My moments in between customers.

I'm actually at work right now, I'm going to try and start a blog entry and see where it takes me. I'll put a little more effort into keeping a running story throughout my thoughts, but chances are that they'll all just end up being randomized by the gaps caused by the customer interaction.

It'll be hard, but here I go!

I just had an interesting interaction with some older dude. He came in, said hi, got milk, and then proceeded to dump his change, along with a couple dollars, and told me that he had some work for me. He was really calm, and nice. I swear, the older people are the most interesting people around here.

I counted his change, and left him the loonies, rather than take his loonies because it would be an overall easier interaction. I think he appreciated it. It's funny how hard work is noticed by others. Not that I do it often, he was nicer than most.

Which kinda brings me to my next customer, who entered as he left. Another old man, his name is Lionel, and he's the mayor of Saint Andre, the town in which I live. Nell, as most call him, is a successful retiree, a former potato farmer. He's always been extremely gruff, puts up a real tough front - like if you'd go astray in front of him, he'd get really mad. This guy didn't so much as answer my questions, which included the likes of, 'will that be all?' All he wanted to know was whether or not there were many people playing in the poker room. Again, old people are interesting as hell.

The next guy is the husband of a former teacher of mine. As I was punching in the items he bought (an auto trader magazine and a lotto super 7 ticket), nothing was really said in between us. All of sudden, as I hand him his change, and he mentions to me that his wife noticed me jogging earlier today. I smiled, not really knowing what to say, and he left.

You know, I'm starting to think that the mood I'm in depends mostly on how I want to see the world. Well, the world can suck sometimes, but only if you're unwilling to tolerate it. Learning to adapt and tolerate new environments is key. I suppose that brings me to my new thought, I'm leaving for Viet Nam in less than a month. This is the first time that I'm admitting it to myself, and actually really thinking about it. I'm trying to say goodbye to the things I will miss, so that I won't be too shocked by my sudden immersion in a whole new environment along Hanoi's countryside. Such things include hot, private, glamorous showers. God damn how I love those. Also, my dad's supreme cooking, he is in the restaurant right now, and he's preparing me a fancy dish of skewered shrimp and slightly curried rice. I will miss my mom driving me crazy with her insane motherliness. I WON'T miss the casual talk with the locals about how the weather is, though.

You know, I would say that a solid 78% of the petty conversation I have is all about weather. I think that, if ever I get done all of my grad school applications that I work on while on the job, my new project will be to run my own indiscriminate poll to see for once and for all, in an official percentage form, just how badly this job numbs my mind...

One thing I noticed about the weather is that it affects another aspect of people's lives around here. Now you might not understand this right away if you're not from a farming community, but when the weather sucks, people's mood's are doubly bad due to the fact that they work outside in potato fields. Seriously now, there is nothing better to talk about, because all there is to talk about is how the weather affected their day!

Hmph, probably too much stuff about work. Well, I am there afterall, and overanalyzing it is a good escape from having to live it.

And if you've read this far, just know that my title has nothing to do with prostitution.

Nick