Explosive Days at Work

So…yesterday was a pretty normal day. Nothing to out of the ordinary happened. I woke up, chilled for a little while, got ready for the day, studied for a test, took the test, etc. Pretty boring. Later I made something to eat, and got ready for work. I left my apartment at 5:34 for work. The drive there was fairly normal. Nothing too odd. I got to work, around 5:46 and parked in the south east parking lot. I then took my time getting into the building because I didn’t have to clock-in until 6:00. So, I made sure I took a swig of water, I got out a piece of gum to chew, I made sure I knew where my name badge was, I put my phone on vibrate and put it in my pocket, and I applied some lip gloss before getting out of the car. After I was finally ready, I moseyed on up to the building.

As I was walking there I noticed that the front door was closed. “That’s rather odd,” I thought. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Costco’s front doors closed during business hours. Rather strange. So I continued to walk around the front side of the building to the other doors. Then I saw the police cars, several policemen, and all the managers gathered out front. They waved me forward and informed me that someone had called in a bomb threat. They then told me to go stand with all of the other employees in the parking-lot north of the tire shop. So I walked over there and started talking to people to get the “scoop” on what was going on, and how long ago it had happened.

Apparently the call was made at around 5:30 at which point they obviously had to take it seriously and follow the appropriate protocol. In this case it meant immediately evacuating the building. Managers and supervisors began spreading the word. And soon there was a mass exodus of people, leaving scads of merchandise, and shopping carts strewn along the way. The effects of such an immediate response are often underestimated until afterward. Ovens were left baking, machinery was left active, and countless pounds of food were spoiled.

Anyway, like I said, the police were there, and brought along their bomb-sniffing canine. Convenient, no? I’m not sure how this happened, but somebody had an amazingly bright idea to send in two employees from every department to check out their area and look for anything suspicious. Ok…not too intelligent, but it gets worse. Obviously they didn’t force anyone to do this, but took volunteers. But instead of just sending in two people, and waiting until they got back to send in the next pair, they sent ALL of the pairs in at the same time! Brilliance, I tell you! That way if something actually blows, we’ll lose several employees, not just a couple. This, of course, would result in NO liability issue whatsoever! After all the employees returned unscathed, and reported nothing out of the ordinary, they sent in the mutt. Good idea. We’ll risk our employees’ lives first, and then you can send in your dog. Foolproof plan! The dog spent about 10 minutes in the building sniffing-it-out, and apparently didn’t find a bomb.

But seriously? We trusted our lives to a dog that spent 10 minutes in a warehouse roughly 150, 000 square feet in size. Not to mention the ridiculous heights of that building. Now hypothetically, how could a dog smell explosives in a backpack that was thrown up in an air duct, or on top of the steel? I don’t care how good his little canine nose is, that is not very probable.

Regardless of the dog’s abilities to sniff out a bomb, we went back to work shortly thereafter. At around 6:30 they deemed the place safe, and so we gathered around to hear Gary, our Assistant Store Manager update us on the situation. He told us that we were going to reopen the store in 12 minutes and that we all needed to get in there and put away all of the cold “go-backs” as soon as possible. For those of you who don’t know “go backs” are the items that members leave around the warehouse, or decide they don’t want when they get to the register. So obviously there were TONS of them because everybody left their shopping carts and ran for an exit when they were told to evacuate. Needless to say there was a multitude of frozen and refrigerated items that had to be put away quickly, or had to be logged and thrown out. Well, we got all of the urgent items put away in the allotted time, and then we reopened the store.

Shortly after we reopened a couple of girls approached me and inquired if they could ask me a couple of questions. “Sure,” I replied, thinking the questions were relevant to merchandise. As soon as I agreed, one of the girls pulled out her camera and began questioning me about the bomb threat incident. First of all, that bothered me because she didn’t ask if she could record or film me. And secondly, it’s illegal to take photos, or film in a Costco warehouse because our method of merchandising is a trade secret. Regardless, this girl proceeded to question me, but it soon became evident that she knew far more about the situation than I did. Sketchy, no? I thought so. Anyway, I reported the interview incident to a manager, and was told that the police had already obtained their information because they were outside taking photos after the evacuation.

Anyway, that was basically my day. It was pretty intense and exciting, but I’m glad nothing serious occurred, and nobody was injured. I wonder what’s going to happen at work tonight.

Hilarious Times!

So last night I went with a bunch of friends from work out to eat at Iggy’s. My friend Jessica and I just ordered smoothies because we weren’t really hungry, and didn’t want to stay long because it was late and we had other things to do. So we got and drank our smoothies, got the bill, paid, and left.

