It’s been a long but somehow fast few weeks. Work has been a topsy-turvy rollercoaster of fun and frustration, which is about the best one can hope for I suppose.
Just when I thought I was getting a handle on people, someone else does something and takes me completely off guard. Like a certain pet-store owner in town. He was supposed to have something done for us, and yet when I went in to get it, after my supervisor had just called to let him know I was coming, he didn’t have it done, which he tells me off-hand when I ask him if he had it for me. Somewhat confused, I ask him if he knows when he’ll have it done (confused because he knew the week before we needed it, and I was on a 4:30 deadline). He told me “whenever I get a change”. Wanting something more specific since I know inputting the forms he had was going to take me a really long time, I asked again if he had an idea of when that would be. I literally asked, “Do you have an idea when that would be?”
Which is about when he flipped out on me, telling me no and that was a ‘disgusting’ thing of me to ask. He actually called it disgusting. Then started ranting on about how I can tell my supervisor that, no, actually he’s going to call her right now, etc, etc.
I started walking out about then. I was terribly confused, because he was supposed to have it done and he knew it. And I didn’t understand how me asking when he would have the stuff ready, since I’m the one responsible for getting all this done, was such a big deal.
Well, apparently I was terribly rude, which is what he told my supervisor. It’s a good thing he’s done this sort of thing to her before, and she knows how he is. She told me not to worry about it. I was still upset, because 1) I hadn’t been rude and 2) my boss actually went to talk with him. I don’t really know what happened with that, but it still wasn’t really something I wanted to have against me.
So that was that episode. He eventually did get them in, but it was later and I didn’t get everything done on time. But everyone agreed that it wasn’t my fault.
This week I’m on parking, which is another whole can of worms altogether. Funny saying that. Anyway, I’ve actually been yelled at less than usual, partially due to my increasing ability to write quickly. All the regular downtown people know me pretty well by now, and they’ll come out to chat, or tease about giving parking tickets. It’s actually kind of nice to know not everyone hates me. Yet anyway.
And even some people who get tickets don’t mind, they understand that it’s my job, and they were there too long. Like one guy who came out just as I finished writing his ticket. He was really nice about it, said he’d go pay it right away. He possibly made my day.
Of course, there is the other side as well. Like the one business owner on my route who has gotten so many tickets from us it’s unreal. Yet he still insists on parking his truck out front. Almost every single day. I come every two hours. If you are going to be so stubborn about where you park, especially considering you have your own private lot right next door, then I really don’t have any sympathy for you. Especially when you get mad at me, tell me I need to give you a break. I do. If I haven’t written it, I let you move it. It’s that simple. And it’s not like you don’t know. Of course, the large amount of money you probably spent getting your truck covered in graphics/ads for your business might be part of the reason you want it out front. But really, you’ve been there forever. People know who you are by now. And soon it’s not going to be worth it with the amount you’re paying in parking tickets.
There was something new the other day though. Someone else decided they’d like to mark tires in between rounds. Just on the one section of the street, as far as I could tell. But I gave two tickets before I realized what had happened. I took them both back from very gracious and understanding owners, which was a nice change. But I know a lot of people who would not have been nearly so nice about it. Practical jokes are fun, but not when they cost other people money. Which this could have. Needless to say, I was not amused.
One of the business owners who always chats when I go by told me a little story yesterday (if it was from anyone else I might have felt threatened). A ticket officer was put in hospital the other day from a guy with ‘parking ticket rage’. Apparently the guy he gave a ticket to took it personally, and proceeded to hit the officer with the car that was just ticketed. Ironically enough, the first thing I thought was, well at least the hospital would be air conditioned… You know it’s hot when.
There are so many interesting things to see on a day to day basis. And some of them make you never want to drive again. Like the elderly man who was bent into a permanent seated position- while standing- and walked with a cane. It literally took him almost a full minute to walk from the sidewalk to the driver’s seat. And he got in to drive, while a younger man got in the passenger side. He. Could. Barely. Walk. And was partially crippled. What on earth made either of them think he could drive? I mean, there’s wanting to be able to take care of yourself, and then there’s full-on denial and putting other people at risk. If you can’t move, how can you turn to check your blink spots, or even your mirrors for that matter?
There was an incident in the parking garage where two elderly ladies got in their car and tried to pull out. The lady driving clearly had no sense of depth perception, because she couldn’t tell she had a good 3-4 feet of space to back out. I had to direct her so she could actually get out of the parking space. There is just no way someone who has that much trouble seeing should be on the road.
There are a lot of people I’ve seen who shouldn’t be. And in a town with a large elderly population, most of them are elderly. Driving too slow can be almost as dangerous as driving too fast. If you have to slow down to under 10km/hr to go around a corner, you are in trouble.
Then there are the people who think stop signs are just a suggestion. There are a lot of little alleys that come out onto the main streets, which cross over sidewalks. Buildings shield the alleys, making it almost impossible to see if someone is coming along the sidewalk. Yet people ignore the signs and just pull right through. I lost count of the number of times I’ve almost been hit, or seen someone almost get hit. Sometimes the drivers notice, and others they don’t at all, just go along their business like they own the roads. I’ve got news for you, you don’t. Yet it will probably take someone getting hurt before you take notice of everyone else around you. Which seems to be the way it always is. Preemptive measures would be much less painful for everyone, but people seem to think they’re invincible.
That and I really don’t want to get hit by a car.
