As The Station Turns 5/7-8

 Thankfully it was a busy day so time passed quickly and I didn't have to come up with stuff to do so I looked busy. 

A guy came in and claimed he saw people with their credit chip implanted into their wrists. I have a lot of doubts about that story considering all the problems you can have with the chips themselves, plus the need for regular updates and what do you do when your information is stolen? I didn't get into a discussion with him about it because I just didn't want to have that conversation. 

Again with the paper towels in the restrooms! I've worked there two weeks and I've changed them out four times. Does anyone else check the rolls? At least I caught this one before it ran out and there was one guy out on the lot and his card wouldn't work, so he was on the phone with his bank. Plus now I know how the stupid rollers work. 

When I was working across the street someone had spilled super glue all over the counter at the Truck Stop. When I went in today someone had spilled super glue all over the other counter. Why are they gluing stuff next to the register? Have they never heard of paper towels? Anyhow there are three people who could have made the mess between when I had left the night before and today. I'm suspecting it is Stinky.

Someone came in and had dried chunks of mud all over their shoes. When they left there was a lot less, on their shoes. So I got the broom out and cleaned up the trail they left everywhere. Seriously, if you wouldn't track it all over your house why would you track it all over someone else's business?

The guy with the dog showed up, I hadn't seen him in a long time and he was surprised I was working there again. Someone else was complaining about dogs but his is well behaved so I don't mind. The people on the morning shift always have treats for the dog but I don't so it's always a little disappointed. 

A homeless guy came in and wanted to know if he could fill up his water bottle, I told him sure. I noticed that he was walking around with a golf club. Did he find it somewhere? Was he playing through? Oh well, to each their own. 

And then the Homeless Millionaire showed up. He was trying to peak through the back door in hopes nobody noticed. This time not only did I tell him off but I used a bit of profanity, there were customers in the building but I didn't care. Later a customer asked and I told him the story about how he had attacked someone and had become unstable. I still hope that when he finally goes full on it's somewhere else.

The place mostly cleared out so I figured it was a good time to do the trash, except for some guy sitting at a pump and playing on his phone. I figured to heck with it so I rushed around, dumped the trash and got everything done before he finished his texting and came inside. And of course if I had waited a crowd would have shown up.

I looked across the street and there was a truck backed up to one of the doors of the Haunted Station, were they bringing something in or taking something out? Later when the truck pulled out I realized it was the Part Time Woman's big fern. I hated that thing, it sat in front of the counter and was always in the way. Perhaps it's a sign that she's planning on quitting since she hates being bounced around from station to station. One could hope.

I went in and cleaned the restrooms and after I was done several guys went in there, for a long time. That is usually a bad sign but they didn't make a mess so I'm happy. 

Some guy got 30¢ in gas and then shut off his pump. He tried to run the card a second time but it got rejected. He came in and prepaid for $10 but that didn't fill up his tank, d'uh, and came back to prepay for $30. Thankfully he was blaming the bank and not me for his screwing up. 

Stinky showed up early and actually got into his drawer. I was able to close my drawer, finish my paperwork and clock out before the Crazy Lady showed up so I only had to say "bye" to her. So the night ended well.

5/8

I woke up early and the weather is nice so I decided to go for a walk. I stopped at the West Side Station to say hi to the Weekend Guy. He was saying the Late Guy thought the Part Time Woman had stolen the fern but I said as far as I know it was hers. Weekend Guy thinks the Part Time Woman is getting ready to quit too. He doesn't want to end up covering her shifts so he isn't looking forward to it. He also told me that she had stabbed him in the back, she was really nice to him to his face and then called the Boss and claimed he hadn't cleaned the restrooms. I told him that is why everyone hates her. He thinks the Boss better get his act in order and hire a few new people before summer. I agree. Although I think they are going to shut down the Haunted Station while they redo the place in order to set up a counter service restaurant. The funny part is the Late Guy told the Weekend Guy that he might get promoted soon. I somehow doubt it.

I then stopped at the Haunted Station to chat with the Late Guy. I told him that as far as I knew the fern belonged to the Part Time Woman, he said she also took the stapler and several other items. Yep, she's planning on quitting, She still has a pile of crap stored in the back but if they are going to revamp the place she's gonna have to haul it off. She will hate that. I wonder what she'll say when she finds the movie money $100 I dropped into one of her boxes. 

The Late Guy had several questions about ordering from the supplier too, mostly that if he scans something does he have to place the order right then. I told him no, he can scan stuff in all week and then place the order before the deadline on Monday, I guess the Truck Stop Manager does it all on Monday morning. He was happy to find out all that. Even though I'm operating off the "I'm not the manager anymore, it's none of my business" I gave him some advice to not put in a big order until after Memorial Day to let the old stock run down and so he'll have all new stuff on the shelves at the start of summer. He probably won't listen. 

And then I came home. 

A quick update, I saw the Homeless Millionaire in the alley behind the Haunted Station, and was having quite the intense conversation, with himself. Later I saw him dragging stuff down the street. Later I saw him heading back to the edge of town with a stolen shopping cart. That guy is really losing it. 

As The Station Turn 5/6

 When I got to work the Manager told me that the Crazy Lady hadn't showed up for two days. I really wish they'd hire a couple of people and cut loose the dead weight. Also, just as I figured, the price of gas jumped 30¢ a gallon overnight. I did have a laugh later on when I looked across the street and they set the cash price 10¢ too low on their sign. I bet the Dyslexic woman, who was working the morning shift today, was getting a lot of crap about the higher price on the pump. And, the Late Guy was probably the one who changed the sign, he's really proving his worth as a manager (and making me look good in the process)

The people on the morning shift like to haul the floor mats outside, and leave them there, I have to haul them in the first chance I get. Except today it snowed and they got soaking wet. I had to wait for a couple of hours after the snow ended plus I had to mop up the floor where people tracked up the uncovered floor. I hate that. 

A Coke repair guy showed up looking for old equipment they had already removed. I told him he was looking for the West Side Station. I don't think he believed me. He got on the phone and left, for the West Side Station.

It was a boring night so when the Tow Truck Driver came in and we got into a long conversation about strange murders in the area I was kind of glad, killed about an hour (pun intended). The best one was a body they found hanging in a tree despite it just being a hundred yards of a regularly traveled road. Seems the guy was a cop who got involved with drug smugglers, got busted, turned states evidence and then disappeared. Well, they found him.

Since it snowed the place was empty. The clouds cleared off, the sun came out and there was a spectacular photo opportunity, low lying clouds, snow covered mountains peaking out above them and the perfect afternoon sunlight. And just as I got to the door a caravan of 5th wheel campers rolled in. They were part of construction company and the rest of the trucks showed up, along with several tourist. When the place finally cleared out, almost an hour later, the photo op was over.

When I was being swarmed on a woman asked me if her husband had come inside. This might be a surprise but I had no idea who her husband is. And it turns out he was outside waiting for her the whole time.

The Storyteller came in and the place was empty so he told me about his dog, again, and his wife, again, and his car, again. He left happy. 

I was going to do the ice in the soda machine and a couple showed up, to do a weeks worth of junk food shopping. They got into a long conversation about Reese's and which was best, pieces or cups. Finally they finished and then got into a long conversation about Slushies. And then they left. 

Some annoying guy at the pump kept hitting the "Help" button which I then have to clear off the register. That button is for handicapped people and he clearly isn't. I glared at him and he turned on his pump, filled up and left without coming in. Seriously, every time you hit a button like that at a pump it sets off annoying noises on the register, Stop Doing It!

A truck driver came in and told me he had to walk from across the street since they were already closed. The Weekend Guy had been working over there and he must have gotten bored and closed up. It must be nice to set your own hours. 

As the clock ticked down I wondered if anyone from the Graveyard Shift would show up. The Crazy Lady had missed two days and Stinky likes to take three day weekends. If nobody came in I was going to get really angry at the bosses. Anyhow they both came in, the Crazy Lady was really being sick (I don't think she'll win any Academy Awards). Skippy showed up too, in case nobody had come in and he had to lock the place up for the night. I bolted as fast as I could. Hopefully I only have to put up with this for a couple of months and then the rumors come true and I get to move over to the West Side Station where I don't have to wait for someone to show up.

As The Station Turn 5/4-5

 The first thing I discovered when I got to work was the drain on the Coke machine had clogged up and the ice melting down from the hopper was filling it up. I had to bail it out every hour. I figured I would be evil and not tell the Graveyard Shift, instead I would get it all dried out just before I left, that didn't work out.  (to be continued at closing time)

The company we get our bulk supples from have started something new and they have an inspector come around to check the stores, to see if the prices are right and is there any outdated stock. The Manager hates her. She was doing her thing and it worked out for me because I got some outdated pretzels and trail mix. Thankfully the woman finished up and left before I was fully into my drawer so I didn't have to deal with her.

