MY LIFE - JUNE 1999

Thursday, June 17, 1999

The last couple of days, I've actually learned a lot while at work. You may be wondering how I may actually be learning something at CVS, but I have. First and foremost, I learned never try to stop a rubber ball from hitting you with your pinky finger. I now have a bruised right pinky finger because I tried to do just that. It hurts big time, yet I keep typing letters with it. Anyway, here's a rundown of what I learned.

I learned that I just do not like working with Tom on some nights. Especially when we're busy. Monday I got an earful from him for putting a prescription bag in the prescription box that he'd have to call the doctor on to get a new prescriptiong for the patient. He asked me in a rather nasty tone why I even put it up in the box, and I said because we can, and will do this for the patient.

Silly me. I must have forgotten, Tom doesn't fill prescriptions. He just whines and complains about something until someone else does it or it becomes clear that he's going to have to actually work. Since I had to ring register, I couldn't do it, and Keith couldn't do it because he was taking a doctor call that Tom didn't want to take. Who does that leave? Tom did shut up and fill it after a while, but it didn't last. He would get pissy later on too.

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I learned that I do enjoy working with Steve, our other pharmacist who's just more enjoyable and easygoing than Tom. Steve will actually do his job and do it in a timely fashion. He doesn't go and watch tv when it gets quiet, he does other work that needs to be done. Oh, and he's really funny too and the two of us are dangerous when both on top of things. We can work together and have you scratching your head wondering what the hell happened to get you so lost. We also make good jokes.

I learned that Steve performs his job to the best of his ability, and no matter how much he dislikes a customer, will give them the help that they ask for, without the ethnic slurs that Tom brings to the table. Oh, and people listen when Steve has something to say because if you don't, he can be just as nasty as anyone to you.

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I learned that Mikey and me working together should be outlawed outright since we tend to get into a lot of trouble. Nothing gets done and we spend more time goofing off and looking for things to get into than anything else. I also learned that Mike isn't as big a putz as I thought him to be. Turns out he doesn't make the silliest mistakes in the store after all. That judgement has been passed on to Victor, who counted up the checks this morning and put them in the computer as a cash pull, but not under checks. He put them under as cash, throwing off the count for the rest of the day and creating an interesting situation tonight.

I also learned that no matter how much I try (or try not to), I just cannot watch what I say sometimes. My mouth was going tonight, but I wasn't being particularly nasty with some of my jokes. Rather, I just pointed out when someone did something stupid and backed up someone when they had a valid point, much to the chagrin of the person contesting them.

I can't figure that out though. Why must I make jokes and say things when I should really be keeping my mouth shut? Nevermind that most of the time it's funny, it's something that will get me into trouble someday. I know it. I'll have some boss who'll have no sense of humor at all and I'll be making jokes about something that most other people would find funny, but not with that person. I'd be next in line at the unemployment offices in that case.

I know that it will get me. I just know it. Being the peanut gallery also brings a certain reputation to it too. Either people want you to just shut up or they expect you to have something funny to say. Always. A couple of times people have asked me what was wrong with me when there was absolutely nothing wrong. They were worried because something stupid had been done, and I hadn't said anything funny or smart about it. That blows me away. Basically, it goes like this. If I say something, some laugh and the person the joke's on is mad at me. If I keep quiet, that person is happy that I didn't say anything, but everyone else thinks that I had some sort of seizure or something to prevent me from saying anything.

In the long run, I don't think I'll be changing anytime soon. As soon as you change one aspect of your personality, other aspects change with it and that is something I'd rather avoid for right now. So for now, I'll remain a smartass and will proudly wear the nickname of the peanut gallery. And dammit my finger hurts. I already got Mike back for whipping the ball at me (I nailed him in the leg with the same ball), but it still hurts. Plus, he threw the ball at me later and it went between my legs, hit up against a box behind me, and bounced into my ass. So I basically got my ass kicked by a ball tonight too.

Needless to say, it was a strange and painful (*ow!*) night. Someday I'll learn. Just not yet.

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Today we got some new, but familiar toys in our merchandise delivery today. Last year, we got these toys that when you threw them, they either said something or made a noise. These things were an absolute hit among some employees, but headaches to others, including me after about a week. We also found out that they can't take much throwing around. Most of them never sold because we abused them so much, they just stopped working. The one that made it all the way, died last night when I whipped it into the ground in our breakroom. Rather than laugh at me, it just smacked into the ground and did nothing else. Turns out, it only had one more hit in it.

Anyway, the ones we got today make noise as well, but these are different. We've got one that is like a boss with a temper (which I immediately dubbed Lenny, after my manager, which led to some laughing) that has "You're Fired!" as one of its sayings. There's another one that whines kind of like Jenny does, which was obviously dubbed Jenny. One of its sayings is "I won't I won't I won't!" in a very loud and Jenny-like way. We thought it was hilarious, but she took exception and immediately beat Mikey up for it, since he was the one who had it at the time.

I don't really know what the rest of them say, but I'll try to find out. In any case, two of them have already been associated with employees of the store. Things are just starting to get riled up at work now.

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I bet Oakland just has to hate Cleveland right now. In terms of baseball anyway. After taking 10 of 11 games from the Indians last year, the Athletics are now on the other end of the spectrum following tonight's game, a 10-6 win for the Indians in which they came from behind for the second straight game. The Indians have now won 7 straight from Oakland, and are 9-1 overall against Oakland this year. The Indians have swept two straight series from Oakland, both in Cleveland have made life miserable for the bullpen.

Last night, the Indians came back from an 8-3 deficit to win 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth. They did it with defense and a bench that came ready to play. Enrique Wilson led off the eighth with a double. He scored on double by Alex Ramirez, who pinch-hit. The Indians would eventually load the bases up until Robbie Alomar hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5. Manny Ramirez then came up and doubled in two more runs to make it 8-7. Richie Sexson struck out to end the inning.

In the ninth, Wilson again led off with a hit, this time a triple over the first basemen's head. Two outs later, he was at third for Kenny Lofton. Lofton singled off the glove of closer Billy Taylor, who used to own the Indians (he blew three saves this year including this one). Lofton stole second despite a pitchout, and Omar Vizquel singled Lofton home to win the game.

Tonight wasn't as dramatic, but it was still something else. The Indians fell behind 3-0, but crept back into it when A. Ramirez hit his first major league home run to make it 3-2. After tying it, the Athletics scored two runs to take a 5-3 lead. Kenny Rogers and the bullpen couldn't hold it as the Indians tied it when M. Ramirez walked with the bases loaded (RBI 78). In the seventh, David Justice led off with a double. Jim Thome pinch-hit and also hit a double to score Justice, making it 6-5 Indians. Vizquel would eventually come up and drive in two runs with a single to make it 7-5. Alomar came up with two on and promptly put the game away with a three-run homer to right-center, giving the Indians a 10-5 lead. Mike Jackson would give up a solo home run to lead off the ninth, but then retired three of the next four faced to close the game at 10-6.

I love baseball. I love the Indians. From this point on, I will close out each entry with Indians' record at the end of the day in a small resurrection of Tribe Watch. Oh, and did I mention that my fucking pinky finger hurts?

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Tribe Watch '99

Tonight's result:
Oakland, 6
Cleveland, 10

Record
43-20 - best in major league baseball.