I’m going to treat myself to a Farmer’s Market trip a little later. It’s on my way to a meeting at the JCC (sort of), and I need food, so it seems fair And it’s more practical than treating myself to music, which is my other main temptation right now! (obviously I can’t go to the Rascal Flatts/Taylor Swift concert this weekend…) I’m hoping the Fall fruits and veggies may be starting to show- so jealous of Tiffany’s posts of bountiful Farmer’s Markets! Going to a new one today (new for me), will see how it is.

I left the bagel shop permanently today. They let me off an hour and half early, with no warning- felt a bit odd leaving, but I know I’ll be happier. So it seems an appropriate time for a Reflection. In MEP, Reflections were always on purple paper- but this will have to do

For the Bagel Shop:

Keep	Change
* Growing ability to simply go with the flow and not watch the clock, even during work that isn’t strongly stimulating or quiet periods.	*Adaptation to noise pollution. My supervisor suggested talking loudly and using body language, but guests seemed to feel taken aback when I used that technique.
* Pleasure interacting with guests	* Try harder to break through to unfriendly coworkers
* New techniques for managing mental lists	* Get a better sense of the environment at a place before hiring, if possible.
* New sense of responsibility to my own needs. This includes my getting a full night’s sleep, exercise, and respecting my scheduling needs.	* Always have all parts of uniform (my name tag got lost in the midst of water damage in my apartment, and I forgot my hat once).

I’d like to do a Reflection on my time here overall, I’m just not sure if I’m at the place yet to have enough perspective. But I’ve definitely grown- my friends used to tease me for being too accommodating; Anne Marie once synopsized my phone call to a friend who had hurt me badly as “I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay about destroying my life”- the irony being, of course, that I really wanted to make sure they were okay and that I was negating the damage they had caused to me. She pointed out that three weeks ago, I would have not only taken the trouble but tried to make it easier on the people causing it. It took some pushing from my sister, but now I’m pushing back, standing up for myself, pretty much on my own.I’m still leaning pretty heavily on my sister and on John, and I need to start thinking about easing up on that. But I’m getting there.

I think I figured out the Pittsburgher’s trick with change! They must be counting up to the nearest dollar or quarter. I’m going to have to try it sometime and drive some other cashier crazy.