I just finished my shift at 2:14 pm. It’s 4:03pm now. I’m still in the breakroom mooching Wifi.

I finally made my car payment that I’d been attempting to do since Friday. I had to jump through a lot of hoops because of technology failures. Technology is amazing when it works properly.

Another obstacle to getting that payment done was the really crappy hours management has been doling out over the last month. A whole flock of employees here had to cash in vacation hours. Last year I was getting over 30 hours per week, this holiday season I got 10.75 hours for three consecutive weeks. For another week I got 11.25, then another 12.75. The week that ends today—ended for me when I clocked out—I had 17.35. Thank God I listened to advice from friends last year and applied to start my social security checks a few years early.

I did some googling and found what I think is the source of our slashed hours. Apparently, the company made some of their investors angry. That’s all I’m saying, and it’s only a theory. The other obvious reason is the trump tariffs. All retail entities are going proactive with their cash holdings.

Thankfully, I got to pick up hours—about 12 of them—and I cashed in 7 vacation hours. So, my next check will be closer to normal. The pay period that stretches from the last days of 2025 and into the first days of 2026 I got over 25 hours. So, it’s improving.

However, I’m done giving this company the benefit of the doubt, that things will improve. They do improve, for awhile, then things suck again. I was thinking about transferring to the Oviedo store, which is busier than my store, but is also trimming hours, but now, I just feel like it’s truly time to cut my losses. Am I glad I left Walmart for here? Oh, definitely, but there is better out there.?Nothing will change unless I begin making the change.

It’s been so hard because I haven’t been my lighthearted, more hippie-like self since my finances imploded in 2007. I take full responsibility for the money stupidity, but I’m done punishing myself over that. I had to find the strength to move past my exhaustion and fear and rise from the ashes. Astrologically speaking, supposedly Moon in Scorpio people tend to go through numerous episodes of such rising Well, that’s me; and my Moon is in Scorpio.

But, I digress. I’m am fully engrossed in job looking and applying. And, I’m checking into other programs that can help people move into different careers via small loans, and counseling. One of my customers gave me some contact info concerning such info. I’m going to use it. It’s just harder because our Wifi got shut off, and I can’t use data that much without accruing higher monthly bills. I want yo get back to my $32 a month plan because I can get a new iPhone 17 Pro, for about 30 extra bucks a month from my phone company. I desperately need a new phone and I’m not returning to Android. I had a Samsung Galaxy that I hated. I had it for four years and needed yo replace the battery twice. My iPhone 7 is close to six years old and I’ve never had any battery, or other issues issues. You can’t change the batteries in Apple devices, but they sure as hell last longer. I’ve accidentally dropped this phone into water in which it was submerged. Didn’t damage it at all. I never needed to put it in rice like I had to do with three Android devices.

Its 4:55 pm and I’m still here at the Winter Park Sprouts mooching Wifi to write this. I’m almost done with this editing chore.

I’m so exhausted I’ve had about ten hours of sleep over the last three nights. I am about to fall asleep in this cheap and uncomfortable metal chair. I’m going to head home after I take advantage of our final day of the 30% employee discount. Our discount is usually half that.

I’m still hanging in there, still running on the hamster wheel. I want to abandon that wheel and live again.

Toodles, for now.