Work Schmerk.

Okay, I'm breaking my silence on all matters work-related today. Please bear with me as I vent some of my frustrations.

The thing about being in retail/service is that the worst incidents don't automatically make for the worst days. A customer flipping their top, a rack of glass bottles tumbling to the floor or shoplifting does not an awful day make, no matter how unsettling these individual incidents might be. Besides, there's something oddly cathartic about shit hitting the fan. No, the worst days at work are formed by the little things. The minor little annoyances. Individually, they aren't a problem, but when they're stacked up over a period of seven hours they start snapping your synapses. It's like setting a pissed off gorilla loose to wreak havoc in your mind. That bastard'll rip apart your patience and stomp on your tolerance until the mere sight of a customer sends you into a frothing rage.

When I started this, I had in mind a listing of the particular little things that annoy me over the edge of the reason. As is usual with my life, distractions arose and I had to put this post to the side as I dealt with them. While I was busy, I realized that a lot of these things are part of one main issue. It all arises from the nature of the customers on the shift. Certain natures are worse than others; after all, who enjoys work when the customers are feeling antagonistic? But the customer mood behind my worst nights isn't anger; it's boredom. Ennui. People plodding through the aisles; their eyes half-closed. Half-heartedly studying our stock. Tedium writ large. Time flows like molasses. This is how humanity ends; not with a bang, but a whimper. I can try to fight it, but if it continues for too long, I'll eventually start to feel bored as well. Their mood has informed mine, and mine will inform the mood of future customers. It's a stupid cycle that's impossible to break once it's underway. Throw in all the other bullshit and you've got yourself one bad night. Bored AND stressed. What a combination.