One Down

Alright, for those who haven't heard I took test one of two and passed. I'd like to say it was with flying colors, but let's face it, it wasn't. But I passed with a little bit to spare. :) I'll take what I can get.

I have scheduled the final test, the big one....the state license test. I will know before I get home how I did. I'm not going to reveal the date of the next test as I don't really need any added pressure, so I'll let you know when I'm done. :) It's soon, so this will probably be my only blog between now and then. I'm hoping by the end of the summer to be down to just the store and insurance, but with today's economy I'm not sure, but it's one more thing to add to my list of qualifications. :)

It's been a pretty nightmarious life (it's a new word) all I've been doing is working and studying. Now that's not completely true, I have also found a day or two to go out and have a good time, but not many. I have been so tired from staying up and studying, or doing things for the store, or just not being able to sleep well I'm just going crazy! I really need a break, a vacation from all of this. I have come close many times in the last couple of weeks of just not opening up and see if anyone would even notice. Graduation time was good for me, but now it's back to normal, well not even normal. Somehow I'm down from last year, somehow I've lost business, I'm still baffled by this, as last year I didn't have as good of stuff and not as much of it. I'm just not sure where to turn with this place anymore. I've talked to a couple of realtors about options and such, but no one has a good defined answer for me. I promised myself I wouldn't make that kind of decision until I was able to think clearly about it. What would I do afterwards? I guess I just don't know, and frankly I'm tired of thinking about it all.

I need a week off, shoot I'd settle for a day off. I have the opportunity for an inexpensive week's vacation with some friends, and I've actually considered closing the store, but I really don't think the store would survive taking a week of sales out of it, so I doubt that that is going to be happening, but it was a great thought. As soon as my cousin is back from vacation she's going to be coming in 4 hours a week for me so I can get paperwork done, or balance the check book, or cook, or clean the house, or go to dinner, or just take a nap. I think it's going to be fantastic. I'll get spoiled and then in the fall she'll leave for college and I'll be back to the same old stuff. Crazy isn't it?

So last Friday our family finally did the Relay for Life. I was a nervous wreck about it, after everything that has been said and everything everyone has done or not done for this even I just had a feeling it was going to be a Jerry Springer night of fighting and bickering, and you know what? For the most part none of that happened. I had planned on closing the store for the event, but I had so many orders going out those two days I just couldn't manage it. I had scheduled myself to walk 4 hours that night for our team, I didn't realize at the time that 1) I would have to be going back and forth to various jobs and the store to get things done in between time and 2) just how much walking that is! I was whooped by the second hour.

It really was a great event, but after the first hour I had to come back here and do a very large cheese tray, then it was back to the event. I was there and walked the second hour and then had to run and clean, then uptown for supplies, then back to the store to make 2 large veggie trays and dip. I had asked my brother to walk for me since I wouldn't get back in time for my third hour which he did. So I figured I'd sit down for a few minutes before heading back to the event. Did I mention that I was running on 1.5 hours of sleep from the night before? yeah that's a story in itself. So I sat down and woke up at 9am just in time to open the store back up. I had slept through my final hour of walking, which no one expected me to show up for, so it was covered already and they hadn't even told me. I guess I'm pretty easy to see through. :)

I missed the closing ceremony, but I did catch the luminary ceremony, well most of it, at 11pm. It was the most amazing thing I've seen. The entire track was lit only by the candlelight of the luminaries that were purchased in honor or in memory of cancer patients. Then throughout the hour they were reading all of the names in our county of the people that had passed away and then the people that have survived. I really don't think there was a dry eye on the property, it was moving and amazing and so worth the time. I guess watching my aunt walk the 2 survivor laps was pretty emotional, but I had to be here at the store so I didn't get to see those. The whole thing was pretty moving and I'm glad we took part in it.

I must say though, I learned those people are very strange and unrealistic and some were down right rude. Now mind you it was not everyone over there, but there were a few campsites that I was warning friends to stay away from. The one lady made an 8 year old cry, I was there the whole time and it was awful. He had a mere $10 to last him the night and she didn't want to give him change, and didn't want to give him the pizza until he put the ten into the bucket as his donation. I told her that $10 for a slice of pizza was a bit unrealistic and she told me in a very snotty tone that this was about giving. I just looked at her with this dumbfounded look on my face, told her to keep the pizza and told the kid I'd take him to the other pizza stand where they were nicer. I didn't even turn around to see the look on her face. Then another stand a friend of mine went to buy books at their used book sale. Now keep in mind that the books were priced like a garage sale, she picked out a few and gave the guy a twenty. He took the bill and put in the bucket and told her to have a nice day. She was instantly upset. She brought to his attention that the books came to $1.50 and he didn't even offer to make change for her and he was pissed. She stood over him and made him count the change back to her and then she told him she'd go and donate it to another site that would appreciate it a little more.

