Interesting is an understatment

So, for the first time, in a long time, things started looking up. Everything at work was going really well, I haven't fired anyone in awhile, haven't been in a fight with customers in quite a long time. But, I'm only allowed to have a certain amount of peace in my life. I topped out and needed to be reset to zero apparently.

Enter Friday night.
It's a little busy at work, and I had someone call off already due to a tummy ache. Great excuse for a 23 year old. After that, someone else decided they were just coming in an hour late. Whatever. No big deal. Then he notices that he has new shoes on. I told him that he should change them, otherwise they'd get ruined. So he leaves. Punched him out of the register. And then 3 hours pass. I called someone else in, and we were fine on people for the rest of the night. 3:30 am the kid comes back. He's disoriented and trying to get my managers card so he can get change for the $50 he has. I was a little concerned and didn't want him touching the drawer. So I went up there and asked him for the 50. He didn't have it. He said he would get it from his car. Came back. No cash. Then he just asked for $20 straight out of the drawer. I told him that wasn't going to happen. Then he asked me for cash, and everyone else that was working. Still no. I walked away from him. Then he started following me around, "Yo, Anth, come for a ride with me. I'll go pick you up some bud or something. Just come for a ride man"

Wow. At that point, the fact that he was severely cracked out hit me. I knew, I just didn't want to believe it. So I threw him out of the store.

At the end of the night, when I counted all the money, we were short $100. I thought I did a deposit wrong, or something like that. Because that kid wasn't anywhere near the drawer. I didn't let him near it.

So I called the district guy, and let him know, that we should fire Rob, because he's coming in on crack again, and that $100 was probably in a deposit. Well he checked it, and the 100 was gone. So he told me he'd call back in awhile.

He watched the video of Rob punching in. He took my managers card and opened the drawer. Grabbed a $100 bill, then put it back, and took out 5 $20 bills. Sneaky bastard. So they said they were just going to take his check for reimbursement. Then, Shawn, my good boss also told me they were setting up a sting to arrest him. That didn't work, so they just sent a couple cops over to his house to arrest him. Pretty sure he's in jail now. And the owner is personally pressing charges and filing a restraining order against him.

Awesome.
I really don't know what else to say about this story. Kinda sucks cause I lost a good worker. Oh well. Guess that means people shouldn't do crack.

Turn it around

So apparently people don't like it when you tell them they're running a mess of a store, and if they don't shape up, that you'll have their job.
I took off of work this week, so that I could play a festival with the band I was involved with. As you may know, that's no more. So I had to scavenge hours at other places, because my friends sister needs the hours at the other store I was running. That's fine, as long as that is what happened. I have a nasty guy feeling it's because I essentially told the store manager that if she didn't have certain things done when I came in (things she is supposed to do) I would have her job. Whatever. No big deal. So I had to steal some hours from my friend Alex, who didn't really care. However, it's put a proverbial "cramp" on my style. I have two days off this week. Which would be fine if I didn't just get almost a grand worth of bills in the mail. Which I wasn't expecting. I got a new phone, and no rebates yet. So there is $400. The rest I planned for. $400 may not seem like a lot, but, when you have to cut back on eating, and stuff like that, you feel that little foot kicking your ass all the way to the bank, cause you know you have no cash. But now that I don't have to take massive amounts of time of for a band that I have yet to get anything back from, I can make up that difference.
For those of you who lost where I was going, here it is...
THINGS WORK OUT

It's the truth. I got a nice reminder from Pamela today that I have about 4 days left to act like a little girl about the subject, and then if I don't, I think there was something mentioned about my ass getting kicked. Which I would absolutely deserve if I whined about something for more than a business week. Because, I operate on a business week, and a quarterly calendar.

That's right. I run my life, coincidentally around the stock market. I didn't notice til someone at work pointed it out. So, for the dimwits out there, at the end of this month, I move on, or start 100% fresh. My first step towards this was cleaning up my act a bit. And I would like to make it very clear, that I'm not doing this because of the band situation. So far, I've been clean for over 72 hours. Not a big deal. Unless you've been hopped up on one thing or another, since, about, May.

So here I stand, waiting for something miraculous to happen. Which, is probably looking me in the face, but I have yet to jump upon said thing.

