I drove up North today. To see the family.
Which was kinda weird in of itself.
Like...it's not unusual for me to not visit home that often.
I mean since Mother Dearest Passed my trips have been more numrous.
But like....
It's not a long drive to get to hometown.
But it felt like it's been forever since I've been up there.
Though a month isn't that long....
I suppose it was just more tense.
As part of the journey to get to hometown does involve driving by the Capital.
Where protests have been happening.
Where there was a curfew put in place so that people couldn't be out just because things are...tense.
Thankfully I didn't need to leave the freeway as I drove by the Capital to go home.
But like...it was tense.
Not that I saw anything. The freeway is too far away from the downtown area to see anything.
But I am grateful I live in more...mellow areas. Where there's less risk of violence or protests breaking out.
Still.
It was tense.
Things have been tense and I don't like that.
So I was grateful to be able to spend the evening with my family.
Having a bbq.
And catching up.
It was amazing to just have bonding time and to talk about everything and nothing.
And I'm grateful that I live near enough to my Daddoo and my siblings that we can see each other whenever we want (safely as precautions allow)
It was good to just chill for a bit.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Early to Bed, Early to Rise
It's been forever since I've worked an early early morning shift.
I mean I haven't worked an 'early' shift really for like the past two months just due to lack of hours and staff in the store to be able to cover the entire day unless we came in later.
But for the next couple of days I get the 'fun' shift that starts in at 4am.
Which is waaaay earlier than I've been getting up in the recent past lol.
And as I night owl...who likes to stay up until midnight or so (or later)....
Having to get up around 330am to get to my 4 am shift....doesn't sound fun at all despite me knowing that I can function off of three hours of sleep.
However, knowing that I will need to interact with family after my shift ends tomorrow.
I'm trying the 'unconventional' thing and going to bed way earlier than I usually do.
Honestly if i were trying for like 7 hours of sleep I probably should have been in bed an hour ago.
But it's hard to sleep if the sun is still up.
So yah. Trying to go to bed at 9pm so I can wake up at 330 and be able to function for the rest of the day tomorrow.
It's gonna be interesting.
We'll see how much I succeed....
Which probably depends on if I get woken up by roomies moving around....
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
I mean I haven't worked an 'early' shift really for like the past two months just due to lack of hours and staff in the store to be able to cover the entire day unless we came in later.
But for the next couple of days I get the 'fun' shift that starts in at 4am.
Which is waaaay earlier than I've been getting up in the recent past lol.
And as I night owl...who likes to stay up until midnight or so (or later)....
Having to get up around 330am to get to my 4 am shift....doesn't sound fun at all despite me knowing that I can function off of three hours of sleep.
However, knowing that I will need to interact with family after my shift ends tomorrow.
I'm trying the 'unconventional' thing and going to bed way earlier than I usually do.
Honestly if i were trying for like 7 hours of sleep I probably should have been in bed an hour ago.
But it's hard to sleep if the sun is still up.
So yah. Trying to go to bed at 9pm so I can wake up at 330 and be able to function for the rest of the day tomorrow.
It's gonna be interesting.
We'll see how much I succeed....
Which probably depends on if I get woken up by roomies moving around....
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Friday, May 29, 2020
A New Beginning
I often consider myself an easy-going person.
Patient too.
As I know that if there's someone I don't get along well with...I only have to wait until they move on as they always tend to move on.
So I just...buckle down for the waiting game. Biding my time until the individual leaves.
But this past year....
Has been one for patience.
As it's felt like I've had to walk on eggshells at home for the past while. Like over a year.
Because we've had a roommate who made it difficult to relax here.
Because we never knew what mood they would be in when they got home.
Happy? Sad? Angry? Upset? Excited?
More often than not. It would be one of the more negative emotions.
And they would flare up over the...smallest things. The littlest mistakes.
And while we did what we could to instigate some changes to help this roomie feel more at ease here.
They never returned the favor.
They expected us to change for them.
But if we requested some of our own changes....they reacted negatively to it. And would push the blame back on us. Push the problem back on us. And do nothing to help keep the peace with the rest of us.
Their way or their way seemed to be the motto.
And like...there were often passive aggressive hints left (knowingly or subconsciously is unknown)
But it just was...tense. Whenever the roomie was home.
Even if they hid in their room....
We never knew when they would emerge.
Never knew what doors would be slammed or when the footsteps would pound across the floor.
And we were all reaching a breaking point.
Because there's only so much one can take.
Before the quiet ones grow sick of staying quiet and passive.
But now...patience has won out.
As the roomie has almost moved out now.
Their furniture is gone.
Only a few more odds and ends left to gather.
And I have to say....I'm breathing a sigh of relief.
Because while I like the roomie as a person....as a roommate they left much to be desire.
Compromise is key to making things work. And when compromise isn't really part of another's language.
It makes it hard to relax at home.
And I have to say that I'm surprised.
Surprised that the roomie chose today to move their bigger things out.
As I nearly expected them to wait until the last moment. The very last day to pack up everything.
But it's a relief.
A relief to know that soon a different sort of energy will emerge in the home.
a different dynamic will grow.
And that home will finally be a place where we can come to relax. To laugh. To have fun. To do our own thing.
And not worry that our actions will be taken negatively. That we'll trigger a meltdown or another passive aggressive motion. That mistakes will be taken out of porportion.
I'm looking forward to the peace.
To the quiet.
To the ability to just not have to worry when I come home and truly be able to just chill without feeling like I'm waiting for the glass to break.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Left Bored
I hate the days at work where it's slow.
Where I run out of tasks to do before my shift is even halfway over.
Where customers don't really come in needing help.
And I try and keep myself busy....
I hate those days.
Where I basically walk laps around the store.
Because I've already done the dishes, and faced the shelves, and pulled down the over stock and scrubbed extra tanks, and made sure there were plenty of crickets bagged....
I hate being left with nothing to do.
Because that makes time move so much slower.
And thanks to the holiday on Monday.
Things were slower today.
Namely in that our usual Thursday shipments of creatures and plants didn't come in.
Which took like an hour or so out of my work day.
*exhales*
So annoying.
At least I had the morning shift today.
Pretty sure I would have gone crazy along with my coworkers if I had to close with them today.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Where I run out of tasks to do before my shift is even halfway over.
Where customers don't really come in needing help.
And I try and keep myself busy....
I hate those days.
Where I basically walk laps around the store.
Because I've already done the dishes, and faced the shelves, and pulled down the over stock and scrubbed extra tanks, and made sure there were plenty of crickets bagged....
I hate being left with nothing to do.
Because that makes time move so much slower.
And thanks to the holiday on Monday.
Things were slower today.
Namely in that our usual Thursday shipments of creatures and plants didn't come in.
Which took like an hour or so out of my work day.
*exhales*
So annoying.
At least I had the morning shift today.
Pretty sure I would have gone crazy along with my coworkers if I had to close with them today.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Under the Hood
I'd been putting it off like...all month.
Getting my car reregistered since it expires this month.
But like...I've been hesitant to go places.
And it just takes...a lot of energy to go 'some place new'
Even though I have been to the mechanic before to get an oil change and my registration updated.
And the place I went to is one I usually go to.
But I haven't been there since like...last year? Before the pandemic was a thing.
So it's a 'new' place to visit that I haven't been to 'recently'
So yah.
Been putting off getting my car registered.
but at least I didn't want to the very last day of the month. ^^;;
In any case.
I left the house this morning to go to Jiffy Lube.
Since their service is usually quick and relatively painless.
I was halfway hoping that I could just get the sticker and drive on. That the process would be simpler during this time.
Nah.
It wasn't.
They were going to have me wait in the waiting room.
And since I was waiting anyways.
I figured I might as well get an oil change while I was at it because I knew I was overdue for one.
-Like I said...I haven't really wanted to go anywhere that I don't have to.
So since I was getting an oil change because I had to wait.
I made sure to tell the guy helping me that the dipstick (I called it an oil stick because I couldn't think of the word in the moment) was broken, and that I could show them where it was if they couldn't find it.
The mechanic reassured me that they could find it and it would be fine.
I was rather skeptical because like the last...three or four times??? I've gotten an oil change from them, they haven't been able to find the dipstick.
Again, because the top is broken off. And the remaining piece is black...which tends to blend in with the rest of the engine if you don't know what to look for or look at it from the wrong angle.
So I go sit down.
And watch as three guys end up looking underneath the hood of my car with flashlights in hand trying to find the tip of the dipstick.
The first guy I talked to came back in to ask if it would be on the left or the right side of the engine.
I told him that it was the left side of the center of the engine.
Though I don't know car parts that well....but basically it's the back center of the space underneath of the hood.
The guy goes back to look under the hood where I tried to describe.
Two minutes later, he comes back defeated and gestures for me to come show them where the tip was.
So I come out and after a quick glance (since I don't look under the hood of my car that often) I pointed it out to them.
It's in a spot where if you look at it at the wrong angle you can't see it.
Lol the collective "OH!!" from the three guys was rather satisfying to hear because yes, I do know what I'm talking about on occasion even if I can't remember the proper terms for them.
At least this time they could check and see how full my oil was before doing the oil change. *shakes head*
But I do wonder how the guys at that particular JL are doing in general.
As they seemed to have more than one issue with my car.
In that I also wanted my wiper blades replaced because I noticed they were getting rather streaky when I used them yesterday to clean the dirt spots from the rain storm off my windshield.
But when I mentioned I wanted them changed.
The guy admited that the dude testing the wipers....couldn't get the motor to work.
O.o??
You couldn't? But I had used them yesterday. Like they work just fine.
Which makes me wonder....has my car become old enough that it's like...obsolete? Like the guys just don't know how to work them anymore??
