Long day today.
I was angry and upset. That made me all mixed up in my head and misfocused. One man came into the store and ordered a pizza. I handed him a bag of crazy bread, and he started walking away. I turned around to go back to whatever I had been doing, and from the corner of my eye I saw him with a bag of crazy bread and thought to myself, "How the heck did he get crazy bread? Didn't he order a pizza?" At the same moment, he turned to me and said, "What is this?"
It was kind of embarrassing.
My night got better later on, when I started having fun on cash with Joanne.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Patrick's Crazy Day
Good morning.
Today was nuts. Well, not entirely nuts. I got to sleep in, which is especially great, considering I even went to bed early last night. So I got lots of sleep.
Janelle got up before me because she had to finish some homework, and she did, but she needed a ride to school. Anyways, because mom and dad Swan used their black accord to help move Joanne and Colin, Janelle and I had Joanne and Colin's car. It did alright driving downhill to get to the university, and I dropped Janelle there and headed home. I started noticing that the car was dysfunctional on the way home when it could hardly make it up the hills. It would rev high, then kick into gear, then kick out of gear and rev high again, gain speed, lose power, slow down, speed up. Very tumultuous. Very difficult. Very slow.
I made it home, and decided not to use the car any more than I had to. I left it in the parking space and went up the stairs to our building. That's when I realized that I was keyless. I had left the keys in the apartment. Briefly, I was struck with panic, then I remembered that Janelle had the other set, and that I would just have to find her at the University and get the keys from her, after her class. I judged that I had an hour and a half to kill, and headed to Bayer's Lake, to do some shopping.
First I went to Future Shop to check out laptops. As I was looking, this pesky salesperson kept bugging me, so I left. I went to Staples, where I was totally ignored. I looked at their selection and came to the conclusion that, while I could get a relatively cheap laptop at either store, I was not entirely sure what I would be getting, I didn't really know what I wanted, and I couldn't buy a laptop that didn't come with a pre-installed operating system.
I really don't like Windows. Lately I've been using the Ubuntu operating system, and I've found it very, very stable, fast, and reliable. It's got a few problems, but I'm quite satisfied. It doesn't bog down over time, like Windows does, and I don't have to worry about constant crashes and stuff like that -- all Windows problems. Ubuntu runs very stable, and that's the best part about it. Anyways, I'm looking for a computer that doesn't come with a pre-installed OS, so I can put Ubuntu on it, and neither Staples nor Future Shop sell them. Anyways, I left Staples. I don't have enough money to buy a computer right now anyway.
Coming out of Staples I decided to do some preliminary Christmas Shopping. So I went to Reitmans. Upon entering I realized that I had no idea what I was looking for or even where to begin. I couldn't even remember what size Janelle is! The staff tried helping me, and they were very sweet, but I just had no idea so I left. Afterwards I went to the Shoe Company because Janelle wants boots. So I tried looking for boots, but nothing was clicking. I decided I would have to return with, either more information, or Janelle herself.
Then I went to Little Caeser's, for two reasons. Firstly, to kill time, and secondly to find out how much time I had to kill. In other words, I wanted to know what time it was. On the way to Little Caeser's the car gave me more trouble than before. It just wouldn't go above 20 km/h going uphill and behaved even more tempestuously. At one point I was going uphill and the car just wouldn't accelerate and people lined up behind me...
Finally I got to Little Caeser's. I went in and after checking the time, I told Colin what was up. Being the sweetheart that he is, he called up Joanne. They arranged to meet me at the subway near our house for lunch, and then I could go to the University from there. So I tried to go, but the car wouldn't start. I went back and told Colin this, he tried it too, and took a quick look under the hood, and determined that the engine must be gone. It was very hot and there was a lot of fluid. Probably overheated. The car wasn't going anywhere. I thanked Colin, and told him I'd grab the bus to the University and meet Janelle there, and I started walking.
I ended up walking the whole way. Mainly because, as Colin pointed out, I'm too stubborn. It only took about half an hour to get to the University, mainly because it was all downhill. Then I started looking for Janelle. I checked around the SAC, then tried the Saceteria, and then the medical clinic because she had mentioned that she'd be there sometime today. I hung around the clinic for a few minutes then went back to the SAC. After looking around a bit more, I decided that it was more or less hopeless. Why did I even think I could find one person in such a big place? So I started walking home.
