Life and death and stoopid customers
Jul. 26th, 2010 10:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tripperfunsterUrg. I got a facebook message from my ex-husband two days ago. (I"m not on facebook, but my hubby is) My ex-mother-in-law has very advanced cancer and has only days to live. :(
She is a lovely lady, and despite my not being very religious, having bright pink hair (and a shaved in checkerboard) and being a fairly outspoken, somewhat raunchy twenty-something, she was wonderful and immediately accepting of me.
My ex had a large, loud and clever family (6 kids, plus assorted husbands and wives and kids) and family gatherings were great fun for me. My family has little to no sense of humour, and although we don't fight much, we don't really have much to say to each other either.
I really think I married him for his family. Oh, and his sense of humour. He was a stand up comedian, and really, that's pretty much all it takes to get into my pants. ;D
As you can imagine, the divorce was doubly hard on me, because although I didn't want to be married to him anymore, I really didn't want to lose his family. But I did. *shrugs*
I went to visit his mom in the hospital today. It was hard to see her so frail, but her mind is still as sharp as a whip, so that's something. We had a nice little chat, where I cried more than spoke, but I"m glad I went.
My ex wasn't there, but three of his sisters were, and it was ... really great to see them, and really strange at the same time. I was really close with one of them, and she dropped my like a hot potato when Rick and I split.
*big sigh* I THOUGHT i was over all that shit, but I guess I still have 'issues that I haven't yet dealt with.
On astupider happier note: Here is a conversation that I had at the store today.
We have a sign on our counter saying that we are accepting volunteers.
Customer: Oh! You take volunteers here?
Me: Yes. Anyone between 12 and 16 is welcome to apply.
Customer: What do you give them?
Me: Excuse me?
Customer: What do they get for volunteering?
Me: Uh ... a shirt with our logo on it, and after a certain number of hours, they get a staff discount in the store.
Customer: You don't pay them?
Me: ... No.
Customer: Gee, it would be really nice if you could pay them.
Me: Yes, but then they wouldn't be volunteers, they'd be employees, and we are already fully staffed.
Customer: But it just doesn't seem fair!
WTF? We've been open for 12 years, and never had volunteers, but we get like ... 10 requests a week. We finally decide to give it a try, and suddenly the MORONS come out of the woodwork. *eyeroll*
She is a lovely lady, and despite my not being very religious, having bright pink hair (and a shaved in checkerboard) and being a fairly outspoken, somewhat raunchy twenty-something, she was wonderful and immediately accepting of me.
My ex had a large, loud and clever family (6 kids, plus assorted husbands and wives and kids) and family gatherings were great fun for me. My family has little to no sense of humour, and although we don't fight much, we don't really have much to say to each other either.
I really think I married him for his family. Oh, and his sense of humour. He was a stand up comedian, and really, that's pretty much all it takes to get into my pants. ;D
As you can imagine, the divorce was doubly hard on me, because although I didn't want to be married to him anymore, I really didn't want to lose his family. But I did. *shrugs*
I went to visit his mom in the hospital today. It was hard to see her so frail, but her mind is still as sharp as a whip, so that's something. We had a nice little chat, where I cried more than spoke, but I"m glad I went.
My ex wasn't there, but three of his sisters were, and it was ... really great to see them, and really strange at the same time. I was really close with one of them, and she dropped my like a hot potato when Rick and I split.
*big sigh* I THOUGHT i was over all that shit, but I guess I still have 'issues that I haven't yet dealt with.
On a
We have a sign on our counter saying that we are accepting volunteers.
Customer: Oh! You take volunteers here?
Me: Yes. Anyone between 12 and 16 is welcome to apply.
Customer: What do you give them?
Me: Excuse me?
Customer: What do they get for volunteering?
Me: Uh ... a shirt with our logo on it, and after a certain number of hours, they get a staff discount in the store.
Customer: You don't pay them?
Me: ... No.
Customer: Gee, it would be really nice if you could pay them.
Me: Yes, but then they wouldn't be volunteers, they'd be employees, and we are already fully staffed.
Customer: But it just doesn't seem fair!
WTF? We've been open for 12 years, and never had volunteers, but we get like ... 10 requests a week. We finally decide to give it a try, and suddenly the MORONS come out of the woodwork. *eyeroll*
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 03:47 am (UTC)We have a volunteer program at our shops--we call it 'red shirting' because they are like the red shirts on Star Trek--there for a little while then poof, gone!
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:21 am (UTC)We even have new people come in and work a four hour shift, just to see if they like us and we like them, and we STILL have a percentage that just flake off.
We're brand new to the whole volunteer thing, so we'll have to see how it works out. For the longest time I didn't try it because I don't like babysitting. But finally the lure of FREE WORKERS won me over.
