Memories
More a list of memories for me than entertainment for you. Writing this was very calming, yet intensely sad. My weekends have been taken up with work for the past three years!
The Cats Protection: Helena. The till facing the left wall. Carrier bags which never stayed on the hooks. The 'Magic Door' where we'd get anything we'd asked for over time. Talking about horoscopes in the basement. Steaming rails of clothes. Joseph questioning why the till said we had taken over a million pounds in one afternoon. Mary and Sandra, the two mentally disabled ladies who bought Carry On films, Mary saying Sandra's name at the end of every sentence. Sandra's blue baseball cap. Helena and I talking about them for months later. Moving the books. Joseph spraying Gemma with old perfume. Lauren and Dorothy. Sitting by the till doing nothing but talking. Going overboard with Christmas Decorations. The lady who asked how much the doggie was in the window and Lauren replying "The one with the waggly tail?" before we both collapsed in hysterics. Cats in Drag. Antonia. Her love of vaccuuming. Rearranging everything wrongly. Being caught in the middle of Lauren and Antonia's battles. Boy Talk. The Watch Man, who came in every day to ask if watches needed fixing. Him telling Gemma to put some clothes on. Us joking at The Watchman's expense before he died and we missed him. Running the Cat Shop when Lauren was off sick. Polishing the till. The little old lady who was so rude. Jo and Nina. The Mad Lady who stands at the door ages before we even open, who smells of pee and sways as if she is dancing inside. Discussing Sharon. Turning the CD player up loud to listen to Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama. The Stamp Man, who is always so English and stuttering. The boy we always knew was gay. Pickles the Cat and how he would run though the shop before he got run over. The ten minute crossover time when we talk to Ruth. Gemma's Doll Makeover. Trying on ties and hats and jackets. Fourth drafts and typos. The gnarled old lady who bought forty-pence worth of tapes. Sitting at the counter debating what to buy for lunch. Big Breakfast Sandwiches. Halloween with Facepaint and Batman silhouettes. The basement flooding. Talking to Michelle and Terry. The fake cat on the counter. Trying to sell the cheap fake Indian clock and never succeeding.
British Home Stores: Giving up my lazy Sundays of videogaming. Not knowing what to do on my first day. Customer Service with Sarah. Answering phones. Putting things out in the Home Department and saying "I'm going Home!" Checking my mobile at the end of the day to see if I was meeting Martyn or not. Breakups and Arguments I tried not to take to work with me. Being moved to IA. Hanging up Bras. Paul, who looked like Edward Scissorhands. Working there for six months before I ever went up to the stock room. Taking me even longer to work out how to turn the lights on. Feeling special because I could do Price Overrides. People leaving; Sam, Maria, Emma, Sarah, Jane, Tasha, Emily, Kayla, Julie, Bryony, Chris, Helen, Paul, Karen, Nardie. Wrapping a lot of china. Being proud of my green badge against the black ones the newer people wore. Late lunches. Thongs which never stayed on the hanger. Having no idea what popsocks were. Feeling awkward. Mr Bishops Pants. Working eleven hours with half an hour break. Hating asking people about Gold Cards. Choice nights. Stock take. Poo on the floor. Slyvia shouting at the Call Centre people. Feeling so great to finally be leaving.
Indian Ocean Takeaway: Being terrified to answer the phones. Trying to learn the menu. The paranoia of being an ethnic minority. Mentally calculating change. Changing fashion. Answering the phone when slightly drunk when I came in with John and Anan asked me to help out a bit. Jumu coming back and being scared it would be different. Shamsu giving me his phone number. Going to the pub with whiteballking after work. Chicken Tikka Mossala. Joshiv leaving. Talking to Jumu about men, fashion, life. Watching Sadat grow up. Playing catch with Shakib. Getting soaked and having to dry off with a hairdrier. Onion Bhajis. Getting to known the regulars. When the phones stopped working. Tony bringing in a large origami elephant. Running the Indian Ocean for nineteen days. Talking to Peter about marrying millionaires. Writing a story. Laughing at Final Destination 2 with Ben. Feeling disgusted at listening to Ben's friend talking about his conquest and wishing I'd told him to shut up. Having my hand stapled. The strange chav girl who punched our window. The Indian man with the lazy eyes. Gradually memorising addresses. Mr Brooks. Wentworth Close. Miss Peach. Neno. Patching Close. Crying at work after my borrowed laptop was stolen. Peter Graves who shouted at me because his order was late. Listening to Ali moan about Valentines Day. Shaida coming to England. Losing the keys to the shop. Donna's crumpled notes. Mucking around with Tim. Pen fights. Dodgy talk of whips, chains, handcuffs and spanking. Anan's matchmaker type comments. "When you getting married, mate?" Making pig noises when John wasn't looking. Cracking up on the phone and being unable to talk. Learning not to care about silly criticisms. Menu Change. Wishing I could learn Bengali. Shaida's little baby, Shajit. Shakib telling me about Concorde. The customer who asked for a "Mixed Grill Bonar". Jim the Coffee Guy. Jenny the Bag Lady who had a crush on Tim. The mad man who gives Jumu garden ornaments. Lifts home to Lancing with the stereo at full volume. Prodigy - Hot Ride. Bumpy rides over The Downs and eighty miles per hour car chases. Innit. Ug. Woohoo. Always forgetting the price of extras and side orders. Pulling faces through the window, hoping the customers don't see. Unable to stop laughing at stupid stuff. Making paper airplanes. The family atmosphere.
