A romp through the insanity patch!

I was actually planning on doing a Full Disclosure post tonight and getting all this stuff out of my head--and there's a LOT of stuff in my head right now. But the goings-on at work tonight kicked that plan in the ass.

I worked an open-to-close shift today...and actually, it was okay. I had plenty to do, was keeping occupied, was getting things done...it wasn't too bad until around two-thirty-ish when something happened. Four years worth of holidays and breaks working back there, and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me.

I think I was putting something out in the Italian case when this elderly man walked up to the Chinese case. Now, every once in a while I just have a gut feeling that there's going to be trouble with a customer, and I took one look at this guy and got that feeling. But He-Cook had disappeared (predictably enough), so it was up to me! Being the dutiful employee that I am, I toodled back inside and asked the man what I could get for him.

In the ensuing several minutes, my instincts proved to be right on the money--pun not intended. You'll see what I mean...

He proceeded to put both hands on the glass over the hot-case, tilt his head down...and mumble at me. I managed to catch that he wanted meals to go. Okay...now what? When I leaned halfway over the case and said, "Sir, I can't hear you," his mumble became an irritated mumble. Fine, whatever. Just point.

What he wound up getting was a sort of mish-mash of entrees and appetizers in two different to-go boxes, nothing really like any of our standards meals, but we have strange requests on occasion and sometimes do substitutions of various things--we're good at that. But I finally got it all together and headed to the cash register.

Now this is where it gets interesting.

I look down, and in his hand this man is holding a ten-dollar bill--I recognized it because of the gradient colors of green and brown. I look at his meals and think to myself, "Wow...with the extras, this is going to come to quite a bit more than ten dollars. But this is an old guy...he might not have more money than this. Eh, I'll just ring it up as the standard meals--do the guy a favor."

So that's what I did. It came to $10.25, so he fished into his pocket and dug out a quarter. I said, "Out of ten-twenty-five..." like I usually do and punched it in and put it in the register. I closed the drawer and went to hand him his receipt...

And he says, "Where's my change?"

I said, "Excuse me?"

He said, "I gave you a twenty dollar bill."

I replied, "No you didn't, sir." I turn to the bakery guy who was standing there punching in some charges and asked if he had seen, and he shook his head. Crap, no help there.

"Yes I did."

"No, sir, you gave me a ten."

Then he told me to open the register drawer and look--what he hoped to accomplish by this, I'm really not sure. But I did, and to my eyes it proved me right.

When I was trained a cashier (part of standard Hy-Vee employee training), I was taught to put the bills in with the dead presidents facing upward. So I have to be in an EXTREMELY big hurry to not take the time to flip the money over and put it in "the right way." The only other person who was there with me at the time--the cook--is the exact opposite, and puts the bills in face-down ninety-nine percent of the time.

The top twenty-dollar-bill was face down. The top ten was face up. And I told him this and said again that he gave me a ten dollar bill. Didn't really think it would help, and I was right. He actually reached across the counter to try and grab the ten dollar bill.

Again, I told him that he'd given me a ten. And now he grabs his bag of take-out and starts chewing me out. He tells me that he's never going to do business here again, and he's appalled if this is the way we treat our customers to make a profit, and on and on and on as he walks away.

I'd like to add that at this point, if I wasn't so stunned, I would have been outright offended. I do the best damn job I can at work, AND I had just essentially let him walk away with some stuff for free, and he has the nerve to tell me I'm not treating the customers well?? Can we say BULLSHIT, boys and girls?

So I stand there for a second, absolutely flabbergasted. Pretty sure Bakery Man next to me felt the same way, given that I turned and stared at him, and he stared back like he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

And then my brain kicked into high gear--if this guy went to a manager, I could be in really big trouble. Plus, while I was ninety-nine percent sure that I was right, there was still that chance that I'd made a mistake. So I did the only thing I really thought I could do.

We have an in-store phone with two lines (red and green) and an intercom. So I ran back and called for a shift manager to take the red line. Chandra answered, and I explained to her exactly what had happened. She told me that she would come back and count our register down soon to find out--if I was right, our register should break even (more or less), and if the customer was right, we would be ten over.

