Santa was good to me, was he good to you??

So yesterday, being Christmas Eve, we had our annual "Let's eat perogies until we can't eat any more..." dinner. This Christmas is kinda different than every other year for a few reasons. Brenda had to work today, so we couldn't open gifts on Christmas morning like we always do. Plus, this year, she's going to her boyfriend's family's place for dinner. There was no way we were waiting until she got home today, sometime closer to 5/6ish, so instead we opened everything last night. Not a bad tradition to begin... Opening gifts and seeing what everyone gets is always super-fun, especially when it's not actually Christmas morning :)

Merry Freaking Christmas to you too, buddy!

Yet again, the true spirit of Christmas comes along, just like it does every year, and bites me in the arse.

There was actually a time when people could survive the days leading up to Christmas without having extended shopping hours... go figure. This time, the super-intelligent people who lead everything at the depot decided to keep us open until 10pm tonight. I counted 6 people in the store until 10:50, and then all hell broke loose. Of course, when you tell people the store is closing, they're like, "Already? I just got in here!" WTF?!?!?!?! I'm so sick of this "I'm the customer, cater to my every whim" bullshit that they all pull. GARRRRRRRR! when will my life sentence in the world of retail be over???

Okay, so yet another tale from the back of the bus...

Yesterday night, I'm on the Brant St. bus, heading towards downtown Burlington. This wannabe gangster guy gets on the bus at the go station, and sits right at the back of the bus. I really didn't pay much attention to him since I was reading a copy of the 24 magazine and enjoying my super duper extra large tea. All of a sudden, he starts talking, saying "yo, yo, yo..." I figured he was talking to someone on a cellphone. Nope, I was wrong. He was listening to music, and was "yo-yoing" along with the music. Then, he starts with the rapper style hand movements, and is kicking his feet in the air. For a second there, I actually thought he was having a seizure or something, and I was going to turn around to ask if he was okay, until I saw him dancing (while seated) in the reflection in the window. No, he wasn't having a medical emergency, rather, he thought he was the coolest, most baddest ass on the face of the planet. So, I decided not to turn around, for fear of laughing directly at him. Even now, just thinking about it makes me laugh. I wonder, do I ever look that stupid when I listen to music on the bus???? I try to be careful not to sing or dance along to whatever I'm listening to, but sometimes I catch myself if I'm not concentrating on anything. Nah, I'd never look stupid, I'd fit right in... if I'm on a hamilton bus :D

Busses.... Garrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Okay, so today, I make it to the bus stop early for a change, and the bus never shows up. So I'm thinking, man, I'm early for the bus, but I'm gonna be late for work... go figure! The bus finally arrives, and it's not overly packed, but most people are sitting in the aisle seats, and not moving over or letting anyone sit beside them. This of course is one of my pet peeves. I don't think people realise that their bags or their imaginary friends didn't pay bus fare, and aren't actually entitled to a seat on the bus. I say, move your crap, move over, and make room for someone else to sit down! The bus finally gets downtown, with enough time for me to catch the Burlington bus that'll actually get me to work on time. I take my normal seat at the back of the bus, and this stupid jackass sits in the singular sideways facing seat in front of me. She then plunks down her backpack on the seat next to mine, making me look like an asshole for taking up an empty seat on the bus. Needless to say, I chucked her shit off the seat beside me to make room for someone else. I'm not really sure if she said anything to me, because I had my music on really, really loud. She got the hint though, and for the rest of the trip, she held onto her bag, and glared at me. Too bad lady. Next time, don't be such an asshole and take up the seat beside me on the bus with your parcels and other stuff. The lesson I learned from all this: Sometimes a bad mood is actually a good thing!

Actually having serious thoughts can be very unsettling... After a fun-filled evening with my friend, I come home and start thinking about every single thing that's going on in not only my own life, but in every one elses' lives. I'm at a point where I'm contemplating several options, one of which is quitting my part-time, highly underpaid job at the depot, and not having another job lined up beforehand. Another thing bugging me lately is that I'm not sure if I'll ever actually have the independence I need and the relationship I want. I know I don't need someone else to make me a whole person, but at the same time, I want someone else around to share stuff with. I also want independence in the form of my own place. Living at home is becoming more and more trying. I love my family, but I truly think it's time for me to move away... soon! I want so much to just be a grownup, contributing member of society, who can afford a nice apartment, a nice little compact car, and can afford to pay bills in full every single month. I don't believe I'm asking for too much, but I'm having a difficult time realising these wishes.