I mean my car is old enough that it still has manual locks and a tape player instead of a cd player (as cd players in cars were just coming in around the point my car was manufactured) So I could see there being issues if the mechanic is young enough and new enough to not have seen many older cars.
But I was under the impression that windshield wipers haven't changed much?
Like there's usually a lever and you move it up and down to make the wipers go. Pull it towards you to make the fluid spray. Twist the little dial to make the wipers move faster or slower....Like I dont' think the design has changed much??
But the mechanic looking at them couldn't make it work....
Like did you have the car on when you were trying???
Because when everything was said and done and paid for I went to my car. Turned it on. Tested the windshield wipers....and they worked.
So the fact the guy couldn't get them to work was....concerning. *shakes head*
I do wonder if they're doing alright there....
But yah. Got my registration and my new sticker!! :D
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Getting my car reregistered since it expires this month.
But like...I've been hesitant to go places.
And it just takes...a lot of energy to go 'some place new'
Even though I have been to the mechanic before to get an oil change and my registration updated.
And the place I went to is one I usually go to.
But I haven't been there since like...last year? Before the pandemic was a thing.
So it's a 'new' place to visit that I haven't been to 'recently'
So yah.
Been putting off getting my car registered.
but at least I didn't want to the very last day of the month. ^^;;
In any case.
I left the house this morning to go to Jiffy Lube.
Since their service is usually quick and relatively painless.
I was halfway hoping that I could just get the sticker and drive on. That the process would be simpler during this time.
Nah.
It wasn't.
They were going to have me wait in the waiting room.
And since I was waiting anyways.
I figured I might as well get an oil change while I was at it because I knew I was overdue for one.
-Like I said...I haven't really wanted to go anywhere that I don't have to.
So since I was getting an oil change because I had to wait.
I made sure to tell the guy helping me that the dipstick (I called it an oil stick because I couldn't think of the word in the moment) was broken, and that I could show them where it was if they couldn't find it.
The mechanic reassured me that they could find it and it would be fine.
I was rather skeptical because like the last...three or four times??? I've gotten an oil change from them, they haven't been able to find the dipstick.
Again, because the top is broken off. And the remaining piece is black...which tends to blend in with the rest of the engine if you don't know what to look for or look at it from the wrong angle.
So I go sit down.
And watch as three guys end up looking underneath the hood of my car with flashlights in hand trying to find the tip of the dipstick.
The first guy I talked to came back in to ask if it would be on the left or the right side of the engine.
I told him that it was the left side of the center of the engine.
Though I don't know car parts that well....but basically it's the back center of the space underneath of the hood.
The guy goes back to look under the hood where I tried to describe.
Two minutes later, he comes back defeated and gestures for me to come show them where the tip was.
So I come out and after a quick glance (since I don't look under the hood of my car that often) I pointed it out to them.
It's in a spot where if you look at it at the wrong angle you can't see it.
Lol the collective "OH!!" from the three guys was rather satisfying to hear because yes, I do know what I'm talking about on occasion even if I can't remember the proper terms for them.
At least this time they could check and see how full my oil was before doing the oil change. *shakes head*
But I do wonder how the guys at that particular JL are doing in general.
As they seemed to have more than one issue with my car.
In that I also wanted my wiper blades replaced because I noticed they were getting rather streaky when I used them yesterday to clean the dirt spots from the rain storm off my windshield.
But when I mentioned I wanted them changed.
The guy admited that the dude testing the wipers....couldn't get the motor to work.
O.o??
You couldn't? But I had used them yesterday. Like they work just fine.
Which makes me wonder....has my car become old enough that it's like...obsolete? Like the guys just don't know how to work them anymore??
I mean my car is old enough that it still has manual locks and a tape player instead of a cd player (as cd players in cars were just coming in around the point my car was manufactured) So I could see there being issues if the mechanic is young enough and new enough to not have seen many older cars.
But I was under the impression that windshield wipers haven't changed much?
Like there's usually a lever and you move it up and down to make the wipers go. Pull it towards you to make the fluid spray. Twist the little dial to make the wipers move faster or slower....Like I dont' think the design has changed much??
But the mechanic looking at them couldn't make it work....
Like did you have the car on when you were trying???
Because when everything was said and done and paid for I went to my car. Turned it on. Tested the windshield wipers....and they worked.
So the fact the guy couldn't get them to work was....concerning. *shakes head*
I do wonder if they're doing alright there....
But yah. Got my registration and my new sticker!! :D
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Surprise Capture
So a while ago...sometime last year...multiple times throughout the year...we had leopard geckos get out of their cage.
I'm still not sure how they managed to escape it the wily creatures.
And while we did find most of them...either alive....or dead....I'm pretty sure we didn't find all the ones that managed to sneak out.
And that was proven to be true a few weeks ago.
When my manager was doing dishes behind the fish wall and happened to look down and see a full grown leopard gecko hanging out by her feet.
Unfortunately, she was surprised enough to see it that the leopard gecko managed to slip into a narrow spot where she couldn't reach it and vanish from there.
I honestly didn't expect to see that leopard gecko again for at least another six months.
As they're active at night.
And aren't likely to be moving around the store in plain site when there's customers and dogs and such wandering around.
So you can imagine my surprise this morning.
When I went into our New Arrivals room to check in on the animals there and give them food and water.....to find a large Leopard Gecko right by my left foot!
I opened the door, flipped on the light, and there he was!
Carefully I bent down and gently scooped him up.
Lol he was rather calm all things considering.
Didn't really try to bite...though the longer I held him the more often he would open his mouth to show he wasn't as happy.
He probably isn't happy to be confined to a temporary cage.
I mean...bonus side he doesn't have to haunt for food and has a constant heat source now.
Downside is that a ten gallon tank is a far cry from running around the entire store.
*shakes head*
Still.
I'm glad we found him!
He appears to be in good health at least! Super chubby too. He's definitely been eating well on the loose bugs in the store.
Now we just need to get him a good home.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
I'm still not sure how they managed to escape it the wily creatures.
And while we did find most of them...either alive....or dead....I'm pretty sure we didn't find all the ones that managed to sneak out.
And that was proven to be true a few weeks ago.
When my manager was doing dishes behind the fish wall and happened to look down and see a full grown leopard gecko hanging out by her feet.
Unfortunately, she was surprised enough to see it that the leopard gecko managed to slip into a narrow spot where she couldn't reach it and vanish from there.
I honestly didn't expect to see that leopard gecko again for at least another six months.
As they're active at night.
And aren't likely to be moving around the store in plain site when there's customers and dogs and such wandering around.
So you can imagine my surprise this morning.
When I went into our New Arrivals room to check in on the animals there and give them food and water.....to find a large Leopard Gecko right by my left foot!
I opened the door, flipped on the light, and there he was!
Carefully I bent down and gently scooped him up.
Lol he was rather calm all things considering.
Didn't really try to bite...though the longer I held him the more often he would open his mouth to show he wasn't as happy.
He probably isn't happy to be confined to a temporary cage.
I mean...bonus side he doesn't have to haunt for food and has a constant heat source now.
Downside is that a ten gallon tank is a far cry from running around the entire store.
*shakes head*
Still.
I'm glad we found him!
He appears to be in good health at least! Super chubby too. He's definitely been eating well on the loose bugs in the store.
Now we just need to get him a good home.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Monday, May 25, 2020
Bitten
I got bit by a hamster today.
Which isn't an unusual thing to have happen considering I work in a petstore.
Getting bit is kinda part of the job.
Though I do my best to avoid it.
Now mostly I get bit by parakeets (not as often as I used to but they are the ones most likely to bite me) when I try to catch them. (cus they're evil.)
Hamsters though?
It's been forever since I've been bitten by one.
I feel like it's months if not at least a year.
It's hard to know.
In any case.
This morning while I was trying to give a hamster some medicine.
Which hamsters are notorious for not liking to take their medicine.
When he whirled around and bit me.
Right on the finger.
*exhales*
Which makes my job harder because it drew blood...so I needed to wear a band-aid.
Which when I work with fish and have to clean their tanks...and catch them for customers...it's rather difficult to keep a band-aid dry...
I managed it.
But it made my job a bit harder to accomplish. *exhales*
Mostly because the bite was on my right hand.
And I wear a watch on my left.
So I don't usually place my left hand in water because I don't want my watch getting wet (and it's a habit now after the infection I got in my left hand a few years back to not get it wet)
So my right hand is the one that gets wet.
Today it was my left hand though as I was the only one in my department the entire day and I needed to get all the opening tasks done which included scrubbing tanks.
And I managed to go the entire day without getting the band-aid wet! Woot!
Though I did take it off as soon as I got home.
And promptly forgot about the small bite on my finger.
Until closer to sunset.
When I accidentally brushed the wound.
And it hurt.
But did I think about the bite?
Nope.
I was like "Oh, I wonder if I got a splinter!"
Only to look at my finger and see the bite wound instead. *shakes head*
Silly me.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Which isn't an unusual thing to have happen considering I work in a petstore.
Getting bit is kinda part of the job.
Though I do my best to avoid it.
Now mostly I get bit by parakeets (not as often as I used to but they are the ones most likely to bite me) when I try to catch them. (cus they're evil.)
Hamsters though?
It's been forever since I've been bitten by one.
I feel like it's months if not at least a year.
It's hard to know.
In any case.
This morning while I was trying to give a hamster some medicine.
Which hamsters are notorious for not liking to take their medicine.
When he whirled around and bit me.
Right on the finger.
*exhales*
Which makes my job harder because it drew blood...so I needed to wear a band-aid.
Which when I work with fish and have to clean their tanks...and catch them for customers...it's rather difficult to keep a band-aid dry...
I managed it.
But it made my job a bit harder to accomplish. *exhales*
Mostly because the bite was on my right hand.
And I wear a watch on my left.
So I don't usually place my left hand in water because I don't want my watch getting wet (and it's a habit now after the infection I got in my left hand a few years back to not get it wet)
So my right hand is the one that gets wet.
