#back into retail but like. i talked to an employee and he said the customer service ratio is generally pretty low

[foxsoulcourt]

An unassuming cheese-monger

It's truly amazing how much you can learn by listening and observing.

Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today Javone. Can I get you a cuppa? Why don't you look over the cheeses and pick two or three you would like to try. I'll make us a plate and we can go sit over in that quiet corner.

As I said earlier, my name is Harriet and I’ve been a cheese-monger in this shop for many years. Before you ask me your questions, let me give you some context for why I contacted your office.

I'm worried. Several of my regular customers have not been in the store in over a week. If it was just one or two of them, especially that particularly handsome one with the gorgeous suits, I wouldn't worry. We often don't see him for weeks at a time. But the others? I'm not sure I can convey to you how unusual their collective absence is, especially for this length of time.

How do you like the Port Salut? I'm glad to see you chose it because it's one of my favourites. Understated, but consistently delicious. Such a lovely texture too.

Now, while many different types of customers frequent our shop, we are known by busy professionals in the area. They count on us for a reliable source of high quality meats, cheeses, beverages, biscuits, and breads. You probably know that type of customer. Those executives who work long hours and rarely set time aside for regular meals, yet still want to eat and drink well while working. We show our gratitude for their steady patronage with delicious goods, prices, and hours which match their needs.

Even though we are not supposed to know many details beyond their name, a career retail employee like myself learns to pick up subtle clues about even casual customers.

Therefore Javone, I can reliably tell you several SIS senior staff frequently shop in our store. Partly it's due to our quality merchandise and, frankly, because we open at the crack of dawn and don't close until very late. It also helps we are an easy ten minute walk away from their home office through Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. That's just the right amount of time to clear your head after a troublesome meeting, isn't it?

Excuse me young man, did I say something funny? Oh, is it that name? I know, it seems a bit silly, but no need to snicker. <clears throat> Now, back to our mutual concern. I believe I have information you want, is that correct?

Over the years both Mr Tanner and Ms Moneypenny have become particularly friendly. They're terribly kind, both of them and they work such long hours. It's been through helping them I've learned to separate out which cheeses Mr Mallory prefers from the ones he does not care for, the beverages that gentleman in the beautiful suits prefers, and which biscuits to keep in stock for the often distracted younger man with the ever changing hair styles and glasses. He's always so kind to me. I really like talking with him.

Which explains why when I didn’t see any of them come through our doors this past week, I became concerned. They rarely all come in on a daily or even weekly basis, but not seeing any of them this past week felt downright odd. I knew immediately something horrible had happened.

Now Javone, what can you tell me? What do you know? And how can I help you?

[betterbooktitles]

The screen I spend the most time with these days is a black LCD monitor attached to a PC in an indie bookshop on Long Island. I spend whole days looking at point-of-sale software called Anthology which also keeps track of the store’s inventory. Often, it’s accurate. Occasionally, it says we have three copies of The Bell Jar that have simply disappeared from the face of the Earth. No one stole them. They were raptured, like socks that never make it out of the dryer.

If you’ve never worked a retail job, let me tell you what it’s like: you come in with a little spring in your step, caffeinated, and ready to greet your coworkers and update them on how terrible your last shift without them was. Though the memory of the previous shift’s slog might give you a little anxiety, and though a hangover can make your fuse a little short, you’re in a better mood at the start of the day than at the end. Tedious tasks like ordering and unboxing books (sci-fi movies did not prepare me for how much cardboard there would be in the future) seem manageable in the morning. Customers seem kind. The items you’re selling feel necessary to human happiness. Whatever is going on in your life is put on pause to manage store operations, and time flies. Then, by 3 PM, whether you had time for lunch or not, you wish you had done anything else with your day — or, better yet — your life. 

While the back-straining work of moving inventory around the store or walking the floor helping customers all day without a second to sit down might make you physically tired, the real work of retail is mental and forces employees to become part-machine. Retail workers have to ask the same three questions (“Rewards?” “Bag?” “Receipt?”) and reply to the same three questions (“Have it?” “Bathroom?” “Manager?!?!?”) for 8-10 of their most worthwhile waking hours. 

In bookstores, there is the added expectation that while you’re participating in this mind-numbing routine, you’re at least able to pretend to like and engage with literature. I'm not arguing that people working at Old Navy aren’t eloquent or as over-educated for their job as I am. If they aren’t teenagers, most retail employees I’ve encountered have, by virtue of talking to coworkers and customers all day, the same high emotional intelligence as the smartest people I know who chain smoke outside bars. Still, my guess is that it’s rare for a customer to see a clothing store employee folding clothes, and think “I wonder what their opinion is of the latest Ann Patchett book” or “I wonder if they read Knausgård and run a book club when they’re not helping me find jeans in my size.” People see booksellers doing the same tedious tasks as any other retail employee and assume they not only possess unlimited knowledge about the state of publishing but also have unlimited hours to read while in the store. Customers hold booksellers to an impossible intellectual standard. When they fail to live up to said standard, they’re subjected to conversations like this:

“You haven’t read the latest Kingsolver?” a customer will ask, “Why not? What about this one? Or that one? It’s so good though! I thought you would have read all of these!” 

What’s a shame is that they think they’re being kind when they half-recommend, half-admonish bookstore employees. Worse are the people who are flat-out rude. Case in point, a man came into the store at hour six of my shift, and without any preamble, treating me like I was a human Google search bar, said the name of an author, then started spelling the name. When I asked for a second to look up what I assumed he was asking for, he rolled his eyes and began spelling slowly and loudly: “PAUL. P…A…U…” 

Sadly, I’m too old to be treated that way and without thinking I raised my hand and said sternly “Don’t do that.” Now some oblivious retired banker is walking around Long Island asking himself why indie booksellers are so mean. My Midwestern niceness has disappeared, my helpful attitude is now nonexistent. I have been worn down by the people I’m paid to be kind to.

Read the rest here.

[strawberry-cowmilk]

creativity is GONE so here's a random idea I got while working long shifts at my college student side job

would the brothers last working at my job

for context I work in a retail store that mainly sells sweets

not proof read

content warnings: none

-----

Lucifer

imagine the whole avatar of pride wearing a silly little apron selling pastries to people

he wouldn't even apply for that job honestly because he wants something more 'intellectual' than working in retail (hon would rather wreck his sanity with loads of paperwork than stand behind a counter selling sweets)

the headaches gets worse when one of his brothers would happen to see him working there

Mammon

he's worked in retail before so he's got the experience

mammon has a little trouble dealing with difficult customers though (it takes great strength to stay polite when some karen is blaming and yelling at you for having to pay 5 extra cents) (true story that happened multiple times)

he would probably get fired for skipping work too often though but when he is working he does a pretty good job

Leviathan

first of all during shifts you have to talk to literally everyone for hours straight

second of all you can't just start playing games on your phone or something because every minute you might get a customer

so no he wouldn't even apply and if levi somehow had to work there, maybe to earn back the money mammon never paid back, he'd quit after day 1

Satan

he'd do a good job, he can be trusted with the administrative work, and he reports any useful information to his boss

but satan would probably get into fights with rude customers which could get him fired

he'd also get annoyed when customers keep coming while he's trying to eat lunch

besides he would probably feel silly too wearing an apron and going 'do you want the chocolate or vanilla cake?'

Asmodeus

he'd do a decent job he'd just get bored of it after a month or two and quit

also during his shifts he mostly just talks to the people working at the shop next to his, leaving the shop without any employees

asmo would honestly forget some lowkey important stuff like keeping track of how many of which item were sold

also he wanted a mirror in the back and when it finally happened said mirror was a literal shard of glass (also a true story)

Beelzebub

we know what would happen

what store owner would hire beelzebub, avatar of gluttony to work at their sweets shop

beel is a regular customer at the store though and he's the reason they stay in business

but the employees do have to prepare themselves for when beel comes in to order his 100 cakes, 100 boxes of chocolate and 100 packs of cookies

Belphegor

your average shift is 9 hours long we all know what would happen

he might get hired somehow but the store owner instantly regrets it after getting 10 complaints about employees sleeping on the floor during work

longest he'd last before getting fired is a week

also he'd probably try to steal sweets and take them home for beel

[saintsir4n]

2. boy toys

"I'M tellin' you Keke, I thought one of them was gonna ruin my car, the way they were swinging', it was so close," Carson had been retailing the events of the fight since she returned from her lunch break. She would do anything to avoid her work.

"You and that damn car," Keke laughed, filing the nails of a customer.

All the other employees listened in enthralled by the story.

Carson shrugged, "It's my baby."

"Yeah, got you so distracted, you forgot to eat on your break."

"I'll get something' later," Carson waved her off, "but seriously, Vince was so mad."

Keelie never liked the man, so she was happy to hear that especially because he always hit on Mia, "Oh really, how mad?"

"He looked like he was 'bout to burst, you know how quickly these white folks turn red," Carson giggled along with the rest of the room.

"As quickly as I snap my phone," Keelie mused, receiving a nod from the woman in front of her.

"Ain't that right," Carson grinned at the noises of agreement from others.

Her story was quickly cut off when the door opened up, revealing a familiar face.

Everyone turned to see the pretty blonde who looked like he ended up on the wrong side of town.

"If it isn't Brian Earl Spilner," he cringed at the use of his name. Carson gestured for him to come over to the counter, and so he did, not before gingerly waving at the older women who gawked at him, "Ladies keep your paws away, he's not a bite to eat."

"He sure looks like it," they heard someone say, making everyone laugh.

"You stalkin' me now?" Carson teased, leaning on her hands as he neared closer with his winning smile.

He rose a brow, "Why would I say yes to that?"

"Well, Jesse did say you sounded like a serial killer so it's not outta the question," he playfully rolled his eyes at that answer, before he noticed what she happened to be sketching.

"These are good," he nodded at her work, making her show off her pearly whites, much to the amusement of everyone else, who watched the interaction. "Is there somewhere we could go to talk?" he asked a little quieter.

Keelie rolled her eyes, hearing him, "You guys can go to the back, but you got 5 minutes and then I'm draggin' you out."

Carson sent her a small smile, then grabbed Brian's hand as she rounded her station.

