Sample conversation from work.
Customer who has just finished paying: "Where can I find a cup?"
Me: "Cups are on aisle six!"
Customer: "Oh, but I don't want to buy one."
Me: "Get out of my store, then. Have a nice day!"
*coughs* That last part may be just the slightest bit exaggerated. I usually just tell them to try McDonald's, actually.
People are stupid.
Also learned recently that my dad must have used up all of the "stupid risktaking and almost dying" karma and-slash-or genes in the family. Apparently, he and a friend once tried to dine and dash at a (get ready for this) cop bar. Apparently, they didn't know it was a cop bar at the time, but the fact remains.
And that my grandma apparently voted for Jesse Jackson as a younger woman. XD This amuses me more than it should, especially after my dad told me about how she used the fact to get rid of a bunch of cops loitering around her job.
Another thing my dad, brother and I were talking about last night is names. My brother has a great name, if you ask me. Daddy decided long before I was born that he would name his first son after his grandfather, Samuel. My great-grandfather died about a month before I was born, so my grandma tried to get my parents to name me Sam in some fashion or another. They resisted this, I guess, because they figured if they had one, they might as well have another.
Also rejected were Savannah and Jessica. Savannah was apparently my mom's first choice and Jessica is one of my dad's favorite songs, but they decided the first didn't fit and the second was too common. "Kaley" was apparently an unusual name at the time, and my spelling of it still isn't the most prevalent. (I think it's still "Kaylee." Which is, I think, the ugliest-looking one. If I couldn't be Kaley, I'd rather be Kali, Kailey, or Kaleigh.)
One of the weird coincidences in my life is that my parents have the same middle name. My dad's stepfather-at-the-time was named Lynn and I guess my mom's parents just thought it sounded nice with "Karen," so there you go. They decided to give it to me, too, because why not?
Around the time my brother was born, my mom's father got very sick. He died when I was two or three and Sam was just a baby, so they decided to name Sam after him, too.
Here's the thing, though: I'm not sure I even know what my grandfather's name is. Or my grandmother's. Grandpa was always called "Jim" and Grandma was "Mona," but a lot of my grandmother's mail was addressed to "Lucy." My brother's middle name was supposed to be "James," after our grandfather, but apparently James was his middle name, and his birth name was Alpha James. My grandmother's birth certificate said "Lucy," but apparently the registrar made a mistake, because Lucy is my great-grandmother's name. I've heard conflicting information about whether or not they ever corrected this in their lives. (And there's no headstone to check, because they were both cremated and tossed into the ocean.)
So. Samuel James. Pretty good name, right? But then my parents realize that that would make him the only person in the family whose middle name wasn't Lynn. And they were afraid he would feel left out--but they couldn't lose the Samuel or the James, so they just shoved the Lynn in at the last second.
The thing is, neither Sam nor I are entirely sure if he has two middle names or two first names. My parents can't really agree on it, either. Mom says his given name is Samuel James, Dad said he just has four names so deal with it. Most official forms give you room for "middle initial," and I've never asked how Sam fills those out. His middle school records said "Samuel Lynn Tate," but his high school records said "Samuel James Tate." Neither of which sounds "right" in my head.
Although, to be honest, "Samuel" never sounds right in my head. I don't think it's that common a name; I've never met a Samuel besides my brother, and nobody ever calls him "Samuel." He's just "Sam." "Sammy" if I feel patronizing.
Sam and I were talking about passing on names, and he figures he'll probably name a kid James, since that lets him name a kid after his grandfather and his father, sorta-kinda. I said name him James Samuel, and he said no. I kind of plan on using the name Samuel, even if it's just for a dog. (Sam: "Oh, yeah. Thanks.") I also have to use a K name, because my mom and I have the same initials. Katie is a little too similar to Kaley, so I think I'll probably end up using Katherine or Kathryn. Or maybe Kara. My mom had an older sister who died in infancy, and her name was Catherine, so there you go.
