My Life!

So I work at a grocery store and I have a degree in Psychology. This often feels like my life!

I Know the Beauty Is There, I Just Can't See It Right Now

We got our first real snow of the winter. Personally, I could have done without it. I like snow in December, then I'm just ready for spring. I suffer from sun-deprivation depression, so this time of the year I just count the days and watch for the sun to get a bit closer. I wish I could say I appreciate the beauty of it, but I just see a cold walk to work (only 3 blocks, thank goodness) and a hassle trying to do anything that needs done outside of the walls of my house. Even taking the trash to the curb for pickup. Maybe that just means I'm getting old!

I Need a Little Less Reality, Please

Well, the earliest we can get a plumber is Friday, maybe. When I was little, my Grandparents lived in the boonies and had no indoor plumbing. If they did it every day, I can do it for a few days. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it!

My husband made it to work yesterday, but he said he's never seen anything like it. When he got into Effingham there was so many Semi's lining the roads, he didn't think he was going to make it through. The authorities were directing them to every large parking lot in town until every one of them was full, eventually they parked them on the sides of the road. The truckstops kept running out of diesel and the fuel trucks couldn't get through to refill the tanks. It may be days before they get it all sorted out. Things started to get back to normal at the store yesterday, most of our delivery trucks got through and were able to get limited orders to us. We still look a bit picked through, but at least we have the staples again. Unfortunately, they are predicting more precipitation for today and tomorrow. Every one keeps saying, yes, but it's supposed to be rain tomorrow and it's going to be in the 40s. But they aren't thinking about the fact that the rain has no were to go! I think it could be a whole other bunch of problems!

I'm keeping my sense of humor in all of this. Because it's that or roll up in a ball and cry. So, laughter all around, my dears!

Mark Your Calendar!

The continuing saga of Winter Storm Ion is making my life miserable interesting. I live10 miles from where I70 and I57 crosses in Illinois. It's a trucker's haven, lots of truckstops and restaurants. The authorities have asked people to avoid parts of the town because of the congestion caused by the truckers getting off the Interstate to rest and refuel which has become a problem all on it's own. Check it out here and here. My husband works at Menard's, which is in the middle of all of that mess. He hasn't gone in the last two days (we couldn't get the car out of the drive) but he's tried it this morning.

On other fronts, I've decided people are just stupid. We have been asked to stay off the roads--so of course the store was nuts busy all day yesterday with people who just wanted to get out and see if they could! We did get milk and bread (but no eggs) but they were both later than normal. I stayed in a good mood and handled it well but its stressful and gets exhausting. And then a half hour before the end of my day, my husband called to ask me to call the City office and see if they could turn off our water-- we had a pipe break. Oh lord. I was almost in tears by that point. We had left our facets dripping, hoping to avoid such an occurrence. One good thing, we had been collecting that dripping water into jugs so we have water to drink. I've got snow melting on the stove right now so I can flush the toilets, but no shower. I left a call with the local plumber--hopefully he doesn't have too long of a back list. I'm trying to keep my sense of humor, but it's a wispy thing right now!

Wonderful Winter Weather

When I walked into work yesterday, my boss looked surprised. The head meat-cutter, the only other person there except for the boss' son, told me no one else showed up and they didn't expect me, either. I live 3 blocks away, for heavens sake. I was going to show up. To be honest, I was a bit pissed. If they didn't want me, they should have called! How was I to assume that he would assume I wasn't coming?  The store was sold out of milk, and bread, and eggs, and assorted other staples. I've never seen the shelves that empty, and there is no guarantee we'll get any today. So I worked 3 hours then they sent me home because they closed early. I could have used one of my personal days, now I'm just going to have a short check. Oh, well. So anyway, I'm going to bundle up and do it again this morning (unless he calls. Surely, he'll call this time). It's 13 below right now. It's going to be an ice-cream headache the whole way! My husband's home again. He works 15 miles away and we still can't get the car out of the garage. Hopefully, things will be better tomorrow!

Because the Stupid People Need Those Cigarettes!

I haven't heard anything official, but I'm guessing we got close to a foot of snow yesterday. The drift is bad and the temps are sub-zero. The authorities have declared most of the roads closed and dangerous. I live three blocks from work, so I'm sure here in another hour or two I'll be trekking my way to the store--most of my fellow employees live in the next town over or in the country so we'll be working with a skeleton crew. Ideally, we wouldn't even open because people shouldn't be out! But, and I know this from experience, I'll have customers come in for one thing. Milk, a loaf of bread (I'm sure we're out of both) or a pack of cigarettes. It's not so much that they need them but they simply have this itch to challenge the elements. Not me--I'd be quite happy to stay in! I'm holding on to the tiniest flicker of hope that my boss calls and tells me to stay home. (Not going to happen, but a girl can dream!)

