Retail Rant

So I've been working retail for 8 months now for (1)to make some dough to get by living in the city until I find a real job, and (2)to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to working retail. Seeing that I'm still working there past 6 months, I think I have an idea of what the retail business is about. I'm not sure about other retail stores, but our store is, in a sense, "competitive" amongst other stores under the same name. Our manager is always feeding us numbers telling us "We're #-- in the district and we need to be #1 cause that's what we used to be.. blah blah" kinda stuff. We are updated during each segment [a segment is 2hrs or work ie. 2-4p] on how we are doing on our sales, customer ratio to sales, and more numbers to boost us to work harder. Anyways, bottom line, maybe its just this store, but compared to other stores I've walked through recently, we work suprisingly hard.

Before I thought of the idea of working retail, I went to my friends who have worked retail to see what I would get myself into and it came down to these few Cons:
- Customers can be really rude
- Pay isn't that good
- Hours can suck
- On-calls aren't cool

So I STILL tried out to retail job, and found these things to be true, BUT those things were the least of my problem.
1) Customers can be really rude
.. I'd say I'm a people person, meaning I can deal with rude customers. I'll say my remarks after they leave, but other than that I'll just move on with my life.
2) Pay isn't good
.. DUH. its retail. I LITERALLY stop myself throughout the day from working real hard to make customers happy, work hard to keep numbers up, and keep the store up to par [unless I'm closing], and remind myself "calm down. you are making barely over minimum wage. you are BARELY getting by."
3) Hours can suck
.. Yeah. They say they give us hours depending on the kind of numbers we are getting during our shift but I'm going to ahead and call "B.S." I mean I'm sure there's a little part that depends on it, but when it comes down to it, I'm pretty sure whomever schedules us doesn't sit down, look at our individual numbers and divvy up our hours accordingly. Or else I'd be getting more hours.
4) On-calls suck
.. I can't plan ahead on days when I have an on-call but I'm sure nurses and doctors have that same problem so its not really a big deal.

The one thing that really gets me the most.
Coworkers.
You don't get the pick of the pod, or the sharpest tool in the shed, but you do get the good with the bad. I work along with some cool cats, but there are those that just grind my gears [Peter Griffin (c)].

We have CSL's which are out Sales Leads who give us updates on our numbers over our walkies and walk the floor to make sure everything is going OK. One thing that gets me though is that some CSL's find it hard to pick something up, and fold it, rather than throw it on my table and expect me to fold it. Yeah, its my job, but I'm 99% sure that it's part of their job to do something other than walk around and twiddle your damn thumbs. Don't tell me our numbers are down and work harder.. I'll work harder when you do your job.

Second is my other sales associates. Typically complaining about customers being rude to them, sharing info I don't really wanna hear over the walkie.. blah blah. It doesn't really bother me, but when they decide to not work, I am free to rant. I can recall one time I was working, about 5 minutes to closing, and I look over to see what my coworker is doing, and they're writing something down on a piece of paper. I don't think anything of it at the time. 3 minutes to closing [yes, when it comes to closing, every minute is noted], they're still doing the same thing.. 1 minute to go, I look over, he/she takes that small piece of paper, crumples it up, throws it away and says over the walkie "Can I clock out now?".. WTF. are you serious?! Im cleaning up the store and your over there doodling penises or whatever you fancy?! Cmon now. Oh, also when I come in to take over someone's section cause it's time for them to go home, and they have a pile of clothes that STILL need to be folded. It's not that hard to do your job and get it done before you have to bounce out.

Overall.. Work retail if you have time for a part-time job, and I mean PART-TIME. A plus having this part time? the extra % off you get on the goods they sell. BUT! when you take the bad, you get some good. So of course there are times when things are good at work, but if I go on about those, it would defeat the purpose of my rant.