Today it was my left hand though as I was the only one in my department the entire day and I needed to get all the opening tasks done which included scrubbing tanks.
And I managed to go the entire day without getting the band-aid wet! Woot!
Though I did take it off as soon as I got home.
And promptly forgot about the small bite on my finger.
Until closer to sunset.
When I accidentally brushed the wound.
And it hurt.
But did I think about the bite?
Nope.
I was like "Oh, I wonder if I got a splinter!"
Only to look at my finger and see the bite wound instead. *shakes head*
Silly me.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Binge Watching
Avatar the Last Airbender has been on the Netflix for a week or so now.
And since hearing it was coming to the streaming site...I've been wanting to watch it.
You know rebinge the series since I've seen it multiple times before.
But not recently. As Kikay has the series and she took it with her when she moved out.
So to hear it was coming to Netflix was great news!
Only I wasn't sure if I wanted to start the series right away since I've been distracted watching other things.
But yesterday.
I decided to just take things easy and put it on to listen to/watch while I was working on writing. (Though not much fic writing has taken place yet as I've been recovering fro a migraine)
And it's just been...nice.
To rewatch it.
And see all the different epsiodes and people and storylines and yah...it's been great to have it as background noise.
I've made it halfway through season two.
Though I doubt I'll finish the entire series tonight.
It's still nice to watch episode after episode and just kinda...zone out.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
And since hearing it was coming to the streaming site...I've been wanting to watch it.
You know rebinge the series since I've seen it multiple times before.
But not recently. As Kikay has the series and she took it with her when she moved out.
So to hear it was coming to Netflix was great news!
Only I wasn't sure if I wanted to start the series right away since I've been distracted watching other things.
But yesterday.
I decided to just take things easy and put it on to listen to/watch while I was working on writing. (Though not much fic writing has taken place yet as I've been recovering fro a migraine)
And it's just been...nice.
To rewatch it.
And see all the different epsiodes and people and storylines and yah...it's been great to have it as background noise.
I've made it halfway through season two.
Though I doubt I'll finish the entire series tonight.
It's still nice to watch episode after episode and just kinda...zone out.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Saturday, May 23, 2020
A New Pet
So we've been struggling to keep bettas in stock because of the pandemic.
Some weeks we only get in like four.
Other weeks we get in like 10-15.
But it's been a while since we've got in our usual 20-50 bettas at a time.
Yet I was hoping we would get in more than four this week.
Because my sister's son had his first fish die.
And while devastated...he wanted to get a new betta for his tank.
So I was hoping that we'd have a nice selection for him and Kikay to come look at and pick from.
That wasn't the case.
We only got in 4.
And those were our $20 bettas.
Still...seeking to help out my family I sent pictures of the four to see if my nephew wanted one.
Kikay said that they wanted to wait. See if other bettas came in.
Especially the $4-$10 ones instead of our more expensive ones.
However.
Today towards the end of my shift.
Kikay texted asking if one of the bettas in particular was still there. Because my nephew decided that he wanted to get that one.
Luckily it was.
As the $20 bettas don't always sell as quickly as the less expensive ones.
Some people want a betta...but not that much.
So I pulled it to the back where it wouldn't accidentally get sold.
And when Kikay and my nephew came into the store.
Grabbed the fish out for him.
He was estatic. ^^;; Got new decorations for him too lol.
And later named him Tigger. :D
So yay that they got a new fish!!
Though I do still wish that I had had more options for them to pick from. :(
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Some weeks we only get in like four.
Other weeks we get in like 10-15.
But it's been a while since we've got in our usual 20-50 bettas at a time.
Yet I was hoping we would get in more than four this week.
Because my sister's son had his first fish die.
And while devastated...he wanted to get a new betta for his tank.
So I was hoping that we'd have a nice selection for him and Kikay to come look at and pick from.
That wasn't the case.
We only got in 4.
And those were our $20 bettas.
Still...seeking to help out my family I sent pictures of the four to see if my nephew wanted one.
Kikay said that they wanted to wait. See if other bettas came in.
Especially the $4-$10 ones instead of our more expensive ones.
However.
Today towards the end of my shift.
Kikay texted asking if one of the bettas in particular was still there. Because my nephew decided that he wanted to get that one.
Luckily it was.
As the $20 bettas don't always sell as quickly as the less expensive ones.
Some people want a betta...but not that much.
So I pulled it to the back where it wouldn't accidentally get sold.
And when Kikay and my nephew came into the store.
Grabbed the fish out for him.
He was estatic. ^^;; Got new decorations for him too lol.
And later named him Tigger. :D
So yay that they got a new fish!!
Though I do still wish that I had had more options for them to pick from. :(
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Friday, May 22, 2020
Lines Lines Nothing But Lines
Standing in line sucks.
And after a long day at work.
The last thing I want to do is stand in line to buy something at my own job.
So if I notice that there's a ton of customers waiting to buy things towards the end of my shift.
I usually hold off on buying things myself.
Because at that point in the day.
I'm tired and I just want to go home.
And usually there's no rush to the things I want to buy.
As those things are usually fish.
And since the fish aren't currently on sale right now....I have less of an urge to buy them. Or anything else really. Most of the time I can wait until the next sale starts to see if there's anything that I want that goes on sale.
The exception to this is usually if someone else needs me to pick up things.
Because if they need it and I'm seeing them that day....I can't really push it off until tomorrow.
It feels like I've been waiting in line every day this past week. *exhales*
Not really. But it does.
As Yesterday Daddoo wanted me to pick up some fish for him.
And today, my roomie needed me to grab some fish food for her fish.
Which meant...waiting in line.
Normally not that big of a deal.
As the lines are usually only three or four people long.
Nothing too crazy.
Of course...that was under normal circumstances. We would call for a backup cashier after the third person jumps in line.
However, due to short staff and all the tasks we need to do...
We now only call for backup cashier when there's more than like...eight people in line.
Again.
Not that big of a deal...because business hasn't been busy....that I was aware of.
Like it does get busier in the afternoons as people get off work.
But I don't usually see that.
However.
For whatever reason. 4pm is a popular time for people to want to buy things.
As both yesterday and today when 4pm rolled around...the lines at register got super long.
Like 8 people if not longer long.
*exhales*
Long enough that it took a good 15 minutes if not longer to get through the lines.
Not helped at all by the fact that our registers kept spazzing out.
So checking out people went slower than usual as well.
*exhales*
Waiting in line is not fun.
Especially after a long day at work.
But at least I got the things my daddoo and my roomie wanted so yay that.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
And after a long day at work.
The last thing I want to do is stand in line to buy something at my own job.
So if I notice that there's a ton of customers waiting to buy things towards the end of my shift.
I usually hold off on buying things myself.
Because at that point in the day.
I'm tired and I just want to go home.
And usually there's no rush to the things I want to buy.
As those things are usually fish.
And since the fish aren't currently on sale right now....I have less of an urge to buy them. Or anything else really. Most of the time I can wait until the next sale starts to see if there's anything that I want that goes on sale.
The exception to this is usually if someone else needs me to pick up things.
Because if they need it and I'm seeing them that day....I can't really push it off until tomorrow.
It feels like I've been waiting in line every day this past week. *exhales*
Not really. But it does.
As Yesterday Daddoo wanted me to pick up some fish for him.
And today, my roomie needed me to grab some fish food for her fish.
Which meant...waiting in line.
Normally not that big of a deal.
As the lines are usually only three or four people long.
Nothing too crazy.
Of course...that was under normal circumstances. We would call for a backup cashier after the third person jumps in line.
However, due to short staff and all the tasks we need to do...
We now only call for backup cashier when there's more than like...eight people in line.
Again.
Not that big of a deal...because business hasn't been busy....that I was aware of.
Like it does get busier in the afternoons as people get off work.
But I don't usually see that.
However.
For whatever reason. 4pm is a popular time for people to want to buy things.
As both yesterday and today when 4pm rolled around...the lines at register got super long.
Like 8 people if not longer long.
*exhales*
Long enough that it took a good 15 minutes if not longer to get through the lines.
Not helped at all by the fact that our registers kept spazzing out.
So checking out people went slower than usual as well.
*exhales*
Waiting in line is not fun.
Especially after a long day at work.
But at least I got the things my daddoo and my roomie wanted so yay that.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Creativity
My Daddoo came by for a visit today.
As I'd been complaining that my muscles in my left arm were all...tense. Tingly.
And from past experience.
If my muscles get all tingly...it means that I'm tense enough that I'm cutting off circulation to my nerves, so it feels like my arm is going to fall asleep.
Not a fun feeling.
Especially when my arm is sore on top of it. *exhales*
I was talking to Daddoo about potential meds I could take to help relieve the tension in my arm to see if that would relive some of the pain.
When he suggested that he could give me a massage.
Which sounded amazing.
So after some discussion he agreed to come down and give me a massage.
Which felt so good...but was also extremely painful because ow my muscles have been tense for a while.
And afterwards we went out to grab dinner and eat it at the park.
Which was nice. To be out in the sunshine and fresh air.
But also nice in a different way, because while we were out there, Daddoo told me about a world he's been working on creating.
Originally it's for a DnD sort of concept.
But really it would make it's own intriguing fantasy series. Kinda like the Dragonriders of Pern...but completely different. lol.
As he was telling me the history. Like prequel stuff to the main adventure he wants to set up.
How the world came to be. How the first people came to inhabit it. What it was like traveling through space. Some of the personal views and religions and creations and it was just....so awesome.
It was inspiring. Just to see the way he lit up talking about this idea of his. How he's taking inspiration from animals that existed in the past. And the ideas and people he's already come up with and created.
It's cool.
Lol. So cool. Just to see how creativity runs in our family. ^^;;
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
As I'd been complaining that my muscles in my left arm were all...tense. Tingly.