"I've got my eye on you Elton John," Keelie called out.

Brian glanced back, "Is it because I'm white?"

"No because of your talented voice," she quipped, making Carson pull him to the back.

Brian licked his lips as he scanned her outfit, he hadn't seen it all before because he and Vince were too busy scrapping. She looked good, better than good, then again she always did. Her hand was so soft, contrasting his. Callus' seemed to kiss his whenever he drove.

Carson was a little nervous when she closed the door and dropped his hand, staring at him as he smiled down at her.

The room was cramped, filled with tiny lockers, a mini fridge and a small couch, but the pair decided to stay close to the door. Correction, Brian was so close to Carson that she was practically caged in, she had no choice but to lean against it.

"What did you wanna talk about? You gettin' fired so quickly, must be a record for you right?" she mocked, folding her arms.

His eyes sparkled as he said, "Help me."

"Why do you think I should?"

"Because," he leaned in, drawing a wide-eyed look from her, "You're the reason I'm eatin' those crappy sandwiches every day."

She couldn't help but smile, she was so annoyed that she was. Between his curly hair, dreamy eyes and cheeky grin, how could she not?

"So you admit they're bad and you're stupid for eatin' them anyway," she remarked, trying to shake the heat kissing her cheeks.

"Worth it," he shrugged, not looking away from her.

Although, he came to the nail salon to ask her for a favour, just simply talking to Carson was a bonus. Barbie was another one of the nicknames he heard people call her, and he understood more when she corrected them and said Bratz doll instead.

"What do you expect me to do anyways, hypnotise Dom?" Carson's voice pulled him from his trance.

"Just tell me where the next race is," he didn't ask, he needed to know.

And to her, Brain wanted to prove something.

Carson raised a brow, "And why would I do that?"

"So you can watch me win."

"I'm enterin' that race, you think you can win against me? Dom? You just got outta your trainin' wheels, boy you gotta at least think before doin' somethin' like that."

Carson was putting a lot of money into the race and was hoping to get a lot out of it when, not if she won. The money made from the race would fund the new paint colour, engine, rims and a new stereo.

"Look, if I can win against Dom I get his respect," Brian explained, earning a small scoff from Carson.

"And me?"

"A date."

Carson swiped her tongue around her cheek, "Cute, but it's gonna take a lot more than one win to do that."

He chuckled, "We'll see."

"I guess we will, but give me your phone," she gestured and he started to smirk.

"Already?" he teased, drawing a sigh from her.

"Phone now," she demanded. Brian liked this feisty side of her and didn't hesitate to pull out his phone and give it to her. He goggled at her acrylics, liking the black and pink pattern, knowing she designed it. She typed in her number, called it and then hung up when she felt her phone vibrate, "Here."

Brian took back his phone, smiling when he saw the new contact:

Summer <;3.

"I'll text you the place," she said, pushing the door open, immediately seeing a bunch of women glance away and whisper amongst themselves.

"And I'll be there," Carson wasn't expecting him to kiss her cheek, but he did, "Bye Carson."

His smile didn't falter when he waved goodbye to a dozen women who were eager to wave back as he left the shop.

Carson groaned when she realised how happy she felt and then turned to smug-looking Keelie.

"So... is Justin Timberlake, gonna be comin' 'round more?"

Carson shrugged, "Maybe."

"Oh, he sure is."

"Yeah yeah, and Mia says hey," Carson teased, earning an eye roll.

"Bitch."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

a/n:

if you're a fan of my account, you know I'll try and add many filler scenes to books that are solely based on canon because the original dialogue can be quite tedious to read all the time. i want brian and carson to feel brand new and fresh. they already flirt like crazy and we all know how both canon and fanon brian can be when he's interested in someone.

you'll be seeing our girl racing soon. what do you think the outcome of the race will be?

[readthephible]

“how is it you always know what i need, huh?” is giving shaymien :’)

(this turned into coffeeshop shayne x visual merchandiser damien au) (prompt from here)

~

Initially, Shayne never understood the purpose of opening hours before the rest of the mall. It seemed like a waste of time, resources, and payroll. Business was slow in the early hours, their only customers were usually the elderly people who walked laps around the stores to get their steps in. The more openers he worked, though, he soon realized how early some of the retail workers got there.

It was free entertainment to hear the groups of employees come in, complaining about a recent shitty customer or bad judgment call that corporate made, open to his ears without the concern of the general public able to hear. He’d inadvertently learned a lot of buzzwords that way, the names of some of the higher ups at the stores he’d been going to since he was a teenager, and had a better understanding about how horrible the retail industry treated their employees.

The slower hours allowed him time in between to study his college textbooks and chat with frequent visitors, one of which he had become much more acquainted with.

Shayne could hear the telltale sound of the store gate creaking upwards, then a minute later closing back down, along with the jingling of keys.

“Shayney days and Mondays!” Damien greeted. The lanyard of his store’s badge repeatedly hit his stomach as he walked in.

“Good morning,” Shayne said in a yawn. Once his eyes fully opened back up, he could see Damien giggling. He mentally cursed his body for distracting him from the sweet sound.

He went over to the computer, pressing buttons to start a new order of drinks in the system.

“Who’s all here today?” Shayne asked.

Damien sat in a stool at the counter, rubbing his temples.

“Uhh, me, Keith, Amanda, Courtney, and…”

“Let me guess. TWB?”

Damien sighed heavily, nodding and looking up at Shayne.

“The Wicked Bitch of the West,” they both whispered in unison, trying to hide their laughter.

“You gotta talk to Ian about that, man,” Shayne said, putting in the orders from each employee he’d memorized. “Wait—Amanda likes whipped cream, right?”

“Oh, uh, yes,” Damien said, “And yeah, I know. Ironically, I’ve been working so much lately, but just haven’t had a chance to talk to him about TWB. And I really need to, next week he’s supposed to go over to the Central location to help them with their corporate visit. As if we need any of our employees taken away to prep for ours.”

Shayne nodded, having Damien check the screen to make any corrections to the drink orders. He hesitated before having Damien pay, tacking on a cookie to the order, then overriding the price of the treat to zero.

“Twenty one forty five,” Shayne said, that number ingrained into his mind, as it had become tradition for Damien to come in most mornings during the week.

Damien usually only had to do the 6AM shifts every couple months. Part of him dreaded it, but his passion for wanting to become a better manager and leader kept him going—the drive the man had despite all of his complaints was something else.

He started talking about his recent turmoil with his dreaded boss, the highest authority over the department he loved so much unfortunately was the source of most of his recent problems. Shayne listened and nodded, flipping through the collective bills Damien had handed over then sticking them in the cash drawer. He’d have to remember to make up the difference for the cookie later on.

“Like why the fuck would I lift an already heavy shelf and keep the boots on it? Is she fucking nuts?” Damien griped, watching Shayne work to prepare each coffee.

“That’s crazy,” Shayne answered, “but another great example to bring up to your store manager. Surely he can bring her into his office to talk about stuff like that. Do you think she was purposely trying to make you look incompetent to your coworkers?”

Damien paused.

“I never really thought of it like that…” he said quietly, “That makes sense, though. When you say it like that.”

“I think she probably knows better, but potentially doesn’t have the best intentions for you. Just something to think about,” Shayne said, “And, I’m sorry if that’s out of line. I know you came here to vent, not for me to go all Therapist Shayne on you.”

“Hey, I’ll take what I can get,” Damien chuckled, then thought for a moment. “Hey, do you wanna see what I’ve been working on today? We didn’t have, like, most of the things I needed, but I’m really proud of how the display turned out, do you wanna see pictures?”

Shayne nodded, then leaned over the counter to look over his phone.

“Wow. That looks great, man. I might have to go in and buy some of that,” Shayne joked, looking at the details Damien had described—the steamed pants on a mannequin, the tight folds of shirts on a table, the colors that he’d gracefully balanced on each fixture of the room.

“Thanks. I had to rush a bit this morning, but I’m happy how it turned out. I wish we didn’t have customers coming in soon, they’re just gonna fuck it up.”

Shayne placed each coffee in a holder, but left Damien’s cup and the cookie out, handing them directly to him.

“Is…this my order?” Damien asked, looking at Shayne confusedly. His words weren’t accusatory, instead laced with gentle concern as to help Shayne realize his mistake.

“No, I—“ Shayne stuttered, his face flushing with pink. “I mean, yes, it is, but I—I added the cookie. I bought you the cookie.”

Damien’s lips pursed for a moment.

“Oh,” he said, “You…you didn’t have to do that.”

Shayne shrugged.

“You sounded stressed. And those cookies are really good.”

As if he wasn’t expected back at work, Damien stayed frozen for a minute. Shayne was worried he had done something wrong.

“How is it you always know what I need, huh?” Damien asked. His eyes looked Shayne’s expression over, quickly following up with, “I appreciate it a lot, I mean. I just feel so…different, compared to my coworkers, but whenever I talk to you…you just…get me. And my unrealized need of a cookie, apparently.”

Shayne prevented himself from shrugging again, recognizing the need to maintain the sincerity of the moment, but he was silent. The add on of the cookie was meant to be just a simple, friendly gesture, but…maybe it could mean more.

It did mean more. And Shayne was okay with that.

[captain-cargoshorts]

I just got done with my first day of work and it went... Well. It certainly was something.

So I had a 4 hour shift today training on registers. It's scary bc they're the old style with a tiny screen so you can't see what you're doing until the end and if you do something wrong it yells at you. I have a trainer with me pretty much the entire time though so I'm doing okay. She says I'm picking it up pretty quick and doing a great job (validation!) and I've figured out how to keep conversation going with customers so they follow the pin pad prompts and everything.

