This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.
I’m also linking up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
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Some chit chat.
I know I’ve been sharing a lot about how tired I’ve been. Like a broken record. LOL Thought it was time I told you a bit about my jobs. I worked as an auto detailer for 17 years. Basically, I transform the inside of nasty autos into something as close to new as possible. It’s dirty, nasty and hard work. Often entailing taking out everything, including the carpet to get it cleaned thoroughly. When I finally decided I was too tired and old for the job, I got a new one and gave my notice. I worked out my two weeks while also training for the new one. Then my boss begged me to continue working for them on a part time basis and I agreed. About my new job. I’m getting closer to retirement and wanted something close to home, inside and fun. I chose Walmart. I like retail work and interacting with people and having less responsibility. Thought it would be an easy job as a Self Checkout Host. Let me tell you, it’s hard work. You are on your feet for 8 hours a shift, have to keep your work area clean, which means every few minutes it’s dirty again, LOL, and help customers when something isn’t working right. And there’s lots of problem solving trying to figure out why something won’t ring up, why the machines refuse to accept items or payments, and having to figure it out yourself when it’s super busy and management can’t get there in a timely manner. I’m usually running from customer to customer to help them and it’s a large area. I come home with aching feet, knees, hips and back most times. I did finally find a pair of shoes that really works and I bought every pair they had in my size! I’ve met some really great folks and made some new friends, something I’d really been wanting to do. And I now have a best friend! She’s awesome and we are so much alike. We text and talk on the phone when not working together. I always said if I quit my old job, I wanted to work at Walmart. It’s only 5 minutes from my house and since I shopped there all the time, I already new many of the employees. It’s fun and I love it. It will be my last job before I retire and I’m lucky I got it.
One quick note. I am finally ready to quit my old job for good. It’s a hard decision as it’s a family owned business and we are all really tight. But, it’s time. I don’t need the money and they have things in place for when I’m not there anymore.
And about Covid-19. While at work last night, they announced school closings in our area. It had been insanely nuts at work and I braced myself for more madness. Sure enough, people came in droves, often coming to my area with 4 or 5 buggies packed with stuff. Toilet paper and paper towels sell out faster than we can put them out and the same with water and nonperishables. I finally got off of work at 11 last night and walked the grocery aisles to see what it looked like. Barren shelves everywhere! It felt like a scene from The Walking Dead! I’m not panicked about the virus, but I’m worried about being able to get the things I need for normal day to day living as people are buying everything in bulk, leaving nothing but empty shelves. I was lucky with one thing. I’d just updated my hurricane preparedness stuff and have plenty of supplies. I just don’t want to have to dip into them and not have them later. Is it the same where you live? Are people panicking?
One more update. We now have some confirmed cases in our county. Our store is now closing earlier and we are being offered to work as much overtime as we want. I guess it’s in case they have to close for a couple of weeks. We will also get paid if they close. I hope it doesn’t come to that.
Have a lovely Sunday everyone.
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My new books this week.
![The Aviary (The Uncaged Series Book 1) by [Shore, Emily]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41GiofRRpRL._SY346_.jpg)
![Hood: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (American Rebirth Series Book 1) by [Pickering, Evan]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51EoFNtTrmL._SY346_.jpg)
![Ellie Dwyer's Great Escape: Book 1 of the Ellie Dwyer Series by [Winger, Diane]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51WtLRwBLLL._SY346_.jpg)
![In for a Penny: A Humorous Amateur Sleuth Cozy Mystery (Seasoned Southern Sleuths Cozy Mystery Book 1) by [Browning, Kelsey, Naigle, Nancy]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51pdtTotw1L._SY346_.jpg)
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And here are some FREEBIES for ya.
Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.
![In Cold Blood: Detective Forrest Albu by [Rose, Willow]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519sbIzrRKL._SY346_.jpg)
![Enduring the Crisis (Endure Series Book 1) by [Kinney, K.D.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5107vuwo60L._SY346_.jpg)
![The Goliath Code: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by [Leonhard, Suzanne]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51EVSlwblRL._SY346_.jpg)
![From Garden To Grave (The Leafy Hollow Mysteries Book 1) by [Blair, Rickie]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BQPMXXDdL._SY346_.jpg)
![Anything For A Mystery: Christian cozy mystery (A Nosy Neighbor Mystery Book 1) by [Hickey, Cynthia]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51M7x9se0WL._SY346_.jpg)
![One Summer: ...at Charlie's Diner (Baker Girl Trilogy - Cozy Romantic Mystery Book 1) by [Forbes, Mary Jane]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51F-I6HwLTL._SY346_.jpg)
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Other posts on my blog this week.