And from past experience.
If my muscles get all tingly...it means that I'm tense enough that I'm cutting off circulation to my nerves, so it feels like my arm is going to fall asleep.
Not a fun feeling.
Especially when my arm is sore on top of it. *exhales*
I was talking to Daddoo about potential meds I could take to help relieve the tension in my arm to see if that would relive some of the pain.
When he suggested that he could give me a massage.
Which sounded amazing.
So after some discussion he agreed to come down and give me a massage.
Which felt so good...but was also extremely painful because ow my muscles have been tense for a while.
And afterwards we went out to grab dinner and eat it at the park.
Which was nice. To be out in the sunshine and fresh air.
But also nice in a different way, because while we were out there, Daddoo told me about a world he's been working on creating.
Originally it's for a DnD sort of concept.
But really it would make it's own intriguing fantasy series. Kinda like the Dragonriders of Pern...but completely different. lol.
As he was telling me the history. Like prequel stuff to the main adventure he wants to set up.
How the world came to be. How the first people came to inhabit it. What it was like traveling through space. Some of the personal views and religions and creations and it was just....so awesome.
It was inspiring. Just to see the way he lit up talking about this idea of his. How he's taking inspiration from animals that existed in the past. And the ideas and people he's already come up with and created.
It's cool.
Lol. So cool. Just to see how creativity runs in our family. ^^;;
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Fresh Air
It rained today.
Which usually means that I have no desire whatsoever to venture outside.
But after the storm had passed, the sun came out and everything warmed up.
To the point where it felt nice. It smelt nice with that fresh after rain scent wafting everywhere.
It was nice enough out that I convinced my roomie to join me for a walk around the block.
Ahh.
It was kinda exhilarating. I don't know why. Maybe it was the energy after the storm.
But it just felt nice to be out and about.
Walking.
Enjoying the sunshine.
The breeze.
The flowers.
It was awesome.
It reminded me why I like being outdoors.
Though it did have me craving hiking in Moab.
*exhales*
I can't wait to get down to my redrocks, though with how things are that probably won't happen until the fall.
Still.
It was nice to enjoy some spring weather today. :)
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Which usually means that I have no desire whatsoever to venture outside.
But after the storm had passed, the sun came out and everything warmed up.
To the point where it felt nice. It smelt nice with that fresh after rain scent wafting everywhere.
It was nice enough out that I convinced my roomie to join me for a walk around the block.
Ahh.
It was kinda exhilarating. I don't know why. Maybe it was the energy after the storm.
But it just felt nice to be out and about.
Walking.
Enjoying the sunshine.
The breeze.
The flowers.
It was awesome.
It reminded me why I like being outdoors.
Though it did have me craving hiking in Moab.
*exhales*
I can't wait to get down to my redrocks, though with how things are that probably won't happen until the fall.
Still.
It was nice to enjoy some spring weather today. :)
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Bandages?
It was one of those mornings where we literally had a dozen people walk into the store right as I opened the doors for the day.
*shakes head*
Not sure why everyone decided they needed to come in this morning. Like it's a Tuesday after all. Tuesdays don't get busy.
....Maybe they forgot what day it was.
In any case.
Among those customers was an old man.
I had noticed him earlier.
As he'd been standing at the doors staring inside for a good fifteen minutes before we opened. It was rather intense. How he wasn't moving at all. Just standing there. Glaring.
I asked a manager over the radio if anyone had talked to him at all.
And one manager was like "Oh he's waiting for his wife in grooming."
Which...okay...but like outside of the building?
It made sense in a way as the dude was of the age range where he really shouldn't have been out and about without a mask on and yet there he was out and about without a mask on.
But a minute or so later the manager was like "Oh one of the groomers said he's here to pick up an order."
Which...since we weren't open yet...it was rather early for him to already be here waiting to pick up an order.
But I went to the door with our tablet to see what his name was so I could go grab his order for him.
Nope.
He wasn't here for an online pick up (honestly I do wonder if he would even know how to do online ordering...)
He said that he had called ahead to see if we had any wraps and had rushed right over to the store when he heard that we had them.
Like...okay....though I was kinda skeptical about the calling part.
But I knew we carried wraps.
So I was like "The bandages right?"
Which he confirmed that yes he was here for that.
So I sent him to aisle ten where the medical wraps are as that's where we keep them.
Because I thought he was talking about the bandage wraps that we sell to wrap around injuries and the like that animals might have sustained.
But when I went to check on him.
He told me that that wasn't what he wanted.
Which was probably a good thing as we were out of stock.
He kept saying that it wasn't the right thing. That it came in bigger packages and such and that he'd bought it before.
He started getting testy with me.
Stating that he had been waiting in the parking lot for an hour and had called the store between 8&830 (which if we open at 9 and you rushed right after after calling us means that you couldn't have called the store an hour ago) and we said we had it.
So I double checked over the radio to see if anyone had taken any phone calls.
My managers were like ???? The phone didn't ring at all until we opened.
But when I told the customer that and asked if he had called our competitor instead (because that does happen. People call the competition and then come to us because they don't realize they called the wrong store)
But he was insistent that despite me telling him that no one answered a phone before we opened, that he had called us and only us and that we had the product in stock and what was I going to do about it because it had to be here.
*exhales*
Pretty sure he either a) called the wrong store and didn't want to admit it or b) was lying through his teeth --dunno why he'd need to do that either--but his claims were outlandish enough that I do wonder if he was just trying to make a scene to get help *shakes head* Like dude. If I tell you I don't have something I literally don't have something. *exhales*
In any case.
When I tried to clarify he was insistent that it was a 'wrap' and I was like "like the bandages? or something else?" to which he was like "the bandages!"
But nope.
A little bit later he was like "The thing you wrap around the boy dog to keep him from peeing."
Oh. He meant like the disposable male wrap diaper things that we sell.
Which I knew exactly where those were.
*rolls eyes* Old man was rather condescending about it though when I showed him where those were. "Yes! Exactly that!" blah blah blah.
Like dude. It's your fault that you don't know how to articulate your words to make yourself clearer.
If people ask for "wraps" they usually mean the medical dog bandages.
If they need male or female diapers they usually refer to them as the diapers.
*exhales*
But thankfully we had it in the size he needed.
But his difficulties didn't end there.
No when he went to the register he asked if we could pricematch the diapers.
To which the cashier was like "Yes if you show us the price we can match it to our online store."
Nope. He didn't have the pricematch on him. He was like "They just call it in and do it for me!"
....Dude are you sure you've been to our store before? Cus like we don't do that. Pretty sure you're making things up again.
I don't know if my cashier pricematched it at all.
But I think we were both relieved to have him leave the store though.
It was far too much antagonism for so early in the morning.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
*shakes head*
Not sure why everyone decided they needed to come in this morning. Like it's a Tuesday after all. Tuesdays don't get busy.
....Maybe they forgot what day it was.
In any case.
Among those customers was an old man.
I had noticed him earlier.
As he'd been standing at the doors staring inside for a good fifteen minutes before we opened. It was rather intense. How he wasn't moving at all. Just standing there. Glaring.
I asked a manager over the radio if anyone had talked to him at all.
And one manager was like "Oh he's waiting for his wife in grooming."
Which...okay...but like outside of the building?
It made sense in a way as the dude was of the age range where he really shouldn't have been out and about without a mask on and yet there he was out and about without a mask on.
But a minute or so later the manager was like "Oh one of the groomers said he's here to pick up an order."
Which...since we weren't open yet...it was rather early for him to already be here waiting to pick up an order.
But I went to the door with our tablet to see what his name was so I could go grab his order for him.
Nope.
He wasn't here for an online pick up (honestly I do wonder if he would even know how to do online ordering...)
He said that he had called ahead to see if we had any wraps and had rushed right over to the store when he heard that we had them.
Like...okay....though I was kinda skeptical about the calling part.
But I knew we carried wraps.
So I was like "The bandages right?"
Which he confirmed that yes he was here for that.
So I sent him to aisle ten where the medical wraps are as that's where we keep them.
Because I thought he was talking about the bandage wraps that we sell to wrap around injuries and the like that animals might have sustained.
But when I went to check on him.
He told me that that wasn't what he wanted.
Which was probably a good thing as we were out of stock.
He kept saying that it wasn't the right thing. That it came in bigger packages and such and that he'd bought it before.
He started getting testy with me.
Stating that he had been waiting in the parking lot for an hour and had called the store between 8&830 (which if we open at 9 and you rushed right after after calling us means that you couldn't have called the store an hour ago) and we said we had it.
So I double checked over the radio to see if anyone had taken any phone calls.
My managers were like ???? The phone didn't ring at all until we opened.
But when I told the customer that and asked if he had called our competitor instead (because that does happen. People call the competition and then come to us because they don't realize they called the wrong store)
But he was insistent that despite me telling him that no one answered a phone before we opened, that he had called us and only us and that we had the product in stock and what was I going to do about it because it had to be here.
*exhales*
Pretty sure he either a) called the wrong store and didn't want to admit it or b) was lying through his teeth --dunno why he'd need to do that either--but his claims were outlandish enough that I do wonder if he was just trying to make a scene to get help *shakes head* Like dude. If I tell you I don't have something I literally don't have something. *exhales*
In any case.
When I tried to clarify he was insistent that it was a 'wrap' and I was like "like the bandages? or something else?" to which he was like "the bandages!"
But nope.
A little bit later he was like "The thing you wrap around the boy dog to keep him from peeing."
Oh. He meant like the disposable male wrap diaper things that we sell.
Which I knew exactly where those were.
*rolls eyes* Old man was rather condescending about it though when I showed him where those were. "Yes! Exactly that!" blah blah blah.
Like dude. It's your fault that you don't know how to articulate your words to make yourself clearer.