They told me a pump tech was suppose to show up and do a pressure test. It meant my pumps were going to be shut down for an hour or two, oh no, I'm going to get paid to not have to deal with customers? Terrible! Anyhow he never showed up.

I got a text from the Late Guy, the lottery had a game that ended and he had to pull the tickets but he didn't know what to do next. I had told him before but you know how that goes. I told him to take them out of the case, put them away and when the lottery guys shows up he'll pick them up and credit the unsold ones back to the station. I told him to let the other people on the shifts, especially on his day off, to know where the old tickets were in case the guy showed up while he was off. I hope he listened to that.

On Monday Mrs. Late Guy works a split shift from 10 AM to 6 PM. While they were doing the shift change the Manager was teaching her how to contact the fleet card companies to let them know about price changes. Yep, Mrs. Late Guy is being trained to be the new Manager.

A guy pulled into the diesel pump and then left and drove across the street. The price is the same over there btw. I was laughing because they have a problem with their sump pump and the diesel is running really slow. The guy was there for a while. If he had used our pumps he could have gotten back on the road right away. 

For the first four hours, while Mrs. Late Guy was there, the place was dead. We were sitting around bored and kept finding little things to do, I even went out and swept up random bits of trash from around the pumps and on the back side of the building. As soon as she left, busy. I was going to do one quick thing and got hit with a full string of tag teamers, where the heck were they earlier?

A guy from Australia came in, he was driving from Florida to Pueblo Colorado. What a strange place to end a cross country trek. Perhaps he was just stopping there overnight but it's not exactly a tourist destination. 

Someone came in and made a huge mess in the restroom. They got most of it in the toilet, or on the toilet. I was trying to rush and got the toilet cleaned and here came a swarm. I discovered that the mens room was out of paper towels so that was the second thing between waves, then the sink and finally the floor. However I also had to take a break because the Storyteller came in and didn't get a chance to say anything the day before due to the crowd. So I listened to the story of his broken down car again and something else and then I ran to mop up the floor. I had to double rinse the mop because there was a bit of a stink. And then some other guy came in and was in their way too long but he didn't make a mess. 

Just before the end of the night the register decided to crash. I had to do the whole turn it off and turn it on again and then wait for it to reload. Thankfully I didn't have any customers at that time so it wasn't a complete disaster.

After the restroom, after the register, after a bunch of slow motion customers while I was trying to get things done I got a guy paying with a stack of ones. Instead of handing me the bills he counted through them. Then he counted them down on the counter, and then he spread them out all over the counter. I finally got pissed and grabbed them in a big wad and counted them and prepaid his pump. I think there are people who just don't want to spend money so they take as long as possible. Just Hand Me The Money!

The Graveyard Shift Guy came in and opened his drawer. He said it looked like he was working alone, I didn't know because nobody told me anything. And if I don't know I'm not going to stick around and have the excuse "I though the Crazy Lady was just running late". My plan had been to not tell them about the Coke machine drain but I couldn't do that to just him, so I let him know to keep an eye on it, and then rushed out before the phone rang. 

5/5

I had to make a Walmart run so I headed over the mountain. The price of fuel over there was 30¢ a gallon higher then over here so as soon as I got back I headed to the Downtown Station. They are having the same problem as the Haunted Station, the card readers are down and they are having to use the backup inside scanner, so I paid cash. She told me someone said they had been to a place where it had already hit $4.75 a gallon. Goodbye summer travelers. 

I stopped by the Haunted Station and the Late Guy was angry at the Random Woman. I got use to her but she's driving him crazy. Sometimes she dumps the trash, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she cleans the coffee pot, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she mops the floor, and so on. He's going to have a word with her, this won't end well.

Also he told me the Crazy Woman didn't show up last night at all. I kind of knew that was going to be the outcome. I wonder how all this will play out. As long as I don't have to deal with it I'll be fine. I guess I'll find out on Wednesday. Also I don't want to go to the Graveyard Shift so if they mention it I'm going to give them a flat no, I've worked there long enough I shouldn't have to do it again. 

As The Station Turns 5/03

 When I got to work Mrs. Late Guy was pissed, she had just mopped the floor when a guy got a full Slushie, and dropped it. And of course the place was full of people who had to walk through the mess and track it all over. So she quickly remopped but with sticky crap it takes at least three passes and she only got two in. So I spot mopped the rest of the night. Seriously, get a grip and put the lid on tight.

Some guy came in and was bitching that there wasn't any prices on anything. Well, they change too fast to go around redoing them every week. He claimed "That's how they get you". Well here's an idea, fuck all the way off and go to McDonalds where they put the price on the big sign behind the counter.

I really lost my temper today. Sometimes the register refuses to process a card and gives you an error message about "can't process monetary amount", I think it has something to do with the EBT they installed a few months ago. Anyhow the first time it happened I tried to find out how to fix it but the guy got frustrated and paid cash. I asked the people on the over shifts about it and they said push the "More" button and you'll see another button that says "Convert". So the second time it happened I pushed the "More" button and all it showed me was the EBT choices. This guy also paid cash. Again, I asked everyone about it and they once again told me what to do, but never showed me anything. Today the guy got $129.00 worth of gas and didn't have the cash, he had to pay credit. I did what they said and nothing. I called the Late Guy and he told me the exact same thing, nothing. He was sending Mrs. Late Guy but who knew when she would show up. So finally I rang it up a Non Grocery for his card and then rang out the pump under Cash. Later I ran out a refund on the Non Grocery. The Boss is going to complain but I don't care, if there is a problem they Need To Tell People How To Work Around It!!!!! Anyhow Mrs. Late Guy showed up and actually showed me the secret button, which had nothing to do with the More button. They could have shown me the first time I asked but nooooooo! But I patted myself on the back, even though I wanted to curse and tell her off I maintained and blamed the computer.

And, thank goodness Mrs. Late Guy showed up, a trucker came in with a fleet card, but the equipment needed to run it broke down and they didn't replace it, so you have to call it in. However the phone decided to not work at that exact moment. All I got was a message that the circuits were busy and couldn't connect. And of course I got a line of customers right then. Mrs. Late Guy volunteered to use her cell and get the info while I waited on everyone. Thankfully the call went through, she got the information and the truck driver was on his way. 

I found a sticky patch on the floor and since the place was empty I figured I would clean it up really quick. I touched the mop handle and, a crowd came rushing in. They know, they can sense that I'm going to do something. But if I pretended I was going to do work to get a crowd the place would be empty.

A woman came in, she was looking for "24 Hour Energy". Ummm....we don't sell anything like that, try the guy hanging out on Beggar's Corner, he might be able to hook you up. Anyhow I figured she was looking for 5 Hour Energy and pointed to where the rack was. 

I was laughing because I looked across the street and the Random Woman had a large bus. It appeared to be a college team which means her restrooms would be swamped and a mess. Better her than me.

I went in the ladies room and there was a puddle around one of the toilets and a trial out to the sink. I'm hoping someone was washing off the seat before they sat down as opposed to having really lousy aim.

I was stocking the shelves and I got out the box of the individual packs of pills. Inside the box was a chunk of a broken shot glass. How long had it been in there? Who broke a glass and didn't look for all the pieces? Honestly. I considered taking the chunk and throwing it in the bottom of the outside trash bag so it would cut through when someone tried to dump it, but I didn't, instead I walked it out to the dumpster and chucked it in there. You're welcome everyone else who works at the Truck Stop. 

The Storyteller Guy came in but I had a mob of people so he got his coffee, told me about his broken down car (again) and his dog (again) and then left. Maybe he'll come in on Monday and it will be slow so he can tell me a whole story, perhaps the time he was working for the railroad and...

Skippy is back, this is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is I don't think he likes me and he was shocked to discover all his pals are gone, so perhaps he won't be coming around at night. I mean he wandered around, pretended to do some stuff and left, whereas the Boss hangs around, talks about stuff and watches videos on his phone, at a high volume. However the bad thing is it means they aren't going to hire new people to replace the ones they fired. It means on Memorial Day I'm gonna be swamped and working solo. If only I could hit the lottery before then. 

A truck driver called to see if we were a Flying J or a Pilot. Bad news dude, there isn't one within a 100 miles. Also, there is this new thing called "Google", you can access it from your phone and get directions to the place you are looking for. Another guy called and said the web said we had a restaurant, I think he got the wrong place. 

The Graveyard shift showed up early, I got out of my drawer early and left on time for a change. A crappy day ended on a positive note. 

As The Station Turn 5/02

 I wasn't looking forward to going to work because the Part Time Woman is suppose to be training at the Truck Stop on the Saturday morning shift and I was going to have to deal with her for about 10 minutes during shift change, however she wasn't there. I asked Mrs. Late Guy about it and she told me that Part Time Woman was suppose to work on Friday night and then Saturday morning but had "called in sick" for both days. This means in the first two weeks she was suppose to be training at the Truck Stop she hadn't worked a single day there. Mrs. Late Guy pointed out that the city is doing their Cinco de Mayo party this weekend and she probably went to that instead. If what I've been told is right they are going to shut the Haunted Station down while the refurbish the place for a walk up counter service restaurant which means that if the Part Time Woman doesn't know what to do at the Truck Stop she won't be working at all. And I won't mind. 

