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Typical working day Ok, first let me say that I'm not neglecting my site because of World of warcraft. I am NOT addicted to this game. I have simply rearranged my life to the exclusion of all other activities. You can't blame me! I've got mining to do, leatherworking, orcs to defeat, equipment to buy, its TOO MUCH FOR A SINGLE 24 HOUR DAY! One activity I'm stuck with for the time being however is work. Its not what I was trained to do over the past 4 years but it brings me money and money is equal to happiness and so until I find someone better it will have to do. I work at a supermarket, a dispenser of food, a place of magic where the masses come to get their much needed supplies for the week. Supermarkets are a view in the society. You get all sorts of unwanted social contact, A day in the life I enter the place at 14.00 and I'm immediately confronted with the drags of society that walk this place. People who want to know if we sell sugar. (Sugar, in a supermarket???) I give them my standard answer and since I'm still in a good mood I even walk with them. Its the day before Easter, which usually means that people have started buying eggs like the Armageddon is coming. Eggs have been delivered by a truckload and we're hard pressed for an hour to meet the demands of the hordes that have gathered at the egg section. One woman even goes as far as to voice her disappointment in my face about the absence of her favorite brand of eggs even though she must clearly see that I'm utterly overwhelmed by people with shopping carts trying to run me down in that very narrow bit of the store. Run me down, seriously. To understand what I went through in that hour, you need to understand the skill with which average people handle shopping carts. Try imagining a very small beach crab handling the steering wheel of a cruise ship and you get close. These people sway about, have no idea what they're doing and are so utterly centered on the activity of shopping that they have apparently stopped caring about their surroundings. That combined with the narrow path and you see my problem that first hour. Need it more visual?
Kids are even worse. We have special little carts for them and they use those awful things for the mashing of the ankles of the staff. No joke. I've had those baby carts crashed in my ankles 3 times now. They always come when I least expect them and each time I bite my skin in frustration about not being able to jam my knee in their little faces. However, I survived the first hour, if only barely. The eggs have been distributed and I could go on to merrier things, like sticking pens up my nose. Or so I thought. One of the things I dread the most is an announcement over the intercom system that roughly translates as 'Attention Koen, laundry products aisle please' I know that only bad things come when they call me to a specific aisle and I was right. The following was waiting for me:
It was my very personal brightly colored bit of hell for the next 20 minutes. Two different cleaning products had stained into each other, into dozens of products and, as you can see, underneath the pricing strip, where no tissue can reach. The customer responsible for this disaster had long since fled after reporting the accident and I was left wiping the mess while listening to the nerve shattering comments of customers who passed by "Oh dear, that's quite a mess you made. haha' "Did you do this by yourself?" 'Nice colours mate!' 'Need a drink with that?' 'Oh dear, that's quite a mess you made.' Luckily for all involved I cleaned the mess before my patience gave way and I murdered someone. While listening to a tune of the Scissor sisters, who have the creepiest lead singer in living memory, I went on with my regular tasks which I survived until my lunch break. The 15 minute lunch break was extended to 30 minutes due to the presence of a large bag of easter eggs. Hmmmm.....chocolate
Anyway, allow me to share another frustration common to supermarket employees that I encountered that afternoon while making my way through the masses to fill up some racks and perhaps get some work done. Laziness. A lot of people grab a product and only realize two aisles down the road that they really don't want it anymore and get rid of it by simple throwing it somewhere they think it won't get noticed.
Here you see a typical example of the laziness of customers. This is the aisle for milk that will stay good for months. Right in the centre you can see a carton of milk that will NOT stay drinkable for months. Some jackass put it their, thinking that 'milk is milk'. This goes right in the dumpster as fresh milk needs to be cooled. If it goes out of the fridge for 15 minutes its spoiled and will likely kill someone. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing mind you.... However, over an 8 hour working day there is NOTHING that gets my blood boiling more then this:
To the untrained eye this may not look like much. However, if you watch closely you will see those 2 crates in the centre are in fact Alcohol Free beer. NO ONE PUTS ALCOHOL FREE BEER IN 2 ROWS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! Its bad enough that we have to tolerate this crap in the store at all and putting it two rows wide is an insult to every self respecting beer drinker in the universe. It was a fault easily corrected though and I quickly put it in its place. That'll show those alcohol free demons who's boss. Until the day when I get to throw out all alcohol free beer, a single row will have to suffice..... Perhaps surprising, the rest of the day went without a hitch. Hour after hour passed and after closing time we got to enjoy work as God intended it. With loud music and lots of shouting. The final hour of the evening is always the greatest. That's when the 'secret mission' is carried out and you can see all the staff working their way towards the moments of their reward... Few people can enjoy the final moments as I can. Of all the staff still working at 23.00 I'm the only one who started at 14.00 so I have spend the most time in the madhouse. No one else cares obviously (I sure wouldn't) but its still a nice feeling. And then it comes. The perfect end for any working day.
Life is good.
Despite all its faults work rules!
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