10/12-13

SICK. I got home on Wednesday morning and went to bed. Around 4 in the afternoon, 10 hours later I got up. I did nothing. Around 5 AM I went to bed and got up around 4 in the afternoon again, 11 hours. I got up and did nothing. I went to bed around 2 in the morning. And that is how I spent my weekend.

Found money...well

10/14

I woke up late in the day again but at least I was feeling better. The swelling in my sinus was almost gone and I wasn't queasy anymore. I considered calling in to see if I could take the night off but it was already 3 in the afternoon and the manager was gone for the weekend. Plus Diane had been taking days off for some personal reason and for all I know she had already requested the day off, so I went to work.

Friday night is overlapping shift night. Everybody on the shift works 5 days a week so on Friday everyone shows up. I expected to be working with two other people so when 10 rolled around and nobody had shown up yet I began to wonder. Finally Diane came in and the woman on the afternoon shift calmed down and left, her kids are at a babysitter who can't watch them after hours.

It seems that since Amy worked for Diane last week, Diane is working for Amy this week, and Amy decided to just make a short vacation and took Friday off too. I did have plans tonight but they had just come to an end since Diane would go off on one of her all night cleaning binges and I would be stuck behind the counter. Oh well, there's always tomorrow night, or perhaps next week.

There had been an out of town football game and it was right around 10:30 that everyone began to roll in. We had a variety of people from parents to students and even a few of the cheerleaders. I had to laugh at the last group because one of the girls had brought her younger sister. The sister just kind of hang out in the background, not really saying anything, and beaming at the idea of hanging out with the older girls. Some things never change. 

About half way through the night a customer came in and asked if we had sugar free cappuccino. I was tempted to say, "Yeah, it's call coffee and is at the end of the counter" but I didn't. Instead I just told her no. When she came up to the counter with her cup I asked if it was just coffee and she said "well if you want to call it that". The station gives coffee free with a fill up but I charged her for it, consider it a rude tax. 

A stoner couple rolled in early in the night, he looked like he was coked up and she had that heroin pale look. They wandered around and finally got some chips and other stoner type of food and left. It couldn't have been but a half hour later when they showed up again and got a large soda. Remember kids, drugs make you stupid and hungry.

The funniest part of Diane taking a week off was that the regular drivers were all disappointed when they came in and she wasn't there. Tonight they were all as happy as could be and chatted away. She was telling me about the stuff they were telling her and thought I knew what was going on. I told her that they never tell me anything, I guess they just don't want to flirt with a guy.

At three AM there were two near accidents. The first happened when some woman went tearing out of the parking lot. She cut her wheels too tight and bounced over the curb, shaving a few millimeters off her frame. She was lucky to not take off her tailpipe or pop a tire. The second accident occured when a driver went to get out of his semi. He stepped out too wide and missed the bottom step off his truck. He caught himself and didn't slam into the ground but he dropped all his stuff so he had to spend a few minutes picking up his paperwork and his cup. I wasn't going to say anything but Diane had to ask what happened. He was embarrassed but had a sense of humor about it.

The night wrapped up and surprise the hippie showed up early. Well he showed up 45 minutes late but normally on Saturday morning he is an hour late so it was early for him. Considering I am still fighting off my head cold I went home and straight to bed. Another day, another dollar. 

Found money 62 cents and a 1955 nickle

10/15

Another Saturday night. Saturdays on a non holiday weekend are usually slow and this one was no exception. By 11 the place cleared out so I went to tackle the job I had been putting off for over a week, the cooler. Amy had volunteered to do it last week so I hadn't been in there, and it showed.

There was stuff piled everywhere. There were things in places where they didn't go and stuff piled on top of stuff that needed to go on the racks. Someone dropped an energy drink and spilled everywhere, and didn't clean it up, so the floor was a stick mess. I had my work cut out for me. I spent an hour and a half and got the place back into a functional state. I double mopped the floor and tossed two loads of cardboard and shrink wrap in the dumpsters. Seriously, there are two other shifts, did they not see the piles and puddles? Oh well, it killed time.

After I finished the cooler Diane went off to clean and I was left at the register. About half way through the night someone paid with a dollar bill that was stamped with "fairtax.org" , a conservative organization that wants a fair tax system in which ordinary people pay more and corporations pay nothing. The slogan on the bill was It's Your Money, I crossed out the "your" and replaced it with "the 1%ers". I am so radically political. 

Another customer came in and asked if we had a "Map book". This threw me off for a second but then I pointed to the map rack he had walked by twice and he started looking up his destination. And yes I controlled myself and didn't say "We don't have any Map Books but we do have a few Atlases." See, I'm not a grammar Nazi.