If people ask for "wraps" they usually mean the medical dog bandages.
If they need male or female diapers they usually refer to them as the diapers.
*exhales*
But thankfully we had it in the size he needed.
But his difficulties didn't end there.
No when he went to the register he asked if we could pricematch the diapers.
To which the cashier was like "Yes if you show us the price we can match it to our online store."
Nope. He didn't have the pricematch on him. He was like "They just call it in and do it for me!"
....Dude are you sure you've been to our store before? Cus like we don't do that. Pretty sure you're making things up again.
I don't know if my cashier pricematched it at all.
But I think we were both relieved to have him leave the store though.
It was far too much antagonism for so early in the morning.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Monday, May 18, 2020
Going Yellow
So my state went to yellow over the weekend.
Which in regards to the pandemic, means that all businesses can open back up, but social distancing needs to be maintained and people need to wear masks when social distancing can't be maintained. Plus. Larger groups can gather together. Like up to 50 people.
Which it's one thing to hear it.
It's different to experience it.
As today at work...it kinda felt like people were like "Oh pandemic over!" and like...I was the only one of my coworkers wearing a mask today.
And the customers?
Like only a handful were wearing masks when like on Saturday most people were?
It's crazy. How fast things can change.
And it's also crazy how like...on edge I still am.
Like there were multiple single parents who brought in their hordes of kids.
Like 3-8 little ones in tow.
Basically all of them not wearing masks.
It's weird.
And stressful.
Like I was able to come into work earlier than I've been able to come in for like...a month and a half.
Which meant I had like an hour and a half before the store opened to do opening stuff without customers around.
And yet I was so on edge just working without a mask on.
Like I've only been wearing the mask like...a week?
Since work finally provided me with one.
But like I was on edge enough that it was notable when I put on my mask when the store opened for customers...that I relaxed.
*shakes head*
It's weird.
How much can change in a tiny amount of time.
So yah...this week is gonna be weird.
As it's the first week with us being in the yellow.
So I'll be curious to see how many customers come into the store. How many come in with masks or no masks.
I'm also curious how much longer it will be before my store can move off of it's skeleton crew. How long before we can hire back some of my coworkers so that we're not like one sick person away from crashing and burning.
Because I really just want to take a vacation and just get a week long break away from things so I can...unwind. Relax. get back in the zone and be able to be less tense at work again.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Which in regards to the pandemic, means that all businesses can open back up, but social distancing needs to be maintained and people need to wear masks when social distancing can't be maintained. Plus. Larger groups can gather together. Like up to 50 people.
Which it's one thing to hear it.
It's different to experience it.
As today at work...it kinda felt like people were like "Oh pandemic over!" and like...I was the only one of my coworkers wearing a mask today.
And the customers?
Like only a handful were wearing masks when like on Saturday most people were?
It's crazy. How fast things can change.
And it's also crazy how like...on edge I still am.
Like there were multiple single parents who brought in their hordes of kids.
Like 3-8 little ones in tow.
Basically all of them not wearing masks.
It's weird.
And stressful.
Like I was able to come into work earlier than I've been able to come in for like...a month and a half.
Which meant I had like an hour and a half before the store opened to do opening stuff without customers around.
And yet I was so on edge just working without a mask on.
Like I've only been wearing the mask like...a week?
Since work finally provided me with one.
But like I was on edge enough that it was notable when I put on my mask when the store opened for customers...that I relaxed.
*shakes head*
It's weird.
How much can change in a tiny amount of time.
So yah...this week is gonna be weird.
As it's the first week with us being in the yellow.
So I'll be curious to see how many customers come into the store. How many come in with masks or no masks.
I'm also curious how much longer it will be before my store can move off of it's skeleton crew. How long before we can hire back some of my coworkers so that we're not like one sick person away from crashing and burning.
Because I really just want to take a vacation and just get a week long break away from things so I can...unwind. Relax. get back in the zone and be able to be less tense at work again.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Sunday, May 17, 2020
A New Obsession
The 'fun' thing about this like 'stay at home' 'quarantining' business is seeing like all the different hobbies and projects that people are taking on. Or like...the things they get into watching or reading because they're looking for something...different.
I haven't really had the...idk luxury? of doing that...since I never stopped going to work or had to work from home (that would be rather difficult to do in a petstore)
But I did end up coming across a new...idk obsession? to watch.
It started like a week ago?...maybe two weeks ago now?? idk.
But I was scrolling through youtube. Looking for something to 'watch' to entertain myself.
When I saw this video where a dude was biking a trail in Moab.
And I've been missing my red rocks.
And I have to admit I was curious.
I've heard of people mountain biking in Moab.
Seen a lot of bike shops as well when I've been in town.
But I've never understood...why people liked doing it?
I didn't understand why mountain biking was a 'thing.'
So I clicked on the video of someone biking the "Portal Trail" in Utah.
Which apparently is...super dangerous to ride?
Like I think people have fallen off the side of the cliff -because the trail is on the side of the cliff- before and like...died. :S :S
Of course I didn't quite realize how dangerous it was in that first video because the dude in it just like...sailed through it easy peasy.
But it got me curious about how others did on that same trail.
And like...it's also crazy that so many different riders gopro their bike rides and then post them on youtube.
Like that's not something I would have ever thought of doing.
Of course the only bike riding I ever did was like...riding my bike around the neighborhood. Never did any of the nonpavement stuff.
In any case.
Watching those videos?
It's intense.
Like not quite an adrenaline rush.
But oh so captivating.
To see all the different trails and ways that different riders do their videos and tackle the differing obstacles they encounter throughout their rides on both uphill climbs and downhill descents.
It wasn't long before I ventured into watching other mountain biking videos. Of bike rides all throughout the world.
O_o
It's crazy.
Like I never realized how popular mountain biking was as a sport.
Like I knew about jeeping/rockcrawling?? where people take their jeeps/cars over difficult terrain. I mean I've been on a couple of adventures doing that (never driving just riding)
But biking? Nope never thought of it.
But like...
It looks like a ton of fun.
And I'm just like...loving watching all the bike rides and places and riders having fun.
It seems overall to be such a nice community in these videos.
And I do find myself wanting to try it out myself.
I literally looked up mountain bikes to see how much buying one would cost.
But at the same time...with things still closed...I definitely don't want to buy a bike online without first trying it out. ^^;; lol.
I don't know if I'll ever actually try out the sport though.
Some of those rides by the cliff face? Heh...yah...I'm not sure I could actually do them.
My cautious side and my adventurous sides are definitely at war with themselves.
Because on one hand I totally feel like I can do it.
On the other hand I also recognize that these people I'm watching are pros and have been riding for years and like....watching the videos would be totally different from hitting the trail myself.
So for now I'm just contenting myself with watching other people's adventures.
Lol
But I definitely see why people enjoy mountain biking now. Even if I haven't done it myself. It just looks like a lot of fun.
....so long as you don't fall off your bike. ;) lol
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
I haven't really had the...idk luxury? of doing that...since I never stopped going to work or had to work from home (that would be rather difficult to do in a petstore)
But I did end up coming across a new...idk obsession? to watch.
It started like a week ago?...maybe two weeks ago now?? idk.
But I was scrolling through youtube. Looking for something to 'watch' to entertain myself.
When I saw this video where a dude was biking a trail in Moab.
And I've been missing my red rocks.
And I have to admit I was curious.
I've heard of people mountain biking in Moab.
Seen a lot of bike shops as well when I've been in town.
But I've never understood...why people liked doing it?
I didn't understand why mountain biking was a 'thing.'
So I clicked on the video of someone biking the "Portal Trail" in Utah.
Which apparently is...super dangerous to ride?
Like I think people have fallen off the side of the cliff -because the trail is on the side of the cliff- before and like...died. :S :S
Of course I didn't quite realize how dangerous it was in that first video because the dude in it just like...sailed through it easy peasy.
But it got me curious about how others did on that same trail.
And like...it's also crazy that so many different riders gopro their bike rides and then post them on youtube.
Like that's not something I would have ever thought of doing.
Of course the only bike riding I ever did was like...riding my bike around the neighborhood. Never did any of the nonpavement stuff.
In any case.
Watching those videos?
It's intense.
Like not quite an adrenaline rush.
But oh so captivating.
To see all the different trails and ways that different riders do their videos and tackle the differing obstacles they encounter throughout their rides on both uphill climbs and downhill descents.
It wasn't long before I ventured into watching other mountain biking videos. Of bike rides all throughout the world.
O_o
It's crazy.
Like I never realized how popular mountain biking was as a sport.
Like I knew about jeeping/rockcrawling?? where people take their jeeps/cars over difficult terrain. I mean I've been on a couple of adventures doing that (never driving just riding)
But biking? Nope never thought of it.
But like...
It looks like a ton of fun.
And I'm just like...loving watching all the bike rides and places and riders having fun.
It seems overall to be such a nice community in these videos.
And I do find myself wanting to try it out myself.
I literally looked up mountain bikes to see how much buying one would cost.
But at the same time...with things still closed...I definitely don't want to buy a bike online without first trying it out. ^^;; lol.
I don't know if I'll ever actually try out the sport though.
Some of those rides by the cliff face? Heh...yah...I'm not sure I could actually do them.
My cautious side and my adventurous sides are definitely at war with themselves.
Because on one hand I totally feel like I can do it.
On the other hand I also recognize that these people I'm watching are pros and have been riding for years and like....watching the videos would be totally different from hitting the trail myself.
So for now I'm just contenting myself with watching other people's adventures.
Lol
But I definitely see why people enjoy mountain biking now. Even if I haven't done it myself. It just looks like a lot of fun.
....so long as you don't fall off your bike. ;) lol
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Saturday, May 16, 2020
NO RETURNS?!
It's amazing the...odd...things people do when they don't get things their way. Or when something inconveniences them.
