He's Going to be a Charmer in the Future

A few days ago at work I encountered the most sweetest transaction I've done ever since I started working in May.

A little four(?) year old boy that was barely as tall as my register counter anxiously waited in my line, looking left and right repeatedly.

When he got to the front of the line, he reached to hand me two red roses. As I smiled and said thank you, he asked me if I could hurry since it was his Mom's birthday in two days and he didn't want her to know that he was buying these roses for her.

They were the cheapest roses in the store, 99 cents each, but they were half off. When I told him the total was $1.06; pure joy just beamed from his face since I could tell he couldn't read the sign sales all around him.

He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a crumbled one dollar bill and a handful of pennies, thrilled that he had money left over.

I gave him his receipt and he asked me for a bag so his Mom doesn't know what he bought. I handed him his bag and he grinned as wide as he could, exclaiming thank you, and ran to his (7?) year old brother to show him what he bought.

Right before he and his family walked out of the store he gave a smile and a wave in my direction.

It was the most adorable thing ever.

If I don't get married, I'm going to end up as a cat lady.

A week or two ago at work, I encountered my first legitimate cat lady. How did I know that she was a cat lady? I shall explain to you-

1) She had no wedding ring or wedding ring tan line on her left ring finger.

2) She had various colors of fur on her sweater.

3) She was buying Halloween cat ears.

4) She was probably in her late 50s, early 60s.

But what confirmed it all was #5...

5) I asked her if she found everything okay, and she got really mad that we don't carry 'cat blankets'. I told her that we have some small baby blankets in the Wearable section, and that we have fabric so she could make one. But she scoffed and said she'd go elsewhere.

I'm confused, last time I checked Hobby Lobby was a hobby store, not a pet store.

You Know You’re A Rebel When..

1. You’re assembling something and you notice instructions but throw them away.

2. You don’t wash your makeup off before you go to bed.

3. You don’t read the warning label.

4. You don’t walk up the stairs or down the hallway after you turned off the light at night.

5. You see a do not touch sign but you touch it anyway.

6. You don’t use heat protector when you use heat on your hair.

7. You jaywalk and/or text on the crosswalk at BYUI.

8. You don’t crack sunflower shells and eat the seed; you eat the whole thing.

9. You scream on the most calm, soothing ride at an amusement park.

10. You take two pieces of candy/mint/etc when the sign tells you to ‘take one’.

11. You read that the microwaved popcorn should go in for 1 minute 45 seconds. but you put it in for 1 minute 50 seconds instead.

12. You use eye shadow as a lipstick, or any makeup product not for it’s intended use.

13. You swing on the baby swings at the park when you’re not a baby (obviously).

14. You hum or quietly sing to yourself in the 2nd floor (floor of dead silence) of the library (also at BYUI).

15. You Facebook stalk a person far far back and you actually like or comment on things.

16. You eat just one potato chip.

17. You don’t wait for your nail polish to dry in between coats.

18. You wear two different colored socks.

Cashiers and Counterfeit Money

I apologize beforehand that this blog post is not meant to entertain, but more of a post that will let you get to know me better.

As a cashier, I handle hundreds of dollars in cash depending on the day at work. I'm a main cashier who does returns and purchases so often I can do over 200 transactions in an 8 hour shift including two 15 minute breaks and a 45 minute lunch. Some days I get one $50 dollar bill, sometimes I don't see them for weeks. Some days I get a few $100 dollar bills, sometimes I don't get any. But one of the bills I see in dozens are $1's, $5's, and $10's.

At my job we take many precautions so we don't lose company money from counterfeits. We have UV machines that we're supposed to use to check suspicious bills and bills over $50. If you get a bill over $50 you have to check it yourself, and get a CSM (Customer Service Manager) to check it as well.

A week ago, I encountered a peculiar $100 dollar bill; one of over half a dozen during that 8 hour shift. I checked it with the UV machine to see if the UV colored line showed up to ensure it's validity, and nothing appeared. I called over my CSM to see if she could see it, and she didn't. We then called the manager, an assistant manager, and another CSM to try and determine whether it was fake or not. In the end, it was a very, very old $100 where they didn't incorporate a UV light into the bill to help businesses determine whether a bill was counterfeit or not.

