9/14

I am so glad I had the night off.  It started raining around 6 pm and just kept going all night long. It would rain hard then taper off to a mist and then another downpour would come along. It's nights like this that people come in with the muddiest boots you ever saw and they insist on walking up and down every aisle in the store and in the restrooms. The carpet is wet and muddy and since they mostly track in clay you have to wait unit it dries before it cleans up properly. I always hated trying to keep up with the mud on nights like tonight.

People are also extra grumpy on wet cold nights. Normally everything in the universe is the fault of the person behind the counter so add in bad weather and bad drivers and it just gets worse. Not to mention that the cold rain is a clear sign that Fall is on it's way, people start getting the pre winter blues. Ah, it's good to be home.

As for me, on a cool rainy night I sleep like a log. So instead of staying up all night I fell asleep early and woke up around sunrise. I will regret it later in the week when I am trying to stay up but it was a really really good sleep.

Found money, well I didn't really leave the house except to put bills in the mail box so no cash found today.

9/15

I woke up and it was still cold and cloudy. It didn't rain again but the ground didn't dry out either so once again I am glad I didn't have to go to work.

Another reason I am glad I had the night off is because I picked up some kind of stomach virus. I felt crappy all day long, both literally and figuratively. It was best I stayed home for both myself and my coworkers. I curled up under a nice warm blanket and did nothing. Another good day. 

9/16

I stayed up as late as I could and then went to bed late. I did manage to sleep well, it was still cool and wet so I was out like a light all night and then woke up early. Since the clouds are breaking up and the sun is trying to shine I decided to go for a walk. 

Last night I was thinking about work and the holidays and since I have Thursday off I began to wonder who was going to call and ask me to cover their shift so they could stay home with their family. Suddenly it struck me, I have Wednesday and Thursday off, if I could get off Friday I could make it a long weekend and take my mother to visit my sister. We haven't done that in over a year because my sister lost her job and things got really tense and my budget was pretty tight, what with losing my old job and all. Now she's working and I'm working so I figured what the heck, it was a good year to make the trip.

I got up early and went for a walk. On the way back I stopped at the station and chatted with the manager. She said there would be no problem with me taking the post Thanksgiving Friday off so I wrote it on the calendar, now regardless of what other people want I have the day off. Bwa ha ha ha ha. Someone will figure it out about mid October or early November but they are too late. As they say "luck favors the prepared".

I then came home and booked a room. My sister lives in a college town and the hotels fill up quick. There is a nice cheap chain motel and if you don't book early you can forget about it. Last year I had to get a room in a place clear across town and I hated having to make the drive through the traffic. So as long as things stay status quo I should have no problems. Fingers crossed. But then again if someone comes in and offered me a cushy job with a huge salary I will be willing to give up the room and my payment. Just saying.

~

It was a typical Friday night. There was a crowd of people until midnight and then it tapered off. We dove into the side jobs that the other shifts seem to overlook.

For once the walk in cooler wasn't a total disaster, just a minor mess. Some time someone filled up an empty rack with an item that was already on another shelf so when the delivery guy showed up he didn't bring us what we needed, I have a stinking suspicion I know who keeps doing this. Ray had snuck into the cooler earlier and I know he filled up the strawberry milk rack with chocolate milk and I had to pull them all back off. The more he helps the more work I have to do.  In the end it only took me half as long as normal, lets hope it stays that way.

When I came out Diane was busy cleaning the fountain drink area and she had told Ray to fill up the ice hoppers on the soda machine. It was the first thing he had done in three hours and he was complaining about it. She later told me that he was complaining that working the night shift was "getting to him". I would say some people don't have the temperament to pull an all night shift but I think Ray doesn't have the temperament to hold down a job.

About mid way through the night I broke down the cappuccino machine to clean and stock it. I was about half way through when I looked around. There was a customer waiting at the counter and Ray was nowhere to be seen, Diane was scrubbing down the restrooms. It's not that he was off doing something, he had just gone and hid somewhere, so I had to stop what I was doing and wait on customers. Finally he showed up again and I could get back to work. Sheehs.

