As The Station Turns 10/10

 I had put my phone on Airplane Mode so if Bigfoot came down "sick" they couldn't call me at the last minute to cover the graveyard shift. When I turned it back on I discovered that Weekend Guy texted me saying that he was still alive. Why did he text me? I wasn't part of the whole "West Side Station being closed" mess.

There's nothing like starting off your day angry.  Despite the "New Schedule" the Part Time Woman was at the Truck Stop. When I walked in the building it was the usual, neither her or Mrs Late Guy had closed their drawer. Even more, neither of them was behind the counter, so I was standing there, waiting. They were in the back room talking about the ice machine, it isn't properly draining again. When people started coming up to the counter I called back for them to come wait on their customers, and I still had to wait. Finally Mrs. Late Guy closed her drawer so I could go to work. By the time I got in I had a crowd, if they had closed a drawer I could have counted the cigarettes right away but instead I had to wait on a lot of people before I could start. Yes, I was in a bad mood.

Part Time Woman started yammering on about how she knew how to fix the ice machine because she repaired everything at the Haunted Station. BS, she sat on her butt and did nothing. There was a whole list of things that I had to take care of. Heck just before they moved her over to the Truck Stop she broke the faucet on the utility sink. I was already in a bad mood but having to stand there and hear her spewing that crap pissed me off even more. Thankfully she left. I chatted with Mrs Late Guy to make sure she knew I wasn't mad at her.

I found out that the Weekend Guy had texted the Boss and said he had things to do on Friday. I guess everyone was worried that he had dropped dead and then he wasn't answering his phone. Perhaps the Boss had turned his phone off too.

The first chance I got I went and checked the building. What a surprise, both restrooms didn't have paper towels and the outside trashes needed dumped. Every time the Part Time Woman works I have to start my shift taking care of stuff that should have been done. I keep hoping they get the Haunted Station open so I don't have to see her again but things aren't looking good.

Also when I left on Thursday the squeegee buckets were low on water. I figured what the heck, someone else can fill them up for a change. Two shifts, two people on both shifts and....there was a puddle of dirty water in the buckets. I'm not due back for three days so screw them, I left them empty.

The place cleared out and I had an opportunity to take care of some of the stuff that two shifts with two people each couldn't do. The problem was that there was an older lady who couldn't figure out the ATM. She finally got her money, her husband came out of the restroom and they paid with a credit card. And a crowd showed up.

I was watching across the street and some guy kept trying to get in the building. He went to the two main doors, then around to the side door, then back to the two main doors, and then drove around the the building to see if there was an entrance around back. They're closed dude!

There's a homeless guy who shows up when the weather is nice. He wanders around town for a month or two and then starts throwing stuff at cars. They pick him up, put him in a mental institution for the winter and then in the summer he's back. I was watching him yesterday and there is an abandon car across the road and he kept trying to get into it. I bet this won't end well.

Three hours after I started my shift I finally got a chance to dump the trash, that the morning shift should have taken care of. Again, bad mood.

A drunk guy came in, after wandering around the whole building he wanted to know if we sold beer. Yeah, we have it in a hidden room, sheesh, if you don't see it we don't sell it. He then tried on a cowboy hat from the rack and wanted to know how he looked in it. I told him he looked great, he wanted to know if it was good for outside work. I knew he didn't have the money to pay for it because he had to come up with the cash to make up the difference on his debit card. I told him if he was working outside he was better off getting a straw hat or his head would be sweating out of control. Oh and he wasn't driving but look out Utah, he's heading your way. I also had to do a lap around the building to make sure he hadn't left anything, made a mess in the restroom or dropped any cash.

Ha, I got the soda machine ice hoppers done before the crowd showed up. Also we're still out of Sprite.

The Storyteller and the New Homeless Woman came in at the same time. She wanted to buy a jar of peanut butter but was $2 short. She should go to the Dollar Store, and I wonder what happened to her EBT card. Meanwhile the Storyteller told me about his car, it broke down in Colorado and they had to leave it at a station. It turns out that the motor was blown so the guy who owned the station told them they could sign the title over to him and he'd have it towed off and scrapped. Check your oil and have it changed on a regular basis people.

Some guy took a long time in the restroom so I needed to check it, but of course I got a crowd. They finally cleared out and he hadn't clogged the toilet, however someone had clogged the toilet in the ladies room. Turns out it was a good thing the guy took his time because people don't tell you about messes, you just stumble across them. I figured it would be a good time to dump the restroom trashes but once again I got a swarm. 

I heard a lot of banging outside and someone had parked at the outside pumps to work on their trailer. They could have pulled around to the diesel pump that is out of order but instead they blocked two of the working pumps. Thankfully they got their work done and left.

An older guy came in and I figured he must be from Pittsburg.  He asked if we had 6 packs of "watar". When I told him only sold singles he figured he could make his current bottle last until he got to "Walmaat". I wish I could have talked to him for a while longer.

Skippy came in, I was busy, he wandered around and left. I don't mind.

I don't like to talk about my customer's appearance but a woman came in, I thought she was really committed to white hair, it must have taken a while to have done such a thorough job. But then she came up to the counter and I realized she was an albino, complete with the pink eyes. I wonder if she knows how many people are trying to be like her in the modern world.

The Haunted Station is still closed, I was suppose to work over there on Sunday but nobody is telling me what is going on. The Graveyard Shift Guy is scheduled to work the afternoon at the Truck Stop so I asked him what time he was coming to work. He said he was coming in at 2 so I figure I have Sunday off, since they aren't bothering to tell me anything. Perhaps I'll accidentally put my phone on Airplane Mode again.

10/11

Since I have the day off, as far as I know, I went for a walk to check out the Haunted Station, there is zero activity going on there so I'm not making any plans. Also the trash cans sit in big concrete holder and they have a large steel cover on top, someone stole one of the covers. I don't know how they are going to replace that. I figure someone stole it to sell it to a scrapper for drug money.

I stopped off to see the Weekend Guy and got the full story about Friday. He had texted the Boss a week ago to say he needed the day off. He never heard anything back so he figured someone was covering and didn't worry about it. Whatever he was doing he had left his phone at his place and when he got back he found it was full of missed calls. The Late Guy had said he had asked me if I knew anything and that's why the Weekend Guy sent me a text to tell me he was still alive. 

The Weekend Guy also told me that the Boss said that the reopening of the Haunted Station is on standby and wanted him to cover for the West Side Manager when she goes on vacation, two weeks from now. I told him about the paperwork mess and it seems nobody is in a rush to get it fixed. The good news is that I'm suppose to work over there on Tuesday, however if they are still closed and nobody contacts me it means I'll have a three day weekend. Again, I should accidentally put my phone on Airplane Mode and play ignorant. I guess I'll hear something in the next couple of days.