Sunday, October 7, 2012

punching the clock...

It's pretty unusual for me to be on the schedule to work at Publix on a Saturday, with nothing in the way of 'special events' such as prom-time, pre-holiday chaos,  or a big wedding that swamped my co-worker. So it was sort of odd for me to be working on Saturday. When I got there and started asking questions yesterday, it was revealed that the produce dept. manager was taking the weekend off. I assumed since he is the guy who makes out the schedule, he had deliberately planned for going to the big football game: Morehouse vs. Tuskegee Institue annually played here in Columbus at Memorial Stadium.  I think they put on half time show that is worth the price of admission - which is definitely the only reason I would attend, as I care less than nothing about watching men mistreat each other for any reason whatsoever. No vicarious violence for me, on the perfectly manicured field, arena, ice, TV, movies,or anywhere.

But as I inquired and pried more information out of the other produce guys, it turns out the manager guy thought he should have the weekend off because he will be in a training class all this week. I guess it is in Atlanta, as that is where the district offices for GA are located, and  think he is going to be learning how to be a more effective/irritating department boss. Due to absences, we are sorta short-handed, and there was a young man from another store there on Sat. doing the cutting from the fresh fruit coolers. He might be in his thirties, works part time, and interested in getting a few extra hours of pay.

As he was getting finished up with what he needed to do around noon'ish, he started cleaning up the table, floor where he was working. It's a very messy process: cubing wet, sticky stuff like watermelon and pineapple to put in bowls, cutting up fruit ahead, to have enough to fill the cooler, and be fulling stocked for the next day's opening. Plus trying to guess how many customers will buy the product before the end of business. Sort of like shaking the Eight Ball for answers, getting: 'try again later', or 'more to come', really indeterminate and vague stuff along the lines of 'who knows?'

But when he said 'I always clean up after myself', when I told him I would hose it all down when I got finished with what I was doing, I thought: 'What? Where did he come from?' So I asked him if he liked to cook, and he proceed to tell me what a smart, creative, useful guy he is in the kitchen (remember - this is a self-professed 'cleaner-upper'), so I asked him if he wanted to get married.

I am sure he was wondering: 'What? Where did she come from?'.

I told him I was too, when he said he was married, but that I thought there was no harm in prospecting. That I was not really in the market for another spouse, but I had already decided that the next time (if there is a next time!), it would most definitely be to a guy who readily agreed and demonstrated a desire to be a cleaner-upper. As well as one that either liked to shop for groceries and putter in the kitchen, or wanted to go out to let someone else do all the work on a regular basis.

I probably scared him off - so don't think he will be looking to pick up any more random hours at the store where I work... which means he was probably not a good prospect anyway....

Amusing part is ME proposing: I never intended to get married both of the times I actually did.

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