Thursday, June 19, 2003

I don't know if I've told a lot of you about the hell that is inventory. But now that it's over and my back has stopped aching so much, I think I'll describe the last three days for you. This has been a pretty consistent routine.

1. Wake up at 5am.

2. Get out of bed at 5:05am. Panic that tardiness will ensue after late start. Rush around the house until 5:25.

3. Race to Memorial City Mall. Arrive at exactly 5:40. Scarf down breakfast in car until 5:45. Go inside.

4. Clock in. Listen to John's stupid announcements for twenty minutes. Then go to an area of the store and start scanning items with a silly little scanner thingie. (That's the technical term, I believe.)

5. If at all possible, scan things that are about ten feet off the floor using a ladder that wobbles precariously from side to side. Almost fall down. Repeat until knees turn into jelly or until five hours has passed.

6. Count a lot. And then re-count a lot.

7. Go on hour lunch break. Sit in the food court at all the shoppers, thinking, "They look so happy. I wish I wasn't working. I can't feel my toes because of my back pain. Oooh, that's a cute shirt." In order to stop the annoying running commentary, read a book. In my case, I bought Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy.

8. Go back to work. Scan some more.

9. Repeat until about seven at night. Then stagger out of Foley's, drive home, and go to bed. Dream about the beeps emanating from the scanning machines.

Highlights included:
~ being accosted by the Benefit salespeople
~ having a sketchy dude hit on me for three solid days
~ developing a new method for scanning folded shirts with a Taiwanese frat guy from UT; running around the store demonstrating our amazing technique
~ conversation about Carson Palmer's greatness with a manager
~ watching the mysterious hot dude at lunch - too bad he never said anything.
~ going home at night

As a treat for finishing this misery, I decided to join Mary Louise at a choir practice for Tallowood Baptist's college choir. Her boyfriend, Mark, is the head honcho of this operation, and he desperately needs more members. I'm a pretty pathetic alto who can't read music. However, I like singing church music, so I decided to help a friend out. The practice was actually a lot of fun. I met a few really nice people - in fact, my life is now indebted to a girl named Myra who helped me figure out what I was supposed to sing. After practice, Mary Louise and I sat in my car, gossiping until Mark came over, looking very forlorn without his Mary. I decided to let her out of my vehicle to rejoin her baby. Overall, it was a nice break from the monotony of scanning. I'm looking forward to the next practice!