Box Cutters, Box Springs and Belligerent Pomeranians

So yesterday started off as any other day at work, everyone showed up and things were going fine. I was in the back and heard a yell, an "oh shit" and a thud... Yikes. I go out to see our prankster stockboy hurrying into the staff room with his hands together. He'd been at work all of 15 minutes. I called out to him to ask what had happened and he said he cut himself. Duh... on me. Anyway, in the staff room he's got blood down to his elbow and is running the water over a massive cut that almost cut his whole finger tip including the nail in half. Ouch. After of about 10 minutes of pressure, water and me trying not to pass out every time I asked to see it we concluded it might be a good idea to take a run up to the health centre to get him stitched up. So at the health centre, the nurse on-call deemed that as it was a clean cut from a box cutter it didn't need a stitch. She asked me if I wanted to come in and sit with him, and I guess I must have turned a little green and said "No" a little to emphatically, so she took him in alone and glued him back together and put on the biggest most ridiculous looking bandage ever. He came out with about 4 feet of gauze wound around his finger, wrist and hand and we both tried not to laugh as she is telling me how he should be taking care of it, as if I were his mother. We get in the truck and he puts his hand out and without cracking a smile says "I think she overdid it a bit". So back at work, I go and report back to the grocery manager that he's back in one piece and got a huge bandage. So he pages him up to the office and when he came up, the grocery manager asks him to give him the box cutter he was using and to use "this" instead. "This" was a plastic knife from a takeaway cutlery pack. Hilarious. So a little while later this same kid and I had to deliver a box spring. Of course, given that this guy is 16, he'd already taken off most of the bandage and was poking it and got it bleeding again. So we drive to the house to make the delivery and he won't get out of the truck. He says "i hope that dog doesn't bite..."... I see no dog, so I ask him which one. He points to a tiny, fluffy pomeranian and says "that one". Me: "YOU are afraid of THAT????" and collapse against the steering wheel laughing. Him: "It's MEAN". Me: "That thing is half the size of my brother's CAT". He gets out and literally edges along the side of the truck. I hear this menacing little growl and the little fluffy sorry example of a dog is quivering in fury. He starts creeping towards the house and the dog just went beserk, snapping, barking and jumping. Speaking of jumping, I have never seen anyone in my life jump as high and as fast as this kid who spun around and ran so fast he ran straight into the truck and nearly jumped over the side and into the bed. I believe it took me about 2 1/2 minutes to stop laughing, only to look up and see the homeowner laughing his head off as well. The poor stock boy is still cowering (but laughing) against the side of the truck. The home owner yells something to the dog and it managed to let us up to the house and up the stairs to the door to deliver the box spring. We come out and the dog is again growling and shaking with wrath. So, just as I was about to push the stock boy down the stairs ahead of me, I turn around to see him leaping over the railing and jumping 7 feet to the ground. I yelled at him for leaving me up there with the dog at the bottom, and I crept down half the stairs when the dog started spitting and snarling at me. The stock boy starts laughing, the dog forgets me and goes after him again. I ran down the stairs and the stock boy is on the far side of the truck, laughing and refusing to get in the passenger side. He gets in the driver's side, climbs across the seat and I get in and it's another full 3 minutes before I could drive because we were laughing so hard. For the rest of the day, every time I saw him, I laughed. And will probably do so tomorrow.

Ding Dong, the boss is on vacation!!!!

So, the big boss is on vacation and that has put the rest of us in vacation mode... work is so much more relaxed, the staff is happier and up to some hilarious pranks and antics. Yesterday, I was out in the warehouse and saw one of the cashiers about 12 feet above ground digging through a high shelf looking for coffee cup lids, while the quiet, shy stockboy was working away down below. The other manager came in and asked her what she was doing and when she said getting lids, he just looked at her and asked why she climbed up there because there were some on the bottom shelf that didn't require getting up on a ladder... From behind, we hear a little giggle.... We all turned and looked at our little guy, who was shaking with laughter under his shaggy mop of hair. I asked him if he'd sent her up there on purpose and he could barely answer he was laughing so hard. And oh, the profanities and curses started as me and the other manager nearly collapsed with laughing... The cashier, screeching the whole way down from the ladder, finally got down, and away they went. This particular guy is very laid back and never in a rush, and I have never seen him move so fast. She chased him around the store about 3 times, then back into the warehouse where she grabbed a broom and started swinging. She chased him all the way to the back, where, like some kind of monkey he managed to swing himself up onto a shelf about 8 feet off the ground where we have all the mattresses and was hiding behind the mattresses, laughing, as the cashier tried vainly to stab him with the broom, still yelling various profanities and insulting names at him. Attempting to assert my managerial position, I told her that while I could appreciate her frustration of having had to climb a ladder, killing our stock boy with a broom was not a valid excuse for closing up the convenience store and that she needed to return to work. I somehow managed to say this without letting out a snort. She huffed off, the stockboy got down and everything went back to normal. For 5 minutes. The other manager and I were walking through the warehouse and the cashier was filling a bucket of water with the hose to mop the floor. We giggled. She swung the hose. I got soaked. He laughed. She swung it again. We ran. The stockboy laughed and we blamed him for starting it. I went to the convenience store where she was mopping the floor. In perhaps not my most professional or mature moment, I moonwalked across the wet floor in my dirty boots. She hit me in the ass with the wet mop. I went out and yelled at the stockboy. He laughed at me because he, like everyone else, knows better than to take me seriously. Oh, how fun it is at the store right now.

