Tag Archives: store

Dec19

no sleep ’til christmas.

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this tired penguin duo is not unlike the first two people i met out in the world today

—

stopped by the store at 9am

for a simple return

 on my way to the rest of my day

the only other human i saw

 was a slow-moving young employee

who began our encounter

by telling me he was sorry

for accidentally spraying a lot of cologne on himself

when mistaking the top of a bottle for the bottom

 shared that he was really tired

 worked until 11pm, closed the store at 12am

came in early at 6am, opened the store at 7am

 in between

he drove home, ate, calmed down,

 tried to get a few hours of sleep in

(no time for a shower, maybe explains his ill-fated cologne mishap)

we talked about how busy it would be as the day continued

when another employee arrived

  who began her conversation with him by saying:

“don’t even talk to me, i’m going on break.”

his not unexpected response:

“but, you just got here.”

she quickly shot back a:

“i told you to not even talk to me”

when i left i thanked him for working

knowing they both

still had a very long day ahead.

—

“i finally got 8 hours, of sleep. it took me 4 days, but whatever.”

-author unknown

Aug25

*rudolph.

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a white-tailed deer startled shoppers

after it wandered in and strolled the aisles in a dollar general store

it seems even mother nature can’t resist low prices.

—

Shoppers were joined by an unexpected patron Friday when a female white-tailed deer wandered into the Dollar General store in Jackson, Michigan.

“I was shopping and I heard a commotion coming from the front of the store,” said Connie MacGuinness, a customer in the store at the time. “I heard people calling out ‘Oh no!” MacGuinness turned around to see the deer walking straight toward her down the aisle, she said. “I was stunned for a quick minute, then got out my phone.”

A report of the animal’s escapades reached the Jackson Police Department. Police and Fire Services Director Elmer Hitt said within a few minutes, officers from JPD and Jackson County Animal Control arrived to help lead the doe back out of the store. “It seemed as scared as we were, but it didn’t run around or seem upset,” MacGuinness said.

Another shopper told MacGuinness they saw the deer walk into the store through the open sliding door at the front of the building.The deer was in the building for about 20 minutes before police guided it outside an open door by barricading the aisles with boxes and carts.

*note: my personal theory is that rudolph had a lot of shopping to do,

hoped to beat the black friday crowd in november,

wanted to fly under the radar, and stock up on some good deals.

unfortunately rudolph is now such a celebrity

that it’s hard to be out in public

without being noticed and posted about on social media. – beth

 

—

“i’m like rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. if i’m not ready, the sled isn’t going to go.

-kevin garnett, nba championship player

 

 

—

credits: photo – connie macguinness, mitchell kukula, mlive.com, jackson police and fire

Jan22

quit.

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the ever-sweet, caring, overworked, underpaid, and passionate manager
of the local dollar store
left this sign as he headed out
for one last time.
(below is what i wrote about him in a post a couple of years back)

when one local dollar tree store closed

my favorite enthusiastic manager

moved to the new location

and judging by my recent visit

he has not lost one bit

of his dollar store fervor and expertise.

this was a conversation between bob (the manager) and evelyn (my cashier) as i was checking out:

E: “bob, you’re really good at remembering all of the balloon numbers to ring up and knowing each one of them without looking.”

B: “well, i’ve been doing it a long time. once in a while a number will change or a new shape will come in, like a unicorn, but it’s part of my job to keep up with it.”

E: “when i worked at the grocery store, i knew all the prices for the cucumbers, the peppers and tomatoes. the easy ones”

B: “some are trickier, like avocados, and for some of those things you only see sometimes it’s harder to remember the all the plu’s.”

E: “it’s really a skill, bob. to be able to do that.”

customer john interrupts:

J: “hey bob – so this is where you’ve got up to – how are you liking the change?”

B: “hey, john. good to see you. it’s great. every day is great. i’m so lucky to be here.”

and how lucky is dollar tree to have bob as a manager?

a man who truly loves his job

takes pride in all of it

is always smiling and helpful

knows exactly where every item in the store is located

and who happily learns the number for the new unicorn balloon.

“so tired you want to quit, then you get more tired, and forget to quit.”
― charles bukowski,
Dec13

wonderland.