Last week I came in contact with a customer who was very rude to me in more ways than one, and seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the store. She paid in cash, and I saw a $5 that didn't look right to me at all. I thought back to when of my CSMs spotted a fake $20 a month earlier, and took into consideration that any amount could be counterfeited. It even felt different so I put the bill in the UV machine nonchalantly, as I tried to keep the conversation light with said customer. I quickly glanced at the bill but I didn't see a colored line appear.

I asked my assistant manager who thankfully happened to be nearby, if it looked fake to her. She asked if there was a colored line and put it in the machine, and then declared it to me that it was just an old $5 bill, and that I missed the line that was faintly glowing. The customer looked at me with a rude, judging look while saying, "Haven't you seen one of these before? His name is Lincoln, in case you didn't know." She and the person that she was with, was laughing to themselves about how I've never seen an old $5 bill, and how I'm so young and naive.

Lets just say that I don't appreciate teasing. At all. I have zero tolerance for teasing, negative sarcasm, playful insults, or anything of the sort. I encounter dozens and dozens of the new $5 dollar bills that look nothing like the new ones. Yes, I may be young, but that doesn't mean I'm naive. When I came in contact with $5 'old' dollar bills when I was younger, I didn't question the validity of them. Now, I see a huge difference in the old and new $5's.

I thought that feeling stupid and the embarrassment had come to an end last week, until my last shift at work. I was giving a customer her cash refund when she said, "I find it funny that you're giving me a $5 for part of my refund; seeing how last Friday you thought I was giving you a fake $5." I looked at her and gave her a fake laugh on how I haven't encountered an old $5 bill since, and I was just doing my job.

She then continued by saying she made a Facebook status about me and the situation, and how all of her friends were laughing at me and they couldn't stop talking about it. She kept going on and on about how hilarious she and her friends thought it was, and once again how young I am. I ignored the rest of her remarks, and kept to myself and only acknowledged her when I had to get her signature for the completion of the return.

I later found out that she's a retail business owner a few streets over. Knowing that, I think she should have acted more professional during that situation. It's common knowledge that experienced cashiers are trained to look for suspicious bills, and most people know that if they make one little mistake during their shift, it goes on their permanent record and the company loses some of their trust for that specific employee.

Emily Fun Fact: Don't tease me, be rude, playfully insult me, or be sarcastic to me. I won't tolerate it.

There are 5(ish) types of people:

I promise you guys, this isn't going to end up me blogging about work all the time. I have a non-work related blog post in the works just as soon as I figure out my angle.

So, as a cashier I confront 5(ish) different types of people (Some customers can be a mix of two, three, or all four):

1) The Eco-Friendly - #1 are usually the older generation, and commonly appear on Saturdays. There are various types of the eco-friendly. #1A will let me ring up their items and start putting their items in a bag. As I get down to their last items, they start grabbing their products out of the plastic bag and into their reusable bag. They give me an annoyed look and haughtily retort, "I brought my own bag, I'm trying to save the environment." I give them an imaginary evil eye and think to myself, "Why didn't you just give me your bag in the beginning so I could have put them in there in the first place?"

#1B is when I have learned from #1A and I ask if they want a bag for their items. They give me a, "I can't believe you just asked me that question" look on their face. It was like I just spat on them, when I simply asked if they wanted a bag. #1B crinkles their nose and remark, "No, I don't want a bag. Everyone should start charging for bags around here, it would make the world a better place."

#1C are the the ones who give me their bag in the very beginning, and often they put their products in their bag for me. They get me.

2) The Nitpicks - #2 buys a large amount of 'breakable', 'scratchable', or 'delicate' items. #2 almost always claim that they are in a hurry, but they insist on having me wrap every. single. item. It almost always doesn't matter that they're holding up the line during our busiest hour of the day, they can't bear the thought of having their precious poly-resin (aka fancy name for plastic) cowboy boot being scratched by other items. They're going home for crying out loud, what are they going to do, start a speed chase with the police and make crazy turns left and right? Come on now! Often they will also ask for individual bags because they have to buy bags back at home.

