You?! In Jail?! I Don't Believe It!

This morning, I found a fresh bruise on my forehead. I instantly knew when I got it. It was from yesterday at work when I was carrying a large speaker to the upstairs storage area which is composed of several long rows of tall shelves stocked with the various items we've purchased and plan on selling. At the moment, these shelves are close to overflowing with an excess of TVs, DVD players, stereo equipment, gaming consoles, musical instruments, vacuum cleaners, DVDs, video games, household items, and just about anything else you could imagine. I got the bruise when I was carrying the speaker down one of these fully stocked aisles. I had speaker out in front of me, and as it was a tall one, it had blocked my view of the ladder that had been left in the aisle and I hit a corner of the speaker on the ladder. This made the speaker smash into my forehead only moments after the store manager had noticed me carrying large items upstairs and kindly told me to "be careful". Whether she meant that I needed to be careful so I didn't hurt the merchandise or that I should be careful so that I didn't hurt myself, I'm not sure, but it appears that both parties involved are in considerable danger.

Each week we have a mandatory employee meeting to give the managers a chance to bring up anything they feel is important for everyone to know. These topics range from the weekly sales we will be having, tidbits of information or store protocol we need to brush up on, or more serious concerns. Today's more serious matters concerned workplace safety, and even though they didn't call me out on it, one such matter was a direct commentary on one of my unsafe habits. I've been known to stand on the very top of ladders that are clearly labeled "NOT A STEP" due to the increased risk of tipping over the ladder if one were to use it as a step. I have no problem of placing my feet on this warning and ignoring it. I may trip over things and walk about blindly so that speakers smash into and bruise my forehead, but I rarely fall down. I wouldn't go so far as to say my balance is equal to that of a jungle cat or the Karate Kid, but I think I do pretty well. I mean, I haven't fallen off the top rung of a ladder for over eleven years now. That's a pretty good record. But I will play along with their safety rules and hunt down a taller ladder when a shorter one will provide the necessary safety.

Somewhat related to safety is the angriest customer I've come across in my short pawn shop career. I've dealt with customers who have been annoyed, frustrated, perturbed, angry, and a whole slew of other unpleasant emotions, but today was my first encounter with an individual who was irrational with fury. He approached the pawn counter and loudly informed us that his girlfriend had sold us his Playstation 3 while he was in prison and that he wanted it back. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do unless he first pressed official charges against his girlfriend (he kept saying "girlfriend" but I'm assuming what he really meant was ex-girlfriend, or, at  least for hear sake, I hope that's what he meant). At this point, the man became very angry and began swearing. A manager asked him to leave and the irate man began to swear with much more vigor than he used to leave the shop. He was leaving very slowly, filling the shop with his ranting about how horrible our shop was and how stupid we all were and how much he hated each of us and what he thought of his "girlfriend". My manager asked him again to leave the store to which the man screamed "I am leaving, you tard!" while incorporating several foul words into his childish response. It would not have surprised me if the man had ended up breaking something or attacking someone. Fortunately, he didn't do anything so drastic. Even so, all I could think was "Wow! You?! In jail?! I don't believe it!"