Tuesday, September 23, 2008

little update

Every now and then I daydream about things I would love to have/do. I don't always get what I want.

This time I did.

I just accepted an awesome job! I'm going to start working at the central library downtown!!!!

Fancy!

Labels: doings, sunshine/lollipops/roses, work

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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

dude.

Just a little update. I have already been yelled at for not posting religiously, so I guess I'll start now. Here are a few things just to get you people up to speed on my life:

1) Frank's Home Life: I have so much time on my hands (see: work life). The internet has lost pretty much all of its sparkle to me. I feel like that robot, Johnny Five... I need input!

In other home news, OMG you guys! I'm sure that Jason will have a drama-infused blog about it very soon though. We had/have/seriously had a mouse in the condo! Usually only Amanda Bynes, Gay Cowboys, or a combination of the two can make Jason turn into a 11-and-a-half year old tween. teehee.

2) Frank's Work Life: As some of you know, I was in a work-related injury a while back. Well not much as change. I'm still not allowed back at work till I get the okay from my doctor. The good news is that the insurance people finally accepted my claim. Jeez, it took them 3 weeks! Hopefully I'll get back at work by the 9th of January, which is awesome cause I'm getting insanely bored at home all day. It's so not as much fun as you would think.

Yeah, so this little "break" from work as sorta gave me the courage to finally get off my ass and start thinking of what I really want to do. Rough draft plans are being sorted out, and I'll key you guys in when I make decisions in ink.

3) Frank's Romantic Life: Oh man, I have been playing it safe for a few years now. Every date I went on I've had my guard up. I have met a special person that has seen through all the BS I shell out. We are actually creeping up on that "One-Year" mark in the relationship. Naturally I'm completely freaked out about it, but I think things are going to go well.

I haven't really integrated him into my life completely, even though we have been together for so long. I guess I'm still trying to keep my defenses up just a little while longer. If you know me well, you know I don't mix my romantic stuff with my friends, family or work very often. I feel more comfortable with all them separated.

I guess that is one thing. I like to keep them separated, and he likes them all mixed. I think in the end it's better to be a more fluid person that it is to be a compartmentalized one. I think he's good for me.

4) Frank's Friends Life: If everything else wasn't so organized by group, this one definitely is. It's been a long time since I've had this many groupings of friends in my life at one point. I have my inner friends, my college friends, my old work friends, my new work friends, my BFs old friends, my BFs new friends, and my "friends that are only friends cause they are insanely fun" friends.

Yeah, I really can't mix these people together. Last time I did that it was the Gingerbread fiasco of 06. Just because we ditched the party early, stole half of the gingerhouse and threw it at Borders while driving slightly intoxicated doesn't make it a bad time! Yeah, Devon still curses me for that party. Even though one year she totally broke a bottle of red wine on my kitchen floor! ARGH!

5) Frank's Family Life: I guess I can sum this up with everything is going alot better than it was earlier in the year. My sister has moved back to Texas from Florida. She's like 6 months pregnant, and living with my Mom. Yeah, they don't get along. You would think that both of their maternal instincts would kick in, but nothing. I'm hoping that it'll happen soon.

6) Frank's Life Life: My New Years resolutions this year have nothing to do with my love life or weight, which is so unlike me. It's mostly "be happy" type things. And I think I have much to be happy about this time around.

Well. Here I go. Onward to 2008!

Labels: doings, familia, friends, party, resolution, sunshine/lollipops/roses, work

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Friday, July 20, 2007

Damn you Potter!

Today is the day.

Worst than Christmas is what I like to call the day when the last Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, is released. Or should I say the day before it releases. I just came home from the madness. Luckily, I will not be in the belly of the devil (re: when the book is released at midnight) when hoards of people come into the store to purchase said book. I was only scheduled from 6am to 1pm. And let me tell you:

The fact that we open at 9am doesn't stop the crazies from lining up at the door at 6am for the Harry Potter book! I am wiping the sleep outta my eyes and there's some kids skipping around the front door with their wands and redbulls.

Damn you, kids.

The woes of being a bookseller.

Seven million people called today asking if they could get a book at midnight. NO! you can't, I almost did the evil laugh at the end when they called. But at least I can handle calls without stressing it. It is when the store opened at 9am, is when the customer service fun started.

Ways people tried to reserve their Harry Potter book at midnight:
1) Yea, my name is coughjefffranpetebobjoecough, I reserved a Harry Potter book for midnight exactly.

2) I ordered it at Barnes & Noble and they said that you guys would honor my reservation for midnight...

3) I did pre-order it!! [five minutes ago]

4) I called and they said they were holding it for me.