The first three hours go great. My trainer seems pretty tired tho and between customers she talks about how she's burnt out and wishes she could leave retail bc it's a lot. I share about my previous jobs and we both agree that retail is hard and customers are awful. Then about half an hour before we close a Chinese family (I promise it's relevant) comes in and start looking around. They have a toddler with them that immediately goes to the toys by the register and pulls out all the cars to play with on the floor. Irritating, but not a problem until he starts climbing on the fixture. I try to get the mother's attention without leaving the register unattended bc I'm not supposed to and she ignores me until I'm pretty much yelling "MA'AM YOUR BABY" over and over. Finally she turns around and gets him down, but she shoots me a dirty look as she does so. She then goes back to talking to her mother (I think) in mandarin. Guys, I don't speak mandarin. I didn't know what they're saying, and I don't really care? Until I notice my trainer looking Extremely Nonchalant (tm). You know the look. Turns out, she understands mandarin and the ladies are major gossips. I don't ask for a translation bc there's still other customers and it's my job to ring them up and talk about the rewards program. But they've been standing in the kitchen area for like thirty minutes.

It's now time to close. They ignored the warnings 15 and then 5 minutes out and haven't moved. My trainer meanwhile has started getting extremely antsy. Not only are we supposed to be starting on closing tasks, but the ladies have noticed her looking over and are now talking about her. "That girl with the yardstick keeps looking at us" etc. Apparently. Again, I don't speak mandarin. She sends me away to do a sweep of the store for stuff that's out of place, etc, so I don't know what happens for a bit but my trainer stays up at the front to check out the ladies and let them out whenever they finally decide to leave because the door is locked to prevent other people coming in. She doesn't approach them to ask them to hurry up though. Like, she's ADAMANT that she won't. I, being extremely new, don't know what to do. They don't leave.

Eventually our manager comes down from the cash office and asks them if they're going to buy anything, because we're very much closed for business. It is now 20 minutes after closing, and they've been here almost an hour. They grab one (1) spoon and check out with the manager, which is a massive waste of everyone's time because they don't seem to even want the spoon? But finally they leave and we can take out the trash and do the bathrooms and stuff.

To the surprise of literally nobody, we get out late. Apparently we usually get out at like 7:45. It's 8:15. We're going to have to explain that to the store manager tomorrow. I walk the other non-manager employee to her car bc it's polite, but I noticed that the manager bad the trainer stayed back to talk so i check back in with them. The moment I get within earshot they stop talking and are like "what's up? You were leaving?" I said yeah but you stopped and we usually make sure everyone gets to their cars. I just want to check that everything's okay. They say they're fine and I get the feeling that whatever is going on is Absolutely Not My Business so I start walking back to my apartment.

There's a dead raccoon on the sidewalk on the way home.

[fuck-customers]

💋God I’m so tired of having to witness the literal worst of human nature. I swear retail brings out the ugliest sides of people.

Today I heard a kid running behind me as I was ringing someone up, and so I turned and said “slow down please.” Regular and polite. Well apparently that was a grievous mistake bc I immediately hear yelling and it’s the mom right behind me losing her little pea-sized brain over me “telling her child what to do.” Ok bitch well if you were watching him and making him behave I wouldn’t have to say shit in the first place. This woman was literally fucking yelling at me over HER KID acting up like what in the goddamn hell. I keep trying to tell her “ma’am I’m not trying to be rude I just needed him to stop running, it’s a liability and that’s our store policy.” Ofc she’s not hearing any logic bc she’d rather talk over me and go on and on about how I’m disrespectful for talking to her son and not her. Why does it even matter??? Idk. Finally she just walked away, glaring daggers at me the whole time.

Then like ten mins later her husband comes back, and I do have to give him credit bc he was polite, but he basically walks up and goes “look I wanna unpack all that that just happened.” Like ok Dr Phil the gist of it is that your wife is a bitch but sure let’s “talk about it.” I explain to him that not only is it store policy that I ask people not to run inside, but I also was polite in the way I asked. He agreed. But then he tries to explain “well the way we grew up, people don’t talk to other peoples kids.” Ok that’s nice, but that’s not everyone’s upbringing and again, I wouldn’t have had to say anything if YOU were parenting your child. Also think it’s weird bc these ppl were like 40 talking about “in my day we didn’t tell ppls kids what to do.” Like dude if anything it’s the opposite?? Especially down here in the south. I’m not nearly as old as them but if my momma caught me running around acting a fool in a store like that, not only would I get in trouble but she’d GLADLY let someone else scold me for my behavior. This whole thing of “if you even look at my child wrong I will explode” is def not a “back in the day” type shit, it’s new and it’s coming from all these dumbass fucking entitled parents that have no consideration for others in public bc they’re kids are the best kids and everyone else needs to accommodate to THEM, not fhe other way around. Jfc

And then immediately after that happened someone dropped a glass jar of salsa and didn’t even wait for an employee to come to the mess. They just left the salsa and broken glass on the floor, they ain’t even wait thirty seconds before saying “well not my problem” and walking away. I fucking hate people.

Don't give me any of that "back in my day" BS!

I am 49 fucking years old and one of my core memories is being 6 or 7 and just being bored as hell in church and me and my sister were just being kids trying to amuse ourselves and this crusty old man just gets up from his seat at the other end if the room grabs my arm and drags me over to where he was sitting and sits my scared out of my mind ass down and keeps me next to him for the rest of the service. My mom said nothing at the time but when we got home I got a whooping for "embarrassing" her and told me I better behave next time. And for the next few months every sunday this scary old man would grab my arm and sit me next to him.

So I have no idea what alternate timeline your customer came from but it sure as hell wasn't back in the day.

-Rodney

[andreafmn]

12 Days of Ficmas - Day 2

Prompt (by @12-days-of-ficmas): i broke my ankle slipping on ice but hey at least the ER nurse/doctor is cute

Word Count: 1.5K

Story Description: (Y/N) truly believes working the night shift is a cursed practice. Every time she's scheduled during that time she has some sort of accident. This one just so happened to land her in the hospital.

Fandom: Chicago Med

Pairing: Will Halstead x Fem!Reader

A/N: sorry, I posted so late. Was busy taking care of my grandma. But enjoy this short, cute story 💖

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No More Night Shifts

Working retail during the Christmas time was one of the most stressful things anyone can do. From the hustle and bustle of living in the city, to getting to work early and leaving late at night, to the freezing weather of the Chicago winter. It took a lunatic to agree to pull double shifts.

That crazy person just so happened to be (Y/N).

Her boss had asked her to fill in for a colleague that had come down with a very bad cold and could not make it in for her night shift. In the spur of the moment, she had said yes. But as she walked, the cold wind nipping at her skin, her feet sliding on the icy pavement, she contemplated returning home.

(Y/N) hated working the night shift at the store she worked in. Customers were rude, management always expected her to stay overtime without pay, and for some reason, she always got into some sort of accident when she was going back home.

And just as she had thought, the shift was a nightmare. She filled up her bad customer bingo. Which went something like this:

Mister ‘It doesn’t scan so I guess it’s free.”

Miss ‘My coupon is expired, but I’m gonna try to use it.”

The ‘You don’t mind using your employee for me, right?’ person.

The family excursion troop.

The no receipts returners.

And the people that think you’re a personal shopper.

By the time three in the morning rolled around, (Y/N) wanted nothing more than to collapse on the floor. Her whole body was sore and her eyes were tired from sleep. She cursed past her for agreeing to pick up that night shift.  She thought of being on her couch, a hot mug of tea in her hands, and bundled up with her thickest blanket with her boyfriend. She would be warm and comfortable, instead of absolutely miserable and cold.

But her daydreaming took a turn for the worst.

As she neared the bus stop, she didn’t notice the big puddle of sludge that had formed on the sidewalk. She slid on the pavement and her body collided with the frozen ground. One second she was walking and the other she was in the hospital.

***

In the Emergency Department of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, doctors and nurses were up to their necks with patients. With the weather going down, many people succumbed to the illnesses the cold temperatures brought. Cases of colds, flu, and pneumonia trickled in and out of the hospital at a fast pace. The ED was never empty.

“How’re we doing, Maggie?” Will Halstead asked the charge nurse of the department.

“Well, we keep filling beds as soon as one empties,” she sighed. “It looks like it’s gonna be a very long winter season. Although it looks like tonight might be slowing down. You going home yet?”

 “I was just getting ready to do so,” he smiled tiredly. But the two were interrupted when the brick chirped. The doctor let out an exasperated sigh, knowing that his plans to finally lay down were just trampled. “Let me have it.”

“Incoming,” Maggie announced. “Trauma 1.”

“Talk to me,” Will told the paramedic as they walked in. That was before he took a good look at the patient.  “What happened?”

“Unconscious female, visible ankle fracture. Witness said she slid on ice and fell to the ground. She’s been in an out of consciousness. We have stabilized the right ankle with a splint and there is no sign of a spinal injury. The ID in her bag says her name is (Y/N) (Y/LN).”

“I know,” he breathed. “She’s my girlfriend.”

They all entered the room, other staff following suit. Tension built into the space as everyone noticed who it was. If they didn’t know (Y/N) personally, they knew of her and her involvement with the ED’s attending physician.

“Alright everyone, on my count,” he told the paramedics and nurses that would help transfer the woman from the gurney onto the hospital bed. “One, two, three.”

They all took hold of (Y/N)’s body, careful not to disrupt her ankle or any other injury she might’ve had. Behind them, Nurse Doris rolled in the X-Ray machine, handing Will and April a lead apron before she instructed the rest of the staff to exit the room, as well as the paramedics.

“So, it looks like it’s a bimalleolar fracture,” the doctor announced as the image came up on the screen. “Thankfully, the ankle is not dislocated so immobilizing it with a cast should do the trick.”

“Alright, I’ll get the kit.”

“Okay, let’s also get a full blood workup, and a head CT,” Will told April. “Now, pupillary response is good. Heartbeat is steady. She’s breathing on her own which is a good sign. Let’s start an IV drip with 2.5 mg of morphine…”  

 “Wait, Will, look,” she said. “She’s waking up.”

(Y/N)’s eyes started fluttering open, the bright lights worsening the headache she already had. Her whole body felt mangled and sore, and she was sure it was not from the long day at work.

“Hey, welcome back,” a voice said. “Can you tell us your name and where you are?”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N) and I’m in a hospital because god doesn’t exist.”

When she finally opened her eyes, she suddenly did not mind that she was in the hospital. Before her, she was met with a handsome red-haired doctor. He smiled at her and she could feel butterflies forming in her stomach.

But her pleasantly surprised feelings quickly shifted to ones of embarrassment, when she noticed who it was.