3) The Sale Reminder - #3 are almost as bad as #2. #3 is almost always a woman, and the name is self explanatory. She knows the store VERY well, and knows that we have manual registers where the cashier has to manually put in the department, price, and discount. There are two types of #3. The more common type #3A; tells me the discount of EVERY item. Now she may think she is helpful, but in reality she is downright annoying. I sometimes appreciate the help at the beginning of the week when we have the new sales*, but by Thursday I know them like the back of my hand.

*Customers often declare, "____________ is 50% off", in hopes to actually getting the item discounted. In reality I can't trust any customers, no matter what their motives are.

Now #3B is quiet, but is intensely staring at my screen to make sure that I get EVERY discount correctly, and if I don't #3B will me know. If either #3A and #3B is wrong and they don't have a 40% off coupon, #3 won't take the item and save it for the next time #3 at the store.

4) The Big Spender - #4 is the complete opposite of #3. It usually starts by #4 flaunting their American Express credit card by first boasting, "You guys don't take American Express, do you?" I point and say that we do. I ring up dozens of items, and she usually spins her credit card in between her fingers while yawning until I'm done ringing up her countless knick-knacks. Sometimes #4 retorts, "You don't have automatic registers? You should change that!" As if I, a meager cashier, really has a say in all of it. Every now and then I tell #4 that a certain item that's higher than $50 isn't on sale, but they merely shrug it off and go about their day as I wave them off silently thanking them for paying for my paycheck.

5) Where's The Bathroom? - #5 asks me where the bathroom is. I tell them where it's at, and I never see them again.

The ones I like the most are #1C, #3B and #4. Why? They don't believe that they're better and have more knowledge than the store than me. Girl please!

"I somewhat felt like a drug dealer."

Haha, really, no joke. I felt like I was doing something illegal at work with my suspicious behavior.

I was one of the main cashiers for my entire shift. My work is known to have weekly sales and it's a rotation that you can predict what will go on sale if you know it well enough like myself.

(For example: if you're addicted to shopping there, or you just pay attention.)

So, I'm not going to lie, our prices are kinda ridiculous unless it's on sale. Now, as a frugal shopper myself, I often feel bad for customers that are buying things that are going on sale in three days.

It goes like this- I see this woman carrying these two candle holders that I recently put together the day before. Candle holders were on sale last week; while candles, LED lights, and all that jazz are on sale this week. It switches off every other week and these two candle holders were the only things that she was buying.

Me: -looks at the discount sheet- "Oh no, these candle holders were on sale 50% last week!"

Customer: "Oh, really? That's horrible! How much is just one then?"

Me: "$64.99 -whispers- But they'll be on sale next week."

Customer: -looks serious- Oh.. really? Then I'll just wait till next week"

Me: "Good idea."

Customer: -looks around- Do you work on Monday?

Me:Yes.

Customer: Great, I'll be back then. -nods-

So, if I was wrong (which I don't think I am), I'm going to feel really bad if candle holders don't go on sale next week, because that woman is going to waste her time coming back.

"Old people love gives me hope for my love life."

So I know I haven't blogged in forever, and I apologize for doing so. Most work days aren't very blog worthy so I'd rather blog about entertaining topics than the opposite.

On Monday, I was at my register ringing up some nice customers and not so nice customers- but this one woman stood out in particular to me. Let's call her... Shaniqua.

(I'm checking out all of her items and putting them in a bag.)

Shaniqua: "I've never been to this store before, it's so quiet!"

Me: "Yeah, if they actually played music with lyrics you know I'd be singing along."

"Well, just make up your own song!"

-opens mouth and stops- "Hm... I'd have to think about it..."

Then I started singing the chorus to this song:



Her reaction?

"OOOOOOOH CHILD! You have a gorgeous voice!"