So for the past...idk two months? or so.
My store hasn't been accepting returns on products from customers.
The only thing we will allow is the return of animals we've sold if they end up dying or the customer decides they don't want them within the two week return policy.
Like I said. We've had this policy in place for two months now.
And yet we still get customers wanting to return things...because customers can't read the signs we have posted everywhere saying that we're temporarily not accepting returns.
In any case.
We have been waiting...for like the past week or so for word from Corporate on when we can start accepting returns again. From what I hear from management, we should have had a decision on the situation like a week ago.
And yet we've heard nothing.
Which is frustrating to us and to customers because they want to know when they can return things and we have to tell them that we don't know yet. We're literally waiting for the word to drop any day now.
It just hasn't happened.
And for the past couple of days we've had to field a bunch more calls with people asking if they can return things yet.
Because today my state went to "yellow" on it's Red/Orange/Yellow/Green meter which with our state in the 'yellow' it means that all businesses can open back up. Of course with the rule of like staying six feet away, wearing masks, keeping things clean etc still in place.
But apparently people took that to mean that we're now accepting returns to the store.
We're not.
Policy hasn't changed yet.
And even if it has it might be different with each city that our stores operate in.
Like not each location has to take the same measures. Even within the state I know there's some sister stores of ours that are having to be a bit more extreme in their measures than we are here.
So like...i don't know? Fifteen to Thirty minutes before closing the store.
I get a call from a customer asking what the status of our return policy is.
But before I could answer they went into this rant/explanation that they'd been shopping at our sister store in the valley yesterday and if they had known that they couldn't make returns they wouldn't have purchased the products they'd purchased (a whole $40 of stuff) because they'd bought them originally just to see if they worked/were right and now the customer wanted to return them and they hadn't even left the bag or anything and it had only been like 24 hours but when they went in to return the stuff the workers at the sister store had 'brushed them off' and were 'rather rude' about it.
-I was by this point trying to figure out if they were gonna ask if we would accept returns at our store since our sister store refused to do it.
And under normal circumstances yes you can return product to our store even if you purchased it from another location (the exception being animals).
But right now. We're still not accepting returns.
Which I managed to tell the customer while they were in their rant.
"You aren't accepting returns."
"Yes." was my response.
But the customer was...I supposed miffed or even furious at the other store because at no point where they informed via being spoken too or by sign that there were no returns at this time.
They were like "There was no signage posted whatsoever!"
....Having not been to the sister store anytime recently. I have no idea what they are and aren't doing there. For all I know they do have signs posted, the customer just was being a typical customer and didn't read the sign. Though from how upset they were I am guessing that they did look around to see if there were any signs posted and didn't see any to prove that they had no idea they couldn't make returns.
And I was like "Huh, well we have signs posted all over our store"
To which the customer was like "Well that's good BUT your sister store DIDN'T" and went on to rant about how corporate needed to do something or that MY store should call the Sister Store and tell them to put out signs.
Which *shakes head* even if that was something we did...there would be nothing I could do because I'm not a manager so I don't have any pull or authority whatsoever --which is funny because the customer never asked if I was a manager, they just assumed I could call the other store and tell them to put up signs--I did tell my manager on duty about the phone call, but we didn't call our sister store because it was closing time and we were trying to get the current customers in the store checked out with their purchases.
What I don't understand...is if the customer was so happy about the service they received at the other store...why didn't they ask to speak to the management at that store? Or like call that store to speak to the manager.
Because again...there's nothing my store can do to control what the other stores are doing.
I'm pretty sure the phone call to us started out as a simple call to see if we accepted returns in our location yet and then devolved into a rant against the other store.
In any case.
The customer wanted to know when we would be accepting returns because they didn't want to be out the $40 they'd spent.
To which I told them that under normal circumstance they have 60 days to bring back product with a receipt. So they just needed to hang onto everything for a little bit longer because we are expecting the go ahead to do returns any day now.
And the customer was just like flabbergasted that we had no idea when we would be doing returns. They were like "Corporate didn't have a plan in place already for when things went to yellow?!"
Apparently the customer didn't fully realize the concept of 'corporate' because like...we're not just a locally owned mom and pop store. No, we're a nationwide company.
And I had to inform the customer that because our company is nationwide, corporate has to take into consideration how the nation as a whole is doing in the pandemic before doing any policy changes.
So even though my state went to yellow and can open all businesses back up...there are other states still under stay at home orders. So like...I'm pretty sure that when we can start returning products will depend on when it's decided that returns can be accepted everywhere.
I could be wrong though. Like we do have regional managers and such...but I'm not quite sure where in the chain of command people have the ability to make policy related decisions for smaller areas than the entire country.
In any case. Just because we're yellow doesn't mean that we can accept returns. We have to wait for official word that that policy has changed.
But yah.
That was a 'fun' conversation to deal with towards closing time. *exhales*
Hopefully we can start accepting returns sooner rather than later.
Because the customers are definitely becoming more beastly as things begin going back to 'normal.'
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
So for the past...idk two months? or so.
My store hasn't been accepting returns on products from customers.
The only thing we will allow is the return of animals we've sold if they end up dying or the customer decides they don't want them within the two week return policy.
Like I said. We've had this policy in place for two months now.
And yet we still get customers wanting to return things...because customers can't read the signs we have posted everywhere saying that we're temporarily not accepting returns.
In any case.
We have been waiting...for like the past week or so for word from Corporate on when we can start accepting returns again. From what I hear from management, we should have had a decision on the situation like a week ago.
And yet we've heard nothing.
Which is frustrating to us and to customers because they want to know when they can return things and we have to tell them that we don't know yet. We're literally waiting for the word to drop any day now.
It just hasn't happened.
And for the past couple of days we've had to field a bunch more calls with people asking if they can return things yet.
Because today my state went to "yellow" on it's Red/Orange/Yellow/Green meter which with our state in the 'yellow' it means that all businesses can open back up. Of course with the rule of like staying six feet away, wearing masks, keeping things clean etc still in place.
But apparently people took that to mean that we're now accepting returns to the store.
We're not.
Policy hasn't changed yet.
And even if it has it might be different with each city that our stores operate in.
Like not each location has to take the same measures. Even within the state I know there's some sister stores of ours that are having to be a bit more extreme in their measures than we are here.
So like...i don't know? Fifteen to Thirty minutes before closing the store.
I get a call from a customer asking what the status of our return policy is.
But before I could answer they went into this rant/explanation that they'd been shopping at our sister store in the valley yesterday and if they had known that they couldn't make returns they wouldn't have purchased the products they'd purchased (a whole $40 of stuff) because they'd bought them originally just to see if they worked/were right and now the customer wanted to return them and they hadn't even left the bag or anything and it had only been like 24 hours but when they went in to return the stuff the workers at the sister store had 'brushed them off' and were 'rather rude' about it.
-I was by this point trying to figure out if they were gonna ask if we would accept returns at our store since our sister store refused to do it.
And under normal circumstances yes you can return product to our store even if you purchased it from another location (the exception being animals).
But right now. We're still not accepting returns.
Which I managed to tell the customer while they were in their rant.
"You aren't accepting returns."
"Yes." was my response.
But the customer was...I supposed miffed or even furious at the other store because at no point where they informed via being spoken too or by sign that there were no returns at this time.
They were like "There was no signage posted whatsoever!"
....Having not been to the sister store anytime recently. I have no idea what they are and aren't doing there. For all I know they do have signs posted, the customer just was being a typical customer and didn't read the sign. Though from how upset they were I am guessing that they did look around to see if there were any signs posted and didn't see any to prove that they had no idea they couldn't make returns.
And I was like "Huh, well we have signs posted all over our store"
To which the customer was like "Well that's good BUT your sister store DIDN'T" and went on to rant about how corporate needed to do something or that MY store should call the Sister Store and tell them to put out signs.
Which *shakes head* even if that was something we did...there would be nothing I could do because I'm not a manager so I don't have any pull or authority whatsoever --which is funny because the customer never asked if I was a manager, they just assumed I could call the other store and tell them to put up signs--I did tell my manager on duty about the phone call, but we didn't call our sister store because it was closing time and we were trying to get the current customers in the store checked out with their purchases.
What I don't understand...is if the customer was so happy about the service they received at the other store...why didn't they ask to speak to the management at that store? Or like call that store to speak to the manager.
Because again...there's nothing my store can do to control what the other stores are doing.
I'm pretty sure the phone call to us started out as a simple call to see if we accepted returns in our location yet and then devolved into a rant against the other store.
In any case.
The customer wanted to know when we would be accepting returns because they didn't want to be out the $40 they'd spent.
To which I told them that under normal circumstance they have 60 days to bring back product with a receipt. So they just needed to hang onto everything for a little bit longer because we are expecting the go ahead to do returns any day now.
And the customer was just like flabbergasted that we had no idea when we would be doing returns. They were like "Corporate didn't have a plan in place already for when things went to yellow?!"
Apparently the customer didn't fully realize the concept of 'corporate' because like...we're not just a locally owned mom and pop store. No, we're a nationwide company.
And I had to inform the customer that because our company is nationwide, corporate has to take into consideration how the nation as a whole is doing in the pandemic before doing any policy changes.
So even though my state went to yellow and can open all businesses back up...there are other states still under stay at home orders. So like...I'm pretty sure that when we can start returning products will depend on when it's decided that returns can be accepted everywhere.
I could be wrong though. Like we do have regional managers and such...but I'm not quite sure where in the chain of command people have the ability to make policy related decisions for smaller areas than the entire country.
In any case. Just because we're yellow doesn't mean that we can accept returns. We have to wait for official word that that policy has changed.
But yah.
That was a 'fun' conversation to deal with towards closing time. *exhales*
Hopefully we can start accepting returns sooner rather than later.