Lavender Blue Murder by Laura Childs ~ Spotlight and Giveaway
Spotlight and Giveaway ~ Big Cranky by James Pyne
Spotlight on Clearing In The Woods by Phyllis M. Newman
Books From The Back Log #36 ~ WBI: Witches Bureau Of Investigation
Dirty Old Town by Gabriel Valjan ~ Spotlight and Giveaway
Easter Hair Hunt by Nancy J. Cohen ~ Spotlight and Giveaway
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People here do seem to be panicking a bit. I was in the store today and there was a LOT of stuff gone. But no one was fighting yet lol. I guess that’s something! It was like orderly hoarding haha. Seriously though, it is scary and who knows how bad it’s going to get? I’m a little heartened that it seems like china may have made it through the worst of their outbreak, and cases are supposed to be slowing in Korea? So maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel if we can just weather the next couple months, hopefully it doesn’t get too bad.
I’m glad to hear you like your job though, even though it does sound like hard work. I remember working in retail at a grocery store and I was always tired afterwards, and that’s when I was young haha! It helps though when you like your job.
Take care this week and be well!
I love Walmart.:-) Wish we had one that was closer. No one seems to be panic-buying here. It’s worse when there is a pending snow storm. However there were no teens working at the grocery store this week, and there were fewer employees (all of them older). Then I got an email from the store saying they were hiring immediately; would I like to come work for them. I suspect teens’ parents made them quit because of virus fears . . . I don’t KNOW that, and I don’t want to spread rumors. It’s just my guess. It certainly was an odd experience not to have any teens around.
Do you think it’s the brand of shoes that helped you so much or the way that particular shoe fit your foot?
You almost have to join the panic just to get what you need for normal day to day living. I do hope this passes soon. We’ll see. And I really do like my job.It’s fun and keeps me in shape. LOL
Wow, that is a lot of hard work in both jobs! I’m not surprised you are tired and sore all the time. That car job sounds exhausting and I think you are doing the right thing in stopping working there now. I worked in customer service for a few years as airport security and saw the best and worst of people! Hood might be getting added to my wishlist! I love the cover and it sounds interesting.
Two weeks ago I did my usual big shop which I do every 6-8 weeks and supplies were normal. I go through a lot of sparkling water as this winter I switched to that from things like Pepsi, so I have been on two small trips to buy water and treat items like ice cream and cookies. Certain shelves were bare-hand sanitiser, tinned meat, toilet paper, dried pasta…makes me glad that I always have a stock of these things in the house. We MIGHT do a final trip to a supermarket tomorrow as I’m getting twitchy about when it is time to stay home!
I should try the sparkling water. I don’t drink sodas anymore and miss the fizz. I’m pretty much stocked up as I’d just finished my hurricane season prep. Now I’m crossing my fingers they don’t shut everything down here. Schools and government offices are closed and they are reporting more cases of the virus.
Yes, sadly people are bulk buying things like toilet paper, pasta and hand wash here, too! The schools are still open, so I am still at work, but it sounds like it won’t be long till we close – We have spent the last few days of work prepping work to go home. I hope you and your loved one stay safe, healthy and happy. <3
I hope all of you are safe and well too. It’s crazy and scary times.
This definitely sounds like an apocalypse that we are not prepared for. We in Dubai are always running behind hand sanitizers and wipes. Why do people need hoarding them. anyway?
When I walked through the store and saw all of the empty shelves it really hit home. I don’t get the hand sanitizer and toilet paper panic. Washing your hands is the best defense.
Oh, Hood sounds really interesting! As for stocking up, we have enough non-perishable things, but I’m starting to get worried about fresh produce!
Hannah @ Back Shelf Books
Hood does sound good and I hope to get to it soon. Might have that chance if they keep announcing closings here.
It must be intense working at Walmart right now. I saw some videos that were rather scary. It’s nice they are allowing overtime, but then again, Walmart is one of the companies offering their lots for free testing too. Hang in there!
