reason #2 why I hate retail/liquidation/customers/you get the idea...

So, obviously with Thanksgiving weekend, we have extended hours...therefore we were open until 10pm on Saturday. Mind you, after 6pm, we had in between 20-25 customers in our store. aka: not a lot. Basically, we had a really chill night--Cat was closing, pretty much all of the cool people were closing, the store was clean by 7ish and for the majority of the night, everyone was up at the register just hanging around and talking given the fact there was nothing to do...Cat even let me have a stool! (fyi, i was at the register for my whole shift--1-10:30--so needless to say I was incredibly bored and, given the lack of customers, really wanted to sit down!) So, anyways, pretty much a really fun night at work. Cue to the phone ringing at 9:53. The following is my conversation with a customer (the italics following what I really said is what I wanted to say):

me: Thank you for calling Linens N Things, Roseville--this is Melanie.
customer: you guys are open until 10 right?
me: yes, we are open for another 5 minutes (yeah but unless you're calling me from the parking lot, you're never going to make it here in time...)
customer: oh great, so can I give you a list of items I want for you to gather and then will you just set them aside for me to pick up tomorrow morning?
me: Umm...no, we can't hold anything. (And I'm also not your personal shopper)
customer: oh, so even if it's the end of the night and I'll pick them up tomorrow morning?
me: No, we can't hold anything. At all. For any length of time. (Especially because it's the end of the night--I've been here for 10 hours but please, give me your list and let me shop for you since I clearly have nothing better to do)
customer: Seriously?
me: Seriously.
customer: oh. well. can you tell me if you have the Isabella in a Queen size?
me: I'm sorry, I don't have anyone available who can look for you right now, you'll have to call back tomorrow. (I could have Krista check for you but since it is now 9:58 and we are closing the store, why don't you just come in and look for yourself?)
customer: Oh. So when do your prices go down again?
me: we don't know until the morning of. (please hang up now ma'am)
customer: so I have to call every day to ask?
me: Or you could just come in and look around. (If you want to piss off every person who works here, then yes, you "have" to call every day and ask)
customer: Well I don't want to come into the store if the prices haven't gone down.
me: Well I don't know what else to tell you ma'am, we don't know what day they are going down next. (Well I don't want to lose my job...sometimes shit happens)
customer: And you really won't take my list and put things aside for me for tomorrow?
me: I really won't.
customer: ok....well thanks i guess.
*click*


Seriously? Is it really that hard to come in and shop for your own stuff? Did you actually think that you could give me a list of things you want over the phone and I would shop for you?? Seriously?? Because, if so, well...I'm sorry....but you really are stupid. Especially the weekend of Thanksgiving--really?!

Just so you know--in case you think I sounded mean or anything--all of my coworkers and Cat were standing there listening to my side of the conversation and switching between laughing and shaking their heads in awe. Some people. Right?

I am thankful that...God took all of your pain away.

That's as close as I can get to thanking God for the death of my best friend.

For those of you who are confused, I read a blog written by Angie Smith (if you listen to Christian music, you may recognize her as the wife of one the Christian band, Selah's, members Todd Smith) called Bring the Rain. As a writer myself, when I read the words Angie has written, I continuously sit in awe and wish I could express myself as eloquently as she does. Considering the fact that I have never met Angie, I surprise myself with each new blog she writes at how I feel as though I know her. She has a way of making you feel normal when you think you're not, of making you realize that you're not the only one going through some rough times, of making you trust in the Lord when you used to question him.

"Getting to know" Angie has made me strive for several things over the past few months: A closer relationship with God. A personal relationship with God. The ability to trust that God has plans that I may not understand. But today, she made me strive for forgiveness. Forgiveness from God for not trusting him after Phil died. Forgiveness for straying. Forgiveness for being so angry that he took my best friend away from me without any warning. Forgiveness for not thanking him every chance I get for the things he has given me and the time I did have with Phil.

As much as I am missing him today--and every day--I want to thank God for taking Phil away. I'm not ready yet to thank him for that in earnest. But I want to thank him for that. And hopefully someday I will be ready to say those words and mean them. Please go read Angie's post today ...I promise you, you will not be disappointed. And you might just be able to thank God for the one thing you never thought you'd be able to.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone...I love you!

reason #1 why i hate retail (especially liquidation)....and most of all, customers!!