Because the customers are definitely becoming more beastly as things begin going back to 'normal.'
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Friday, May 15, 2020
Drive Thru
I tried something different today.
As I was craving some Zupas.
Mostly because I've been feeling a bit off the past couple of days.
And so I wanted to get some soup to help me feel better.
But I haven't been to Zupas since before the virus struck and like all the food places had to stop sit in dining and go to curbside/pickup/drivethru only sort of service.
Which Zupas is more of a sit down place. You either come sit or you come grab and then go.
But the key was that you needed to go into the building to grab the food.
They couldn't really do that with the virus so Zupas ended up creating a temporary drive thru sort of situation.
And I was like O_o how does that even work?
So I was rather hesitant to try it out.
This drive thru process.
Hence why I haven't been there for food since before the breakout.
Today.
I wanted it. I wanted my chicken enchilada chili and my ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
So I ventured over.
And thankfully the signs for the drive thru and the curbside pickup were pretty clear cut.
So I was able to pull into the drive thru and order my food -which lucky me I knew exactly what I wanted as I'm not certain they had menus available? Possibly. I saw a stand with papers in it so maybe those were menus?
But I knew what I wanted.
So I ordered my food from my car and then was told to pull into a marked spot to wait for it to come out.
And yah.
Overall it was a simple painless process and I was rather grateful for that. :D
Plus.
The food was delicious!! Yay! :D
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
As I was craving some Zupas.
Mostly because I've been feeling a bit off the past couple of days.
And so I wanted to get some soup to help me feel better.
But I haven't been to Zupas since before the virus struck and like all the food places had to stop sit in dining and go to curbside/pickup/drivethru only sort of service.
Which Zupas is more of a sit down place. You either come sit or you come grab and then go.
But the key was that you needed to go into the building to grab the food.
They couldn't really do that with the virus so Zupas ended up creating a temporary drive thru sort of situation.
And I was like O_o how does that even work?
So I was rather hesitant to try it out.
This drive thru process.
Hence why I haven't been there for food since before the breakout.
Today.
I wanted it. I wanted my chicken enchilada chili and my ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
So I ventured over.
And thankfully the signs for the drive thru and the curbside pickup were pretty clear cut.
So I was able to pull into the drive thru and order my food -which lucky me I knew exactly what I wanted as I'm not certain they had menus available? Possibly. I saw a stand with papers in it so maybe those were menus?
But I knew what I wanted.
So I ordered my food from my car and then was told to pull into a marked spot to wait for it to come out.
And yah.
Overall it was a simple painless process and I was rather grateful for that. :D
Plus.
The food was delicious!! Yay! :D
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Thursday, May 14, 2020
New Fish
I ended up going on a mini adventure this morning.
As I received a text from one of my managers stating that one of my old coworkers was looking for someone to take in her betta fish and was wondering if I would be interested. in taking them in. Today. Basically right then.
The reason why my old coworker needed someone to take her fish ASAP.
Was that she was moving out of state with her family.
But as they were loading up their stuff....realized that the didn't have enough room to take their fish.
And they were literally leaving within the hour to drive to their new place.
So I ended up rolling out of bed and quickly getting dressed so that I could drive out to my work and meet with my old coworker there to take her two bettas.
A female and a male.
Both in their own little tanks.
And I have to say both fish are HUGE.
Like Mother Dearest could always get her bettas to grow giant.
Mine? Never got so big.
Maybe I don't feed mine as much?
But yah even the female is as big as the males and I'm just like O_o because I've always seen the girl bettas be so tiny.
Crazy.
In any case.
I managed to get both tanks of fish home.
Though since the tanks were still mostly filled with water there was a bit of sloshing and my seats got wet.
Note to self.
If I move fish again.
Put them on the FLOOR of my car.
Thankfully it was sunny today so I just left my car out in the sun with the windows cracked to dry the seats after dabbing up as much of the water as I could.
And then spent a couple of hours cleaning out the tanks and giving everyone some fresh water and rearranging/taking down a couple of my other small tanks that were well...basically empty anyways.
Plus I needed to fit the new tanks in with my other bettas and make it feel good and look good...
But yah!
Yay new fish!!
Hopefully they enjoy their new home. ^^;;
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
As I received a text from one of my managers stating that one of my old coworkers was looking for someone to take in her betta fish and was wondering if I would be interested. in taking them in. Today. Basically right then.
The reason why my old coworker needed someone to take her fish ASAP.
Was that she was moving out of state with her family.
But as they were loading up their stuff....realized that the didn't have enough room to take their fish.
And they were literally leaving within the hour to drive to their new place.
So I ended up rolling out of bed and quickly getting dressed so that I could drive out to my work and meet with my old coworker there to take her two bettas.
A female and a male.
Both in their own little tanks.
And I have to say both fish are HUGE.
Like Mother Dearest could always get her bettas to grow giant.
Mine? Never got so big.
Maybe I don't feed mine as much?
But yah even the female is as big as the males and I'm just like O_o because I've always seen the girl bettas be so tiny.
Crazy.
In any case.
I managed to get both tanks of fish home.
Though since the tanks were still mostly filled with water there was a bit of sloshing and my seats got wet.
Note to self.
If I move fish again.
Put them on the FLOOR of my car.
Thankfully it was sunny today so I just left my car out in the sun with the windows cracked to dry the seats after dabbing up as much of the water as I could.
And then spent a couple of hours cleaning out the tanks and giving everyone some fresh water and rearranging/taking down a couple of my other small tanks that were well...basically empty anyways.
Plus I needed to fit the new tanks in with my other bettas and make it feel good and look good...
But yah!
Yay new fish!!
Hopefully they enjoy their new home. ^^;;
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Further Updates
As an update from yesterday's post.
Apparently the reason why we're now possibly permanently needing to quarantine our hamsters for two weeks is because there have been complaints about hamsters getting sick with a respiratory illness around 6-7 days after coming into other stores, which has been causing issues with customers who purchase them and then have the hamster come down sick a few days after they bring their new pet home.
However....my work hasn't really seen like...any of this? Usually our major concern with hamsters is Wet Tail. It's rare that we see respiratory issues with them....
But it seems like some stores in other parts of the country have had this issue. Which points to one vendor (as corporate goes through multiple different vendors to get animals into their store depending on where in country the store is located) being the main culprit of this respiratory issue.
But instead of just like...investigating that one vendor and maybe only having stores getting animals from that vendor isolating animals for the two week period....
Corporate decided to make it a store wide thing.
So even though we aren't seeing any issues with respiratory issues here...because somewhere else someone is....we now have to isolate our hamsters for two weeks. Gah.
This...this is gonna get annoying. So annoying.
I really hope it's a temporary change and it will go away...especially when the Christmas Season approaches because there's no way I'll be able to keep christmas stock in that backroom if I have to hold the hamsters for two weeks. It will be a nightmare.
In any case.
Change of subject.
We also have updated like...measures that are being taken to make sure that my coworkers and I can stay safe at work.
One was that work provided us our own masks. So woot! They're rather comfy too so that's nice though the masks still have their irritating moments. It's definitely not fun to wear it for 8 hours straight. It gets all hot.
But we also installed...I think they're called 'sneeze guards' ??? on our registers.
Basically clear plastic barriers with holes cut out of the bottom so that customers can place their stuff on the counter, but they can't breathe directly on the cashier because the clear plastic above prevents that from happening.
I have to say...that's rather weird the one time I jumped on register to back up.
Though the cashiers did mention that they're less stressed having the barriers up which makes sense as it keeps customers from getting too close. So yah...health and safety all around.
But another change is one that I don't...quite get?
Apparently this weekend we have to start 'self checking' ourselves at home to see if we have any symptoms of the Virus.
Aka before we come to work we basically have to run down a check list of symptoms and see if we have any combination of them.
And if we don't. We can come to work.
If we do we need to contact a manager to let them know and then can't come into work until we see a doctor??? *shakes head*
And when we do come into work after doing this 'self check' the manager has to ask us "Are you okay?" and we basically have to say "Yes I'm healthy" or "Well I had a fever and chills today but I'm good otherwise." And like...if we show symptoms...we get sent back home.
And if we develop symptoms...we get sent back home.
...Honestly I think it may be a bit more...productive if work just provided us with thermometers so we can just take everyone's temperature when they come in and if they have a fever they go home.
But yah....I'm told the next couple of weeks is gonna be the 'low point' for us.
But after that point we should have things improve. We should be able to get more hours into the store.
Which will hopefully first allow us to be able to get back to full time hours.
But then will allow us to hire back more of my coworkers so that we can have more coverage on the floor because I am rather tired of working on a skeleton crew.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Apparently the reason why we're now possibly permanently needing to quarantine our hamsters for two weeks is because there have been complaints about hamsters getting sick with a respiratory illness around 6-7 days after coming into other stores, which has been causing issues with customers who purchase them and then have the hamster come down sick a few days after they bring their new pet home.
However....my work hasn't really seen like...any of this? Usually our major concern with hamsters is Wet Tail. It's rare that we see respiratory issues with them....
But it seems like some stores in other parts of the country have had this issue. Which points to one vendor (as corporate goes through multiple different vendors to get animals into their store depending on where in country the store is located) being the main culprit of this respiratory issue.
But instead of just like...investigating that one vendor and maybe only having stores getting animals from that vendor isolating animals for the two week period....
Corporate decided to make it a store wide thing.
So even though we aren't seeing any issues with respiratory issues here...because somewhere else someone is....we now have to isolate our hamsters for two weeks. Gah.
This...this is gonna get annoying. So annoying.
I really hope it's a temporary change and it will go away...especially when the Christmas Season approaches because there's no way I'll be able to keep christmas stock in that backroom if I have to hold the hamsters for two weeks. It will be a nightmare.
In any case.
Change of subject.
