MY LIFE - MARCH

March 23, 1999

Brunswick just keeps getting more and more ridiculous on its policies towards adult themes. Tiffany's Cabaret, which has defied all odds and has done really well since its opening, is once again being faced with a city council which just won't accept the business. Brunswick City Council just rewrote some little laws that required that all places of adult nature pay an extra $100 for an operating license and $25 extra per employee. It's just another case of the city trying to block free enterprise.

Last year, many recall the protestors who'd stand outside of Tiffany's protesting the joint and the city trying anything to get rid of it. That included trying to use a no nudity clause in the city ordinance that was rightfully struck down in federal court. Brunswick is also trying to pass the new ordinance onto other adult themed shops, including a couple of stores that sell merchandise for lovers, including sex toys. By doing so, the city hopes to get rid of these businesses and "the crime and drugs that follow them" as one councilman put it.

Now hold on just a damn minute. I'm no advocate for any of these operations, but I believe that they have every right to be open simply because these are clean and crime-free establishments. Who cares who goes into Tiffany's to watch a strip show? Who cares who's buying sex toys? The fact is, the councilmen don't like these places and are going to try and do anything to get rid of them. Forget the fact that these places are also doing good business. Brunswick doesn't want them. Or so the councilmen would have you believe.

In all honesty, these places are not dirty, are not attracting crime (or prostitutes as one man put it), and are not bringing any new "scumbag" people. Crime and drugs are already prominent around here, despite what any official will have you believe. I have so far not seen any prostitutes hanging around the street corners of Brunswick (which still makes me laugh), and there aren't any people standing around trying to sell themselves or drugs. In fact, the only people these places are bringing are those who want to see a show during their lunch from work, have a fun night out, or who want to spice up their sex life, none of which are illegal.

The city wants you to think that these places bring corruption. The only corruption I see are the illegal blockings of free enterprise by people who just don't like something, and are willing to try anything to stop what it is. I also see Tiffany's striking back in federal court to contest the new laws as they should. I would love to see the stores also strike back and say wait a minute.

Maybe the whole problem is that these people are too old. Or maybe they just aren't "getting any."

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We have two pharmacists at work. One, Steve, is the pharmacist in charge and controls much of the day-to-day operations. The other is Tom, who does scheduling. They alternate days so I work with both of them frequently. Steve is fun to work with as he has a sense of humor similar to mine, which means we do a lot of double-teaming on the other associates. Tom has a sense of humor, but it is much different from mine. He also is a bit of an asshole who could care less about customer relations.

That's where he pisses me off most. He will constantly disconnect a person trying to call regardless of who it might be, he'll refuse to answer the phone and yell when other people aren't, regardless of how busy we are, and he'll get pissy with people and not try to hide it. It eventually comes back to us, especially if I answer the phone, put them on hold, tell Tom it's a question or doctor, and watch him disconnect the call. They call back minutes later and I get an earful from them because they think I hung up on them. He'll tell us to say he's on the other line when he isn't, tell us to take the call ourselves, or come up with some other bullshit excuse not to talk to the person.

He just doesn't like working all that much. He often disappears into the back office to watch tv, leaving me with a bunch of stuff that needs to get done. There can be three or four prescriptions in the bin, and he'll just sit there and watch while you work your ass off, or he'll disappear. He goes to the bathroom five times in an hour. He'll put a prescription through, then throw the labels at you so that you can finish it for him. At night he'll often tell you do to a prescription regardless of what you're doing.

You're probably wondering if Steve knows about this. Yes, he does. He can't do much because the district is already short on pharmacists and we can't afford to lose one now and dump the load on the rest of us. For now, we just have to deal with Tom and hope that things work out. But I'm almost at the end of the rope with him. I'm tired of having to do 75% of the work when he's around and hear it from him when something's not right or done fast enough. I'm tired of him bitching about doctors. They have a job too. Stop bitching about them doing it. Stop bitching about people being sick. That shit happens. In short, stop your bitching. You're not perfect yourself.

That felt good actually. In other work news, we finally hired a new person. She starts Thursday and hopefully will last a little while at least.

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We have a half day at school tomorrow, which just makes me wonder what the whole point of this week is now. We had Monday, we have half a day tomorrow, and we have Thursday and Friday this week. Next week we have two full days before the dance marathon, which wipes out Wednesday. That leaves about 4 full days to do anything before spring break begins. Four days. Most teachers have already conceded that's not enough to really start anything new, so we're either doing something pointless or watching a movie, which in itself is pointless. I just have to wonder, would it have hurt to make Monday a half day then give us the rest of the week in full (aside from today) so that at least there's some worth?

Or am I just crazy?

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Today was the day for the funeral of Bill Parschen, who I talked about in depth in yesterday's entry and in Commentary. Maybe it was the sunshine that came through today, but something felt right about the day early on. Maybe it was the fact that so many attended his funeral and that he was such a good person. Maybe because this whole thing is just about closed now, there was a reason to smile again. Yes, he's dead. He's been laid to rest though with the love of hundreds going out to him from the city and area. Maybe because so many showed their love for him and because so many grieved, something happened.

I don't really know what I'm talking about. Today just felt like a heavy burden was finally lifted off the city's shoulders with the funeral today. Maybe it was our signal to move on with our lives and try to do a little more for each other. Again, I don't really know. Today just felt like a better day.

At least until I got to work anyway. Then it went down the toilet. Tom's an ass, we were busy, and I'm worn out. I have 33.7 hours of vacation time to use. Maybe it's just about time to use it.