At this point I was getting tired. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and it was getting past lunch time. It took a long time, walking up hill, to the apartment and when I finally got there I was too shy to buzz the superintendent to let me in. Desperation finally took over and I went to the lobby. As I got there, however, someone else was coming in and held the door open for me.
I rushed in, and climbed the stairs to the Superintendent's apartment and knocked. She greeted me kindly and listened to my problem, and agreed to come let me into the apartment. So, with her little crazy-haired daughter in tow, we went down the stairs to our apartment, she unlocked the door and I gratefully went inside. Relieved, and exhausted.
I drank a few glasses of milk, and filled up on water, being very thirsty, then checked my e-mails and found that Janelle had written me. I wrote back very quickly, then went on MSN and we chatted for the rest of the afternoon. I totally forgot about eating until almost three o'clock. Then Joanne called and said that she would pick me up and bring me to the Volkswagen Golf. So I (remembering the keys this time) met her in the parking lot, and she drove me to where the Golf was parked and we parted. She went to work, and I headed back to the apartment to do the dishes, quickly, before going back to the University to pick up Janelle.
After picking up Janelle we headed to Little Caeser's again for some pizza supper. Janelle picked up a prescription at Lawtons, and then we went back to Bayer's lake. First we checked out moulding at Kent because we want to make a frame for our painting that Vince gave us as a wedding present. Next we went to Michael's for some Christmas supplies.
When we got home, we had lots of water, both being quite thirsty and then I set about installing Ubuntu on Janelle's computer and reading from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Janelle baked some garlic bread and chatted on the telephone with Juaniece. At midnight the garlic bread was ready and we ate some before Janelle went to bed, and I went back to the computer to finish installing Ubuntu and getting it set up. Afterwards, I wrote this blog. And I'm done now, so I'll say goodnight.
Goodnight :)
Today was nuts. Well, not entirely nuts. I got to sleep in, which is especially great, considering I even went to bed early last night. So I got lots of sleep.
Janelle got up before me because she had to finish some homework, and she did, but she needed a ride to school. Anyways, because mom and dad Swan used their black accord to help move Joanne and Colin, Janelle and I had Joanne and Colin's car. It did alright driving downhill to get to the university, and I dropped Janelle there and headed home. I started noticing that the car was dysfunctional on the way home when it could hardly make it up the hills. It would rev high, then kick into gear, then kick out of gear and rev high again, gain speed, lose power, slow down, speed up. Very tumultuous. Very difficult. Very slow.
I made it home, and decided not to use the car any more than I had to. I left it in the parking space and went up the stairs to our building. That's when I realized that I was keyless. I had left the keys in the apartment. Briefly, I was struck with panic, then I remembered that Janelle had the other set, and that I would just have to find her at the University and get the keys from her, after her class. I judged that I had an hour and a half to kill, and headed to Bayer's Lake, to do some shopping.
First I went to Future Shop to check out laptops. As I was looking, this pesky salesperson kept bugging me, so I left. I went to Staples, where I was totally ignored. I looked at their selection and came to the conclusion that, while I could get a relatively cheap laptop at either store, I was not entirely sure what I would be getting, I didn't really know what I wanted, and I couldn't buy a laptop that didn't come with a pre-installed operating system.
I really don't like Windows. Lately I've been using the Ubuntu operating system, and I've found it very, very stable, fast, and reliable. It's got a few problems, but I'm quite satisfied. It doesn't bog down over time, like Windows does, and I don't have to worry about constant crashes and stuff like that -- all Windows problems. Ubuntu runs very stable, and that's the best part about it. Anyways, I'm looking for a computer that doesn't come with a pre-installed OS, so I can put Ubuntu on it, and neither Staples nor Future Shop sell them. Anyways, I left Staples. I don't have enough money to buy a computer right now anyway.
Coming out of Staples I decided to do some preliminary Christmas Shopping. So I went to Reitmans. Upon entering I realized that I had no idea what I was looking for or even where to begin. I couldn't even remember what size Janelle is! The staff tried helping me, and they were very sweet, but I just had no idea so I left. Afterwards I went to the Shoe Company because Janelle wants boots. So I tried looking for boots, but nothing was clicking. I decided I would have to return with, either more information, or Janelle herself.
Then I went to Little Caeser's, for two reasons. Firstly, to kill time, and secondly to find out how much time I had to kill. In other words, I wanted to know what time it was. On the way to Little Caeser's the car gave me more trouble than before. It just wouldn't go above 20 km/h going uphill and behaved even more tempestuously. At one point I was going uphill and the car just wouldn't accelerate and people lined up behind me...
