Mar 3, 2009

I planted some of these in my newly irrigated front yard. They are commonly called Kangaroo Paws and are native to Western Australia. They are drought tolerant, which helps around here. I've had one in a pot since last summer and it is doing beautifully. Tuesday and Wednesday are hard days in the life of Merle Wayne Sneed. They are the days that I work all day at the hardware store. Plus, Tuesday is when our merchandise is delivered. Hard work if you are an older guy. We sold so much stuff at the big sale Saturday ,that our shipment today was massive. It will be around all week, before we get it stocked. I nearly had a blow up today with one of the coworkers that I usually try to avoid. Some people are best avoided and she is chief among the some. Luckily, she works on the opposite side of the store and I am mostly successful in my avoidance strategy. I say nearly had a blow up because I had to resist the urge to tell her to eff off this morning. By law in Arizona employees are required to have two ten minute breaks, plus a half-hour lunch each day. I don't much care about breaks one way or the other, but some people take them very seriously. So, I was taking my morning break this morning, when the aforementioned coworker burst into the break room, a Starbucks Mocha in each hand (yes, she drinks two at a pop). She took one look at me, heaved a huge sigh and announced in her loudest martyr voice, that she would finish her break later. Then she instructed me to let her know when I was done, so that she could finish her break. I immediately sensed that something was amiss, being a perceptive guy and all. I said to myself, "Merle Wayne, she thinks she's on break too." When I asked her what was wrong, she said that she had announced over the store's radio system that she was taking her break now. Poor darling. I would have just waited a few minutes, but that's me. This is what's wrong with jobs. There are too many people at them. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky

11 comments:

Megan said...

She sounds like a real peach.

Barbara said...

This reminds me of my 3-month stint at the FBI when we would all file out mid-morning and mid-afternoon for a 10-minute break. It was very regimented right down to the length of men's sideburns and a women's dress code that included "nice pants suits", of which I had none having just been a poor starving college student.

Steve Reed said...

Geez. To paraphrase Robert Young, "Has she tried Sanka brand decaffeinated coffee?"

This might be a silly question, but can't two people be on break at the same time? It's only ten minutes, after all. I doubt the store would fall apart.

e said...

The American workplace has gone downhill and continues its downward slide...I am sorry for you...

I, on the other hand, was recently audited by the IRS, so if anybody deserves to be cranky...

I hope you have a better day tomorrow!

Kurt said...

Wait, I thought it was time for MY break.

alphabet soup said...

Ooooh Merle, you have a real live Princess working at your hardware store. Things must be tougher in the USA than I imagined...
And the kangaroo paws, they're beautiful, one of my very favourite native plants. Great for dry climates. I like the colour combination too.

Ms Soup

Nan Patience said...

I thought of you this past weekend, speaking with a woman. She was starting a job at a hardware store nearby. She was in construction for many years before. Seems like she was looking forward to it.

Squirrel said...

when breaks on the job become SO important that it's ridiculous... there has to be something else going on.


I remember reading about the importance of those lousy 10 minute breaks in Barbara E's book "Nickle and Dimed" she noted that some women have no breaks at home, and had no other possible job prospects ... and so breaks took on a crazy importance as did all sorts of odd work behavior.

Makes me feel weird (but not guilty) for the 2 hour lunches we often took (sometimes if the boss joined us they were 3 hour lunches with cocktails) and breaks happened all day long. Of course sometimes we worked weekends, or very long hours waiting for something or traveled half way across the world for work, and never got extra pay other than travel expenses for that--

however, a ten minute break seems truly awful and inhumane.

Avid Reader said...

Chris Rock did a great monologue on his job at The Red Lobster restaurant.

Reya Mellicker said...

The problem is caffeine. Drinking two at a time? It amps up everything.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

she must get paid really well to be drinking TWO cups of starbucks mocha....

I don't know I get the idea that her heart just isn't with the concept of service.... is she waiting for her big break in something else.....

merle you are most perceptive....I agree with you about some people are best avoided!