5) J K Rowling is my cousin.

6) I'll pay full price!

7) I want that book, dammit! [throws money at me]

8) [random high-pitched words in succession]

9) [chanting a spell at me]

10) I gonna stand here till I get a book!

Jeez, people!! This makes me wanna go to Borders at midnight, grab a book, and starting reading the last two paragraphs over the loud speaker, ruining the ending for everyone, then calling everyone whores!!!

Labels: annoyances, customers, work

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

BookClub

In the hopes to become more literary, I have joined a book club. You would think for someone who is in the vicinity he/she would know something about the subject matter, but not so much.

The peeps at work started a book club, or should I say the English teacher that works at Borders seasonally started one. Anywho, anyone can start one but I guess organized reading is just too much for the average person to put up with.

Cards were made. A sign-up sheet was posted. It is kind of neat actually, since Borders doesn't ever advertise anything but itself. (We would get random people asking to put up their poster to some obsure event. NO! Go away! But buy something on your way out!!) So it was fun hyping up our own event to our short-attention-span consumers.

We meet on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm, and today is the first official meeting. So stoked. So not finished with the book yet!

The first book is Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie. I have a few hours to kill when I get off of work tommorrow till the meeting, so I figure I can at least get somewhat aquainted with the book.

I'll tell you guys how it went soon. Perhaps I'll rally some friends to join if it doesn't suck. I don't see it being too horrible though. I mean even if 3 people show up and didn't read the book, there's always Plan B...

Did I mention that meetings are going to be held at The Uptown Pub?!

What? You didn't understand the matrilineal kinship analogyon chapter five?! Drink for slop!!

Labels: bookclub, friends, work

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Monday, February 12, 2007

contest results.

For those of you people who didn't know. The whole works corporation was having a sales contest to see who could sell the most (sales percent by volume) Sony E-Readers.

These things cost like 3 hundred something dollars. They are not easy to sell. Yes, they are somewhat popular, but not so much in some areas.

The store's employee's (ALL OF THEM) would get the following prizes for placing:

First Place: Digital Camera
Second Place: Dvd player
Third Place: MP3 player

I don't remember the brands or whatever, I just know I wanted free shit.

ANYWAYS, the conest ended Dec. 26th.. and it took then FOREVER to get the results. In fact, we are technically waiting for them now. But the manager in her words "bribed" someone for the results. hehe. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

We placed third...

IN THE NATION!!! HELLO!

Anyways, I'm happy. Sort of. Cause we kinda were looking to get the Dvd player cause mine broke (we think). Who cares though?! I'm getting an MP3 player! And it's not Apple, btw. So my Ipod Video won't get jealous... but my old Shuffle would of if I didn't give it to Becky.

This kinda makes up for the fact that our customers are mostly snobs.

Labels: sunshine/lollipops/roses, work

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Monday, February 05, 2007

the "I" in team

The new position at the works is doing well. Going on a good start anyways. Now for some [re: all] of you peeps that don't know what I do, I'll explain.

So the place that I work at has this policy that I can't give out certain information about the company in web logs. I know! It's like they saw me coming and quickly wised up to all my internet doings. So I can't tell you guys everything that goes down, but I can give ya'll the basics.

I am part of a team. We are called IPT, which stands for Inventory Process Team. Now, remember this cause it's going to be important later. Basically we, as a collective unit, are in charge of everything that comes in and out of the store product and merchandizing wise.

Here are just a few of our duties:
If a pallet of books is brought in, we sign and process each box/item into the store inventory system. Making sure that we have all the items we ordered and are supposed to get at that specific time. Then we start sorting through the materials. Having a system of carts for each area of reference makes things a whole lot easier. While sorting, we have to keep track of which items need security devices such as with CDs or higher priced books. Then we finally take each cart and shelve the items into their respective sections.

Say some customer special-orders some obsure title. We have to research that title for stock approval. If not, we have to call the publisher and see if we can't get a request to send a copy to us.

Our company does do mail outs to residential, commerical and correctional facilities. We mail items or special request the items to be mailed.

Inventory mantainence. Ever wonder how we don't have books from the 70s crammed everywhere? Yeah, we RPL (return to publisher) ancient items.

We also have keys to places normal employees do not have. Shiny, shiny keys... that jingle.

We normally keep the same full time hours. No competing for hours. All the team works together. All other positions can function independantly...

This brings me to my point...

Who's on the team? How many people are on the team currently? How many people are left after the mass excidus over the last few weeks?

Umm, lemme see. There's me and then there's...

Only me!!!