Okay, so it's been a few very turbulent days for me... yesterday I find out that my payment I made back in mid-November to Sheridan never made it there, althought the money's out of my account. So, there's a distinct possibility that I may not have a place in the programme. I've also come to the conclusion that working at the Depot is keeping me in complete and total poverty. If I'm stuck there much longer, bankruptcy seems to be the only way to deal with all the bills I can't pay. Most of my money has gone towards bus fare in order to get to and from work. It's quite maddening. On top of that, my boss seems to think that it's appropriate to book me in for 5 hour shifts. Sure, wouldn't be a problem if I didn't commute by bus to work. I spend 4 hours on busses, and waiting for busses every single day I have to work. 2 hours there, 2 hours back. On a good day, an hour and a half is plausible, but that means every single bus has to be on time. I've applied for a part time job in my own city, and I'm just hoping that I get it. That'll cut my travel time to maybe 25 minutes. Today's just one of those days I could call in sick and stay curled up in bed, just so I don't have to waste my day riding the busses.

My Amazingly Great, Fantabulous, Most Awesome Day!

In list format... my day went as follows:

1. I went shopping, twice. Once with my dad, once with my mom.
2. Got a pair of Christmas undies... yes, that's right, Christmas underwear!
3. Met a new friend.
4. Had the most amazing Pineapple Chicken Curry... EVER!
5. Saw Rent at The Movie Palace... that place rocks!
6. Shared thoughts with one of my best friends over a cup of tea @ timmies.
7. Had 2 really nice bus drivers. The Bayfront driver caught up to the Barton bus for me, and the Barton driver waited. HSR doesn't always suck.

I will end this most awesome day by crawling under the really comfy covers on my bed and sleeping as long as I want... I don't have to wake up early tomorrow, or go to work! Thus, I'm all set for another awesomely good day on Sunday.

Things that bugged me today...

Getting stuck between two people on the bus who reeked like ash trays... EWWWWWW! Not only did they smell horrible, but they practically sat on my lap, thus squishing me, and surrounding me even further with their stench.

Sitting on a Burlington bus, being annoyed by a stupid little kid kicking my seat... Thanks to his mother for sitting there and ignoring it, even after I asked her to stop him. May your kid get so hyped up on sugar that they NEVER sleep for a thousand years, and you get stuck staying up with them!

Working, and being told by stupid customers how to do my job.... um, hello.... who's working behind the counter?!? If you think you can do better, then be my guest. Lining up those little pieces of paper "perfectly" in a big laminating sheet isn't easy, is it dumbass?!?

The inconsiderate little twerp who decided she didn't want anyone sitting beside her on the bus, so she curled up and put her wet feet on the seat next to her. I hope the next time you're waiting for a bus, it passes you by because there's no room, because people are taking up more than one seat.

Thanks for coming out, and I'm stepping off the soapbox now.

Wow! 2 Concerts for the Price of 1!

Alrighty, tonight as some of you know, was the night I got to see Lenny Kravitz and Aerosmith @ the ACC. It was my first, yes, I said FIRST real concert. Every other show I've been to for other bands & artists have been very inexpensive and at relatively small and sometimes unknown venues.

That said, it took us over 2 hours to get there, 'cause there was an accident on the highway by the Ford Plant.... yes, I recounted my story about the Ford Plant to my aunt, and she thought it was pretty freaking hilarious. For those of you who don't know the 411 on the Ford Plant, when I was little, right up to the ripe old age of 16, I used to think that EVERYONE at the Ford Plant drove the SAME brand new car... I know it's dumb, and that I should've known they were new cars waiting to be shipped, but Noooooo.... that's not how my mind worked. Anyways, it's a cute story.

Back to the concert....

So, I really, really enjoyed Lenny Kravitz. I knew every single song played, and it just totally rocked. Aerosmith was less great for me, as the majority of the songs were ones I had never heard of... written well before my time, albeit entertaining. That said, the entire thing was great. What I didn't really expect was to pay $4 for a bottle of rootbeer, but my hands were tied seeing as I was thirsty beyond belief, and it was cheaper than a $9 cup of beer that I wouldn't have enjoyed anyways. The $ spent on the rootbeer made it all the more precious and yummy.

The entire night was a great treat.

A new month, a new start.... then again, maybe not!?!

So yesterday, being Hallowe'en and all, was pretty interesting. ALL the weirdos were out in full swing, and I was subjected to most of them. I'm standing at the bus stop (in partial costume btw), waiting so I can get to work. When I said I was in partial costume, I had my hair done in a "mini" Elvira style, the bat ears were ever so securely placed in my mountain of "big hair", and I had overly dramatic green eyeshadow and black eyeliner on. I didn't really look like too much of a freak, since I was wearing my usual clothing, and a coat. I was however, wearing a shorter skirt with a pair of black boots. This weirdo approaches the bus stop, and the first thing that pops into my head is, "for the love of god, don't let him wait here.... keep on walking...." I wasn't that lucky. He decides to strike up the most strange conversation with me, claiming that it's not Hallowe'en, the weather is signifying doomsday, and that he really needed some time to roll a joint. I do believe his need to inhale some smoke impeded upon his ability to figure out the weather is unpredictable because it's weather...why there were people in costumes, and houses completely decorated for Hallowe'en. The bus finally arrives, and I cart my wings, and other accessories to the back of the bus, to make room for other people.