"Haha, thanks, it's the song that's been stuck in my head all day. I sing in choirs but I never do solos."

"You don't do solos? Ooooh but you should! My church would LOVE to have you in one of our choirs! How old are you?"

"Heh, well I'm too nervous to do solos. I'm 19, but I turn 20 in November."

"Oooh, you're looking young for your age! Child, that is a blessing, that is a BLESSING. We have millions of choirs at my church, I thought you'd do amazing in our youth choir, but it's between ages 12 and 18..."

She recites her Baptist church address up in San Jose.

Shaniqua: "If you ever want to come, I'm sure my choir would hand you over the mic and you could do a little something something in front of everyone!"

"Haha, I'll think about it."

She left waving, and I left work that day with a little bit higher self-esteem pertaining to my singing voice.

Laundry Mishaps, Blood Curling Screams, Pillow Forts, and the Works.

It's been a while, I have to admit. Remember that one time during my Fall semester I promised I'd write a blog post every other week?

HAH!

So, I'm really not going to write a dozen blog posts, I'm just going to give you the highlights of my winter semester, be prepared for a long post, (hey, I’m not making you read this.)

I started off my semester by being able to drive down to Utah with Mitchell singing Phantom of the Opera to my hearts content and go to my first ever NBA game; The Portland Trailblazers vs the Utah Jazz.


I don’t want to mention who won.

But that's not the main reason why I went. I visited Orem so I could go to my first niece Kayla's baby blessing!


Isn't she absolutely precious?

~~~

Another great memory I had was when Jade and I went to the bathroom at church in the Snow building to primp ourselves, and we encounter a plant sitting on a toilet.


We called him Jasper! I walked in that building Sunday-Friday so I'd always try to find Jasper and say hello to him. You know, plants need love too!

~~~

Erik was over at our apartment a lot. I like to call him my son (to this very day) considering I was FHE Mom last semester, and he was in my FHE family. One night last semester I asked if I could put a clear coat of nail polish on his fingernails, and he surprisingly said yes!

Why I'm so surprised is because he hasn't let ANYONE paint his nails. Not his sister who is girly like myself, no one. Do I feel pretty special or what?

So this semester, I asked once again if I could paint his nails again. Amazingly enough, he said yes once again, but I was able to use a little color and glitter on his nails this time around! Heh heh heh…




He is SUCH a good sport, isn’t he?! =D

~~~

Now, as you all know that Idaho is known for its chilly days. I have the luxury of being able to walk in foot tall piles of snow and not be fazed by it whatsoever because of my boots.

By my apartment complex, there’s about a foot tall of snow that covers the entire area, except a trodden down path that is used as a shortcut. Once you get off the shortcut, you have to endure a natural made ice rink to go along your way.

I'm not going to lie, I relished each time I walked on that said area, because I never took the shortcut! I would always walk in the snow pile in a drunken-like manner so people would think, "What the heck was that person on when they were walking?"

But this time, walking on the snow was different. I wanted to see if I could stay on top of the snow, instead of sink right through.

I took my sweet sweet precious time. Step after step, I was able to walk on top of the snow pile without sinking through. After I got to the edge of the ice rink I threw my fist in the air and said, "I am Jesus!"

(For those who don’t get it, Jesus walks on water. Snow is water, therefore, I proclaimed I was Jesus.)

Pretty proud of myself, I walked onto the ice rink without much of a thought.

I slipped and fell to the ground instantaneously.

God has a sense of humor doesn't he?

~~~

Laundry: one of the worst chores in the world. Doing laundry up in college is even worse considering you have to pay for it, but this another reason why I loathe it.



For those who really don't know what that is because you never see what I wear, those are my socks and shirts that are dripping wet after being put in the dryer.

One night I was doing my laundry like how I always do my laundry. I used washer #6, yes, I remember. I get my clothes out of the dryer and I notice they're a little bit more wet than usual. I shrug it off because I had homework to do so I put them in dryer #2.

Forty five minutes later I get my clothes and I thought that someone had opened the dryer to see if it was available, and then never turned it on again.

WRONG.