Calculus break > Calculus

[1/15]
I think it was earlier last night when I was shuffling through my things looking for what notes I needed to do homework, and I found the transfer catalog for UW: Architecture, and the sheet that came along with it. Looking over it I notice that Calculus II is not needed to enter the Architecture program..... .. .. .*!#@GAAH&%$!!!11. So I'm putting myself through hell, sort of for nothing. I told myself (1)there wasn't any other good choices of classes to take for now, (2)you need to freshen up on your math skills anyways, (3)you need to be in school right now.

After going through 3 sections straight, I needed a break. So what else do I do?
Find more of these!


[1/28]
Looking FORWARD to..
+ 1/30-2/1: Snowboarding @ Silver Mtn., Idaho
+ 2/14: Steven's Pass snowboarding
+ 2/15-16: Surprise trip???
+ Spring Break!
+ No more calculus please..

pwn3d by the weather.. FAIL?

In the past 2 weeks, mother nature has taken the NW into her hands, squeezed the fun and sunshine out of it, then put it in her pocket and reintroduced us to rain+snow+wind+greyskies+floods+avalanches+sadface+butthurt. The weather wo/men say itll be a light wind chill with a chance of rain.. it snows that day. Then they say "grey skies".. and rain pours down. "chance of snow"... 4 inches [pause]. WTF! I think anyone can be a weather person now, cause all you have to do is PREDICT ANY WEATHER situation within the weather pattern of the year before, and BAM, your Steve Pool, or whoever you wanna be [Id be steve pool, cause he's black, so i have a chance at another job, like rapping, or any sport that doesnt include swimming.]

Lately I've been given the opportunity to go snowboarding, and so far I had to cancel TWICE because of crappy weather [avalanche, floods, blah blah..]. So I'm pretty upset. It doesn't help that winter quarter has started and Im finishing up Calculus after a 2 quarter break, which is a VERY BAD idea, let me tell you. I have so much catching up to do. I mean seriously, how do they expect me to keep up with snowboarding, LOST, and, underwater basketweaving if I have to over-study calculus all over again. ZOMG. So I'm sorta stuck indoors and can only resort to YouTube videos of snowboarding, or crying about it here.

Oh yeah! After class one day, I was walking home and decided to total up the amount I spent on all my snowboarding gear, not including the spare things I have. After estimating everything I wear on the mountain, not including the clothes under, I found that I snowboard with $750 on! good gawwwd, AND almost everything I bought was on sale. SO, if you decide on making snowboarding a habit, that's the smallest amount you MIGHT be able to pull off.

Before I go any further into my blabbling.. let's do a quick recap of what I forgot to mention..
+ Merry Christmas!..family+relatives+friends dinner. Bacas' House. presents! insert xbox 360 here. back to seattle at midnight.
+ Happy New Year!..can't afford to go out. 3 person party = drunk fun. clean up crew next morning. NY resolution: play guitar/ukulele more.
+ School starts.. ZOMG too many variables and symbols. must resort to snowboarding.. FAIL.

On the up side though, I did manage to upload all my pictures from my camera to my hard drive. Now a few more months and they should be on my Facebook or Myspace. I've also been working on my cooking. Im pretty good so far, meaning I haven't killed myself or anyone, and I'm expanding my horizon on different cooking techniques. So on my off time from going out [see: BROKE], my plan is to get back into a routine.
8am: workout
10am: homework
1pm: class
3: work/study/homework
1030:LOST/sleep

I've been on the bad habit of sleeping late and have been paying for it. Slowly but surely though I should be getting my internal clock back in working order. I feel the beginning of this year, everyone's plan is to get back into "shape", but not always literally. Some will cut down on the drinking, and pick up a weight instead. or turn off the TV and turn up the healthy foods. Stop going out, and begin a book. So I don't feel so bad as to missing out on many things, but like everyone else, I gotta do whats important first, and thats to focus on what I need to do to succeed.

