So I'm the only closing cashier, and the sooner I get off the register, the sooner I can start scanning in the week's new signs, so the sooner I can finish and go home. Closing time strikes, and I'm told there's only one more customer in the store, already coming to the checkout lanes.
Turns out she's an 80 year old woman slowly creeping up to me, with a full cart she wants to split into two orders because she wants to pay half with cash and half with a check. I finish ringing the first half, and she starts hunting all through her purse for the money. First she finds some 20s in one place in her purse, then smaller bills in another, and then she goes into her coin purse for the exact change.
The check ought to go faster, since she's already divided the merchandise and has time to get it out, right? No, she doesn't start filling it out until after I can announce a total. And not even then, because she has to note it in her ledger. And then she puts her wallet away while I scan the check in, so she has to get it back out when I need to scan her ID in.
As soon as I can hand her the receipt I shut down the register, pace over three lanes to grab some discarded merchandise I noticed and bring it up to the service desk for processing and replacing, and head in for the sign scanning. The customer is still arranging her bags in the cart. I'm glad I wasn't the cart return guy.
edited 4th Feb '12 10:56:35 PM by TParadox
Fresh-eyed movie blogDecided where to submit my next paper. Gonna take a risk and send it to one fairly important journal in my field — I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
The results are already written, what I need to do is prepare a good introduction (always the hardest part of the job for me) and do some serious error- and style-checking.
With some luck, I should be able to finish the first two chapters today.
I should also start working a bit more seriously on applications: I keep postponing that, because "it's better if I first finish writing down this paper, so I can put it in my CV", but that's getting a bit ridiculous...
edited 8th Feb '12 3:16:29 AM by Carciofus
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.Booooooooored.
All quiet on the Eastern Front.
EDIT: Okay, knobface has started going on about how great it is that the council want to pave over the park in the middle of town so some scumbag oil tycoon can charge rent on the newly built commercial properties that will doubtless appear.
He also seems to (loudly) approve of the Bank of England printing £50,000,000,000.
I think I'm going to have to stab him now.
edited 9th Feb '12 7:35:22 AM by InverurieJones
'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'My back-to-work date has been pushed back to the 27th, due to problems getting materials for the jobs we acquired. No wood = nothing to work on, so one more week of unenjoyment. Ah well, the shop needed cleaning, so I get to work off some debt. It also gave me time to replace my headlight bulbs; tomorrow is windshield wiper install and detailing on Uncle Drunkie's ride.
If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~Billed my last freelance client (from August!) again, sent a timesheet for my part-time telecommuting job, have heard from neither.
I really wish I knew a good way to lean on them.
The child is father to the man —OedipusKnow any lawyers? They would probably send a dunning letter to the August client for a minimal fee, or even for free. Over 6 months is too long to go without being paid.
Call the telecommuting job and nudge them — if you aren't comfortable simply saying "Hey, when do I get paid?" you can just ask if they got the timesheet.
edited 10th Feb '12 1:33:27 PM by Madrugada
I have friends who have lawyer friends. If you have a lawyer friend, all the better.
Fresh-eyed movie blogI'd watch it when trying to sue people; small claims court can be a nightmare. Usually the only person who profits is the lawyer. I don't know where you live Herschele, but there are usually government agencies you can take your case to (in WA it's either OSHA or the Better Business Bureau) who will try and help you get paid. Alternately, a collections agency may be able to help but you'll end up getting less money.
If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~Tax office is open until closing time. So if someone comes in five minutes before closing and wants to do their taxes, we have to accept them. Not that I really mind, but some of my coworkers do.
And if they have a really complex return, well... On one of my days off, something like that happened to a couple of my coworkers.
The office closed at ten. They got out of there around 11:30.
Can't say I've really had much a problem with my CNA experiences. Yeah the job can be immensely frustrating at times, but I still like it a lot more than anything in food service work. Granted said frustrations of the CNA job and some personal hang ups are the reason I want to train to become an EMT instead.
Since I started working at Target, I have had a closing shift on Halloween, only gotten off at 4 on Christmas Eve because I had concrete family plans and requested off, worked until an hour after close (11 PM) on New Year's, and closed on the Super Bowl.
Valentine's Day? Whole day off. It's like they want me to sit around the house in sweatpants and cry into a pint of ice cream.
Current job paid up; they're just disorganized. Six-month-old freelance gig only wants to discuss the matter by phone.
Or face to face, so if I suddenly stop posting...
edited 13th Feb '12 8:20:57 PM by HersheleOstropoler
The child is father to the man —OedipusI'm grading and in response to the question:
"What kind of music do you imagine should be played at the beginning of the play?"
was the following reply:
"Like an Indonesian song that they play across the seas you know the people with the dots on their heads dance to"
and I am captivated by that sentence.
bc:...Wow.
I like trying to be organized. When you are respnosible for the physical security of a place and the tracking various things like folks coming and going.
I have things exactly as I need to them to be in the drawers. I have all the documents laid out. This minmizes fuss and messing with things. I have my routine set and have it set up so that someone could pick up at leas the document side with minimal effort. That is as long as it organized.
The one thing I ask is that the folks I share a desk with is to please not mess up my file order. They are ogranized so anyone can reach in grab the files they need without disturbing anything else in the drawer. Instead they mixed up a bunch of documents. This causes me to lose time finishing my shift meaning I trip off alarms and cause problems for other people.
If you need a copy of a document please do not copy over the last document we have. It is not rocket science to check before you start using that last copy.
Master copies are not to be written on. That is why they are master copies.
I hate generating documents unless I have to so please don't make a mess of things. /rant
Other than that miner annoyance my job is going pretty well.
Who watches the watchmen?I'm preparing an application for a position I really, really, really want.
I have the CV, I have some very good references, and I think I would be a pretty good fit. The only problem is that they want someone to start on April, whereas I'll be not ready (nor, in fact, qualified) until I get my Doctorate in September.
Oh well, even if there is only one possibility in one thousand I get it, I should try...
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.I always figure, apply anyway, and little things like that will take care of themselves if they want you, and it won't matter if they don't.
I've applied for a few jobs that would be a difficult commute using that reasoning.
The child is father to the man —OedipusQuestion.
Would it be too aggressive to end a job application with "As a researcher with a proven track in <insert thing here>, I believe that I would be suited to explore <insert topic here>, as a part of the wider examination of <insert very important topic here> and under the supervision of <insert huge name in the area here>"?
It's a extremely competitive position, and my only advantage over people with far more experience than me is that I have a few publications on <insert thing here>, which is very much related to the main topic of the project and is something not many people have done work about.
But on the other hand, coming off as a braggart is not something I'd want to do, and I am fairly junior as far as these things go.
Assuming Anglo-Saxon (English, if it matters) culture, would something like what I wrote be too much?
Thanks!
edited 23rd Feb '12 4:36:07 AM by Carciofus
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

I'm having a good day at work today. I'm doing some rewriting on a script, which is turning out to be more fun than I expected, and I'm hoping to meet with some backers on Monday if all goes well
\"NASA sends probe to Uranus, people everywhere giggle\"