And I thought Friday the 13th was last week. Well, to start off, the day was going fairly well. As a new employee to IBM, I was expected to start off paychecks two weeks behind, so I figured (along with everyone else I worked with) I'd get paid on the 31st. I've survived thusfar on cereal and various forms of insta pastas. Nutritionally speaking, I haven't had a vegetable or fruit in about a month. My boss takes pity on me and loans me $200 to get some groceries this weekend. Things start looking up. Working a ten hour shift, I go down to grab something to drink around four. I head out to the bus a little before six and I realize $100 is missing. I retrace every step with as frenzied a run as well as a man with a laptop bag in one hand, keys and cell in another can run. Not a thing. I asked the janitor lady if she had seen anything. She proceeded to tell me about how she swept under the candy machine and found a quarter, most of this in Spanish mind you, and I eventually smiled and said "gracias" enough to start searching elsewhere. I tore apart my office. I looked everywhere, nothing. I give up and run back to the bus stop.
I was quite relieved at the site of a man I see every day while waiting for the bus. I wait around for awhile and start to become worried at the fact that it's growing to be 6:20 and the 6:07 bus isn't here. I ask the man if the bus had already came and he said, "Oh yeah man, your bus is long gone." I was about to thank him for telling me that early with a laptop to the head, but I didn't need to break a $1000 computer that was given to me. I called what few people I know in Longmont, nothing. No one can give me a ride. I finally get a ride from one of the guys in the tape pool room and he was pretty cool. That'd be the highlight of the day.
I throw my crap into my apartment (crap consisting of laptop, keys, what little money I didn't lose) and then decide to take the money and get some dinner. At the mailbox, I find a paycheck from IBM. Things are starting to look up. Enter the grocery store. The nice people politely informed me that since my paycheck was over $999.99 (mind you, it was only over that by about $13 since the federal government ate ~$500 of the ~1500) they could cash it. I even told them I was going to buy groceries and they could take it out of that and then give me the change. The nice man informed me that I could go downtown and cash my check for a $50 fee. I politely informed him that while I wasn't a math minor yet, I could also take the $13 loss and get it cashed there rather than walking five miles and receiving less. This seemed to puzzle him, so I left him to ponder it as I grocery shopped.
Trying to better my spirits, I joked with the checkout man. Granted, I was trying to get him to offer me a "Sooper Card" which would've saved me a whole $4.98 off my $60 grocery bill, but he didn't seem interested and I didn't want to give away my cell phone number. The world's friendliest bag boy bagged 1/3 of my groceries and then stared at me blankly the rest of the time. So, I took it upon myself to bag them while he watched. Again, trying to make myself feel better, I said, "I bet you would've bagged the rest of my groceries and took them out to my car if I had cleavage." His reponse? "What's cleavage?" I shook my head and muttered, "Nevermind, I don't have a car anyhow."
I liked Colorado when I got here but I'm beginning to miss hickland (Oklahoma). Anyone else have a rough day?
Arorrr May 20 2005 11:07 PM EDT
I felt for you, Brandon. Nexttime, unbutton the first 2 button on your IBM shirt. You may have better luck. Those IBM employees are so strictly White Collar with Tie. Come on!
8^)
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