for craig

new years 2007

jumped the shark?

i received a card in the mail yesterday from my friend, todd, from beware of the blog. i used to love ellen. i watched her from her beginning on a small sitcom about real estate, of which i can't think of the name. anyhow, loved her sitcom. used to watch her show daily in the beginning. i'm not sure she is for the gays anymore. straight people love her. and i guess that's why she has a line of greeting cards....

i LOVE the one from todd. it cracked me up.

don't get me wrong. i do like ellen. i want to dress like her one day. however, i really don't watch her anymore. weird.

p.s. i also listened to todd and rachel's podcast and he mentioned a show i'm strangely obsessed with..."Scott Baio is 45 and still single." it's a train wreck that i can't not watch. i will be glued to the tv when pamela anderson shows up. i heard him on Stern and i almost sat in the car and listened to the whole interview. (i didn't) it's kinda like "Hey Paula" but not as much medication. he's just a huge jerk.

i love ross the intern

sara got me into ross the intern. i read his blog everyday and i think he is hilarious. most of you know, i love flaming flamboyant gay men. i only have a couple in my life right now, but my favorite customer from hp7 night was a young man ON FIRE. i don't watch the tonight show, but if i knew when ross was on...i probably would. check out his blog whenever you get a chance... http://blog.nbc.com/ross_blog/. he was the first man to co-host "the view" i think. crazy. i heart ross.

sometimes i love my job

if you would have told me that i would be working a bookstore for the last book in the harry potter series (and be in charge of all the activities), i would have had to smack you. however, i think it was one of my best moments in retail. i think everyone involved had a good time, except right at the beginning of line forming. i think we did the last book justice. the video is of some of the photos i had sara take and she picked the song. :) it was a long road to one night and it was an amazing evening.
enjoy.

tonight's the night

this is the book that everyone is talking about. i've personally been thinking about it for at least 5 months since i decided to take this job. it feels like christmas. so much preparation. the night has finally arrived and despite the planning, i'm hoping everything goes off without a hitch. we have taken SO many calls this week...i can't even go into it. i am hoping that our staff has a fun night, despite the craziness. i am the "head mistress" for the evening, professor aurora sinestra. i have to come up with some lines. i volunteered sara to take photos of the evening, so i'll post tomorrow. we are open tonight until the last customer leaves....

the accent was not made up

no words are necessary, but I LOVE MY MOM!!!!

"the customer is always right"

this is a super bad photo that i took with my cell phone of a costume that i bought that was on the peg stating $14.99. the costume rung up for $24.99, when i reached the register. it was actually next to another peg that said $7.99. when i asked the cashier to change the price, she called another woman over. the manager said that she could NOT mark it down since it was already on sale with a "take your business elsewhere" attitude. it would be one thing if there was only one on the hook. i bought TWO of them and there were still TWO on the hooks. how many red velvet capes do you expect to sell in the middle of the summer? (harry potter release party)

i, of course, did what all pissed customers who've worked in retail do....asked for her district manager's number. i have NEVER done this before in my life, but it has happened to me many times. when i get that question, i just pretend that i sought approval MYSELF from a higher up and give the customer what they want and don't give them the number. unless i know that i will get fired immediately if i grant the customer's request, i ultimately begrudgingly with a super sweet smile on my face (cursing them in my mind for eternity) give the customer what they want.

in this case, it was THEIR fault...not mine. so i called the DM while i was in the store. took a photo of the peg hook if i needed it (with manager in tow). i got a call back about 5 minutes later. and in the typical retail fashion...

1. she listened to my issue
2. she asked me who was involved
3. she asked me the difference in price
4. she told me to take my receipt and get a refund the next day.

the thing that bothered me was that she called that manager, "the lowest one on the totem pole." then, she proceeded to explain that the manager must not have thought she could have made that decision.

a $10 decision to correct a store's mistake. i thought that was the saddest statement ever.

i know that the customer is not always right. believe me.

this time i was.

blogs of the future: me and mom (video), harry potter : order of the phoenix

"experience" shopping

sara and i spent the day in williamsburg, va with her mom and sister yesterday. this was one of our destinations, after the Pottery, Yankee Candle. the store was THREE buildings of candle experience. the main hall had clouds painted on the ceiling and mechanical bears singing on a balcony every 15 minutes or so. even for a person who can't smell, i was overwhelmed. there was a regular store (with amazing visual standards...not one tart out of place) then other stores within the same building. there was a toy store, a home store and even a build-a-bearlike store. there was also a christmas decoration store (what?! in williamsburg?!) that had pinpoint lights in the ceiling for stars and IT ACTUALLY SNOWED!!!!! nice.


my favorite part was the candle dipping station, which of course, i HAD to do. good times.

this is the wave of the retail future. this is how companies are trying to compete with internet shopping. if you have "activities" or "experiences" in a store, then you are bound to spend your time and gas money to make the trip. i will have to visit the Yankee Candle in the 'burg again. very very impressive.

independence day

sara and i spent the fourth of july with her friend from school, heather and her boyfriend, asa. good times. despite the flash flooding, asa was able to cook some amazing gourmet burgers. i applaud him for trying to cook out in the thunderstorm and for heather for prepping the food. we were able to see some neighborhood fireworks and spend some time getting beaten playing a game on their Wii.

it was called Brain Academy. it was fun. i'm a sore loser. anyone who has played a game with me should know that about me. i'm getting better though in my old age. not much better. it was a fun independence day. good friends. good food. and lots of laughs.

caffeine, anyone?

i started learning about coffee a couple of months ago, when i learned that i would be running a cafe. strangely enough when i look at the beans in the photo, i love the color and the oily finish of the bean. who knew that there was so much to know? i've been working a lot of hours since my cafe supervisor quit and moved back to michigan. yeah, i'm THAT horrible to work for that i send you back to your parents!!!

today was especially long day. i hung out with my friend, jake, until about midnight. and yes, i had to work at 5am. (sara went down to see her family yesterday, since her sister moved into her first home. yay, maj!) jake made a meal for me (amazing!) and we watched some of a movie. i was not prepared for my alarm to ring at 4am. the best part was hardly being awake and being in charge of actually counting coffee. yes, i had a cup.

i'm not really ready to call myself a barista. i need lots more practice.

wish me luck. and if you see me behind the counter, run....run away.