Bitter

Yes, I know I'm a fairly bitter person. Why do I say this? Simply because it's true.

Right now, I work in retail. Every day, I end up getting so frustrated that I scream to the rafters of the store with my agitation. I go in, I do my job and then some, and then go home. I work for little more than minimum wage, and there's no sign of advancement in the near or even distant future. That's enough to make someone a little put-off, but that isn't really enough to force someone into being bitter.

No, what makes me bitter is the fact that I sit here, with literal POUNDS of physical paperwork proving that I have the intelligence to run two fair-sized companies by myself, or at least one big one. I am someone who must do, and not read. I don't learn by sitting in a chair behind a desk and writing things down repeatedly. I learn by blowing things up, breaking things, and basically having fun.

I've been a bartender, a journalist in the U.S. Army, a deli lady in a grocery store, a salesperson in a retail company, a receptionist for multiple companies, and an overnight stocker for two separate megastores. Still, none of that counts as real experience in the business world. I just have people's words, my word, and some pay stubs to prove I've done them. I never took any true training for them (excluding the Army, of course), and I've never had a shoe-in to any job. I've never had a friend line one up for me, or give me a hand up. I've never had someone encourage me and inspire me to the thought that the pounds of paperwork I have is truly accurate in its assessment of my abilities. All I've ever gotten is the shit-end of the stick.

In the retail job I currently work at, I'm stocking the clothing department of a supermart. I won't say which one, because I definitely don't need to lose the only job I currently have. Usually, I have about 2-3 pallets that I have to stock in the night. It wouldn't be so unreasonable if the boxes were actually decent-sized and didn't hold so much stuff. I also happen to have no assistance with working the freight, so I'm all on my lonesome doing a job that the company requires two people to do. Yet another reason for me to be bitter. And of course, I get punished for each day where I'm stuck working passed my scheduled shift simply because I can't leave freight on the floor, and I was told to "work until your carts are empty." And that's a lot of stuff! On a light day, it takes two associates. On a heavy day, it would take three. All I ever have to work with is me, so on light days I get out after my 7th or 8th hour on the clock. On a heavy day, my shift usually passes the 10 hour mark, and I've even reached 13 in a day once. And you people bitch when you have to work 9 hours at decent pay!

But I digress. My biggest pet peeve there are the clothes themselves. Pants love falling off those shoddy plastic clip hangers, while the folded shirts need constant attention. Organizing the department takes a good five hours on its own, and I'm not being paid to organize. I'm being paid to stock. And when the cardboard compactor (bailer) is full or inaccessible? I fix it. We'll have up to three pallets' worth of cardboard sitting around, by, and in a line TO the bailer room every night when our shift begins, simply because dayshift is too lazy to clean up after themselves OR stock anything properly. But you know, I'm not smart enough to figure that out. I'm just a "good worker". I have no leadership abilities. After all, the Army trains you to be a weak follower of orders, RIGHT? RIGHT??

Anyways, I guess my point is this: If you don't know how to fold a shirt up properly, just throw it on top. I don't care if it looks crappy. It's easier than having to find it folded poorly in a few months. Plus, there's a shift of workers that's actually supposed to do that job. The only problem is, if it's done half-assed, they won't touch it and they'll figure it's "good enough".

My next blog will probably be about driving, though in all honesty, I could probably do a good five or six blogposts on that alone. Maybe more...