*Le Sigh*

I know I haven't written much in my blog lately.  I apologize.  Lately it seems I've just been working, sleeping and then repeating.  It's nearly October however.  I need to find some social energy.  There are Halloween parties and activities to plan and decorating the house as well.  On my walk home from work, I'm already seeing homes decorated for the holiday.  It really makes me smile!  This year I want to decorate the walk up our house.  I love Halloween!

Worst Day Ever

Today was the worst day I've ever had at my job.  I'm not going to go into great detail.  But it boils down to an exploding fry sauce bottle and customers swearing, cursing and otherwise threatening me.  Wow.  I did have to laugh after I was covered with fry sauce.  I got a co-worker to take a picture with my phone.  It didn't turn out that great, but you'll get the idea.  My pants are closer to the same color, but they have about 5x as much fry sauce on them as my shirt.

*Deep sigh*  I am glad today is over!

Sometimes Immediately

I love prayer.  I love it because it instantly puts me in touch with Heavenly Father.  I can ask or say whatever I like or need to in my prayers and I can say them whenever, as well. 

Yesterday, my day at work was "forecast" for a bad day.  I was assigned to be a cashier for the seven hours of my shift.  This rarely happens and it's always a bad day when it does.  As I was walking down the stairs of work to begin my shift, I said a quick prayer.  I asked Heavenly Father to help my day go by quickly and if He could help me have a good attitude.  I wanted to smile that day.  That was it. 

When I entered the service desk area, my supervisor said, "Congratulations!"  I thought, "What for?  Because I'm a cashier today?"  She continued, "You're Employee of the Month!"  I'm sure my face changed right then.  I was beaming!  To make it better, almost every employee that day congratulated me when they saw me.  Many of them told me why they think I deserve it too. 

It made a huge difference!  My day went by quickly and I felt appreciated.  On my way home, I said another prayer.  It was full of thankfuls and my happiness for having a Heavenly Father that answers little prayers and sometimes immediately.

Stand Your Ground

Yesterday I had one of the most awkward experiences of my adult life.  But before I share, I'll say it was awkward, but not embarrassing.  My face didn't flush and I didn't feel apologetic in the least.  But awkward... Yes!

At work, we had a small rush of customers.  So I got on a register and started to ring people up.  The first woman in my line had been to the service desk a few minutes earlier to return some allergy medication.  She looked hopped up on it too.

I began to ring up her products.  She noticed my ring and said, "Is that a CTR ring?"  Which it is and in Romanian.  I get comments on it often, so I'm used to it.  This is where it gets very odd.  Then the woman paused and said, "No offense, but aren't you gay?"

If this had happened a couple years ago, I would have been embarrassed and denied it.  But I'm a different man since then.  I replied that yes, I am.  She started to go off, "How can you be gay and Mormon?  How can you believe in what they say about you?  Are you really gay?"  I told her that I have had a boyfriend for five years, so yes, I am gay.  And I do believe in the Church.  "That's awful!" was her retort.  The conversation continued in this line.

This whole time there is a guy behind her, waiting to be checked out.  There is a cashier next to me (that I wasn't out to) and her customers.  As well, the service desk person behind me.  So I'm the center of attention.  But surprisingly, I wasn't embarrassed.

I know that what she did was harassment and I didn't have to put up with it.  I could have said, right off the bat, "Sorry ma'am, but that is none of your business."  And it wasn't!  But as unlikely as it was to happen, I wanted to stretch her mind.  Just because you're gay doesn't mean you hate religion or the LDS Church.  Just because you're Mormon doesn't mean you hate gays.  There is middle ground.  A place of mutual respect.

I do agree that at the checkout stand of a retailer is not the place for this kind of conversation.  But I refuse to back down.

So it's odd, being harassed--not for being gay as you'd suspect--but for being religious and gay.  It isn't the first time either that I've been the subject of gay/religion harassment either.  My manager at "Our Store" in downtown did the same thing because of my CTR ring.  I wouldn't be surprised if my being Mormon was the reason I was let go.  So odd that this happens in Salt Lake City of all places.

As a side, when I shared this story with my friend Dan, he replied, "How did she know you were gay?"  Thank you Dan.  That made me feel better.  As proud as I am to be gay, I never thought it was that obvious to a passerby.  Especially in the short time a checker interacts with a customer.  

A CTR ring (It actually says ACD.) shouldn't bring you trouble.  Being LDS in Salt Lake City shouldn't bring you trouble.  Being a quiet gay shouldn't either.  But stir them all together---BLAM!  Harassment!

Trolley Square Bomb Threat

Posted: 9:51 PM- The Salt Lake Police Department responded to a report of a bomb threat at Trolley Square Mall on Thursday evening that resulted in the evacuation of shoppers.
The bomb threat was called in about 7:45 p.m. to Salt Lake City Police dispatch, said police Lt. Lamar Ewell. The call came in on a cell phone and officers were trying to track down the caller last night. Mall management decided to evacuate shoppers after police informed them of the threat. Officers and mall security then searched the mall and its perimeter. Nothing suspicious was found, Ewell said. The search ended around 9:30 p.m.

Yes, I was there. But we got the store shut down quickly and we are all safe.

Not a good weekend

So I was working on Saturday. The day was going pretty good. There weren't any returns (which I hate). I had only eaten a bowl of cereal before work and I was very hungry. My hands were actually shaking. And as you guys know, when I get hungry I get really cranky. I was really cranky. But my roommate Aaron had brought pork chops he had made the day before. So I told my co-workers that I was going in the back to eat.

I put the pork chops in the microwave and went to the bathroom. When I came out Ryan (my co-worker) was in the back. Someone had a return. I'm the only one who can do returns. I knew something would interrupt my eating. Well, I went out and and helped the woman. Luckily, she was easy to work with. I got it taken care of pretty quick.

So I went in the back again and tested the temperature of the pork chop. It wasn't hot. So I put it in again. When the microwave pinged I pulled it out and looked for our plastic forks. They were all gone. Grrrr. I didn't want to eat the pork chop with just my fingers... it was in apple sauce and it would have been very messy.

Well, the day before our manager had bought us a big thing of hot pockets, burritos and ice creams because we had done very well on a Secret Shop. Everyone was really excited about it. So I figured I'd just eat a hot pocket and save the pork chops for dinner. I microwaved the hot pocket and then had to help a customer. When I came back, the hot pocket was cold... but the microwave didn't have power. I plugged it in again and nothing.

By this point I was really really hungry and also very very grouchy. "Is someone just trying to mess me up here!?" I was frustrated. So I decided to go upstairs to the chocolate factory and buy one of their croissant sandwiches. When I was up there, I saw plastic forks. But my pork chop was cold by now anyway. So I got my croissant and I actually got to eat it too. Yeah!

I thought my hard times were over. Well, I found out today that I popped the circuit breaker with the microwave.... and the refrigerator too. Yep, all of our frozen food was destroyed. The ice cream is melted. The hot pockets and burritos are completely thawed. Ugh. We lost it all.

So I had Aaron take me to Costco and I bought us some hot pockets and some ice cream sandwiches. Ugh. When it rains it pours. So hopefully that'll make up for it a little bit. *sigh*