She had driven me over to Iggy’s from Costco, and so she dropped me off at my car. However, we got to talking, and chatted for a while in her car. Meanwhile, she had to go to the bathroom really bad! So, we’re in the middle of the Costco parking lot, and she cannot hold it any longer. There’s no way she can run back to Iggy’s or to anywhere else for that matter, without wetting her pants. So, at that point I tell her she should just go in the parking lot because we don’t really have too many options unless she wants warm, wet pants. We get out of the car, unsure where she should go, and decide she can’t go next to the building because there are security cameras, so I grab some tissues from the car, and we run across the parking lot to a “secluded” area that was actually directly beneath a large street lamp, and right next to the road. Jessica is freaking out, and is so nervous, and I just keep telling her she doesn’t really have a choice anymore, so she gets ready to go, and is just about to, when I see a car coming, and tell her to stop. It turns out the girl in the car didn’t even see us as she drove by, but we are laughing hysterically at this point, which is most likely making Jessica’s problem even worse. As the “look-out” I told her everything looked clear, and so she proceeded to do her business.

Jess & I with our smoothies

After that, we ran back to our cars, and realized hers wouldn't start because she hadn’t turned her car lights off while we were chatting. I asked her if she had jumper cables, and she produced a set of very frayed cables. She wasn’t sure at all how to proceed, but I felt like we could figure it out. So we get them out, and after much trouble get both of the hoods of our cars opened. Since we were having so much trouble getting the hoods opened, we called our friend Melinda, to see if there were still people at Iggy’s who could come by and help us. She assured us she was getting her check, and would be right over. Just following our conversation with Mel, we were able to get the hoods opened, and so I decided we might as well just get things started. So I hooked up the jumper cables to her battery, the red or positive end on the reddest part of her battery and the black or negative end to the other part. Then I attached on end of the cables to my battery, and as I attached the other end to my battery the cables and or the battery sparked like crazy! Needless to say, we were both terrified, especially because the neither car was on. We decided we’d better play it safe, and wait for back-up, and a few minutes later Mel, Eric, and Dave appeared to help us. Apparently the black end of the cable was attached to the red part of her battery. In my defense, it was dark, and both of the parts were stained with some protective coat to keep them from corroding. So, everything ended up fine, and the guys were able to get us both on our way.

All-in-all the night was a delicious, hilarious bladder exploding, near death experience!

Random...

So...I never posted anything from my trip home in August. So I will just post some random pictures from the event now. I know, I know retrospective posting...

Brynna

Nick--crazy hair

Brett & Alissa

Brett--Zoolander

Keyan

Tracen pudding

Tracen pudding

Christmas Time!

So...it's been since September since I've blogged. Definitely a record! Woohoo! Anyway, my life has been insanely busy--hence the lack of blogging! Things have been crazy with school, work, and boy drama...haha (nothing good, don't worry)! But let's see, I have no idea where to start. The semester is almost over, I just have one more final to take, and I am so glad to be done! It has definitely been my most difficult/worst semester ever! But oh well, grades aren't everything, and who cares I am almost done, and then I'll be going home for Christmas! Work has been crazy too. Things have been busy, and it's been tough to work 24 hours and go to school full time, but maybe I'm just a wimp...either way...it's been tough.
Well, enough about that. In other news, my roommates this semester have been great! We've all been having a good time together. In fact we decided to have a roommate Christmas before everyone left for home. So last night/ this morning we ate crackers, summer sausage, and cheese, drank eggnog, and opened presents by the glow of the Christmas tree! It was super fun, and made me even more excited to go home. Speaking of home, I'm a little bummed because I have to work on Christmas Eve, and therefore don't get to go home until that night. But I should totally be grateful because at least I get to go home. I know other people at work who were not so lucky!
Oh yeah, I cut my hair again. Basically I just trimmed it. I get bored with it pretty quick...so yeah. Hmm...I don't have much else to say...so I guess I will wrap it up. Hopefully I will post again soon, but it probably won't be from Missouri because my parent's internet is horrible. But here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas--be safe and happy--and remember the reason for the season!

Tag, You're It!

THE RULES:

1. link the person who tagged you

2. post the rules

3. tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours

4. tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

1. Katie Hansen Walker

2. See above

3. Quirks:

• I find most condiments absolutely disgusting; ketchup, mayonnaise, miracle whip, sweet relish, BBQ sauce, fry sauce, most salad dressings, etc. I do, however, love mustard!

