Big Sale Today!!! (aka work till you drop day)
The store was packed. It felt more like Christmas was sneaking up in two days rather than a March day. I couldn't understand it. It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day out, yet all of these people were making the mad dash in the store jostling with each other, tempers flaring, trying to find the "best" deals. Yikes! Now if it was raining I would get it. People were clearly uncomfortable. I could see it in their faces. Why put yourself through that voluntarily?
I enjoyed the rush. I felt good when I could deflate a customer's temper. I managed to keep hold of my own (this time) when a woman let loose her tirade. I let it loose now though!! grrrrr!
(rant)
The woman comes up to the counter with her about 8 year old daughter in tow. She hands me a bag with clothing in it, a gift receipt, and asks to know how much it is because she wants to exchange it. "Is it too small or too big? Would you like to exchange it?"
"No", she snorts,"Her father has hideous taste and I won't let her wear it. I want to find something better." The girl is watching her mother. I look up the amount and tell her. "WHAT!?", she yells. "Your father is a fucking cheap bastard! You should tell him that next time you see him if I don't. It was your birthday for Chrisakes! God damn cheap son of a bitch!"
The girl just nods her head looking at the outfit the mother is returning. I taste blood in my mouth, I'm biting my tongue so hard as I have a fake smile plastered on my face. She continues loudly proclaiming to all who are within earshot what a cheap bastard her daughter has for a father and the woman was good to be rid of him.
OK, see NOW I can let loose what I could not say in the store.
FIRST off........Do NOT, I repeat do NOT RETURN a GIFT that someone went to the trouble of picking out for you unless it is damaged or it is the WRONG SIZE!!! I don't care if it is the UGLIEST piece of clothing you have ever received. SOMEONE cared enough about you to GIVE you a GIFT. They CARED enough to spend the day in the store picking it out or in the workshop MAKING it for you. The operative word is GIFT. It is NOT an obligation. It is NOT a duty. It is NOT a way to rank how much you are worth to that person by the value. It is RUDE, in poor taste and in BAD FORM! You are showing that person that you have no respect for them. You dishonor them. (MY OPINION)
SECOND....DO NOT DISS your child's other parent in front of them!! It is BAD enough that his world has been turned upside down from a relationship gone awry. Do NOT make it WORSE by belittling the other parent in front of them!!! I have dealt with children for many years. You are SCREWING THEM UP when you can't get past your own anger. Do NOT make them choose sides! Kids love BOTH of their parents!! Nothing pisses me off more than seeing divorced parents do this,to make himself/herself seem like the good parent and the other the bad. Kids need BOTH of their parents to support them. I've SEEN the damage this causes first hand!!! THINK about the child and forget the other stuff. If you can't say something nice then SHUT UP ABOUT IT in front of the child!!! Do NOT put them in the position of choosing sides EVER! (/rant)
There was a BBQ on the docks at work today too for the employees to have a place to unwind from a stressful sales day.
I walked in....stayed all of TWO minutes, took in the dockside decor, the grumbling employees discussing stressed out customers, and beat it the heck out of there. I wandered into the food court briefly but it was elbow to elbow in people there too. A dull roar echoed through the rafters.
I went outside to an empty bench outside the mall. I just sat there with my head back soaking in the sun and the fresh air. mmmmm. When I looked up, it was to find a film camera trained on me. I hadn't noticed them before. The three man crew was set up trying to get a shot down the mainstreet. They moved the camera off of me once they saw I noticed them. I wonder what image they captured? I watched them circumspectly afterwards. They were capturing slices of life outside the mall. A group of girls were with nylons on their heads with a friend filming them with a handheld camera singing "bye, bye, bye". It made me laugh. Now THAT was amusing. The film crew caught a woman playing with her baby, a quartet of starkly black suited people hurrying by, a bunch of kids sheepishly jumping in front of the camera and waving, some kids holding the hands of the "statue family", a couple walking hand in hand. I'm not sure if they caught the merri-go-round filled with laughing kids. That was behind them. I found myself watching all of these groups trying to see what the videographer was trying to capture. Trying to see the slice of life. It was good. It was just what I needed to refresh myself. As they were packing up, one of them said to look for it this summer, the film they were doing. So who knows, I may be a star. ( or they were just focusing on the freckle on the bottom of my chin.)
After work I came home, danced to "Everybody Dance Now", and the "Hamster Dance". Yes, I know it's silly but hey, you de-stress your way, I'll de-stress mine. After that it was hot tub heaven watching the full moon rise (which must explain all the nutcases out shopping today).
It was a full day today and now I just feel relaxed and ready for bed.