(Just so that we're clear, I'm about to use rain as a metaphor.)
The first few drops pattered down onto my hair and lovely, red and khaki Target uniform on Thursday night. This is the Thursday before the 4th of July weekend mind you. Needless to say, there was a constant flow of people throughout the store that night. I've never really filled you in my job before. I like it, my bosses are great, my coworkers are mostly really awesome, and I don't mind the tasks that I have to do. However, work becomes a little less of a jolly walk in the park when I'm so busy and have so many things to do, I can not focus on one thing at all anymore.
So there I am, trying to finger-space all of the clothes hangers on all of the racks as usual, meanwhile there are 20 billion people trying on swimsuits and dresses and shorts and swimsuits and swimsuits and swimsuits. Did I mention people were trying on swimsuits? Because there were A LOT of them. The fitting room attendant had more work to do than I did, because she was the primary person who had to deal with all of those god-forsaken swimsuits, and bless her heart, she did a great job. As for me, let's just say it had been awhile since I'd been that busy at Target and I got a bit frazzled. There's no list-making to prioritize duties when you are the position I have. You just do as you're told and on nights like that...you do it fast.
So I finish my shift at 10:50 and drive home only to realize that once again, Mark was asleep before my shift ended. I've decided time zone differences are the antichrist. I'm really sorry to all of you right-wingers who thought it was O'Bama, trust me on this one...It's the time zone differences. Not only is it a terrible idea for him to stay up late because Mark has to get up every day at 6:45, but he's also an hour later than we are.
So that evening an irritating drizzle started. Work left me frustrated and exacerbated my loneliness for Mark, but the next morning the drizzle had dispersed and it was a fine day! My mom and I took our dog, Cooper to be neutered, we went to see Larry Crowne together, and my brother and I decided to see the 7:00 showing of Transformers 3. Well...unfortunately the weather (and I mean this literally now) had other ideas for my night. It was looking pretty dismal by the time Jonathan and I got to Target to pick up our candy, so I gave him five minutes to get in and out to beat the rain.
We walked quickly, checked out, and in those few rushed minutes the wind picked up to 50 mph, the clouds turned a wretched green, and we decided to wait at Target until the weather calmed down a bit. Yes, we had to miss the movie, but it would have mattered very little since the movie theater lost power in the storm. $15 poorer and out of a gallon or so of gas, we returned home without seeing the movie and the storm carried on late into the night. Now the drizzle has become an irritating sprinkle. Just enough to make you cold.
Today, during my four hours of work I ran about non-stop putting clothes away, back-up cashiering and listening to everyone wanting me to be in two places at once over my walkie.
"Rachel, are you still at the check lanes?"
"Sales floor, we need a back-up please."
"Rachel, I need you to come back to the fitting room to put away stray."
"Rachel we need to start our mid-day."
You get the point. I'm actually not complaining about work though. I didn't mind being so busy. My shift went quickly and all I spent most of my time at the check lanes and did whatever else I could when I had time.
Plus, I had a Skype date with Mark to look forward to when my shift ended. We were supposed to have it at 3:00. But the antichrist struck once again, and the bloody time-zone ruined what I was hoping would be a nice long conversation. No, no. He thought I meant 3 his time, but I meant 3 my time, so when he made plans for 4:15 to leave for dinner he had unwittingly trimmed a nice long conversation down to 15 minutes. We had a nice chat on the phone during my 20 minute drive home and I was still looking forward to finally getting to talk face-to-face for the first time in two weeks, but surprise! His mic didn't work on Skype so that was a bust and we had to finish the conversation just on the phone once again. So despite the beautiful weather that the rain left us today, the drizzle from Thursday and that ever so irritating sprinkling from Friday has now turned into a steady rain with no umbrella.
But hey, things aren't so bad right? My mom made corn on the cob for dinner and Jonathan and I had plans to go to a Twins game, and there was no way weather could mess with those because it was perfect outside today. So away we went, Jonathan and I, to go see my first Twins game at the new stadium.
We drove down, parked and rode the light rail to the stadium (another first) and all seemed to be going well. Jonathan surprised me with a soda after coming back from the restroom in the second or third inning and the Twins were beating the Milwaukee Brewer's 7 to 0 in the fourth inning. It was a fantastic game! We got two home runs in a row in the fourth inning! We were unstoppable. That is, until the fifth inning. Everything fell apart. Nobody could get a good hit, our pitcher was choking, and all of a sudden our outfielders were missing catches and by the top of the 9th it was 7 to 4. Maybe our team got cocky, but it doesn't really matter. To any other team, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but not to Wisconsin! I had to endure 5 innings of Wisconsinites squawking, "Let's go Brewers" clap...clap...clap clap clap. It's not as if they were annihilating us. They had no reason to be so cocky and obnoxious, and yet on they chanted "Let's go Brewers" clap...clap...clap clap frickin clap. It would have even been understandable if we had been as obnoxious when they were losing, especially since it's our home field, but we were actually quite gracious winners if you ask me.
We cheered when we scored and rejoiced in the triumph we felt was imminent, but we did not gloat. The second the Brewers got so much as a single point, every single Wisconsin fan seemed to forget the fact that they had let us score four runs in one inning. Idiots. We wanted to watch the final inning because there was no guaranteed win for us so we made our way to a lower level. On the way I threw away my soda, not realizing that it was a souvenir cup for which Jonathan had paid $5.75. I found that out later when Jonathan said, "Oh, you threw away your pop?" "Yes." "Oh, it was a souvenir cup." Gee, thanks for telling me that to begin with. I just thought it was another plastic cup. So now I feel like crap for throwing away a cup that he had wanted to keep and we had just taken a terrible blow from Wisconsin upon losing the game.
So we lost 8 to 7, not scoring a single run in the second half of the game, and Jonathan and I rushed out of the stadium to get to the light rail with the first crowd of dejected Twins fans and arrogant Wisconsinites. We drove home and when we got out of the car I managed to, for the zillionth time, drop my stupid, slippery phone on the pavement. That was the final straw for my phone. It had had enough abuse and carelessness, and it just gave up on life.
I guess that's a bit of an exaggeration. Just the screen gave up on life. It cracked and now I am stuck using my first phone until I can either drop a couple hundred dollars on a new smart phone, or I decide to get the screen replaced on my current phone (which is about a hundred dollars). Yeah. Just freaking fantastic.
It is now pouring.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not walking around in a sour mood, looking for things to be grumpy and pissed about. It wasn't until I found out I'd thrown away a souvenir cup that I began to reflect on the string of disconnected, frustrating incidents that had sprinkled themselves over the last three days. (Did I mention the Minnesotan government shut down? How embarrassing!)
The saying is right, when it rains, it really does pour.
But, never fear, I have reflected and shared my story, and as frustrating as all of those experiences were, I am not discouraged by them. Life has its ups and downs and they do not come one at a time but like the customers at Target today, they come all at once. So, let's take another look at the last few days. The weather today was perfect; I'll be saving money by not paying for a data plan for the next couple of months; I have a good job and understanding bosses; my brother and I got to spend some quality time together; my mom and I saw a great Tom Hanks movie and spent half a day together; Minnesota has proven it has more class than Wisconsin; I got to see Mark's face for a couple of minutes, even if I didn't get to talk to him at the same time; I got a $5 poster of New York and $7 sheets on Clearance at Target during the thunderstorm; and I got to go to Target Field!
The last three days were just a little everyday life. It's messy and irritating, and people drive slow on the back roads. But it's wonderful and sweet, and if there were never aggravations, it wouldn't be life. You just have to remember when the straw lands that threatens to break your back...the good moments are there. Don't be blinded by the bad.
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