Filed under: Doses of Cynicism, Triumphs & Heartbreaks, Work Life | Tags: boss, co-workers, confrontation, manager, retail, selfishness, work
What a day.
This morning I received a card from the FFL group, and attached with it the postcard I designed for them, thanking me for the work I’ve done for them.
I thought that was really nice of them, and it made my day.
Work was a different story though.
We were extremely understaffed, and the people I worked with were complete slackers. (Ie. hour long breaks, mysterious absences, etc.)
So about 45 mins after my scheduled break, and I was still the only person manning the floor, I page my co-worker. Twice.
No reply.
I page my manager. And normally I don’t page them unless it was absolutely necessary because I assume they have more important things to do. But I figure, I don’t get paid nearly enough to be worrying about my managers feelings.
So my manager calls back and tells me to page for co-worker B in this duh-you-should’ve-thought-of-doing-this-yourself tone. And I sort of just brushed it off because this particular manager is known for being a pseudo-bitch.
I page co-worker B. Twice.
No reply.
So I page my manager again because it is now 40mins before closing.
She calls back and tells me that I’m just going to have to wait. She doesn’t know where anybody is. She’s helping a customer, and I’m just going to have to be more patient.
And that really ticked me off in a bad way.
I’m about the only employee here doing my job, letting people know when I go on breaks, being responsible, and you’re telling me to be patient?
Patient was 8:30pm when I noticed that I’m the only person on the floor and thought that half an hour later I would go on my break.
It is now an hour later, and no one’s come back. And I know for a fact that this person has gone on another extended break earlier.
And don’t tell me you’re helping a customer because I help customers and I’ve had to manage multiple tasks while helping them, and I don’t lose it.
I hate confrontations, but I will not avoid them.
So I went up to my manager after I finally had my break, and just as I was about to give her a piece of my mind, she starts to apologize.
And it really threw me off, because I was expecting her to be an ultra-bitch about it.
She said that she was really overwhelmed earlier, and she was looking for my co-workers as soon as she was done with the customer. And within that exchange, she said “sorry” at least 5 times.
I was quite grateful that she understood where I was coming from. And if she wasn’t genuine, she was really good at pretending she was. And that’s good enough for me.
I thanked her, and told her I really appreciated her talking to me about it.
And I realized maybe underneath the ultra-bitch facade, is just a slightly insensitive but kind person. And it made me a little bit happier.
Filed under: Books, Doses of Cynicism, Graphic Design, Work Life | Tags: Broken, CEO, Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, Daniel Clay, gym, gym etiquette, Snuff, work
Starting this week, I only work 4 days/week. I’m really excited about it. Although I really need the money, I felt my soul could only take so much abuse per week. And this way, I get to do more of the things I want to do: not going to work.
Lately my managers have been freaking out because the big H aka CEO of “segment of a book, synonym of purple” is coming to visit this Saturday morning. All the displays and merchandising have to be up to standards.
And guess what, I’ll be working that morning. FML.
I met the H once, about a year ago. She seemed plastically nice enough. What more could I ask for?
So along with my shortened workweek, I’ve decided that there are things that I’d like to start doing again, like reading and going to the gym.
I like pretty covers
The last book I read was Broken by Daniel Clay. It was a somewhat depressing, but very gripping book that made me cry at the very end while I was having my back tanned at the pool in Bali. No one knew because I had big dark sunglasses on, and the tears running down my face could’ve easily been mistaken for sweat.

I enjoyed it.
I’ve been meaning to re-start reading Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. The thing about reading his books is that I have to space them out because while his stories are always interesting, he has a really distinctive voice that really stays with you. So if you read his books one after another too soon, characters across different novels start to meld together.
And ever since Snuff came out in paperback, I’ve been wanting to read it too.

And he obviously knows the importance of graphic design because his book covers never disappoint.
I like hot bods
The last time I went to the gym was, well I don’t remember the last time I went to the gym. Except that when I went there was this group of teenaged boys (16-19ish) that thought they owned the gym.
They were loud, and one of them had the most annoying laugh. And really, no one cares which girl in school you would “definitely do because she has a fine ass.”
So I’ve decided to go back tonight. And I will update if I run into those adolescent boys again.
Sometimes my co-workers confuse me. While I think most of them are very nice people, and I don’t know how I would make it through my shifts without their company, I reveal very little of myself to them. And like most my relationships with other people, I know more about the other person than the other person does about me.
I’m selfish with my information. In my own twisted logic, I feel that what I know is more precious if I was the only person who holds that information. I have only recently started to feel otherwise.
Nobody hears a whisper.
And I’ve become less exclusive with my feelings and opinions. I’ve decided to put myself out there a bit more. And instead of always adjusting my own behaviour to accommodate other people, other people can react to me for a change.
So when my co-workers and I are talking, and they haven’t shut up for 10 minutes, I hold a mirror to them and shamelessly talk about myself for as long as I can. And I’m surprised when they pay attention, and remember tiny details that I have only briefly mentioned.
And sometimes slightly more meaningful connections are made. And it’s unexpected, but nice.