And Now the Day is Done
Yesterday was awful. With Jen gone, Paul still out, and Billy off, I was once again put in charge. Yeah... it was a big truck. It was a while before help came. Break packs weren't finished when we finally left for lunch (with as few people as we had, I neglected them in order to work the line and thus they piled up in the beginning). To remedy that, I clocked in half an hour early and just barely finished them before we had to pull pallets... which also didn't go so well (the whole three people thing with the dead weight associate on the side *coughKathycough*). Because it took so long to pull, we didn't get to picks until late, and they were far from completion. I volunteered to stay an extra hour to help, but yeah. Epic fail on my part. >.<
...Management seemed somewhat forgiving though. Reasonably irritated (given that in the near-year I've been working, I think I've only seen it be anywhere as bad twice maybe) but not as much as I'd expected them to be. I think they understand that being lead means stepping into some pretty big shoes- not good if you have such small feet. I get an 'A' for effort, but really it looks pretty ridiculous.
I was preparing myself for the horror of a today, which probably should have been a repeat of yesterday except with a monster truck (as opposed to just a big one), but luckily Billy showed up to save my ass be lead for the day again.
And... the truck got done. At right about eight (our lunch time), with me finishing break packs shortly after. Even with an interruption or two and some other setbacks.
Why yes, I am a wee bit jealous. But that's probably the main difference between our jaunts as lead. Billy basically demands you do your best and what he expects that best to be whereas I tell you what we need to do and just hope to God that you do it. ^_^;
Anyways. Besides my epic failures at being in charge, I do still seem to be quite valuable as a subordinate. When we were rushing to get things done, Billy called me the 'dependable one', and I was told by one of the managers tonight that they appreciate how cooperative I am with the tasks I'm given. Yay for the sunny side!
For an even sunnier side, a discussion on money that doesn't involve woe!
So a few days ago, the store manager walked into the back room. No big deal- seen him plenty of times there before. He's a pretty nice guy actually- kinda quiet, but very efficient. Hence being the store manager and all.
The worrisome bit happened when he walked over to me and requested to talk to me privately for a minute.
My little alarm bells were going off loudly at that point (they tend to sound like 'ohshitohfuck'), and my evil imagination was off creating several horrible scenarios as to why he might need to talk to me. I got this conversation:
Store Manager: So, today the minimum wage went up.
Pi: ...Huh?
Store Manager: Well see, since you make the minimum amount for your pay grade, this means your wages have also been bumped up.
Pi: Oh. That's cool!
Store Manager: Extra money is always great!
The funny part though is that a few months ago, Billy got a raise at his year evaluation (they are required to give one after the first year), and therefore didn't get this raise. Whereas my evaluation didn't take place until today, at which I got my year's raise. He whined considerably, but with his second job he makes way more money then me anyways, so he didn't complain for long.
But yes. Come September, it will take effect and I'll be making just over eight dollars an hour. I am pleased. :D
Moving away from work stuff- I've been watching movies. It came to my realization the other day that I have never read any of the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Chronicles of Narnia books- nor seen the movies inspired from them. I've decided to remedy this and watched the first five Harry Potter films (movies are shorter, and I hate skimming through books if I end up not liking them).
I found them... okay. Not horrible, but I wasn't terribly impressed, either. They were kinda confusing in places, and I actually found myself more interested with some of the side characters than any of the more featured protagonists/antagonists. In their defense though, they did progressively get better with each new movie, so I didn't get bored either.
Moving on- I decided to save Narnia and LOTR for another time and instead rented Coraline. Holy SHIT. What an awesome movie! I am a secret fan of stop motion (James and the Giant Peach is love) to begin with, but I found myself completely enchanted with the story and the characters even more (as it should be). The people all acted like people- with the variety of adults both busy and strange to the antics of the children. Ah, how nice it is to see a movie where kids act like kids, with all their strengths and weaknesses! I loved that none were dumbed down, and how that they got along about as much as they were annoyed/weirded out by one another. The Other World was also really cool- from the colorful awesomeness at it's beginning to the creepy turn it took.
I love this movie to bits. It wasn't rushed at all- it was a rather smooth and enjoyable ride. I went looking for the book it's based on when I found about it and was kinda sad to see Wybie was just made up for the movie, but I still think I'll read it. ^_^
And now for bed. Will talk about the trip I'm going on tomorrow before I leave. XD