11/30

Ahhh, after being sick and then making the Thanksgiving round trip, and then going straight to work, finally two days off. My plan was to catch up on my sleep, eat, kick back and veg out. You know what they say about the best laid plans...

Ever watch a movie and you know something bad is about to happen, and you even shout at the person "hey, something bad is about to happen, don't do that", well that is how I felt when the phone rang. And just like the people in the movie I went and answered the call. It was Amy's roommate (her fake wife), it turns out that Amy had been ill all day, mostly in the restroom and needed me to cover her shift. Knowing how terrible it is to be physically sick and have to go to work I said no problem. So I put all my plans to do nothing on hold and got ready for work. 

My night started with a truck driver paying with a fleet card. In order to run them I have to use a separate swipe machine and then punch in their information. I tried several times and it kept telling me it was the wrong truck number so I checked with the driver and he re gave me the number, which was completely different than the first number. I tried it and it still didn't work so I asked him again and this time he gave me the numbers in a different order. Three tries, three numbers and his card finally went through. It was going to be a fun night. 

The next couple that came in bought $50 worth of beef jerky. They said they really loved the brand and they couldn't get it where they lived so every time they came through they had to buy more. I was thinking for that much money they could get a decent steak dinner. Oh well, it's not my money.

As the night went along I started running low on ones and tens. I don't know why it is but sure enough everybody started paying with $5 bills, one guy even paid thirty bucks all in fives. I finally gave up and did a safe drop but by the end of the night aside from the bills I left in the drawer I dropped an additional hundred all in fives. Do people plan this in advance?

Towards the end of the night a guy came in, he got a quart of transmission fluid and some snacks and then prepaid for $40 in gas. I prepaid the pump and since there was a lull in the crowd I did a quick safe drop. When I was done I  looked at the register, the $40 prepay was still on the pump but the guy was long gone. I hit the pump stop button, to make sure no one else tried to fill up on it, and then waited. About 10 minutes later the guy came back, he had started down the freeway when he looked at his gas gauge and realized he didn't fill up so he got off at the next exit. I told him it was still ready to go so he pumped and left, a little more embarrassed than when he first showed up. Oh well, there goes my $40 tip.

Just before the end of the shift a tow truck came in with an SUV on the back. The people being towed came in and I knew they looked familiar, sure enough when they got some stuff the guy commented "well, we're back". They had passed through about two hours earlier and had broken down somewhere on the road, they were lucky they had a phone signal. They were on their way to a mechanic and their trip had been spoiled. Remember, if you are going on a long trip get a tune up before you leave.

Just before I left a truck driver came in. He is a regular so we chatted a bit and then as he was leaving he said "See you tomorrow", I sure hope not.

Found money, 15 cents.  

Found money for November $38.71

12/1

A day off. This time the phone didn't ring. I didn't do anything, I didn't go anywhere, I didn't see anybody. By 10 pm I was falling asleep so I went to bed. Basically it was the best day I had in two weeks.

12/2

Since I had gone to bed early I woke up early and I decided to go for a walk. I sent by the truck stop and was chatting with the manager. I don't know why but she was in a mood and really needed to vent. I heard about everything and everybody.

The interesting thing was it seems I am involved in the middle of a controversy and didn't even do anything. A couple weeks ago V from the afternoon shift had gone to Wyoming to meet up with a guy she met on the internet, we figured the next time we saw her would be on the news as they exhumed a shallow grave, but she came back. Well now she is going to head off to be with the guy and is planning on quitting some time before the end of the year. What this means is there will be an opening on the afternoon shift.

The problem is that P, another woman on the afternoon shift, suddenly got it into her head that I would be moving up and for some reason would get the coveted weekends off schedule. She was complaining at the manager how she had been working there longer and deserved the days off more than I did. The funny thing is this was the first I had heard of any of this and had never asked for either the afternoon job or weekends off. Of course the manager doesn't like P so who knows, I do have seniority over A, the other afternoon woman, and the manager may just give me the days off just to spite P. Oh work can be fun.

After that fun I went home and enjoyed the rest of the day off. There was just one problem, I had been up since 6 and was going to work from 10 to 6 am tonight and I couldn't go to sleep. I tried several times to take a nap but was wide awake. Oh it was going to be a long night.

~

When I got to work Diane was already there and in a drawer so I counted in mine and went to work. It turns out Amy had come in on Thursday but had looked like death warmed over so she was taking Friday off, sounded like a good idea to me. The only problem was that I was going to be stuck behind the register all night long.

I told Diane about the afternoon shift days off shuffle and she told me that it didn't matter. After two years of working the graveyard shift she decided that she wanted to move to daylight hours and told the manager she wanted the job. Considering she has seniority over P from the afternoon shift Diane would automatically get weekends off, which work out since she works a part time job on Saturdays and Sundays. As for me it means I get weekends off on the graveyard shift. I can't wait to see how P reacts to that, not to mention that the two of them will have a major clash. Oh I hope V really is going to Wyoming just so I can see the sparks fly. 

