Sweet Catastrophe

Peggy has ignored my request to not work until 8am. I can’t even function anymore today. I didn’t get home until 4 and I had too much to do to feel like I could take a nap. By the time I got most of it out of the way, it was really just too late for a nap. So now I’m just pushing through till a reasonable bedtime.

I can’t think straight though. I keep losing my train of thought and forgetting what I was about to do. Like an hour ago, I got up to leave for Wal Mart to pick up some bread, pet supplies, and my prescription. I got distracted when I heard the dishwasher finish its cycle; I walked into the kitchen to sort out the next set of dirty dishes and then came back to my chair. I spaced on the whole Wal Mart trip. I guess I’ll have to do that tomorrow.

Yeah…I just stopped to watch something on tv for like, 5 minutes and forgot what else I wanted to blog…

I really can’t do this anymore. I can’t get up and be at work at 6am once a week when the rest of my week finds no obligations until 11am. At work, they’ll quip that they do this every day–exactly. Your body is accustomed to this, mine isn’t. I try to go to bed earlier on these nights, but those are the nights my brain just won’t shut off and then anxiety creeps in and sleep never comes. Though, it does afford me an opportunity to watch stars desperately peddle acne treatment, as if they just really need that money…

I got 2 1/2 hours last night. Now I have to work until 3 and when I’m done there, I have to go to class. How will I do that on less than 3 hours of sleep? We may be cutting this day short. Text me some good excuses for leaving work early…

I think today I may compose a letter to Peggy, begging not to schedule me before 8am anymore. I know it’s only 2 hours, but those 2 hours mean even if I don’t get to sleep before 2, I can get five hours of sleep and I can work with that. I can.

Man shot by friend so he could skip work.

Yeah, I can’t even say, “That was dumb.” I get it. Sometimes you really feel that way. I won’t lie, I’ve asked guys to drop patio furniture on my feet when they’re loading it, or down in lumber I keep telling Lee he can knock me in the head with a 2X4 and then drop it on his toe and we’ll both leave and I’ll buy him a steak! I don’t think they ever really realized I’m only like 1/3 joking.

There are some changes in positions right now that had the potential to be good, but instead it’s like we’re downgrading. I’ve vowed that if this change directly affects me often, I’m counting this as the final straw.

Ya know, I was scheduled outside my normal availability twice in these upcoming weeks. I pointed them out to Peggy and for one of them she said “Oh well that’s during Spring Break.” And? Just because I’m out of class that week means my availability changes? Maybe I’ve scheduled things around my normal work availability. To add insult to injury, the second mis-schedule was because another girl needed that day off so she just threw me in….too bad I’m “in class” during that time. Thanks for considering my boundaries when someone else needed accommodations. *eye roll*

As soon as I hit ‘publish’ on this entry, I’m firing off an email to inquire about a corporate human resources email address. I have a 1-800 number, but I have too much to say. I’d rather have time to think over it and be sure I’m articulating things in a logical way rather than just sounding disgruntled. I’ll get too caught up if I have to discuss it.

I’m so sick of this work schedule crap. Twice this week I’ve been contacted because I’m still listed on the schedule to work while I’m in class and it keeps coming back as my fault even though I not only tried to give Peggy my availability in December, but on Monday, I left her a note with all the dates she needed to fix, and she’s been at work since then, I checked the schedule, and yet I’m still getting contacted…If there was an issue, she should’ve called me. After class tomorrow morning, I’m calling the work number. I’m tired of this. There’s no reason I should have to stress over this.

Last night, I was shocked in conversation to find out that this guy was buying 5 different light fixtures, all $80 +, just to take home for his wife to choose one.

Wow. I can’t even fathom having an extra $320 that I could afford to tie up until I made the trip back to return the extra.

He’d have spent less money on gas if he’d just taken her up there some other time….and he’s still got to come back to return the extras. What purpose did that really serve?

Oh that’s right, it served to remind me that some people can waste money while others struggle to pay to see. [No I wasn’t at alllll bothered by that….*eyeroll]

Classes start tomorrow and I’m really looking to have a positive week so I think I’ll get this one last gripe out instead of sleeping on it.

You’ve probably read before about our ridiculous scheduling system at Lowe’s. Basically, my manager can’t format schedules. She freaked over it last year and got our much-hated HR manager involved and they implemented a system for part-timers where we have to provide a copy of our class schedule each semester before the availability form we fill out will be accepted.