“He-ey, doctor,” she stammered. “Funny running into you here.”

“Good to see your sense of humor wasn’t impaired,” he chuckled brightly. “Now, do you remember what happened?”

“I was walking to the bus stop to go back home when I slipped on a puddle of sludgy ice and now I’m here.”

“Okay. And other than your ankle and your head, does anything else hurt?” 

“My pride,” she grumbled. “I told you, the night shift is cursed.”

“It sounds to me that you were distracted and you fell,” he laughed. “I don’t think there is any curse.”

“Yet you all believe people turn crazy because of the full moon.”

“Well, your memory seems to be okay. So, I’m gonna leave you with April so she can get your bloodwork to the lab,” Will told (Y/N), a kind smile on his face. His initial panic subsided when she woke up and recognized who they both were.

“Can you stay?” (Y/N) pleaded softly.

“I promise to be gentle,” April chuckled. If there was one thing she knew about her friend it was how desperately afraid of needles she was. “I’ll draw your blood really quickly and then I’ll sneak in the IV. How does that sound?”

“Like you’re gonna still gonna stick me with needles.”

“At least the pain in your ankle is gonna stop,” Will offered. But (Y/N)’s fear was still evident on her face. “Alright, just focus on me, babe. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Just don’t let go of my hand.”

April quickly got to work as Will distracted (Y/N) with mindless chatter of what they would do during Christmas – spend the day in pjs, drink hot chocolate in front of the fire, and exchange gifts even though they told each other not to get presents. And before she knew it, the IV dripping pain medication into her system has started doing its job.

“There,” April announced, calling the couple’s attention. “We’re all done. I’ll be back soon to take you to the CT scan – for precaution -- and to bring your results. I’ll bring by the kit in a bit.”

“Thanks, April.”

The nurse smiled back at the couple in response, closing the curtains on them as she exited.

“So, what’s the verdict, doc? Am I gonna lose my leg?”

“Nah, just 9 to 12 weeks with a cast. You’ll have to come in a coupled of times to do x-rays, just to make sure the bone’s healing as it should,” Will explained. “But don’t worry, we don’t have to amputate.”

“Well, no late-night shifts for me in a while,” she joked. “Maybe that’s what I needed to break the curse, huh?”   

“What?” he laughed. “Slipping on ice and spending your morning in the ED?” 

“Hey, at least the doctor is cute,” she said before she placed a kiss on his lips.

“I’m just glad you’re okay, baby. It was pretty scary to see you unconscious on a stretcher like that.” 

“Oh, don’t you worry, Halstead. It would take a lot more to bring me down.” 

“Alright, (Y/L/N). Settle down,” he smiled at her. Will had been terrified that something worse would have happened, but if a little slip is the worst that could happen, he could live with that. “Take this as a little Christmas gift – you won’t have to work for some time.” 

“NO NIGHT SHIFTS!” (Y/N) exclaimed excitedly. “It’s a Christmas miracle!” 

Taglist: @beckiej0073-blog @thatgirljayy

[leavingautumn13]

Do you have any burning regrets in life? Also who is your favorite fictional pet and why is it dogmeat?

because dogmeat is the best boy, duh.

as for your first question... the first job i got after i moved out of my bio mom's house was at a pet store. stupid naïve sheltered younger autumn, not quite disillusioned with the capitalist hellscape that is modern america, thought to herself, "a pet store will be a great job for me! i love animals, i'll love getting to work with them every day!"

wrong. (well, okay, i did enjoy getting to pet dogs regularly.)

so, here's the thing about pet stores, or at least the pet store i worked at: ultimately, it's retail, and those animals are products for the company to sell to turn a profit and not, you know, living creatures who deserve care if we're going to be removing them from their natural habitats. it's also, you know, RETAIL. with all that that implies. suffice to say i was made very bitter very quickly.

another thing you should know about me is that my beloved father introduced me to spyro the dragon when i was four years old, and i've loved dragons and all manner of reptiles ever since. naturally, when i started working at the pet store, i got pretty attached to the selection of geckos and bearded dragons and what have you and endeavored to learn everything i could about them. i even bought a beardie and a skink of my own.

anyway, all of this culminated in me being the "reptile person" at the store. if customers had a question about reptile diets, or terrarium care, or whatever, talk to autumn. i was known for sending customers home with big printouts of what the best foods would be, what temperature ranges needed to be, etc. and if i didn't have that information out of pocket, well, i'd take them up to the register and look it up for them. i was a damn good employee.

so one day, i'm in the reptile section, and this super sweet lesbian couple is talking to me about wanting to purchase a bearded dragon. we're going over heat lamp requirements and how you definitely can't have a baby beardie on sand because of the ingestion and compaction risk, when this middle aged man steps between us and demands my attention. no waiting for a pause, no "excuse me," just bursts right in with his question. this might be petty of me, but i thought it was pretty rude, and to be honest i don't even remember what he asked, but i directed him on his way and got back to helping the couple.

once i get the couple sorted with their tank, substrate, uvb and heating lamps and accessories, etc, i let them know i'll meet them at the register once i've wrangled their little dragon, and that we can get their food situation sorted once we get up there, since live bugs were kept behind the register. so i do so, lizard in his little carry box, but there's a line. no worries, i hop on and help my coworker check people out.

middle aged dude from earlier is also in line, and actually DIRECTLY in line before the couple. i get him and his lady friend checked out, and the lesbian couple approaches the register. i turn around and grab the box of small dubia roaches, which in my somewhat professional opinion are the best starter food for a little beardie, since they've got a higher protein-to-chitin ratio than mealworms or crickets. the caveat though is they're more expensive, so i'm about to try and make a hard sale to these two nice ladies to please buy some cockroaches.

i've got the box open, and i have to dig around for a dubia because there were only about a half dozen left. (they go really quickly, even being .5 USD per bug. like i said, good eating.) but now i've got one in my hand and am holding it up to show the nice lesbians, and they're going "oohhh" and leaning into look at it and whatever.

middle aged guy from before and his lady friend overhear me talking about bugs, and for whatever reason, turn around halfway to the door. they come back to the register and get in the nice lesbian couples' space, and lady friend says,

"that's DISGUSTING! you'd have that in your HOUSE?? i could NEVER have something so gross in my home!"

here's another thing you've got to know about me. i was in the gifted program as a kid but got shit grades in school and was always getting in trouble for reading during class. but i was a girl child, so instead of the adhd diagnosis i needed (and actually only got last year, FINALLY), i got told i had all of this potential i was wasting.

but it's not that, the potential was never there, whatever. i just have adhd. it makes me, let's say, the tiniest bit impulsive.

i look this lady in the eye. i smile. "actually," i say, leaping to the defense of one of my favorite invertebrates, "they're an excellent source of protein."

i am about to eat that cockroach in front of her, in front of the nice lesbians, in front of my coworker tom, in front of the whole damn line, just to ruin this lady's entire fucking day.

but.

but. i only have six roaches left. and i really want to make this sale. and like i said--dubias are pricey for bugs.

i don't eat the roach.

and that is my burning regret. fuck that company and fuck its profits, and especially fuck working retail in the first place. i should have eaten that cockroach.

[0th3rw0rldl1n3ss]

Disabled community, I want y’all’s thoughts on this (esp people who are familiar with the way disability accommodations and stuff work in the US) because I feel like I’m probably being screwed over.

So I work at a store chain in the southern US and I applied for reasonable accommodations under the ADA for diagnosed chronic pain and fatigue. I have a relative who was an HR manager (or something like that) for years and I asked for her input and she said she thought my requests were perfectly reasonable, unlikely to be denied for any reason, and very well worded. I asked for, with a doctor’s input, having two days off in a row twice a month, being scheduled no more than 8 hours a day, and “flexibility in scheduling” (doctors words, not mine, and I’m not a huge fan of this part because of how incredibly vague it is, making me unsure of how it would be applied in practice). I was told when I first sent the paperwork in to my manager that I should be the first one to hear back directly from HR via email, it’s been probably over a month and I have not heard back.

I talked to my manager this morning after my shift, asking if he had heard anything, and he said HR had gotten the request but that he and my comanager had decided to, instead of giving me the accommodations as I requested, change my job position to something “less physically demanding”. In the moment I was too tired from my shift to process this fully and was thinking “whatever, I’ll take what I can get I guess” but the more I think about it the more frustrated I am. I don’t feel that changing my job position to something less physically demanding will be adequate, because the physical labor isn’t the entire issue to begin with, although it is a big part of it. With the combination of chronic fatigue and being autistic (which I am formally diagnosed with, but did not mention in my request for accommodations because I thought it would be best to include as little of my diagnostic information as possible so they have less reasons to want to fire me, but now I realize this may have been a mistake) I am easily exhausted to the point of being unable to function adequately at work or otherwise, even from non physically demanding labor- ESPECIALLY from doing day shifts working retail where I am required to interact with customers all day. This is extremely hard on me emotionally and even physically (from the stress of it causing chronic pain flareups) and it would be even if I were allowed to sit down as much as I wanted.

I’m upset, I don’t know what to do, any advice or thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. The thing that really gets me is, you shouldn’t even have to be disabled to want two days off in a row a measly twice a month. But the fact that I am disabled according to doctors and they’re still apparently denying me this is just absolutely bonkers to me. And for someone with debilitating chronic pain, fatigue, etc that’s especially barely asking anything, it’s not even the bare minimum, it wouldn’t be anywhere near enough, but I asked for it because it would at least be better and I thought it was such an agonizingly reasonable request that they couldn’t possibly deny it. But I guess I underestimated how (even with my already present complete and utter lack of faith in the system) how unseriously the ADA is taken by corporations and how unwilling they are to make even the tiniest of adjustments. And, I’m not the only person in my job position who works there, it’s a big store with lots of employees, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to give me that much. This is all ridiculous. I don’t know what can be done, or if what they’re doing is even legal or not (but even if it isn’t, I’m not sure what I could do about it because it’s not like I have the money to hire a lawyer).

This is my first “real” job and I’ve only been there since summer of this year, if that matters for context.

Reblogs appreciated so maybe more people see this and have input.

