How long has that been there?

Posted on January 8, 2023 by TheJessicaness

Is that a tiny cat?

At this point, I’ve worked at Dollar Tree for seven weeks and find myself surprised at the dirty little treasures I find or the bulk trash from someone clearing out our stock of varying glues. Our most asked-for items are lighters, super glue, and batteries; which seem like a deal at $1.25 for an 8-pk. Some customers want to know when we’re going to add the 25 cents to our logo, but they are hesitant because the price could increase further. We do sell some $3 to $5 items in the freezer section, so we have found those boxes open, with one item missing, or left to melt on the shelf. 

bored floor emoji

I would prefer that people just take the whole item, container and all, when they steal instead of feeling the need to eat half a Snickers and leave the rest to melt on a shelf of other products. There was a squeeze tube of blue icing used as decoration in another section that has yet to be cleaned up. Don’t think I want to leave the store in this sad state of affairs, but my main job is to help the cashiers (check large bills, deal with customers and other issues), back them up when their line gets long, and write off all the damaged goods, which varies every day. 

the “return to shelf” collection

I also have to restock shelves, put things back where they belong, remove empty boxes, sweep, mop, take out the trash, clean the bathrooms (when the keys are available), and take the cash to the bank when it’s my turn, among my many other tasks. I’ve stocked some ice, though the women seem to think it ok to relegate it to the one man who works in the store. He also brings up the helium tank when it needs to be replaced. There’s a woman at Advance Auto that thinks it’s ok to leave batteries for men to carry, but that’s what the carts are for. I also ran into this issue with moving food around on a ship from a pallet to the freezer to the kitchen. 

wrong store
kind graffiti
past planning
a little green trumpeter

I could start on a feminist tangent but there are cashiers of the gender spectrum who don’t want to do anything else and will just stand around when they could be cleaning or stocking because they believe they don’t get paid enough. My neighbor was telling me she had to work for years to get up to $15/hr, such is the hassle of starting at the bottom, and now people are being handed that to start and don’t think it’s good enough; then they should be doing something else. I can think of two places that pay you to exist and give you a bed and three warm meals a day until your contract expires.

took me a second cart to get this section semi-reorganized

My boss had denied the two hours I asked off for in the morning to go to my dentist, even though I hadn’t worked that early in the store yet. Luckily, instead of me having to show up an hour late, she pushed my schedule back to accommodate a request I had put in over a month ago. Her inability to respect people’s schedules has cost her cashiers, but now the remaining ones will be able to get more hours, especially since some live so close and don’t want to work elsewhere. Oh how grateful I am for Caleb having a career and giving us so much security over the last 17 years.

customer craft skills

These pictures are just a glimpse into what my job entails, so it’s no wonder why my husband and dad want me to use my scholarly brain (that they both helped pay for) to do something more. I understand people need access to cheap food and toiletries, but I won’t always be the one here to help provide them with these necessities as I mentioned the temporariness of my position when I was hired. I can enjoy my time while I’m here though.

a beautiful arrangement of autumn in the trees

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Uncle Ed in Lakeside

Posted on September 30, 2022 by TheJessicaness

WEDNESDAY
I clean the dishes and then sit with the guys on the couch while they look at bike parts, and Caleb organizes the errands. Ed finishes making some phone calls, and the guys move their bikes so we can take the car. The first stop is the Harley dealership for oil change supplies. Ed rolls down the window and takes off the rain guard. If not one family member, it’s another. It’s a good thing we got them on this car, out of the habit of having them on the last one when we had dogs.

Next is Michael’s and Home Depot for saddlebag repair items. We stop at Cox for an updated internet router and then at Albertson’s for food. We watch some boat refitting and Harley videos before I go for a walk. Caleb will join me later, and then my watch charger (which we forgot) arrives, along with dough riser baskets and a game meat cookbook from Jessi. We’ll wind down the evening by watching Wall-E.

THURSDAY
Caleb makes breakfast and then the guys are off to explore the morning away since Ed is leaving tomorrow. I start laundry, go by the bank to pick up a check for Lorraine, and wash the car but skip the vacuum and wheels. The 30-minute timer on the washer actually takes 37. The app notifies me that the dryer is counting down, so I make three trips to hang the moist clothes, as we usually only dry our sheets (or things too big to hang on the rack or hanger). I help Caleb tear apart a saddlebag so he can restitch and rerivet them. Caleb bakes bread, cooks the sausage, and I plate the salads. We watch The Hateful Eight while Ed does his laundry in the evening.

