As The Station Turns 11/05

 The Manager was limping around, it seemed the pallet they've been using as a step for the storage shed collapsed under her and she banged up her leg really good. The good thing is she has Friday off so she can spend a three day weekend keeping off her feet, she won't but she could. She was leaving to go to her granddaughter's last high school game, and then probably on her way home.

I was trying to do my start of the shift count and a guy had a bad card. It took three tries to get it going and then I got a crowd. Of course as soon as I got done everyone cleared out. Every time.

Yesterday the CO2 tank on the Pepsi machine was almost empty but I left it for someone else to take care of. Well, they didn't and today it was empty, so I put an Out Of Order sign on the machine and still left it for someone else. Some times it pissed me off so I figure screw everyone else, they can take care of it for a change. Plus I won't be there for 5 days so someone will eventually have to do something.

My first cash paying customer wanted to break a $100 for a $5 purchase. I could see all the bills in his wallet so I knew he could use something smaller. Instead he used a card.

Once again I had a busy day and across the street was empty. I didn't mind it kills time.

Yesterday I dumped some bleach into the floor drains in restroom and it smells a lot better today. It's amazing how a little thing can make a big difference.

A guy came in and told me he had come from Idaho. He had been driving all day and was exhausted but he wanted to try to make it to Amarillo. I told him he could park off on the side of the building and get some sleep but he left. Hopefully you didn't run into him along the way.

Today was pisser, tag teamer, comparison shopper day. Every time I tried to do anything here they came again. However at 6 they all cleared out and the day got quite after that. 

A hunter came in and bought 10 bags of ice so I restocked the freezer. However I moved a few things around and added 13 bags. I'm not going to tell anyone because I'd probably get in trouble for changing things. 

A couple of Earth Wanderers came in, they looked around and left. I watched them go across the street, they were probably looking for beer.

The place mostly cleared out so I could do some stuff, and that's when the pooper truck driver came in, followed by the truck full of guys waiting for the restroom, and then another pooper truck driver. Thankfully when I went to check the restroom nobody had clogged it.

Someone called and asked if we sell diesel, well we are called a truck stop so yeah, we sell diesel. They then asked if it was the kind of diesel for semis, ummm, again, our name is the truck stop so yes, we sell diesel for trucks. They asked if we took fleet cards, yes. They said their truck needed someone to bring fuel to them and I said we don't do that. They then asked if we delivered, no, I just said we don't deliver and they'd have to call a tow company for something like that. They wanted to ask more stupid questions, probably about delivering fuel, truck fuel, to their truck, but I was busy and hung up on them. If you want fuel bring your truck in and we'll sell you all that you want.

A guy had a debit card but it didn't have any logo on it, no Mastercard or Visa so I was suspicious. However it worked so it's not my problem if someone figured out a way to defraud the business.

A woman came in and dug through one of the coolers. She came up to the counter and had grabbed every one liter bottle of Cherry RC Cola. It's cheap and people love it. Some guy came in later looking for a bottle but he was too late.

The #10 pump kept trying to set itself for a $2 million dollar prepay, and the cards rejected it so I would have to set it inside. Whatever it's doing I hope it gets it over with by the time I come back, I'm going to have to cover the Downtown station on Saturday so I won't be back at the Truck Stop until Wednesday.

a high school team bus pulled on to the lot, I figured I was about to get busy. But they didn't stop, they must have missed the entrance ramp onto the freeway so they were just turning around.

A guy came in and was complaining about prices, even though fuel costs went down this week. He said all elections are rigged, the people in power already knew the outcome before anyone voted. I guess that is his coping mechanism for the Texas loss.

Some truck driver came in. He was boasting about finding a cowboy hat and then put it on. I've heard stories about the little creatures that live in hats, I would never put on a strange one that some unknown person had been wearing. 

I looked at the clock and it was 7:15. I looked again and it was 7:00, time was going backwards. I looked again and it was 8:45. I'm stuck in a time skip. 

When I did the trashes I saw someone parked a 5th wheel trailer by the storage shed and were there for the night. I knew what would happen but I didn't say anything to them. Sure enough when the Crazy Lady came in she went nuts, how dare they park there! How come I didn't go chase them off! As I was leaving I saw her out back taking a photo to send to the Boss, who wasn't going to care. I was happy because it ruined her night. Hopefully someone came in and couldn't get a Pepsi and she had to change the tank. 

11/06

The first thing in the morning I got a text from the Late Guy to remind me that I had to open at the Downtown station tomorrow. I considered sending him a text back saying I thought it was next week and hand plans tomorrow. 

I went for a walk and dropped by to say Hi to the Weekend Guy. I asked him about jury duty and he said he was stuck at the court all day Wednesday, and the trial was about a guy who had been arrested for DUI, was put in the program to get his license back but didn't complete all the requirements. He then got busted for driving without a license. He of course was guilty. The Weekend Guy also had an encounter with the Federal Homeless woman, she bought a bottle of milk but decided it wasn't fresh enough and started yelling about it. I told hm if she comes back he can call the cops on her. I guess she had gone to the train station but they called the cops on her, she probably started yelling about being "federal" and demanded a free ticket. The last the Weekend Guy saw of her was her trying to get a ride to Texas. Oh well, I haven't seen her for two days and hopefully now that she's on the cops radar she figured she had better head out and I won't have to deal with her anymore.

Meanwhile when I got home I parked the Bad Hawg (my electric trike) in the utility porch since the past two days my windshield was frozen over when I went to go home. I think bike riding season is over until next spring.