• I hang up my clothes on hangers according to how much I like the article of clothing. I hang my favorite items on the hangers I like the best, and vice-versa. I will even re-hang clothes if I notice they're not on the “correct” hangers.

• I've recently been breaking this habit, but whenever I park my car I have to put it into reverse and re-park it, even if it's perfectly in the lines the first time.

• I absolutely detest wearing pantyhose. I can't stand the feeling, especially when the seams in the toes are crooked; consequently I avoid wearing them.

• The first thing I do when I wake up; in the morning, from a nap, whatever, is pop my back. It sounds like I'm firing a semi-automatic weapon.

• Mice and rats are my absolute biggest fear. I'd rather be faced with a snake, a tarantula, a bear, perhaps even an ax-murderer. I seriously hate them, and become hysterical when in contact with them. In fact, somebody once tossed their domesticated rat on my lap, and I about soiled my trousers. It's a miracle that rat lived beyond my visit.

4. I tag: Kristin, Lanae, Rebecca, Aimee, Alissa, Ashley.

As If I Don't Already Have OCD

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal investigated the compulsions of people who do what I do everyday, fold clothes. Sadly, I had enough of these crazy compulsions for perfection and order before I began folding clothes for eight hours every day. I think the funniest thing about this article is that only a month or two into my job I actually caught myself folding clothes at the Gap, but even after I realized what I was doing I couldn't stop until I had folded the entire stack of disorderedly clothing!

Excuse Me, Do You Work Here?
No, I Just Need to Fold Clothes

Thousands of Neat Freaks Picked Up The Habit as Clerks at the Gap

By JENNIFER SARANOW
July 9, 2008; Page A1

On those rare occasions her husband, Brad, folds the laundry, Joanne Ross-MacLeod can't keep herself from refolding it. She recently undid a pair of leggings he had bunched up into a small square. She folded one leg onto the other, brought the bottom up past the knees, then the knees up to the waist, in the manner she had learned 20 years ago folding jeans at the Gap.

The 39-year-old fabric-product developer didn't tell her husband. But he's used to it. Folding is a subject on which the Kenosha, Wisc., couple agree to disagree. "I need therapy," Mrs. Ross-MacLeod says.

She isn't the only one. The ranks of obsessive folders have swelled in recent years as a generation of Americans has done stints as clothing-store clerks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual nonsupervisory employment in clothing and clothing-accessory stores grew to nearly 1.3 million workers in 2007, up nearly 20% from 1990. Gap Inc. says it has trained "hundreds of thousands" of Gap store employees in the art of folding since the late 1980s.

Along the way, legions of retail grads have spent countless hours neatly folding T-shirts and jeans and stacking them on tables and shelves. Now, their peculiar idea of perfection is straining marriages and leading to bizarre behavior ranging from buying clothes based on an item's foldability to straightening up sloppy displays while shopping.

Thirty-six-year-old Sadaf Trimarchi stopped doing laundry for her husband two years ago, she says, after he complained that she had folded his undershirts so tightly and stacked them so neatly in his drawer that he couldn't tell which were V-necks and which were crew necks.

"He had no idea what he was talking about," says Mrs. Trimarchi, of Leonia, N.J., who learned the basics of her folding technique at Gap during the 1989 holiday season. Her husband, Jeff Trimarchi, 34, says she caught him refolding and he explained his frustration as nicely as

possible. "I imagine she took offense," he says.

'Programmed'

Like military veterans who just naturally fold sheets with hospital corners when they make beds, today's retail refugees say they can't help themselves. "It's been programmed into me," says Marcos Chin, a 33-year-old free-lance illustrator in New York, who folds his jeans the same way he did in the 1990s when he gave folding seminars for clerks at Gap.

QUESTIONS FOR MARKA HANSEN

Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, discusses how the clothing retailer is marketing its brand and how it's returning to its roots.

Phil Walmsley, 24, of Vancouver, still uses the plastic folding board he stealthily slipped into his

backpack on his last day of work at Club Monaco five years ago. "I like the idea of having a perfectly folded closet," says the graphic designer. "It's kind of like my own little retail store."

Michael Jenike, chairman of the scientific advisory board for the Obsessive Compulsive

Foundation in Boston, says he has treated people who have folding compulsions but doesn't recall whether any of them had ever worked at clothing stores. He says compulsive folding becomes a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder only if someone is spending excessive amounts of time doing it, doesn't want to do it but feels compelled to and the behavior is causing distress. Otherwise, it's just a harmless habit.