I wanted to zip outside and check the trashes so I could plan when I was going to toss them later, however a guy came in so I was stuck behind the counter waiting for him. He finally got all his stuff done and I made it to the door when a woman came in to buy smokes. She apologized for interrupting me but she's a regular and I told her I had 8 hours to do it so no big deal. She got her stuff and left, good, chance to go check the trash and...the first guy came back in for more stuff. Eventually I did get a chance to check the trash, one needed dumped. 

There is a regular at the Truck Stop and the last time I saw him, about a year ago, he didn't look too good. Plus he was driving a van with a bad fuel pump and had rigged a hose to his carburetor and was literally dumping gas into it to drive (needless to see the cops caught him and took his license plate until he got it road worthy) He also lives in an old restaurant, not a house that was converted into a restaurant but an actual restaurant. Anyhow he came in today and doesn't look too good, and he's now driving an old motorcycle that looks like he pulled it out of the scrap yard. He couldn't get the gas cap open and was prying away with a screwdriver. I'm fully expecting to see that guy in the obituaries some time by the end of the year.

A guy in a big box truck pulled into the auto diesel pump, the difference is that it only has a nozzle on the driver's side and not a satellite pump for the semi tank on the other side, and he came in the wrong way. So  instead of pulling forward and turning around he backed up, backed around, and backed into the #10 pump, which is still out of order. So he had to back up and pull over to the #11 pump. I enjoyed the show. 

An old guy pulling a 5th wheel trailer and a golf cart on a second trailer pulled into the semi diesel pump. The problem is they have a larger high volume nozzle and it wouldn't fit into his truck's gas tank. Nobody else was there so I explained to him that he could pull through the regular pumps, around the building and then into the auto diesel pump. He seemed kind of confused about it so I carefully explained it to him again. Then I watched to make sure he didn't run into my car. He got around, figured out the pump and then left, and pulled the second trailer over the curb as he was exiting the lot. Personally I think the second towed trailer should be banned and there are people who have reached an age where someone should check to make sure they should still have a license. And he was heading to Texas so if you live there beware.

A guy came in and was having an unpleasant phone discussion with his girlfriend. At one point he said "Of course you're upset, hearing the truth hurts." I wonder if she's still his girlfriend. He was having a really bad day because he had been out checking the horse's water tank, bent over and dropped his vape into the water, ruining it. He was buying a new one and they ain't cheap. 

So last week I posted about a kid that pissed me off, he had filled up a cup of soda, dumped it out, filled it up a second time, dumped it out and then ran out the door. Today he came in and actually bought two cups of soda, and I charged him one size up to pay for what he had wasted last time. He wasn't paying attention to what I rang out. So now we're somewhat even. 

And then the Homeless Millionaire came wandering towards the station. He didn't look good and forget walking a straight line. I rushed over and met him at the front door and told him point blank that he had been banned and wasn't allowed in the station anymore. He said some gibberish and left. But then I heard a guy at a pump shouting at him. The guy came in and said the Millionaire had punched his car. I told the guy the Millionaire had a no trespass order and I could call the cops but the guy didn't want to get caught up in that hassle so he passed. After the guy left I called the Random Woman across the street to warn her about the Millionaire, I told her if he showed up to lock the door and call the cops, to not even mess with him since he's become too erratic and possibly dangerous. I didn't see him the rest of the night and I'm still hoping that he wanders down to the Conoco and causes all his problems there.

There is a regular retired guy who comes in, he gets a cup of coffee and a snack and then says "did I tell you about....?" Every time he says that I always tell him no and he proceeds to tell me a story he told me at least 10 times before. It makes him happy since I'm sure everyone else in his life says "yeah yeah, I heard that one before". It's probably why I see him three or four times a week. Today was about the big cookie jar full of pennies. 

A guy came in and wanted to know if he was still in Texas. Not for 90 miles. I told him he was almost in Colorado. He must have been asleep for a long time, I hope he wasn't driving.

In Denver there is a huge car auction, I'm not sure how often they hold it, perhaps every three months. They sell abandon, repossessed and trade in cars that dealerships are looking to get rid of. They are sold for scrap and there are several companies that pass through the station, they will find one car that runs and hook up a second car with a tow bar, take them back to their scrap yards, either in Texas or Juarez, part them out and then melt down the remaining steel to be reused. I like them, they don't make a mess, they pay cash and get anywhere from $100 to $300 at a time. 

My last customer of the night was a guy looking at the vapes. He appeared to be in that "better check" age range and what do you know, his ID wasn't in his pocket or in his truck. He must have left it in his overalls when he was at work, gosh. I told him the inspectors were in town so I had to see all ID's this week. He left without argument. I bet he's use to coming in when the Doofus worked there and never asked. That's a good way to get stuck with a huge fine. 

Stinky and the Graveyard Shift Guy came in so I closed my drawer and did my paperwork fast, I was in a hurry to go home. I warned the Graveyard Shift Guy about the Homeless Millionaire and nobody had told him the guy had been no trespassed from the lot. Honestly, a little information goes a long way, and will eventually prevent police involvement. I noticed the Random Woman was still across the street, I wonder if she got a lot of auction car drivers too. And, that was the end of my day.

As The Station Turn 5/1

 I went to the store and then stopped at the West Side Station to say hi to the Weekend Guy. He confirmed that the Manager of the Truck Stop is planning on retiring in June. He can't believe that she is doing it just as the summer really gets geared up. I said it makes perfect sense, get out before things get bad.

I also told him about the Homeless Millionaire, he said the guy had been talking erratic for a few days and he too was wonder when the crash was coming. He said the same thing everyone else had "I'm surprised the Crazy Lady didn't shoot him". Also they are moving everything around at the West Side Station, I told him it was so they could set up to sell hot foods, which won't work at that station since it's right across the street from McDonalds and they don't get the semis.

The Weekend Guy told me that the Boss has been in talks with the owner of the old warehouse next to the Haunted Station. Gotta wonder what plans they have for that place. I expect everything to be completely different next year. 

I then dropped by the Haunted Station but the Late Guy wasn't there. Someone had been sick, I'm guessing at the Downtown Station and the Random Woman had gone in to cover and so Mrs. Late Guy was doing the morning shift at the Haunted Station and the Late Guy would be covering the afternoon. Today the Part Time Woman is suppose to be working her first shift at the Truck Stop and Mrs. Late Guy (who hates her) was going to have to work a couple of hours with her but she got out of it. But it also means that the Part Time Woman will be doing her shift with The Graveyard Shift guy and he doesn't care, he won't show her anything or teach her anything so this should be a disaster. The Boss is bouncing the Part Time Woman around in hopes of pissing her off and getting her to quit. This should be interesting. 

I told Mrs. Late Guy about the Homeless Millionaire. I guess he had been in earlier in the morning and got pissed because his debit card has been cut off. He claimed he could buy a new pin but I'm pretty sure that is just something in his mind. He got angry and left. I told her if he came back to just call the cops, it's reached that point and who knows what he is going to do. Later I saw him out in the middle of the street yelling at cars. I'm worried about the guy and I hope they pick him up soon. 

I went back to the Haunted Station in the afternoon because the Late Guy was having problems with the lottery. However when I got there the problem had cleared up, oh well I had to go for a walk anyhow so it worked out. He told me they are going to gut the station and redo it all so they can set up a walk up counter service where the old restaurant use to be, he even had to go take a class. I figure they are going to put him in charge of it once they have it up and running.

And for the first time I knew something he didn't, he hadn't heard about the construction company wanting to rent the lower lot. I was telling him how it would work out for the boss, but he was going to be selling a lot of coffee first thing in the morning. Then I came home. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

As The Station Turns 4/30

 It's raining today, which means the floor will be tracked up the whole time. But at least I have a good excuse for not mopping. And the weirdos mostly stay home. 

They changed the price of fuel again which meant that the Late Guy was going to have to go in and do the sign. I had to laugh because he wanted to be the manager. I also realized that he's change the sign more times in a week than I did all last year. 

The touch screen on the credit card wasn't working, I had no idea how long it had been like that but people were having to use the touch wand. So, I got under the counter, unplugged it, plugged it back in again and it worked. No wonder they always tell you that stuff when you call the help line.

A bus pulled into the Haunted Station but then left and went to the Chevron. The Weekend Guy is working across the street today so I had to wonder if he rushed over, locked the door and put up the Closed sign and then hid until they were gone. I wouldn't put it past him.

A woman came in, used the restroom, wandered around the station and finally bought some stuff. As she was standing there I realized she was wearing a company shirt from a rival station. I don't think she was spying but I had to wonder why she didn't go to the station for the company she worked for. Odd.

