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.
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