So with people at my work having children, and other stores floundering, I can only imagine the opportunity. My work is taking care of me, I got involved at my own church again, rather than helping out at the churches of others, which isn't a bad thing. Unless you consider that this past Sunday was the first time I've gotten something out of a message, in the last few months, whenever I was at my church last.

To set it straight, I'm not a big fan of watered down, Jesus loves you and your crack addiction, and wants you to sell enough crack so you can tithe, and then buy yourself a Mercedes. Shit don't work like that. Maybe that's what works for some people. I can't see how, but maybe that's how you can justify yourself. I prefer a God that watches you, and tells you you're wrong. A Lewis Black God if you will. ex: "I can see everything you do and I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Maybe that's a little harsh. But that's what gets through to me. And, I'm pretty sure God has a sense of humor, and was sitting up there laughing at me saying, "I told you so. Ready to do things my way?" And the answer ladies and gentlemen, is yes. Who the hell are you to think that you know what you're doing. Cause you don't. If you have to ask yourself that question, you sir, are wrong. He's just waiting for you to drop your garbage and catch on. It's not that hard. Try it sometime. I didn't catch on til about 4 days ago. So I don't have a whole lot of room to talk, but the point is, as far off as you are. You can always come home to your true source of life.

Yeah, that point took way too long. Too damn bad. Suck it up and move off it. And maybe start listening just a little bit closer from now on. I dare you.

Beginning of the summer tour season.

Last night, since its 5:30 in the morning and I just got out of work, Relevant for the second consecutive year played the National Day of Prayer rally at the University of Buffalo. What's kind of ironic, is that at the same time we were leading worship, literally across the driveway or circle or whatever you want to call it, was essentially the antithesis of what we were doing. At the same time, UB was having "Spring-fest" which is the bringing in of the spring season, with partying, loud music and a whole boatload of debauchery. The simple fact that both of these events happened on the same day is something incredible. Two events that mirror each other, but from other ends of the morality spectrum, should tell us all something about the choices that we all have to make. And how they can affect the future that we hold.
While Jon and Kevin were messing around with the new CB radio that Kevin got, I saw something that made this invisible division so much more transparent than it already was. I was outside Kevin's truck, and behold, one of the few people I've made it a point to block out of my mind strolls right in front of me. My ex-girlfriend Eileen, and a few of her friends were on their way somewhere. When I met this girl, she was the president of the bible club in her high school, and was extremely involved in the church I go to, of which she was not a member and even though she was raised Catholic, had a firm belief in the teachings that come with the particular denomination that I am a part of. Over the course of a couple years, I started to see the backsliding take place, the starting of going to parties, the occasional drinking. I knew the pattern, because I lived it. I guess you could say I started early by the age of 16 I was pretty deep in drugs, a boarder line alcoholic, and according to doctors, should be dead a few times over. It was hard to see this happen to a person I cared so much about. But you can only give so much advice, and it will only go as far as the person on the other end of it is willing to go. We eventually broke up, on Easter nonetheless. And the issue has only become more of the monster for her as it was for me. There's nothing I could do. I admit I said some things that were meant as help, but were taken as stabs at insecurities. As calm and composed as I tried to keep myself, emotions got the best of me and we haven't spoken since.
So when we went back inside, I ran into a few people that I haven't seen in awhile, a guy that I used to work with, who trained me and another that may as well be a sister. These people were going to the event that I was involved with. It reminded me that there's a reason I don't abuse myself anymore. I don't like those people. I was the kid that wouldn't try to, but would out-drink you, endangering myself just to say that I could. The people that believe in and are involved in what I am are the people that I need to surround myself. I'm not perfect, I do have a few drinks from time to time, and I'm still smoking after 4 years. I do my best to help who I can. But people only accept what they want to. Even if it costs them their lives.
So after a long and drawn out reflection, that most likely ran a bunch of circles, I can look at what I'm doing now, compared to what I was doing only a few years ago and see how far I've come. It's incredible to see what God can do with such an enormous mess of a person, who used to only want to live in the moment, but has finally discovered that there's more out there than what you can see in front of you. Let the summer worship season begin.