She also told me that if something like that happened again, I should ask him to wait and get a manager right away to do a countdown to settle the matter immediately. She promised that I wasn't going to be in any trouble, but she would be leaving a note for Jesse (our department manager) to let him know what happened. That way if this guy called and wanted to talk to the Big Boss, they would have my side of the story.

So after a little bit, she comes back and does a quick count of the cash in the register. And guess what?

I. Was. Right.

We were plus a quarter. Not ten bucks. A quarter.

And when they counted us down at the end of the evening, we were dead even. Don't ask me where that quarter went--it was either a miscount, or someone can go get themselves a can of pop on us. But you can imagine how relieved I felt, I'm sure.

Chandra was really awesome about it, too--I think she saw that I was kind of antsy about it. She reassured me that there would be absolutely no trouble for me, especially now that we knew I was in the right.

So yay for happy endings! :D

In other (non-work-related) news, I've caved to the power of the plunnies and gotten going on what spawned from the final Hugs fic and begun what I think might develop into a rather mundane little mini-universe of Heiji and Kazuha sharing an apartment--two bedrooms, of course *halo*

Lots of fun stuff going to happen, I think. Interpret "fun" how you will.

Oh, and a couple of Kaitou Kid fics. One that might wind up relatively humorous, and one that probably won't be quite as humorous... *flops over*

ICKA!!!! Question--I don't know all the fics people have written for your universes, so I want to ask...has Aoko ever seen The Pr0n? *halo*

Now, onto your regularly scheduled Story of the Day.

We have two cooks--He-Cook and She-Cook. Both are nice (usually), but He-Cook has this thing where he latches onto an idea or joke and can't let it die, usually managing to beat it well into the ground until any trace of funny has been completely eradicated. Such was the case when he somehow got on the idea that Kyle (my co-worker for the evening) was gay and checking out the ass of every single guy that walked by.

(I would also like to add that when He-Cook tried baiting me by pointing out a girl and asking what I thought of her ass, I replied by saying that it was pretty hard NOT to look at said girl's ass because she had writing on her pants there.)

So anyway, this went on until finally poor Kyle started getting a little fed up while he was making a calzone and He-Cook was engaging in jokes that even a fifth grader wouldn't find funny.

He-Cook: *makes some joke about sausage*
Kyle: Okay, seriously, enough already! And it's not even a sausage calzone!
He-Cook: Then what kind is it?
Kyle: Meat lovers.
Me: *dotdotdot* *FACEPLANT INTO COUNTER AND LAUGH HYSTERICALLY*

So. Much. WIN!

We had several fun conversations at work, up to and including the point where I convinced He-Cook that he's going to become a serial killer. magic_truth? Remember that question you asked me about the woman who killed her sister? I asked him that, and he got it right. And then he didn't believe that people wouldn't get it, so he made me ask six other people...none of whom got it. I WIN!

And now...I'm going to check out this RP thing that kaitodoushi might be getting me into (read that as IT MIGHT DEVOUR MY LIFE). But we will see :3

Dear fellow employees in general,

If I do not ask for your help with something, it means that I probably don't need it. While I understand that you have good intentions, the road to hell is paved with such. Unsolicited assistance is actually not appreciated and quite annoying--particularly when the task is something as simple as pouring sweet and sour sauce into little cups, putting lids on them, and then putting them in a bucket. This is not rocket science It does not require two people. I can do it on my own.

And sometimes, I'm actually taking my time on purpose. On days like today, when I'm working the entire bloody day, I like to have things to do to keep me from dying of boredom. So I take my time a bit so the job will last longer so I'll have less time to fill when it's done. You descending on me with a bucket and babbling about how you're helping me is, in fact, NOT HELPING. Go away and let me do the job you have given me.

Especially if you are That One Guy. Seriously, find your own goddamn work and let me do my own. It doesn't matter what I'm doing--you always seem to try and take over. Stop it.