[canis-or-cannotis-lycaon]

TIMING: Early August LOCATION: A Latte to Love PARTIES: Gael (@lithium-argon-wo-l-f and Wynne (@ohwynne SUMMARY: Back to work perhaps a little sooner than they should considering everything that happened at the barn, Wynne struggles with overloading emotions and unreasonable customers. Fortunately, Gael picks up on this and offers to help. CONTENT WARNINGS: Nnnnone, I don't think

It was absurd to be back here. To stand behind the till and take people’s orders and write them on cups and then to hand the cup to their colleague and to then ring the order up and then ask cash or card? and then wait until they chose and then click the right button and let them pay and tell them to have a good day. Again, and again, and again. Wynne had once liked this monotonous rhythm, had liked the small talk, the breeziness of it all — but now they felt like they were going to collapse if one more person very expressly said they wanted that with oat, you hear me, not cow’s milk.

Admittedly, they had messed that up a few times this week. But it was hard to care, when they had nearly been transformed into what others called a spawn, when they had almost died of blood loss. Wynne kept retreating to the backroom, trying to do breathing exercises and failing at them. They were afraid they were going to get fired and then thought so what?

But the day went on. A quiet stretch of time followed. Janeen went to take stock in the back, telling them to call if things got busy. Wynne stared into space. They dug an icecube from the freezer and let it melt in their hand, because that too was an exercise they’d read about. And then the door opened and they dropped the thing, sure to make the ground wet, eyes flicking up at the new patron. They had liked predicting what drinks customers would like, and with this man? They’d been almost right the first time he’d entered. His face wasn’t wholly unfamiliar, but his features were the only thing they remembered about him at present. “Hi, welcome to a Latte to Love,” they said, trying not to drone the words. “What can I get ready for you today?”

—

Ahhh he felt full of life. Between his progress with Ren, hanging out with Alan on the full moon and the conversation with Regan, this was the best Gael had felt since… well, the accident would be too long, but definitely in the last month or so. It was always one of Gael’s goals to let his expression and demeanor betray the sunken features on his face, the stylishly-disheveled hair that flopped over his forehead and his loose-fitting clothes that accentuated comfort over professionalism. He was in hobo mode right now, satisfied with where he was in life and committed to wandering through town with his aching bones, sore body . Gael had werewolf friends, that was fine and he’d do everything in his power to empower them, make them feel safe from murderers who ran around calling themselves ‘hunters’. He didn’t doubt their capability and strength and he certainly didn’t disparage them for their strange quirks and what they called themselves. He tried to be that way with everyone. Including today, where Gael decided to visit a Latte to Love, the place that already held memories, both good and bad - he’d talked to Cass in the corner where he looked as he entered the establishment about her interest in rocks and good vs. evil. It was also where he’d gotten drinks with Leticia before that night where he carelessly put her and the jaguar in danger. Right now was a chance to make another hopefully good memory and he approached the counter, his dark eyes dancing over a young - out of habit, his eyes darted over the pins on their vest - individual with exciting hair and eyes that seemed like normally they should’ve been much more full of youthful vigor. Nevertheless, he gave them a warm smile that easily reached the corners of his eyes; he treated retail and food service workers with a special kind of care. “Hi.” Gael said softly, giving the employee a soft look. “How are you doing today?” This part was a toss-up; half the time, they gave him a look like they really didn’t want to engage in small talk but he always took that risk just in case that wasn’t what happened.

—

He was just being polite, they told themself. He was just asking out of habit. And it was a good habit, a kind habit, one that could make a difference in someone’s day — but it was still habit, wasn’t it? He didn’t want the full answer, the ugly and gritty. He surely didn’t want them to open their mouth and let out a sound rather than a verbal response, because some mangled noise might be the best answer to that question. But Wynne didn’t do such a thing.

No, even if this was a customer who was generally kind and patient, they knew that he wouldn’t want them to be truthful. There was no room for it. And yet, their mind got stuck on it, that question and their answer. Bad, their mind answered, I’m doing really bad. I wish I hadn’t dropped my ice cube. I wish I knew how to do this thing called life. I’m questioning existence itself. I almost died! I am not doing great today and we are out of oat milk and people keep being mad about it. Someone spat out their almond croissant on a plate and I had to clean it. I almost died. I have to wear this scarf because having my wound on display will upset customers, or so my manager says, and I don’t want questions to be asked but it’s so hot! But I’m also very cold at the same time. I almost died I almost died I almost died I almost died, I’m not doing okay.

They said none of it, though.

Why couldn’t he just tell them his coffee order, so they could punch it in and let themself fall into the rhythmic and familiar movements of making the coffee. Wynne blinked at the customer, realizing that they’d been quiet for far too long. They wiped their wet hand on their apron. “Oh, haha, you know, fine,” they said, lacking conviction. “Little tired, maybe? How are you?” Their gaze turned to the cash register, then back to the other. “What can I get started for you? Um, just so we know, we are out of oat milk.

—

The employee was quiet for a long moment, longer than someone who wasn’t thinking about something somewhere else, a different time, place, person. They weren’t daydreaming though, Gael could also tell. Something was on their mind, obviously. The professor inhaled, letting his dark eyes dance over their figure, their hair, the exhaustion under their eyes; he was familiar with that. He was also familiar with wearing articles of clothing that were unusual for the weather, as he eyed the scarf around their neck when it was hot outside and comfortable in the shop, not to mention he knew how uncomfortably warm it could get behind the counter when business picked up; they were hiding something. An injury, maybe, or a deformity. So, perhaps in an attempt to resonate with them, Gael adjusted his position on the counter, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small paper hat made from a shiny silver gum wrapper. He placed it on the counter with his left hand, the hand that had the snakelike trail of scarring that wrapped around his wrist, the back of his palm and a couple of his fingers. “It’s a little hot to be wearing a scarf,” He muttered, giving the employee a look that implied that he’d been there, done that. With that, he leaned back casually and glanced up at the menu. “What do you recommend? That doesn’t have oat milk, of course.” He laughed. “I’ll only bother you for a little while longer, I pizza with toppings.”

—

They misinterpreted that. This was a fault Wynne had, though it was something they were often unaware of — there were so many nuances in the way people spoke and acted that were lost upon them that it was hard to keep track of all they missed. Especially now. Especially at work. When the customer pointed out the scarf they just thought he was trying to ask why they were wearing it. Thinking it suspicious or strange. The look in his eyes meant nothing to them, because they didn’t even want to think about people being able to relate to this.

They looked at him for a moment. “It’s fine, it’s pretty cool in here with the air conditioning. I have a little throat issue.” It wasn’t even a lie, but it became one when they added: “It’s scratchy. A summer cold, maybe?” Wynne lifted their shoulders, nervously playing with the frills at the end of the scarf. It wasn’t thick. It could just be a fashion statement. Underneath it, muscles moved with nervousness and threatening upset, skin pulling at that ugly wound. There was a glassy quality to their eyes now.

“Uh, any iced latte. Elderflower syrup goes nice with the weather,” they said, a recommendation given to plenty of people. Their voice jumped an octave, trembling as they continued, “Pizza … we don’t have pizza, sir. Just like the oat milk. But … well, we never have pizza.”

—

He shouldn’t have pushed, he was being too nosy again. Of course it was their business what they wanted to wear, regardless of the superficial medication Gael could smell under the scarf. Something was on their mind but it wasn’t his business; for all the help he could try to supply, it didn’t do anything if whoever he was talking to just… didn’t want to talk about it. “Uh, yeah. An… iced latte with elderflower syrup sounds nice.” Gael offered a smile after he stuttered out the first syllables of the sentence. What kind of iced latte? It didn’t really matter. Then he scoffed, looking down and tracing the scarring on his hand absently. “Sorry, that’s… a phrase I came up with with a good friend of mine. She doesn’t like ‘promise’ so we say ‘pizza with toppings’.” He glanced at them, easily picking up the wavering in their voice. “Like this: I don’t know what you’re going through, but I pizza with toppings that you’ll be okay.”

—

Maybe if they were more fashionable this would be something they could pull off without raising eyebrows. It did seem somewhat of a personal failure all of the sudden and Wynne was trying really hard not to be frustrated with themself at the moment. “O-okay, and what kind of milk would like like with that?” Reiterating that they didn’t have oat seemed rude, so they didn’t.

They had half-punched in the order, not able to finish it as the options of almond, regular, rice, soy and whatever-else still blinked at them. Wynne looked at the man as they started preparing the shot of espresso that was fundamental in near every drink, his story an anecdote that made them think he was kind. And that he had to know about fae, or at least know someone who knew about them. “And that makes sense, for you, that’s cute.” 

And there he went, promising they’d be okay because it was the simple and kind thing to do. Wynne watched the coffee machine finish its shot of espresso and then promptly burst into tears when it did. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry – I – I’ll get it done. I'm just – you're really perceptive and kind and — well, the coffee, I'll get it done.” The tears kept flowing, and their shoulders shook as the smell of fresh coffee filled the air.

—

While he was anticipating some form of emotional release - indeed, they had it practically written all over their face - he wasn’t expecting them to abruptly start crying. “Ah, there we go.” Gael breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the espresso and he motioned for the barista to at least go off to the side of the counter, casting a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure that there wasn’t anyone immediately behind him. Fortunately there wasn’t. “Don’t worry about the coffee.” He said gently, softening his voice and reaching into his messenger bag that hung comfortably around his shoulder. “Okay, how can I help?” He asked, pulling out a travel pack of tissues and placing them on the counter for them. “What’s your name?” Gael asked, keeping himself from thinking too far ahead - he didn’t want to get up on a pedestal and start preaching, not to this poor worker who obviously had something pressing on their mind. Instead, he focused on them entirely, almost giving the impression that the rest of the coffee shop didn’t even exist at that moment and he was ready to snipe at anyone who thought about giving them a remotely hard time.

—

It seemed like something had snapped, ever since the barn. Wynne had been struggling with emotional control since settling in Wicked’s Rest. There were bouts of what they figured to be depression, nights where they wept themself to sleep — but at work, they had usually been their contained self. But then their throat had been ripped open, and the floodgates had opened.