Me: "Cups are on aisle six!"
Customer: "Oh, but I don't want to buy one."
Me: "Get out of my store, then. Have a nice day!"
*coughs* That last part may be just the slightest bit exaggerated. I usually just tell them to try McDonald's, actually.
People are stupid.
Also learned recently that my dad must have used up all of the "stupid risktaking and almost dying" karma and-slash-or genes in the family. Apparently, he and a friend once tried to dine and dash at a (get ready for this) cop bar. Apparently, they didn't know it was a cop bar at the time, but the fact remains.
And that my grandma apparently voted for Jesse Jackson as a younger woman. XD This amuses me more than it should, especially after my dad told me about how she used the fact to get rid of a bunch of cops loitering around her job.
Another thing my dad, brother and I were talking about last night is names. My brother has a great name, if you ask me. Daddy decided long before I was born that he would name his first son after his grandfather, Samuel. My great-grandfather died about a month before I was born, so my grandma tried to get my parents to name me Sam in some fashion or another. They resisted this, I guess, because they figured if they had one, they might as well have another.
Also rejected were Savannah and Jessica. Savannah was apparently my mom's first choice and Jessica is one of my dad's favorite songs, but they decided the first didn't fit and the second was too common. "Kaley" was apparently an unusual name at the time, and my spelling of it still isn't the most prevalent. (I think it's still "Kaylee." Which is, I think, the ugliest-looking one. If I couldn't be Kaley, I'd rather be Kali, Kailey, or Kaleigh.)
One of the weird coincidences in my life is that my parents have the same middle name. My dad's stepfather-at-the-time was named Lynn and I guess my mom's parents just thought it sounded nice with "Karen," so there you go. They decided to give it to me, too, because why not?
Around the time my brother was born, my mom's father got very sick. He died when I was two or three and Sam was just a baby, so they decided to name Sam after him, too.
Here's the thing, though: I'm not sure I even know what my grandfather's name is. Or my grandmother's. Grandpa was always called "Jim" and Grandma was "Mona," but a lot of my grandmother's mail was addressed to "Lucy." My brother's middle name was supposed to be "James," after our grandfather, but apparently James was his middle name, and his birth name was Alpha James. My grandmother's birth certificate said "Lucy," but apparently the registrar made a mistake, because Lucy is my great-grandmother's name. I've heard conflicting information about whether or not they ever corrected this in their lives. (And there's no headstone to check, because they were both cremated and tossed into the ocean.)
So. Samuel James. Pretty good name, right? But then my parents realize that that would make him the only person in the family whose middle name wasn't Lynn. And they were afraid he would feel left out--but they couldn't lose the Samuel or the James, so they just shoved the Lynn in at the last second.
The thing is, neither Sam nor I are entirely sure if he has two middle names or two first names. My parents can't really agree on it, either. Mom says his given name is Samuel James, Dad said he just has four names so deal with it. Most official forms give you room for "middle initial," and I've never asked how Sam fills those out. His middle school records said "Samuel Lynn Tate," but his high school records said "Samuel James Tate." Neither of which sounds "right" in my head.
Although, to be honest, "Samuel" never sounds right in my head. I don't think it's that common a name; I've never met a Samuel besides my brother, and nobody ever calls him "Samuel." He's just "Sam." "Sammy" if I feel patronizing.
Sam and I were talking about passing on names, and he figures he'll probably name a kid James, since that lets him name a kid after his grandfather and his father, sorta-kinda. I said name him James Samuel, and he said no. I kind of plan on using the name Samuel, even if it's just for a dog. (Sam: "Oh, yeah. Thanks.") I also have to use a K name, because my mom and I have the same initials. Katie is a little too similar to Kaley, so I think I'll probably end up using Katherine or Kathryn. Or maybe Kara. My mom had an older sister who died in infancy, and her name was Catherine, so there you go.