My Life The Last Two Days!

You would think we live high in the mountains where snow means being stuck for weeks. Instead, we live in an area where, even at it's worst, the snow plows do a pretty good job. The last time I got snowed in and couldn't get the car out for a week was in 1982. But people totally freak out. Our forecast calls for (maybe) a few inches of snow over the next few days. The bigger threat is ice, and I think if that was going to happen it would have happened this morning. It didn't. I was stuck standing at the register all day today. I don't do well standing in one spot--I'm a bit fidgety and need to move around. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will have calmed down. Fingers crossed! Stay safe and warm, where ever you are!

TGIF!

In a Nutshell

My life, for the last two days! We had a power outage Thursday night and the internet was down or just wacky for the last two days. Hopefully today will be better. It's going to take all day just to get caught up! (I'm not sure when I became so dependent on this box, but here I am.)

Photo Shoot

 Mom asked me to take the day off and drive her up to her sister's house. This particular sister is also my favorite Aunt. I used to go stay with her during the summers for a few weeks. We've always been very close. I wish everyone had a Favorite Aunt. My uncle, on the other hand, isn't a favorite. Since he was watching Fox News, I thought maybe I would take a walk in the back yard.

A sense of nostalgia washed over me as I walked around, and the realization that there may not be many more years that I will visit here. I had brought my camera with me, so I started snapping pictures, not so much with the idea of finding things of interest to photograph but more as a memory aid to refer to in years to come.

 This is a sample of what I shot. As I walked around I had flash-backs of the times I spent there-- the year my cousin had pet rabbits and we had to fetch them out of the hostas, the year he got a motorcycle and gave me rides at the back of the yard, the times my Aunt and I sat by the apple tree and she told me stories of her childhood.

The memories just flooded through me. This really was my happy place for many years! I'm so glad I took the day off to go.

All In A Day's Work

Customer swipes debit card.
Me: I'm sorry, but it comes up insufficient funds.
Customer: That's strange. There should be enough in the account. Should I swipe it again?
Me: Only if you think something has changed in the last 30 seconds.

Who Knew?

The big topic at work on Friday was Hostess. The Father from the local Catholic Church bought our entire supply of Suzy Qs, which was 8 boxes total--we have a fairly small Hostess display. This is where I wish I was a bit quicker on the draw--I could have bought them all and sold them on Ebay!  I watched several auctions end yesterday afternoon. One single box of Twinkies went for over $25.00. I could have made a killing!

The Life of a Cashier

This is probably a daily thing. We only have two registers at our store (it's a very small store) and customers will walk up to the register I'm not standing at, lay their stuff down, stare at me for 10 seconds and then ask "which register are you on?". If you ever notice that glazed look in your Cashier's eyes just know it's stuff like this that does that to us!

Service With A Grimace

I admit it--I'm a big fat Liberal. And I live and work in a town full of change-fearing Conservatives. I have a few friends with whom I share similar political and religious beliefs and I will discus different issues with them. But since I don't like confrontation at all, for the most part I keep my mouth shut, especially at work. Today I had a customer that was being loud and making comments that I don't agree with. I believe he was aiming them at the young man (the boss' son) who was working with me. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe he thought he was being funny, or maybe he was trying to get a rise out of my young co-worker. What he got, finally, was a rise out of me! I tried to keep my head down and finish checking out his groceries, but it got to be too much and finally I made a few comments that I probably shouldn't have. Funny thing is, I think it went right over his head! Somehow, I don't think he realized how mad I was. Finally, I asked him what his solutions to our problems were. He didn't have an answer for that and he left. I'm going to remember that--because it apparently works!

Daily Irritants

Why do people think they can go into a store (or any business, actually) trash talk the products and the employees, and then wonder why they aren't greeted with smiles and service? I'm sorry, if I'm that unhappy with a store, I quit going there. I don't continue to return weekly! I had a customer today who was unhappy that we were out the bacon we had on sale. I explained to her that store policy is we only give rainchecks if we have been shorted the item and will not receive any before the sale ends. This particular customer said she wouldn't be in again this week--but I would almost bet she is. She comes in several times each week. And she was unhappy with the response she got from the employee in the meat department that told her we were out. (He has had previous run-ins with her and kept his answers as short as possible.) At that point I offered to give her the raincheck but she refused. She didn't want it any more. She said she would just have to go to Walmart and she was having a good day until she came to the store. I mumbled "me too" and then clamped my mouth shut to avoid telling her how much we dread seeing her come in the door. I think she started to realize she had gone to far by the set of my face because her tone changed and she even tried to smile a little. 98% of the customers are okay--quite a few downright chatty and friendly--but it's that 2% that ruin my day!