On the Things Employees Say

“Have you seen the Helen Keller quarter?” asked my employee. “Yes,” I replied with a shrug. What had this to do with anything? He said nothing for a few moments. Then, “There’s a Helen Keller quarter?” A bizarre turn. “She’s on the Alabama quarter.” “Helen Keller is on a quarter?” Now thoroughly confused by thisContinue reading “On the Things Employees Say”

On a Customer's Strange Request

A guy walks into the store. Black tee-shirt bearing a logo, trucker hat, mid-twenties, average height and build. He walks maybe ten feet into the store, stops, looks at the display fixture there. I greet him, ask him if he’s looking for something. “I wanted something with pictures of angels and demons fighting.” We sellContinue reading “On a Customer's Strange Request”

More on Lego Star Wars

Six days away. The game is Six. Days. Away. I pre-ordered mine at work today. Somehow I’d been remiss in doing so. It was crazy funny hectic busy at work today. The Sony PSP, the new handheld system, launched today. We opened at eight, and people started lining up at about twenty past seven. AllContinue reading “More on Lego Star Wars”

On the Morning Round-Up

Reading through a six-page thread on TrekBBS this morning I came to a realization. The bloody thread needs Simon Cooper and his angry Irish voice. Oh, I’ve no doubt I would disagree with his insights, but the world needs more snarky ranting, which Simon was always able to deploy at a moment’s notice. Simon, buddy,Continue reading “On the Morning Round-Up”

On Work Stress

The difference two hours can make. Every Monday the managers in my district have a conference call with our supervisor. This Monday was no different. Two o’clock conference call. It was an upbeat call focusing on areas to develop over the next week and important new releases this week–Gran Turismo 4, Tekken 5, MVP BaseballContinue reading “On Work Stress”

On Thumping the Head against the Wall

The difference a night of sleep makes. I wanted last night to thump my head against the wall. Either that or break out the red pen and bleed it on a document. I was given a document to review, a training guide to a new program at work. The sales tracking chart the guide explainsContinue reading “On Thumping the Head against the Wall”