Similarities

I was minding my own business, doing an awesome job in the Hallmark aisle when I hear,
"How far along are you?"
"Oh, five months."
I look to see who it was, and before I could say, 'Do I know you?' she says,
"Do you know what you're having ?"
"A boy."
"Oh! I just had a boy four months ago! You look fantastic."
After she said that, I was glad I wasn't rude. Nice ego boost there. Later I rung her up, and she was even more awesome. She said the most painful part of the whole thing was the three weeks right before she gave birth while she was still waiting tables. And she said once she got the epidural, everything was fine. And she was really excited about having a boy on account of us girls are a whole different kind of crazy. And she said "boyfriend" instead of "husband." I should have gotten her number or something. It was a very reassuring conversation.

I switched with my coworker and now I'm worried about who I'll be working with on Saturday. I hope those I work with like me. And are reasonable with the breaks.

Santa Claus?

A black man came in with no shirt on, holding his stuff in his hands. His "stuff" was his shirt and a piece of fried chicken. He wanted a pack of Newport 100's, so I rung it up for him. To dig in his pockets, he put his chicken down on my bagging area. He was mumbling and talking fast, but I think I understood most of it. He wanted me to give him the pack of smokes for free because he was Santa Claus. And because he may or may not curb-stomp me or smack my head against the curb. (Although I'm still unclear about that threat.) After I had rung up the smokes, he just starts pressing buttons on the pinpad, which was my second clue  that the man wasn't right. He also tried to pay for these smokes with a Baskin Robins card. In retrospect, I should have called my manager or one of the dudes to the front when I noticed something was off about this guy. I need to stop waiting for something to happen before I call for help.

A very angry woman comes in periodically. I suspect part of the reason she is angry is her unbelievably unfortuante looks. She has thick, ill-fitting 80's glasses, and a short, frizzy perm. She has a considerable amount of facial hair, and her skin isn't smooth. (But it isn't pock-marked either.) Her clothes are always outdated. Honestly, it is hard to look at her. And she is so unpleasent and mean. Today she asked if we had gotten a new manager, I told her we had, and she snootily replied
"I can tell."
Whatever that meant.

Thank goodness I'm back in cosmetics tomorrow.

Commentaries

A regular of mine said,
"Are you gaining weight?"
"Yes. Because I'm pregnant."
"Oh! Girl or boy."
"Boy. And just so you know, it is very rude to mention someone's weight like that."
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"That's fine. I'm just letting you know."
He apologized several more times. I don't feel like I was rude. In fact, given the orginal comment, I think I reacted very poitely, given the first comment. But I do feel a little bad because I think he might be a little slow.

Our Rewards Card

I tried to sign up one of my regulars  because he is "addicted" to those keychain cards. But when he typed in his phone number and it asked to verify his birthday, it thought he was born in '96. Which he obviously wasn't. So we had to go back in a change all his information. Apparently his son has been using his info. Which is why the jr/sr thing makes no sense.

Today was a puttering day. In which I was supposed to be in Cosmetics, but spent most of the day at the second register because signing people up for these damn cards takes so long. I spent a very brief period in Hallmark. I also engaged in some gossip.

A female regular said,
"Oh, you're pregnant! I didn't know you were married."
"I'm not."
"Oh, and you look so young..."
"No, not that young."
Honestly I am kind of surprised when people notice and comment on my marital status. It does matter, but it is nobody's business. And I kind of thought we were done with those thoughts. But I also think people think I'm much younger than I am. Because I have a fabulous baby-face, and because I'm working at damn near entry-level.

Loyalties and Bloody Noses

I got a bloody nose today. Which my book says is normal. It was still almost embarrassing, although nowhere near at the middle school level.

I printed out a bazillion coupons yesterday; way more than I intended. My printer ran low on ink. And the coupons said 'redeem at another store' and I took that as a suggestion, not an order. My coworker pushed them through anyway, mostly because he is awesome. My checkouts take a long time these days, because of our loyalty card and my coupons.

Today was the first day of our loyalty card sign-up. I signed up one total person, comprised of the two people I halfway signed up. I couldn't finish either of my sign-ups because of my frustration and confusion. Which is sad, really.

I politely accused my new coworker of hanging up on my boyfriend, and she was very defensive. I'm pretty sure it was her, who else could it be?

Mutiny and Deals

There is unrest among the staff because of the inconsistantly of treatment of diffrent workers. The unrest also stems from the inconsistent training of the new people. Who are basically doing whatever they feel like.

I spent $18.63 today. On:
Folgers Country Roast- $6.99 and I had a 25 cent coupon
Tide Boost packets- $3.99
(2) Bounce fabric softner sheets-$3.99, I had a $2 off three coupon
Bone-shaped dog chew toy- 50 cents and I used a $3 store coupon so the overage was applied to the rest of the purchase
(2) sticks of Right Gaurd deoderant-b1g1f, and I had a $2 off two coupon. (With my discount, they were $3.82)
Neutrogena Deep Clean Face Wash- 25% off, with a $1 off peelie (it rang up at $4.64)

My goal is to get my stockpile big enough so that I don't have to leave my house for a month while I'm on maternity leave. I think I can achieve that goal.

Tazers and Athlete's Foot

This woman came up to my register with a tube of the store brand athlete's foot cream. She had talked to me before, and I think she might be a little paranoid. She pointed to her cream and said that she never had to use this stuff before she moved to this town. She has lived here thirty years. Somehow she connected her athlete's foot to the police's use of tasers. I was reminded that the police taser pregnant women too. She said that this is a godless town, but the worst people are those in law enforcement. Apparently, especially detectives and beat cops. She also hopes God will bless my child. English is not her first language, and I wonder if I am missing something in the translation. Other than her paranoia, this woman seems totally normal.