Have I ever mentionned how much I hate the backwards facing seats on the wheelchair busses?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I get stuck facing this totally creepy, dirtier than a homeless person on the corner of King & James, guy. He proceeds to make small talk, asking me what I was dressing up as for Hallowe'en. I replied that I was being a vampire bat. (Oops, first mistake there.... never tell a weirdo you're dressing as a vampire anything!) He then claims that I'd make a beautiful vampire (something I do agree with, but EWWWWWWWWWW, coming from him.) The entire two blocks that he was on the bus, he tried getting my phone number, tried giving me his phone number, and completely creeped me out. He asked if I had a piece of paper and a pen, which THANK GOD, I didn't.... neither did he. What he didn't know is that I had a cell phone or my palm with me, both of which I could've put numbers in.... at this point, I'm just praying to every single entity out there.... "help?????" He asks the old guy sitting across the aisle for a piece of paper, and the guy looks at me, and says he doesn't have anything.... Halleujah, my prayers were answered!!! He misses his stop at Barton & Gage, and says, I frequent this cafe (somewhere on Wellington... I really wasn't listening)and invited me to meet him there on a Saturday, sometime. Riiiiiight.

At least my bus ride home was quiet. Two ladies at the front of the bus were dressed up as a faeirie and a princess... great costumes acutally, and they wished me a Happy Hallowe'en. That's all that happened, they weren't freaks, and no one sat beside me, probably because I had this look of, "talk to me, or look at me the wrong and I'll hurt you" on my face, the entire ride home. Being a Bitch pays off sometimes. I need to remember this more often.

The moral of the story is, if you want to find a guy in Hamilton, dress like a skank, do your hair and makeup like a drag queen, and say you like to dress up as a vampire... er bat, that is.

Today is my official "second escape" from the Depot. I got my letter from Sheridan offering me a placement in the Human Resource programme, starting in January! This means no more full time grunt work, just school work.... and lots of it. I just worry that I made the right choice, but at the same time, I couldn't just wait around for nothing to happen. The only downside to the entire event is that it's going to cost another $6000+ for one more year of school. That said, if $6000 will get me out of the Depot, I'll be more than willing to pay it.

What to do, What to do?? It's been raining here for 3 days, going on forever, and it's as cold as hell. (yes, hell has frozen over, FYI) I feel like going out to the mall, which I know is dangerous for my wallet... I want to pick up some stuff for my Hallowe'en costume, because I just know I'm going to be stuck working on Monday night. I might as well have fun while I'm there. My idea this year is to dress up as a vampire bat. Seeing as no place carries "bat ears", I'm going to use a set of cat ears instead.... I've only got to buy the vampire teeth and the ears. I already have the black wings.

That decided, I was hoping my shopping buddy would be available for this trip.... She's been gone since Friday, and I don't know if she was killed in T.O. or she sick, or missing...... jk. She's probably just at work, or is sleeping.... still.

Alrighty, so me being a shopaholic end up at the mall today, spending much more than I would've liked to.... Nevertheless, I come out rather unscathed with only a few unnecessary purchases like the purses I bought. I found two I really liked, one was kinda small and therefore a wee bit impractical, but it was the only one at the store and it's beyond gorgeous... the other one was larger, and was cute but there were sooooo many on the shelves. Me, also being the indecisive one, chooses to buy both bags. ~shrugs~ I just couldn't bring myself to make such a horrible decision. Lucky for me, it was buy one, get one half off.... which I didn't realise because like a typical consumer, I failed to read signage. SCORE for me, though! Now if I win the lottery, it will have been a truly perfect day.

Welcome to this fine city, and let me give a good example of how it's going downhill... FAST!

So the other night, I'm taking the "fabulous" HSR home from work. I'm sitting there, trying to listen to my music and mind my own business, but this loud-mouth is sitting behind me talking on her cell about everything, including her pending incarceration... Alrighty, I did say she was talking about incarceration.... so I decided to uncharicteristically keep my mouth shut and continued to be annoyed because I couldn't hear my own (very loud) music over the grating sound of her voice. I finally decided to give up on the music because I didn't want to waste my batteries.

