The last photo of the Outlet Village (mostly) whole?
2 minute read
August 3, 2006, 6:22 PM
This is perhaps the last photo that will be taken of the Waynesboro Outlet Village mostly intact. I heard on WSVA on the way home from work that tonight at 7:00 (about at the time I’m writing this), area fire departments will be using the former Outlet Village as a training exercise. Thus instead of just straight demolishing the complex, they will be burning it down first. It will certainly serve our local fire departments well, as they will have the opportunity to train in how to fight a fire in a commercial building. And with the Outlet Village consisting of many buildings (17 according to the map, though #15 is already partly demolished), there will be no shortage of buildings to torch for training purposes. I’ll try to get pictures of the Outlet Village from the same vantage point tomorrow, after they’ve torched it.
Continue reading…Categories: Waynesboro Outlet Village
I took a crew with me to DC this time…
4 minute read
August 3, 2006, 12:36 AM
First of all, welcome to August, boys and girls. July is just so last month.
And August 1 saw me taking the Sable on its sixteenth DC trip, and this time with people in tow. Mom and Sis went with me on this particular trip. Mom came along because she was seeing a friend from high school, and then Sis came along as a what-the-heck kind of thing.
And amazingly, I did my whole routine. I made both my up-stops, though we got to Vienna really early compared to my usual arrival time. But not to worry – we made up that “early” time with what I’d call a “drop job”. Usually when I take these trips, my first stop is Rosslyn, without exception. I can’t think of a DC trip that I’ve taken since I started doing this regularly in 2004 where I did NOT stop at Rosslyn first thing. This trip would be that exception. Since Mom was meeting her friend at Union Station at 10:30, we did that first. So thus instead of Rosslyn, we went straight to Metro Center, and then took Red to Union Station. And once we got Mom to her friend, Sis and I got to have some quality time together.
So what did we do? Back to Rosslyn, duh… I had errands to run, and it was also right about my Rosslyn time, too, so it worked out. Sis also had a snack at Tummy Station in Rosslyn Center, so it worked out.
Firefighter Schumin is on his way!
2 minute read
July 26, 2006, 9:09 PM
Wasn’t today an exciting day at work!
Not long after my first break, one of our cart pushers reported that there was a mulch fire in the parking lot. One of our CSMs, knowing I’m on the safety team, came up to the service desk and got me, and handed me a fire extinguisher. I quickly found out what was going on as we were walking out to the parking lot to the fire. I ended up ripping off the tag and pulling out the pin on the way out the door.
We got to the mulch that was on fire in the parking lot. It was on a traffic island about a third of the way down the lot. After chasing off some very stupid teenagers who were trying to put it out by stomping it out in their flip flops (very dumb teenagers), I went to work. Since I had already pulled the pin, I went about it as I’d seen in the past, staying low, aiming for the base of the fire, and sweeping side to side. And I got the fire out, too. It seems that what I’d learned had sunken in fairly well, as I’d performed flawlessly despite having never actually used a fire extinguisher before.
I used up the entire extinguisher on it, just to be on the safe side. It’s just as well, too, since you can’t reuse a fire extinguisher that’s been discharged until it’s professionally recharged. But like I said, I got the fire out.
Categories: Today's Special, Walmart
College shirt weekend at work led to an amusing photo in the end…
2 minute read
July 23, 2006, 1:47 AM
Yes, it was college shirt weekend at our store this weekend, and so I made sure to represent JMU.
But what’s funny is the shirt that I chose. I went hunting through my closet to find a JMU shirt. I was really looking for a “JMU Alumni” shirt that Mom got me, since that’s what I really wanted to wear. I ended up not finding that, and the only thing I found that was suitable for late July ended up being my old Office of Residence Life “purple shirt”. That would be this shirt, seen here back in the day. So I wore that under my vest. And purple and maroon certainly do look good together. Judge for yourself:
I bought a confetti maker…
< 1 minute read
July 21, 2006, 8:50 PM
Yes, I bought a confetti maker – in other words, paper shredder – after work yesterday. I figure it’s a good thing to have, so that one can shred all of one’s confidential but no longer needed documents. And I made sure to get the cross cut shredder, thus the “confetti maker” term. I like the cross cut shredder over the strip cut shredder.
I bought it at Staples. Since they had display models set up in the store, I shredded some things with the floor model before I bought one of my own. I think I destroyed about half of their brochures on shredding before I decided to get one. After all, though, one has to make sure that everything gets shredded into confetti to one’s satisfaction before going off and purchasing one.
Now I just need to play with this thing. Just don’t do like Fred Pfisterer wrote about in his “Follow the Leader” column, where he wrote that he shredded, among other things, the instructions to his shredder. I just need to make sure that anything important is locked away and out of sight before I have a shredding party. Don’t want to destroy anything important by accident now…
Categories: Products
Wait a second… where am I?