The Part Time Woman was going to be working across the street and I wanted to see what time she showed up. However some guy in a big rental truck, and towing an overpacked pickup on a trailer, blocked my view. No problem, he'll probably leave before she gets there, but he hung around outside, not getting gas. Then he brought his young son inside and headed to the restroom, for 20 minutes. Then he came back out and finally started pumping gas. Then he came in and they looked all around for snacks. Then hung out in the parking lot, then he and the kid came back in to use the restroom again. He was parked out there for 45 minutes and when he finally left the Part Time Woman was across the street and I never saw when she got there. It's as if they know what I'm doing. 

It was so cloudy and dark that I turned the canopy lights early. The Weekend Guy didn't and he looked closed all afternoon. The lights went on after the Part Time Woman went to work. I know he did that intentionally.

The Boss came by and was telling me the Manager is thinking about retiring in June. She could live off her husband's retirement, and she's talked about it for the past 20 years. I believe her this time. There is also a theory that the Manager of the West Side Station may also be leaving which would explain the rumor of my potential moving over there. But that means they'll have a whole new staff at the Truck Stop in the next 6 months. The future has never been this unknown. 

They just finished repairing the pumps and the #10 pump stopped working. The bosses get mad when you mark a pump out of order and I didn't have a lot of diesel customers so I just kept telling them to move to a different pump and left the problem for someone else. And then #11 started rejecting all the cards, I didn't tell anyone about that either. And I'm off on Friday so it's really someone else's problem.

I went to do a last minute check on the restroom and there was hair on the floor of the men's room. And not loose strands but wads of hair. Are they undergoing some kind of medical thing and losing chunks? It was odd. 

A guy came in and it took me a minute and I suddenly realized, I had worked with that guy a long time ago. He was a bit of a goofball and had started getting into drugs, which caused him schizophrenic episodes. Things got really bad for him. I didn't ask what happened and I kind of hoped he didn't recognize me. 

It was the end of the night, I was out of my drawer, finished my paperwork and was ready to leave. Stinky was slowly counting in his drawer and the Crazy Lady, who had opened her drawer, had wandered off to who knows where. Some woman was asking about cigarettes and didn't know what the brands were. I told her that there was regular Marlboro so she was going to go out and ask if that was good enough. I told the Crazy Lady that there were all kinds of red flags on that one and to be sure to check an ID. Or the woman was Canadian.

Anyhow, for the big news of the day, the Random Millionaire has been acting more and more erratic for the past week. He's been losing his temper over nothing, riding out into traffic and mumbling to himself. I figured if he was going to go over the edge I hoped he did it down at the Conoco. Well, on Wednesday night he came in to the Truck Stop and got into a huge fight with the Crazy Lady and in the end he punched her, in the chest. I don't think it was that hard but none the less there is a zero tolerance on physical violence so he now has a No Trespass notice on him. Everyone said the same thing "I'm surprised she didn't shoot him" (yes the Crazy Lady is always armed). So, this is going to be interesting.

The Lottery Experiment April

Week 15

 For the first Saturday of the month I had $22.68 in the Tip Jar. Since I've bought all the available tickets it was time to start over. I was planning on buying one of two $10 tickets for their color so I could use them in my project. I spun my lucky coin and it landed on the one with the potential $50000 jackpot. The coin was right, I won, $10. I'm starting out the month on another push. It would be nice to come out ahead but walking away with what I spent isn't bad.

Week 16

Like every other Sunday there was another temptation. This time it was game 666 which is in space 13 and the ticket was #007. Once again I decided to stick to the rules and ignore the numbers. Someone came in on Monday and bought it but they didn't come back so I don't know if it was a winner or a loser. And it means when Saturday rolls around I won't buy it.

Saturday rolled around and I had $14.03 in the Tip Jar. There were two new tickets, one for five dollars and one for 10. I decided to go with the $10 ticket because I liked the color. It had a potential jackpot of $20 thousand. And it was a loser. Oh well. 

Later on Saturday I found another lottery ticket outside, it was the same game as I had lost on. It wasn't a winner either. But I have two tickets towards my project. I really need to get busy on it. 

Week 17

This week I had $6.51 in the Tip Jar. I had a choice between a ticket that was going to run out or the new game. I went with the new $5 ticket, it has a potential jackpot of $25k. It wasn't a winner but it's a second chance drawing and the overall ticket is black which is good for my art project.

The scanner for people to check their own tickets quit working so I had to do a hard reboot of the system. I needed to check it but the only old draw ticket I had was a winner and the scanner ignores those since it had already been cashed out. I needed a loser so I was tempted to buy one for the afternoon draw and test it out. However a guy came in to check tickets and one of his draw ticket was a loser so I could check it on the scanner and it was working. So, that saved me a dollar.

Week 18

And then everything went sideways. There was a firing at one of the other stations at the company where I work and the boss wants me to go over and run the afternoon shift. The problem is they don't sell lottery tickets so I can't buy my own anymore. I can go by once a week and keep the thing going but do I want to is the question. If I quit now I end it down. I have 5 days to think about it. Also I'll have to shift my purchase day to Friday.

I've been on my new job for 24 hours and have had to go to the old station two days in a row. I ended up having to cover for an hour so I figured what the heck, I'd buy the last April ticket. I had an even $7 in the Tip Jar and there is a game that will be ending soon so since we have a few left I figured I would buy it while I had the chance. It is a $5 ticket with a potential jackpot of $200. It doesn't have the best of color for my project but I can make it work. Anyhow it wasn't a winner so I'm ending the month down. I have no idea what will happen at work for the next few months. The good news is since I won't be around the tickets all day I won't be making stupid decisions based on lucky numbers or the week being just right, or the Fates telling me "buy this, buy this now!" Perhaps I can get a better grip on the whole experiment. It also means I won't buy a ticket for a week and a half.

My April Total

I spent $92 on scratch tickets.

$14 on Powerball tickets.

 Won $79

Found a ticket good for a free $2 ticket

Was tipped a $5 ticket.

Got a $4 lottery tip. 

I entered 16 Second Chance tickets on line

At the end of the month I am down $23 in the regular lottery experiment. 

I also have $180.00 in the Alternate Fund

The Art Project

I spent $20 on tickets.

I got one free ticket

I won $3

I'm down $17 but it's for art so....

So overall I'm down a total of $39 thanks to art.

As The Station Turn 4/29

 When I got to work the pump repair guy was there. The station had a contract with one company but they pissed off all their employees and everyone quit. The station got a contract with a new company but the Boss pissed them off so they stopped showing up. So on to company number three. He was there for a couple of hours, there were multiple pumps that didn't work and he finally got them up and running, but then one crashed after he left, and it was one that had been working before. I went outside to see what was going on and it was trying to read a card, even though nobody was using it. I messed around a bit, pushed the cancel button and hit the fuel selection button and it went back on line, probably had nothing to do with what I did. Anyhow we now have fully functional pumps. Before he left the guy asked if I had any paperwork for him to turn into the state but nobody told me anything about it so I didn't. He called someone and found where the paperwork was and left. The Boss came around later and wanted to know if the guy had gone across the street to see why those pumps are running slow. Again, nobody told me anything about it so I get a pass on that. (as part of my "cover thine own ass" policy I'm going to be ignorant on a lot of things for the rest of the year)

I looked across the street and the Dyslexic woman, who works Wednesday mornings, was sweeping around one of the pumps. I figured out that someone must have had a fuel spill and she dumped the absorption stuff on it and now she was cleaning it up. Sure enough, someone came along and parked right where she was trying to sweep. No surprise there, the whole place is empty and that is the spot where they had to park.

I decided to run and check the restroom, hey the urinal is working again, that thing is always bagged out. I needed to dump a bucket of water down it to clean it out but just then I got swarmed by pissers. They know, they just know. Then I discovered the station doesn't have a bucket anymore, how the heck to they clean anything if they don't have a bucket? Anyhow back in the day there was a leak in the freezer blower and they had an old ice bucket under it so I filled that up and used it to give the urinal a good flush. I'm gonna have to take my own bucket because I like to dump hot water down it at least once a day. Or until it gets bagged out again.

It started to get hazy outside and I wondered what the heck was going on. I looked out the back door and there were clouds of smoke coming up from south of town. I got on Facebook and there was a grass fire but it was in a perfect spot, between two roads and a railroad track, pretty much perfect fire breaks. In about four hours they had the thing put out.

There was a pile of old plastic pallets out back of the Haunted Station. Where they came from? I didn't know. Who did they belong to? Again, I didn't know. How long had they been there? Before I worked there. Some woman had asked about them and I told her that if I came in and they were gone I wasn't going to say anything. Well I looked over there today and they were gone. Who took them? I don't know.

