Aftermath of the Con

Over the weekend, I got to go to a convention in Rapid City, South Dakota called SoDak Con. It was great to see friends that I either haven’t seen in a while, or have never met in person before. I was touted as an ‘Industry Guest’ and I had two panels during the con. Did […]

Respecting each other

It’s disappointing that even today we can’t expect one person to respect another person. It’s far too common to see insults or threats based on race, gender identity, religion, and even political persuasion. People demean others because of whatever stupid reason. There is never a good reason, and it’s always (in part) because of lack […]

Meet Mr. Oblivious to Irony

I shouldn’t be surprised at this point by any of the people who make their way to the gas station counter. But this guy left me speechless. Here’s the story: The man comes to my register with his purchases and casually slides his EBT card towards me. (EBT cards, for those who don’t know, are […]

How should an employee behave?

If you’re a reader of my blog, you may remember a post a couple of months ago called How Should a Manager Behave? In a store, the expectation of proper behavior is not a one way street. It’s not even a two way street. Actually, it’s not a street. It’s a store with many interactions […]

Local Artist

Quick post today. A couple of days ago, a nice man came into the gas station with a hand full of serpentine belt (for those unfamiliar with cars, it’s one of those rubber-band looking things in your engine that makes it difficult to drive if it shreds into a million pieces). His van was parked […]

Priorities

Today was a typical spring day in Iowa. That is to say, tornadoes. I was lucky enough to be by myself in the gas station while a Tornado Warning was issued. (A Tornado Warning means there is a tornado on the ground near you. It means stop what you’re doing and take cover.) When the […]

Space

I’ve been thinking about space lately. Actually, I think about space all the time. I’m kinda obsessed. I’m writing about it today because Commander Chris Hadfield is leaving the ISS today. He’s been living an adventure for five months, and he has been gracious enough to share his thoughts while in space, and he’s been […]

Hey Mom

Hey Mom, I know I haven’t been around lately. I’m out living in the world, usually hundreds of miles away from you. I’m succeeding and failing, loving and loathing. But you’re always near me. The values you and dad taught to me are with me, and they always will be. I’m a good person. I […]

Blank Page

Here I am with my blog in front of me. A blank white page waiting for me to fill it. What do I put in it? Do I tell you yet again what I did yesterday? Do I complain about work again? Do I tell you how good I feel after running? I suppose I’ll […]

Desperately Seeking

I’ve been working into the late evening shift, getting done at about 11:30 PM. I’m usually by myself at the gas station during the last hour or two. I like to spend those hours doing the end of shift paperwork and just winding down from the torrents of customers coming in seeking sugar, fat, alcohol, […]