Back to work, for now.

I have finished two weeks of work at Costco. I am a seasonal, part time worker and Heidi and I are happy to have the income. The first few days I spent unloading carts for the cashiers to ring up the items and then I would reload the carts after the customer paid. It is tiring work but I started to get into the groove after a day or so. I also spent time putting away merchandise that the customers either did not want when they got to the cashier or simply left on the nearest shelf. If it was a perishable item, I would return it immediately and try to get back to keep loading as quickly as possible. Since Costco is a warehouse store, not everything is always in the same spot every day. That makes putting items that I find back where they belong much more interesting. Often I try to put something back in the place I saw it the day before only to find that it is in another part of the store altogether. I am starting to get the hang of it, so that's good. Lately, though, I have joined the Marketing Team. That is a fancy way of saying that I hover around the cash registers and try to get people to upgrade their membership. It is going well and my manager already told me that he was pleased with my work. I am not a natural salesman but at least I know that most people who upgrade end up saving money so that makes it easier. It's better than collecting carts from the parking lot, which I did one day last week. In this difficult economic time, I am grateful for work.

A week ago I had a promising interview with Kids Against Hunger. A secular nonprofit based in New Hope, a suburb of Minneapolis. That job would be an excellent fit for me and I am praying hard that they will bring me back for a second interview. I expect to hear something later this week.

Jackson got his first ear infection a few days ago. He has responded well to the antibiotics but is still not back to his normal self yet. Normally such a good sleeper, he has not been sleeping well the last few nights and therefore, Heidi and I have not been either. Hopefully this passes soon and we can get back to normal. Otherwise, he is doing well. He has mastered crawling and can move at incredible speeds. His favorite thing is to crawl to the nearest bathroom and try to stick his hands into the toilet. Good times.