I found a nut, metal bolt thing by the way, and dropped it in the Take A Penny tray, just for laughs. Well, someone took it. Why would you take an old nut out of a penny tray? Now I'm gonna have to find a new one. 

A guy came in and said the coffee wasn't working. What? I went over to the pot and it had coffee in it, all he had to do was pull the lever forward and fill up his cup, so I pointed that out to him. He pointed to the paper that was over the buttons that said "Don't push these buttons" I told him that there was coffee and he could get all he wanted. So he asked me how much it was and I asked him what size. He said he was going to go check...and went outside. He never came back. 

The Boss had been across the street and he got really happy because he saw a bus pull on the lot and he thought I was going to be busy. However it turned out to be the Mexican bus and they were just dropping someone off. BTW, if you're from Colorado or New Mexico you know what the Mexican bus is and won't get pissed at the term.

The highway department is going to rebuild the interstate overpass, something that has been in the planning stages for the past 5 years. They finally got all the plans done, they got all the contracting done and I guess they are going to start within the next couple of months. The construction company contacted the Boss and want to rent the lower lot at the Haunted Station to store their equipment. I said it was a great idea, he gets paid to do nothing, they will be at the stations every day buying coffee, snacks, sandwiches and so forth and they'll be filling up their equipment. It's a win/win/win for him. He then asked if I thought the bridge was going to cause him problems and I pointed out anyone coming from Texas wasn't going to want to deal with the mess of driving across the bridge and the detour was going to start at the Haunted Station and then down the frontage road, they would stop there or at the Truck Stop in order to avoid trying to get to the other side of the interstate, another win for him. Although I don't think the West Side Station will survive.

I got a Where's George bill in my drawer so I had taken it home and updated it. At the first of the shift I had given it to a truck driver. A couple of hours later he came back and paid it back in, that was the fastest turn around I ever had on one. I gave it out to the next customer that came in. Happy wandering bill. 

Some guy came in and very specifically wanted $28.88 on the pump. I don't question people's phobias. Too bad he didn't go to pump #8

It was almost the end of my shift when a guy walked in and said "good morning", at 9 PM. I pretended I didn't notice. If you ever go to a place and say something embarrassing know that it happens all the time, we're use to it and we don't judge you for it. 

Since I came back to the Truck Stop I've noticed that every night at 9 I get swamped, I guess the other stations are closing at that time and everyone heads up here. So, I've started trying to get everything done early enough so I don't have to worry about it or leave something undone. So today I was completely finished and...the place emptied out and I was so slow for the last hour. They know, they just know. Oh, and the Graveyard Shift was late, I figured Stinky was once again sick and taking the day off but he showed up. I ran out the door as quickly as I could. Also the Weekend guy was working across the street and I'm pretty sure he closed at 9 and left at 10 so he wasn't stuck there when I went home. 

As The Station Turns 4/28

 My day started early, I got a phone call from the Late Guy, they finally got the big digital price sign working and the programming fob, however, it is suppose to switch from cash to credit price, .03¢ discount if you come by, however the sign was stuck on credit. I changed the price on the sign maybe twice before it broke down but I figured I would go see what I could do. I also decided that since I'm not the manager anymore I was going to clock in, they have a digital clock in system so you can get on at any of the stations. I was planning on getting the sign working, then clocking out, hanging out for probably a half hour or so chatting with the Late Guy and then going to work, I was wrong. I don't know what they did but the sign was stuck on credit and wouldn't go into displaying both the prices mode. I went through the instructions, the Late Guy looked some stuff up on the internet, nothing would work. I finally decided to do the old standby, turn it off and turn it on again. Then hit the proper combo on the remote and viola, cash or credit price came up. I set it to the right price and by that time I killed a little time and just went to work, and I picked up an extra hour on my check. Later the Boss came by and I told him I was over helping get the sign up but I didn't mention the clock thing. If he asks me why I clocked in early I'll tell him "I told you, I was getting the sign up and running". 

Also the internet crashed at the Haunted Station so the credit cards weren't working. They have a back up system that works on its own signal but it's not connected to the register so you have to manually enter everything and at the end of the day you are way off in your total. Later in the day I saw a couple of work trucks over there so I figured the internet company sent someone over. I'll find out what the details were later, probably on Friday. 

Also the Late Guy is telling me all about what he wants to do, move this over there, put in a new rack there and stock it with this, and so forth and so on. Oh this isn't going to be good, he's gonna end up with a lot of outdated stock and have to spend a lot of time telling people where stuff is. I spent months observing the flow and where people were heading when they were looking for something specific. Also getting similar stuff into the same places. He's gonna change all that and it's going to turn into a Walmart type of situation. I also suggested he orders the new $3 lottery ticket because he's about to have an open space. We'll see if he listens. 

When I got to the Truck Stop the Homeless Millionaire was there and I don't know if he's on something new or he's not taking his proper meds but he was on a tear today. He was having a huge argument, with himself, and I couldn't tell if he was winning or losing. When he realized the Manager and Mrs. Late Guy had left he decided to leave, I think he's a little afraid of me. Later I saw him in the vacant lot down the road. His shirt was off, the fight was in full gear and he was storming around. He must have headed back to his camp because I didn't see him the rest of the day. I hope that guy gets himself balanced out or bad things are going to happen. And if he can't get himself balanced out I hope the bad things happen somewhere else. 

I was suppose to be off today but the Boss had called and told me to take Monday off since the Manager needed this morning off. Mrs Late Guy worked the afternoon shift and was suppose to work solo on Tuesday morning. However the Manager had gone to the dentist and since it wasn't anything serious she came in, they were both there when I showed up. It's fun not knowing what days I'll be working from one week to the next.

I was looking across the street and I could see the Late Guy and the Random Woman having a conversation in front of the Haunted Station. He said they were going to be having a serious talk about personal food in the coolers and the cleaning schedule. The Boss wants to start doing hot foods and the health department will be dropping by for an inspection. Considering the Haunted Station isn't set up properly I don't see them getting a permit. Also the Random Woman kept talking about how she wasn't happy and was considering finding something else before the summer kicks in. I don't think the daily lecture on what she's doing wrong will encourage her to stick around. I always had minor problems with her but nothing I couldn't deal with. This is going to get interesting. Perhaps I'll start dropping hints to the Boss that if he hires a couple of qualified people for the Truck Stop, and she quits I could go back over there and do the afternoon shift. 

Some kid pissed me off. He came in, got a soda, dumped it out and left, came back got a second soda and dumped it out again and then rushed out the door. I gave him the death stare the whole time. He had better not come back. 

The Manager came by, she had the Boss order her some brats for a party her family is holding this weekend and he was suppose to drop them off, however he was running behind. When he showed up he changed the fuel price, just another patriotic 20¢ per gallon increase, winning. The Late Guy was across the street trying to change the price on his sign and he still couldn't figure out the remote. I was trying to give him instructions over the phone but he wasn't getting it. The Boss told me to go over and help him so I was halfway there when he finally figured it out. Again, I'm not a manager anymore. Anyhow the Truck Stop Manager showed up, filled up her car and then changed the price, I don't blame her for that. Then they all left.

Towards the end of the night a guy tanked up at the diesel pumps. However, when he went to pull out he discovered that his transmission was stuck, he could go in reverse but not into drive. He was pulling a trailer so trying to maneuver around the building was going to be impossible, although I'd love to see someone try. Anyhow when I hauled the trash out he waved and me and explained that he was waiting for it to cool down and hopefully he could get it into gear and pull out of the middle of the road. He was going to have someone come and tow him to their shop but that could be a couple of hours. I told him it was no problem, after all what could he do? Later when I looked out he had gotten it into drive and had pulled over into the dirt lot but he wasn't going to chance doing any permanent damage and was still waiting for the tow. 

Some guy came in, got pissed at the price of sunflower seeds and stormed out. I'm tempted to print the White House address and email with the words "Price Complaint Department" on it and hand it to grouch people. You know the majority are MAGA.

A truck driver came in and wanted to know if he could park in the vacant lot next to the Truck Stop. I told him sure. He wanted to know if he had to pay and I told him we don't charge, especially since it's not our property. He said the Haunted Station was charging to park, that was news to me. I wonder if someone over there has been pocketing cash as a "parking fee". If the Boss finds out someone could lose their job. Oooo, what if it's the Part Time Woman? I might have to drop a hint about that.

Some guy came in and was looking for the highway to Texas, I told him he was going the right way. He said that there is no sign when you come off the interstate. I walk by there on a regular basis and there is a really big sign with a really big arrow pointing the right way to go. But then the guy told me he was coming from Colorado Springs where he picked up his friend at the airport and they were driving to Houston. Ummm....wouldn't it have been easier for your friend to fly into Houston? So, I wish that guy the best of luck because he seems a little weird. 

