Macy's

I am not a Macy's shopper. I wear more casual clothes than Macy's can provide, and well, my budget cannot afford Macy's prices. Yet here I am working in a Macy's store. This store is huge. It is three stores... has two escalators and an elevator. It has two mall entrances... on each level. Oh yeah, and at the other end of the mall, there's another Macy's-for men's and home furnishings. Good grief! That's a lot of Macy's stuff. Now I am getting paid to well, basically, stand around. I don't work for Macy's and so cannot ring stuff up. I did figure out how to do price checks, which isn't in my job description, at least relieves the monotony of just standing around. So I spend my hours just chit chatting with the other employees. Turns out 90% of the employees also don't feel like they are the "Macy's target demographic". In talking with the other women, turns out that with what they make, they cannot even afford to shop in the very store they work at. Interesting....

Black Friday

Black Friday is probably the worst day of the year for those not shopaholics. It is the start of the holiday season and that day seems to start earlier and earlier. Gilroy and Milpitas malls opened at midnight. Valley Fair opened at 5. And people are there waiting! I read in the paper that one husband couldn't even get into the mall and after an hour of driving the parking lot finally went home. I am not a die hard shopper, but even I know not to send in a rookie on a day like Black Friday. I thought the holiday season was supposed to be marked with good will, happy thoughts, good cheer, etc. Wake up and smell the hot cocoa. I was trying to find a simple parking space in the mall lot and learned a valuable lesson. These women will take you out. They are on a mission and nothing will stand in their way. Horns are honking, drivers are yelling, hand gestures are given, people walking to and from their cars are practically fighting for their lives to avoid these maniac women whipping around the parking lot looking for a space. Give me a break people. Is there something you need that urgently that you lose all sense of civility. The sad thing is one Wal Mart employee died opening the doors to the store. He was trampled by the stampede of crazed shoppers. Get a grip... nothing is that important. So if you can avoid shopping on the crazy Black Friday I would totally advise doing so. You'll save your sanity.

The Hardest $20 I Ever Made

Friday was my first day of work in, well, quite a few years. It was one of the worst days of my life. I was so stressed about over sleeping that I barely slept at all that night. Add to it my husband decided to let our son sleep in bed with us (don't ask because I don't know why either). So there was four of us in the bed, of course I didn't sleep, I'm hugging the side of the bed for dear life to keep from falling out. But I digress.... I have to be at the store at 9:00, so I have my son's alarm clock set for 6:50. (It is a Buzz Lightyear clock, and will definitely wake the dead). I'm up and running and getting everything ready for my first day of work. I'm out the door at 8:10 to drive to a place that is no farther than 15 minutes away. Plenty of time.... Um, sure... Jump into the car and realize there's no gas. Drive to the gas station and put in $20. Ok, still plenty of time. Driving on the freeway and am amazed at what few cars are on the road. Driving.... driving... Oh yeah, remembered the newspaper said that it would be a bad shopping day and my exit could back up so take the exit before. So I jump off on that exit. It might have helped if I read further in the article - the one that said what roads to take to get me to the mall. Now I am driving aimlessly and helplessly up and down streets. "Oh I've heard of that street"... so I take that one. It is now 8:40 and I am totally lost in San Jose or it could have been Santa Clara-I have no idea. I am now starting to panic and am just driving and am getting more lost trying to backtrack the way I think I came. Then, like a miracle I ended up on the back doorstep of the mall. How do I know this? Well, #1 there was the looming sign, but also #2 I now know where every car that should have been on the road ended up. I am now stuck in the parking lot of a mall on Black Friday. It was ugly. (Another blog). I am trapped in the mall, and since I am not familiar with that parking lot ended up going in circles. Now my boss calls. I am practically crying because it's already been a long day. She says to go to another location and the mall will provide a shuttle. So after driving in circles some more I manage to get out of the mall parking lot. I drive to the University and wait for the shuttle. I was just so relieved to be out of that mess. Take the shuttle to the mall, wade through hundreds of angry, tired and zoned out shoppers, and arrive at Macy's. I finally managed to clock in at 9:30. Yes, that short drive took me an hour and a half. Oh wait... the day gets better.... I have never worked retail before so I didn't realize that standing for so long in heeled shoes, can... well... basically make your feet hurt. I ultimately had to wade into the mall and buy shoes. Well, I got lost in Macy's and ended up going out the wrong door. (I knew I passed the shoe store going into Macy's). I am frantically trying to find the shoe store and end up half way through the mall. My foot is now bleeding and two layers of skin were off. Oh, turns out the mall is double sided. I was on the parallel side. (Now, I always suspected that I was living in a parallel universe from everyone else, I just don't know if I felt better having it confirmed). By now I am in so much pain, I can barely walk. I limp over to the store and plop down on the seat. The manager felt so bad for me that she brought shoes to me. My 10 minute break had pretty much come and gone (probably while I was lost in Macy's) so I didn't have the luxury of being picky. I was also in too much pain to care. So I make my purchase ($25.50) and limp back to work. Lunch time comes around and off to the food court. Fortunately I was smart enough this time to ask for directions before I left my counter. I think the clerks just took pity on me because I had gotten lost again in Macy's looking for the bathroom. Got lunch ($6.04). Back to work.... Finally, the day comes to an end and I wait for the shuttle to take me back to the car.... oh by the way, I was getting off and on at the wrong stop and was having to hike much further than necessary. Yes!! Back at my car, where I just sat, enjoying the silense and waiting for my feet to stop throbbing. Ready to drive back to the house when I remembered, yes, you knew it was coming.... I have no idea how to get back from my current location. Call on the cell phone to the husband and he gave me directions. When I found the freeway I was ecstatic. Finally! My day was over. Or so my fried brain thought... I took the freeway in the wrong direction and ended up two towns away. Had to get off the freeway and turn back around. I finally managed to get back home at about 6:30 (an hour and a half after my shift ended). I was alseep by 9 to do it again the next day. Very long day for a mere $20.