I just never stop being baffled by these people, not "these" people as in the people at relay, because they really were a minority in the situation, most of the people were the most wonderful people I could have come into contact with! But rude people in general. The audacity these people show, their cockiness, and their inability to give a shit about anyone else's feelings. Maybe this is why people are now calling me the grumpy grocer (yes TB it's really true). I fight rudeness in my store with the same amount they dish out. If they want to be rude to me I don't go out of my way for them. Same thing at Wendy's, if you want to be rude to my crew and myself and treat us like we're freakin idiots, I'm not smiling to you, I'm not being kind to you, I won't even treat you fully like you treat us, but I'm not doing anything special for you. No I won't repeat your order at the window, and yes I'm going to charge you for the extra cheese sauce, and no I will not separate sour patch kids by color for you, and no I will not use three bags for 1/2# of meat and cheese. Don't expect people to back over backwards for you when you treat them like shit!

Did I mention I need a vacation? Somewhere I can go without customers, without the general public would be fantastic!!! And people wonder why there are days I don't want to leave the confines of my house. I've had days already where all I do for hours is scream about stupid and rude people, everywhere I look they appear to me. You know, truck drivers are not allowed to drive over X amount of hours legally, I think it should be the same for customer service (I think I've discussed this before). There are days I want to rip people apart and scream at them, and other days I just want to lay in the corner of my bedroom in the fetal position hoping that when I get up that the world will be different. I just don't see things getting better.

Is it that I'm getting up there in years? Has it always been like this and I just didn't realize because I didn't care enough? I was raised to treat people with kindness and respect, and that no job was too good for someone. You didn't throw trash on the ground if there was a grounds keeper, you didn't clean up after yourself in a restaurant just because there was a bus boy, there was no reason I couldn't do the same things I did at home. Yes they will clear your plates, but do I really need to drop half my meal on the floor and not pick it up? Is it too much to take my napkin and wipe up the water ring from my glass? I just don't get it. Even on the phone, I've been known to be a bit rude, but I know my limits, if it's not the person's fault that I'm talking to, I make sure I tell them, I realize this isn't your fault, or I realize it isn't your problem, but will you help me, or find me someone that can help me or answer questions? It's when the people on the phone get pissy and rude with me that I unleash on them.

Hmmmm......anyone else think I need anger management classes? ;)

So anyway that's not really where I wanted this to go, but it's how it happens.

So in the past few weeks since it's gotten warm I have found a new past time to calm me down after a bad night at Wendy's. A friend of mine has a pond a few miles out of town and told me I could use it anytime I wanted, morning, noon or night. I laughed and told him I'd be out there after work at wendy's every night, and he was cool with it. So now after a rough night I drive out there and have been swimming, it's been the most fantastic thing I could imagine. It's dark, it's peaceful and the stars are shining and there is no one around. I usually spend about 20-30 minutes either swimming, or floating, or sometimes just laying out on the dock drying off and staring at the stars and talking with God. It's just so calming. I need to move to the country. There is just nothing like it, a few around here laughed at me when I told them, but one night a few of us went out and took a dip late at night and they all agreed it's just so peaceful and beautiful! It's doing wonders helping me to relax before bed. When I used to get home from work I'd be up for another two hours trying to get it all out of my system, or trying to forget about it, but now I can come home and go straight to bed, it's just so amazing. I love the water.

Oh lets see what else has been happening......I'm getting central air in my store!! We finally have acquired all the major components needed, now a few electrical connections, gas connections and duct work and my store will have a new heating a colling unit! Much more efficient and finally, my coolers will run like they should in the summer!! No longer will I be sweating at the register in 98 degree heat! I think it could help with summer sales after word gets out, it will be nice. ;) I can hardly wait.

ummm......lets see.....off hand I can't think of much of anything else. Anyone want to talk about life insurance and annuities? I'm well versed now. :) How about accident and health insurance? no? it's really not as dull as I thought, once you get the basic concepts I find it pretty fascinating and realized how under insured and unprepared I am! I have a few insurance details to work out after I get through my test with my own insurance to make sure the store and the people I leave it too will have the money to pay the bills until they decide what to do with it. I also need to have the will done and make it official. It's strange to think about making a will and making plans in the event of your own death, it's strangely comforting. It makes me feel better having something worth leaving behind to someone. Let them have the headaches.LOL!!!!!

Well anyway I've probably rambled on enough for now, I think I'll stop this now and make notes of anything that comes along the way until my next blog, which should be after my test, then I can get back to a normal life. :) Whatever that may be.

later!

Comments

  1. Have I mentioned that I love you?
    Well I do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay for passing your test!

    oh, and if it makes you feel better... I'm a grumpy old hag.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hooray for a passing score!

    I have so much I could say, but I can sum it all up with this: I agree, and you're not crazy.

    Good luck on the next test!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A promised update

Good things