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stopping by this amazing wonderland of a store

 was like stepping right into willie wonka’s factory

all joy and color

 sweets of every kind and shape and size

old favorites, new delightful unusual treats

happiest place in town

nothing was impossible.

 

—

 “Mr. Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, and rich caramels that change color every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing-gum that never loses its taste, and sugar balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up. And, by a most secret method, he can make lovely blue birds’ eggs with black spots on them, and when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little dark red sugary baby bird sitting on the tip of your tongue.”

-Roald Dahl, ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’.

 

Jun25

window of opportunity.

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if you look closely

just to the left

of the little blue suitcase

 you’ll find

a curious young boy

hiding amongst

the summer holiday

window display

 the best part of it all

safe behind the glass

peeking out into the world

eyes open and full of wonder.

 

—

“if a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.”

-tom peters

 

Jan5

else.

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so much going on

if nothing else

you might never need

to shop anywhere else

so many options

none really appeal to me

maybe because i’m in the

‘& everybody else’ category

maybe it’s something else.

 

—

“marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.”

~ david packard

Oct7

apples, lumber, and shiny rocks.

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drawn in by a homemade sign, a wave, a hi

to my favorite kind of store

some kids, a table, and some stuff

selling

apples, lumber, and shiny rocks

they had not sold anything

i’d love to be a customer,

but i’ve no money with me, i said

it’s okay, take some things and pay us tomorrow

we might even have juice then, too

they gave me credit!

—

“without hustle, talent will only carry you so far.” 

— Gary Vaynerchuk

Jun30

let (a few of) them eat cake!

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when reading the day’s news online

there were the expected headlines/updates/graphs:

scotus decision

virus numbers updates

calls for mayor’s resignation

protest marches continue

doctors’ opinions

iran’s decision

cruise ship passengers awaiting refunds

election polls

presidential tweets

to wear a mask or not?

europe’s reopening

and then in huge letters:

COSTCO STOPS SELLING HALF-SHEET CAKES

what?

why is this a story?

why is this a bigger-font-size-worthy story?

what is the story?

here’s the story and it’s an odd logic.:

—

The past few months have been chaotic for Costco customers, with product shortages, long lines and the temporary elimination of free food samples. Now, it appears there’s another change for devoted shoppers: Costco has eliminated the iconic half-sheet cakes that are the centerpiece of graduation and birthday parties.

Costco has quietly stopped selling the $20 half-sheet cakes across its US stores for the past month, instead pointing people toward its 10-inch round cakes and other assorted baked goods.

“To help limit personal contact and create more space for social distancing, Costco has reduced service in some departments,” the company explained to outraged customers on its Facebook account. 

Costco confirmed to CNN Business it’s not selling the half-sheet cakes anymore and it has “no immediate plans” to bring it back. A spokesperson added that its 10-inch round cakes “seem to be resonating with our members.”

The decision also coincides with a recommendation from several US states and health agencies to avoid or prohibit large gatherings in light of Covid-19. Half-sheet cakes feeds around 50 people, while its 10-inch round cake serves around a dozen.

—

my interpretation: apparently the thought is that if you don’t have a big cake, you will not have a big celebration, where people will gather around the big cake in a big group. if you have more pieces of cake, you will then invite more people to go with it. what if you just bought a few round cakes, couldn’t you invite the same amount of people and just cut from the round cakes, or would that discourage you from inviting more guests as you’d have to then open more than one box? what about people just deciding to socially distance themselves without the cake being the deciding factor? just wondering, or is this that devil math at play once again? does it come down to having to match ratios, person to piece, and not have any leftover cake to eat for breakfast? i  knew i should have listened in school. 

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“cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness!

If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”

-c. joyBell c.

 

 

 

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credits: cnn business

Jul30

possibilities for sale, but not today.

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unfortunately

this door was locked

when I happened upon it.

that’s an awful lot to pack into one store.

  like the costco of the possibility world.

I wonder if they offer free samples.

what do you think I would find inside?

 

—

“there are many spokes on the wheel of life.

first, we’re here to explore new possibilities.”

-ray charles

 

 

—

ann arbor,michigan, usa – summer 2019