Showing posts with label things that only happen to me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label things that only happen to me. Show all posts

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Sympathy for the Dollar Store Employee

I really wanted to post about this yesterday, but I really wanted to be lazy, too.  Being lazy won out.  Actually, yesterday morning, I really wanted to post about something else entirely, but this was just too awesome not to share.  What I want in my funeral will have to wait for another day.

Yesterday was my mother-in-law's memorial service.  We've had an unusual (but pleasant) bout of sunshine, which makes the snow blinding.  George forgot his sunglasses and spent the whole drive to the funeral home bitching about it. 

"Why don't we stop at Target and buy some?"

"Are you kidding me?  We don't have time for you to run around Target."

"Okay, stop somewhere else..."

"It's fine."  Except if it was fine, he wouldn't have complained about again, less than a minute later.

"Do you want to wear mine?"  No answer, but a look like I'd just told him to go put on a dress.  "Okay, they're just sunglasses and you're in the car.  You don't have to use them, though..."  After that, I dropped it, but he kept grumbling to himself.  I have an unfortunate tendency to laugh when it's entirely inappropriate, so I kept my face toward the window.  Meanwhile, Pie's in the backseat, singing songs she probably shouldn't know the lyrics to.

Finally, when we were about five minutes away, he pulls in to the most ghetto looking dollar store I've ever seen.  He lets out this painful sigh like I've defeated him in some sort of contest, pulls out a $10 and says, "Just run in.  Be quick about it."

I love dollar stores.  If everything is only a dollar, it's not like you're really spending money.  George doesn't get that logic, either, but it makes perfect sense to me.  In any case, this wasn't a real dollar store and to be honest, I'm still not sure what to make of it. 

I finally found the sunglasses next to the frozen foods.  There was only one style of men's glasses, so choosing a pair was easy.  I also found a pair I liked for myself, so I grabbed those, too.  I headed to the register to pay.  I have dreadful luck when it comes to that sort of thing, so of course, I got stuck behind someone with a return.  Not just any return, though.  This return was the best part of my day!

The woman in front of me was trying to return a used hair relaxer because it had burnt her hair off at the scalp.  Only she wasn't just trying to return it, she was making a full on scene!  The poor teenage boy behind the counter shifted uncomfortably at the litany of expletives and threats coming from the hairless and enraged woman.  I instinctively stepped back a bit, as the argument continued.  At this point, I didn't know what to do.  I was supposed to hurry, but George needed his sunglasses.  Should I wait it out?  I mean, it looked like it might get physical.

Then the woman turned to me.  "You believe this bullshit?  That cocksucker won't give me my money back?  You believe that?"

I was completely nonplussed.  "Um...  S-sorry?"

She threw the box at the Coke display up front and stormed out, attempting to slam the glass door as she went.  The cashier, Jason, by his name tag, and I just stared for a minute.  I felt the giggles creep up.

"Okay, so how are you today?"

I absolutely lost it.  I laughed so hard I doubled over, unable to breathe, tears running down my cheeks.  "I am so sorry," I choked out when I could speak again.  "That was the most absurd thing I've ever seen."  I shoved the money at him before the hysterics took back over.  By this point, he was also laughing pretty hard, so I don't think he wrote me off as too loopy.  We chatted for a minute, exchanging sympathies, but I really was in a hurry and had to go.

I made it to the car, expecting George to be pissy with me for taking so long.  Instead, he pointed across the parking lot, and asked, "What is that about?"  And there she was!  The patchy headed woman, screaming obscenities to anyone who pulled in.  Oh, my. 

I spent the last uneventful five minutes of the drive fixing my destroyed eye makeup.

 These are my new sunglasses! I'm glad I got them instead of a hair relaxer!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

What an Asshole!

For the most part, I can navigate life tricking others into thinking I'm perfectly sane and mostly normal.  Unless, of course, the phone somehow becomes involved.  (Or we become close friends, or you read this, or any other number of things, but for the sake of this post, most casual acquaintances never catch on to how much is wrong with me.)  I have serious anxiety when it comes to the phone.  I went without one entirely (home or cell) until Pie was born and George forced one on me.  It's been almost four years and I still haven't adjusted.  I lost my phone a week before Thanksgiving and wasn't eligible for a new one until a week after Christmas.  That would bother most people.  It was the best month and a half of my life!

By "phone anxiety" I don't mean I get a little nervous or worked up, I mean it's not uncommon for the phone to stir up full on panic.  I generally don't make outgoing calls, even if the person wants me to call them.  I have a few friends I'll call on occasion, but it's a pretty sad sight.  It takes me about an hour to go through with it, starting to dial, hanging up, talking to myself.  I don't know why I'm like that--I mean, if they didn't want me to call, I wouldn't have the number, right?  Even calling businesses, where someone is being paid specifically to take my call, is a hideously nerve wracking experience.  George handles that when he can, as it's been known to reduce me to a trembling mess.  The only people I can call without heaps of stress over it are my husband and my parents.  Anyone else?  Forget it.

I also ignore calls unless I know who it is.  If an unknown number pops up, I google it before answering.  If google doesn't point me in the right direction, I just hit ignore and hope they leave a message if it's important.  Fielding all of George's calls this week has been a special brand of torture for me, but being the awesome wife I am, I've handled it like a champ.  I seriously want some sort of prize or a parade or something.

Anyway, I'm getting to the asshole bit.  I'm exhausted, and run down.  I haven't had a minute that wasn't dedicated to someone else's condolences or questions or tears, and between that and a few other things, life has been taking its toll on me.  I finally asked George if it would be completely insensitive for me to go out for a couple hours.  He laughed at me for thinking that was insensitive.  George is not an asshole!

