The Dreaded D.O.M.

Any one who has ever worked retail will tell you that sometimes you get some really talkative customers. The ones that latch on and just won't let go tend to be the elderly. Makes sense, right? Sometimes they're lonely. They don't get out much and on that rare occasion that they have a captive audience the flood gates of their life experiences open wide. Personally, as long as I'm not super busy, I enjoy settling in for a little conversation. I've heard some fascinating stories over the years.

Lots of people who work retail have little nicknames for these types. I use L.O.L.'s for "Little Old Ladies" (it didn't have the same meaning when I coined that one) and L.O.M.'s for "Little Old Men". There are variations of course, some of them are cute and sweet, some are bitter and ornery but none are scarier than the D.O.M- The "Dirty Old Man". If you are a lady working retail you know the D.O.M and you run the other way or hide in the stockroom when you see him coming.

Older gents have been flirting with younger women since time began [citation needed]. That's not the problem. The typical encounter consists of a Golden Oldie telling a young lady that she's pretty, has a nice smile, has a lucky boyfriend/husband, etc. All perfectly harmless and both sides get a little bit of an ego boost. There is, however, a line. Some older men just have lost that self-censorship that keeps those dirty thoughts in their brain where they belong and they just come tumbling out. In those cases the man doesn't even realize he's said anything wrong, like when little kids ask inappropriate questions in public (usually loudly and often directed at some unfortunate stranger). These are uncomfortable situations of course, but easy to brush off after the fact.

Some encounters are creepier, more insidious. Like the D.O.M.'s that starts out harmless and emboldened by a smile or a giggle, take things too far. He may start out telling her she's quite a catch and then end up telling her he could guess her bra size or ask if her father is a baker (apparently because she has nice buns, I had to ask about that one). I've even heard of one instance where a male co-worker had to threaten to throw a D.O.M. out of the store because he wanted to ask a pretty little thing (who I think was only 17 at the time, BTW) if he could pay her for sex. This guy wasn't senile either. He knew exactly what he was asking, he just didn't think there was anything wrong with asking any young lady he found attractive to whore herself.

Seriously?! That seemed appropriate?! Age isn't even a consideration at this point, that's just...ewww. Why kind of a response does a guy (young or old) expect after that? "Oh wow, I'm so turned on by your lack of tact and social graces. Please, objectify me some more!" (swoons). Ugh. Listen, if you're a guy and you're reading this, just stick with "pretty smile" or even a "nice hair". If you start complimenting any feature below the chin it's just gonna be creepy.

The Pre-Christmas Rush?

I know that it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but yes, I started my Christmas shopping today. My goal this year (other than not spending too much) is to NOT go to the Mall! I spent 7 years working at the mall during the holidays and it's as much of an anti-Christmas you can experience. Pushing my way through throngs of angry shoppers after spending 30minutes to an hour trying to find a parking space just doesn't put me in a "most wonderful time of the year" mood. To wit, my mom and I decided to do a little bonding over Christmas shopping and headed out to the nearest Christmas Tree Shop.

As soon as we got close we could see crowds of people gathered at the store's entrance. There went my idea of beating the crowds! As we were walking through the parking lot a lady in her car stopped us and asked us if we had any coupons. "Uhhhh, no". Well, surprise! She wasn't asking for them, she was giving them! She gave us each a coupon for 20% off our entire purchase. We decided that we would put everything together and save the other coupon for another day this week, since we can never get everything we're looking for in just one trip. Turns out we didn't need to do that either. No less than 4 people in the store tried to give us coupons!

Sure, the store was packed and there were a couple instances of shopping cart collisions but the vibe in there was much different than I expected. Instead of muttered curses and exasperated sighs the cart bumps were met with laughter and jokes about each other's driving skills. People may have had that strained "I'm on a mission" look on their faces but there wasn't that cut-throat mentality usually associated with Christmas sales shopping. I would have to say that most of the people there were making good use of their coupons and were in a good mood! There was almost a feeling of camaraderie. We were sisters in sales!

So times are tough. People are stretching to make ends meet and not always succeeding. But maybe that means that we're looking for happiness in different places. Maybe finding a good deal on wrapping paper and a cheap set of Christmas lights goes further now than it used to. Delight in the little things, my friends. Take it wherever you can get it!

In The Beginning...

I'm sure we've all heard the saying "Every cloud has a silver lining". I wish! Clouds may all have linings, but they aren't all silver. Mostly, I'd say that they're brass. They look nice enough, but not worth a whole bunch. Now don't go thinking that I'm super cynical. I tend to look on the bright side, but lets be honest, sometimes the bright side is just a nightlight in a child's room. Just barely enough to keep the thought of monsters away.

I started this blog because sometimes you just need to put your thoughts out there in the world. Right now my thoughts center mostly on being single, unemployed and living with my parents. Oh, and my car is dead. Wow...When I type it out like that it makes me seem pretty pathetic. I don't think that I'm alone out there though, not in this economy. So here's a little bit about me:
At the beginning of April I got laid off, as did my company's pregnant secretary. At the end of April I left my boyfriend of 4 years and took the dog with me. I moved back home with my parents. At the time it seemed mutual, but a month later he was trying to reconcile. Looking back on it, I think he just wanted the dog back. In may I registered my car and went to get it inspected. $350 and 2 garages later it turns out that there's a valve in my engine that needs to be replaced and that it would take $1300 to $1500 to do it. I didn't even have the $350 I'd already spent so there was no way I was going to dump that much money on a 10 year old car.

So that's a nutshell version of how I got here. What's your story?