*ring ring* (that's my pathetic phone)

me: Thank you for calling Linens N Things Roseville, this is Melanie, how may I direct your call?
customer: Hi, um, I was just wondering if you guys had a certain tablecloth...
me: Ok, what can I help you with?
customer: well, I was just wondering if you had any black tablecloths..
me: Unfortunately, we are all out of black tablecloths.
customer: oh. are you sure?
me: positive.
customer: well. um. can someone go check for me?
me: ma'am, I work in that section. We have no more black tablecloths.
customer: oh. well can someone just go check?
me: *trying really hard not to get frustrated but failing miserably* no ma'am, no one can go check because I personally know that we have no more black tablecloths.
customer: well...I heard that you guys got some trucks of stuff this week...could it be on there?
me: There were no tablecloths on either truck we got this week.
customer: Are you sure?
me: positive.
customer: well you got one today right? could it be in that stuff?
me: no...we have a list of what was on the truck and there were no black tablecloths.
customer: could you go check for me?
me: everything is in boxes
customer: ok could you go check for me?
me: no, i cannot go open 200 boxes to find out if there's a black tablecloth in there for you, especially because I already know there is not.
customer: oh ok. thanks!
me: *click*

Personally, I think I hung up about 3 minutes too late...oh and just for the record, this conversation was literally word for word.

WICKED!!!

So it's taken me some time to get to it but I'm finally posting about WICKED!! For mom's 50th (Happy Birthday Mom!!), Christie, Stef, and I took her out to dinner at Hell's Kitchen and to the Orpheum to see Wicked. Let me tell you. It was A.MA.ZING. I'm the type of person where I like musicals and plays and what not but I've never been gung-ho about them....but oh. my. goodness. I will suggest to anyone that Wicked is a must see! We all had such an amazing time and I know mom had a great birthday! Here are some pics from the night...and let me say one more time: GO SEE WICKED!! You will not regret it!

miss you...

Dear Phil,

Hey :) I've been starting and stopping this letter for a few days now--I'm just not sure where to begin. In all honesty, I'm not sure there's much more to say beyond "I miss you more than I ever thought possible". Okay, in ALL honesty, I have a million more things to say--but they kind of pale in comparison to the i-miss-you-so-much-my-heart-hurts issue I have going on.

Ya know, the first year you were gone was hard because, well, you were gone. The second year was hard because I realized I had to get used to you being gone...but I just wasn't there yet. The third year was hard because I thought everyone was forgetting about you. I haven't decided yet where this year lies. I mean this year, I had to force myself to realize that "reality" doesn't involve a physical you anymore. I had to realize that this is normal. Life consists of memories of you. But what it doesn't consist of is the opportunity to create more memories with you. And yeah, this is something I've known for 4 years...but does one ever truly wish to believe it?

In my perfect world, there you'd be. Simple as that. But life's not perfect--that's something that everyone who had the pleasure of having you in their lives knows. If life was perfect, you would have been happy. If life was perfect, you would have wanted to be here still. Truth be told, if life was perfect there wouldn't be this gaping hole in my heart. But it's not a burden--I want you to know that. It's a blessing. Every part of my life that you touched--that you are still touching--is a blessing. If I could ask for one thing in this world, beyond bringing you back, it would be that you touch everything I touch. That you see everything I see. That you're a part of everything I am. That the happiness I have comes from the strength you give me. And luckily, I think I have that. You are a part of me. Everyday. In everything I do. Everywhere I go.

I feel like in the past, I focused too much on what I was missing and not enough on what you gave me and what I still have. I let my sorrow for life without you coat everything I did and everything I said. I was so sad that that's all I could talk about. It took months for me to stop crying myself to sleep. Heck, it took months for me to stop randomly bursting into tears at the smallest mention of something related to you. I missed you so much that I became a shell of who I used to be. I withdrew. I was sad. I cried. But mostly I just radiated this sadness to any and all in my life. Crazy right? But I missed you and I didn't know what else to do.

I do though. Now I know. And I've slowly been getting there...but I'm happy. I'm happy without you. Is that possible?? Not that I don't want you to be here but I've come to realize that you made your choice..but that doesn't change who you are and what you mean to me. You want me to be happy. You want all of us to be happy! That's the joy of you--if I put aside how much I missed you, I would have realized so much sooner how much you truly enjoyed life for most of the 20 years you were on this Earth. I still miss you like crazy. I still wish I could see you every day and I still wish I could hear your voice. But...I can be happy and miss you at the same time. And that's where I'm at. And that's where you helped me get.

