1-11-8

Rey took me to see Atonement. Let me start off by saying that I knew right off the bat that I was in a very rare emotional state. I knew this because I almost got teary-eyed during a New Zealand commercial. Yeah... I know. Anyway, I knew that even if this movie was going to be incredibly happy (which it wasn't) I was still gonna cry. And guess what? I did. The ending was very sad and I think a tear or two managed to escape the ocular area. But overall, I really enjoyed it. For the record, that was the first film I saw of 2008. I still want to see There Will Be Blood because I heard it's interesting. However, my interest is a fickle thing and may diminish if it's focus is not satiated in a timely manner.

I started out my work day fixing on an end-cap that really bugged me. The theme for the end-cap was "If you like 300..." However, all of the films that were on the end-cap had nothing to do with 300! It was highly bothersome and needed to be addressed. And so I did address it. I made it look beautiful. But very much like one my favorite books, (Oh, What a Mess by Hans Wilhelm) a pretty thing amidst a pigsty only emphasizes the need for some sprucing up. So I spent a large portion of my day fixing, changing, a cleaning all of the multimedia end caps. Naturally, I had help from curious co-workers looking for a task or two. Ultimately, the feeling of having completed such an undertaking was very satisfying. Also, it made the day fly past which I also appreciated.

After reviewing some of my previous posts, I feel that all this talk about leaving work lately may need to be clarified. Lately, I've been feeling... stale. I felt that I didn't really have a shot at something more or better. Turns out, I was wrong. And Ken, being the guy he is, had that discussion with me when he saw that "stale" look in my eye. He does this from time to time. He'll sit me down in the office, and tell me what an amazing I've been doing and continue to do, and he'll speak to me like a future GM. Today however, he surprised me. With an $.87 raise. This may not seem like a lot to some, but to anyone in my field, this is a huge bump. And not to appear too humble, but I did feel I deserved a raise. But I was not expecting that much. Even more, I'll be getting an additional raise in March. To be honest, most bad feelings harbored for the job are magically whisked away by this impending boost in income. But still, some thought linger and I still want to see if I can go farther and better. Maybe as a challenge to myself. But for now, after having this talk with Ken, I'm alright to stay at Borders for a few more weeks.

Tonight, I'm off to hang out with Andrew, Miguel, and Bonnie. We'll be watching the Lakers absolutely kill the Bucks.