I just went to the IHOP because it's close and they give you the whole pot of coffee and leave you alone.  I'm pretty sure they hate me because I only get coffee and not food, but I'm an excellent tipper, and I don't require a lot of work, so I could be wrong.

In any case, I'm sitting there enjoying my coffee and working on a terrible piece of writing, when my phone rings.  It's been doing that a lot this week, so I don't think much of it, and I answer without looking.

"Is Kendra there?"

This sets off alarm bells.  Most of the calls we've been getting have been for George.  Most of the callers don't even know my name, much less ask for me.  Half of them didn't even know he had a wife.  On top of that, it's a dude.  The only men who ever call me are my husband, father, or brother.  I know all of their voices, and their names come up on my phone.  Whoever this is, it's not one of them.  It doesn't look like a telemarketer number, besides, they usually ask for Mrs. --- or sometimes the more generic Homeowner.  I've never had one ask for me by my first name.  I panic.

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number!  Can I take a message?"  I'm not usually that dumb, I'm just panicking, and even before that, my mind was somewhere else entirely.  I don't catch what I just said, but the caller does.

"Oookay," he slips in before I can hang up.  "I have the wrong number, but you want to take a message?"

"Huh?"  It's still not registering.  Maybe I am that dumb.

"You said I have the wrong number, but you want to take a message..."  The sarcasm drips from his voice as he repeats himself.  "Can you explain how that works?"

Now it's making sense, and I'm a little pissed off.  You called me.  I didn't want to talk to you.  If I did want to talk to you, you totally destroyed any of that by being a douche.  "I don't know.  Guess I can't."  I'm starting to get my wits about me, but I'm still upset about this.

"Why would you offer?"

Who the fuck is this guy?  Literally?  "Look, chum.  I'm having a bad week.  If you have to know, I wasn't really paying attention when I answered.  I don't know who you are.  I don't know who you're looking for.  Why don't you do us both a favor, hang up, double check your number, and leave me the hell alone."  Disconnect!

Once I stopped shaking, I paid my bill and went home to google the number.  (Since I'm still without a laptop, I couldn't do it there.)  Unknown cell.  Super!  He didn't call back, nor did he call George's phone as I'd have expected from someone calling to offer him sympathy.  I'm really curious now, but not enough to call back.

In retrospect, I was probably unnecessarily bitchy, but then, I'm already tightly wound, everyone I normally talk to knows about my phone issues, and this guy really was being an asshole.  Something tells me to be glad I missed out on talking to him.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Only Me

It's been a long day.  A fantastic day, filled with all my favorite things, but a long day.  I had a story in mind, but then I thought it might be more fun to vaguely post some of the day's happenings instead.  There are blanks.  Fill them in however you wish.

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Part One

"Hey, Bean! You think you can wash me some clothes before you go?"

I eyeball the clock--I was supposed to leave five minutes ago.  Again, I enjoy my newly discovered half raised eyebrow.  "You know how to use the washer."

"Yeah, but they're from your parents.  I don't want to screw up and break them."

It takes every ounce of power I have to push the raging irritation from my voice, "I'm already running late, dear."  I mostly fail, and this comes out too thick and syrupy and he must know how badly I want to punch him in the face right now.

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Part Two

The girl in the booth--Linda, according to her name tag--narrows her eyes.  "How old is she again?"

"Oh, almost three," I nervously lie.  I am a terrible liar.  Underneath my side of the counter, my hands pinch and pull frantically at one another and tiny sweat beads pop up on my forehead.  I'm irrationally certain that she can see them.

Linda knows she's prying, but presses further.  "Oh, when's her birthday?"  She pretends this is purely conversational.

"February 17th," I lie again, this time more annoyed than anything.  I shoot her a smile that isn't really so much of a smile as it is a challenge.  Prove it isn't, my wordless mouth dares her.

She can't.

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Part Three

"Mother fucker!"  I don't mean to yell, but I'm trying to drive and I really don't have time to deal with this.

"Mumma, whatsa matter?"  I'm immediately enveloped in guilt for subjecting the child to such an outburst.  Maybe not the word, so much, but the fact that it was unexpected and to a three year old, probably scary.

"Sorry, love. I'm okay," I promise, quickly scooping as much of the evidence off of the seat and into an old peanut brittle box.  I momentarily consider why the box is there in the first place, why we can't be like normal people who throw things away when they're no longer needed.

At the next red light, I finish the task, and when I'm sure that all the tangible remnants of our covert adventure are safely tucked away into that blessed piece of trash, I let out a relieved sigh and return to the pressing matter of belting out lyrics that have no business passing from my lips.

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Part Four

"I love how all of your stories start out, 'This one time, when I was going through some things.'"

And she is frighteningly accurate.

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Part Five


"I'm a gnome!"

"How are you a gnome?"

"I have no idea.  It's like...  I don't know.  But apparently, I'm a gnome."

"Do these people even have any idea what a gnome is?"

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Epilogue

I stand at the sink for a moment, torn between making a second pot of coffee, taking a shower, and going to bed.  The day has been good, but long. Bed. But a quick shower first, I decide, content with that decision.  In a move that is so perfectly me, I drink a cup of coffee in the shower.  As the water begins turning cold, I have one final, fleeting thought:

Was my husband wearing clean clothes when I got home?

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There you go.  All of this is completely true.  Except the part where I go to bed.  I really did decide that, but it didn't happen that way.  Anyway, take it all wherever you'd like.  Also, prize for anyone who can save me the trouble of googling the difference between a buffalo and a bison.