Diane was somewhere in the restroom scrubbing something and the place was empty. I figured it was a good time to make a quick visual inspection of the lot trash cans but just as I got out the door some car rolled onto the lot, so I went back inside. The guy hung out by the pump for a while. Then he came in and wandered around the store for a while, then he went to the restroom, then he wandered around the store again and finally he prepaid the pump. In all he was there a half hour and the entire time I was stuck behind the register waiting for him to do something. Sure enough by the time he left a crowd showed up and it was over an hour before I could go check the lot. Why....

Diane works two jobs so she has to leave at 6, so I mentioned it to the morning shift woman on Saturday night. Normally the hippie shows up at 7 and the morning shift woman calls and asks me to stay till 8 but there was a total shock, they both showed up and on time! I got the feeling they were both in a bad mood about having to actually be at work when on time so I left right away. I didn't need the drama, and I'm never saying anything about the things I shouldn't have to say in the first place again.

The head cold is almost over but I still went straight to bed. 

Found money 35 cents and a 1941, 1946, 1953 and 1964 nickles. 

10/16

Diane was working again but this time she called to say she was going to be a little late. I told the afternoon woman that there was no need for her to stick around so she left and for about 15 minutes I was on my own. Yes I got in trouble for that before but this time it wasn't for the whole night so I doubt anyone will say anything.

When Diane showed up she started to count in her drawer. The afternoon woman had left her 6 cents in pennies, three quarters, three 5 dollar bills and $120.00 in twenty dollar bills. Diane was not happy. She had to start off her shift by dropping coins and bills from the safe. It's not like the afternoon woman couldn't do it, it's just being lazy. I have to wonder if everyone is going to get written instructions on the proper way to prepare a cash drawer for the next shift.

It was the typical Sunday non holiday night, I feel like I said that before. By midnight the late night travellers were gone and things quieted down. I dashed into the cooler real quick but with everything straightened out it only took 10 minutes to toss  a few items on the shelf and I didn't even have to haul anything to the trash. There was an empty soda case but I left it to see if it would be there tomorrow night, a little test for the next two shifts. Ironically the entire time I was in the cooler was the busiest time in the store, when I came out I was surprised to see all the cars on the lot and all the people walking out the door, the place was deserted when I had started. And sure enough, 10 minutes after I was done and back at the register the place was empty agian.

I spent the majority of the night doing the little nit picky jobs. Nothing needed a serious clean and most of the shelves were stocked so I just screwed around all night. I didn't mind.

Towards the end of the night three guys came in, they were obviously from a construction crew. The first guy came in and bought a stack of souvenir magnets and then prepaid for gas. The second guy came in and bought more magnets and some snacks. He was on the phone with his girlfriend but she hung up on him so he wasn't too happy. He asked me how to get to Amarillo so I gave him directions, he asked "so this is the highway I need?" and I said yes, he then asked "It will take me straight to Amarillo?" and again I said yes. Then the driver came in and asked if this was the highway to Amarillo and I said yes, "This highway?" and again "Yes!" I was starting to get a little insulted. Finally the third guy came up to the register to buy some stuff and, yep he asked how to get to Amarillo. I had told the same three people three, four, five, six times the same directions, Sheesh!

Ever have an itch you can't scratch? That's what happened to me in the middle of the night. I got this terrible itch on my inner thigh that just wouldn't go away. I tried to put my hand in my pocket and reach it but it was just too far away. Of course there was a customer in the store and I was in plain view of the security camera so I couldn't stick my hand down my pants at that moment. Finally the woman came up to the register to pay for her stuff and...her husband walked in. I had to wait until he was done. Finally everyone was gone and I headed to the back room for a satisfying scratch. And yes, I washed my hands.  

During the work week the same woman comes in every morning. I call her The Nurse, she may not be a nurse but she always wears nurse scrubs so... Anyhow every morning she gets a cappuccino and prepays for gas. Since she is in a hurry I don't bug her with idle chit chat but make sure she gets on her way. Today was a little different, after getting gas she came back in and asked if someone could give her a jump, her battery was dead. I pulled my truck around, it's a good thing it was a cold night and I drove. I tried to open her hood but they build really cheep cars these days and the hood release bar was bent out of shape. I had to reach in under the hood to pull the latch release to the side. Then we hooked up the cables and got her on her way. I suggested she look into getting a new battery. Dare I say it, it was the best conversation of the night.

The morning crew showed up on time, I could get use to this, and the morning rush hadn't hit yet so I went home. I did my usual, went straight to bed. Two more days and it's my weekend. Yeah! 

Found money, 25 cents 

10/17

You know when you take in $1000 ($500 cash and $500 in a fleet card) it's going to be that kind of night.  My first indication was the driver with the fleet card. He started off arguing with me over the fact that a pump was out of order. He could try to get fuel from it but considering it had no power or a nozzle it was going to be kind of tough. After he moved to a functional pump and filled up he was over his 24 hour limit on fuel and had to wait about 15 minutes until it was midnight in Texas. Finally his card went through and he was on his way. 

