EdgeofGloria

Just spent a few hours at Starbucks for better wifi. Hopped on Facebook to see the mayhem unfolding in the states because of coronavirus. Frightened Americans are so cute. Whatever will we do at home all day??? But seriously, I wonder what will happen when the rent/mortgage comes due and there's no money in the bank. You know those articles that say Americans are only a paycheck or two away from homelessness? Shit's about to get real.

I guess there's a book out called American Dirt which is getting criticized because it was written by a white woman about a Mexican woman fleeing Mexico because she's getting chased by someone involved in drugs or something. I haven't read the book; I'm just going on what I've seen online so far. Apparently, Sandra Cisneros endorsed the book, which really pissed off Alisa Valdes Rodriguez. Read the brilliant blog post, “Auntie Sandra's Cabin: Why No One Should be Surprised Sandra Cisneros Endorsed American Dirt .” It's a fascinating read, and parts of it made me think, “right on.” It's also sort of summed up why the so-called “voices of their people” quasi-academics/writers have never really appealed to me. I can't identify with them. I grew up in the Midwest the daughter of a government worker and a restaurant employee. I grew up wanting take figure skating, gymnastics and ballet lessons, which I never did as a kid. I was able to finagle horse...

Life has taught me that you shouldn't say "never", because "never" is a long time. And there's no gray area. But after nearly 52 years living in the same town, in the same house (no, I never moved out, not even for college) I finally moved out. I always said I'd never move away for a job, because what if I hate the job? Well, I moved for a job. And I don't necessarily hate it--I've had worse jobs. I view it as a stepping stone to get where I want to be. It's been a tough year, but moving away, far away, like to Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, has been good for me. Sure, there's been negative things. I always look for the negative, I am an eternal critic, always have been and I think always will be. Always--that's another word people need to be careful with. Things just weren't going well for me in Fort Wayne. I felt that things wouldn't improve, so I figured I'd leave before things got worse. I was really down that I...

Here's another interview with Brandon!!! Can you talk about what happened at work when you lost your job? Some funny store brand water, right?  BV:  Safeway has its own labels (Select and Our Brand) on merchandise. Register coolers are stocked heavily with Our Brand bottled waters. My first day at work the front end Supervisor told me to grab a bottled water at no charge. There is an unwritten rule that no employee pays for Safeway water. During the summer, we filled ice chests with waters and left them at Customer Service. When I ran the Front End, I would hand out Our Brand waters to employees stuck on register. I moved to a different store, and management assured me that no employee need pay for water. Before every shift, I would grab one to keep nearby. By now I was a manager, and we all helped ourselves to Safeway Our Brand bottled waters. I transferred to a bigger store in June, and continued taking water without concern. An employee calle...