Ten Reasons I Hate People (9)

As I pulled up to the line at the Wendy's drive-through, the driver's-side door of the car in front of me popped open just a little. Out fell a McDonald's take-out bag, quite obviously filled with McRefuse, and a McDonald's cup. They were simply tossed out onto the pavement.

Apparently, some people think that fast food joints hire people specifically to go out and clean the garbage off the parking lot. Some people are completely unable to put themselves in another's position. Here's a quick glimpse at how these litterbugs "contribute" to the daily routine of a fast-food employee:

Imagine that you work at a fast-food restaurant. You make minimum wage. Every day you come home greasy and reeking of kethcup and onions. You're on your feet all day, and you might just make enough to pay the rent and the bills. You cook the food, or you deal directly with hurried customers who expect to get a special order as quickly as a standard cheeseburger, and occasionally you are called off your normal duties to go clean out the restrooms, where excessive toilet paper use often clogs up the johns.

Then some asshole who gets to work from a chair and who never works nights or weekends comes along and decides to make the parking lot his own private trash can. You're asked to go out in an Indiana winter and pick the crap up.

Of all the seemingly random shootings that happen every year, I'm surprised that more of them aren't fast-food employees going nuts and taking out disrespectful customers.

It's probably because they can't afford the cost of a gun.

Almost a Job

I don't remember now how much I've posted here about my bid for a new position within the company, but at any rate, it looks like we're getting down to the end of it.

This afternoon, I got an e-mail from my potential future boss, asking if I could stop by for 10 or 15 minutes. It actually sounded like bad news because I figured that it would take only 10 or 15 minutes to tell me that I didn't get the job, but it would take longer than that to offer me the position. Still, I couldn't help but be excited, and I really had to restrain myself from running over there.

But I was neither offered the job nor denied it. She had a couple of follow-up questions for me. At this point, as she put it, the personality of the candidate and how said candidate will fit into the group are more important than any particular skill set. She wanted to ask me a couple questions that were specifically about group dynamics. I think I gave the right answers; at any rate, I gave honest ones.

But the most exciting part was at the beginning, when she told me that I was at the top of the list of candidates for the position. I've been on cloud 9 ever since...

Another Pacers Game

I went with friends to a Pacers game last night. This one was particularly interesting because it was the Indiana Pacers vs. the Chicago Bulls the day after the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears made it to the Super Bowl. There were a lot of blue Colts jerseys at the game, and a goodly number of Bulls/Bears fans. It was grin-inspiring each time someone randomly yelled out "Go Colts" at the Pacers game.

Two quotes from the game:

(Speaking of the Pacers Pacemates (they used to be called cheerleaders!) after a dance number during a time out): "Nothing says "Go team!" like simulated sex."

(After the game): "I wouldn't say he had daggers in his eyes, but there were definitely some sharp letter openers in that gaze."

BTW, the Pacers beat the Bulls.

Job Search

The Friday before Christmas I sent my resume to the HR folks, applying for a new position within the same company -- a content editor for the online team. If I get the job, I'll be one of the people who updates the content on a number of the company Web sites, and they have quite a few. They also do a lot of online "special" projects that require some creative problem solving and teamwork -- just the kind of thing I love.

Last Thursday I had the interview. It went for a full hour, and I think it went quite well. I was given a lot more information about the job itself, and I was more excited about it after the interview than I was before it. And I kept my "um"s to a minimum (my own little pet peeve).

Today, almost a week later, I got an e-mail asking me to meet with the rest of the group, to give me the opportunity to ask them questions and just meet with them in a casual atmosphere. Step 2! (Or Step 3, if you're starting from the resume.) I'm feeling really good about this!!!

I'm giddy again!

Job Interview

I've scheduled an interview for another position within the company on Thursday morning. It's more money and, hopefully, more opportunity for creativity.

I'm giddy.

Now I have to go do my homework and come up with some thoughtful, insightful questions to ask during the interview.

Ten Reasons I Hate People (10)

The other day I drove to Taco Bell for lunch. There were three cars in line at the drive-through (which means the third car was actually blocking the intersection; someone needs to move the order board closer to the building), but there were only a smattering of cars in the parking lot, so I figured I'd just hop inside and order to-go.

I walked in and, to my relief, only two people were in line in front of me. This Taco Bell is really quite quick, so this fast food run promised to actually be pretty fast.

But then I noticed that the woman in line ahead of me was clutching a little penned note. A list, to be exact.

Sure enough, when she got to the register: "I have a few orders that I need to pay for separately."

Order 1. Pay with cash. Get change. Take receipt.
Order 2. Pay with cash (from the same envelope).Get change. Take receipt.
Order 3. Pay with cash (again from the same envelope). Get change. Take receipt.
Order 4. "Do you want hard or soft tacos with that?" "I'm not sure." Conversation with hands-free cell phone unit. Order hard tacos. Pay with cash. Get change. Take receipt.
Order 5. Pay with debit card. Take receipt. Put away the list. (I sigh.)
Order 6. Finally look at the menu to decide what she wants for herself. Order a number 4 with hard tacos. Open billfold. Pay with cash. Get change. Take receipt.

I could have gone through the drive-through two or three times during the time I waited in that "line." Inconsiderate people drive me mad. Strangers who waste my time drive me madder. I hate people.

(To Taco Bell's benefit, by the time she finished order 6, orders 1-5 were already finished and bagged up.)