It was snowing again and it was going to be a long night. The roads in all directions were icy and snow packed and had low visibility. If the road wasn't closed the highway department was highly advising travellers stay put. It meant that not only was I going to have a long night but it was going to be extra slow.

Sure enough we had almost no customers. Those who did come in mostly wanted to knock the ice off their vehicles, wash the road salt off their windows and use the facilities. They weren't even buying anything or gassing up.

The funnest thing about a stormy night is every customer has to come in and give you a weather and road condition report. I knew about every highway within 200 miles, and passed that information on to people going the opposite direction. Sure enough there had been a major crash south of us and the road was closed, many travellers were glad to get that information so they could just check into a local motel rather than finding themselves stuck somewhere sleeping in their car. Others decided to risk it, and find out the hard way. 

Last week I had told off the Hippie over a jammed pump printer, so what did I find when I came in? A jammed pump printer. Grrr....when I dug the receipts out they were listed as happening between 2 and 4 pm. They had jammed up during the afternoon shift and nobody went out to fix it. I don't know if I can get totally mad at them because I don't know if they know how to un-jam the printer or even replace the paper. I'll let them slide this time but if I come in again I'm going to make at least one of them stick around so they can see how to fix the problems.

The last time I worked I got stuck with a drawer full of five dollar bills, so what happens tonight? My first cash paying customer gets $50 in gas and sure enough he pays all in fives. They were going to pile up again tonight. Usually on a Friday you get a stack of $20's or larger since everyone went to the bank before they started their trip but tonight seemed to be exact change night and by the end of the shift I had a stack of small bills and more coins than when I started. Fun with work.

It seemed the only time during the night when I was busy was when I was trying to clean and refill the coffee pot. Sure enough a string of people came in one at a time to wander around and buy one item. Finally they all left and I was able to get everything ready for the next shift. Of course I wasn't surprised when the morning shift woman called and asked me to cover her for a couple of hours. Considering I was working extra hours this week it just meant more overtime pay for me so I was glad to do it. And after I told off the Hippie last week he has been coming to work on time so I wouldn't be working solo for the two hours. 5 more days and I get another day off. 

Found money, none. Slow nights means no clumsy tourists dropping coins.

12/3 

Yeah, Amy is back but she looks terrible. She had been so ill that she ended up dehydrated and had to be hooked up to an IV drip at the hospital for a while. It was a good thing she stayed home yesterday. She spent the first half of the shift in the restroom and part of the night sitting behind the counter. I asked her why she didn't just take the night off and she said she needed the money. Oh well, I've come to work sick so I have no room to tell her what to do. 

It seems that early in the morning, just after I left, they shut the east bound road. There were patches of ice and blowing snow and the crash risk was just too high. This meant that all the people who had been stranded by the storm were now coming through, and I got to hear about it. I knew all about ice storms in Texas, road closures in Colorado and of course the big crash in Albuquerque. It seems people just love to tell you about their travels.

At the opening and closing of the shifts we count the individual cigarette packs, this is an anti theft measure by the owners. I was right in the middle of a long count when some guy came in to tell me all about the road conditions, I lost count. I tried to restart and here he came again to tell me all about something else, I lost count again. Finally I just gave up until he left and then did my count. Honestly, couldn't he see I was working?

The next customer was grouchy because we required a prepay. In the modern world 90% of gas stations require a card or a cash deposit so I don't know why people get bent out of shape especially late at night. He left some cash and then grumped back outside to the pump that needs new filters and is running slow. Oh great, he was going to be twice as mad when he came in. I knew what was coming so before he said anything I was extra nice to him. I gave him his change with a smile and a receipt with an extra "thank you for stopping". He didn't know what to do, he wanted to tell me off but I was being too nice. After he left I gave my evil laugh, bwa ha ha ha, there is nothing like kindness to disarm people.

One of the things that bugs me is that people walk through the door and ask where the restroom is, they don't even bother to look around first. I am always tempted to say "go to the Restroom sign and turn right". Don't worry, I just point the way, heck most of the time I don't even wait for them to ask, I can just tell by the look on their face and the way they are walking exactly what they want. But one of these days....

Towards the end of the night a trucker came in to get coffee and to complain. He had been stuck in Amarillo all day yesterday and had finally arrived here. The problem was he had a wide load on his truck and Colorado law prohibits them on the road on Sunday, it's suppose to reduce the possibility of accidents. He had called the State police and they gave him the go ahead but when he talked to the highway department officer they denied him a special waiver. He was going to be stuck for another 24 hours and another storm had been predicted for Monday, he may be stuck until Tuesday with a load that was suppose to have been delivered Saturday. 

It was extra cold tonight, the thermometer said 6 f/ -14 c. For fun I was taking hot water and tossing it into the air. It instantly vaporizes. I tried to shoot a video of it but it didn't work. Anyhow some guy comes in and tosses his cup right in front of the door, where it turned to ice. It ticked me off so I charged him for his coffee, bwa ha ha. Yep, rude tax.