I wanted to do the ice before I left but some guy drifted in. He wandered around and finally bought some stuff and left. I got to the end of the counter and he came back in, he wanted $40 on the pump, why didn't he just pay for it the first time, then he left. Then he came back in and wanted more stuff. Then his girlfriend came in to use the restroom. Then he came back in because he wanted to put gas in his girlfriend's car too. Then the woman who the guy picked up at the airport in Colorado Springs, who had been sitting outside for a half hour came in. AAAAAAAA! Yes, I eventually got the ice done. 

The Crazy Lady and the Graveyard Shift Guy came in and I closed my shift. I warned them that the wind was blowing so the crazies were out. The Crazy Lady told me about a tornado in Kansas. Ummmm....well that was a strange shift. But I was on my way out the door so I didn't care. I looked at the Haunted Station and the Random Woman had a lot full of cars so she wasn't going home for a while.

And I'm so looking forward to Wednesday.

As The Station Turns 4/26

 Mrs. Late Guy had a thing to do on Sunday afternoon so I went in an hour early. The place was mobbed. I haven't seen it that busy since "the war" and the price increase. Also the wind was blowing so it meant I was going to have a bad day. And I was off. 

I was watching the goings on across the street, some guy had pulled into the pumps wrong so he was trying to turn around and pull in to the diesel pump. There are acres of room over there and you can drive all they way around the building but instead he was trying to pull forwards and back up, with a trailer, back and forth, back and fourth, it took him a good ten minutes to finally get around to where he could finally get to the pump without dragging the trailer across the barriers. And in two minutes he could have pulled around the building. Oh well, I was entertained. 

A woman got a soda, but used a coffee cup. It's no big difference to me, I knew what to charge her, however she couldn't figure out what lid to use. She was trying to use the lids labeled for the soda cups, since she got soda, instead of the ones labeled for the coffee cups, which she was using. I kept telling her to use the right lids, but she got soda so shouldn't she use a soda lid? Then her daughter got involved and I got really frustrated. They finally said, "these are for the coffee cups" and I told her "Yes, you are using a coffee cup". If there had been a point in my life when someone listened to what I said I would be pissed but after all these decades I'm use to it. 

The Homeless Millionaire came in and he was all wired up. He counted through his stuff, said something strange, and left. I saw him ride it bike through oncoming traffic and head across the street. Then he came storming back to the Truck Stop and asked for a pack of cigarettes Being-Sure-To-Put-Emphasis-On-Every-Word. I knew his brand so I was already halfway to getting them while he was still talking. I rang it out, he mumbled something and then stormed out. Later the Late Guy came by and I asked what happened across the street. The Random Woman was ringing up his smokes and he got pissed that it was taking too long. She said if he didn't behave himself she was going to start asking for his ID, which he probably doesn't have. The got into a shouting match and she told him to not come back as he stormed out. He'll have forgotten by the next day and go back, and be nicer. He keeps talking about heading south or even out to L.A. and I won't mind. 

The Last Guy told me the company was gearing up to sell hot foods like hot dogs or nachos. Oh I'm not looking forward to that. I've worked at places that do that stuff before and it's a mess, plus the waste and all the health department regulations. These days you have to pass a food handling class and I can't imagine someone like Stinky being able to do that. This is a disaster waiting to happen. 

For the second time since I moved over to the Truck Stop I've had to change out the soda syrup. What the heck? Can't it run out on someone else's shift? And of course I was busy the whole time. 

A guy with an EV came in looking for a charging port. I told him where the closest one was but he said they didn't fit his car. I though those things would be universal, one design for all cars but I guess they have to make things difficult. Anyhow I gave him directions to another place even though I have no idea what their plugs are like. Also wouldn't they have them listed on Google?

An Earth Wanderer came in, I could barely understand what she was saying, she was an interesting one. She asked if she could fill up her water bottle and I told her sure. She did and then left. So that didn't turn out bad which was nice. Usually when the wind blows the real nut jobs come out but that didn't happen today.

Business slowed down so I figured it was a good time to get something to eat, trail mix by the way since I know better than to try to eat anything hot. Sure enough, a woman came in and was looking around. She was complaining about reducing sodium in her diet and boy did she pick the wrong place to come. She finally left and then another truck driver came in, he was describing everything in the store to someone on the phone. He finally left and I got swarmed. An hour later I went back to eating.

A guy came in looking for DEF at a pump (Diesel Exhaust Fluid). I told him nobody around here had that and he left. I'm sure he didn't believe me. Happy hunting dude. 

I started my end of the shift stuff but two women came in and wandered around the whole store. At one point they got into an argument about the amount of chocolate chips in the various packages of cookies. All I wanted was for them To Leave! Finally they came up to the register so I could ring them out, then they decided the needed something else. ARRRRGGGG! Then the Boss came in and every time I tried to step away from the register he asked me another question. He usually runs in, does his stuff and leaves but today he wanted to hang out. he finally left. 

I bagged up all the restroom trash and was about to carry the bag out to the dumpster and again I got swarmed so I has to set it off to the side. An older guy came in and was waiting for someone to fill up at the pump and naturally he had to hang out right in front of the register. I can't tell you how much I hate that. Go away so I can do stuff or other customers can buy stuff. Some people have zero awareness of the universe. 

Once again the place cleared out so I figured I would do the ice in the soda machines early. I went to the office got out the step ladder, took the lid off the machine and three vehicles pulled up on the lot. I quickly ran back to the office to turn off the light and close the door. Sure enough all the people who came in headed straight back there despite the big sign that say DO NOT ENTER. NO RESTROOM. If I had left the door open they would have gone into the office, wandered around and then figured out the lack of toilets probably meant something. 

Stinky showed up early, thank goodness since I had been at work for 8 1/2 hours. However after buying his cigarettes and a sandwich he stood at the end of the counter staring out into space, while I dealt with a register problem. Finally 10 minutes later he logged on and I was able to close my drawer. Seriously, it's a small town, you should know how long it takes to get from your house to work, if you aren't going to clock in then don't come in I don't understand people.

As I was getting ready to leave I checked my phone and discovered that the Late Guy had tried to call me at 9 in the morning. It was way too late to answer whatever question he had. Plus, he's the manager of the Haunted Station now, he's going to have to figure it out.

Meanwhile Today 4/27

First thing this morning I got a call from the Boss. These days with my screwed up schedule I was going to work on Monday and have Tuesday off. However he wants me to take Monday off and come in on Tuesday. What's up with that? Are they going to shuffle the schedule again?

Anyhow I figured I would go for a walk and dropped by the Haunted Station to see if he knew what was going on. It turns out the Manager at the Truck Stop has to take tomorrow off so Mrs. Late Guy will be covering the afternoon shift today and the morning shift tomorrow. I'll be covering the afternoon shift. Well, that answers that. 

He, the Late Guy, also told me the Part Time Woman is complaining because she doesn't want to be shuffled around from station to station and is talking about quitting. He's encouraging her to do so, I would too. If I have to see her I'm going to bring up how bad things will get once they introduce hot food to the mix. Fingers crossed. 

The Late Guy also told me all the plans he has for the Haunted Station and I said it all sounded good. The problem is that there is limited space and you have to maintain a proper turnover. If you pack too much stuff in you start to have outdated stuff. I wish him the best. 

As The Station Turns 4/25

The day started in a way I hate, the morning shift had hauled all the floor mats outside and hung them on the handicap railing, and of course they aren't going to haul them back in. So I have to do it in between customers. I should mention that I'm working solo these days. Seriously, when you finish cleaning the floor, haul the mats back inside. They even do it on extremely windy days and there have been times I had to chase them down in the parking lot. I didn't miss that when I was across the street at the Haunted Station.

I went outside to check the trash and one can didn't have a bag in it! They pulled the bag, tossed it and didn't replace it. I mean seriously, bring one with you and replace it right away otherwise people are going to start filling it up. Also there were paper towels all over the restroom floors. It's like nobody ever figured out how toss them in the actual trash can, that is right there. Plus they were soaking wet. Someone took a paper towel, drenched it and then threw it on the floor. Why?

The ice cream freezer was empty but the guy showed up and took care of it. However the Manager didn't put the barcode for the new flavor in the register. And of course, every customer who came in wanted that one, not any other kind, just that one. I sold 6 or 7 in the first hour and had to manually enter it each time. When I was across the street at the Haunted Station I could take care of it but over here I'm just a regular peon and hopefully someone took care of it so when I go in on Sunday I won't have to deal with that all day.

A woman came in, and got the ice cream that wasn't priced. I decided to be nice and charge her the retail price rather than the jacked up price the Manager puts them at. But the woman started bitching about the price of gas so she paid the Truck Stop prices. Want me to be nice? Be nice. 

A guy came in and wanted a receipt so I asked him which pump he was on, he said "The one out there" pointing in general. There were four cars on the lot so I printed one for the direction he was pointing to. Later I saw him go out and get in a different car, so he got the wrong receipt. If he calculates his milage off the gallons he's going to be impressed. And, ever since the 1972 gas crisis stations have had numbers on the pumps. That is 54 years. You'd think people would have learned by now, read the pump number before you come inside!

