Chicken or the Egg

Sorry for being out-of-sight the past week or so, but I just haven't "felt it" as far as the blog goes lately. On Tuesday, I finished up a string of days that had me working 13 out of the last 15 days, with the past two days being the first two-day weekend I've had in 3 weeks! Once again, I feel that leaner times are ahead and I shouldn't be complaining about working 40 hour weeks, but when the days off fall in a way that only give me solo days off, it really doesn't feel like I have days off at all.

So with work, errands, doing things with Danielle, hanging out with the roommates, trying in vain to catch up on the DVR, and trying to relax here and there, it just doesn't leave me much time for the blog these days.

That might change a little bit though. Unfortunately, it seems that EVERY part-time dealer at my place is now being given 4 days per week with one on-call day. The main reason for my erratic days off has been that I've been called in on my on-call days the past two times. But this week my on-call day is Monday, and I'm not holding out hope to work that day.

Let's see, what has happened since my last posting? The first NFL Sunday occurred last week where I was able to wear my brand new Steelers jersey to work. Surprisingly, not many dealers took advantage of the offer to show some individuality that day. I counted only six total dealers on my shift with a jersey on. It was pretty cool though, especially when other Steeler fans would walk by and get an immediate high five from me! Its just another example of how much more fun it is to work on the Strip than putting up with the degenerates off-strip!

Last night, I did some shopping at Wal*Mart before meeting up with Danielle for some sushi. That's actually where my post title came from. I absolutely DESPISE shopping at walmart!!! The only reason I went yesterday is that they just happen to be the only place that I know of that carries my favorite hair gel, so I went over there to stock up on it and pick up some other odds 'n' ends as well. One thing I wanted to buy was a shower caddy (that thing you hang up on your shower to put shampoo and soap in). Seems like a pretty simple item to find, right? But not at Wal*Mart, where shopping is truly a baffling experience! I circled around the area where the bath supplies were found with no luck. I mean, shame on me for thinking that a shower caddy could be found with the other bath items such as shower curtains, towels, etc! During my first and second walk-through of the section, a couple employees passed by pushing along some pallets, but made no eye contact with me and it was clear they had no motivation to actually interact with a customer. After my third baffling walk-through, I went to seek out someone, and the lady I finally found sent me right back for my fourth walk-around of that exact same area! I did eventually find the isle with the coveted shower caddies, which was conveniently located right between the house-paint section and the automotive section. Wow, I felt so embarrassed that I didn't just walk right to that most obvious spot for shower caddies!

So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Are Wal*Mart employees so lazy and suck so badly because of the way they're treated by their company, or is the company simply treating them the way they deserve to be treated? I would have to lean toward the latter. I'd say I get truly good service about once every ten trips to Wallyworld. And since I hardly ever go there, I'd say that equals a good trip every 2 or 3 years! Whether it be Ohio, Nevada, or all parts in-between, I just have NO sympathy for these people at all. There's a Wal*Mart market just down the street from my old job in Henderson that always had people picketing outside of it due to the "horrible conditions" found inside. Sorry Wal*Mart employees, you can go suck it as far as I'm concerned. Why should someone sitting at the jewelry counter deserve nice full benefits when they can't answer question one about any of the watches being sold right in front of them???

Oh well, I guess that's what my blog has come to. I've sunk to the lowest blogging common denominator and am now ranting about Wal*Mart! Yikes!! I did come to a funny realization while there though. As I was walking toward the check-out, I noticed one of those blood pressure machines where you can stick your arm in the hole and get your blood pressure readings. I figured "what the hell" and sat down. After getting my readings, I was a bit concerned that it was pretty high. Then I realized a simple fact. That particular machine can NEVER give an accurate reading because it can ONLY give your blood pressure reading while you're SHOPPING AT WAL*MART! So I subtracted about 15 Wal*Mart induced points on each number and am now confident that my actual blood pressure is not that bad!

Other things that have happened this week include Jeff's friend moving out of the house, so we're now back to 3 people living here, which is nice. I think I'm now going to move the computer up to the spare bedroom (which I have rights to) and set up an air mattress in there as well for a secondary place to sleep. My current bedroom is just too damn hot and gets virtually no AC through the ducts for some reason. I think it'll be a lot nicer though come October when the temps start getting cooler at night and I can open up the windows a bit!

Other things include my first ever all-you-can-eat sushi experience last night, which was pretty damn good! My favorite sushi roll was called the "Firebomb". It actually could have been a little more spicy! There are now 32 days left before heading back to Ohio, which I just cannot wait for! Also, I'll give a very quick opinion on the Ohio State/USC game this Saturday.

One word......OVERHYPED! Sorry, I know I'm just about the biggest Buckeye fan this side of the Mississippi, but the Bucks are an 11 point underdog, their Heisman Trophy candidate is on the sideline again, they looked pretty lethargic last week against OU, and they're playing AT USC, who are rightfully atop the standings. I obviously hope for a big upset come Saturday, but ESPN has given the game its very own section on the bottom scroll and they have taken it upon themselves to hype it up as "The Collision in the Coliseum!" Okay ESPN, whatever. If Wells was not hurt and Ohio State was still #2 or #3 in the rankings, I guess I could see the hype, but after living through the legitimate Game of the Century two years ago when #1 OSU played #2 UM, anything short of that doesn't really do much for me anymore! What I think most people are forgetting is that its a pretty big NON-conference game, and even if OSU loses, college football seasons are so damn insane recently that it probably won't mean much later in the year when USC somehow finds a way to lose to Stanford again and #1 teams are being picked off one-by-one, week-by-week, just like last year. I guess we'll see.

Okay, enough rambling. It's now almost 5am my time, and I have to be to work today at 1pm. I'll try to check back in a little more often, but don't click and re-click hoping for daily updates like before. I think one or two posts per week may be a little more reasonable at this point.

Enjoy your weekends folks.......and Go Bucks!!!