Finally I got to Little Caeser's. I went in and after checking the time, I told Colin what was up. Being the sweetheart that he is, he called up Joanne. They arranged to meet me at the subway near our house for lunch, and then I could go to the University from there. So I tried to go, but the car wouldn't start. I went back and told Colin this, he tried it too, and took a quick look under the hood, and determined that the engine must be gone. It was very hot and there was a lot of fluid. Probably overheated. The car wasn't going anywhere. I thanked Colin, and told him I'd grab the bus to the University and meet Janelle there, and I started walking.
I ended up walking the whole way. Mainly because, as Colin pointed out, I'm too stubborn. It only took about half an hour to get to the University, mainly because it was all downhill. Then I started looking for Janelle. I checked around the SAC, then tried the Saceteria, and then the medical clinic because she had mentioned that she'd be there sometime today. I hung around the clinic for a few minutes then went back to the SAC. After looking around a bit more, I decided that it was more or less hopeless. Why did I even think I could find one person in such a big place? So I started walking home.
At this point I was getting tired. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and it was getting past lunch time. It took a long time, walking up hill, to the apartment and when I finally got there I was too shy to buzz the superintendent to let me in. Desperation finally took over and I went to the lobby. As I got there, however, someone else was coming in and held the door open for me.
I rushed in, and climbed the stairs to the Superintendent's apartment and knocked. She greeted me kindly and listened to my problem, and agreed to come let me into the apartment. So, with her little crazy-haired daughter in tow, we went down the stairs to our apartment, she unlocked the door and I gratefully went inside. Relieved, and exhausted.
I drank a few glasses of milk, and filled up on water, being very thirsty, then checked my e-mails and found that Janelle had written me. I wrote back very quickly, then went on MSN and we chatted for the rest of the afternoon. I totally forgot about eating until almost three o'clock. Then Joanne called and said that she would pick me up and bring me to the Volkswagen Golf. So I (remembering the keys this time) met her in the parking lot, and she drove me to where the Golf was parked and we parted. She went to work, and I headed back to the apartment to do the dishes, quickly, before going back to the University to pick up Janelle.
After picking up Janelle we headed to Little Caeser's again for some pizza supper. Janelle picked up a prescription at Lawtons, and then we went back to Bayer's lake. First we checked out moulding at Kent because we want to make a frame for our painting that Vince gave us as a wedding present. Next we went to Michael's for some Christmas supplies.
When we got home, we had lots of water, both being quite thirsty and then I set about installing Ubuntu on Janelle's computer and reading from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Janelle baked some garlic bread and chatted on the telephone with Juaniece. At midnight the garlic bread was ready and we ate some before Janelle went to bed, and I went back to the computer to finish installing Ubuntu and getting it set up. Afterwards, I wrote this blog. And I'm done now, so I'll say goodnight.
Goodnight :)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Tipping in Tylenol
So the other day, at work, it was a terribly slow night. Everything was done by eight o'clock, so we were doing extra cleaning and stuff like that. While I was stocking up the pop cooler, a gentleman came in, he was tall and heavyset, with graying hair, well-dressed. He ordered a pizza, and ate it at one of the tables in the store. I was stocking the pop cooler behind him. He finished eating his pizza, there were still several slices left over, so he turned to me and asked if he could trade me his medium size box for a smaller box. I said, no problem. So I gave him a smaller box, and he tried to give me the medium size box, so I could use it again, he said. I just told him to put it in the garbage. He must have been thrilled with our service because he tipped me in tylenol. He gave me two packages of tylenol ultra. "Is very good, if someone have headache, you know," he said.
The tylenol came in handy, because yesterday, Joanne had a headache and ran out of advil. I rushed to the tip jar and opened it up, and gave one to Joanne. So they really did come in handy.
On Tuesday, I was working with Jenna. We had a big person-sized box. So I cut holes for arms and head and put it over myself. Afterwards I convinced Jenna to wear it while she was working, because she didn't have to wait on customers. (I was too embarassed to wear it while waiting on customers.) Anyways, Kerri has photos of it on her cell phone. Maybe some day I'll duplicate it and get photos for the website.
'Later
The tylenol came in handy, because yesterday, Joanne had a headache and ran out of advil. I rushed to the tip jar and opened it up, and gave one to Joanne. So they really did come in handy.