It’s crazy at times and then we get these lulls until they put out more stuff. Then there’s a mad rush.
So glad to hear the new job is going well! Getting used to standing on concrete flooring is rough!! When I worked retail at a HomeGoods, I had similar aches and pains, and that was back when I was right out of highschool. I hope you can find comfy shoes that help soon! Do they give you a padded floor mat to stand on when there’s downtime? Also, phew… good luck with the crazy that’s going on with stocking up right now!! People near me are going a bit nuts. I went to do my usual Friday shopping… what a mess!!! They just announced that schools in the area will be shutting down too. I hope my company does as well just to be safe. We all pass colds and flus around really quickly because we’re all packed in so close… and our jobs can 100% be done from home. We’ll see!
Stay safe! <3
I have to stand on concrete for both jobs. It was time to find one where I could work indoors and I used to do retail a long time ago and liked it. We all passed around the flu this winter and I hope we can avoid this virus. Be well:)
Thank you for all these details Laura! The fact that you stayed at your old job to let them find someone to replace you is telling about your loyalty! And yes working at Wallmart must be tiring! I did work in a shop as a student and I was on my feet 8 hours a day like you said. Now being older, I can easily imagine that you have ache in your hips etc. I hope you’ll get the food and necessities! Stay safe!
I got a bit chatty this week. LOL It just came out. It is also super busy but I’m getting so many people saying thank you for the hard work. It makes it worthwhile.
People are panicking here too. Most stores have empty shelves now, especially where paper goods and disinfectant are concerned. It really is starting to feel like The Walking Dead. Stay safe!
It’s eerie to see the empty shelves. You stay safe as well!
I cannot imagine working at Walmart during this chaos. There is no TP to be found around here. Our normal weekly grocery trip was tough because there is just nothing left. Schools here are closed for 3 weeks so I will be teaching from home. Our governor said we might extend the closure for the rest of the year.
Stay safe!
There are new closings announced here and I hope they don’t shut down the store. I like to work and keep active but can understand if they do.
Oh my goodness – no wonder you’re so tired, Laura. I’m glad you are finally stepping down from your original job. It sounds exhausting. And holding down both jobs together… blimey!
So far our schools remain open, as do shops and businesses. I’m impressed with what the Government are doing so far – their response seems measured and informed.
It was time to leave the old job. Just too hard to work them both anymore. We have some new cases of the virus announced and I expect they will announce other closings soon. Many people are self isolating.
Laura,
so happy you can now quit your second job. I never knew you worked so hard. Take care. Here virus things are a little crazy, too. The shelves are empty at the big stores; some at the smaller. I am one of the people (my age and because I had cancer 2 years ago) who are going to have to be real careful. Will be staying away from big crowds. But I believe that preparedness is our best tool to keep the virus at bay. Oh, I love Wal-Mart, also. By the way, this last year (because of my BookBub featured deals and I have another one on April 12 for Scraps of Paper), my 29 novels and 13 short stories have sold better than any time in my 48 years writing career. Yeah! So happy as it supplements my pitiful Social Security check, ha ha. Oh, BTW, my Winter’s Journey is ON SALE FIRST TIME EVER FOR $.99 for a few more days. Just saying. Also, friend, I’m working on book #30. Busy, busy, busy. Stay well…I will try too, as well. I will say prayers for you and our country. Warmly, Kathryn Meyer Griffith
I worked both jobs for almost a year and it was time to make the move to quit my old one. I’m thrilled t hear about your book career really taking off. I happened to notice you jst had a new one released? I need to catch up on the series.
Thanks for sharing. I worked installing/training on computer accounting systems for years and then when I “retired” I decided to be a pharmacy tech. I got certified easily enough but I hadn’t thought about how I would be on my feet all the time except for about 20 minutes at lunch. Luckily I was in good shape and it didn’t bother me. I quit after 4 years and “retired” again at the end of 2018 because my daughter was in a wheelchair and needed too many doc appts and PT to try to schedule around a work schedule which didn’t come out until a day in advance sometimes.
I’m so glad you will be getting a more normal, on job schedule! It’s great you like it at Walmart. We shop there every week or so. But now I am doing pickup. Luckily I had a good supply of stuff people want and the other things I want (gluten-free) people don’t seem to care about except us. Plus we have the garden stuff.