So they wept, shaking with it. They wept when a woman yelled at them, a week ago, because her pastry was too sweet. They wept when the machine burned their hand. They wept even harder as the customer offered kindness and gentleness. They followed his gesture, stepping away from the coffee machine, glad there were instructions of sort. They took the tissues, unfolding one of them and pressing the paper against their nose. “I’m Wynne. I’m — really sorry.” 

They looked up, all glistening eyes and increasing puffiness. They wanted the ice cubes, to press them against their wrist and eyes and become less of a red, snotty thing. “I don’t know, you’re already helping by — by not getting mad.” They let out a laugh that wasn’t humorous at all. It sounded like a sob. “And the tissues. Thank you. And I — well, it’s not your fault, okay? I just have … been very stressed.”

—

“Hi, Wynne.” Gael said softly as he adjusted himself to be placed between them and the rest of the cafe in some effort to preserve their pride. He recognized their name as well, the one who was talking about the jello from the hospital then they started talking about soup. He realized with a small pang of guilt that he never actually responded to them. “It’s nice to meet you in person.” He opted to say instead. They laughed, a wet, humorless thing that was more of an emotional burst of sorrow than anything and Gael gently reached out and placed a hand on their trembling arm for a few moments; they were warm. He heard their heartbeat in his ears though it was slightly better now that they were actually allowed to express themselves - he’d been around long enough to know that emotions were like a pressure valve, which was probably why he was always so open about his. “Don’t apologize, you’re okay.” He encouraged removing his hand and placing it back on the counter in front of them, not wanting to crowd them too much. “And yeah, I can tell!” Gael chuckled this time, not mocking but in an attempt of his own to show them that he was listening to them and empathizing with them without joining them in their despair. Sometimes, in his experience, it really helped to have some levity. “You shouldn’t be here, you should be at home healing. Eating jello or something even better. Spending time with loved ones. That sort of thing! Not here dealing with me and everyone else.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “If it’s money, I gotcha covered for the rest of your shift.” He offered, looking at her with his eyes - the same offer he made for Van, the same offer he’d make for anyone else.

—

The other was broad in a way that was, in this situation, not imposing but rather comforting. Wynne was able to use the other as a shield of sorts, where their tears were only reserved for them, the customer and the little corner they were in. “What’s your name?,” they wondered, realizing they hadn’t asked for it yet and trying not to chastise themself for it. “It’s nice to meet you too.” It was, in a way. Even if they were crying.

There was an arm on their shoulder, a warm and comforting touch that they didn’t respond to with a flinch or distrust. Maybe if they weren’t crying, they would have done so, but right now Wynne was craving comfort of any kind. They wanted to believe him, this kind professor who told them that they were okay but even that sheer concept of being okay seemed foreign. Like something fictional that people spoke about, just another pop culture reference they would never fully get.

He mentioned jello, so they must have spoken online. They assumed as much anyway, not wanting to overthink on that kind of thing when there was already so much else to overthink on. “I’m … fine, they say it’s good to get back to work and daily routine,” they murmured. Wynne had heard that said. But they also worked as a barista, which was probably not good for anyone’s mental health. Being with Ariadne would be better. “You …” They looked at his wallet, blinking teary-eyes at it and then looking at him. “Why would you do that? I don’t – I mean, I know you because you come in here for coffee, but we don’t really know each other.” It was about the money, though. With Zack gone, rent had gone up, and Wynne was terrified of pissing off their landlord.

—

Wynne. They might’ve had it on a name tag but Gael was never the type to read ahead and use it to someone’s advantage, even though he understood that asking something as innocuous as ‘what’s your name’ carried negative connotations nowadays. He did it because a name felt more personal coming from the mouth of whoever owned it; he liked hearing how people said their own names, even now when they said it between cries. “That’s a pretty name.” He smiled. “I’m Gael. The pleasure is mine, Wynne.” Yes, even that day, even as they had a breakdown at work because of some imperceptible weight that crashed onto their small shoulders. Speaking of work… “Yeah, they also ask if you can come into work if you tell them you’ve broken your leg.” Gael replied gently, keeping his dark eyes with their perpetual dark circles under them on them studiously. He’d also been there and done that, choosing to work even though he really wasn’t in the mood or didn’t feel like he could truly handle it. He was a workaholic but he’d been around the block enough times to know that that certainly wasn’t how most people were. “That’s how I heard it told to me before; treat a hurting mind like you would a hurting leg; both are important and need to be tended to. “And… I’m offering because I understand what it’s like.” He gave a light shrug. “I obviously don’t know whatever you’re going through specifically - everyone’s scenario is different and I don’t wanna pry - but I do understand just… wanting to go home. Knowing you need to work, stressing about the things you can’t control.” He removed a twenty and ten-dollar bill from the wallet and placed it on the counter, sliding the money towards them. “I also like to help. A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.” He leaned back and placed a hand on his lower spine briefly as he straightened up. “That’s what I like to think, anyway.”

—

The compliment to their name was strange, if not kind. Wynne liked their name, but it was intrinsically and undeniably connected to their former life, to that person they had been supposed to be. Welsh heritage carried through in their name. “Oh, I think we talked online, maybe?” About their love for the jello, and the fact that they’d been to hospital. Suddenly the lies about their scarf seemed even less convincing, and their stomach sunk. It was one thing to have an injury, it was a whole other to have it look the way this one did. 

Their face revealed their confusion at that statement, and even as Gael went on to explain it they didn’t get it. “But you can’t stand on a broken leg, most of the time.” Sometimes you could. Wynne pushed their lips together. “I’ve always believed that it’s best to keep your head up and keep going.” People had looked to them, before, and they’d not allowed themself to look weak, scared or saddened — but clearly they lacked the strength they had had back at the commune, now. “Which is easier said than done, I guess.” They laughed humorlessly again.

He was pulling out money and they weren’t sure what to do, wanted to fold the notes up and push them back into his wallet. They didn’t want to owe people. They thought of Metzli, paying all those hospital bills, and their stomach sunk. “It’s okay, really. I’ll just … I can cope!” They added a smile to that. “And I get it, I like to help strangers too, but I’d just … feel bad if I left, we’re understaffed and it’s back to school, so my colleagues …” Wynne glanced at them, feeling bad about potentially leaving even if the thought made new tears jump to their eyes. They wanted home. Ariadne. “It’s alright.”

—

“I think we did, too.” He replied, keeping his dark eyes on them as he gauged what they were going to do with the money as they gave another empty laugh. Gael wasn’t sure if this was a case of forcing oneself through the pain out of necessity or if they took it literally, but he was reminded of Ariana and how he had to be very literal. Of course one couldn’t stand on a broken leg, but a lot of people, whether they were like Ariana or not, didn’t treat their brains like the important, tender organ that it was. He didn’t want to dwell on it, though; they weren’t here to get a lecture from him, regardless of the intent. They also didn’t want to seem to want his money, something that he found a lot more common around there; was this another case of pride? Gael wondered if maybe he was doing something wrong or if he should’ve gone about it a different way. Then again, it never seemed to be a problem before he moved to Wicked’s Rest. Reluctantly, catching their smile as well as the fresh tears that spiked the corners of their eyes in a conflict of incoming information, he tilted his head and retracted the twenty-dollar bill but kept the ten on the counter. “Well, take that one, at least. It’s a gift.” He lowered his head, glancing up at them with his best puppy dog impression he could, keeping his expression gentle. “And if you reeeeally don’t want it, then give it to someone you care about. Or spend it on someone you care about.” He paused. “Is there… anything else I can do to help, kiddo?” He asked.

—

“Well, it’s good to meet you! Sometimes people say you shouldn’t trust people online, but you seem like a real trustworthy … person,” they said, adding a smile to their statement. This was a true one, at least, contrary to them saying that they were quite alright, actually. Gael did seem like a really polite and kind man, just as he had online, and Wynne was glad for that at the very least. Even if some of that kindness was hard to accept.

They watched him leave one of the bills on the counter and hesitated a moment before taking it. “Okay. I’ll … get something nice for dinner, I think! So I can just relax when I get home. And not cook.” Or they would get Ariadne and themself a bunch of candy and eat that instead. Their appetite was still a little lopsided. “Thank you. You’re very kind.” 

What could he do to help, though? “I um, think you’ve done enough, just by being understanding.” Not everyone was. Some people just wanted their coffee and didn’t care who made it or how they felt, as long as it was done ASAP. “Maybe I can still make you your drink? I’d feel better if I at least helped you with what you wanted.” Wynne meant it, too. They didn’t want him to leave empty handed. And so they exhaled, moving back to the till. “What milk … did you want with your ….?” They paused, chuckled almost truly amusedly. “I don’t remember.”

—

Their smile, one that actually held positivity behind it, offered some relief to Gael who took that as his cue to straighten up once more. The feeling was only helped as they actually accepted the money he offered and he nodded. “Dinner, snacks. Just something to help relax.” He paused. “I’m a beef jerky fiend, myself. Sometimes with blue raspberry Air Heads. Love when they turn my tongue blue, it’s always so exciting.” He leaned back now, keeping his dark, sparkling eyes on Wynne’s diminutive frame. They looked almost doll-like and his gaze danced over their features for a moment before he smiled. “I’d love that.” Gael took a couple of side steps until he was over near the register once more and he glanced up at the menu. “Let’s see, what was it you said earlier… ah! An iced latte with elderflower syrup. Right. I remember.” He paused before giving her a slightly mischievous look. “Do you have any oat milk?” He could barely get the sentence out before his grin turned sheepish in spite of himself. “Sorry, too soon. Whole milk is fine.”

— “I think I can figure something like that out, yes,” they said, already thinking about sharing a nice snack with Ariadne while curled up. Of course, it would be their girlfriend’s presence that would relax them most of all, but a treat always helped. “I don’t know those, the Air Heads, but I will look for them. A blue tongue, that sounds like it would be funny.” Wynne wanted funny, mindless and stupid funny. Elderflower syrup, that was it. They nodded, putting the order into the till and waiting to hear what milk he wanted, only to gaze up with wide eyes at the mention of oat milk. Luckily, he was joking. “Oh!” They let out a breathy laugh, one that sounded like they were relieved. “Okay. An iced elderflower latte with whole milk.” They clicked the button for a 25% discount, then proceeded so that Gael could pay and they could start with the drink from scratch. It took a minute or two, but eventually they offered the cup to him (adorned with the name Gale, despite them having read his name online). “Thank you for stepping by. And for being a patient customer.” Wynne hoped to see a world one day filled with more people like that.

