10:03 p.m. | 2006-03-11 A Patchwork Day. I woke up early this morning knowing that I had several things to do. I didn�t get up right away though, of course. I just set my alarm to ring up early. Then I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. And, I dreamed. My dreams tend to be very specific and vivid. Which is good, I guess, but the early morning showing? Not so much. I was actually eager to get out of bed this morning because my dream was frustratingly stupid and boring. That doesn�t happen a lot, mind you, and if it has to happen? Today was a good day for that. Because I had to take my car in for a smog check quite early in the day. Which I did. New place for me. It�s a car wash and a smog check place. Hence, I entered a different door and proceeded to wait. After a while, I was called over. I paid and all but was told that I still needed to wait (for my free car wash). However, when I was at the counter, another customer came up and said that he had just noticed that he�d �crammed his change� into his pocket after paying and believed that he�d been shortchanged. He said he paid with a hundred, for a $20 job and only received $40 in change. Interesting situation. The cashier handled it really well. Here�s that. (Cashier:) No, I gave you the correct change. I gave you three new 20's and one old one. (Man:) No you didn�t because I only have $40. (Cashier:) Do you believe that I didn�t give you the right change? (Man:) Yeah. (Cashier:) Okay. Well, we have cameras that record everything so we can just play that back and make sure I gave you the right change. (CI:) (Still at the counter. Suddenly looking up � not because I did wrong, just that I hadn�t paid attention before. Wow, there we all were in live color and real time and all that. Definitely, they have cameras recording everything. I was tucking my receipt into my purse right then, but I also noticed � from the camera view � that they sell greeting cards. Which was one of the many things on my to do list. I wandered off at that point but could still hear everything.) (Man:) You didn�t give me any new 20's. See these two? They�re not new. (Cashier:) Those are new. I didn�t mean �new� as in �crisp�, I meant �new� as in the new 20's. I�ve called my supervisor though and he�ll be here shortly to help you. Do you want to talk to him? (Man:) Um, yeah. (Sounding less sure.) I don�t know if the man was trying to short change her or not. Having been a cashier and knowing how you do remember a $100 bill, I suspect that he was. Also, she seemed sure of the change she gave him and in my experience, when you change a $100 at a non-bank place, you tend to remember gathering it, counting it and handing it over. Also, she was/is a young lady and didn�t come across, generally speaking, as a really sharp person who was paying attention to every little thing that happened. Except that she was. When I first walked in and asked her what I needed to do, she acted like the stereotypic disaffected young teenage cashier. Yet when she called me up to pay, whole different story. She was sharp as a tack, quick to process everything and very competent. Reminded me of myself actually. Over my lifetime, I�ve had many jobs. Retail being one, but also fast food, clerical positions too. All jobs where people underestimate your knowledge and skills. Hell, people still do that as they tend to underestimate my age. I have a decent job now � some would call it a career � but add in that underestimation? I�m treated like an intern a lot. At least when first approached. After the initial conversation? Not so much. But this young lady, she was like that. She knew. She knew exactly what had transpired and she knew he was full of crap. With no hesitation and with remarkable tact, she managed to address the customer�s request while bringing her manager into the equation. The manager took the customer off to view the videos privately. I don�t know how that all came out, but I�m quite sure the customer withdrew his complaint. Once he took a gander at the cameras, after the cashier reassured him that it was all on film, he seemed ready to withdraw his complaint yet couldn�t really since she had called in the manager at his request. I think he was just trying to take advantage of a young cashier � by shortchanging her � and didn�t expect that she�d be so formidable. Well, and polite. By the time I walked away, to look at cards, he was looking pretty pale and somewhat stricken. Good for her. I did look at cards and bought a couple for two of my nephews whose birthday are this month. One I�ve already missed and another that�s quickly approaching. I�ve always found it so interesting what you can purchase at a car wash establishment. The most amazing things. This one had sports equipment and everything. And, a greeting card section that would shame any H@llm@rk around. Quite handy, I have to say. Plus, my car passed the smog test and they detailed it for me all for less than I paid for a simple smog check two years ago. Gotta love that. Soon I was off, driving my now shiny car to the lab for my thyroid and cholesterol test. Normally, I go to the lab in the afternoon, walk in, give blood and leave. Due to my early start this morning, when I got to the lab? Wow. I had to take a number, which I did. I was number 36. They were on number 4. Having time to kill, I went next door and bought a new pedometer. Did I tell you that my pedometer keeled over in Wisconsin? I didn�t? Well, it did. I presumed it froze to death and pitched it. According to my new pedometer manual (same as the old one), the battery died. That�s all. Apparently, it only lasts three months. My old pedometer? I�d worn it for three months. So I have a new one now. When it dies, I guess I�ll just replace the battery instead of chucking it. Especially since it�s not cheap. After that, I went back to the lab. Due to the crowded room (and, thankfully, to people�s inability to WAIT), lots of people had left quite suddenly. Hence, I was called up within 40 minutes instead of 3-4 hours. And, I gave up some blood. Thankfully, I had a great nurse (or phlebotomist) who knew to use a small needle and was skilled enough to only jab me once. (My veins are small and move around a lot.) Cross your fingers that my cholesterol readings are gonna come back good. Cross �em and kiss �em cause I need some good news there. Speaking of that, I then went to brunch at the Co-Op. Recently, they added panini sandwiches to their menu. I have a weakness for grilled sandwiches with meat and cheese. So, for the last several weeks, I�ve ordered the chicken panini. It�s awesome. But, not so much for my heart. Today, I had to break that habit. As young as it was. Instead, I ordered a vegetarian panini with lentil salad. The panini? It was good. The lentil salad? Out of this world. I need that recipe; it was soooo good. (And, apparently, I can get that recipe. Some new folks were ahead of me at the deli and asked a lot of questions. I learned that I can get recipes for all the stuff that I love by turning in a recipe request. I�m so onto that. You guys don�t even know how good these guys are at making healthy foods so delicious. They�re amazing.) Anyway, then I went grocery shopping. Nothing really exciting happened there. Except maybe that moment when I saw a really cute guy in a random aisle. He saw me out of the corner of his eye, much like I�d seen him. Yet, there was a second look, direct eye-contact type of look the second time around. Maybe I should add dating to my to-do list. It�d be more exciting than watching my cholesterol level. Then again, what wouldn�t be? your thoughts? seed flower