And if you are That One Girl? Hate to break it to you, but showing up for work does not constitute earning your paycheck. Nor does standing around and criticizing everything I do, especially when I am not scheduled and have come in out of charity to help with Buffet Night. If you are notorious for not doing anything at work (and for flirting with the manager every chance you get), you should not be throwing stones at me.

And while we're on the subject, I'm very sorry you have PMS. However, I get that on occasion as well, and it has yet to cause me to make enormous messes all over our work space. It's not a reason, it's an excuse. Knock it off.

And to That Older Guy: Barging into a conversation Cook and I were having about my apartment hunt was rude enough. But to do so by making a comment that I need a boyfriend living with me to "cool me down" and "warm me up" when we were talking about utility bills was not only rude, but entirely uncalled for and unappreciated. I do not "need" a boyfriend to do anything, thank you very much, and I despise that particular way of thinking, that women "need" men in their lives to do anything.

While I have you here, That Older Guy, I am also getting very sick and tired of you constantly pecking at the way I do things simply because I don't do them exactly the way you do, and disguising those criticisms as pointers by beginning them with the phrase, "Let me give you a little tip." I do not want "tips." There is nothing wrong with the way I do things--please remember that you were the one who trained me in the Italian department in the first place, so why not trust in that? The job is done, and it is done relatively well. Leave me be.

No love,
~ Me

Well, I hope everyone is pleased with various things and whatnot *smiles while others attempt to puzzle out cryptic message*

New layout--very pretty :3 For some reason, I tend to gravitate towards blues and greens and yellows in my decor *shrug* I was actually looking for the one magic_truth just switched hers over to because I thought it was lovely, but I couldn't find it *sadface*

I worked today. Even though it was supposed to be my day off. See, the Management in their infinite wisdom decided to schedule Buffet Night for my department and the Kitchen. And then I'm sure they sat around, stroking their metaphorical beards and thinking to themselves, "You know, I don't think it's at all important that we actually tell Chinese/Italian or the Kitchen that they're doing the Grand Buffet on Thursday. It'll be a surprise! Like Christmas and their birthdays all rolled into one!"

...yeah. We honestly wouldn't have known about it if one of the ladies who worked in the kitchen hadn't seen the ad in the paper and raised the department alert. So I got to come in and help with the rampaging masses.

Except, ya know, they were more rampaging for (and in some cases, complaining about) the $3.99 large pepperoni pizzas. We couldn't keep those things on the rack! But then we had people who swore up and down that it wasn't the same size as shown in the ad...yeah. Lots of fun.

Another (almost amusing) side-effect of this being sprung on us liek whoa was that we didn't have a chance to find out if the discounts were being added in automatically, or if we were supposed to change the labels. So we changed the labels...only to have the really complainy lady come back and, after complaining, was nice enough to point out that it was taking the dollar off up at the front. So instead of ringing it up at the priced $3.99, they were going for $2.99. We went through probably twenty pizzas like that before the error was noticed.

What makes this amusing, you might ask? Apparently, NO ONE knew about the Midnight Madness, and so EVERYONE was scrambling to get things ready. So the bakery next door did the same thing we did and printed off labels with the sale prices on them, not knowing that the discounts had been programmed into the cash registers. I would like to shake the hand of whoever was honest enough to point out that their bakery goods rang up at twenty cents. Poor bakery people.

On the very bright side, I didn't have to stay and help with closing. I got to leave at eight, an hour before close. That was pretty glorious, let me tell ya.

...does anyone have any Princess Tutu fic recs? I'm hankerin' for a good read ^.~

I feel like there was something else I was going to bitch post about, but I can't remember what it is. Huh. Oh well. Still need to figure out when I can kidnap kaitodoushi and watch the last two volumes of Tutu with her so I can see her reactions to all the glory. Why yes, I am obsessed! How did you know?

Me: *discussing playing hide-and-seek in a shopping mall (don't ask)* ...now, if this were somehow me, I'd manage to hide in Cymbals 'R' Us, or the Large Noisy Object Store.