I pressed the start button over and over again, but alas, the dryer cycle has been run. I wrung my clothes in the laundry room and water was seeping onto the floor.

I was completely livid.

It was ten minutes before curfew, so I couldn't put them in the dryer again, (not that I wanted to fork over another dollar in quarters) so I took them home, heavier than ever.

Oh, I was not pleased.

I sprawled everything out to dry in my room, hoping and praying that my clothes would dry before morning, considering I had washed every single pair of jeans and unmentionables in that one load of laundry,

My prayers weren't answered.

I went to the manager of the apartment complex, secretly hiding my fuming anger. She gave me a sympathetic look, and gave me an extra dollar to let me dry them again.

Apparently the washer was broken and they thanked me profusely for letting them know and John the repairman went to go fix washer #6 immediately so my story would not be repeated.

Round two of drying, it didn't work. I had to use my own quarters for the third time before my clothes got completely dry.

Normally I wouldn't really care about having some damp clothes, is that I was singing at devotional today and my ENTIRE all black ensemble was in the pile of dripping wet clothes.

I kid you not when I say Jade and I literally dried my outfit with a hair dryer right before I left.

I haven't used washer #6 since.

~~~

This story, all starts out with Henry. You may think that Henry is a boy, but in reality Henry is just a scooter that Jade and I decided to name. Oh how I love Henry!

It was a Friday night, and we’ve noticed that a scooter along our staircase that has been abandoned for far too long. Jade and I decided that hey, scooters need some love too, why not let Henry fulfill his purpose and bring great joy to college students such as ourselves?

But of course, we couldn’t start this epic Friday night out without the proper attire:


We rode to our hearts content!

We went left



We went right



We went everywhere!

We batmanned.



Well, sort of.



Stuff ourselves into dryers





We were on a sugar high from Jones Soda and mint Oreos, and laughed and laughed about photos that we had taken the entire night, probably pictures that only her and I appreciate.

You can say it was pretty much one of the best Fridays of the semester.

~~~

Am I boring you yet? Either way, I’m going to continue typing, (38,000 feet in the air at 461mph, no big deal).

Grant and I went to BYUI’s opera, Tartuffe to support our friends that were in the play. (Sam, if you’re reading this, you did amazing!) We enjoyed adding witty commentary, while reading the captions that were off to the side of the stage considering we really couldn’t understand what they were singing at times.

But afterwards, is when I became a little kid again. As some of you know, I have a very short attention span, so I don’t watch very many movies. Grant was appalled when he heard that I haven’t seen the newest Batman movie, so he suggested that we should go over to his apartment and wait for it- make a PILLOW FORT.

HECK YES I WANT TO BUILD A PILLOW FORT.

I haven’t made a pillow fort ever since I was a little kid! (Okay technically it was a blanket fort but you get the idea).


You see him? He’s the reason for another one of the best Fridays ever.

~~~

Now this tale, I will deny if you ask me about it in person. We were in the lounge during the Sunday morning session of General Conference. Afterwards, Jade, Kristin, and I all declared that we needed to take a shower still. The competitiveness in me wanted me to be the first person in the shower, so naturally I did.

I was home alone, pondering about life- the past, present, and future in the shower. Okay okay, in reality I was shaving and I was concentrating on not cutting myself.

Then all of a sudden, a shadow overcomes me on the other side of the curtain. Panicking, I peek behind the shower curtain to see what caused this drastic change.

I see a hooded figure, and without thinking I let out this most blood curling scream I’ve ever released in my entire life.

I hear laughter, familiar laughter. JADE. Apparently, Kristin gave Jade a penny to unlock the bathroom door, and she wanted to scare me for the third time this semester.

If I wasn’t already sitting down because of shaving, I would have literally slipped and fallen to the floor. I was so startled because I thought it was some stranger (because I thought I was alone) I started to tear up.

Everyone in the apartment heard my scream.

Everyone.

~~~

Now that I’m back on solid ground in California, I must wait till Fall to go back to college, and how I miss everyone so.


So… does anyone know who’s hiring in my area?