Finally it came time to mop and Diane told Ray he had to do it. Have you ever seen a 30 year old man throw a temper tantrum?  First he complained, then he wandered around with a scowl on his face and drug the mop behind him leaving a bigger mess than he was suppose to clean up. When he finally mopped he went over the floor three times, the whole time shooting the two of us the evil eye. Personally I was just laughing at him.

When 6 o'clock rolled around the morning woman showed up and both Ray and Diane left smoke trails running out the door. Sure enough the hippie was late as usual so I had to hang out for an extra hour, but since I get paid I don't mind. She was in a mood and started telling me all about her coworker. It seems that the only reason he has a job is because his grandmother is good friends with the owners, yep another case of semi nepotism. It further explains how someone can wander in when they feel like it and openly brag about being stoned while at work. Poor management at it best.

Finally the hippie showed up and I went home. Hello bed, hello sleep. When I woke up several hours later I was surprised to find a show I like was on at mid day. It took me a while to realize it was Saturday. Such is the life of the night shift. 

Found money, a silver nickle and a 1936 Buffalo nickle worth around 35 cents. 

9/17

 I have learned to hate Saturday night. It's slow, I have to work with Ray solo and both members of the morning shift are always late (a minimum of an hour).

The day, or night, started off with the usual. I showed up and logged into my register. As much as I was ticked about being passed over for the afternoon shift I have to say the woman they hired does her job. The drawer was counted correctly, the ice hoppers were full and the trashes were dumped. Even the restroom was cleaned. I like people who don't have the attitude of "let someone else do it''.

Ray was late and the other woman on the afternoon shift was hoping he wouldn't be there at all and would be fired, she really doesn't like him. He claimed he had to pack his dinner because no one would do it for him. You will be pleased with me because I didn't say, "here's an idea, eat before you come to work rather than doing it on the clock". By the way, he ate his dinner on the clock and it took him around an hour.

After Ray was done I went and did the cooler. Nobody had made a mess so it only took me 20 minutes. This was going to be a long night. After killing a little time behind the register I decided to go outside and clean around the lot. I took the broom and swept up the cigarette butts, if you are smoker please pick them up and throw them in the trash, for crying out loud!

I got back inside and it was just 11:30, it was going to be a really really long night. I then went around and stocked the shelves. By the time I was done it was 12:00. I needed to stop looking at the clock. I cleaned and stocked the cappuccino machine, checked the restrooms, wiped down the glass doors and dusted. Hours and hours of work and it was finally 2 am. I was so bored my mind was starting to shut down. Did I mention this entire time Ray hadn't budged from his chair? How the heck can someone sit in the same spot for four hours?

Finally Ray got up and mopped, he didn't sweep first so any large particles such as pebbles were left behind. He faux cleaned the restrooms but considering the attitude of the morning crew on weekends I didn't really care, I need to snap out of that right away. Finally he was done with what little he was going to do and plopped back down. Once again I was bored. Did I mention that Ray doesn't spend the entire night telling me about how brilliant he is or how he has done everything that anyone can do?

They have a rack of hats, goofy straw and hip hop baseball caps. I was so bored I reorganized it. I found that buried underneath them all was a set of ski goggles I never even knew we sold. I then dusted and straightened the shot glass and magnet rack. Finally the Sunday paper showed up so I took the rest of the night off. I closed out my drawer and kicked back to catch up on the world news, and comics.

At 5 the morning shift woman called up, she was still drunk and wasn't going to be on time so she asked me to stick around for an extra two hours. I should have told her that she is an adult and knows what time she is suppose to come to work but I could use the extra hours on my check so I told her I would cover her. Ray suddenly realized that I was out of my register and he was going to have to stick around until the hippie showed up. He wanted to close out his register and have me re log in but I told him flat out no, I wasn't going to open a new register for an hour, he was stuck and there was nothing he could do about it.