I gots an eye appointment very shortly to get my new contacts checked out, but I just had to post this because it made me laugh liek whoa ^_____^ THIS IS WHY I SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED ON CHAT AFTER A CERTAIN TIME, THAT TIME PROBABLY BEING AROUND MIDNIGHT OR SO. WEIRD THINGS BEGIN TO COME OUT OF MY FINGERS.

And I don't mean sweet-and-sour sauce. At work, whenever I would pour the S&S sauce into its little containers, I would spend the rest of the night with fingers that felt very very sticky (*insert your choice of joke here*), so our very dumb running gag was that I love Chinese food so much that I have sweet and sour sauce instead of blood!

...which led to the interesting mental image of me standing there, sticking my finger into the little cup and spraying sweet and sour sauce out of the tip of my finger to fill it up. Thanks for that picture, Jason ^^;;

WHY YES, EET EEZ SORT OF EARLY IN THE MORNING AND I WAS UP LATE LAST NIGHT CHATTING ABOUT THINGS THAT DEFINITELY ARE NOT PORN *shot* AND I'M FEELING WEEEEEEEEEEIRD!! *bounce bounce bounce*

They's building our new deck. Right outside my bedroom window. The saw made me go wakey *mopes* Hope they finish soon, 'cause I wanted to sleep more...my pillow and I had a good cuddling thing going on...

I can't remember the last time I willingly saw four AM o.O;; Good lord, that's early...but the TV thing was kinda fun, actually. I mostly stood there and talked while the guy did all the actually making-stuff. They were good guys, too--had a nice time talking to them. Then I cleaned it up and picked up a couple of donuts and went home. It was around a quarter after seven...in the morning!! That time should not exist, I swear...

I'm so weird--I was kinda wired when I got home, so I thought I'd sit and watch some TV and knit...but after about two minutes my eyes were getting all blurry, so I thought I'd crawl into bed and sleep for a while. Yeah, dozed for about an hour and a half before I got up and came upstairs to check my email...and then I was tired again, so I crawled back into bed and crashed for another half an hour-ish and got back up around noon. And now I'm making myself get up and stay awake, because if I sleep anymore than tonight will be nice and insomnia-filled. Yays.

So now I'm having lunch and knitting and relaxing. S'pose I'll have to get dressed at some point...so overrated, honestly... >.>;; I'll be online in a while :3

EDIT: I forgot I got tagged for this meme about a hundred years ago. Should probably post it and fill it out and stab tag people for it. So let's see...

Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names. No tagbacks.

( Just to prove that I'm very weird... )

And now I shall randomly stab tag...ashleymouse, jeva_chan, socchan, writergurl, magic_truth, msbbt, strawberrychan, jewelsybear1017, lightbird777, articulation, and abarero. If anyone else wants to, be my guest ^_^

Whew...okay, busy couple of days in my little world! Thanks to everyone for their congrats on the piano test. I'm still in a good mood from yesterday! :D

( Yesterday's festivities... )

Today I did have to work a six-hour-shift. I set my alarm for nine AM. Hit the snooze repeatedly until it was around ten. Got up, and spent my day relaxing before I had to go in. At work, I found myself training a new kid--I hope we keep him. Good worker (if still a little green), good attitude, pleasant to make conversation with :D The downside to training is that closing takes forever. We close at eight--I got home at a quarter after nine x_x Didn't help any that we got slammed with a rush at seven-fifteen, so I didn't get to take my twenty-minute break at seven-thirty...and so I got back at ten to close. Whoo XP

Also--this morning, I got a phone call from the floral shop in the grocery store where I work, saying that there was an arrangement there that someone had said I'd come pick up. I picked it up--it was from PK, with a card that said, "Congratulations--I knew you could do it." It was for piano--it's a lovely arrangement, all pink and orange and yellow in this adorable pink vase ♥ For all that she can drive me nuts sometimes, she really can be awesome :D

Then writergurl came over to pick up a disc with some pictures, and we wound up chatting for a while =P And now I'm hanging out online, drabbling like a good little fanfic-addict ^_^

For the drabble request, I have three more done:

For hagane_no_heiji: Two of a Kind. (Be warned, for it is the crackiest piece of cracktastic crack I have ever written.)

