The way
Reason’s was before, I often felt like we needed a Go-Go-Gadget store that
could expand in the summer and contract in the winter. The store was too big
during the winter months and, in the summer months, it was always filled to
capacity. Suddenly, for four months out of the year, it was too small. And
during those times, we had to cater to those rich jerks coming up from Tulsa to
spend time at their lake homes. Man, how I hated those people. So, in the
summer months, because the budget was off the chart, you could basically work
as many hours as you wanted to. There were some weeks, especially around Fourth
of July and Memorial Day where you felt like you lived at this place. I always
said that jokingly. I would often comment how I saw my co-workers more than my
kid.
You know, a boss told me one time,
“Just give me 25%.” That was his motto to motivate us because a forty hour work
week is essentially 25% of your life. That other 75% is yours. Just give me
25%.
It was sound in theory until you
figured that 33% of your life goes to sleep and that is half of your life right
there and that is not if you are factoring in commuting and getting ready for
work. But I saw his point.
Now in a business like a grocery
store, not everyone works the same shift. Some people work 7 to 4. The next guy
works 8 to 5. The next guy works 9 to six. But even if we all worked the same
shift, the most you would see of a person is 25%. Add in all those different
shifts and it is more like 20%. If they are in a different department, you
might only interact for a total of 1% of your time.
Then, if you were smart, you would
leave your job behind the second you clocked out, and went to go live the other
75% that was granted to you. There was an escape.
Now, there is no escape. You spend
every hour of every day in this same place with the same people. I think that
is why we were all so excited when new people like Justin and his crew arrived.
New people to talk to!
It is like being on a deserted island
and you cannot escape it. We have to stay buttoned up. It is freaking cold
right now so fresh air is not even a real option. I think this is why the bus
caravan plan was so enthusiastically adopted. It gave us something to look
forward to and plan for. It was not just etching days off the calendar.
Still, that does feel like what we are
going these days. The hours just kind of creep along. No one has any “new”
stories because we are all living the same life. And I think just about
everyone gave up the “remember when” stories because we are just reminded of
how much we have all lost. And no one wants to get locked in that depression
room. Life is hard enough.
Still, this is where everyone’s little idiosyncrasies
start to become just that much more apparent… and that much more annoying. It
is not nice to type but it is true. Thankfully, it is a big store and you can
get away from the crowds if you want to.
