Today at the Doggie Bag

Initially, the manager's intern and I made it our business to get as much clothing moved out of the back room, tagged, priced and put out as possible up until shortly after the manager got in, but per the manager's request we backed off on that due in part to the racks filling up.
So, for the rest of the day, I focused more on getting non-clothing items moved up from the back room to the front. There were a few tuppaware pieces to be washed and electrical appliances to be tested.

A couple of interesting things that came in today were a green electric can opener and a green toaster. (There was another toaster that was donated today; it was a regular metallic one.) I tested them and they both worked. One of my colleagues was interested in the toaster so from my understanding, that is being reserved for her to pay for and pick up at a later date.

It's my understanding that, sometime on Friday, we'll be getting a piano donated. I look forward to whatever else Friday brings.

Got a Lot of Clothes Out Yesterday

Yesterday at the Doggie Bag, the big priority was to get as much clothing that is appropriate to sell at this time  (like no shorts or tank tops as of yet) as possible transferred from the back room, tagged, priced, and put out. There were also some clothes that had to be weeded out due to their condition or some other reason, but between me, the manager, and three other people on duty, we were able to get quite a dent in the pile. (I know we at least got most if not all of the jeans that were awaiting us moved out of the back.) I'm thinking that, barring anything else that comes up, the clothes will still be my main focus tomorrow.

Having Surgery Later This Month

Since somtime this summer, I've developed a lump in my lower back. As far I can recall, nothing tragic triggered it. It just occured one day and slowly got bigger. However, for reasons I'm not going to go into here, it wasn't until earlier this week when I was able to have it looked at.
It turned out to be something called a sebaceous cyst. More can be read about that kind of cyst here. It's not overly serious at this point, but it's one of those things where the sooner it can be dealt with, the better.

I was able to secure an appointment for the last Tuesday of this month (barring anything unforseen of course) to have it removed. As far as I know, it'll be a minor outpatient kind of surgery. I've never had any kind of surgery before so I wouldn't know anything about recovery, but I'm guessing after it's done I'll be taking it easy for a day or two and avoiding heavy lifting.

I'll let you all know if the date of the surgery changes and how the recovery process goes when the time comes.

Finished the Move Yesterday

Thursday and yesterday, I helped my fiance move from the apartment he had been living in that had been storm-damaged Tuesday night to the one he was able to obtain on Wednesday. We got done sometime between three and four in the afternoon if I recall correctly. (That's not bad given the fact that 1) he had until five pm to get the old place cleaned out and 2) it was just the two of us yesterday.)  The only thing that was not salvagable was a bookcase that was water-damaged and as a result fell apart while being transported. There are a few boxes and what-not to get unpacked, but the most important stuff (such as the food, the furniture, and the appliances) are in place.

That's what I've been up to lately. Hopefully, nothing drastic will happen in the coming week.

Hometown Got Hit Last Night...Sort of

There was a storm in my hometown last night, complete with a temporary power outage and a tornado warning. We didn't get hit by a tornado, but part of the town got hit by the storm. The north end of town, where I'm still living with my mom and stepdad, including the houses, got off easy compared to the south end, closer to where my fiance lives.
For instance, sometime after the tornado warning had come and gone, my fiance called me and told me that building he had been living in had been damaged and part of the roof was gone which could've potentially posed a problem for some plans we had for the weekend. (When he had called, I initially thought that perhaps part of the building was mangled, but the damage was more along the lines of cracked walls, sunken in ceilings, etc.) It also turned out that some businesses were damaged or at least still didn't have power. (The latter included the office where my mom works.)

Today was one of the days when I'd normally be doing my volunteer work at the Doggie Bag (which as far as I knew before heading out was still standing and had its power) from ten to four (store hours), but per my fiance's request this morning, I instead met up with him at his cousin's place (where he was staying for the time being from my understanding). Before heading over though, I did make sure that only other person that would be on duty today and authorized to open would be in a position to do so today. She said she was and if anything had gone over there earlier to make sure the store still had its power, which it did.

After I met up with my fiance, he and I talked for a little bit. Then he and I walked over to the compound where he has been living. We got to the leasing office, and he was able to get an apartment in one of the non-damaged buildings. After that, we went and got some lunch and then moved a few things (mostly clothes and food items) from the apartment he had been living in to the new one. (And as it turned out, he was not the only one moving either.) After he decided to hold off on the rest until later and rest in the new place, I went and got a few things from the old apartment and brought them over. I ended up having more time to spare that day than I thought, so after I had said goodbye to him, I headed over to the Doggie Bag to help out for two and a half hours before closing time. It was mostly clothing that was being dealt with today. I may or may not make it over there on Friday which is another one of my regular days, depending on how far along my fiance is on the move and whatever else comes up.

I'm going to see him again tomorrow. Hopefully, he will get more stuff moved and be less stressed about the situation (which, understandably, he had been today).

Got the Manuscript Typed Up

Yesterday I mentioned that I was in the process of transferring a handwritten copy of what my fiance had of a book he had started a couple of years ago to computer. I had hoped to get it done last night, but it got late and I got tired when I was working on it.
Well, I continued with it this morning and now I'm finally finsihed. The next steps will be to edit it to the best of my ability, possibly print it out, and give him feedback on where the story should go from where it has stopped so far.

I've got a little under two and a half hours or somewhere thereabouts before he comes over. I think in a little bit, I'm going to have a little lunch, do some things around the house and go from there.

Where I'm at on Life's Journey

I know I've been further behind on my blogging than ever before. While I wouldn't say this is the only reason, part of it has to do with the amount of time I've been spending with my fiance. (And no, we have not set a date yet.) Not only am I spending more time with him just in general, but he and I are co-authoring a novel together to go with a video game that he and some friends of his are in the process of developing. Barring unforseen circumstances, we'll be having meetings every week to discuss the novel. (By "we" I mean me, my fiance, and his friends, including a cousin of his that lives in town.)

I'm still volunteering at the Doggie Bag. We have a bit more help now than we have had for a while (including increased availability of two of the regular staff members) plus the donations have slowed down a bit so our back room actually looks pretty good. Also the manager's new intern (who joined us either earlier this month or sometime last month if I recall correctly) has gotten the window display set up for St. Patrick's Day, which features mostly green items. As far as stuff on sale is concerned, the way it stands right now, coats are 1/2 off and men's shirts are buy one get one free.

When I hop off here, I'm going to finish typing up the handwritten version of a book (or what exists of it so far) that my fiance had started a long time ago when he was still in the military and recovering from an injury. We had started doing that sometime in January (his idea at the time) but put that aside for a while. I'm going to see about finishing it up so that it's done by the time I go over to his place tomorrow so that it will be one less thing to worry about.

That's where I'm at for now. I'll try to resume writing here regularly.