FRIDAY
Ed is up early to get a headstart on the desert heat. I put away laundry and wash dishes while Caleb rinses and then makes sourdough French toast. We ride the motorcycle to Fallon’s, now over half an hour away instead of next door, and play with Zeus before riding up Silver Strand (there’s a beach of the same name in Ireland) and get home as the sun is coming out of the clouds. We visit La Mesa Oktoberfest and park half a mile away. When we get home, Caleb turns the air off and opens the windows — perfect temperature regulation in these parts — which is what I was hoping for.

*Some of the pictures are from the trip south

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Barstow to Lakeside

Posted on September 27, 2022 by TheJessicaness

Ed uses his seniority to turn on all the lights and make noise when he gets up, which wakes Caleb. I can usually wake someone just by being in the same room or building. We pack the bikes by 730 am and have breakfast at a cafe in Lucerne Valley. We continue on the east side of Big Bear and have to wait in the road while a dump truck gets winched off its side around a turn near Angelus Oaks. We turn the bikes off to avoid overheating, and once cleared, enjoy the breeze of movement south through Hemet, Pala Mesa, and Ramona.

Every time Ed visits, we drive to Julian for pie, but we will postpone that trip for today and arrive in Lakeside in the heat of the afternoon. Caleb goes to the grocery store for steaks and beers while we clean up and unpack. I don’t remember what we watched with dinner, but as I dropped off bones at the dumpster, I saw that Ed didn’t remember which door was ours. It had been a long ride, at least for me, as I’ve never spent more than half an hour on the back of a bike, let alone a few days. We are tired and sore and looking forward to a few days’ rest before Ed returns north.

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Carson City to Barstow

Posted on September 25, 2022 by TheJessicaness

Knowing today will be warmer, I put on shorts and a t-shirt under my bike pants and jacket. The guys debug their windshields, and then I climb through our motel window to pass them our bags. I collect our cash safety deposit and get on the back of our bike, now that Ed feels confident that Caleb can handle the bike alone. Breakfast will be had at a casino with a lake view. There’s a lot more wind on this bike due to its build and the make of the driver. There’s also more space for my cheeks, so I can last longer before I start to squirm around, unable to be in any other position.

Highway 395 never disappoints, delivering another beautiful ride. We stop at Erick Schat’s Bakkerÿ, as we always do, and after grub, we get gas, and then Ed gets gloves to add to his collection. When we stopped in Inyokern, I put on jeans as a compromise because those padded pants were making me very sweaty. Motorcycles were made for riding in a certain temperature range. Though most riders might prefer 50°-85°F, I think 45°-75° is ideal to avoid the risks of wind chill and heat exhaustion, especially if stuck in traffic while sitting on a hot bike.

We get to Barstow at 430pm, and my glutes and spine are ready for a break. Ed’s bike comes with armrests with snack cubby holes. Our new bike comes with sitting upright at all times to control wind flow and bike balance, while not falling off the side and causing a scene. It doesn’t help that my baby maker is angry with me (a reference to my anatomy, not my husband). We celebrate the end of another successful day with some bellywash, vittles, and a splash-and-dash each. We’ll join Ed in some evening entertainment of watching a boat rebuild, an engine teardown, and a guy shooting meat targets that have oranges for lungs.

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Roseburg to Carson City

Posted on September 25, 2022 by TheJessicaness

We sleep in and are on the road in a foggy 52°F this morning, which is better with all this gear on than the 82°F yesterday afternoon. We stop for brunch at Oak Tree NW in Ashland, OR, before getting on the smaller and windier roads that will take us through parts of southern Oregon, the eastern side of northern California, and into a corner of Nevada. We stop in Merrill, and I take off my hoodie and coat liner and open my jacket and pant vents. When we stop in Alturas around 3pm, I’ll take my pants off from under my padded pair at the gas pump.

I told Caleb we need to water down our drinks as we’re all dehydrated. I’m not used to spending this much time just sitting in the sun, but at least I’m not getting burned. The views we pass are amazing, and I understand that’s the point of being on a bike and appreciating the slower travel than being on the highway, but if it were up to me, I would double our travel time (or get a better motion camera) so that I could stop and take in the silence, and the noises, that only come once you escape the chaos that is the civilized city.

Our road snacks are usually healthier, either durable so we have energy, or sunflower seeds so we get salt and can have snack time without filling up (or out). I can’t seem to stay away from candy, even though Aunt Lorraine gave us a month’s supply of granola bars that aren’t too messy, as I do all my snacking in the wind. It’s amazing the difference standing makes after sitting for so long, but also being able to take the helmet off and remove the pressure from the liner and my forehead. We get to our room in Carson City at sunset and walk to dinner.

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