My day off

Yesterday morning I got a call that woke me up.  I picked up the phone and groaned when I saw that it was Chiy.  Somebody called off work and he wants me to come in, I thought.  I checked the time... it was 11:41 am.  Ok, he probably wants me to come in at 2:00, so I can at least get some more sleep.  I drifted off again and the phone rang again...

I answered it and Chiy started off by offering me, in a very apologetic and nervously roundabout way (which I barely understood, due to his accent), an arrangement for Sundays schedule in that instead of working 2:00 to 10:00 I could come in whenever I wanted, do my ordering, and then leave... and would I please come in and work today because both Brittney and Matius called off?

Well heck.  What other boss would go to that kind of trouble, in such an obsequious manner, to try to make it as pleasant as possible for an assistant manager to simply perform one of the duties included in the job description, which is covering for sick employees?   

Chiy sprung a schedule change on me once that conflicted with church, and I complained about it like a whiney child.  Because of and since my little tirade, Chiy has been reluctant to call me in to work on my day off for fear of interrupting any church plans I might have, and he's worked double shifts several times as a result.  When I realized that he could have called me at those times but instead chose to work double shifts, I felt rotten.  The other day I told him not to hesitate to call me if he needed me to cover for somebody.

So here's what happened on my day off at work yesterday:

1.  A customer was buying a 2 liter of Coke and a bag of chips.  I steamrollered the bag of chips when I knocked his 2 liter over.  It just rolled inexorably over the bag... it didn't even slow down.  In a way, it was just completely awesome.

2.  A pimply faced Asian teenager and her... boyfriend?  'Big Brother' sponsor?  Stepdad?  The guy she was with was heavy set, looked to be in his early 30's, and definitely wasn't Asian - more like backwoods hillbilly.  Anyway, these two stood outside for a while and I couldn't help but notice the Asian had a big ole frowny face.  She was looking at the Red Box while big brother picked out a movie.  She didn't seem pleased with his choice.  After this she came into the store, Miss Frowny Face, and headed over to the donuts. 

Then big brother came in and declared, "I am so hungry.  I mean, you don't know how hungry I am.  Come on, lets go!  We don't have time for donuts!"

Frowny face pouted.  "I want a donut!"

"No time!" said brother hillbilly.  "Come on, lets go, I am SO
 HUNGRY!  I'm STARVING!"

"But I wanted some coffee," bleated frowny face as she followed him out. 

"You just don't understand how hungry I am..." and his voice faded as they exited the store.  I thought they were gone, but after about half a minute Frowny face came back in and headed over to the coffee pots and poured a cup.  I looked outside and saw hillbilly brother standing next to the car with the door open, waiting with his arms crossed, looking as if he was about to drop dead from starvation.  Frowny face was smiling as she paid for her coffee. 

3.  At one point I was talking to Brian when he suddenly laughed and exclaimed, "Look at that!"  I followed him over to the hot dog grill.  Yup, those hot dogs were trying to escape again.  One had already fallen onto the floor, and another had fallen onto the grease catcher beneath the grill.  The other two were in the process of escaping, with one half on one roller and half on another, and the other wedged between the last roller and the edge of the grill.  It had gotten stuck.

4.  Chiy gave me a Twisted Tea hat.  It looks exactly like something a podunk hillbilly would wear.  It was part of a promotional package for Twisted Tea, the new wave in alcohol consumption - iced tea with 5.5% alcohol.  Two bottles came with the promo package; one was regular and the other was lemon.  Chiy said, "Here, I give these to you."  He handed me the bottles.  "You take home and drink and then tell me if it good.  If it good, we order it and see if it sell."  So, I took home and I try, and it taste just like tea.  Tea with alcohol in it.  I call Chiy a few minutes ago and tell him that it have no carbonation, it taste just like tea with alcohol in it.  I tell him that I like it, that maybe we try to sell it.  Maybe customer like, maybe not, but is worth trying, I tell him.  So we order some Twisted Tea and see if people like.  If they like, we sell.  If they don't, I take home and drink, I guess.