*random thought bubble* Once I get my fisheye lens for my camera, im gonna start making my own snowboarding videos/clips. So everyone can see how AWESOME I am! Rawr! Deng, I need money. Deng, the weather sucks. *random thought bubble* /end

Recent video I found while pondering of snowboarding..

Travis Parker is rad. Plus, he's part of the DC crew. woot woot.

Also, i think ill add a song shall be added to my playlist on the mountain. video on THIS LINK. good workout song maybe? for the ladies, yes :) teehehehehe..

Today was the last day of class for this week. I'm about to go out and relax with PJ and her sister who decided that I should go with them to "R Place"... .. . .If you don't know where that is, then the rest of this entry should give you an idea. I figured 'what the heck. im never gonna be going in here, i might as well see what im missing out on. another story to write in my book.' As I left my place for PJ's apartment, my sister texted me "Amateur strip show at RPlace tonight :)" so that should be interesting...? I don't plan on drinking very much cause I can't afford it. Im really hoping the the hotdog stand is out on thursday nights and the weather holds up so I can get myself a creamcheese hotdog. YUMMY YUM YUM.

Late night craving..

Step your game up AT&T and bring the Blackberry Storm to my hands! So far I've heard there are a few glitches, but that's like anything new to us, like Windows Vista, Apple iPhone, cloning animals, Dane Cook and/or Carlos Mencia [Carlos has WAY MORE than a few glitches], muffin tops, asian gangsters, japanese tattoos on white people, and THE ECONOMY [rawr!].

more good news you say?
mmm, how about a new trailer for J.J. Abram's Star Trek. I was never a fan of Star Trek, but for some reason this one is kinda exciting for me. Maybe because Sylar of Heroes is in it [I enjoy Heroes], or maybe Harold [John Cho] is in it also, and I am expecting some sort of silly antics of him and Kumar smoking marijuana, and a cheetah comes into scene with Neil Patrick Harris riding on a unicorn. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.


UPDATE..
this SHOULD be the new trailer


Good Morning Losers.

Oops, did i say June? i mean JULY!

HAPPY JULY EVERYONE! and a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND SHEENA ! She turns the big Deuce Deuce today and we're gonna celebrate with friends, dinner, and a few drinks. *Sigh* we are getting old. haha.. No more parties where parents cook all the food, and you just sit back and wait. So yeah, I missed out on June in here, and I apologize for that. Things just got kinda busy/hectic after finals. Yet at the same time, so much has happened! I finally made time to fill this sucker in.. so lemme update you real quick

Celebrated my Bday [June 15] with a bunch of friends and drinks at a club. We actually did this on the 13th. From what I remember, I was pretty drunk.. I saw a lot of faces I haven't seen in forever, and probably made a fool of myself. Dru got me and Joe [who couldn't make it] a booth, where I think I spent about 30min in during the 2hrs I was there. Ended up back at Sheena's where I AGAIN made a fool of myself.. small hangover and Rainstorm the next day. haha.

Two friends of mine visited, Jireh and Kathleen. They went to a wedding in Bremerton/Silverdale. I met up with them the first night they came in, and just drank and played card games with more friends at Jireh's place. that was interesting, taking swigs from a bottle of Malibu Rum. Note to self: if you want to get drunk quick, play Drunk Driver [the card game]. It was fun seeing them. Hopefully get to do it again soon.




Walked around downtown Seattle with PJ, Justin, and Pauline, which was pretty fun. Kinda wish we spent more time walking around but we started the day a bit late :( Thanks to me, PJ and I missed the ferry we wanted to catch, so we just spend an hour looking for a ride and eating. Anyways, we walked along the Pier, then up to the Seattle Art Museum where there were chalk drawings on the ground. Pretty cool stuff.





I also visited Lake Crescent just recently. Me and PJ are planning on camping there sometime soon, so we decided to check out the campsite. The drive there was sorta long, but I think it was because we sorta didn't know where we were going. But I think the drive was worth it. The water was beautiful! so clean and clear.. but being water from the mountains, it was a bit cold. Nice place though, a definite revisit coming soon.




