Get Off My Lawn
Sunday's Hat:
Yes, I've worn the baseball cap version of this bejeweled bucket hat, with the same shirt.
We got a load of new cloche hats for fall. Cloches are good on me so I'll definitely try them all.
The shift was "normal," nothing to report. I helped to close the store...Carter (keyholder) went to the sock kiosk to help them close, Jordan (keyholder) finalized our drawers and re-sorted most of the sized hats, and I swept, mopped, wiped the mirrors and windows, and helped with hat re-sorting.
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Monday I checked on all of my plants. Will have to bring the pineapple and lemon in under the overhang of our roof for the next few days, they've had more rain than they'd like. It feels like the bananas have been growing forever; I keep checking them to see if they've started yellowing but so far they're all still green. I wonder how much longer it'll be. (Edit: Have looked back, and it's only been about two months! They've got at least 2-3 months to go!)
The petunia is not doing well outdoors, it's yellowing and wilting so I'm bringing it back inside. Very annoyed because I've been following "internet advice" about how to care for it, and every time I take that advice my plant seems to get worse. Most people are probably thinking of their own climates and needs when giving advice, not considering, you know...FLORIDA.
Today's hat is one of the new felt cloche hats in grey and black. Sadly it's not a great fit but I do like the style anyway.
The big excitement today was a guy who bought two Panama hats from me, then came back later and bought three more! Each Panama hat in our store is AT LEAST $120, most range from $180-$300. And he casually bought five. Needless to say we reached and exceeded our sales goal primarily due to this Panama Hat Mogul.
I also discovered my pet peeve about working at the hat shop: large organized groups (bridal showers, birthday parties, etc) packing into the shop not to buy anything, but to have a free photo op.
We had two such groups last night and despite my best effort to smile and put on a good face I could not have been more angry and annoyed. It's between 8-20 people cramming into our tiny shop, all wearing matching "I'm with the Birthday Girl" shirts or those stupid bridal shower sashes or whatever; then going to the shelves and grabbing the zaniest hats they can find, ripping the delicate handmade fascinators off their clips and damaging them, throwing hats on the floor or on random shelves after each photo. Taking up a massive amount of floor space to do photo ops, forcing everyone to squeeze around them. Twenty grown-ass adult women, screaming and squeeing and making duck faces for the camera. And then they leave the store in an absolute mess that we have to clean up while actual customers are waiting to be helped.
"It's my special day!" is not an excuse to devolve into a selfish pig.
When the second group like this came in last night (a bunch of teens, for someone's birthday) I stayed as far on the opposite side of the store as possible and made myself busy. Not sure if my coworkers noticed my avoidance, and I don't really care. I signed an employment contract to sell hats and provide excellent CUSTOMER service, not to babysit. If someone's there to shop or ask directions or even complain about something, I'll always be kind, and I'll be happy to clean up after people. But I'm not going to hover around these groups who are obviously NOT shopping and force a smile while they damage the merch right in front of my face for a photo op.
The social expectation, I'm sure, is for us to be good little retail slaves, bend over, and take it. But I think everyone who has followed this blog knows that when it comes to socially-expected groveling, sugar-coating, and spoon-feeding, I'm pretty much the worst.
Anyway. Majority of the night was fine and writing about this gets it off my chest for the moment.
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Tuesday I was up early for Papa Pals. Both visits were at the same memory care facility that I visited last week.
Visit 1 - didn't really "happen" haha. The resident has dementia and could not string a sentence together that made any sense, but she was very physically active, so there was a nurse stationed right outside her door (she's a flight/wandering risk.) She had her own apartment, it was like a nice little hotel room. I wouldn't mind something like that if I retire! (I'll never be able to afford something so lovely.)
She didn't even want to invite me in, but I was determined to try, knowing that sometimes dementia patients need to be sort of distracted into focusing on activities if that makes sense. I tried asking if she had any cleaning that I could help with because she'd been gathering trash when I entered, but she said no. I tried asking about herself but this looked like it confused her, so I kind of told her a bit about myself, then tried to engage her in conversations...Travel? Weather? Current events? Didn't work, she started to insist that I leave. I asked if she wanted to go for a walk, play a game, listen to an audiobook, watch a movie, clean up? She refused all of this and seemed really anxious to get back to trash-gathering.
So I said, "It was nice to meet you. I'll visit again later!" She looked relieved. I left.
The nurse outside laughed. "She kicks me out most of the time, too."