Diane was doing her usual, cleaning everything in site and I ran the register. At one point I did get a chance to do the cooler, dump the trash and other assorted side jobs but mostly it was a long boring night.

It was probably around 2 in the morning when some biker showed up. I should point out it was around 38 f and the wind was blowing hard enough the manager had locked the back door, when you open the front door the wind blows through so hard it opens the back door and stuff goes flying off the racks. Well needless to say the guy was freezing, bikes aren't heated. He went to the restroom to put on another layer of clothes. Another customer took pity on him and gave him a couple of heat packs. I hoped he got to his destination before he lost any toes.

Later when the whole place was deserted there was a sudden rush of people and they were all heading to the same spot, the restroom. It was the first time I have seen a line after midnight. They finally cleared out, only one car actually got gas and everything died off again. I figured I would get something to eat and the tag teamers showed up. They were there, one at a time, for the next hour. Just when I gave up on the thought of eating they all left. Some nights are very strange.

The night started with a confused truck driver and ended with one. The guy pulled in the wrong way so he had to turn around, go around the building and pull into the pumps. Of course he pulled into the out of order one so he had to back out and pull into the next one. He pulled in at such an angle that he couldn't drive straight out so he backed up, the whole time his trailer was turning and becoming parallel with the building. He reached a point where he couldn't go back anymore and needed to go forward, except another truck had pulled in on the end pump and he couldn't, so he tried to pull back into the pump but was at such an angle that his trailer was about to run into the steel barriers that protect the pump. He wanted to back up again but another truck pulled in on the other side and he was stuck. He had to wait a half hour until he could finally back up enough to turn sideways to the pumps and drive around them. It's spooky to think that guy is out on the roads. 

The show ended right around the time the manager showed up. Since the hippie was late I ran the register until the morning rush was over and then I went home. Another night in the books.  

Found money, $2.21 and a 1952 penny  

10/18

I can't believe that in two days I had the same discussion with a customer. Another person wanted to fill up on the out of order pump. They claimed there was no bag on it, except for the big black plastic one over the meter and the fact that it has no nozzle. They finally decided I wasn't going to turn on the pump and moved to the working one. Did I mention someone tried to drive off with the nozzle on the middle pump so it was out of order too? We were down to the auto diesel and the semi pump. Thankfully we don't get a lot of heavy traffic at night.

I brewed up a pot of coffee and needed to put another filter in but there was a couple fighting over driving at night and I didn't want to get in the middle of it. Then the tag teamers came in, they either lingered at the coffee pot or they lingered at the counter. Either way I hoped I didn't run out of coffee before I got the chance to put in a new filter.

Later a customer came in and wanted to buy a bottle of water. He paid with a $20 and wanted the change as a pre pay for fuel. The problem was he wasn't parked at any of the pumps. He wanted to know what the best one would be, I had no answer since they are pretty much all the same, except for #2 which has been out of order longer than I have worked there. I told him he would have to pull up to a pump before I could set it for him. Luckily no one was on the lot so I could watch him and pre pay the right pump. Seriously, if you are going to get gas park at the pump. 

And I had a brush with fame! Well a breeze of fame, kind of like a butterfly in Brazil flaps it's wings and a piece of dust stirs on the counter.  Late at night a fancy rig pulled up to the pump and a group of guys got out. From the way they were acting I wondered if perhaps they were some kind of up coming band or something. Well I was right, they were associated with Jimmy Buffet, of Margaritaville fame. Yes, I waited on Jimmy Buffet's caterer. I didn't ask if they served him Cheeseburgers in Paradise. (If you're a Parrothead you'll get that joke). As for Mr. Buffet, well no he wasn't with them, he was probably on a plane somewhere flying to wherever his next concert was. But hey, it was part of that whole 6 degrees thing. 

Last week I was so happy because I wasn't going to have to tell anyone about the crashed trailer anymore. Wrong, people asked me about it all night long, and some of them were regular customers who had seen it but were asking for the first time. Do I really look like I know what I'm talking about? 

I checked the cooler and I couldn't believe that somehow someone had turned it into a huge mess again. I figured I wasn't going to freeze in there for another half hour this week to clean up what someone could have taken care of in 10 minuets so I left it. I'm getting tired of lazy coworkers who have the "let someone else take care of it" attitude. Oooo, just let someone say something....

The woman on the morning shift had showed up around 10:30 the night before to say goodbye to her loser boyfriend, who was catching the off schedule bus back to El Paso, I figured she probably paid for the ticket. I also figured he was heading south to be with the other woman he is fooling around with, what a wonderful guy. Anyhow I expected her to be late but she showed up on time, shock of shocks. I still ended up running the morning shift register for 20 minutes but I still don't mind because it adds up to overtime. Then I got home and crashed out. Yeah for two nights off!

No lost change today but I did find a 1959 nickle. I have to get one of those coin books.