It's (one of the most) dreaded times of the year...

Ah, it's that time of year again. The leaves are changing, the air is getting cool, pumpkins are being carved and Christmas stuff is being put out... which means we have to get rid of all the summer/ fall stuff left over. That's right, it's $1.97 madness! (It's not a good thing)

So sometimes working in retail has its perks. I get a pretty decent discount off pretty much everything in the store and I've become a cheap ass bitch. I know how to work the deals and refuse to pay over $5 for a shirt (maybe $7 if it's a sweater) and $10 for a pair of pants. Plus, I work at "MC Nickels" so you just know I'm constantly raking in the dough there for doing the job that will be soon performed by robots (God willing) and getting paid a step above illegal immigrant wages. Hopefully no one in upper management will read this because I might have just given them an idea.

Anyway, I know how to work the deals and have a sixth sense for when things get marked down to $1.97. So when morons... er, customers walk up to my register with about 50 things from the $1.97 rack they probably had to tackle someone for (seriously, sometimes I'm surprised that we don't find bodies in the racks in the land of the clearance) and proceed to have their face affixed to the pin pad screen saying "That didn't ring up right" every time I have to manually change their price it takes all my willpower not to slam their face directly into the counter and say "No, shit Sherlock. Do you really think you're the first person to stumble upon the rack with a giant "$1.97" sign on it?"

Then there are the people who buy a shit ton of the $1.97 stuff and claim it's for charity. Yes, a charity called ebay where all the profits go towards themselves. And in three months, I'll be returning a bunch of the $1.97 stuff that was bought as Christmas presents. Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like your friend/ relative doesn't love you enough to buy you something decent. I know sometimes people don't have the money, but be smart- don't get a gift receipt. Then there are the people who return stuff that "just didn't fit" or "there's a thread loose" when it cost them $1.97. I love these people. I love the look on their face after they tell me that "Every little bit counts" and I respond with "I know. It counts a lot, especially when you get the $1.97 clothes and send them to a nursing home or a shelter where people really don't have a lot this Christmas. Isn't that what the season's all about? Oh, wait, you're returning this..." So, maybe I'm a bad person. No, wait, that makes me a good person... just with a big, sarcastic mouth. Wow, that's weird.

On a much happier note- Congratulations to Angela for escaping her shitty job! There can be hope... just not if you work in the black hole of MC Nickels and have already broken countless nails trying to claw your way out.