Day Eleven

Oh, wow. What a day. It started off slow, but it picked up momentum. We had the swimming carnival today, I was helping out in fifth period. It was so awesome cheering on orange house rather than being subjected to the slightly miserable task of staggering through that decidedly UNSANITARY pool over and over again. I felt like we'd finally earned the right to dance wildly to all the songs over the loudspeaker and act like fools yet still feel cooler than the young 'uns.

After school I had work again. Okay, this sucks: I'm not getting minimum wage ($12.50/hr) until I've done like THREE MONTHS of work there. That means I'll be on something like $9.60. I didn't know this was legal! How is it fair? I'm already proficient, and I'm not doing anything less than the other workers. I haven't even been given my uniform or badge yet. My boss doesn't even know my bank details!

But otherwise, it's totally fine. And seemingly, people in Roskill South love their freakin' pigs' heads. When I told my grandpa-in-law's brother (confusing relationship right there) about my new job and the pigs' parts particularly, he proceeded to tell me of the "old times" in England when folks would buy a whole pigs' head and tell the butcher, "Oh, leave in the eyes, it'll see me through the week." I forced a laugh, a whole one.

I try not to judge people, as I'm standing at the till and ringing up the various items, but it's hard not to. And often, what people buy just seems to be a reflection on them.

Maybe I should start listing my Favourite Customers for how easy they were to talk to and be friendly to. You know how some people automatically emit a sort of openness to smiles and small-talk and comments about the weather, and some make you sort of shrink and go "So how was your day?" as a tentative afterthought in that awkward interim between their entering their pin and the receipt (thankfully) slipping out...? Well today their were plenty of the latter, and a few who were just really nice and who seemed to be pleased I was talking to them. There was a guy who bought (surprise surprise) pigs' heads, but he was quick to inform me that they were for his pit-bull terriers. (The image of two pit-bulls tearing about those dull-eyed, fatty masses was ever-so-slightly nightmarish.) I remarked about how they'd love the treat, and asked how many dogs he had, and he said two, and that one was part-Alsatian. I was thinking Oh, thank God, some redeeming feature I can be genuinely enthusiastic about.
"I love Alsatians! I used to have one. They're such intelligent dogs."

The thing is, it's really a basic skill, to be able to interact with people in a genuine way. I hate it when people in shops treat you as just another transaction, someone to greet perfunctorily, take money from, give receipts to, pack goods for. Though I'll acknowledge that it can be hard when things get busy to remember to smile and to make eye contact and to be efficient yet not snatchy or brusque, I also think all those things are really really important. In the same way, the customer shouldn't act as if the shop-worker is non-existent, and nor should they act almost slightly affronted by any attempts at engaging them in conversation or making them feel at ease.

I will probably continue to ruminate on this subject, since it's all quite newish to me and everything. But it's interesting, probably the only interesting thing about the job, what I'm learning about people.