Murphy

What is it about that fellow, Murphy, that he just must show up when it's the most inconvenient? And how is it that he always knows to provide what is absolutely needed the least? I'll tell you, that Murphy sure knows how to complicate things, even this darn cold.

Instead of a quiet Tuesday night at work, I got stormed right from the start. I was scheduled for the ladies fitting rooms the first hour of my shift it seemed that women and girls were coming out of the woodwork with stacks of clothes needing access to the locked fitting rooms.

Now, unlocking the doors and monitoring the comings and goings of the occupants and merchandise isn't all that fitting room duty entails. There's also the matter of keeping them clean and returning all the things that have been tried on to their proper places. The last of which is no small feat for someone "new" to the apparel department.

I must have helped at least twenty female type persons, some with their significant others clogging up the aisles with shopping carts waiting. Between them they contributed to 2 piled high carts of clothes to return throughout the apparel department. Even a couple of pairs of men's jeans managed to find their way into that heap.

If that wasn't enough I found myself buried in price checks for cashiers and merchandise checks at other stores for customers. My phone was ringing off the hook and, of course, this is all within that first hour and for me with no voice.

The merchandise checks to other stores involved calls to two stores for the first customer before finding the requested shoes. The second customer finally gave up after we called four stores. By the time I'd finished that first hour and had moved onto an hour of returns, I felt like it was Black Friday all over again.

My body responded by getting the shakes and my voice really died and I still had 6 more hours to go by the time I was done with those returns. I still had two more hours scheduled on the fitting room and one more of returns before the night would be finished.

The only thing I can tell you about the masses at the store was I was told that Tuesday is Senior Discount day in Dec. I'd say there were enough seniors in the mix I did notice they were out in force. My slow Tuesday was the day from hell and I was really glad when it was over.

Getting plenty of rest as described in doctor instructions for dealing with a cold just was not in the cards. It's no wonder by this morning my cold had taken a turn for the worse and I've been out on the couch for most of the day.

I got a call from a friend this morning and she thought she was talking to Dave. Guess that tells you how I sound but it doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. Hopefully it's going to be uphill from here. I'm already very tired of the downhill slide. I was hoping I'd be able to get back on a horse on these days off, but I guess it's just not in the cards, all because of that darn Murphy........