Some guy came in and got coffee and I was sort of watching him. I calculated that he dumped 10 packets of sugar in the cup. If you do the math that comes to 1% sugar in his cup. Hello diabetes. 

I hit a slow spot in the day so I figured I would do a quick check on the walk in cooler. I ran outside to my car, grabbed my jacket and here came the swarm. They hung around for about an hour. The good part was I looked across the street and they were being swarmed too so it wasn't just me. If they would have a second person on shift then I could plan to do a lot of stuff and we'd always be busy. 

So Friday I had dropped by the Haunted Station to see how things were going. Earlier, before I got transferred I had put an order in for styrofoam coolers but there were none in the building, along with several other things I had ordered. On Thursday I had straightened out the coolers at the Truck Stop, they were all just tossed on to one of the coolers. When I went in today I noticed they were all gone and I had a clue as to what happened. Later when the Boss dropped by I asked him if he had taken them and he said yes, there is a fishing tournament going on in a town where they have another station and are selling out, so he took everything here. Why can't that other station plan in advance? But I'm not doing ordering anymore so I don't care. 

I looked out back and there were a couple of people behind the dumpsters. I wondered what they were doing, and I didn't want to know at the same time. They came in the building, but they walked all the way around to the front door. When they left they went out the front door and walked all the way around the building again. Did they not see the back door? I mean it's not hidden. 

The Part Time Woman was working across the street since the Random Woman had a thing on Saturday. I was watching to see what kind of stuff she did during her shift. She took a bag of trash out to the dumpster, and it was perhaps an 1/8th full. The thing was pretty much empty. What a waste of a bag. 

About halfway through the day I got a call from Mrs. Late Guy. It turns out she has to do something on Sunday and so I have to go in an hour early. I don't have any plans and it's an hour of overtime and she let me know well in advance so I don't mind. Plus it's slow so I won't be crazy busy.

When I was at the Haunted Station on Friday I grabbed a bottle of spray cleaner because there is nothing at the Truck Stop. I figured if I left it out it would be gone the next day. So there is a high shelf in the office that is packed with old electronic crap that could be thrown away I got out the ladder and found a space on the top shelf where I could put the bottle, put stuff in front of it and nobody else will see it. Seems like a lot of work just to clean the restroom but there you are. Also I'm still in the habit of working at the Haunted Station so every time I leave the office I check to make sure I have my key, since the office door at the Haunted Station automatically locks behind you. 

Frankie The Cop came by, he's trying to quit smoking but was having a massive craving so he was going to bum one off the Late Guy. I told him everything that had been going on, he wasn't surprised they fired the Doofus. I was going to ask if they were watching for the Doofus to bust him for drunk driving, again but I'm not going to get into that. We chatted about the joys of being in a management position and then he had to go. 

I had to put paper towels in the ladies room but it's a new dispenser that I had never dealt with before. First I had to figure out how to open it, it just has a push down release, then I had to figure out how the towels go in the machine. They feed over the top, under the first roller, back across the second roller and then under another set of rollers to be cut off. Some engineer really really went nuts with that one. 

So I took my hidden bottle of cleaner and did the restrooms. I got them cleaned up nice and all I had left was to dump the trash, and that's when the family with all the small children came in and headed straight to the restroom. They stuck around for an hour, plus the swarm that followed them. When they all left I was glad that I hadn't dumped the trash because now they were full of diapers and piss soaked shorts and a lot of soaking wet paper towels, plus the ones they threw all over the floor. So I got to clean all that up for a second time. btw, I was busy enough in the last hour that I didn't dump the outside trash, the graveyard shift can take care of that. 

Stinky showed up and after he did his shopping, because he knows they are watching him now, he started to slowly count in his drawer. As I was waiting the cops came flying up, stopped in the street in front of the station, got out of their cars and were looking at something, or someone. I could't tell because someone pulling a trailer had parked at first pump and was blocking my view. They didn't stick around long so I never found out what was going on. 

The day before when I left I noticed the Part Time Woman was still across the street even though she can close a little early and leave by 10. I wanted to look again today but someone was blocking the west side exit and I had to pull around to the east side one and it wasn't until I got home that I realized I never looked. But the good news was that I had turned on my outside light so I could see the door knob and the key hole. I forgot the day before and had to dig out my flashlight. 

Kate And Allie 21-25

 Rear Window

This episode premiered on February 11th 1985. The lead in show was Scarecrow and Mrs. King and was followed by Newhart. It ran opposite movies on ABC (Obsessed With A Married Woman) and NBC (Two Fathers' Justice)

Chip's friends are all busy and he's bored and starts to annoy everyone. He starts dumping stuff from the medicine cabinet into the toilet but it foams up and makes a mess so Allie ground him to his room. While looking out the window he sees a man and a woman, later she's laying on the bed and the guy comes out with a knife. Nobody believes he saw a murder and think he's just trying to get attention. The girls come to the room and see what Chip has been looking at, the guy hauls a trunk into the room. Jen comes up with an idea, go across to the apartment, get the address and then call the place to see if the woman is asleep. The girls see the guy bring Chip into the apartment, everyone freaks out. It turns out the guy is a magician and the legs are from his "saw a lady in half" act. Allie tells Chip the story about the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Dated References

Kate and Allie go skating in the park. They use double axle skates instead of in line.

The girls are trying makeup. Chip says he likes makeup and they tell him he isn't suppose to. In the gender neutral modern world they would have gotten a lot of complaints for that one.

Allie pays the girls $2.50 an hour to play with Chip. That was good money for a 14 year old back in the day.

Jen comments that Kate rented Rear Window on cassette. VHS had been around since 1977 so it is funny she'd refer to it as that.

The title and plot refer to the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller movie.

Lovely Rita

This episode ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Hollywood Wives on ABC and Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Special on NBC

Kate's father comes by because he can't find her office number, he tells her he is planning on getting married to Rita and wants Kate to meet her. Kate doesn't like Rita, she thinks she is pushy. Kate tells her father the truth and he reconsiders getting married. He gets really depressed and starts to become a burden on the family. Jen has a talk with Kate about accepting the new woman in her father's life. Kate talks with her father and he decides to go through with the marriage. 

Dated Reference

Jen and Emma are studying The Four Food Groups. Today we learn the Food Pyramid.

Kate's father leaves her a number of messages on her answering machine. He hates those new fangled contraptions. 

Disney would buy ABC in 1995 so their specials wouldn't run on NBC in the future.

Kate hates that Rita calls her father Benji, like the dog. The movie series started in 1974

Chip doesn't understand why there is a photo of Kate wearing mouse ears. Micky Mouse ears were still popular in the 80's.

Sons And Lovers

This episode would run in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movie A Bunny's Tale on ABC and Evergreen on NBC

Ted compliments Allie and her painting and compares it to Cezanne just to bug Kate. Allie gets stuck in the elevator with a student, Steve. He turns out to be a photographer, he says her painting is too rigid, and shows her his portfolio of photographs. He takes her photo and then shows up at the apartment to ask her permission to display her photo at the gallery. Steve cooks dinner for the family. In the dark room he starts to flirt with Allie and then kisses her. Allies runs out and exposes the unprocessed film. After they go see a movie Steve invites Allie to his apartment, At first she rejects him but later agrees, she shows up early and runs into his mother, it's very awkward. After a conversation Allie decides to go home rather that have a fling with Steve.

Dated References

In the park Kate gets her kite stuck in a tree, she does a Charlie Brown imitation. 

A student, Steve, lets Allie use his 35MM camera. Today it would be digital.

Steve looks up Allie's address in the student directory. In the modern world universities don't want to be held liable for stalkers so they don't put out such things anymore.

Steve offers to develop Allie's photos. In the modern world you take them on your digital.

While leaving a movie Allie and Steve pass a poster for Cats. The musical started its Broadway run in 1981.

When Steve asks people at the bus stop if Allie should come back to his apartment a woman asks "Is This Candid Camera?" The classic show started as a radio program in 1947. It had several TV revivals including a special in 1983.

Author Author

This episode ran in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movies The Gauntlet on ABC and Romance On The Orient Express on NBC

Kate and Allie's old college professor Owen Ives is going to be on a late night talk show. He wrote a book about a professor who is in love with one of his students. They both began to wonder if it's about a real student, if it was one of them. They each read the book and figure that it's about the other one. The professor will be signing autographs and they figure they have to go and find out the truth. Each woman fantasies about being the character in the book. Allie goes to the signing and the professor signs her book "to my inspiration", however he signed all the books to his former students the same. When Allie plans on meeting the professor Kate finally tells her the truth, Allie decides to go meet with him anyhow, and confront him. It turns out the guy is married and wanted to meet Allie to discuss what happened to the students of the 60's. 

