Benefits Of Gaming

   Strike not having a good, week, I've been having a bad month. Things just aren't going right. I say that not to garner sympathy, but to clarify that I am in a BAD FUCKING MOOD. I've been in bitch-mode for weeks now, just so we can set the tone here a little. I've had to cancel plans, I've had to downsize my grocery bill, and I've had to pay a bill or two late, and I HATE paying bills late. I can't stress that enough. This month constitutes the first month I've paid a bill late in over three years, and yes, I remember that, I can say that for sure, because the last time I paid a bill late was December 2012. I remember that shit. I have anxiety attacks when I pay shit late. It's like, two days late, and I think they are gonna shut my cable off and turn off my electricity and own my friggin' soul, over the overdue doctor's office copay. Yeah, something's wrong with me; my sister calls it paranoia. Whatever.
   So I get on facebook, because maybe taking to some of my friends will help me feel better. But whenever you are feeling badly, getting on facebook is a bad idea. After two seconds, I'm having a heart attack because someone's been shot, someone's committed hate crimes, someone's hurt children, someone's hurt animals, and there's been a twenty car pile up or some God-awful shit, and everyone has posted the videos, and for some reason, all those damn videos start playing as soon as you get on facebook. It's like, shit, you thought you were feeling bad before; look at this bullshit stupid assholes get up to. Don't you feel better now?
    No. No, I don't feel better after looking at all that evil shit. Makes me wonder sometimes if those end-of-the-world wack-os are on to something, because damn, all this bad stuff. And I already feel bad, so it's like an endless spiral of badness that I can't seem to break out of.
   But I feel better now. Why? Not a damn thing has changed. But I just spent two hours killing darkspawn and red templars, so somehow, I just feel better. And now I can deal with shit just a little bit better, because I took the time to do something fun, that I enjoy. So that's my sage advice for the day. Maybe it's not worth a crap, but maybe it is. If you are just feeling like everything is overwhelming you, go kill darkspawn. And take Blackwall with you, because he approves of that shit.
   Sometimes we just need to take a step back and take a time out. And yeah, I know that the real world is still there, and yeah, I'll deal with it, but sometimes we all need a break. That's what today's post is about. Just take a friggin' break - before you snap. Maybe it's common sense, but just earlier today, I was fretting myself in circles over issues that I've already done all I can to fix, and all that's needed is a little time and patience. It's had to have common sense when you've got yourself that worked up, and who doesn't ever get worked up over financial issues every now and again? Fix what you can, and go find something fun to do. Break time - and right now, that means I have an Inquisition to build. Bye folks. 

Maybe Marie's Not In A Good Mood (The Maybe Post)

   I dislike corn season. I mean, I like fresh corn as much as anyone, but I dislike being a checker during corn season. People don't like you to count corn. They have a cart full of the shit (and sometimes, this is literal) and they want to tell you something like, "I have one hundred", and they don't want you to count it. They get PISSED. Don't even think about the fact that counting out what you're buying is part of a cashier's job - just automatically jump to the conclusion that the cashier is accusing you of being dishonest. If I ran a business that sold items in quantity, I would want my employees to verify the quantity the customer had. But maybe that's just me; maybe the rest of the world wouldn't care if their employees were not doing their job to the fullest of their capabilities and the entire extent of their job description. Maybe a half-assed work ethic has become the new hot commodity in retail. 

   I also dislike customers who are douche bags. Full on, rude, I-have-no-respect-for-anyone-but-myself douchery. Fantastic. There is nothing like telling a customer that you're sorry, but you don't have any tape at your checkstand, and having that customer respond, "Do you even know what tape is?" Hmmmmmm. Maybe I don't know what tape is. Maybe, somehow, in my thirty-two years of life, I have managed to completely avoid all contact with tape. Or maybe you need to realize that this is a checkstand, and not the package counter at the post office, and that even if we did have tape, it would probably just be plain old scotch tape and not the packaging tape required to hold your freaking big-ass box shut. That's not exactly a donut box, dude. Or maybe I just don't know what tape is, and really, I have a full drawer full of packing tape.

  Banana peels; you do realize that when you hand me a banana peel at the point of checkout, you are now digesting the heaviest part of that fruit, and I can't correctly charge you. Same with apple cores, peach pits, and so-on and so-forth. I really dislike this. What am I supposed to do? Heimlich the rest of the fruit out of you and try to get the weight? Really, what am I supposed to do here? Just be like, oh well, you just stole from my company, and let it go? No big deal. It's just fruit. Maybe, if you were the only person doing that garbage. Do you really think you are the only person? Why is it, that when people want a snack, and they just can't wait until the shopping is done, why do they tend to choose the items that are sold by weight?