Once upon a time, when I was living in Toronto, I was tired, cranky and stressed out and late coming home from work. It was cold, raining and miserable and I just wanted to get something to eat. I started to walk to the grocery store when I saw a little old lady struggling with a box of groceries and a heavy bag. Having a giant umbrella, I went over and asked her if she needed help and ended up managing to carry all of her things for her while still keeping the umbrella over her while I got soaked. When I got her home, she took my hands and thanked me in a thick Eastern European accent and said "When you need one the most, God always sends you an Angel. " I went home, my crappy day and shitty mood totally forgotten. Without going into the details of why I needed an angel today, I was sent two. (who got some giggles playing dress-up with my sunglasses)

Oh the conversations that I have with people....

Actual conversation I had today... Me: "good morning", Customer: "I need to return these bullets" Me: "Ok, no problem" Customer: "Ya, my brother sold his shot gun for drugs and I am mad. The drugs will run out but the gun won't and so now I'm mad at my brother. It's not fair". Me: "Wow... uh... hmmm, that's um, to, uh bad?"

Hikes and loaves

Long weekend. Of course for the only supremely nice day of this weekend, I was at work, but that didn't stop me from going out for 2 great walks yesterday. In the morning, I had coffee with my friend and we went for a walk around town and had fun taking some pictures and then, in the afternoon she and I and some friends went out to the (still frozen)Kirchoffer Falls. The falls look to be very impressive. Seeing as yesterday was a pretty grey, dreary day, it wasn't the best, but we sure had fun. There were 5 of us plus one dog and we drove out together. As you're approaching the falls, you get to go over the longest bridge in Nunavut. There's even a plaque. The bridge is about the same length as my house. Ok, maybe a LITTLE bit longer. We had a great hike along the east side of the falls and it was my first real excursion out of town. The walk lasted about an hour and on the way back, one of the girls was lagging a bit and the rest of us were all walking ahead together. So, one of the guys had a hilarious idea... he'd look back, count to three, all four of us would then look back and start running. Awesome. To bad it didn't work. She didn't fall for it for a second. But, we did see some polar bear tracks in the snow. After a hard week, it was really nice to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. Something I didn't get today. The wind had really picked up today and brought with it some crazy behavior. I happened to look out my window this afternoon only to see a fairly active arrest going on in front of my house. A few minutes later I received a phone call warning me not to open my door if anyone knocked as one of the local carvers was out and about in a state of anger and yelling threats at a girl and throwing rocks at her near the Co-op store. So I stayed in and baked baguettes.

May, 21st, 2010, 1h30 a.m.

It doesn't get dark anymore

May 19th, 2010 10h25 p.m.

a sad day

Last night my grandmother passed away. If you read my letter to her from a few weeks ago, you probably guessed that she was very ill. She had a very aggressive case of melanoma which became crippling in the last few weeks. Being up here alone, makes this hard, but I am thankful for the family that I have who have called and the friends here and at home who I know I can count on for support. Love you all from the bottom of my heart.

Kind of my theme song at the moment....

17 Hours of Daylight and counting

So we are up to over 17 hours of daylight now and during the rest of the time, it's not totally pitch black, more of a deep Cerulean Blue if you will. I went for a walk last night and it was after 9h00 and was out for an hour. When I left I could have gotten away with wearing sunglasses and by the time I got home the sky was streaked with different colours like the tie-dye I used to wear in my hippie highschool days. Getting out for walks at night has been something I've been trying to do all week. It's been amazing. On Tuesday, it resulted in playing soccer with about 15 kids for an hour and a half. In my rubber boots, on gravel. And it was -13C. I had a blast. Until one of them, who was about 12, asked how old I am and when I said 33, her eyes bugged out of her head and she said "WOOOOOOOWWWWW You're older than my MOM!!!!".....Buuuhhhhh Looking North West at about 9h30 Looking North West at about 9h45 Looking South East at about 10h05 Random Caribou hoof in the street