From 6 to 6:30 Ray complained non stop. He wanted to leave, he didn't think it was fair he had to wait, he was going to complain to the owner and get the hippie fired, and so on. I ignored him and just kept my nose buried in the paper. I read articles I couldn't care less about. He started talking about going to the hippies house and bringing him to work, I was about to tell him that I wasn't going to run his register and if he left and anything was wrong with his balance he had better not say one word to me, I have just about had my fill of Ray, it was just then that the hippie came wandering in. Ray rushed through the close out, and was off in his balance of course, and then bolted out the door. As he was leaving he said "see you Wednesday''. I looked at the hippie and said "This is Sunday isn't it, he does know he has to come to work tonight?" Wouldn't it be nice if Ray doesn't show up tonight and they fire him? Of course considering the people I have worked with in the past there are worse out there.

The hippie did his early morning stuff, thankfully Sunday is extra slow so nobody came in and I didn't have to run the register. He started telling me about Ray and how one time he told the hippie he was a member of the Illuminati. We then compared notes and Ray told just as many wild stories to other people as he has told me, I sometimes wonder if he even knows which ones are true. Of course the hippie then started telling me his conspiracy stories. In one aliens control the world, in the next the WTO controls the world and in a third the Masons control the world. I didn't say "it can only be one of those groups, pick one." But then again maybe the Masonic lodges are secret societies of aliens who are in charge of the WTO. he told me his 9/11 conspiracy, it was due to a bad loan with the Chinese you know, and his theory of the war in Libya, they have a more democratic government than the U.S. you know. In the long run the hippie is pretty much like Ray, they both are so full of stories that you have to bite your lip to keep from telling them to shut up and read a little history for once.

Finally the woman from the morning crew showed up. I waited for her to come in the building but she was outside in her car chatting on her cell. Rumor is that she is back in contact with her abusive useless ex boyfriend. He ran off to El Paso with his pregnant girlfriend but now he wants to come back, but of course he has no money so he is calling the morning shift woman, who he treated like crap just before running off with his pregnant girlfriend, and is begging her for bus fair. Why doesn't he just call his wife?

I decided that she was physically on the property and I didn't have to stick around anymore. I clocked out and went home. Is it Monday yet? Monday's are sane. 

Found money, one cent. 

9/18

Must not kill Ray, must not kill Ray. 

I walk to work, it's only a couple of blocks and I need the exercise, ever since I lost my old job I have been walking a lot less. Anyhow when I got close to the station I saw Ray pulling into the parking lot so I lingered out in the dark lot next to the truck stop. I could see the windows so I figured I would go in when I saw him behind the counter. I waited and waited and waited. Finally I gave up and headed in. Surprise, he arrived at the door the same time I did. He went in first and....did nothing. I slowly took off my jacket and....he did nothing. Finally I went and got the first drawer and counted into the register, and he did nothing.

Ray proceeded to pull out his dinner and start to eat, seriously he came to work, clocked in and sat down to his dinner. I was busy with customers so finally he did the pre shift paperwork and finished his dinner. He counted in his drawer a half hour later and then, this pissed me off, stuck up the "next register" sign. That was it, I went and wandered around the shop until he started waiting on customers. That crap ain't gonna fly with me.

I waited on customers for a while and left Ray the opportunity to do something, anything but for some reason his butt was attracted to the stool so I gave up. I went in to stock the cooler, considering I had kept it clean and organized it should have taken me 20 minutes but when you put one bottle on the rack at a time it takes a lot longer. Also I had brought a granola bar for my midnight snack so I decided to eat it. In the end I managed to take a full hour. If Ray wants to sit around all night then he can wait on customers.

When I finally came out Ray was still busy doing nothing so I decided to go out and clean the lot. I spent the next hour wandering around sweeping up cigarette butts, I'm amazed at just how many people toss out. Seriously, they are a few feet from a trash can and they can't toss the thing? I have seen people open up thier car doors and just dump thier ash trays out. Boy I hate those things.

In the end I managed to kill another hour doing a 20 minute job. When I finally came back in the building Ray was still doing nothing. I filled up the ice hopper in the soda machine and cleaned and stocked the cappuccino machine and stocked the shelves. I then cleaned the restroom and did the floor. In the end I managed to keep busy all night long so a slow workday just flew by. Ray sat behind the counter staring out the window. I don't see him lasting too much longer because doing nothing for 8 hours in the dark just eats away at your mind. 