The Cats Protection: Helena. The till facing the left wall. Carrier bags which never stayed on the hooks. The 'Magic Door' where we'd get anything we'd asked for over time. Talking about horoscopes in the basement. Steaming rails of clothes. Joseph questioning why the till said we had taken over a million pounds in one afternoon. Mary and Sandra, the two mentally disabled ladies who bought Carry On films, Mary saying Sandra's name at the end of every sentence. Sandra's blue baseball cap. Helena and I talking about them for months later. Moving the books. Joseph spraying Gemma with old perfume. Lauren and Dorothy. Sitting by the till doing nothing but talking. Going overboard with Christmas Decorations. The lady who asked how much the doggie was in the window and Lauren replying "The one with the waggly tail?" before we both collapsed in hysterics. Cats in Drag. Antonia. Her love of vaccuuming. Rearranging everything wrongly. Being caught in the middle of Lauren and Antonia's battles. Boy Talk. The Watch Man, who came in every day to ask if watches needed fixing. Him telling Gemma to put some clothes on. Us joking at The Watchman's expense before he died and we missed him. Running the Cat Shop when Lauren was off sick. Polishing the till. The little old lady who was so rude. Jo and Nina. The Mad Lady who stands at the door ages before we even open, who smells of pee and sways as if she is dancing inside. Discussing Sharon. Turning the CD player up loud to listen to Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama. The Stamp Man, who is always so English and stuttering. The boy we always knew was gay. Pickles the Cat and how he would run though the shop before he got run over. The ten minute crossover time when we talk to Ruth. Gemma's Doll Makeover. Trying on ties and hats and jackets. Fourth drafts and typos. The gnarled old lady who bought forty-pence worth of tapes. Sitting at the counter debating what to buy for lunch. Big Breakfast Sandwiches. Halloween with Facepaint and Batman silhouettes. The basement flooding. Talking to Michelle and Terry. The fake cat on the counter. Trying to sell the cheap fake Indian clock and never succeeding.
British Home Stores: Giving up my lazy Sundays of videogaming. Not knowing what to do on my first day. Customer Service with Sarah. Answering phones. Putting things out in the Home Department and saying "I'm going Home!" Checking my mobile at the end of the day to see if I was meeting Martyn or not. Breakups and Arguments I tried not to take to work with me. Being moved to IA. Hanging up Bras. Paul, who looked like Edward Scissorhands. Working there for six months before I ever went up to the stock room. Taking me even longer to work out how to turn the lights on. Feeling special because I could do Price Overrides. People leaving; Sam, Maria, Emma, Sarah, Jane, Tasha, Emily, Kayla, Julie, Bryony, Chris, Helen, Paul, Karen, Nardie. Wrapping a lot of china. Being proud of my green badge against the black ones the newer people wore. Late lunches. Thongs which never stayed on the hanger. Having no idea what popsocks were. Feeling awkward. Mr Bishops Pants. Working eleven hours with half an hour break. Hating asking people about Gold Cards. Choice nights. Stock take. Poo on the floor. Slyvia shouting at the Call Centre people. Feeling so great to finally be leaving.
Indian Ocean Takeaway: Being terrified to answer the phones. Trying to learn the menu. The paranoia of being an ethnic minority. Mentally calculating change. Changing fashion. Answering the phone when slightly drunk when I came in with John and Anan asked me to help out a bit. Jumu coming back and being scared it would be different. Shamsu giving me his phone number. Going to the pub with whiteballking after work. Chicken Tikka Mossala. Joshiv leaving. Talking to Jumu about men, fashion, life. Watching Sadat grow up. Playing catch with Shakib. Getting soaked and having to dry off with a hairdrier. Onion Bhajis. Getting to known the regulars. When the phones stopped working. Tony bringing in a large origami elephant. Running the Indian Ocean for nineteen days. Talking to Peter about marrying millionaires. Writing a story. Laughing at Final Destination 2 with Ben. Feeling disgusted at listening to Ben's friend talking about his conquest and wishing I'd told him to shut up. Having my hand stapled. The strange chav girl who punched our window. The Indian man with the lazy eyes. Gradually memorising addresses. Mr Brooks. Wentworth Close. Miss Peach. Neno. Patching Close. Crying at work after my borrowed laptop was stolen. Peter Graves who shouted at me because his order was late. Listening to Ali moan about Valentines Day. Shaida coming to England. Losing the keys to the shop. Donna's crumpled notes. Mucking around with Tim. Pen fights. Dodgy talk of whips, chains, handcuffs and spanking. Anan's matchmaker type comments. "When you getting married, mate?" Making pig noises when John wasn't looking. Cracking up on the phone and being unable to talk. Learning not to care about silly criticisms. Menu Change. Wishing I could learn Bengali. Shaida's little baby, Shajit. Shakib telling me about Concorde. The customer who asked for a "Mixed Grill Bonar". Jim the Coffee Guy. Jenny the Bag Lady who had a crush on Tim. The mad man who gives Jumu garden ornaments. Lifts home to Lancing with the stereo at full volume. Prodigy - Hot Ride. Bumpy rides over The Downs and eighty miles per hour car chases. Innit. Ug. Woohoo. Always forgetting the price of extras and side orders. Pulling faces through the window, hoping the customers don't see. Unable to stop laughing at stupid stuff. Making paper airplanes. The family atmosphere.