I texted the social services director to let him know I'd be ending the visit early, and he invited me to his office to meet some of his employees. We chatted about misc care opportunities, and he recommended some facilities that I could apply to. I'll tweak a resume for him but am not expecting anything to come of it.
True to promise, after 30 minutes I went back up to the resident's room to see if she'd forgotten me and/or might be up for a visit. I knocked and there was no answer, so with the nurse's permission I peeked in. She was napping. So that was that.
I ate lunch in a lobby area, then it was time for Visit 2.
I lucked out on this visit, it was a disabled gentleman in an electric wheelchair, with no teeth but a whole working brain and a lot of snark :P He was waiting for lunch in a dining area so I sat with him, introduced myself and asked him about himself. Because he had no teeth he was difficult to understand, but he was patient and usually by the 4th or 5th repetition I got what he'd said. So I learned that he was a middle child of eight kids, had been born disabled, and had grown up in poverty so had spent much of his youth crawling around because he couldn't walk and the family couldn't afford a wheelchair or medical treatment. He has a brother that visits sometimes.
The food took a while to show up so we walked the halls a bit. He showed me his room, and photos of his grandma and brothers. She was wearing a lovely church outfit complete with a fancy organza hat, and I told him I'm currently working in a hat shop. We chatted about all sorts of things, throwing especial snark for the cost of nursing facilities like this one. I said I wouldn't mind retiring here and he guffawed at that. I told him about Jameson and I, and like most Elders he was amazed that we aren't married and suggested I quit waiting for a proposal and take matters into my own hands!
At some point he asked if I had any music, saying gospel was his favorite. I searched up a gospel mix on my phone and played it for him, he knew all of the songs and sang along badly, loudly, and proudly. I knew two of the songs and sang those along with him :)
Eventually his food showed up: New England clam chowder, and mashed potatoes with gravy. There was a "food requirements" menu stuck to his tray so I read it, and it was pretty much any food you could imagine except pureed. He asked if I'd help him eat and I agreed, though I felt quite awkward about it. I think he found this amusing. At one point I dropped some potato on his bib and muttered, "Sorry, I haven't really done this before," and he cackled and said, "Yeah I can see that!!"
"Shaddup!" I whined while he laughed at me, and a passing nurse said, "M___, don't pick on her!"
I said, "Oh I think he's being NICE right now, imagine if he were ACTUALLY being mean!" and he had a good laugh about that too.
After he was finished I walked him back to his room, thanked him for the visit, and we hugged goodbye. I also asked if there was a food that he missed, that he couldn't get here, and he whispered, "Milkshakes!" I promised that if I get another visit with him, I'll sneak him a milkshake ;) Ssssh don't rat me out!
As I was leaving he said, "You take care now, don't stay here too long or they'll charge you!" and I snarked back, "Be careful to get all that mashed potato in your mouth, they'll charge for any you drop!" And he was laughing as I walked away.
What a cool dude. I really do hope I get another visit with him.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
On the way home I stopped for groceries, treating myself to these huge muscadine grapes.
We had a wild muscadine in the backyard when I was little, and my sisters and I would eat them while playing outside. They were small, tough, and chewy, with tart fruit and sweet but tannin-filled skins that made one's mouth feel funny. But they tasted great and I loved the chewy texture of them. These are not as tart or chewy as my childhood grapes, but the skins taste the same and they definitely give me nostalgia to eat :)
For dinner I made keto empanadas again, in which the empanada dough is replaced with ground chicken and filled with whatever-you-feel. Last time I followed a recipe that was jalapeno popper inspired; this time I invented my own "pizza poppers," filling each one with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, little mushroom pieces, and pepperoni. Coated them in parmesan cheese and spices, and air friend 'em. They were pretty good but next time I want to season the chicken better.
Before bed I got a message from a coworker asking if I'd cover his shift. Yes! That would bring me up to 29 hours for the week and I could use the money.
Now that the petunia is back inside I'm doing some photo ops again :)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I woke to find that my coworker had taken his shift back so I was stuck with my day off again. Not that I don't appreciate a day off, too. I'd planned to cram in all sorts of chores and some exercise, but it was thundering by lunchtime so I practiced trombone for longer than usual, watched the Cubs game with Jameson (it was a riveting one,) and kind of didn't do much all day.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: The plan is to go for a walk, practice, shop for cheap shirts and fall scents at Marshalls, and cook dinner.
Friday: Jameson is going to a friend's party in Miami for the night, so while he's gone I'll dust our bookshelf and vacuum, practice, night shift at the hat shop.