Dated Reference

The kids are very excited that Bruce Dalton is going to be on TV, however he's appearing on Midnight Talk. The only way they can watch is to stay up late. Today you'd just catch the repeat on YouTube the next day. (Bruce Dalton is a made up name for the show)

The late night show is having a film about Gerald Ford. Jen says "Didn't he do something?" Ford had been President 9 years earlier. Ted, the plumber, tries to explain who he is to Chip and mentions Spiro Agnew, Chip thinks that is a made up name. Did you google Spiro Agnew?

Allie says she didn't stand in line for an autograph from Art Garfunkel, former duo partner of Paul Simon. 

Dead Cat

This episode ran in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movie Kicks on ABC and a special The Most Beautiful Girl In The World on NBC

Chip is upset that his dog can't live with them. (Country Dog, episode 15). Kate brings home a kitten to solve the problem, however the kitten is dead. Kate goes back to the pet store but it's closed, now they have to break the news to Chip. Later in the night Chip goes to talk to the dead cat. The pet store refuses to exchange the cat, Kate says she's going to take the owner of the pet shop to court but Allie explains how the bureaucracy works. Kate insists so Allie takes the dead cat to the vet to find out how it died. The vet tells Allie the cat had distemper so Kate plans on going back tomorrow, meanwhile Chip is planning Iggy's funeral. They get caught trying to bury the cat in Central Park and get fined. Kate comes back with a live cat. Chip is still upset that the original kitten is dead and rejects the new cat. Kate points out that Chip has never really learned about death so they both go to talk to him. In the end, everyone is happy, except the dead cat.

Dated References.

Kate and Allie are doing the tourists stops of NYC. Kate suggests they go to the World Trade Center. This was 16 years before the 9/11 attack. 

Another 5 episodes down. And the 1980's were a strange time. 

Kate And Allie 16-20

 Piano Lesson

This episode premiered on December 10th 1984. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Raiders 24-Lions 3) and a movie on NBC (The Sun Also Rises part 2)

Max, Kate's ex husband, is heading to L.A. to peruse his acting career, his birthday present to Emma is his old piano. Emma and Jen have a crush on the piano teacher, Waldo. He invites Emma to his concert until Kate finds out it starts at 11 PM, on a school night, he invites Kate instead and Emma gets mad at her. Walter brings a demo tape to Kate, Emma gets angry again and attacks Kate for stealing her "boyfriend" and sending her father away. Allie tells Kate that she has to start acting her age. Kate and Emma have a mother daughter talk. 

Dated References

Walter, the piano teacher, says his band is cuttitng an album, New Wave, a less harsh version of Punk. Allie asks if he's like Talking Heads, Culture Club and The Clash. She also mentions Jackson Brown, Joe Jackson, Michale Jackson. 

Walter drops off his demo, on cassette.

Allie is looking at Polaroid photos. 

Harley Venton plays Max in this episode. 

John Loeffler plays Walter the piano teacher. He is best known for composing the theme to the Pokemon series and the theme song for Kate And Allie. 

New Years Eve

This episode premiered on  December 31st, 1984 (New Years Eve). It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies (Samuel Fuller And The Big Red One) on ABC and (Hard Knox) on NBC.

The girls want to hold a New Years Eve party. Allie says it will give her something to do that night but they don't want her around. Allie starts making suggestions for NYE resolutions, Jen needs to stop biting her nails, Chip needs to stop picking on his sister, Emma needs to practice the piano more (remember that last story from a few sentences up?) and Kate needs to quit smoking (this was the first episode where we see her smoking). Kate tells Allie she needs to give up chocolate. The family puts on a play about the dangers of smoking. Allie smokes a cigarette for Kate and Kate eats chocolate for Allie, Kate is getting second hand smoke which is the same as actually smoking. The women decide to go to Time's Square to watch the ball drop. After going to a slasher movie and a dive pizza place they wind up in the laundry room eating.

Dated References

Allie calls a cloud "X-Rated". The X rating was applied to movies that featured "adult content", strictly audiences over 18 years of age. However the MPAA didn't copyright the rating so porn movies began to advertise themselves as "X Rated" even adding extra X's to sound even dirtier. In the 90's the MPAA changed the rating to NC-17. Today you can watch porn on the internet regardless of the rating system.

When Kate and Allie quiz the girls about their party Emma says "It's like Cagney and Lacey around here" Cagney and Lacey was a show about two female detectives. It ran from 1982 to 1988

Kate and Allie plan to go to a movie, dinner and then to Time's Square to watch the NYE ball drop. In the real world you have to show up by 10 AM for a good spot and to get through security.

The pizza place has a photo of Telly Savalas on the wall. Best known for the police drama Kojak, He passed away in 1994

Ted the plumber is going to Switzerland on NYE instead of on a date with Kate.

This was the last episode of 1984.

Back To School

This episode premiered on January 7th 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies on ABC (The Thorn Birds) and NBC (A Reason To Live)

Allie is on her way back to college but she's worried about fitting in. She has to take a hard biology class. She wants to skip school when Chip gets sick but Kate hires a sitter instead. Kate finds out that the professor has been insulting Allie and decides to help her out. Allie gets caught cheating and the professor threatens to get her expelled. She tells the family that she is going to quit school and instead get a part time job. Kate forces her to confess and enjoys the irony, and then convinces Allie to talk to the professor. Allie makes up a story about her ex abandoning her and the children however the professor points out that her nice clothes give away that she's not poor. He tries to dismiss her and she gets mad. The Dean decides to not expel Allie but transfer her to another class, it turns out the Dean is a divorced woman who went through all the stuff Allie had claimed she had been through. 

Dated References

Allie has a choice between three notebooks, Snoopy, Michael Jackson or plain. Most college kids take notes on their laptops in the modern world.

The kids get Allie an Everly Brothers pencil box. After breaking up in 1973 the brothers had gotten back together in 1983 to do a classic tour.

Allies says her hard professor wanted to be John Houseman. The actor was best known for playing the tough law professor in the movie The Paper Chase.

Chip is wearing Battle Of The Planets pajamas. It is a Japanese Anime series that began broadcasting in America in 1979. 

Kate points out that it's 2 o'clock in the morning and even Johnny Carson is asleep. For those who don't know who that is he was the second host of The Tonight Show. He retired in 1992.

Charles Marries Claire

This episode premiered on January 14th, 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies (The Hearst And Davies Affair) on ABC and (The Execution) on NBC

Clair and Charles have broken up. He compliments Allie on getting her life together and brings her a skeleton to help her study biology. She invites him to dinner at the apartment and then he invites her to go to dinner with him and the kids. Tom the Plumber comes by to build a puzzle with Kate and Emma. Allie goes out for a drink with Charles after dinner, Chip hopes they are getting back together. Allie and Charles get a room at a hotel. Kate isn't happy that Allie flunked her anatomy test, she's falling back into her old habits of being a housewife while Charles enjoys the attention, but he hasn't made a decision about Clair yet. Charles tells Kate that he had a long discussion with Clair, they decide to get married, Kate gets mad at Charles and tells him that Allie has to dump him so she won't be upset. Kate tells Allie that Charles has to be away from him in order to get his life in order. Later Charles calls Allie and tells her he's getting married. 

Dated References

The sandwiches at the deli: Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield, Joey Bishop, no Mr T.

Charles is watching reruns on TV. Today we call that streaming. Like what I'm doing right now.

Allie says her mental state is like someone lifted a "bell jar" off her. This is a reference to the Sylvia Plath novel The Bell Jar.

If She Goes, I Go

This episode premiered on February 4th, 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite a movie on ABC (Consenting Adults) and Dirty Dozen: The Series on NBC

Kate's boss jokingly offers Emma a job, however Kate is trying to hide it from Allie so they aren't together at work all day and then at home every night. Emma tells Jen about the job who then tells Allie, who goes in and applies. Allie screws up several reservations by mixing up the airline codes with the airport codes. The boss wants to fire Allie and Kate threatens to quits in protest. Allie says it was all her fault and will leave voluntarily and Kate should keep her job. Allie gets upset since Kate keeps telling everyone how she said the boss shouldn't get mad at a trainee who didn't know how to do the job, the two have a fight and they stop talking to each other. The girls come up with a plot, Chip has been playing with handcuffs all week, they get him to handcuff the two women together. Chip handcuffs them through the kitchen cart, Allie tries to crawl through but gets stuck. Allie says she's sick of always getting saved by Kate.The show ends without showing how the got out of the cuffs or the cart.  

Dated References

Kate has a Rolodex on her desk. This was a carrousel of cards that would contain the names and numbers of people you routinely dealt with and needed to look up quickly. Today you just scroll through your phone. 

The computer had a dot matrix printer with the sprocket feed.

Ted the Plumber comes by to watch Casablanca on TV. In the modern world you can watch it whenever you want. Although VCRs were available the were between $400 to $600 each and to buy a movie would cost $60 per tape. 

Five more down. I probably should have looked up how many episodes there were before I started this.