Work

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A Zany Morning

Normally, my 10AM to 2PM shifts at the convenience store are busy, but mundane. Today, thought, was all about one thing after another. The following are the two best incidents of the day:

Today, a colleague accidentally threw away a key component of our coffee machine which resulted in my having to mop up a gallon of boiling hot coffee and then dig through a garbage can to find the missing part. Before I’d even had my first cup of the day.

Some time later, I witnessed something I have only otherwise seen in movies and tv shows. We have had a problem with our ATM for about a week now; it won’t print receipts. Today, for some unfathomable reason, it decided that those receipts had to come out. Receipt after receipt poured out of that machine like thick flakes of snow. There was no stopping the flood as customers looked on in awe. Finally, the storm ended and the machine rebooted. I assumed that the problem had fixed itself, but no. Two customers made withdrawals and were not given a receipt. Shall I look forward to a repeat performance by the ATM next Monday?!

Never a dull moment…

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An Employer’s Market

I just got in from part one of the interview process for a popular chain of shoe stores. I have no illusions that I will be going any further in the process, but part one was rather surreal. It involves taking a test with quite the hodgepodge of questions, from basic math to your experience in retail to hypothetical ethical conundrums. The rest of the interview process involves a one-on-one interview with the manager and then a phone interview with a district manager. All this to sell shoes at minimum wage!

The questionnaire was geared towards what I imagine is their average employee base: high school kids. It felt very silly to be answering questions about what I was or was not doing when I was in grade eight when that was half a lifetime ago!

At any rate, I’m glad that my latest round of handing out resumes resulted in an interview, even if nothing more comes of it.

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A Gentle Repeating of History

Augh. Another day, another day of being employed only part-time. Part-time might pay the bills, but it doesn’t pay for groceries or extras like new glasses because the arm on your pair snapped off! I did yet another round on foot with the resumes today. All but one store (Zellers) accepted one and most said that they are hiring for the holiday season. Hopefully…

It has occurred to me that my situation right now is really not unlike that in Oliver last year, except that my ‘free’ rent comes at a reasonable cost and is not making me miserable! There isn’t really any place for me to go, unless I want to go pay the park rates in the big cities of the Island like Nanaimo or Victoria, so I’m not considering moving. The extra hours come January are going to help, but won’t make up for two months of only part-time employment.

Even if financially things are as they are, I can see my RVing life slowly improving and I imagine that things are only going to get better. It’s just the ‘in the meantime’ that can sometimes be hard to get through. I have to remember that building a new life takes time and patience and that good things come to those who wait.

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Sometimes It’s Good to Hang in There

I found out this evening that my sporadic part-time work schedule is going to come to an end in the new year. Starting January 2nd, I will be on a four day on, four day off, two pm to 10pm schedule. I could not have written a more ideal schedule for myself!!! It’ll be enough money to be to do renos and travel in my time off, and four day weekends will permit me to explore even the far flung corners of the Island.

I’m off tomorrow and Tuesday, so I’m going to go hand out resumes in the hopes of getting extra hours for the holiday season, but it sure seems that life will be a bit easier come the new year.