On Tuesday, I was working with Jenna. We had a big person-sized box. So I cut holes for arms and head and put it over myself. Afterwards I convinced Jenna to wear it while she was working, because she didn't have to wait on customers. (I was too embarassed to wear it while waiting on customers.) Anyways, Kerri has photos of it on her cell phone. Maybe some day I'll duplicate it and get photos for the website.
'Later
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Fashion
My favourite part of living in Halifax is watching the ships at Fairview Cove Container Terminal. It's very impressive. One of the things I would Love to do is be a pilot on big, big ship. Then I'd stock up on rum and become a pirate.
This morning my wife and I were looking at an article titled "Last Week's Style Winners and Losers." It's a photo montage of several famous people in fancy evening-wear. Under each photo is a short paragraph explaining what was right or wrong about what this person was wearing. For example, Avril Lavinge was wearing a nice dress but her boots were absolutely garish--as the writer explained.
What is it with our culture of ascribing value to people only based on how they look and dress? I mean, we really, really don't care about who these people are and what they're like. It seems like the only thing that makes people special is that they look "perfect" and we're so jaded that our idea of perfect is totally unrealistic.
This morning my wife and I were looking at an article titled "Last Week's Style Winners and Losers." It's a photo montage of several famous people in fancy evening-wear. Under each photo is a short paragraph explaining what was right or wrong about what this person was wearing. For example, Avril Lavinge was wearing a nice dress but her boots were absolutely garish--as the writer explained.
What is it with our culture of ascribing value to people only based on how they look and dress? I mean, we really, really don't care about who these people are and what they're like. It seems like the only thing that makes people special is that they look "perfect" and we're so jaded that our idea of perfect is totally unrealistic.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
pizza woes
yargh. either i'm insane, or the customers at little caesar's are.
i try to wait on customers as fast as i can, being as friendly as i can, giving them their orders and change as quickly as possible.
but for some people, 'hot&ready' isn't ready enough! there's always the ubiquitious toe-tapper, the "excuse me, i ordered before him" interrupter, the "six minutes? that's too long" sayer, or the "tsk tsk, aren't we ready yet?" fake sugar monsters. ugh. it makes me feel really pathetic that i'm pouring out all that i have into serving well, and it's still not good enough. if, with all the effort and grit i can muster, i still can't handle little caesar's, what will the rest of my life be like? yikes.
but it really feels like the customers think they have to fight me to get what they want. don't they know that's what i'm trying like crazy to give them?
i think there should be a sign on the cash:
Dear Customer:
I want you to have a very pleasant experience here.
I want to be as helpful as I can, and I will do my best to get you exactly what you want at the cheapest price possible and as quickly as possible.
I will be friendly, crack an occasional appropriate joke, smile winningly, and wait patiently while you fish for pennies in your pockets. I will admire your babies, talk to your kids, and help old people out the door. I really really really want you to have a good day.
-Employee
PS.Unfortunately, I can't make personal phone calls for you to find out what sauce your family wants again, especially when there are five people in line behind you. Sorry, I can't pick the mushrooms off a Canadian hot and ready. They come as they are. If you want just bacon-and-pepperoni, it will be a six minute wait. Just because you order first doesn't mean your order will be finished first. Some people order hot&ready, that means they don't have to wait. Occasionally, one of us will make a mistake. It's okay, we'll fix it at no cost to you. No, I didn't charge you too much for the pop. It's called a deposit. We recycle. Please don't expect me to warn your kids about pawing through the poppies. You know that pins are sharp.
i know that customers are the same the world over, and the bad customers stand out in my mind more than the good ones. patrick finds women in general more rude, and i think older professional men are the rudest. give me in-from-the-sticks-hillbillies any day: they might call canadians "canadianas" but they say thanks and have a nice day when they leave. moms with little kids are fun - the kids always have things in their pockets they want to show off, and it makes moms happy when you admire them. old people are always happily surprised by the speed of hot&readies, and they love crinkly-eye smiles. they get more polite when they're pleased: i usually get a "thank you dear" or "thank you miss" when i give them their order.
and it's really awesome working with patrick and joey (and everyone else is fun too) and i am grateful to have a job and a paycheque.
i love being able to lift and slice and pack a pizza in a few seconds, then hand it, steaming, to a really happy customer. mmmm. that part almost tastes as good as a bacon, feta, and hot-pepper pizza ....