One last thing.. I'm officially out of Bremerton/Silverdale, and have finally relocated to Seattle. My sister and I found a two bedroom apartment that lets us have Bunsen, the family Beagle, and a decent place to live. Although the price really puts a huge dent in my wallet, I think it's worth it for now. So to all you Seattle-heads, HIT ME UP! Well, I gotta get going. Spending the rest of the day running errands, shopping with the other sister, and then dinner+bar tonight for Sheena. Hopefully I update soon again. Enjoy your summer!

[marc]

everything working to my personal fortune..

Wow, I've been neglecting this so much. Since my last post, so much has been going on with my life, I haven't found time to update this sucker. I usually post when my mind is wandering off and thinking about random things, but lately my mind has been plenty busy thinking of whats been set before me.

First off. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA!.. It's official. I'll be heading out during July for about a week of uncontrollable fun and nonsense with a group of friends! Other friends of ours will be there also so we might all run into each other, which could be both good and crazy. We'll be flying Virgin Airlines which has outrageously cool airplane cabins [see website for images], so expect drinking and good ol' fashion fun a mile high in the sky! We have about 10 people in my group going so far, and I am ONE OF TWO GUYS going! I make up 50% of the amount of males attending this trip [so far].. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but I figured it'd be something to point out. I think its more bragging than complaining :) haha.. so more to that story later as we reach the official date. woo! hella excited!

Like I said before, I've been pretty busy lately. Well, not necessarily busy, but just preoccupied with other things. Crossfit has been occupying some of this time. I've been getting other people interested in crossfit, so I've been "training" them on some workouts, and giving them as much information as I can even though I'm not technically qualified to do that, but I've been learning as much as I can lately from an actual crossfit trainer. It seems I'm doing alright cause I've been asked many times about working out, so it's a good start. Might I suggest those who live in the Northwest area to visit Foundation CrossFit garage gym located in Lake City Way, Seattle [address on site]!

Through crossfit, I have met someone I've actually been looking for [see: "who you would like to meet" on my myspace page].. a girl willing to do crossfit with me! Hah. since we first worked out, we've been spending more time hanging out outside of the gym. Not only does she crossfit, but she likes the outdoors and likes to be active. Umm, yeah.. shes great in my book so far. So lately we've been doing some pretty cool stuff..
Mariner's game [go M's!], Seattle Art Museum [in toga!], working out, partying, picnics, random walks and talks, studying, going to spa's, etc.. and the plans still continue as we speak!
its good fun so far, and she's been enjoying it also, which she totally deserves! lots of other fun stuff ahead of us, but hopefully ill be able to fill you all in on what ill be doing hopefully.

Summer is coming up, Spring quarter is ending.. I've been telling everyone that my plan is to move to Seattle this summer so I'll be looking for apartments in that area very soon. Maybe one that allows dogs [i got a Beagle!].. Summer is going to be REDONKULOUS I tell yah. I've made so many plans already for this summer, it'll be hard to top it. NO JOKE. I'm pretty excited for it!

[Bad segway right here]

Lately, I've been hearing people not taking advantage of situations when they definitely should. I touched base with this topic last blog, but i think i focused more on the "boys/girls to men/women" whole deal. When i say take advantage I mean take the initiative and do what needs to be done. "Live life. It's not a rehearsal." and that's the truth. If things don't work out the way you want it to, then things weren't meant to go that way. You will know when you are on the right path because everything will fall into place and you will eventually find what you have been looking for. Of course it's going to take a lot of hard work and time, but with patience and effort, you will know when you are on the right path. Sometimes the best route isn't necessarily the straight path, or the path you usually take. Maybe a new trail is what you need in life.

Anyways, it's late and I need to fold my laundry before I begin to pass out. Have a good one everyone. see you next blog.

[marc]