I counted down my drawer early so the manager could run her report at shift change. Then I rinsed out the coffee pot and brewed up a pot for the morning rush. I also bagged some ice for the construction crews and pretty much finished out the night. Ray did nothing.

Just before shift change one of the women from the afternoon shift showed up, she needed to talk to the manager and since she works two jobs she was going to be asleep most of the day so it was the only chance she was going to get. Since she was a bit early we hung out and chatted business, mostly about checking ID's on underage smokers. It was nice to have a conversation with someone who wasn't busy telling me how smart they were and how stupid I was. I hoped Ray was paying attention.

Surprise of the day, the hippie showed up before the manager! It was by about a half minute but it still counted. Since both people from the morning shift were in the building and since I was done I clocked out and hit the door, Ray was still counting his drawer. I was glad to be going home.

On a personal non work related note, when I got up later in the day I checked my e-mails. There was one from a gallery director, I had entered an art show and it was letting me know that I had to be registered today, this was the first I heard of it. So I had to go cross town, fill out the paperwork and then come home. Tomorrow I have to drop off my sculptures so I have to stay up when I come home, it's going to be a little rough. I have never had to jump through so many hoops to enter an amateur art show, the director has more ego than ability. Oh well, lesson learned, keep your mouth shut and don't get yourself into a local mess. 

Found money, five cents and a silver nickle. 

9/19

Is it Monday already? I like Monday, the afternoon crew has their act together so the shift change is easy, Diane works and is easy to get along with and the morning crew shows up on time. Plus nobody travels on Monday.

There was a Ray laugh, the guy does provide entertainment. Over the weekend he showed up with a word puzzle book and when he was hanging out behind the counter he was doing word search games. Today there was a big note attached to the front of the book saying that he first needs to do his work and then if he has time he can play games. Everybody saw it, of course he won't until Wednesday. I wonder if I will be training someone new come Friday.

Meanwhile it was a normal night for me. While Diane cleaned the entire floor I stocked shelves and cleaned up the cappuccino machine, yes it's a nightly thing. I decided to tackle the gum rack. Under the counter they have a large box where they keep the opened packs but over time they just get carelessly tossed in so I took them all out, filled the empty spaces on the rack and then reorganized the gum box according to what was still sealed and what was similar to what, brand name wise. It took me twice as long because customers kept drifting in, slowly wandering around the store and as soon as I stepped away from the register they suddenly made a bee line to check out. Oh well, it kept me occupied for the night.

This one woman came in that made me shake my head. She was in her early 20's and wasn't half bad looking, except she had bits of metal hanging off every available space on her face. She even had collar bone piercings and they must have been fresh because they were still pretty red. I hope she never plans to fly anywhere because it's going to take her hours to get through security. Seriously, why....never mind.

By 5 am I was so tired I was falling asleep standing up. I did everything I could to keep awake from reading the paper to going outside and standing in the early morning chill, nothing was working. Finally the morning crew showed up and I headed home. I was asleep within a few minutes but woke up at 9 am because I had to drop my sculptures off at 10. Now I can't fall back asleep, I get the feeling I am going to be really really tired by 5 tomorrow morning. Oh well, it will be my Friday and I have nothing planned so I can sleep in. 

Found money, 16 cents. 

9/20

Another long boring night. Remember when I cleaned and straightened the spare gum box? Well they got a shipment in today and they just carelessly tossed the rest into the box, it was a mess again. Oh well, it will give me something to do on Friday.

And I still hate people who heat stuff up before they pay for it. Some guy had gotten one of those soup to go things and when I went to scan it I dumped hot soup all over my hand. I didn't curse and finished the sale but it burned like heck and I smelled like chicken noodle for the rest of the night. Seriously, is there no common sense in the modern world?

Finally the morning rolled around and the day shift showed up. I didn't have to run their register while they did their paperwork so I got to take off on time. I was so tired I was falling asleep on my feet so it was probably best. I got home, went to bed and didn't wake up until 2 in the afternoon.

Found money 26 cents.