[shablonkamightcry]

My job has really highlighted for me just how much I love humanity.

Things that I thought would be negatives of the job are my favourite. Having to talk to customers? Easy and charming, all types of folk come round here. I know enough to help them if they need it, and if they don't then that's easy. We might talk about the products or how their day has been and it has the ease as if I've know them my whole life, because we share the connection of the store. The customers are my favourite part of the job.

I had a customer come in and buy over 200 dollars worth of yugioh cards, and we talked about how he was going to go to the bottle shop after and drink and open the packs for the rest of the night. Another customer came in not too long ago and I commented on the sweater the guy she was with (which turned out to be her boyfriend) and how cool it's design was and she spent the next 15 minutes or so telling me about the website she got it on and all the cool stuff it sells and how much she loves it. So many people who come in for the first time have a face full of wonder and delight, and I get to expand on their joy by telling them more and showing them more.

I now have some customers who come in and look for me specifically because they like me so much. I had a trans customer ask me for a hug the first time he came in because I asked him for his pronouns while we were talking and the next time he came in he said "it's my favourite retail worker" and asked me for another hug. I have customers come in and thank me for how helpful I was last time, and I have customers who thank me on the way out, going out of their way to specifically tell my boss how helpful and nice I was. A lot of customers come in woth cool clothes or make-up or accessories and I can just. Tell them I like it after I ask if they need any help, and often time that will start a conversation that's just really nice and wholesome.

Even when there's customers who are more your stereotypical "annoying customer", they bring me so much joy. We have groups of teens who all gather around the knife display, and I simply get to talk to them and often show off the knives for them and have a nice chat with them. We have people who come in and make fun of aspects of the store, but they are having fun, and honestly the store is a bit funny if you look at it through the right lense. People who tend to complain or get mad at workers tend to soften up if you treat them with a level of understanding, and I assume part of that is a little bit of my autistic-ness making them feel a bit worse for being so rude. I know that sentence doesn't make sense on its own but like. It's The Way That I Am that seems to make people a bit kinder.

Even when I'm not working, I really feel so much love thanks to the changes my job has brought. My job is in a shopping centre, and that means I tend to walk around the centre if I have time before or after my shift. This means that in the stores closest to my job that I regularly peruse I have become familiar with the staff. This built such a sense of community for me because simply, I was able to befriend them not just because I was there alot, but because the people there liked me. There is a store in my little circut where one of the employees I know simply does not like me, and I'm ok with that. It actually helps to distinguish that these people are not just talking to me because I am a customer, but because they like me. One worker specifically went out of her way to let specifically me know that she would be on vacation for the next 5 months so that way I wouldn't be wondering were she was and that I knew she wasn't avoiding me. After she told me, she then asked to give me a hug and told me she'd see me after she came back. She chose to do all that.

My job has really shown me that I am likeable, but it has also reminded me how much I like people, individually and as a whole.

[large-penises-sporting-goods]

Fun part of retail!

A couple of my coworkers handed me some paper coupons for the store we work at. The reason being that, depending on how much one spends, the coupons in question can be better than our employee discount. Manager Jane often uses these in lieu of her employee discount, so me and a couple other coworkers collect them for her (we are required to collect them after a customer uses them, so that's where we get them). So I was in charge of giving the collection to her, since I'm working with her tomorrow. But that's not the fun part, that's just unnecessarily specific context.

Today, I had a fun Kindness Power Move to pull. A few customers asked me about coupons, and if they weren't quite going to spend the minimum to use the daily digital coupon, and if they were nice enough, I'd ask them to step into the security cameras blind spot and then give them a coupon from my pocket. I believe this is considered chaotic good.

Disappointing part of retail!

When I did my chaotic good coupon blessing for one guy, I'm pretty sure he fell in love with me on the spot. It got a little uncomfortable after that. He insisted on emailing me an access code for a book he's writing???? I wasn't quite listening but it was something like that. I gave him my email that I use specifically to sign up for things I don't care about 💀 I then did what I always do when someone seems quite taken with me: I gave him the customer service hotline and gave my spiel about how that's where to direct any positive comments because that's how they get recorded officially so we can be considered for raises and whatnot. He called them before leaving the store??? They didn't pick up because it was after hours, and he said it didn't let him leave a voicemail; when I couldn't find an email address on the company website he said "I'm going overseas tomorrow, but I'll call first thing when i land." I was like "aw no you don't have to do that! I know international calls can get costly" he was like "no I insist" i was in my head like, I'd better get a service pin for my lanyard as a result of his call because if I had to sit through this guys simping I'd like something to show for it. As he was leaving he told sales guy Tyler (who had overheard some of what went on and came up to be my bodyguard) "you guys are really lucky to have Beth" I mean yeah but dude chill

Like on one hand it's flattering, on the other hand I get nervous about stuff like that since, being autistic, I can't always intuit/see subtext on whether someone is just very outgoing/friendly/whatever or if they're at risk of crossing the line with me. Like maybe this guy just talks like that and wants to get readers for his book. But maybe he'll come back to the store and harass me because he thinks he can demand my attention. Sigh

[zootplayz]

Canine Beginnings

Hey guys! So technically, this family started before Serenity but I was assuming there would be an actual mention of Greyson being engaged in a previous Fox post but yeah... that didn't happen. He did NOT end up with Lilith Vatore. Eventually, he realized that gal was no good for him, instead, he ended up with a beautiful sim named Amanda who, like him, is far more outdoorsy. Thus the generational rules: so let's get into it. Usually when I start a new legacy with a spare from a previous family that sim dictates the legacy rules. In this case that sim would be Greyson. Greyson is an active, self-assured, vegetarian. None of these traits really suit what I want to do with this family. Grey is an outdoor enthusiast and his fiance Amanda is an aspiring freelance botanist. So I wanted the family to have an earthy feel. Thus the surname Gaia: the Greek goddess of Earth. Amanda is creative, loves the outdoors, and is childish.

She definitely personifies the whole concept I was going for. As a result, she will be setting our legacy rules for the Gaia legacy. Heirs will need to have the loves the outdoors trait and or be a girl. Which makes total sense with Gaia being a goddess and all. Alright, so we've met the characters let's set the stage.

Flowers Camp Site by ladyfancyfeast The Gaias live on Gaias Jams a retail lot in Brindleton Bay. I know you technically can't live on a retail lot but they never leave and their 'home lot' is vacant. Works just fine for me. One drawback is you don't get any visitors (unless they call) but you get customers all the time so there's always others to talk to. Not that Amanda has much time to socialize she's always in her (way too big for its own good) garden.

Yes, you are looking at cc. Zoot finally caved and delved into the mystical world of cc. Though I didn't do much. After reading rkings current household I remembered I wanted to try out the canning mod and I also downloaded the cottage stuff pack for good measure. I'm going to try to restrain myself, the PTSD from a huge mods folder back in Sims 2 days has not worn off. (The days before we actually had canning in game - kind of fun seeing my sims life when the game was more bare bones.) Back to the subject at hand. The idea with the Gaia family was that Amanda wouldn't work and make her money off of her garden (canning, herbal remedies) and the occasional painting in a family shop. Sounds easy enough...

In theory that is, for the first few days, they couldn't sell anything. Besides the fact that the customers wandered all over the lot and took hours to decide to buy anything. When they finally did, they couldn't. They would stop and wave like something was in the way. Rinse and repeat. It took me forever to figure it out. I initially thought it was the cc shelf but no, then I was like well maybe they actually need a building to walk in?

Yeah, that wasn't it. Which really made me mad they barely have any money as it is. I did figure it out though. It was that pile of logs decorative item I forgot I marked for sale. Maker forbid you place it against the wall! Once someone bought that we just removed the sign and said adios! The store runs smoothly now and you can make one tidy profit off those jams let me tell ya. I even invested in an employee to actually talk to the customers so they buy stuff quicker. Amanda certainly can't do it that garden takes all damn day!

On rare occasions, she does actually get a break. But it's not often. I've lost the thread here. The title is Canine Beginnings do you intend on introducing a canine anytime soon Zoot? Alright, alright, you got it. The first thing the Gaias did upon arriving in Brindleton Bay was to call the adoption agency. I knew from the beginning they would be a (large) dog family. So they adopted two dogs, one adult and one puppy. Both males, I'm not interested in breeding, I just wanted big dogs. Rush is the playful baby,

and Journey is their hunter.

In fact their very first day in the home, Journey took on a fascination with those woohoo bushes and didn't come out so well.

The poor pup got sick his very first day and had to go to the vet with Mom.

Sorry buddy this legacy is just starting out they don't have the money for expensive treatments. You are just going to have to make do with the cone of shame.

We promptly deleted those bushes can't handle the expense let alone a sick pup. Sorry Journey you're going to have to find a new obsession.

um... alright then... I seriously can't keep this dog out of the bathroom, guess I could lock the doors but, nah. Luckily both the dogs get along really well and are often playing together.

Hopefully, that lasts as Rush gets bigger because his cuddle days are up.

Now he can join Grey on his evening jogs around the neighborhood, like Journey.

Journey just loves Grey...

Almost as much as Amanda.

The Gaia family will be back next update! Part 02 Read the full article

[electricratlady]

My Walmart Gripes List

i worked at Walmart stocking shelves starting in 2020 as an 18 y/o and am about to quit as a 22 y/o, as soon as i have another job lined up.

i have endured endless bullshit and… interesting situations from customers and employees/management across the 4 stores i’ve worked at, and i want to catalogue as much as possible to emphasize how working retail (at least Walmart) is NOT WORTH IT.

(worth mentioning that as much as i’ve had bad experiences i’ve also met a lot of nice people and don’t hold anything against them or their reasons for continuing to work at Walmart.)

this is not going to be chronological, since i’m just jotting down these examples as they come to me, but i’m gonna specify which location i’m talking about with Store 1, 2, 3, and 4. also way too many to write at once so i’ll add as i have time/energy to.

let’s jump in!