    To add to this list of things that I dislike; let's go with not being able to breath. Men! You don't need the whole bottle of Axe poured over your body. That's not sexy. Women are not passing out because of your inconceivable hotness; they are passing out because your cologne has defeated all the area's oxygen. And your poor, poor checker; that person can't even run away. That person has to try and hold their breath until you've moved on. Seriously, can't breath here. Maybe you don't need so much. Maybe, if you are buying cologne in bulk, that's a sign. Maybe, if you come through my line with five bottles of the shit, I'm going to grace you with Marie's-Ultra-Special-Glare-Of-Death - you know, on behalf of all of the people who have suffered. Maybe too much cologne should be considered chemical warfare.

   Maybe I'm kinda grumpy today. I dislike being grumpy, but hey, I'm human. Grumpiness comes to all of us. Probably, I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning, but I have responsibilities. I have things that need to get done. But maybe, after I'm done baking this box of Betty Crocker's cookie brownie that I just happened to find in the cabinet (how did that get there, I wonder?), maybe I should manage to refrain from eating the whole damn thing, because even though I like to eat my feelings, I know it isn't healthy. Or maybe I should eat the whole thing. We only live once, and maybe this brownie is the only thing standing between me and happiness. 

A Bad Day

   Ever had one of those pulling-out-your-hair days, where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong? One of those days when shit you never even imagined going down is going down and you are just dumbfounded? The events of the day don't even make sense and you just want to go to bed and forget the stupid day ever happened at all; ever had one of those?
   Being as you are human, and living in the world, I am going to assume that you have. Everybody's had one of those days, right? No one has a perfect life; no matter how good your life is, you are going to have an off day every once in a while.
   Well, a few days ago I had one of those days, at work, so I couldn't even take comfort in curling up in my bed and ignoring the hell out of everything. I had to pay attention. This is one of the many dangers of having a steady job. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and be a big girl.
   Anyway, there were no ominous portents at the beginning of the day, and sometimes, there are. You know there are, so if you are shaking your head at me for being superstitious, just stop now. Sometimes you wake up, and things start going wrong from the moment you pull your feet out from under the covers and put them on the ground, and you just know that the day is gonna be full of suckyness.
   This was not one of those days. I was sucker punched by this day, which actually made the day even worse, because I was not braced for it. I just went to work, and expected I would have the usual time. Except that when I told my first customer his order total, and he handed me a wad of money that was all crumpled and sloppy, he totally bitched me out for being OCD when I straightened the cash. Excuse me??? First of all, smoothing out your money so that I can actually put it in the slot is not a sign of OCD. It's a sign that no cashier can put money that's been wadded into a ball into her drawer; that's what it's a sign of. Second of all, Obsessive Compulsion Disorder is a mental illness, so if I was OCD, I wouldn't be able to help that, and this customer's obnoxious bitching wouldn't make any difference. Obnoxious bitching, however, is completely optional, and you can choose not to engage in this particular activity. Funny how that works.
   After that customer, I got fully chewed out for not taking the wrong items on a WIC check. You see, WIC checks specifically list the items that you can get, and the type and brands. I have mentioned this before, but just to be clear, if your WIC check says that you can get either 2%, 1%, or non-fat milk, then those are the only types of milk that I can give you. I can't give you lactose-free whole milk. WIC will reject the check when they review it, and then I will have a shortage in my drawer, which I can get fired for, FYI.
   As if all of that wasn't enough, I had a woman come through and she was demanding that I call her husband on the phone and tell him to come in and help her with her groceries. After I explained that we could not call out from the checkstands, she wanted me to pull out my cell phone and call him. We are not allowed to have our cell phones on the floor, so I couldn't oblige her. Then she asked for someone to help her with her groceries, so I (at this point) grudgingly called for help, thinking she wanted help out to the car. Nope. She wanted my coworker to pull our her cell phone and call the husband. Are you kidding me, here!!!??? As my coworker looked at me, dumbfounded, I just hoped that she understood that I didn't realize this loony-tune was gonna ask her to make calls for her. Really, this is something else that we can lose our job for, so I felt justified in my feeling that the customers were conspiring to get me fired. And, really, if you needed your husband that much, why did he wait outside in the car and not come in with you? How does that make sense to you?

    The day seemed to go on in a manner similar to these few examples, and I wanted to just start screaming, and keep screaming until I blew my throat out, but you can't engage in that type of activity at work. Acting like you are batshit crazy while on the clock is frowned upon.
   Obviously, as this happened a few days ago, I survived the day without the loss of my job, or criminal convictions, or being institutionalized, but this was a very close call. So if you find yourself going through a day like this, know that you are not alone. I have been there; we have all been there. Try to leave your hair attached to your scalp, take deep breaths, and fantasize about choking fools, by all means, but don't act on that fantasy. Because you will survive, and when you finally get the chance to curl up and go to sleep and forget that the stupid day ever happened, you want to do this in your own bedroom, and not in a jail cell.

Have a good day and be happy!!!!