For the majority of the trip, I had to listen to her whine about not being able to have any makeup, hair styling products, and not being able to get her nails done if she ended up in jail. (Biting my tongue at this point) I figure if you're stupid enough to do something that'll land you in jail, and you're convicted, then you deserve the punishment. I really wanted to turn around, slap her upside the head, and say what do you expect??? An all-inclusive vacation at a resort?!?!?!? Then she starts talking about getting off the bus and beating the snot out of some hookers she knows, because they owe her money for the drugs she gave them. Luckily for me, my stop was next and I could escape from the sound of her voice, and the stupidity that was leaking forth from her mouth.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Every single day, all I hear in snippets of conversation is "so & so just got sent to Barton (jail).... they're released tomorrow.... I don't want to get caught selling drugs, but I sell them anyways because I'm stupid & greedy..." My list could go on forever.

With stuff like this becoming the idea of what kind of place Hamilton actually is, no one wants to visit, let alone live here...

Ever notice how inconsiderate people can be?

So every single night, a certain someone waltzes into the house sometime between 1:30 am and 2:00 am. Each night, the front door is slammed as they come in, and then they proceed to bring the dog upstairs with them, as they head off for bed.... gee, I wonder who this is?!? For those of you who've never seen my house, the floors are all wood, same with the un-carpeted stairs, so the dog makes loads of noise getting up them. Of course, this wakes not only myself up, but also my parents. Then, like usual, comes the turning on of every available light in the upstairs vicinity, and the familiar slam of the bathroom door.... again, not fun when you're tired & trying to sleep. Usually once the bathroom door has slammed, and the lights get turned off one by one, it's quiet for the rest of the night...

Until last night!

Rudely, we were all woken up at 4:00 am by the same door-slamming, light turning on, noisy person, who decided to yell at the dog for no apparent reason. I thought I had managed to escape the "annoying room mate" bit when I decided to stay at home & go to school.

Now if ever any one else is loud, even by accident and wakes the inconsiderate one up, tempers flare, and an explosion beyond your wildest dreams occurs.

My only question is: When is it my turn to move out?!? I'll gladly leave as soon as my finances allow it!

So today, I find out I'm not stuck at "The Depot" forever! Finally! It's not "on paper" official yet, but as per the website, Sheridan will be sending me a firm offer of admission at some point in the near future. While I would really like to go to Humber for the Public Relations programme, Sheridan was my second choice for the Human Resource programme. All I know is that as of January 2006, I will be a student once again!

Okay, so I've noticed a few web-articles dealing expressly with how people are annoyed by retail and customer service employees. I really think it's unfair that no one else discusses the other side of the issue, which is how many consumers annoy the hell out of those who work in the service and retail industries. So, in an attempt to even out the scale, here goes my rant.

1. Mean customers SUCK! Honestly, if you treat everyone the way you've just treated me, then I'm amazed someone hasn't hauled off and KO'ed you yet. You play nice, and I'll play nice. It's that simple.

2. Don't act like I'm beneath you, and assume I'm stupid. You don't know my story, don't know why I'm working at a retail/service job. If you want to act like you're better than me/ more educated/ higher class, etc... then don't expect to be dazzled by my level of service. Again, courtesy and respect are two way streets.

3. Yelling at me gets you NOWHERE, fast! To be honest, it may delay whatever I'm doing for you. Make me mad, I work slower, take up more of your time, charge you for every little thing you're getting done.... There are ways in which we, the CSA's of the world exact our revenge (but only on the idiots who deserve it).

4. NEVER, ever tell me how to do my job! I'm the one who has trained for several years to be able to provide you with the BEST service I can provide. Unless you think you can do my job better, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut and respect my judgement. Also falling under this category is automatically assuming that a Male CSA, even if they're not in my department, knows more about my job than I do. WRONG! I'm specialized, and highly intelligent. Trust me to know how to fulfill the requirements of your order. Obviously if I didn't know what I was doing, I wouldn't be working in that department!

5. Please, don't make absurd or outlandish requests that you know would be impossible, such as discounts on merchandise and services just because you don't want to pay full price. I can understand if you're buying huge amounts of one product, or if you're requesting a donation for a non-profit organization, but keep in mind, companies do have a bottom line to meet too. Asking for a huge discount on every item you buy is stupid on your part... this just makes us angry because you don't value our products and services, and makes you look cheap.

These are just a few of the annoyances I've encountered during my 10+ years of working as a Customer Service/Sales Associate. Treat me how you want to be treated is all I ask. Value me, because I value you. Without your patronage, my job wouldn't exist. If I or anyone else from my team has done something that totally rocks your socks, then let our manager(s) know.... climb the highest mountain and yell it for all to hear! It's nice to hear good things from our customers!

That said, if you're courteous to an associate and they're just downright apathetic or rude, then yes, by all means, also let their manager know. Obviously they need an attitude adjustment, sometimes in the form of a pink slip. If the manager doesn't do anything, there are avenues such as the Head Office that will do something about it. Believe me, in a competitive market, every company needs to do whatever it can (within reason) to retain you, the customer. If they're not willing, they obviously don't deserve your business.

Okay, that's all I have for now... I'm sure something else will come to mind later.