1. Store 1– i applied and started my job in January 2020 less than a week before the infamous Toilet Paper Rush from Covid. people were so desperate we stopped stocking it on the shelves for a while and just left the pallets they shipped on out on the floor for people to take, and they’d be cleared within an hour or two.

2. Store 1– fuckin 5’3” ginger guy with tons of freckles and glasses came into work several times with a Sons of the Confederacy shirt, and a couple weeks later during a team meeting where we were asked to raise our hands if XYZ he full on did a nazi salute, then smiled and looked around to see if anyone noticed (i was the only one who noticed but managed to pretend i didn’t).

3. Store 1– this was before i was out as bisexual and well before i figured out i was trans. a coworker two years younger than me came up to me, kinda pointed at me, and randomly said “f*ggot?” and i couldn’t tell if i misheard him so i kinda awkwardly laughed and said “what?” and he said it again and i had absolutely no idea what to say, and he said “see, i knew it! i knew you liked men!” and walked away. never reported it cuz i was a dumb kid who was more just scared that someone possibly knew despite me being closeted. turns out! he didn’t know, he was just beefing with my brother on the high school football team and randomly decided to bring me into it.

4. Store 1– same kid as #3 hated doing his job and would often leave the aisle he’s stocking to wander to different aisles to chat with people, somehow never being disciplined for it despite everyone knowing. he even would walk and chat with the guy from our Subway as he took the Subway trash all the way to the trash compactor at the back of the store and back. Dude only got fired after he was adamant that Walmart was giving employees free Kleenex for Covid and walked out with a 4-pack after his shift without paying. dumb bitch.

5. Store 1– one coworker i thought was cool was in his late 20s and, despite very bad anger management issues, was very openly pro-LGBTQ+ and pro-worker’s-rights and would chat about it a lot. then one day we were both monitoring the front entrance to sanitize carts and count people going in/out (Covid protocols), and he told a story about his grandfather being robbed and him shooting the robber as they fled, and at the very end very casually dropped the n-word while laughing, then said “i’m sorry, but if you’re gonna do that shit, you deserve to be called it.” in retrospect i wish i said something to him or management but i didn’t want to risk being the target of his anger problems so i kinda just stopped talking to him.

6. Store 1– during one surge the people monitoring the front entrances had to tell people coming in that our town was a high-risk/concentration Covid area and tell people that we don’t mandate masks but still suggest them (even had some free paper ones up front for those who wanted them). i tried to be as polite and non-confrontational as possible when explaining each time but one bigger guy walking in genuinely just went “you wanna know what i think? FUCK YOU.” and laughed as he walked past me. made me feel shit for the rest of the day.

7. Store 1– this is a recurring theme at Walmart but certain employees love slacking off and don’t really get reprimanded for it as long as the jobs get finished by other people. still remember when we had a rough truck unload and i looked over as we were about to finish and saw two of the guys supposed to be helping (people who are PAID the same amount as ME who was BUSTING MY ASS) just sitting down for 5 minutes, with a look on their faces like “why aren’t you all done with this dumb bullshit yet?” one of those guys was also in my computer science class and was openly passive-aggressively homophobic there, so add that to the tally i guess.

[xian-1502]

1/2: It’s all been ok lately. January started as anyone would expect, slow work, school starts, it’s all just so meh. The people in one of my classes have been extra atrocious lately against all understanding. Like just unnecessary rudeness or odd behavior that beats my expectations under any circumstance. Most recently i got undermined for no reason other than what i can assume was an attempt to slight me since we were doing a jeopardy game for extra credit and we discussed and agreed on an answer for a wager question . Then when our team went to answer they just said a different one with their whole chest and tanked our score disqualifying us for extra credit (from the game) to which like, what the fuck was the goal there even, we discussed and chose an answer as a team (in this context the answer i chose and argued for) and they just swap it up unprompted? I don’t know what kind of complex they were trying to idealize upon us with that stunt but they almost lost 5 other people a chance extra credit for what i can only guess is pride. Thankfully the professor gave us a mulligan in the form of some really simple questions that we just answer and email to her but i need that person to get hit by a stone for that cause what the actual hell. Outside of that it’s just been as school is. Attending, dreading and doing hw, having to do group work and knowing it spells unnecessary toil.

On another note, work has been ok, nothing super out of the blue (in the realm of outside of expectation of the retail experience) has happened. On the customer side at least, on the internal side it’s just been annoying as all hell lately because apparently we have a “mole”. Some apple products have been disappearing from the respective warehouse and security room and as a result we no longer have keys for our department and have to call over managers to unlock anything and everything that we used to be able to. Along with that they’ve been having extra leads from outside our store location visit and sort of orbit the sales zones as like “training”. But it’s very obvious they’re there to mean mug any employees out of trying to steal and it’s very apparent that one of them has strong suspicion of me(shocker). The way he’ll just stand and pretend he’s not looking at me like there’s no way he could be watching anyone else. But he may actually be more tolerable than the lady who’s trying to micromanage and get in everyone’s business. The amount of times she’s come out to me looking ecstatic to catch me not doing my job to just catch me in the middle of going from A-B is getting ridiculous and i’m getting annoyed that my managers except the one chill one are trying to downplay how these people are actively hindering all of us and making our jobs more unenjoyable than they already are. But we get by ig. What may be the straw that breaks a camels back is the bag checks. It’s allegedly store policy to check the bags of any employee leaving with a bag but they never do, and they didnt for a while and haven’t with the increasing theft and mole issue. Bag checks look like unzipping your bag and showing it to them while you still have it mind you. But unfortunately being a woman of color with a bag means you must be stealing so they stopped my friend and searched her bag?? like hands on her bag?? which is actually insane cause we have a this girl on geek squad who always leaves with a bag and has NEVER been stopped or hindered. Same for our white woman manager but go figure. I was talking to her about it next shift and we were both blown but as she put it, there’s no need to worry because “they WILL be dealt with” but ridiculous that i bore witness to that. Im more glad each day that i change and go out the opposite door so it’s never clocked that it’s an employee leaving because i know for certain that could’ve been me with the way they’ve been trying to catch me. Barring that it really has just be the usual, sales and appliance lifting.

Straying from those it’s the usual as well. I’ve been streaming my play through of judgement to my friend since he wants to see my reaction since he played it before me and a lot of the things he has set me up for have been ridiculous to say the least

but it’s fun regardless and it’s fun to share the experience since he’s helping me find things i would’ve missed on my own. I’ve also been catching up with older friends from my dance club who happen to be in the area and i’m looking forward to tipsy mini golfing (however that’s gonna work) soon. The weather has been insane lately so it’s not easy to get around or do stuff super consistently, case in point aforementioned flood by my brother’s school forcing detours as well as trees and branches breaking or falling. Also california drivers suck ass as it stands so adding rain (which they also struggle to fathom or deal with at all) just makes it accident central which is deeply unfortunate. Had an insane amount of near misses in the last week and a half despite driving 5 under the limit around other drivers. So that should put the driving conditions into perspective. Also making traffic ridiculous at hours that normally wouldn’t make sense (the storms but also the accidents) it’s been nothing yet though so kudos to that.

Introspectively i’ve been thinking a lot after getting chastised twice this month about being closed off and not contributing to the friendship which shocked me at first cause i was caught up on the not contributing part, but then after i thought about it a bit more i understood they meant, since initially i figured it was about what i do or offer to them as a friend which i was certain i could prove beyond shadow of doubt but it was about what i bring about myself. It upset me a little which i toke note of because after thinking about it meant that i it’s undeniable that i’m just avoiding sharing what i consider unimportant details about myself with people under the shallow excuse of assuming that people like their interests enough to be content with sharing them with someone who will listen and remember about them. Solidifying that the listener does care about them and what they are interested/invested in. Enough that the absence of input from the listener would go unnoticed, which has notably worked and been present in my life. But it’s at a point where i’m aware of it and it’s becoming impossible to ignore, which had me wonder what, outside of accounts of it working, led to this habit in my sociability. Where i don’t even wanna talk about myself to my friends. To which one of the more clear and laughably denied examples was when we used to have to walk to the laundromat to do our laundry for like 8 months back in 2015. i was 12 and topher was 4 and he was asking me why we had to do the laundry haul deal. It My aunt and mom were within the vicinity and earshot. Topher asks me if i like doing laundry, to which I imagined in my 12 year old mind was something that didn’t have a right answer so i just told him “no not really but it’s something i have to do” which neither of them were a fan of. My mom darted over to slap me with the force to make me stumble back and went off about how i needed to be grateful about having access to electric laundry machines as opposed to having to use a washboard and deal with that (i had used a washboard as a “learning experience” with my grandma prior). I was in a stunned silence so she hit me with a “hmm?!? am i talking to a wall” which snapped me back to reality (woah there goes gravity or something) and i apologized and had to state my recognition of how privileged i was to be able to walk to a laundromat mat. topher was very uncomfortable and didn’t ask a question about laundry again after that. following though, my aunt who didn’t act in the moment instead charged up her sass and hit me with it later by painting me as a privileged brat who spat in the face of their roots in hard work, over a relatively better scenario than their childhood. which was another bullet point on the remarks i would ever get from mouthy relatives when they ran out of actual conversation topics at the occasional get together. My only takeaway from that experience, with my 12 year old megabrain, (which isn’t really an entirely rational one at that i’ll note) was that sharing what i thought was beyond a shadow of a doubt not an option with my family if i want to avoid conflict or consequences because there are right answers and things people want to or would rather here. Which wasn’t helped by friends at the time because i translated that conclusion into my friends want to hear more things about stuff they like and etc therefore i cut back on what i do to show how good of a friend i am and how interesting i can be to talk to. Which is just proving a pattern of either negligence or self centering in the people i was around rather than actual evidence of how good of a friend i was since they did not care to hear about me at all. But regardless that moments stands out the most to me among the other blips on the radar of scanning why i hesitate with that in my interactions with people. It’s probably the most notable to me because i know it affected topher by proxy since he also learned from seeing how i reacted and what happened that he has to pick right answers and not be honest about himself and such.