He’s the… ROLLBACK MAN!
< 1 minute read
January 9, 2004, 10:08 PM
I have to say… I’ve been a fan of Wal-Mart’s little happy face character that they use for their “Rollback” promotions ever since they started dressing him up.
I first remember seeing him dressed up in Staunton wearing a hard hat with the phrase “Wal-Mart at work, watch for falling prices” on the signs. It was so clever.
Recall that before they started dressing up our friend, they did the whole “Rollback America” theme. Not nearly as clever. I like my happy face.
Continue reading…Categories: Television, Walmart
I got my Hampster Dance CDs…
< 1 minute read
January 7, 2004, 9:38 PM
You wouldn’t think it from looking at me, but I’ve been a Hampster Dance fan for some time now. Something about an altered Robin Hood sound clip that is so captivating, you know? Also how it’s spelled “Hampster” and not the correct spelling of “Hamster”.
So I went on Amazon and ordered “The Hampster Dance Party” and also “Happy Times Ten”. Of course, the true Hampsterdance song is on each CD somewhere, but still, who knows… Hampton and the Hampsters may be the Alvin and the Chipmunks of the new century. Though the Hampster Dance song is still my favorite.
And I like it because I remember when it was a simple internet phenomenon, with the hampsters dancing on screen with a simplified version of the Hampster Dance song. Nowadays, it’s gone commercial and all, but still, I love the tune, and I have six different mixes of the Hampster song on my computer, including a Cotton Eyed Joe remix, which is rather amusing.
Categories: Music, Netculture
Add “Boyd’s Hairdressers” to my crap-list
< 1 minute read
January 6, 2004, 3:19 AM
Fresh from my first day at the new Wal-Mart in Waynesboro (which in itself was a great experience, and I’m pumped up for the January 21 grand opening once I get a vest that fits), I went down to Staunton Mall to Boyd’s Hairdressers to get a much-needed trim.
Now on a Monday night, the mall was SLOW. I think you could probably count the number of people in any one area of the mall on one hand. Seriously. Boyd’s was no exception. I was, in fact, their only customer.
Soooooooo… there are two employees, both idle, one reading a magazine. Seeing this, I jumped on the opportunity to get a quick haircut.
And that’s the end of my time in Staunton…
2 minute read
January 3, 2004, 12:22 AM
Yeah, today was my last day as an associate in the Staunton Wal-Mart. It was a happy and sad day.
On one hand, it was a happy day. All of us who were hired for Waynesboro and were placed in the Staunton Wal-Mart (Store #1344) will finally be “coming home” to the Waynesboro store as of Monday the 5th. For that, I am excited, as I get to help open and work in a brand new store. Not an existing store that’s moving to a new facility. A totally brand new store. I am SO excited. Plus it’s closer to me than Staunton. Interestingly enough, the Waynesboro Wal-Mart is actually right around the corner from where I used to work. From the new Wal-Mart in Waynesboro, you just have to take about a mile and some change of a drive, and a right and a left, and you’re at CFW (later Telegate) building where I used to work.
Now the sad part was saying goodbye to all the wonderful people in Staunton who aren’t transferring to Waynesboro. I still intend to shop in the Staunton Wal-Mart, so it’s not like I’m going away forever and will never see them again. Still, a lot of well wishes and big hugs were exchanged today. I will so miss everyone… so many great times together, so many wonderful conversations, and also such helpful people as all of us who were hired for Waynesboro got our sea legs on the register and with Wal-Mart in general in Staunton for Christmas.
Categories: Walmart
Today is Katherine Watts’s birthday
< 1 minute read
January 2, 2004, 10:32 AM
Just one of those random things you remember about people… today is the 23rd birthday of Katherine Watts, a friend and classmate from elementary school in Rogers, Arkansas. I haven’t seen her since we moved to Virginia back in 1992, and so in June it will be 12 years since I saw her. We still have an apple-shaped ornament that she did for me in preschool that we still put on the tree every year. Still, happy birthday to Katherine Watts.
Otherwise, today is my last day in the Staunton Wal-Mart as an associate. Monday all of us Waynesboro associates will be starting down there for the big January 21 grand opening. I’m excited. And I get this weekend off. So I’m going to Washington DC on Saturday (as in tomorrow) to ride Metro and take photos of stuff.
Categories: Elementary school, Walmart
And a “Happy New Year” to you, too.
2 minute read
January 1, 2004, 1:06 AM
It’s 2004! That’s a frightening thought.
I spent my New Year’s up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking an hour or so to myself in the quiet. This is the first time in at least twelve years that I did NOT do like most people do – sitting and watching the TV, watching the ball drop at Times Square. Instead, I spent the time deep in thought, allowing my mind to completely release itself with a view of the Shenandoah Valley below.
And you could tell exactly when the ball dropped anyway, based on what happened in the valley below. From my vantage point on an overlook in the mountains, I saw a bunch of fireworks going off all across the valley. All kinds of illegal (in Virginia) fireworks blasting high up in the air, to ring in the new year. And that’s another thing – they really did appear small from my vantage point. Sure, they probably seemed huge from below, but since I was above the people’s fireworks looking down on them, they really seemed kind of diminutive.
Categories: Blue Ridge Parkway, New Year's