i try to wait on customers as fast as i can, being as friendly as i can, giving them their orders and change as quickly as possible.
but for some people, 'hot&ready' isn't ready enough! there's always the ubiquitious toe-tapper, the "excuse me, i ordered before him" interrupter, the "six minutes? that's too long" sayer, or the "tsk tsk, aren't we ready yet?" fake sugar monsters. ugh. it makes me feel really pathetic that i'm pouring out all that i have into serving well, and it's still not good enough. if, with all the effort and grit i can muster, i still can't handle little caesar's, what will the rest of my life be like? yikes.
but it really feels like the customers think they have to fight me to get what they want. don't they know that's what i'm trying like crazy to give them?
i think there should be a sign on the cash:
Dear Customer:
I want you to have a very pleasant experience here.
I want to be as helpful as I can, and I will do my best to get you exactly what you want at the cheapest price possible and as quickly as possible.
I will be friendly, crack an occasional appropriate joke, smile winningly, and wait patiently while you fish for pennies in your pockets. I will admire your babies, talk to your kids, and help old people out the door. I really really really want you to have a good day.
-Employee
PS.Unfortunately, I can't make personal phone calls for you to find out what sauce your family wants again, especially when there are five people in line behind you. Sorry, I can't pick the mushrooms off a Canadian hot and ready. They come as they are. If you want just bacon-and-pepperoni, it will be a six minute wait. Just because you order first doesn't mean your order will be finished first. Some people order hot&ready, that means they don't have to wait. Occasionally, one of us will make a mistake. It's okay, we'll fix it at no cost to you. No, I didn't charge you too much for the pop. It's called a deposit. We recycle. Please don't expect me to warn your kids about pawing through the poppies. You know that pins are sharp.
i know that customers are the same the world over, and the bad customers stand out in my mind more than the good ones. patrick finds women in general more rude, and i think older professional men are the rudest. give me in-from-the-sticks-hillbillies any day: they might call canadians "canadianas" but they say thanks and have a nice day when they leave. moms with little kids are fun - the kids always have things in their pockets they want to show off, and it makes moms happy when you admire them. old people are always happily surprised by the speed of hot&readies, and they love crinkly-eye smiles. they get more polite when they're pleased: i usually get a "thank you dear" or "thank you miss" when i give them their order.
and it's really awesome working with patrick and joey (and everyone else is fun too) and i am grateful to have a job and a paycheque.
i love being able to lift and slice and pack a pizza in a few seconds, then hand it, steaming, to a really happy customer. mmmm. that part almost tastes as good as a bacon, feta, and hot-pepper pizza ....
Hurricane Noel
Saturday morning we drove Stephen to the airport and then I went to work. That afternoon, Halifax, and all of Nova Scotia was hit by Hurricane Noel (downgraded to a tropical storm). It was pretty exciting. Winds up to 140 km/h, and heavy, heavy rain. We had no power for most of the day on Sunday and morning meeting was cancelled.
Monday, after the storm had blown itself out or moved further along the coast and the morning was shining crisp and sunny, I was listening the radio at work. They interviewed one man who was foolish enough to go to Peggy's Cove to watch the storm on Sunday morning. (There are reports that more than one person was swept out to sea by monstrous waves during the storm.) So this man was saying that he parked his car in the parking lot and went down to the rocks to watch the waves. The ocean was very rough, with huge waves. Suddenly, these thirty foot waves rushed the shore and swamped the parking lot. At that point, he got a little scared and decided to leave. He got back in his car and drove away. At one point, though, waves were washing over the road and one hit the car, completely sumbmerging it.
Sounds awesome. I turned to Janelle and said, "Next time there's a hurricane, we're going to Peggy's Cove and filming it."
Monday, after the storm had blown itself out or moved further along the coast and the morning was shining crisp and sunny, I was listening the radio at work. They interviewed one man who was foolish enough to go to Peggy's Cove to watch the storm on Sunday morning. (There are reports that more than one person was swept out to sea by monstrous waves during the storm.) So this man was saying that he parked his car in the parking lot and went down to the rocks to watch the waves. The ocean was very rough, with huge waves. Suddenly, these thirty foot waves rushed the shore and swamped the parking lot. At that point, he got a little scared and decided to leave. He got back in his car and drove away. At one point, though, waves were washing over the road and one hit the car, completely sumbmerging it.
Sounds awesome. I turned to Janelle and said, "Next time there's a hurricane, we're going to Peggy's Cove and filming it."
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