My own Friday Five...

Well, not really, but it's something I feel like doing.

1. What are your currents?

CD -- Blackmore's Night, "Fires at Midnight" (It's celtic/renaissance/rock/pop for those who don't know, and that's not really accurate.)
Book -- The Coming of Conan the Cimmerean, by Robert E. Howard. (Quintessential swords-and-sorcery fiction, and a protagonist whose reactions to "civilization" are laugh-out-loud funny.)
Game -- White Wolf's new World of Darkness. (It emphasizes the horror aspect of the game. So much so that you don't even need Vampire to run it. Mmmm... Cthulhu WoD..)
Hobby -- Astronomy. (Because of my new eyepieces and Charles' interest in it, my enthusiasm in astronomy has increased quite a bit. Astronomy is cool when it can be shared.)
Drink -- Sweet tea. If you ain't Southern, then I doubt you can truly "get" this. :)

2. Why did you do this list?

Simply? I felt like it. A real answer? I like sharing my interests, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Dare I say, it might generate some conversation, which is always good.  Besides, what/who did it hurt?

3. What are your plans for the evening?

I'm going to finish drinking my McAlister's Deli "Famous Sweet Tea", post about my day at work, and to go sleep reading about Conan. I tell you, HE wouldn't have put up with some of the crap I dealt with today. The problem is that carrying swords is generally against the law. Shame, too. I'd learn to use one if I could carry it around.  Ironically, I'm allowed to carry a personal-sized cannon if I get the right permit.

4. Who is your dream girl?

I cannot tell you, because I've never remembered her face upon waking up. I think that she has red hair, but I could be mistaken. The things that I really remember are: we always are physically really close (like sitting next to each other or laying side-by-side); we talk rapidly, avidly,  and animatedly about a variety of subjects; we  never get intimate (because we're too busy enjoying each others' company intellectually); and the dream stops while I have this conversation (I mean, when we sit and talk, nothing else happens. Things TRY to happen, but I ignore them while we talk.)

Invariably, I'm ripped away from my dream girl. When I wake up, I'm horribly depressed to realize that I was just dreaming. It's like the time when I was little that I dreamed that I had the toy AT-AT (Star Wars toy), and woke up to find that I was wrong. This is on a deeper, more personal level than any stupid toy could ever be, though.

5. What do you want to say that you've done before you die?

... Hmm, I'd like to visit the American Southwest, specifically for a stargazing session, but that's not quite "it." I'd like to graduate college, buy a house, and find someone I can share my life with. Sadly, I can only find the third in my dreams.

Stay tuned for your regular post, wherein I complain about my job...

I think Jay said it best...

( Cut for EXTREME profanity )

While I won't go on a tirade about who's gonna eat whose feces*, work today has seldom been worse than this.

Let's begin at the beginning, which is usually how stories work. (Although I've seen tomes by some who plunge headlong into the middle, and then backtrack, before having The End at the end.) Archie came in as the 600am checker, because Dana's boyfriend had a heart attack on Wednesday night. I totally understand, and basically didn't expect her to show up when I heard this on Thursday. The day began alright, though I had enough work that I ran behind this morning. Nothing significant, mind you. It only delayed the opening Guest Care by about ten minutes.

Everything went smoothly.....until 830am. That's when SHE called. I'll call her "Shauntay," to protect her identity. She said that she "hated to be the bearer of bad news," but that she was calling in. Her NEW job had called, and asked her if she could work today. I asked, "Did you tell them that you were working at your other job?"

"Yeah, but you know this is my last day anyway, and though I don't start there until Monday, I figure it would look good to go on in. It's just the one doctor, and he really needs my help." I really wanted to reach through the phone at this point, and punch her stupid. Of course, this wouldn't have changed her a bit.

"Well, you'll have to call back and talk to the manager. I can't take your call-in," I said, as a means of getting her back. She acted confused about why she would have to call back, and I simply replied, "For the time being, you still work here, and them's the rules." Now, some of you are no doubt going to assume that she just officially quit at this point, right? Nope. The dumb girl actually called back later to talk to the manager. While I didn't get to hear the conversation, at least this waste of DNA had to explain herself again, probably while trying to work in the doctor's office."

You see, the reason this pissed me off is simple: She was our second (and only other) cashier until 4pm. Looking at the schedule later, I realized how tight it REALLY was going to get. We were already understaffed, and her bullshit actually made it so that we didn't have ANYONE scheduled from 2pm until 4pm. I began to make calls, hoping that someone could come on in, and help us out. I couldn't get "Juanitrice" or "Chris" to come in, and the phone simply rang off the hook at "Erin's", while I was told that "Andre" was in class. (Not high school. He's already graduated.)

I then learned that our 8p-12a checker had already called in. I finally figured out something to cover things, involving our 9am checker working until 3pm, and the 3pm checker coming in at 12pm. This would make us somewhat short after 3pm, but I also thought about getting the 9am checker to take a lunch, and to work until 6pm. Those got shot down, one by one, piece by piece.

First, the 9am checker couldn't stay past 1pm, because she had to be home to let her younger brother in after school. She said she could come back, but by the end of the day, I doubt she did.

The piece de resistance came when the 3pm checker, "I'Yonna" -- who was now the 12pm checker -- called to say that her ride had been in an accident, and so she had no ride. My answer? "I'll come and pick you up. I have NO ONE here, and am desperate enough to pick you up for your shift." She said that she had to get dressed, so I told her to call back when she was ready. My reasoning was simple: She called while I was on lunch, and what I do on lunch is my own business. Ergo, management couldn't blast me for "running a chauffeur service."

She called back after I had already clocked back in. Now, it seems that she had her cousin's (her ride) children, and couldn't leave them until her aunt picked them up. And her aunt was 2.5 hours away. Now, she wasn't even sure she would be in for work, which was a shift that she'd picked up from someone ELSE who'd quit. ARGH!!

In true and utter desperation later, I called Tim, to see if he could be there around 3pm, to help with our "no checker" problem. He agreed. I was so mad that- wait, that's right. He agreed. I was almost giddy with happiness, and I told myself that I would do something nice for him, since he actually agreed to come in early. My resolve was steeled when he actually came in the door a little after 3pm.

I got half of an hour overtime, but it couldn't be helped. I told the manager on duty about my OT, since the store manager had gone to a meeting. Remember, folks, that I nearly received a write-up for overtime recently. I did my office count, and left that place.

I busted my butt today. I was guest care, U-scan, cashier, bagger, supervisor and accounting all in one. I never walked from place to place. I ran. I managed to keep things from getting too bad on the front, and things were under control when I left. I swung by McAlister's Deli on the way home, and grabbed a roast beef sandwich and some tea. That was dinner, and now, I'm going to follow my plans as per my personal "Friday Five" from last post, and read until I pass out from exhaustion.

My major gripe was just that no one was interested in helping out. I understand that problems do arise, but it sure seemed like everyone was fishing for ideas to stay away. Back when I was part-time, I rarely hesitated about coming in to work when called. Heck, one time I came in early, and wound up working an 11.5 hour shift with only a 30 minute lunch, and that was AFTER the store closed for the night. (I was closing accounting that night, and we had a snow scare, and our store got BLASTED. I think we did double or nearly triple what we usually do on that day. I'll never forget the date, either: February 4, 1996.

No matter now, though. I'm off until Sunday. Woohoo!!

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* -- In the event you DON'T know what this is referencing, it's from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, part five of the Jersey Trilogy.