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:02 am (UTC)You should have told douchebag that in return for volunteering he gets the one-time deal of not having a foot broke off in his arse.
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:24 am (UTC)Yeah, the loss of family really sucks. I know that my MIL was happy to see me, and two of the sisters were. The other one ... I don't know. I think she has a lot of guilt for dumping me like that. I mean ... shit, my ex and I get along better and have less weirdness than her and I.
NOT MY PROBLEM NOW. But I bet it will keep her up tonight. (not that she doesn't have enough shitty things to deal with right now.)
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 04:27 am (UTC)I don't know, the whole thing was weird. I had to keep reminding myself (before hand) that IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT ME. Go and see this lovely lady, pay your respects, give her a hug and leave. But I also had this strange anxiety about seeing all of these people that I havent' even spoken with for ... 15 years? Kink of like a highschool reunion from hell.
*sigh*
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 04:05 am (UTC)Lovely volunteer conversation :P You could also add that if the do a good job volunteering you'll write them an excellence reference letter for when they being job hunting
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:30 am (UTC)It was really hard to lose them. not to mention that I had (stupidly) taken on many of his friends as my own too, so I was doubly, triply wounded and alone. Not to mention that I had no family in the province.
It all worked out, of course, and it was nice to be in a really good personal space when meeting them today. (I mean, aside from poor MIL). I'm happily married to a great guy, I have two fantastic kids, a job I love and MOAR PORN THAN I CAN HANDLE. *cough* I may have left that last part out ...*cough*
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 05:14 am (UTC)And sorry about the moron.
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 05:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-02 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 08:10 am (UTC)On the other hand, all you can do is laugh at the dumbass at the store - turn it into comedy!
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:06 am (UTC)As for the moron, oh yeah. There is no lack of entertainment where I work, that's for sure.
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Date: 2010-07-27 02:42 pm (UTC)Volunteers are weird. You never know who will flake out and who will turn into the best person ever. I'm trying to find more volunteers for a committee that I chair, and over the past year and half, we've had the oddest things happen with ppl coming and going. Then there was the fantastic, amazing potential board member who was so keen for several months, then disappeared right before the brd meeting he would be elected to the board for O_o
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:08 am (UTC)As for the volunteer thing. Oh yeah.
I am on the PAC (basically PTA) for my boys' school, and I also serve on a business improvement zone board. It seems that people have no idea how to pace themselves. They either do fuck all, or they do way too much too soon and burn themselves out. *shrugs*
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Date: 2010-07-27 03:47 pm (UTC)Custiomer obviously does not "get" the whole volunteer thing. What an idiot. lol.
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:09 am (UTC)As for the stoopid customer, yeah, she really didn't get the concept, for sure! :D
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:24 pm (UTC)Not Always Right might cheer you up a bit, it's full of dumb customer stories.
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-27 09:22 pm (UTC)I would soooooooo be a volunteer at your store. I bet you wind up with some good people once you work through all the morons.
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:11 am (UTC)Dude, you STOLE THEIR BABY and corrupted him! SLASH HUSBAND? There is no greater shame.
As for you volunteering ... um ... the age cut off is 12-16. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't qualify. :D
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:17 am (UTC)Hm. Al's family adores him. His mother actually dropped off the remainder of his belongings when it became ridiculous that he was claiming we weren't living together when we were together 7 days out of 7 and all the stuff he actually used daily - clothes, books, computer - were all at my house. I think they'd disapprove of anyone, tbh. But I am not a forgiving person. At all. Not a good thing, but still true.
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:44 am (UTC)Then, she showed up at the wedding, wished us the best and has been fairly lovely ever since. WTF?
Normally, I don't believe people change, but she has really made an effort not to be a cunt. ;)
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Date: 2010-08-02 02:10 am (UTC)This sounds familiar, though fast-forward to after a dozen years of marriage. I really believe in the whole "resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die" thing. But I'm not good with forgiveness when someone has been really offensive. It takes awhile, but when I have written someone off, they stay off. I'm in no way proud of this, but it's reality.
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Date: 2010-08-02 04:28 am (UTC)I didn't hold a grudge, because she didn't know me. She hated this faceless person who stole her son. If she HAD known me, and been a bitch, it would have had a totally different ending.
My mother always likes to say that I would "bite off my nose to spite my face." I'm still not quite sure what she means by that, but I'm quite sure it's an insult. ;D
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Date: 2010-07-29 03:27 am (UTC)Will you pay me to be a volunteer? On LJ (I don't want to make the effort of going into the store to volunteer).
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Date: 2010-08-02 01:13 am (UTC)Sure, you can be a cyber volunteer! Go clean the virtual cat-box, m'kay?