Not What I Imagined

Well, I am now no longer an employee of the bookstore. Thurs. was my last day and I think there were two big mistakes I made. First, I actually worked. Instead of just wandering around, I did stuff. Second, I thought that something might change on my last day. Given nothing had changed earlier in the week I should have known better.

I should start by talking about Wed. Our regional human resources director was in town doing a chat-a-thon with anyone who wanted to talk. Or rather, any employee, random weird customers were not allowed. I signed up for a slot because I figured, what the hell, I can pass along some info before leaving the company.

I ended up talking mostly about Skippy and my general dis-satisfaction with how things are done over there. As I was telling various stories, including the classic "I didn't talk in manager meetings for a year" story, she kept shaking her head and saying things like, "that's so sad" and "that concerns me to hear things like this."

After chatting for around 40 min., I go back to work. As I'm heading home, I stop for some groceries in town. I go back out to my car and it won't start. Nothing happens. It is deader than dead. Frustrated, I go into the Bed, Bath and Beyond that's next to the grocery store trying to clear my head in a cool environment. Luckily I run into Jackie, who ended up being my savior for the day!!! Super Jackie to the rescue.

After trying to jump the car then getting help from this guy in the parking lot, we take the battery across the street to an AutoZone to get it checked. But, there checking equipment isn't working. Great. I buy a new battery and install it. Doesn't make a difference. Okay, so maybe it's the starter. I call to get it towed home and the towing company doesn't even know the city I live in. We get things figured out and when the guy arrives he tells me his boss misjudged how far away it was so the price they quoted me over the phone was going to get jacked up by $40. At this point, I'm tired, I'm sweaty and hungry...plus, I'm worried my food is going bad, even though I had it in a cooler.

Jackie was sweet enough to drive me home. I get the car to a service place run by a family friend. I borrow Mom's car to go to work on Thurs. I spend a few minutes here and there on the phone only to find out that apparently my starter is fine and the problem may be in my Passlock security system. It may have fried or glitched up so it isn't recognizing my key. Oh, and only the dealer can mess with that stuff. So now I have to call and get it towed to the dealership 10 miles away. Fine. It gets there, but no one from the dealership calls me back. I call when I get home and the guy tells me to call first thing Mon. morning to see when they might be able to get to it next week. Fabulous.

I look into renting a car, but the closest rental place doesn't open again until Mon. My Mom is supposed to go down to my Aunt's to go on a little trip with her. Originally I was going to drive Mom to my Aunt's place, but I lucked out that a friend of mine that lives in that area was in town and offered to give my Mom a lift. So, I have Mom's car for the next week. I did some research online and found out that there is something you can buy to bypass the Passlock system altogether, but first I need to find out if that is actually the issue. Oh, and I need 2 new tires as well. Goody.

Needless to say, I was stressed out on my last day of work. I got not one but 3 lovely cakes thanks to two very nice women at work (Kathy and Karen) plus there was monkey bread that kicked ass from Terri. Had they not been thinking of me, I don't think there would have been any treats. I also believe Kathy was responsible for snagging a good bye card for both myself and another worker who was also leaving that day.

Skippy ran into me as I was walking around the store saying goodbye to people after my shift ended. He was closing that night and I'd seen him for a few seconds earlier, but he had just come back to snag TJ for his interview for my job. When I checked my inbox after lunch, I did find a card and a gift certificate from Skippy, which was appreciated. I told him thank you when I said good bye. Sadly, most of my friends either didn't work that day or had already left, so I didn't have too many people to chat with at the end of it all. (Although, I will say, I did get some nice time in with Terri, Carolyn, Jackie and TJ though I didn't get to say hey to Marla since she was with a customer as I was heading for the door.)

I didn't expect a parade, but it was dis-heartening to come in and discover that some people had no idea until that morning that I had even found a new job let alone that this was my last day. One shelver I had even seen the week before and said hi to as I walked through the store. Also, I'm still not sure if my vacation time situation got fixed. No one gave me a paid out so I guess I'll know when I see my last check. As an added bonus, our night person called off with a migraine. I believe this migraine to be of the "I'm leaving for Chicago to see my girlfriend and have a four day weekend" sort of migraine. Sadly, that seemed a fitting end to my time there at the store.

On to better things I hope. Just gotta get the car thing worked out and quickly learn about HVAC systems. No stress then...