not done yet...

[averygoodun42]

So, first off, a late birthday wish to zalena. I hope the year continues to get better and better.

Next, a little list of accomplishments for this year,

In no particular order, I've:

Pet a dolphin
tiled my family room floor (vinyl)
installed half to two thirds the baseboard in the family room
moved the love seat down to the family room (and the futon out)
*organized the bookshelves*
been down to Ikea, twice, and managed not to bankrupt us.
cleaned out my two office closets (and threw away five boxes of boxes, one giant bag of garbage and reorganized so that there's now excess room) (oh, and vacuumed. Mushroom cloud of dust in "walk-in" was frightening, though not nearly as much as the defunct wasp's nest the size of a linebacker's fist)
speaking of closet, rearranged shelves so that they make sense.
set up my drafting table in the "walk-in" so I now have my own private studio. Of sorts.
Cooked.
went through drawers in dining area, reorganized (not finished, though. Need to redistribute some of the stuff now that there are empty drawers(!))
Made an apple pie
made bread (and will continue to make bread until our debt is paid off)
cleaned up office so that it is no longer a hazard to Babe
finished writing 1st draft of chapter 3 of SMHC (so now ready to submit chapter 2)
rearranged living/dining room, twice. By myself.
managed not to kill myself when moving a small bureau from Babe's room down two flights of stairs to basement by myself. Close call on that first flight, though. Idiot.
got caught up on laundry.
Did taxes. Am relieved that although we still are in the lowest tax bracket after deductions, we did actually owe a smidgen of tax last year. Not even 10% of what we paid, but...
*managed to keep Babe from eating one of my college art projects. Well, he didn't finish it anyway, or get to the more toxic bits.

And I've finally submitted the final chapter of "25 Dates" to the Petulant Poetess. About time, too.

Now I'm tired.


In other news, it might be late, but reporting on evil being (temporarily) vanquished is always good to hear, right? The city planning board here voted down (again) a proposal for Walmart to take over a local discount store's lot. I am really, truly happy about this.

Not only am I happy because Walmart is evil, and the local economy is precarious without the competition, but also because that means that the city water will remain that much cleaner (they were going to be building their superstore on wetlands that contribute to city water), the traffic won't be that much worse (the reason the planning board denied their proposal) and THERE ARE ALREADY TWO WALMARTS IN A FIVE MILE RADIUS!!! True, they aren't in this town, but, really, do we need another outlet of evil that much closer?

And just to let you know, although I would say that I'm rather rabid on this issue, I don't use the word "evil" lightly. It's really sad how Sam Walton's idea and company has become one of the world's greatest social and economic threats. But even if the founder was a decent guy, Walmart is now... bad. Wrong. Evil. It needs to be slapped down. Now.

Which is why I'm so happy about my town killing their proposal. Go Podunk!

And here's another edition of

Snape's Journal

Mar. 5, 1998

I feel ill.

Heard from Lucius today. He asked after Hermione. He had the gall to suggest that I should invite him to the next detention she receives as he could think of much better punishments than simply scrubbing cauldrons.

Comments

[zalena.livejournal.com]

Wow. Beats Squaresville, which already has two Walmarts and is considering a third.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Well, if Podunk's geography was like Squaresville, Walmart could easily choose another location to build on without creating major traffic snarls. But I've been going over all of Podunk in my head, and I can't think of any location that is big enough for a superstore (and vacant or able to be vacated) that would allow for the traffic. And, as I said, concern over traffic was why it was denied. (Smart lawyer! Very, very smart!)

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

A third?!?!

[zalena.livejournal.com]

The original Walmart on Hover and Nelson.
Super Walmart on Main and Hwy 66.
A proposed Sam's Club at Main and Pace.

[muggle-prof.livejournal.com]

Heard an interview on NPR the other day: Charles Fishman, author of "The WalMart Effect." Sounds like he supports your view and has the numbers to back up his opinion.
I personally haven't walked into a Walmart since they built a Target in my county, and only reluctantly dealt with WM before that. I swear, I've never seen a happy WalMart employee, or one that even looked like they cared, at all. And I've never met anyone who didn't have at least one horror story of the crappy "customer service" they endured at WM.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

And why would you want to? Target might be more expensive, but a) the quality is WAY higher, b) the selection is broader and c) they actually have good customer service (at least in the return department, which is the only place I've needed it).

Of course, you get what you pay for, and Walmart doesn't pay its employees squat. (sorry. WM is one of my red buttons. Don't have many, but...)

[zalena.livejournal.com]

My family has been boycotting Walmart since 95 when my brother used to live there. I have always wondered if the business practices of other superstores are any better. And because I believe in being fair, lonesomepioneer's fiancee has cystic fibrosis and Walmart is paying for his lung transplant, as well as all expenses related to it. (They are in FL waiting for a lung.)