The folding craze at Gap began in the 1980s when Millard Drexler, who as a boy had sorted

towels at his uncle's towel-delivery service, took the helm as president of the Gap Stores division. At the time, most store clerks hung clothes on racks because hanging merchandise was far easier to maintain. But Mr. Drexler and his team put tables in Gap stores and had employees decorate them with piles of folded shirts and sweaters. The goal was to better emphasize certain items and color choices and make it easier for customers to sort through clothes. Shoppers found the displays inviting -- but displays needed constant attention from clerks.

Other chains trying to mimic Gap's success soon adopted the look, and clerks everywhere were spending hours folding. "Over the past 10 or more years, the trend has definitely been to more folding," says RoxAnna Sway, editor-in-chief of DDI magazine, which focuses on retail design and

display.

Romey Louangvilay stopped working at Abercrombie & Fitch three years ago but it was only last October that he was finally able to go shopping without automatically spending 10 or 15 minutes

refolding messy T-shirt piles in stores. The 22-year-old assistant account executive for a public-relations firm in New York forced himself to kick the habit after growing tired of having to awkwardly explain himself to other customers asking him for help. "I still kind of have the urge to do it," he says.

Mr. Louangvilay's friends notice his folding tendencies, too, and sometimes jokingly mess up his neat, color-coded piles. "Everyone makes fun of Romey for his folding habits because it's so weird," says Mandella Dwayne Lambert, a 23-year-old mutual-fund accountant in Brooklyn,

N.Y. "Everything in his drawers looks like a store layout."

Over the past decade, former retail workers have invented a slew of folding-aid products with names like FlipFold and Mobilefold, many of which are bought by former clothing clerks. Jeff

LaPace, president of Customer Minded Associates Inc., maker of the nearly $300 Mobilefold, a portable folding table meant primarily for retailers, says the company has received so many orders from people who used to work at stores like Gap that it's rolling out a less-expensive

consumer version later this year.

Some clothing-store alums are letting folding dictate their clothing choices as well. Tychelle Mc Laurin, 35, hasn't bought a sweater or a shirt with wide bell- or cape-like sleeves since she worked at J. Crew in 2004. That's because the compliance officer in Jersey City, N.J., can't easily and neatly fold the sleeves using a "trifold" she perfected after working at J. Crew. "I don't think those styles look attractive folded," she says. "They are difficult to fold -- like folding a batman cape."

Wrinkle-Free

For traveling, Lauren Smith, 24, avoids duffel bags and sticks with hard, rectangular suitcases. They better hold and maintain the uniform, rectangular piles Ms. Smith stacks her clothes into when packing, using the folding technique she learned working at Gap when she was in high school. The packed clothes "look like they would be sitting on display," says Ms. Smith, an interior-design saleswoman in Atlanta. She says her packing technique keeps clothes

wrinkle-free.

It isn't clear whether the next generation of retailers will produce so many compulsive folders.

Today, more stores, including Gap, are receiving their merchandise already folded. Other chains like lululemon athletica and Hollister Co. are encouraging employees to make merchandise look

messy or wrinkled. Within the past year, mainstream retailers, including Banana Republic's new Monogram concept store and even Gap itself, have begun hanging more merchandise, whether to emulate a sparsely merchandised high-end boutique in the case of the former or to emphasize unique styles and details in the case of the latter.

"In women's, we are hanging more because there is more fashion there and more detail that gets enhanced with hanging," says Felicity McGahan, vice president of store visuals and experience at the Gap brand. Finding the balance between hanging and folding, she says, "is something that we've actually put a lot of time into in the last 12 months."

No Good Stories...

Ehh....so I don't really have any good stories right now. I did have an interesting experience getting a scalp treatment at Bon Losse the other day, but I'll tell you about that later.

Hmm...so I've been working a lot. Oh yeah, never shop at Costco the day before a major holiday like Independence Day! Yeah...that was probably the worst day of my life. No, just kidding, but seriously.

Oh yeah...I had a vial of my blood taken the other day. First of all, I have super junky veins, they're terrible and they've always been that way. So...the lady stuck my right arm, and no blood came out. Apparently my right arm doesn't do a very good job of bleeding. Anyway, so then she poked my left arm, and I bled, and everything was fine. I had two lovely pieces of gauze, and that super sticky tape that tears flesh when it is removed on my arms, but no big deal. But the next morning when I woke up, my left arm is insanely bruised. It's a pretty fantastically ugly bruise, that actually looks like it's getting bigger...should I be worried? Yeah...probably not. Anyway...that's about all I've got at the moment...hopefully I'll post more before next month!