I'm not a superstitious person, I think it's silly. I mean, my PO Box number is 666 (and yes, i do have fun explaining that to people, esp. very superstitious people who have to type my address in for some reason but who cannot bring themselves to actually type 666...). And, unlike one of my co-workers, I don't feel this is an "evil year" because there are 3 Friday the 13ths in "09. However, having said all that, today was one of those days that I wish I could blame on the date.
I had to be at Cracker Barrel at 8:30. I normally swing through drive-through somewhere and grab breakfast on the way, no big deal. But half way to work the low fuel light come on, even though I had put $15 in it just a few days ago. Turns out one of my siblings, you know who you are, had taken the car to a Mardi Gras parade last night and forgot to refill the gas tank, Great. Well, I didn't have time to deal with it but I decided I would deal with it on my way home.
While I'm eating I pull my e-mail up on my phone and see that my work schedule for Old Navy had come in. Great! I pull it up to see if I finally had more hours this week, they've been skimpy lately. I have 0. None. Nada. I'm not working a single day. So, now I'm really ticked. Note to self, go by ON on the way home and see what is going on.
When I get into the kitchen my store manager calls me into his office, tells me to bring my list of work for the day. Tells me that he is going to edit it down, he wants me to have an easy day and get out early because I've been staying late so much. Sounds good to me. He then proceeds to change my sheet around until he's added at least an hours worth of the work, simply in different areas, then smiles and heads our front, leaving me staring at his back. Several hours into the day he does send me some help for about 1 1/2 hours, but she is not the most... efficient worker, and so only gets about 45 minutes worth of the work done. Still, it's a help.
In the meantime we've had 2 grill cooks call in, and another leave 5 minutes into her shift. The opening cook finally has to go (several hours late) and so we have a server and a manager trying to run the cook line. Plus, they are really pushing desserts and the servers were out-doing themselves today. They aren't hard for me to do, but each one takes about 1-3 minutes, depending on which type it is and if it needs anything special done to it. Not a big deal, until they sell like 45 in one shift. Then it's a big deal, because I don't have extra time set aside to do them, I have to keep my other work up as well. So now I'm really far behind.
I'm supposed to get off at 1. At 12:30 one of my co-workers starts going on and on about how we are out of roast beef. It's a long story but suffice it to say that she and I don't get along, so I ignored her for awhile but I finally had a chance to get the roast beef cut. I'm not kidding, she has to have, loudly, brought it up with other people at least 5 times in under an hour, each time pointing out how my failing to do my job is keeping her from doing hers. Since we are out of the meat I clean out the stuff I'm working on and get it cut so she can get in the oven (I hadn't earlier because I had been specifically told to cut it last thing before I left, but sometimes it sells faster than we plan). After I get her a couple of trays I take them over to her section and leave them for her.
A couple of minutes later I hear her yelling about me to one of the managers, pitching a fit because she doesn't need it and doesn't know why i have to go around piling things in her area and making a mess. So the manager brings it over to me. I, angry at this point I will admit, explain that she;'s been pitching a fit to have me cut it for her and that we are out. The manager is like, 'Well, we're not out, there's plenty in the oven." I stare at her and she says, "Look, we just need to pacify her, ok?" and she walks away.
I'm not making this up- my eye starts twitching. I cannot remember the last time I was upset enough to twitch. Not that this one thing was so big, but she constantly tries to undercut me and make me look stupid/incompetent in front of my co-workers and managers and then to have a manager tell me that I needed to try and pacify her.... I very much wanted to show them how much I needed to be pacified but I restrained myself and just put the meat away.
By 2 my other manager is like, "Just clean up and go, you're over on hours." At 3 I ask if I can just go. My work isn't done yet, I've been given so many little "oh, just do this real quick before you go" tasks that I am no further ahead than I was an hour before.
Finally free, I head to a Mexican place to meet my car-gas-using sibling for lunch. That's when I remember the car is out of gas. No worries, I'll trade with them and they can put the gas back. Near the end of the meal I find out that isn't going to work, because there isn't have time before their job. And they can't after, because they have to meet their friends for a movie right after work. <sigh> I take the gas money and weave through the back roads to the gas station, hoping I won't run out before I get there. Then I head to the bank, to drop off my paycheck in the ATM.
It's being serviced.
Ok, Wal-Mart before the bank. The parking lot is packed so I have to leave the car on the far side of the lot and weave through the crazy traffic on foot. Surviving my experience I trudge through the door and am hit by a wall of pink and red. Somehow I had forgotten that 2/14 comes after 2/13 and Wal-Mart is PACKED with people buying gifts. There are mountains of stuffed animals and stacks of chocolate and employees shoving armloads of flowers into coolers. And it hits me- there will be no crappy purple bear or half-wilted flowers given to me tomorrow because I do not have a guy in my life. And suddenly I very much want someone to give me a crappy purple bear or half-wilted flowers. Or, more accurately, I want to be in a relationship-state in which Valentines Day might, for once since elementary school, actually not be a sucky day. But that's not going to happen in the next 12 hours. Utterly depressing.
After what feels like an eternity in Happy Happy Love Land I finally find what I'm looking for, stand in line for 20 minutes to buy all $10 worth of the stuff, and escape. It's pouring down rain. Cold, gray, heavy rain. By the time I sludge back to my car I'm soaking wet and freezing to death, it was 70 this morning so I don't have a coat with me. Ok, back to the bank and then home to warm up.
Pull up to the ATM, stick in my card, yadda, yadda. It starts processing. And processing. And processing.
"We're sorry, your transaction has timed out. Please retrieve your card and try again."
There is buzzing and clicking but no card. After I poke the slot a few times it starts buzzing again.
"Your card has been retained. Thank you for banking with Wachovia."
I can't back up because there is someone behind me. I can't pull forward because I don't want the machine to decide to give the folks behind me my card. So I have to slide out a door that can barely open, tightly squeezing between the car and the building. This means I rub rather hard against the car. The wet car, covered with sticky dirt the rain has loosened. In my uniform shirt. Did I mention it's white? And that the dirt is a lovely deep shade of black? Anyway, I trudge inside and tell the woman at the counter what happened.
"Oh, yes." She laughs. "It was hanging up earlier. Give my your drivers license and I'll go get it for you."
"it's in the car."
"Well, you can't have your card back without it."
Back through the rain, squeeze back through the tiny gap, find my drivers license, back through the rain into the building.
After the woman chats with her friend she finally disappears into the back. Some time later she shows up with my card and another ladies card, who has since come in. They take care of her first, because they know her. Once everything is settled the teller offers to finish my transaction, if I want to bring my check inside. After I tell her I'll just wait Ms Perky reminds me that she'll be off Monday because it's a holiday, and again she asks me to just bring my check in. A smile frozen to my face, I assure her that I am in no hurry.
When I get back to my car I have a voicemail from my mom, reminding me that it's almost supper and I volunteered to cook tonight. Guess what I had forgotten? Thankfully, half way into my story about my day she decided my dad and she would just go out and Matt and I could scrounge something up when we got hungry. And, bright point of the day, she found Crocs on sell and bought me a new pair! And new Croc flip-flops. So that's cool.
It's a hot shower, some pjs, and a call to a friend later and I feel better.
But my left eye is still twitching.
Comments (1)
Aw, Anna! I really feel for you!
We have the same bank! Haha. Pointless observation, I know.
I hope this week goes much better than the 13th. And I know what you mean about wishing there was someone to give you SOMETHING for valentine's day. I happened to get the opportunity to go to a wedding on Valentine's day. Boy, did that ever help!