I wish you a safe and happy week! And now a bit more time to read!
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
You may be retired but you sure are still busy. We closed our online shopping service for a while so we could have more people to help with stocking shelves. Normally we stay open all night but now we’re closing from 11 PM til 6 AM to restock.
People are panicking but I think it’s mainly do to media. I still don’t get the run on Toilet Paper, but can understand grabbing a few extra non perishable items in case something closes down. We should always be prepared for something as nobody ever knows what will happen from one day to the next. But save some TP for everyone else!!! 🙂
Are Walmart was crazy and we just needed a few items, actually ended up going to a smaller grocer and got everything we needed as they were fairly stocked up and nobody was doing a run on them. 🙂
I don’t get the the toilet paper thing either. This virus isn’t a stomach thing. I have done some shopping at the smaller stores. I think people are forgetting them.
I live in Washington state, so yes, it’s the same here if not worse. The stores are barren, people are panicking, and it’s driving me nuts. I get that this is a scary time, but panicking isn’t gonna help anything! People need to stay informed, be smart, and be alert, not buying up all the toilet paper that they can possibly fit in their car.
On Friday they announced school closures across the state for 6 weeks, so that’s also happening. I guess we’ll see how things go from here…
I’ve seen reports about your area and we are now staring to be the same here. I guess we have no choice but to join the panic train if we want to get our normal daily supplies.
Glad you’re able to let the 2nd job go. Sounds like you need a break! It’s about the same here in terms of panic. My husband went to the store first thing this morning and it wasn’t too bad though of course there wasn’t a roll of toilet paper to be found. It’s just insanity. I hope you have a great week!
I needed to quit the old job. Hard to get time for myself and I barely even got in the pool last year. I plan to make time for it this summer. Hang in there:)
Ug, your Walmart job sounds like my job at a campground. I thought working in the wilderness would be fun, but nope. It’s constant problems and 8+ hours on my feet. Our stores are nuts right now too. I had to drive all over to find dog food.
It’s a lot of interaction with people and most of the time it’s fun. Though I do have to bite my tongue when people get rude or nasty. Luckily, that hasn’t happened much.
Glad the new job is working out, even if it’s a bit harder than you thought it would be. I think you probably made a good decision with quitting the old job, but I get that it would be hard.
And, yes, things are just as crazy by me with Covid-19. We have almost 100 cases in our state, and a few of them are in our county. And, yeah, the shelves are bare!
I do enjoy the new job and glad I made the move. We are getting more cases reported here and the panic increases along with that.
Wow. No wonder you’ve been so tired! That’s a lot of manual labor between the two jobs. I’m glad to hear you’ll be moving to just one job soon. Our schools are closed here too and our kids start distance learning on Monday. Here’s hoping all goes well!
The government has some things in place for the school closings here. All those parents who can’t have to stay home with their kids or can’t find a day care will be getting assistance. My job says they will continue to pay us if they have to close down until this passes.
soooo glad to hear everything is going so well for you.
sherry @ fundinmental
I see your Facebook posts. Looks like you guys are doing good too:)
It is the same here in Canada. I am so appreciative of people like you who are having to deal with the panicked and potentially ill shoppers. I am happy that you have a job that you enjoy, despite the hard work. Stay well! <3
Thank you! I get many people approaching me and thanking me for my hard work and assistance. It makes things a little bit brighter in scary times.
Sounds like a lot of hard hours. Hope you get a little rest once it gets back to one job. And it is getting intense around here as well. Schools are out, stores are stocking stuff as fast as they can, and I just ordered groceries online so I don’t have to go into the store. Not sure when we all will get back to normal, but I am already missing the routine and we are barely into this thing. Stay in. Stay safe. And thanks for all your hard work for me throughout the years.
Same back at you, Anthony. Every day I get up and hope for the best:)
You are the Queen! I can’t imagine working in Wal-Mart during all this madness. Sounds like the patrons there are lucky to have you.
Thanks! And I feel lucky to have a job I enjoy. It will be my last one before I retire.
I’m not sure why my comments are working again 🙁
It’s weird. For a while there they were coming through again. They aren’t going to spam anymore but I am having to approve them, so they are coming in.