Interesting Monday

Not only was today's early morning bright and clear - compared to the usual foggy, groggy, dank AM hours - it was full of intriguing personalities at work.


Usually, work entails a list of stuff for me to do, as directed by the manager, and I - as a workaholic, lowly servant - dutifully try to complete all the tasks, while trying to bite back negative, griping complaints.

Today, however, was different. Different to the point that I am writing this entry. Yes, I got my attention something fierce!

Out of the Eight or Nine tasks assigned for my completion today, I completed Seven (or Eight). I made 54 dreaded phone calls (most of the numbers were disconnected), I alphabetized everything that required doing so, I balanced every other hour (though we're required to do so every hour), I answered the phones before the third ring, I handled questions, pulled out the week's files (Tuesday through Saturday), and I serviced all customers in a timely manner, while making conversation with everyone.

Sure, I may have lied about taking my 30 minute lunch break and only took 15, but I manually punched in 30 minutes to avoid getting into trouble with the ranks.

Okay, so where did my day go interesting?

(1) A gentleman came in for a transaction, and he asks: "Are you Filipino? You look very Filipino." We start talking about the Filipino community around the Central Coast. Then, we turn to hit on work ethics - as the conversation went from the Filipino community to the Filipino work ethic. Just as we're about to touch base on globe trotting, another customer walks in, and the gentleman tells me: "We'll talk about world travels next time. It was an utter pleasure speaking with you. You're very knowledgeable."

(2) A current customer who seems to hate our center had called earlier during the morning and waltzed into the center after (1). We started talking about cell phones and technology, and he went off on some satellite service... I now know not to get Dish Network, I'll tell you that! He was a bit intrigued when I started talking about computers and cell phones, and was asking me about what would be best for his business and his family. However, before I could dive into the conversation in depth, another customer walked in and cut us off. He says: "You're a lot nicer than that other girl. You'll be here when I have to come in, right?" (I honestly am not sure....)

(3) A lady's niece is leaving this Friday for Thailand asked if I knew anything or had any advice for her. I simply stated: be daring with food. Eat everything once. Microwave already cooked meat as a safety precaution, and 7-11 in Thailand is awesome for bottled water.

(4) I had this poor little old lady standing at my counter for almost 1 hour, because we were waiting for her transfer from another center to go through for a 3 minute transaction. I learned that she has an adopted daughter, whose part Filipino, and that there's a nicer, much cleaner laundromat in town than the one I'm using. OH! There's an "okay" dim sum 15 minutes away, but there's an "amazing" Chinese restaurant in town that has some dim sum items on the menu. She even called the center 30 minutes later to tell me the exact location of the laundromat! AWESOME!

However, it was my 4:30PM customer that got my intrigue up in the air and buzzing!

(5) I want you guys to meet, Hobo Cynic. If you are the adventurous sort, you'd love to run into him. We chatted about trails here in California, and I couldn't resist saying something about the beloved Appalachian Trail. He's making his way down to Southern California from Oregon, trekking the Coastal Trail (which he said, "lately, it's been all highway walking, not so much coastal."). He really made an impact as I was closing up shop... his cell phone rings, and I panic! After the entire day of meeting interesting personalities, I knew I had to do my part. I answered his phone (after seeing that it was his mom calling) and just blurted: "Hello. My name is Gabrielle. Your son left his phone at my store. I'm going to try and find him tonight. If not, I know the general locations he's planning to going to tomorrow, and I'll try to get this phone back to him." His mom was very grateful, and after 45 minutes of driving around Morro Bay, I gave up and headed home. He's got his blog site, which I highly recommend, and I left a comment about his phone. Here's to hoping he gets the message, as I don't see him as the back tracking type of guy.... And here's where my Tuesday adventure begins!