Holy Register, Batman

Yes, I had to go on a freaking register Sunday. There's not much choice when a co-manager orders you on one. "But, I don't wanna ... " is a pretty weak excuse. I suffered through it though. I wouldn't have had to if a dumb blonde hadn't sent ELEVEN freaking lunches all at the same time. What did she think would happen? The customers would just wait for them all to come back? Needless to say, Sunday was hellacious.

Monday, I took some time for myself. I went downtown, had lunch at a hole-in-the-wall (literally) cafe (club sandwich, with hot-off-the-grill bacon) and then went to see "Sin City." My review: Good, but not great. The artistic merits make it worth seeing, much the same as "Waking Life" or "Spirited Away," but the story falls as flat as both those. A definite case of art trumping story at the EXPENSE of story. Although it is rather cool. The middle segment is the best, IMHO. Although I adore Clive Owen. And watch out for the Hartnett.

Tuesday at Wal-Mart's Retail Village of Low Class Delights was another fun day. There were only two openers (7-4). I was the only mid-shift (10-7). One 2-11 called off. The 4-11 called off. The other 2-11 called at three and said "I'm an hour away by car." Um, OK. Jeez.

It wound up being that kind of night. There were only 15 cashiers in the building, total. A manager came up and wanted to know where they all were. I counted the number of operators I had on the schedule, counted the registers I had open, then counted the lunches and breaks. Um, that adds up to my operators. You only gave me 15 to work with - WHEN PEOPLE GET OFF WORK AND COME TO SHOP!!!!!!!!!!

Managers been told that Tuesday nights are busy, but they still let the computer (this "genius" scheduling computer that Wal-Mart claims takes shopping patterns for the past year into account) do its thing. According to the computer, Tuesday is a "slow" shopping day. That's why there are so few people on the schedule Tuesday nights - most of the part-timers have that night off. Well, maybe they're slow in Backwater, Arkansas, but not here buddy. Predictably, the handbasket we were all riding in set a course for Hades.

And then my old pal Layaway called. Jeez. Every time I think I can see the light, and we were ALMOST there and I was ALMOST about to go home, I had to go cover a half-hour lunch in Layaway. I like Layaway, I can work Layaway with my eyes closed, it is just that every time I go there problems seem to materialize out of thin air.

And it was hellzapopping back there for 30 minutes. One HUGE $400 layaway with clothes, shoes, games, videos and DVDS. Honestly, poor people just use layaway like a credit card. We should charge at least 1% interest on that stuff. Another one with sheets and pillows (who puts sheets on layaway?). And finally a cancellation where I had to call the Cash Office to get a big loan because they were taking a flat-screen TV off layaway and wanted their money back. UM, couldn't make the rent, could we? But still, all this in just 30 minutes.

And I still had to go to my real job. Sheesh.