Unemployed!

Today was my last day at Salty Dog. After battling my severe hangover all afternoon and well into the evening, I managed to enjoy my last shift. It was definitely sad to know that I would not be going back into work at Salty Dog, possibly ever again. There is a lot I will miss about that place. I will see a couple of my coworkers again before I leave, but there are many I may never see again and that makes me pretty sad. It is interesting how you cross paths with people, get to know them, and then you continue on your path through life with nothing but memories and the occasional phone call/email just to catch up which become few and far between over the years. I had a few notable customers during my last shift:

*Judy- a regular. She stopped by in the pouring rain this morning to say, "Goodbye", before I got there, and then made a point to come back by later in the afternoon to see me. It was really sweet and it is good to know that we are appreciated by our customers.
*Group of New Yorkers- They were a delight. When I mentioned that I was moving to Rego Park, they just went on and on about how great it is, and how there is so much to do and so many young people in that area. It was all really good to hear coming from people familiar with that neighborhood (except for the part where they mentioned the "Boulevard of Death").
*Douchebag- I personally think I am pretty darn good with customers and doing what I can to answer their questions and listening to their concerns. This guy was just a jerk. We have our Winter Buy One Get One (of equal or lesser value--clearly stated on all of our promotional signs) Half Off Sale going on. This guy wanted to purchase a $38 vest, $18.95 hat, and $15.95 t-shirt and get the most expensive item half off. I explained to him that was not how the sale worked but that the hat would be half off seeing as how it is the second most expensive item. He bitched and bitched and carried on, eventually deciding not to purchase the t-shirt in order to make a point that I had just lost a sale for the business (even though he was still dropping $40 on the other two items, I would get into the details, but who really cares). I could have given in to his request, but he was being completely absurd and I was not in the mood to let him have his way. Not to mention he and his wife were visiting for three months, I do not think a $16 t-shirt is going to break the bank. You deal with all walks of life in retail, that is for sure. It was kind of my, "Fuck You", to all of the asshole customers I've had during my time at Salty Dog that I have just done what I can to make happy.

Normally, finishing your last shift at a job feels exciting and liberating. After locking up and walking to my car tonight, I felt sadness and fear. I can now definitely see how people get "trapped" here.

My moving plans have changed slightly due to an approaching storm in NC expecting to dump a few inches of snow across the state. Instead of Mom coming down to HHI tomorrow and me leaving here on Tuesday, she is coming down Tuesday and I am leaving Wednesday. This only gives me one day in North Carolina, which is very stressful considering everything I have to get done while I am there. Fortunately I now have an extra day to get things done here in South Carolina.

Apparently Brothers and Sisters is REALLY good tonight. It is a two hour episode so it started at 9 and I was still at work. I will have to find time to watch it online in the next few days. Tomorrow begins my week of ridiculous stress and too many Goodbyes to think about.