everyday. I don't know anyone who is more dedicated to that company. If evil biatch lady does get her way, our store is planning a massive walk out 70's style, complete with hip huggers and flowers in the barrels of the AK-47's at our faces. You know...if they bring AK-47's. (Doesn't even know if there were AK-47's in the 70's....)

Fun-HA! That's funny....But I've done a lot of reading which is pretty great.
Books I've read in the last two weeks: City of Ashes, City of Glass, Evermore, Stargazer, and Howl's Moving Castle (Diana Wayne Jones is the shiz...even if I-after reading the book three times and watching the anime a million-STILL don't know what HMC is about...)

Got some more revising done. I'm on a never-ending quest to eliminate 'was' from my manuscript. Down with you 'to be' words! You may be awesome when learning a new language but you are like poison ivy to the written word.

School-It's the last week of classes and that means me=no time for having life. One away from my desk anyway. And apparently me having really bad grammar.

My friends are in the same boat so we decided to spend our last Saturday of sweet sweet freedom by supporting TU theatre and going to their production of Reefer Madness. I don't know if you've seen this but I recommend it if you enjoy the likes of Rocky Horror. It was GREAT. I applaud you TU theatre and I'll be there again next weekend. Assuming my brain hasn't exploded by then.

Gotta go get changed for ballet class. I'm pada-boo-raying myself to a new physique. Wish me luck!
Casey

I just received the shock of my life!

Now I've heard rumors of it before. Email and text message myths mostly, on the same grain as the whole Mentos and coke equals death thing, but I just found out it's really true! Agents are real breathing human beings! By some small miracle we had agents Terry Porter of Agape Productions and Flat Rock Motion Pictures, Nathan Bransford from Curtis Brown Agency, and Morgan Jenness from Abrams Artists Agency here at TU for a series on how to get an agent for all us struggling artists out there.

Naturally I requested off from work and walked my happy butt across campus dreaming of book deals and awesome tips on how to turn my writer title to that of the ever elusive Author. Notice the capital A!

And they were really nice too! While I don't have much history with the film side of things I have written a few (cough) plays so it was really interesting to hear how to about plays being produced. And I was glad to hear that there are apparently more in the works than ever as theaters are starting to present plays as well!

I got to speak briefly with Nathan Bransford who's blog rocks my face off on a regular basis. Definitely check it out if you're thinking about querying an agent. The Essentials List is just that. I'm thinking about pitching to him once I get up the kahunas to do so because he seems like a really good, professional agent and a good person.

There were a lot of folks there so I'm looking forward to the meetings tomorrow where it will be just us students so we have a little more one on one time.
Over all I'd say it was a good day.
Casey

P.S. My besty came up with a name for the two cats I caught getting it on in the shed in my backyard. Really Kitty Porn. Meow chicka meow meow!

I've worked at Borders for about a year and a half now, and before that I worked at Old Navy for two and a half years. In that time I've faced many, many bitchy customers. It's just something that comes with the territory of working in customer service. I typically just throw on my best "F*ck You!" smile, call up a manager, and go about my (un)happy way. My friends call me Teflon Master because they say nothing sticks to me but tonight something finally did and I'm not proud in saying it, but tonight I cried at work, for the first time at any job I've had. And not like pretty movie star tears, either as Meg Cabot would say. There was snot involved.

I've been scowled at, nose turned up to, outright ignored a few times but never has anyone called me the n-word. I grew up around people who just didn't do that, you know. So honestly, when I was having trouble locating a book (and a children's book at that! I really feel sorry for her kids...) for a customer today and heard her mumble it under her breath, I was stunned to the point of disbelief. I just stared at her as she stomped away claiming she would "find someone who could really help her."

I tried to shake it off, blame it on something, I hadn't cleaned out my ears today so maybe I hadn't heard her right or she was referring to the country in Africa that is sometimes mispronounced. I didn't WANT to believe that someone would seriously say that and I didn't want to seem like I was playing the race card.

She went up to the registers and continued to complain to the guy working the register. After she'd left (which thank sweet Jesus was shortly there after) I went up to talk and you know, complain about what a complete biatch she had been in normal "lets talk about our crazy customers behind their backs" fashion but the guy looked almost livid when he looked back at me. He said that she had been racial slurs and he had wanted to punch her in the face.

It wasn't until after we'd closed and I told my manager what had happened that the water works began. My manager was just as angry as I was and asked why I hadn't told her before and I said I hadn't wanted to make a scene. She and my store's GM said that if I ever saw her again to let them know and they would kindly escort her out and tell her to never darken our giant vestibule again but I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't told them when it happened. Then I realized that I didn't want to offend her! Which had made the water works start again.

Luckily I have amazing managers at the store who were very kind and supportive and had ample tissues (Kleenex really are best!). I've heard that word hundreds of times, squirmed uncomfortably in class while we were reading Mark Twain, and seen hundreds of movies with the word being thrown around like confetti but I've never realized how truly hurtful one word can be. And not just to black people but all minorities, be that in race, age, sex, sexuality, or religion. That one word promotes hate and ignorance towards all people and it's just not right! And it's my right not to be called that! If I'm a sucky sales person, say I'm a sucky sales person.
Leave the racism out of it because my being white wouldn't have made the book magically appear!

Sadly I know that there are always going to be people out there like my crazy Bitch Lady customer. Barack Obama being elected prez didn't wave a magic racism flag over the country to make it all go away, if anything it just made those people in our country that much more aggressive but there are good people out there too and I'm going to pray for crazy Bitch Lady and focus on the positive people in my life. I've also decided that I'm going to get a back bone about these things (wonder if they have those at Wal-mart...) because by not standing up for my rights I was just proving that what she said was okay, and while I don't know what Bitch Lady had been through, I do know that what she said is absolutely anything but okay.

Casey