#alwaysastark

I quit my supermarket job around 7 or 8 months ago now.  I've seen a few customers since, and a few of them have taken an interest, asked what I'm doing, that sort of thing.  That's fine.  But recently a woman I remember as being the most consistently dismissive, condescending shit of a customer started talking to me while I was hanging out with two ex-colleagues who are still great friends.  Them she ignored completely.  Me she was all over, talking about how great it was I had a "real job" now.  At the time I was kind of too flustered to say or do anything except laugh weakly and hope she left.

What I really want to say is, no.  Fuck you.  You can't treat me like an unperson for 6 fucking years and then, as soon as I'm out of the service industry, act like we're BFFs.  A service job is a real job.  A service job is a real fucking job and if you think it isn't you need to shut the hell up.

I'm not an introvert.  Apparently what I am is am 'ambivert' or 'omnivert', which means I kind of walk the middle-line.  I found working in the supermarket so socially exhausting that on days off I frequently had to just shut myself in the house and not talk to anyone.  I developed tennis elbow and a strain in my wrist simply from the checkout scanning.  I locked my jaw at work and in my sleep.  I had stress dreams about a never-ending line of angry, impatient customers, and about serving particularly dreaded customers.  And sure, I do probably have other psychiatric things going on, but I'm certainly not alone in experiencing those things--though I've only anecdata and vaguely remembered studies to back me up at present.  

I'm still struggling to train myself out of "the customer is always right" for my new job.  Even though I know that, unlike in the supermarket, any call I make, if I'm allowed make one at all, won't be instantly undermined; I know that my manager will back me if a client has a problem with my service.  

Another delightful nugget is the way staff are, upon hiring, basically gender-segregated.  Girls and women most often to the point-of-sale or deli, boys and men to the stockrooms and aisles.  Now, guess which sections actually offer career progression.  Guess which section actually has a greater responsibility for the high-cost products and the actual money in the store.  It might not be like that at every store in Australia, or even every store in that particular chain, but it certainly was that way in my store.  Go into a supermarket and suss out who's working in which department.

Even within the store, most (and most often men) management members despised helping out on registers, because they too devalued service work.

So, it's true that supermarket jobs often attract students like myself, who intend to work temporarily and then move on to work requiring higher qualification.  That's no reason to shame people who work at the supermarket full time, or who aren't studying while they work, or who aren't actively looking for other work.  Service jobs require skill and while those skills are easy enough to learn, it doesn't mean just anybody can do it well.  You're responsible for pleasing customers and management and doing it while your hours are cut and the hours of your colleagues are cut so you never have enough staff to help you.  You're balancing tills and balancing cleaning and balancing going to the toilet or getting yelled at for leaving your register.

My friend got off the tram and I went to sit down and realised the woman sitting nearby looked pretty familiar.

As I got off the tram, I realised who she was.  She was the major national leader's wife.

Blab: Three secrets I’m keeping.

hahahahaha as if i’d say them ‘out loud’. nice try, tumblr questions. nice try, best friend. nope. no way.

Different: Three members of the opposite sex I find attractive

uhhhhhhh jensen ackles, matt bomer, a guy i saw today leaving the bank who was my english project partner like 6 years ago and i did not want to speak to or be noticed by because (other than his hair) he still looks pretty damn good, and i had thrown a hoodie over my pajama shirt. whooops. adulthood for the win.

Psst: Three things that I’ve always wanted to tell you.

15: What's your most favorite part of your personality? - okay the only thing I even like a little bit of me; is my personality. My favorite part is probably the fact that I'm not shy, and I'm really easy to talk with. 26:  What was your favorite cartoon growing up? - I can't remember the name, but it was like five or four girls that had "superpowers" and looked like barbies!35:  If you had to move to another country, where would you move?  - England. I love England so much, because first, it's a lot of rainy and cloudy days, and second; harry potter. I hate the sun, and it'd be so awesome to live in England!40:  Do you like horror movies? How about thrillers? - I haven't watched one single horror movie in my entire life, I'm going to watch The Woman In Black one day because of Daniel Radcliffe, but seriously, I suck at watching horror movies >:((((

RULES. 

Rule 1 - Always post the rules 

Rule 2 - Answer the questions and write 11 new ones 

Rule 3 - Tag 11 people and let them know

Rule 4: Let them know once you’ve tagged them. 

1. What’s your favorite movie?

Bridesmaids.

2. If you could give one message to the world, what would you want it to be?

All I can think of is a line from a song by Jewel - "If I could tell the world just one thing, it'd be that we're all okay."

3. What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

My singing voice. And my tiny waist. Haha.

4. If you could change one thing about your past, what would you change and why?

I don't know. I can think of a lot of things I'd like to just erase, but I don't really want to talk about them.

5. Who is the most influential person in your life?

My sister and my best friend. And Sophia Bush. And P!nk.

6. Describe your most embarrassing moment.

Yesterday I was with my producer and his girlfriend and they were talking about doing a shot of me singing against a different wall for a video, and he said "well get you against the wall" and I had been saying "yeah" to everything so far, and it came out as "ohhhh yeah.." and everyone thought it was hilarious how much it sounded like innuendo, but really I didn't realize I'd done it until after I said it. 

Also one time I was going to perform at a school talent show and they played the wrong song (the original, not the backing track), didn't turn my microphone on, and then closed the curtains when they realized what they'd done. I got cheered off, then cheered on again within ten seconds. I was laughing but also only 11, so I was like WTF.

7. If you could have a super power, what would you chose and why?

Confidence. That's a super power. (But probably invisibility or being able to set fires with my eyes or something, really.)

8. If someone were to make a movie about your life, who would you chose to play you?

Me. It's a doco. Yay.. nobody is young enough to be me.

9. What’s your ultimate fitness goal?

To be able to sing while doing ridiculously difficult crap, like P!nk. I'll settle for running and singing at the same time, and work my way up to hanging upside down.

10. Have you ever been out of the country in which you live? Where have you been?

No. I've only ever been in this country. So far.

11. If you could only have a deep emotional relationship or a deep physical relationship with the person you love, which would you chose?

Deep emotional relationship. That's love. Physicality is lust, and worship, and admiration. But love is of the mind. That's what I want.

MY QUESTIONS:

1. What song is your favorite at this moment?

2. Celebrity crush.

3. What did you do today?

4. Are you proud of who you are? (If no, please inbox me to hear how great you are)

5. Who are your biggest influences in life?

6. Did you ever have a phase of dressing like a character or celebrity?

7. Do you want to travel?

8. What was the last concert you went to?

9. Do you like watching behind-the-scenes or interview footage of your favorite fandoms or celebrities?

10. If you could stalk anyone in the world, whose garbage would you go through?

11. What was the last movie you watched?

  I AM TAGGING: alwaysastark

droppinglbslikebeats (haha, your turn again!)

hellbent-creator

caroline-decker

redsfelixfelicis

acklesswag

soulstumped

i-am-running-this-bitch

behealthywealthyandwise

dreamer-in-the-garden