Saturday: No plans except night shift at the hat shop.
Yes, I've worn the baseball cap version of this bejeweled bucket hat, with the same shirt.
We got a load of new cloche hats for fall. Cloches are good on me so I'll definitely try them all.
The shift was "normal," nothing to report. I helped to close the store...Carter (keyholder) went to the sock kiosk to help them close, Jordan (keyholder) finalized our drawers and re-sorted most of the sized hats, and I swept, mopped, wiped the mirrors and windows, and helped with hat re-sorting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday I checked on all of my plants. Will have to bring the pineapple and lemon in under the overhang of our roof for the next few days, they've had more rain than they'd like. It feels like the bananas have been growing forever; I keep checking them to see if they've started yellowing but so far they're all still green. I wonder how much longer it'll be. (Edit: Have looked back, and it's only been about two months! They've got at least 2-3 months to go!)
The petunia is not doing well outdoors, it's yellowing and wilting so I'm bringing it back inside. Very annoyed because I've been following "internet advice" about how to care for it, and every time I take that advice my plant seems to get worse. Most people are probably thinking of their own climates and needs when giving advice, not considering, you know...FLORIDA.
Today's hat is one of the new felt cloche hats in grey and black. Sadly it's not a great fit but I do like the style anyway.
The big excitement today was a guy who bought two Panama hats from me, then came back later and bought three more! Each Panama hat in our store is AT LEAST $120, most range from $180-$300. And he casually bought five. Needless to say we reached and exceeded our sales goal primarily due to this Panama Hat Mogul.
I also discovered my pet peeve about working at the hat shop: large organized groups (bridal showers, birthday parties, etc) packing into the shop not to buy anything, but to have a free photo op.
We had two such groups last night and despite my best effort to smile and put on a good face I could not have been more angry and annoyed. It's between 8-20 people cramming into our tiny shop, all wearing matching "I'm with the Birthday Girl" shirts or those stupid bridal shower sashes or whatever; then going to the shelves and grabbing the zaniest hats they can find, ripping the delicate handmade fascinators off their clips and damaging them, throwing hats on the floor or on random shelves after each photo. Taking up a massive amount of floor space to do photo ops, forcing everyone to squeeze around them. Twenty grown-ass adult women, screaming and squeeing and making duck faces for the camera. And then they leave the store in an absolute mess that we have to clean up while actual customers are waiting to be helped.
"It's my special day!" is not an excuse to devolve into a selfish pig.
When the second group like this came in last night (a bunch of teens, for someone's birthday) I stayed as far on the opposite side of the store as possible and made myself busy. Not sure if my coworkers noticed my avoidance, and I don't really care. I signed an employment contract to sell hats and provide excellent CUSTOMER service, not to babysit. If someone's there to shop or ask directions or even complain about something, I'll always be kind, and I'll be happy to clean up after people. But I'm not going to hover around these groups who are obviously NOT shopping and force a smile while they damage the merch right in front of my face for a photo op.
The social expectation, I'm sure, is for us to be good little retail slaves, bend over, and take it. But I think everyone who has followed this blog knows that when it comes to socially-expected groveling, sugar-coating, and spoon-feeding, I'm pretty much the worst.
Anyway. Majority of the night was fine and writing about this gets it off my chest for the moment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I was up early for Papa Pals. Both visits were at the same memory care facility that I visited last week.
Visit 1 - didn't really "happen" haha. The resident has dementia and could not string a sentence together that made any sense, but she was very physically active, so there was a nurse stationed right outside her door (she's a flight/wandering risk.) She had her own apartment, it was like a nice little hotel room. I wouldn't mind something like that if I retire! (I'll never be able to afford something so lovely.)
She didn't even want to invite me in, but I was determined to try, knowing that sometimes dementia patients need to be sort of distracted into focusing on activities if that makes sense. I tried asking if she had any cleaning that I could help with because she'd been gathering trash when I entered, but she said no. I tried asking about herself but this looked like it confused her, so I kind of told her a bit about myself, then tried to engage her in conversations...Travel? Weather? Current events? Didn't work, she started to insist that I leave. I asked if she wanted to go for a walk, play a game, listen to an audiobook, watch a movie, clean up? She refused all of this and seemed really anxious to get back to trash-gathering.
So I said, "It was nice to meet you. I'll visit again later!" She looked relieved. I left.
The nurse outside laughed. "She kicks me out most of the time, too."