< 1 minute read
July 18, 2006, 12:43 AM
I made what I consider a real doozie on the PA tonight. Like at most 24-hour Wal-Marts, parts of the store, like the Service Desk, close overnight. So I made the closing announcement for the Service Desk. Usually, it goes like this:
Ladies and gentlemen, the Service Desk is now closed, and will reopen at 7 AM. If you wish to make a return before that time, you may do so at any open register. (Repeat once)
As always, we thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart, and have a safe and pleasant evening.
This time, the announcement went like this:
Categories: Walmart
I feel very dressed-down today…
3 minute read
July 14, 2006, 11:22 PM
At work, every Friday is blue jean day. Pay a dollar to Children’s Miracle Network, and wear blue jeans that day. For the past two years, I have shunned blue jean day every single Friday. I’d never worn blue jeans to work, and saved my dollar each week. I did this primarily because I didn’t have any blue jeans that fit right.
However, now that I’ve lost some weight (the same weight loss that lead to the April 26 wardrobe malfunction), I gave an old pair of blue jeans a try. Much to my surprise, they fit, and fit quite well. This pair of jeans was one that was in good condition from a long time ago. I bought these jeans on August 19, 1999, on a trip to Pentagon City and Potomac Mills with my friend Andrea Fox. I was 18. This was the week before I’d started my freshman year of college. In other words, this was clothing bought before the so-called “freshman 15” came on. So I am doing quite well, thank you. And I have room to maneuver in these pants, too. So I am just awesome.
So where were we going with this? Oh, yes.
So I wore the jeans. Add my tie-dye shirt to that mix, which is a few different shades of blue. Then add to that a pair of backless Faded Glory sandals with tan leather straps. And no socks. All in all, I felt rather dressed down today at work.
An interesting little trip…
4 minute read
June 29, 2006, 5:37 PM
I took a little trip to the DC area via Richmond and I-95 on Wednesday. Fun trip. I went that longer way instead of my usual I-81 to I-66 route because I wanted to visit Fredericksburg and Potomac Mills.
My visit to Fredericksburg was fairly simple. The question before the house was whether it was worth it to make a trip to Fredericksburg, which is somewhat hard to reach for a day trip, to do a photo set. My determination for Fredericksburg was that while it was indeed charming, and definitely a place to visit when I eventually find a job in the DC area and move up that way, I didn’t see anything on this drive through that I would really want to make a special trip for, and that I couldn’t do using a similar feature in another city that is easier to reach.
However, I did see a sign that was, to say the least, surprising.
Categories: Alexandria, DC trips, Driving, Retail, Washington DC, WMATA
“I don’t look at porn!”
2 minute read
June 18, 2006, 2:35 AM
Funny what comes up in the breakroom sometimes…
A few of us were discussing churchgoers and possible hypocrisy regarding them, and the idea came up that a particular coworker, about whom customers had said “looked like Jesus” when he had a certain hairdo coupled with a beard, should start his own church. Someone suggested that he would make one related to porn, which elicited the response, “I don’t look at porn!”
What made us all turn our heads was when another coworker, who was just passing through the breakroom to get to the smoking room and caught wind of our discussion, said, “I do!”
The thought that crossed most of our minds was, I did not need to know that. Seriously, we did not need to know that. I don’t think I’ll be able to look at this coworker with a straight face for a while. Of course, people didn’t look at me with a straight face for a while after the pants incident from a couple of months ago.
Categories: Blue Ridge Parkway, Some people, Walmart
I went to Roanoke yesterday…
2 minute read
June 14, 2006, 7:38 PM
I went to Roanoke yesterday, and it was an interesting trip. I don’t find Roanoke to be nearly as fun as Washington DC, but it was still pretty good.
The trip down was via the Blue Ridge Parkway for the most part, taking Indian Ridge Road (a local road from Stuarts Draft to Greenville that roughly parallels US 340) to US 11 to US 60 at Lexington to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Buena Vista. Then I took the Parkway down to US 460.
I took my iPod with me on this trip, and it did fairly well. The iPod’s battery lasted all day, and all was well. However, my FM transmitter didn’t do quite so well, as I had to change the batteries on it twice. I think I need to get a car adaptor for it, since I burned through four AAA batteries over the course of the day.
The Roanoke Star seemed to be having a rough night, though, as two sections of red went out.
Categories: Blue Ridge Parkway, Computer, Gas prices, Roanoke
By the way, this is the other side of the sign…
< 1 minute read
June 13, 2006, 12:48 AM
Categories: Waynesboro Outlet Village
My new DVD/VCR combo unit seems to work!
