18 December 2017

in

Today I observed some people during my safety check at McKinley Car Wash.

I parked my car behind the other cars queued up, and took a seat. The guy doing the checks seemed really happy today, compared to other years I've had seen him. Anyway, I'm sitting there, as is the taxi cab driver in front of me... When this car drives in.

If you've never been to McKinley Car Wash, let me lay it out. There are 4 one way lanes, originating in the same direction. 3 of the lanes are used for the gas and carwash service. The last lane is the widest; half of it is for the previously mentioned queue, and the other part is for people to exit should they choose to leave the queue. This is the only lane in the whole carwash that is mostly empty.

The car that drove in came in from the other direction, as in the wrong way. THEN, it pulls into the safety check garage. Or attempts to. The taxi cab guy tried to tell her that there was a queue, but she ignored him. The safety check guy approached her and basically was like, you came the wrong way, go fix it. 

Anyway, she pulled in behind me and that was it. She was super nice when talking to the safety check guy, probably because she knew she goofed... But still. Some people don't have any sense of pattern or order I guess. 

17 December 2017

in

Today I met some pretty unhelpful kids at the Lunch Box shop.

I was shopping for a Secret Santa gift, and I had already did a once over of the store... I only found a little bit of Final Fantasy stuff. I asked for that and Yuri on Ice, and they had neither and suggested Hot Topic. I went there and asked for the same products, and they told me to go to Lunch Box... Which I was just at.

I returned there and approached some kids chatting with each other towards the front of the store, definitely not helping the multitude of browsing customers. 

"Hey, do you guys have Final Fantasy stuff?"
"Uh... No."
"Did you try Hot Topic?"
"I was just there."
"Oh we don't have any of that stuff."
"You wanna try that again? You had some Final Fantasy stuff on that column over there." 

They panicked and then got someone else to help me. It wasn't any different from what I had seen earlier, but I was so irked that they didn't even try. 

16 December 2017

in

Today I met some sales people at the National Geographic Gallery/Showroom at the International Marketplace.

Apparently, it isn't officially open. The official opening is in February, and they're inviting an actual National Geographic photographer to the opening. This gallery is one of seven in the world, 1 in Vegas, a few in California, and 1 on Maui.

The girls in there were very friendly, obviously, because they told me all of the stuff above. Though, I really recommend that people check it out. The photographs are beautiful. I particularly like the ones in the leftmost part of the gallery. I like images of awe-inspiring nature, and I definitely got that from the photos in there. 

15 December 2017

in

Today I met someone who was very open about her self care, or lack of.

We got to talking, and she talked about how her hair used to be matted. Part of it was because it used to be braided, but she didn't maintain it. Unclear of if because she was too busy to take care of it or because she was depressed. She did mention she was either so busy or so tired that she didn't have time. She even showed me pictures of the before and after she cut it. 

She also showed me about how she had surgery on her lower back after a bad fall. The woman seemed like she was in a good place now, but I could only imagine the stresses in her life for that to have happened. 

12 December 2017

in

Today I met a lady at Tori Richards.

I was looking for the Ocean shirt, which is apparently one of their signature shirts. They didn't have it in stock so they had to order it for me. Honestly, the experience there was so nice, and the girl was so helpful! I guess it makes up for the bad experience I had at Abercrombie the other day. 

She took my information and let me know she'd call when it comes in. 

11 December 2017

in

Today I met my parents' personal stylist.

She's at Nordstrom, and she has great taste. She did a good job of picking out stuff for my Seattle trip, and honestly, I bought most of what she suggested. I love it! 

We talked about a couple of things, including her two boys, and how kids nowadays want work life balance. She goes golfing for fun, has a hair dresser, and her husband recently retired. She likes her job at Nordstrom so she doesn't want to quit. 

She's a cool lady!

10 December 2017

in

Today I met the key guy at Lowe's.

I locked myself out of my room so I had to get a spare. The guy helping us told me that the machine does it all for him so he doesn't need to work as hard at it.

One of the keys I needed copied was on a monkey, so the guy shared with me a story. His sister and her family went to France. The place that they stayed had a monkey attached to their key too, so they took pictures of it everywhere they went in France.

I told him that I hope they still had the pictures since those are a great memory, he said they do. 