I texted the social services director to let him know I'd be ending the visit early, and he invited me to his office to meet some of his employees. We chatted about misc care opportunities, and he recommended some facilities that I could apply to. I'll tweak a resume for him but am not expecting anything to come of it.
True to promise, after 30 minutes I went back up to the resident's room to see if she'd forgotten me and/or might be up for a visit. I knocked and there was no answer, so with the nurse's permission I peeked in. She was napping. So that was that.
I ate lunch in a lobby area, then it was time for Visit 2.
I lucked out on this visit, it was a disabled gentleman in an electric wheelchair, with no teeth but a whole working brain and a lot of snark :P He was waiting for lunch in a dining area so I sat with him, introduced myself and asked him about himself. Because he had no teeth he was difficult to understand, but he was patient and usually by the 4th or 5th repetition I got what he'd said. So I learned that he was a middle child of eight kids, had been born disabled, and had grown up in poverty so had spent much of his youth crawling around because he couldn't walk and the family couldn't afford a wheelchair or medical treatment. He has a brother that visits sometimes.
The food took a while to show up so we walked the halls a bit. He showed me his room, and photos of his grandma and brothers. She was wearing a lovely church outfit complete with a fancy organza hat, and I told him I'm currently working in a hat shop. We chatted about all sorts of things, throwing especial snark for the cost of nursing facilities like this one. I said I wouldn't mind retiring here and he guffawed at that. I told him about Jameson and I, and like most Elders he was amazed that we aren't married and suggested I quit waiting for a proposal and take matters into my own hands!
At some point he asked if I had any music, saying gospel was his favorite. I searched up a gospel mix on my phone and played it for him, he knew all of the songs and sang along badly, loudly, and proudly. I knew two of the songs and sang those along with him :)
Eventually his food showed up: New England clam chowder, and mashed potatoes with gravy. There was a "food requirements" menu stuck to his tray so I read it, and it was pretty much any food you could imagine except pureed. He asked if I'd help him eat and I agreed, though I felt quite awkward about it. I think he found this amusing. At one point I dropped some potato on his bib and muttered, "Sorry, I haven't really done this before," and he cackled and said, "Yeah I can see that!!"
"Shaddup!" I whined while he laughed at me, and a passing nurse said, "M___, don't pick on her!"
I said, "Oh I think he's being NICE right now, imagine if he were ACTUALLY being mean!" and he had a good laugh about that too.
After he was finished I walked him back to his room, thanked him for the visit, and we hugged goodbye. I also asked if there was a food that he missed, that he couldn't get here, and he whispered, "Milkshakes!" I promised that if I get another visit with him, I'll sneak him a milkshake ;) Ssssh don't rat me out!
As I was leaving he said, "You take care now, don't stay here too long or they'll charge you!" and I snarked back, "Be careful to get all that mashed potato in your mouth, they'll charge for any you drop!" And he was laughing as I walked away.
What a cool dude. I really do hope I get another visit with him.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
On the way home I stopped for groceries, treating myself to these huge muscadine grapes.
We had a wild muscadine in the backyard when I was little, and my sisters and I would eat them while playing outside. They were small, tough, and chewy, with tart fruit and sweet but tannin-filled skins that made one's mouth feel funny. But they tasted great and I loved the chewy texture of them. These are not as tart or chewy as my childhood grapes, but the skins taste the same and they definitely give me nostalgia to eat :)
For dinner I made keto empanadas again, in which the empanada dough is replaced with ground chicken and filled with whatever-you-feel. Last time I followed a recipe that was jalapeno popper inspired; this time I invented my own "pizza poppers," filling each one with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, little mushroom pieces, and pepperoni. Coated them in parmesan cheese and spices, and air friend 'em. They were pretty good but next time I want to season the chicken better.
Before bed I got a message from a coworker asking if I'd cover his shift. Yes! That would bring me up to 29 hours for the week and I could use the money.
Now that the petunia is back inside I'm doing some photo ops again :)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I woke to find that my coworker had taken his shift back so I was stuck with my day off again. Not that I don't appreciate a day off, too. I'd planned to cram in all sorts of chores and some exercise, but it was thundering by lunchtime so I practiced trombone for longer than usual, watched the Cubs game with Jameson (it was a riveting one,) and kind of didn't do much all day.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: The plan is to go for a walk, practice, shop for cheap shirts and fall scents at Marshalls, and cook dinner.
Friday: Jameson is going to a friend's party in Miami for the night, so while he's gone I'll dust our bookshelf and vacuum, practice, night shift at the hat shop.
Saturday: No plans except night shift at the hat shop.