We also have updated like...measures that are being taken to make sure that my coworkers and I can stay safe at work.
One was that work provided us our own masks. So woot! They're rather comfy too so that's nice though the masks still have their irritating moments. It's definitely not fun to wear it for 8 hours straight. It gets all hot.
But we also installed...I think they're called 'sneeze guards' ??? on our registers.
Basically clear plastic barriers with holes cut out of the bottom so that customers can place their stuff on the counter, but they can't breathe directly on the cashier because the clear plastic above prevents that from happening.
I have to say...that's rather weird the one time I jumped on register to back up.
Though the cashiers did mention that they're less stressed having the barriers up which makes sense as it keeps customers from getting too close. So yah...health and safety all around.
But another change is one that I don't...quite get?
Apparently this weekend we have to start 'self checking' ourselves at home to see if we have any symptoms of the Virus.
Aka before we come to work we basically have to run down a check list of symptoms and see if we have any combination of them.
And if we don't. We can come to work.
If we do we need to contact a manager to let them know and then can't come into work until we see a doctor??? *shakes head*
And when we do come into work after doing this 'self check' the manager has to ask us "Are you okay?" and we basically have to say "Yes I'm healthy" or "Well I had a fever and chills today but I'm good otherwise." And like...if we show symptoms...we get sent back home.
And if we develop symptoms...we get sent back home.
...Honestly I think it may be a bit more...productive if work just provided us with thermometers so we can just take everyone's temperature when they come in and if they have a fever they go home.
But yah....I'm told the next couple of weeks is gonna be the 'low point' for us.
But after that point we should have things improve. We should be able to get more hours into the store.
Which will hopefully first allow us to be able to get back to full time hours.
But then will allow us to hire back more of my coworkers so that we can have more coverage on the floor because I am rather tired of working on a skeleton crew.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The Waiting Game
Whelp.
Work has just...complicated things in a not nice way.
*exhales* I really hope this thing is just a precaution for the virus...though signs are pointing it to being permanent and I really really really don't like this particular change because it's going to be a nightmare to deal with during a time when we're selling animals like crazy because everyone suddenly decided they wanted a pet.
So.
Traditionally when we get animals in. Namely the Rodents and Birds. We don't put them on the floor right away.
No, we place them in a room away from people and other animals that have been in the store longer and monitor the New Arrivals for a set period of time to ensure that they came to us healthy before we put them on the floor to sell.
For the birds that's Five Days.
For the rodents -the hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice- it's Three Days that we wait before placing them on the floor to sell. (Chinchillas go straight to the floor when they come in.)
Well.
Today we got an email from...corporate? I guess.
Saying that there was a change in the isolating procedure for our rodents.
Namely the hamsters.
From my understanding, apparently they're discovering that hamsters to hide that they're sick a lot longer than originally thought.
And so to ensure that we are selling healthy pets.
We're now required to keep the hamsters in the back for far longer than three days.
No.
Now it's TWO. WEEKS.
We have to keep them in our New Arrivals Room.
TWO WEEKS.
14 FREAKING DAYS.
Like. Seriously?
I think in the long run this is gonna be more detrimental to us than helpful.
Namely because I don't think the hamsters will be happy being in such small spaces crowded together for two weeks.
As the cages they normally go in after three days are slightly more spacious and have like..a wheel to run on and such.
But this has to drop at a time when we're selling out of animals.
Like literally we've been selling through hamsters and birds the past couple weeks to the point where half my cages were empty for a week because I didn't have any more animals to bring out onto the floor.
And now they're saying that the hamsters I'm expecting to get in in a couple of days....I won't be able to bring out for TWO more weeks instead of THREE days.
Like WHYYYYYY. It's gonna be basically June before I can bring out any more hamsters. We're going to have two full weeks of no hamsters on the floor I can just see it now because of this.
And like...How am I ever gonna have room to hold all these animals in the back?
Because we get replenished for what we sell.
And if I have to hold like three weeks worth of animals in a room that only has TWELVE cages in it?
Ha.
It's not gonna work out.
Like It's utter madness.
Not to mention our ISO room has to under go the same requirements.
So if a customer returns a hamster to us. And he appears healthy....we can't put it back on the floor in three days times. No this hamster too has to wait TWO WEEKS in the back before we can put him back.
And oh.
If any of the hamsters in the New Arrivals get sick...we have to isolate that hamster...and then the hamsters that were with the sick hamster have to restart their two week quarantine period.
And like. We can't put the sick hamster on the floor until TWO WEEKS after it gets healthy and a vet says it's healthy.
do you know how quickly our sick room can fill up?
Really really quickly.
We can go from no animals to full capacity within a week.
And again. I only have twelve cages back there.
So having to keep a hamster isolated back there for like three weeks minimum?
I honestly wonder what corporate is thinking.
Like if we have to isolate hamsters for so long...why not just get a different breeder?
Because I forsee this just being....bad.
Especially because I haven't noticed any issues with hamsters dying so quickly before.
Like we've been doing well hamster wise for a while now.
At most we get a run on wet tail.
But like...I haven't seen anything to indicate that the hamsters have to be isolated for 2 weeks before we can sell them.
Like, yes, occasionally we get hamsters that die on pet parents within two weeks.
But it's not a common occurence.
*exhales*
I just...I really hope this is only Covid related and not permanent.
Because this is a nightmare.
I don't even know what we're supposed to do with hamsters that are returned by customers who want to buy them back.
Like...do we have to wait two weeks after the hamster is healthy before the pet parent can come get it?
Because I honestly doubt that a pet parent will be willing to wait three weeks to a month before they can see their pet again.
*exhales*
At least the D.M. is coming in tomorrow so I can ask that particular question.
Because keeping pet parents from their pets.....doesn't seem like a good idea in the long run.
I just....
Gah.
I hope this isn't permanent.
Because I don't want to deal with the headache this is gonna induce.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Work has just...complicated things in a not nice way.
*exhales* I really hope this thing is just a precaution for the virus...though signs are pointing it to being permanent and I really really really don't like this particular change because it's going to be a nightmare to deal with during a time when we're selling animals like crazy because everyone suddenly decided they wanted a pet.
So.
Traditionally when we get animals in. Namely the Rodents and Birds. We don't put them on the floor right away.
No, we place them in a room away from people and other animals that have been in the store longer and monitor the New Arrivals for a set period of time to ensure that they came to us healthy before we put them on the floor to sell.
For the birds that's Five Days.
For the rodents -the hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice- it's Three Days that we wait before placing them on the floor to sell. (Chinchillas go straight to the floor when they come in.)
Well.
Today we got an email from...corporate? I guess.
Saying that there was a change in the isolating procedure for our rodents.
Namely the hamsters.
From my understanding, apparently they're discovering that hamsters to hide that they're sick a lot longer than originally thought.
And so to ensure that we are selling healthy pets.
We're now required to keep the hamsters in the back for far longer than three days.
No.
Now it's TWO. WEEKS.
We have to keep them in our New Arrivals Room.
TWO WEEKS.
14 FREAKING DAYS.
Like. Seriously?
I think in the long run this is gonna be more detrimental to us than helpful.
Namely because I don't think the hamsters will be happy being in such small spaces crowded together for two weeks.
As the cages they normally go in after three days are slightly more spacious and have like..a wheel to run on and such.
But this has to drop at a time when we're selling out of animals.
Like literally we've been selling through hamsters and birds the past couple weeks to the point where half my cages were empty for a week because I didn't have any more animals to bring out onto the floor.
And now they're saying that the hamsters I'm expecting to get in in a couple of days....I won't be able to bring out for TWO more weeks instead of THREE days.
Like WHYYYYYY. It's gonna be basically June before I can bring out any more hamsters. We're going to have two full weeks of no hamsters on the floor I can just see it now because of this.
And like...How am I ever gonna have room to hold all these animals in the back?
Because we get replenished for what we sell.
And if I have to hold like three weeks worth of animals in a room that only has TWELVE cages in it?
Ha.
It's not gonna work out.
Like It's utter madness.
Not to mention our ISO room has to under go the same requirements.
So if a customer returns a hamster to us. And he appears healthy....we can't put it back on the floor in three days times. No this hamster too has to wait TWO WEEKS in the back before we can put him back.
And oh.
If any of the hamsters in the New Arrivals get sick...we have to isolate that hamster...and then the hamsters that were with the sick hamster have to restart their two week quarantine period.
And like. We can't put the sick hamster on the floor until TWO WEEKS after it gets healthy and a vet says it's healthy.
do you know how quickly our sick room can fill up?
Really really quickly.
We can go from no animals to full capacity within a week.
And again. I only have twelve cages back there.
So having to keep a hamster isolated back there for like three weeks minimum?
I honestly wonder what corporate is thinking.
Like if we have to isolate hamsters for so long...why not just get a different breeder?
Because I forsee this just being....bad.
Especially because I haven't noticed any issues with hamsters dying so quickly before.
Like we've been doing well hamster wise for a while now.
At most we get a run on wet tail.
But like...I haven't seen anything to indicate that the hamsters have to be isolated for 2 weeks before we can sell them.
Like, yes, occasionally we get hamsters that die on pet parents within two weeks.
But it's not a common occurence.
*exhales*
I just...I really hope this is only Covid related and not permanent.
Because this is a nightmare.
I don't even know what we're supposed to do with hamsters that are returned by customers who want to buy them back.
Like...do we have to wait two weeks after the hamster is healthy before the pet parent can come get it?
Because I honestly doubt that a pet parent will be willing to wait three weeks to a month before they can see their pet again.
*exhales*
At least the D.M. is coming in tomorrow so I can ask that particular question.
Because keeping pet parents from their pets.....doesn't seem like a good idea in the long run.
I just....
Gah.
I hope this isn't permanent.
Because I don't want to deal with the headache this is gonna induce.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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