Aside from the fact that it’s just plain wrong because as a part-timer, we’re only required to be available for ten hours, and Lowe’s has no business knowing my class schedule or why I have a certain availability as long as it isn’t unreasonable– the situation causes a lot of problems.

Registration is open for only a certain amount of time during the current semester for the upcoming semester. Maybe you weren’t able to get your schedule set during this time for various reasons, or even after the fact, financial aid likes to play little games that cause people to have their schedules dropped. I’m a prime example of all of these. I don’t recall many semesters that I haven’t had to jump through hoops getting overrides and such. Generally, I know in advance what my schedule will be, but teachers still have to wait until registration opens back up to perform overrides again.

At the beginning of December, my manager told me she’d need my availability for Sp ‘08 by the 13th. I told her I could give her my definite availability right then, but I wouldn’t be able to print a schedule reflecting the correct times until January. She, of course, has golf balls for brains and insisted she couldn’t do anything until she had the school schedule. Fine.

So I turned in my schedule this morning. Which means at least 3 weeks of busted schedules for me. For the next two weeks, I believe I have 3 days that I’m supposed to be at work at 4, but I’m not available until 6, and one day I’m scheduled for a shift during a time I’m not available at all.

I’m just gonna take it day by day. I believe, on the day I’m scheduled during an unavailable period, I could probably finagle things and go in, but my willingness to do so will greatly depend on how fed up with work I am when the time comes to decide. The smart money is on me not going in.

I think it’s kind of sad when I’m this proud that I made it through my entire shift.

The rest of my day was really busy, but everything went pretty smoothly. Well, I guess I should say it was frustrating, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

I did come close to an anxiety attack over one customer. I’ve been on the edge of one for the past few days and this almost sent me over.

Ya see, I have sort of a phobia of seeing people in stores with oxygen tanks. I know that’s weird, but when I worked at Kmart, I had a woman drop dead 3 feet in front of me and she was carrying an oxygen tank and it’s pretty much just stuck with me. Understandable, right?

So this younger guy comes in and not only is he dragging an oxygen tank, but he clearly has cerebral palsy as well and he takes a fall right in front of the service desk. He ended up being fine, he just tripped up over his own feet, but for a few moments, I just lost it a little in my mind. I’m glad I didn’t have a panic attack ’cause I don’t know what David would’ve done if I’d had to leave early.

After work I had to stop at Wal Mart to pick up the new pills I’ve been taking. I had samples for two months so this was my first time going to buy them and I was pleasantly surprised to find out they were half the price of my old pills! I was prepared to pay more, so I was definitely happy.

And now I’m gonna do my laundry, watch Buffy, and wait for the storm to roll in outside!

And probably blog a little more in a bit….

Well, I stayed home yesterday to fight this cold/flu/death thing and I’m feeling only a little better today, but I went to work anyway.

There are 5 sections that each require at least one cashier present–garden center, returns, customer service, checkouts, & lumber. 5 is an absolute minimum. Today we have 4 people opening, and 4 people closing. There are no mid-shifts to cover lunches.

I’m running Customer Service, Returns, and checking customers out because there’s no speed requirement to be a cashier….

So that means I’m answering phones, ringing someone up, and calling a department for a pickup while someone else is standing in Returns tapping their tootsies waiting on me. This was a slow moment.

And I’m sick.

And I had NO sleep last night. None. When I finally fell asleep, Ryan called and I was on the phone with him for an hour trying to get through how to cancel his phone because it had been stolen. This all ended with the guy who took his phone bringing it back.

And my lunch break is over now. When I left, we were waiting on two people to show up. If I don’t see their cars when I pull in, I really may just come back home. I’m sick of this scheduling bullshit.

I swear all my customers today are on crack…or they just got out of drug rehabilitation. They’ve never seen or purchased a gift card before. Never ever had to return an item, or even pay for something with a credit card…

They wrote my hours down wrong on the clipboard–I was SO close to getting out of there at 1! Ha! That would’ve been nice.

I smashed my finger and broke the nail down where it’s still connected to skin. It felt nice compared to the mental turmoil some of these customers have been putting me through.

And the Blazers are currently losing the national championship. Dammit boys!

I want to not go back to work. Could you go buy me some toilet paper, please?

My stomach is in knots and I’m on my second antacid this morning and my esophagus is still pretty much drowning in acid. 10-7 at Lowe’s today.

Wait, what’s that? You want to go to work for me? No? Oh! You want to pay me to stay home; well alright!

Today will not be my friend.