8 December 2017

in

Today I met the Governor.

He seemed nice, and super into what we do at the store. I talked to him about coding and stuff. Though, I feel like I saw a kindred spirit. I don't always do well at public events, and either he was very stiff or he is the same way.

I've always found entertainment in watching someone watching me watching them. Though, I don't think he was watching me. I just was watching him. I couldn't imagine living under scrutiny every day from thousands of people in something as messy as politics.

7 December 2017

in

Today I met a cheeky British guy.

He needed help with his resume, stating that he always had an assistant who would type stuff up for him. I asked him what he did, and he basically used to set up subsidiaries in Japan for American-based sporting goods companies. He speaks Japanese. I mean, I almost thought he was full of shit but he talked about his Linkedin. I looked him up, not full of shit.

He had a ton of stories and told me about how he met the CEO of GoDaddy. The guy was "crusty" and when he had heard that one of his employees collapsed because she had low blood sugar after running... He said, "Maybe she should pick up smoking. That'll fix her."

He told me his kids go to boarding schools but grew up too privileged and spoiled, but did say that he thought I would get along with his daughter. He didn't understand why Americans were so eager to heap praise or seek it from strangers. He didn't give a shit.

Anyway, I was watching him type terribly.

"Did you want me to help you type?"
"No it's ok."

A few seconds passed.

"Ok, can you type for me?"
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask."

He laughed. He said I could be an honorary Brit, I'll take the compliment. It's not often I get to be a clever shit.

6 December 2017

in

Today I met a guy shopping on a budget.

He wasn't really looking for a computer, but the one he was looking at happened to be on sale for a deep discount. I knew he was on a budget because he went to the back to see if he could afford it. When he came back, he was ready to purchase.

We made some conversation and I found out he was a student, so I knew that he would qualify for a discount. He asked me why I gave him a discount, and I told him it's because he's a student.

Honestly, he was really nice. I felt bad for him. Goes to show you that when you're not a dick, people will go out of their way to help you out. 

3 December 2017

in

Today I met an older man on vacation.

His computer broke and was looking to replace it. I learned that he used to work for Hawaii Health Systems and now is retired. He was super apologetic that he didn't understand anything, but I told him it was ok. I'm sure he was apologizing because he once was young working with computers too and had struggled with older people not understanding. 

As I think I've said before, I have the softest spot for old people. I think some people are quick to discard what they believe to be old and useless. That's not true. Anyway, he was great. I enjoyed talking to him. 

2 December 2017

in

Today I met a mortgage coach.

The guy came in with his wife knowing what they wanted to buy. Eventually, with some suggestions from me, he purchased one of my favorite products. 

While talking though, we both talked about how building the relationship is more important than the actual numbers behind the sale. People want to buy from people they like and we both understood that.

I think that's why he made his purchase from me. Getting to know people helps. People like to feel like they're valuable, and most people have a pretty good story too. 

1 December 2017

in

Today I met some of the sales reps at Abercrombie and Fitch.

Man, they were annoying. I came in to do a return and the girl had to call her manager over. There were two different managers who helped me, and they gave me different information on how to transact my online return. 

1. First manager told me that because I paid with Paypal,I had to return it in mail. But they could do it and give me a bag. They gave me a bag, and this manager left.

I asked the cashier, "Do I pack it and give it to you or what?"
"Oh. No. You have to ship it out."
"Ok... Well where do I ship it out from?"
"Your house."
"Ok. So UPS? FedEx? USPS?"
"Oh... Uh... Let me ask my manager."

2. Calls over a second manager. She doesn't know either. Tells me that because I paid with Paypal, I can't return it in store.

Tell them to get their acts together and give me better and more consistent information before I walk out the doors. Probably unlikely to shop there again. 

30 November 2017

in

Today I met my hair stylist.

We've known each other for a few years now, but people change over time. I think today, we talked about a bunch of different things, but mostly the games I'm playing on my phone. If you're wondering, it's Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and it was Puzzle Fighter that day.

We also talked about his relationship with a girl he met online. I could tell he was sad about it because he didn't see a way they could work out. They're doing long distance, and neither of them wants to move. That's tough, and sad.

I wished him well when we parted.