< 1 minute read
June 12, 2006, 12:40 AM
Tonight, I bought a new DVD/VCR combo unit to replace my old VCR, which died a while back. I figure I got my money’s worth out of the old one. It was a cheap VCR that I bought eight years ago, and it’s served me well. Now, it’s in the trash, as it would no longer play anything. It would start up, show a still image for a few seconds, power off, and then spit out the tape.
I was originally going to go with another cheap VCR, but the only cheap VCR that Wal-Mart had was one that I’d seen come back a lot. Basically, enough times to where one could figure out that the product is crap. I asked the associate to open the box for me so I could look at the remote, and that’s when I realized exactly what VCR it was. I’d seen that interior before, as I’d fished through that model’s box before at the Service Desk looking for all the right material.
So I went a notch up and bought a combo DVD/VCR. I ended up getting a Magnavox this time around (the old VCR was an Orion). Oooooooh.
I also took the opportunity to rearrange all of my wires for the cable, TV, VCR, Super Nintendo, and TV card. The old setup received interference from one of my computer monitors, which created weird effects in the TV picture. So yanking out all the cords worked out. This new setup receives no interference, and the picture is GREAT.
Categories: Products
Gas at Martin’s… I heard back from my comment to Giant’s corporate office.
< 1 minute read
June 6, 2006, 2:31 PM
I recently put in a comment with Martin’s (a division of Giant Food of Carlisle, Pennsylvania) through their Web site regarding the gas station out front. Currently, it’s not available overnight – only until 10 PM. And considering all the late hours I’ve been working lately at Wally World, late-night gas from Martin’s would be quite handy. And I pay with my debit card, so it’s not like I’d need the attendant there.
My suggestion was to have the gas station open 24 hours, even if overnight is cards-only. Here’s what I got back:
Dear Mr. Schumin,
Thank you for contacting us regarding our store in Waynesboro. We do appreciate your comments and feedback.
I have followed up with our Gasoline Department and was informed that they will take your suggestion into consideration, however, at this time, there are no immediate plans to change to a 24-hour operation at the gas station in Waynesboro.
We value your business and look forward to continuing to serve your shopping needs.
[name]
Consumer Affairs Representative
GIANT Food Stores/MARTIN’S Food Markets
So there you go. Maybe something will come of it. Anyone else in Waynesboro who thinks Martin’s should keep its gas pumps running all night should also consider dropping them a line (hint, hint).
Categories: Martin's
Memorial Day weekend…
2 minute read
May 28, 2006, 11:07 PM
One thing you just have to love is Memorial Day weekend. People come in and buy hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, and beer. And some people are nice to their dedicated Wal-Mart cashiers who have to work the entire holiday weekend, while they’re eating and boozing it up. And then some people are crabby. The crabby ones are the ones you just want to strangle, because they make an unpleasant weekend even worse. Add to that the fact that I have a crummy schedule for the next three bloody weeks, and it’s just not fun. I have NO early mornings all three of these weeks. The earliest I come in is 9 AM. My usual schedule is coming in at seven, and out by four.
Otherwise, my birthday is this Tuesday. This year, I’m taking it kind of nonchalantly. No huge celebrations, but then again, I’m not rebelling against it this year like I did in 2005, where I wanted nothing to do with it at all. The only celebrating that I want is to go to dinner, and I haven’t even picked the restaurant yet.
I do know one thing, though – it’s not going to be T-Bone Jacks in Waynesboro. There was a fire there in the wee hours of Saturday morning, which basically gutted the place, and caused the roof to collapse in one place. They say it’s not arson, according to news reports. They say it started as an electrical fire in a back office. Most you can see from Lew Dewitt Boulevard is yellow caution tape all around the building and lots of smoke damage. Smoke seems to have come out of every possible opening based on the marks on the building. It even came out in between the individual sections of wood on the side. I figure when you consider the damage to the building, they’ll probably demolish the building and rebuild at the same location. I just hope they had insurance.
Categories: Birthdays, Holidays, Virginia local news, Walmart, Waynesboro
Some people have no consideration…
< 1 minute read
May 22, 2006, 10:13 PM
I can’t believe what happened today after work at the gas station in front of Martin’s. I was waiting in line for the pump, and this old man in a white Honda Accord went forward out of the pumps and rammed me.
Why was forward a bad move? It’s because I was already occupying that position and his clear space was behind him. My gas tank is on the right, and so I sometimes have to make some odd maneuvers.
So this man didn’t even think to look behind him for the clear area to leave. Instead, he tried to go forward past me in a very tight maneuver that he didn’t have the room to make. So in going out, he hit my Sable. In the end, he left some paint from his car on my front bumper, and a small scratch on my car.
Here’s what happened:
Categories: Martin's, Mercury Sable, Some people