C'est la vie...or is it?

Gah!! Where the hell did July go?!?

This is ridiculous. Summer is flying by...which scares me. The closer we get to fall, the closer we get to (dun dun duuuunnnn) HOLIDAY SEASON. *gasp!*

I know, I know. I should bite my tongue. But, in my line of work, the holidays are always in the back of your head, whether you like it or not. As a matter of fact, my boss and I were just discussing today (yes, today) the schedule of when we'll be getting our first shipments of holiday merchandise and how we plan to get it out. I KNOW! It's July!! I am having a hard time dealing with it, even after all these years. But, as they say, "C'est la vie," right? Right?!?

I don't know. Maybe not. I mean really...is this all there is? An endless hamster wheel of identical days, X-ed off boxes on a calendar, waking up day after day and doing the same thing over and over? The only thing that differentiates one month from the next is the color of the grass and the design on my garden flag (which right now has butterflies on it, just in case anyone was wondering). Or maybe just looking forward to the next holiday/gift giving/party planning event?

I'm just as guilty as the next guy (or gal, whatever). I get up, get ready for work, get the kiddo up and moving, go to daycare, work, back to daycare, home, dinner. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. There are few variations to this routine, and I just recently realized that my job is sucking all of the life out of me. I NEED to do something different, to feel like I'm a part of something bigger. Something that matters. There's so much that I have passion for, that I just don't get the time to do. Prime example -- photography. In a perfect world (or at least one where Fairy Godmothers exist), I would make a living taking pictures (and, I'd also ask my Fairy Godmother for my 21 year old body, but I digress). I LOVE my camera, it's like an extension of my arm sometimes. I am just too damn busy working and taking care of home and family to really get out and enjoy it. I really think there is more to me that what I'm doing right now. I am so much better than this!!

I've recently decided that I really want to go back to school. I want to do something to actually help people, and I don't mean help them find the aisle where the band aids are. So, stay tuned if you're interested in finding out how this will end. It should be an interesting ride!

Because, as they say, "C'est La VIE!"

Now that you said THAT....

I've been slacking. I know. Holidays, family, picnics, fireworks, all that jazz. Oh, and work. Yeah, I do a lot of that too. Work is where I get a lot of my stories. People tell me that I have the funniest stories...but the scary thing is, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

The latest gem was from today. This customer was trying to buy some vitamins, and told our cashier that the coupons she was trying to use came from inside the boxes she was buying. The ones that say "good on your next purchase." She ripped open the sealed boxes, ripped the coupons off of the informational pamphlet (did something with the rest of the pamphlet, we never did find them) and tried to use them. Now, even my boss, who tends to be a bit lenient with the customers, was like, "WTF?"

You can't do that!! Those are for your NEXT PURCHASE. As in, you get home, open the box of vitamins, and get a pleasant surprise of a coupon! Yay! They want you to keep buying their product! Now you have coupons to save some money! But no. She went on to get angry and say how she's done it before and whatever. She actually said that if she didn't use them now, she'd never get the chance to use them. Umm....ON YOUR NEXT PURCHASE. Then, every time you buy them, you have a coupon because there's one in the box! She even went so far as to tell us, "Well, I was being honest and told you I opened the boxes..." Well thanks, now that you said that, it makes all the difference! *shakes head* She really wasn't getting it. So then, she refused to buy them, and we had to claim them out since the boxes were ripped and the pamphlets were missing. Oy vey.

Another funny thing in the past week...a lady came rushing in with a paper.
Lady: "Do you have a copier?"
Photo Tech: "No, I'm sorry. We don't"
Lady: "PLEASE!! I need this copied!! I'll pay you anything!"
PT: shakes head "I'm really sorry, we don't have a copier!"

There was more, but you get the gist. Umm...gee, now that you said that, I guess I'll pull the magical invisible copier out of the back room. Just for you. Since you said you'd pay ANYTHING...I'll take a kidney and your first born. Leave your pocket change too.