So do I still wish this was a bad dream? Absolutely. Do I wish you were here, pulling pranks and getting in trouble? You bet. Do I wish I could call you and hug you and touch you anytime I want? More than anything. But am I okay with the fact that I'm not going to see you again until God decides to call me home? For the first time, I can honestly say yes. It's not my first choice (or second or third or...you get the idea) but am I okay with it? Because it's God's plan and because you are safe in God's arms, then yes, I'm okay with it. And it took me four years to figure that out but thanks to you--my best friend, my guardian angel--I think I figured it out right on time.

Thanks for being a part of my life, Phil, for however brief (20 years!) it was. Thank you for the strength you give me each and every day. Thank you for being a part of everything I do. Thank you for never forgetting about me and giving me the push I need every once in awhile. I'm never going to stop missing you. I'm never going to stop loving you. That i-miss-you-so-much-my-heart-hurts feeling will never go away--and neither will the hole that accompanies it. But that's okay because it's a part of who I am--a part of who you've helped make me.

I love you so much and I wish you were here to be a part of this awesome future ahead for all your friends and family. We miss you but we know you're looking down on each and every one of us. Don't ever leave (not that you would). I miss you more than you'll ever realize.

Love you,
Mels

**Even the best fall down sometimes**

wiping my hands clean

my new friends

Religious zealots: These people are oblivious to the obvious; A person who has ruined religion by using it for his or her own personal gain and to make it seem like he or she is better than anyone else.





Pay attention: Remain open to life. Do not be fanatical about forcing your beliefs on others when interacting with them and do not create overlays of judgment on what others do colored by your religious values. Be passionate about your belief, but causing others to confess or convert by force will not change anger or fear to love or kindness.

something I don't understand...Christians, help me out here!

This is just one small part of a very active, should we say, election. HOWEVER. I wonder how those of us who call ourselves Christians think its okay to discriminate against those Americans (just like us) who, through no choice of their own, want to be with someone of the same gender. And, before we begin, if you are one of those people, try in no way to convince me that you are *not* discriminating. Because you are.

How, as a Christian, do you think you have the right to tell a man he is not allowed to marry another man? Or a woman, marry another woman?

How, as a Christian (or non-Christian), does it affect you? At all?

I just cannot fathom why someone would think there's any reason God would not support gay or lesbian men and women. God-my God, your God-is the very same God that loves and supports every single man or woman on this Earth. I don't understand why ANY person would have an issue with gay marriage, but I especially do not understand why any Christian person would have an issue with gay marriage. As a Christian woman, and maybe this is where I differ from you, but as a Christian woman, I do not judge. I do not discriminate. I do not think I am better than anyone else. I do not think I have the right to take away rights from others who are just like me.

How, as a Christian, can you not love and support every man or woman just as your God loves and supports every man or woman?

And please please do not use the Bible as a source of God's unwavering love (except to those who are gay or lesbian). First of all, the Bible NEVER says gay marriage is wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Bible *not* take a stance on gay marriage?? You might be interested to find that Jesus says nothing about same-sex behavior and only six or seven of the Bible's one million verses refer to same-sex behavior in any way -- and none of these verses refer to homosexual orientation as it's understood today.

But furthermore--would it not be outdated by now? I'll play devil's advocate. Hypothetically speaking, lets say the Bible does, in fact, state that gay marriage is wrong. Because your argument would be "the Bible says so", wouldn't we have to, in comparison, apply that theory to everything in the Bible? Go with me on this. If gay marriage is wrong because the Bible says so, wouldn't that mean teenagers who rebel against their parents should be put to death? I mean...the Bible DOES say so...and that's one thing I'm sure of. So, going along with this theory, almost every teenager, at one point in time, should be sentenced to the death penalty for disobeying their parents. Because the Bible says so.

The bottom line is there are many many many many many things that the Bible says that we no longer do. Keep that in mind.

So really...as a Christian, do you think if Jesus was standing before you, he would applaud you for taking away something so amazingly wonderful as marriage from another one of his children? One who did nothing wrong but fall in love? Or do you think he would prefer you to love and cherish and support all of his children??

And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18