Just call me IPF (Inventory Processor Frank). Yeah, I'm trying not to freak out. It's not so bad now, but I would hate to see it when things start to pick up like they do. Right now, I have to rely on other people (in other positions) to pick up the slack. I mean, it's not their job, they just have to do it. It is kinda fun bossing people around though. My favorite thing to do is to leave a whole library cart of Manga (crappy asian fiction that we get thousand of titles every week, but we have no room in section for them) in the elevator and tell the Upstairs Seller that I have a gift for them to shelve coming up. They will hate me eventually, but it's not my fault.

So anyways, yeah. That's what I do. Sometimes I feel like I work at FedEx or something. UGH. I keep telling myself AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE MUCH ANYMORE.

Labels: crisis, work

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Friday, January 26, 2007

Ft Worth

Yeah, so I was at Ft Worth on Monday.

Did I mention I had to get up at 6am? Did I also mention that I had to carpool with the boss? You know, the one I can't stand. so yeah.

Funtimes.

Luckily I had my trusty Ipod Video with me. If it didn't pay for itself already, it sure did that day.

Anywho. The Ft Worth store was closing and people were called in to help with the packup. Did I mention that all the General Managers in the surrounding areas were required to attend? Did I also mention that the employee's attendance was strictly on a volunteer basis? That is with the exception of our store. I felt like that Daria episode were Principal Mrs. Lee made Jane and Daria submit their artwork in that contest. "Your daughter refused to participate in this voluntary event, so I made it mandatory!"

There were 5 of us there... All the other stores attendance was 2 tops. I was so bad.

So I was "assigned" to box making with some other girl [I totally thought she was a lesbian, but then she started talking about her daughter and baby's daddy. Wow, my LEZdar is so off]. At one point my manager come by to do some much needed mirco-managing. "It would be more efficient if you do [this or that]" I just replied with "Sorry, I guess I must of dozed off at the all important 'box making' part of my training"

It got a few laughs.

The day wasn't a complete bust. Free lunch at Chili's. But I did figure out that alot of Border's people are socially nerdy.. and just plain nerdy too. If it wasn't for my favorite real lesbian coworker, I wouldn't of had any fun. We talked about The L Word and Booze.

Labels: outOFtown, work

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Sunday, January 21, 2007

yippee

Got a promotion and a raise today.

Is this the end of Frank's annoying interactions with snobby, cheap customers?


[I'm not holding my breath]

PS. I'm going to Fort Worth on Monday and Tuesday. I'm so excited; I think I'm going to use my miles! I hope Devon sprays some Febreze around or something before I go.

Labels: sunshine/lollipops/roses, work

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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Do only stupid people buy stuff?

If someone asks you if something is funny, do you lie?

I mean, I didn't laugh at your joke nor did I give any nonverbal facial expression to imply that I did...

So why would anyone ask a person if something is funny, if they know the answer?

Anyways, yea. That happened. Then she went on to say that I was bad at customer service... geez, I didn't realize that one of the many responsibilities of my job was to cater to the insecurities of the socially inept.

I'm sick of this "customer's always right" crap. People don't realize that even that statement has it's limits. What if a customer said that the aliens were coming tommorrow to take all of out brains, so we might as well give her a bigger discount? NO! sighs. Not only that... people think that the customer is always good, honest, funny and even fashionably dressed!

But that is never accurate.

[PS. I haven't forgot about my resolution. I'm working something up to put on the sidebar, so I can just update that weekly instead of making a whole weekly post about it. Yeah, and I sucked it up this week btw]

Labels: annoyances, I hate people, work

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Thursday, December 28, 2006

eww

Guy walks in the Borders with a book to return. The book was Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons. I noticed a smell. A spagetti smell. I thought to myself, "Ah.. he probably just went to lunch." But no... the smell wasn't coming from him.

I looked at the book, as I usually do. There was spagetti sauce all over the book!!!

EWWWW!

"I can't return this book; it's not in sellable condition."
He looks at me oddly. "Why?" he asks.
"There's sauce all over the book." As he looks confused, I show him the book.
"That couldn't of happen" he explains.
OOOH REEEALLY!

I confirm with the manager and tell him that we just can't do it. He huffs and puffs (like a small child) and stomps away.

Then he returns, and says it just wipes right off.

EWWWW!

I do the return, only to make him go away. I then do a damaged report on the book. No one should have to pick up a book only to have it smell like an italian dish of sorts. This isn't Barnes & Noble, you know.

Labels: annoyances, customers, eww, work

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Hey there, sonny!

Someone called me "sonny" today at work. Do people still use that word? In her defense, she was old... and toothless.

Labels: customers, old people, work

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