For strawberrychan: Playing in the Rain (THERE! YOU GET YOUR HEIJI/KAZUHA SMUT! NOW STOP POKING ME WITH THAT STICK!!)

For ran_mouri82: Telltale Stain You have Eri/Kogoro. Rejoice and be glad :D

For the record, "Playing in the Rain" and "Telltale Stain" will probably wind up in 30_hugs and fanfic100, respectively. I don't have a clue what to do with Two of a Kind ^^;; Next up: fics for alena_s_anigor, fyliwionvilyaer, and ytak. Because I have the ideas. Yay for more smut! *waves flag*

Oh yeah, and writergurl posted some piccies of me on her DA account. YAY!! :D

Also, my icon pwns your collective bases. That is all.

Heard last night at work:

*Cook asks me to call Produce and ask if they had any celery for us*
Me: *calling on the little in-store phone thingie* Do you have any celery for Chinese?
Produce Person: ...let me check. *pulls phone away from mouth to talk to someone* Do we have any Asian celery?
Me: *blink* Asian celery?
PP: Nope, sorry.
Me: ...you don't have any celery.
PP: We have regular celery.
Me: That's what I was asking for--for the Chinese department.
PP: Oh...then yes. We do have some.
Me: I'll be over in a minute!

...even if he misheard me, where in the world did he get Asian from? Shouldn't he have asked for Chinese celery? Oh well, gave us all a really good laugh...wonder what Asian celery looks like, anyway...

And now, a couple of meme-y things that I've been meaning to post for a while...

( My New Year's Resolutions... )

Actually, my one big resolution was to be better about commenting on people's LJs >.>;;

( Do I really fail at life?? )

Oh yeah, and everyone should go read fyliwionvilyaer's new Kiss for Kaito and Aoko, and ranmouri_82's new Kiss for Shinichi and Ran, oh yes you all should :D I COMMAND YOU!!

And now, just for fun...


Create your own friendquiz here

Today at work, I managed to make a complete moron of myself in front of a customer. Two customers, actually. Best thing ever, let me tell ya...

[The scene: a man and a woman are ordering. He orders a two-entree meal.]
He-Customer: *points to two types of chicken* General, sesame.
Me: *not bothering to think before I speak* General Sesame...any relation to Sgt. Pepper?
*collective dotdotdot*
Me: *palm meets forehead* That was awful.

It's official--on occasion, I really do redefine what it means to be an idiot. Oh well. They did laugh, though, so I guess it was okay. That's what I get for listening to Beatles' music before I go to work ^^;;

But I must ask...what if we all really do live in a yellow submarine? It must be so crowded!

Oh oh oh--hey, msbbt? What're you doing tomorrow? Like, in case I decided to randomly kidnap you for random naughtiness lunch? *halos and sparkles with innocence*

First things first: twosen, I finally stole that icon. Isn't it love?

I'm in a surprisingly good mood, considering I worked eight hours today. The last half hour of that was spent watching Chong mop, and I do wish I was joking about that =P But we did start closing before seven...which meant I got out of there at eight-thirty. It was just me and Chong, when usually there are two people working in addition to the cook. So we didn't do too bad, I guess.

Sorry I've been so whiny the last couple of days, guys D: I was way out of line.

Anyway, I'm debating with myself. I'm trying to decide if I should just hang out online, or bring ammchan's present up here to work on while I'm online, or go downstairs to watch a movie and work on it there...or work on that next Nights fic. Won't get it done tonight, but I could work on it.

I dunno. Haven't decided yet. Need to do something productive. Also need to shower and put on clothing that does not smell like a strange combination of egg rolls and bleach. Most unpleasant. But I have Taco Bell. Crunchwraps are love, and do make things better :D

Also, was just kinda wondering...socchan? Lurker Day is going to be March 2nd again, right? *has been lurking a lot recently, but ish a coward about de-lurking* ... *actually, is just a coward in general*

Otherwise, I hope everyone has an awesome New Year's Eve, and a great New Year's Day. Let's welcome in oh-seven with some cheers and some resolutions that will probably last about a week! WHOO!!