The morning shift woman called again, she was running late again and wanted me to stick around for a couple of hours again. A really big check is coming my way. When the Hippie showed up Amy left, she had made it through the night but was really feeling lousy. I showed the Hippie the hot water in the cup thing and he was duly impressed, I don't know how much water he wasted after I left but I'm willing to bet he had to show everyone who came in. I went home and went to bed, Working all this overtime was starting to wear me down.  

Found money, 5 cents. 

12/4

Amy came in again tonight and she looked a lot better. She had gone home and slept all day, which is the best thing for when you are sick. Perhaps she can even contribute today.

Sure enough, the predicted storm struck and with the previous road conditions combined with the fresh snow resulted in no customers for the majority of the night. At one point we didn't have any customers for a two hour stretch. Amy cleaned and I stocked and we basically wasted the night. At one point we got kind of silly and were coming up with stripper names based upon brands of gum. In the end we decided that Misty Orbit was the best name and Juicy Bubbles was the worst. Well you have to do something on a slow night.

At the end of the night two truck drivers to come in had a load of live chickens, or at least they had been alive. The driver had gotten trapped in the storm and then the temperature had dropped well below freezing. He had called his company to find out what to do but they said if he was stuck he was stuck and not to worry about it. About half the poor birds had frozen to death during the night and he was hoping the ones toward the middle were still alive. Sometimes life can be cruel.  

The night was over, and I went home. Bedtime.

On a side note Amy once again told me she would be on time, and was once again late. This time she paid me 80 cents, a nickle a minute. You'd think she would learn to either be on time or to stop making bets.

Found money, 55 cents and a 1964 nickle. 

12/5

Bad weather is coming and I hate working on stormy nights.

I figured, being a Monday and a few weeks before Christmas, that it was going to be a slow night. I was right. Since I was working with Diane I knew I was going to be stuck behind the register with nothing to do, I wish I was home.

Some truck driver moved into the microwave. I don't know what he was heating up but it kept running and running and it didn't smell good. I think he was cooking a 7 course meal in there, if he wasn't whatever it is was going to be hard as a rock by the time he was done. Thank goodness he left and the air cleared out. How does overcooked plastic really taste?

As the night went along the temperature continued to drop. Eventually the thermometer bottomed at 6 f. It was so cold that even though the sky was clear small ice crystals were drifting around everywhere. Any moisture in the air was being instantly condensed. I didn't go outside.

I still don't know why people do this, I went to hand a guy his change and he pulled it away as if I was about to dump hot water on him. Why? But on the good side this is how coins end up lost on the candy rack and how I supplement my income. Cha-ching!

Towards the end of a long boring night a guy came in. He had wild hair and was talking to himself, very loudly. He got a cold coffee out of the cooler and came up to the register. This was the first time I noticed his clothes were covered in writing, I didn't have time to see what it said and I didn't want to engage him in conversation. I was glad when he left right away, I don't have anything against them but I prefer the crazy ones go on their way as soon as possible.

Early in the night the phone rang. I answered it and it was a collect call from Diane's sister. I gave the phone to her, I didn't want anything to do with this one, but she hung up right away. When it rang again she ignored it, and again when it rang the third time. It seems the sister got arrested in Colorado and was trying to use her phone call. Diane never said why she was arrested but was complaining the father's truck had been impounded and they had no idea where the dog was. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Finally the manager showed up and I could go home. Considering the freezing temperatures I warmed up my truck long before I left, and I was glad. Of course when I got home I still had to feed the horses and do a preliminary breaking of the ice. Finally I was done and could go to bed. If it wasn't for the fact I want to find out what happened with the jailed sister I wouldn't want to go back tomorrow.

12/6

I though yesterday was going to be slow. It seems that there are storms raging all around the area, even though it is slow here. Heavy fog and ice storms have made travel extra dangerous, so everyone stayed home. I guess after a series of crashes they closed the roads to the north and the east so we had no business at all.

The truck driver that had gotten stuck on Sunday was still there. He wanted to leave but road condition prevented him from driving in Colorado. He was hoping for tomorrow. 

Diane had taken the night off so I was working with V from the afternoon shift. She told me all about her car. She told me all about her potentially moving to Wyoming. She told me about how she had a job interview with the county first thing in the morning. She basically told me her life story. I would complain but it was a long slow night and her talking kept me awake. 

There were no crazies with writing all over their clothes tonight. Heck the only interesting customer of the night was a Russian guy who was looking for tire chains. Ever hear a Russian try to pronounce "chains" in English? I had to ask him to repeat what he wanted three times before I figured out what he was saying. He was not happy to find out the nearest place that was open was 20 miles away. There wasn't much I could do about that.

The manager came in, the shift was changed and the hippie came in on time, shock! Homeward bound, horses and cats fed. And now to bed.

Slow night, no dropped coins.