Not Quite Dead Yet

I would like to apologize and explain why this blog went on a temporary, unannounced hiatus for over a month.

1) The 7 Eleven Blog has completely disappeared. I will admit this freaked me out quite a bit. True, the guy did make it quite obvious which company he worked for (he even used the store colors as the theme for his blog) but he made fun of his customers far more than he did the company. It was a good read. Here's to hoping he didn't get fired for it.

2) I'm going to be switching stores soon. My current store isn't really that far away distance-wise, but with traffic it can take almost an hour to get there. Sitting is said traffic tends to eat up my gas money, which is part of why I work there in the first place. This new store (which will hopefully be opening in mid-February) will take half the time to get to.

It was actually a hard decision to make. Do I introduce you all to my current coworkers and customers because I love them, or do I save my future readers the confusion of starting with one cast and then switching to another just as soon as they get to know the first one? My ultimate answer was found through procrastination. As the time to make the jump draws nearer, it would be ultimately impractical to stay on the business of the current store with a new beginning (and thus the real beginning of this blog) in less than a month. Sometime around the middle of January I should be called in to help with constructing the inside of the new store and stocking the shelves with everything needed for a new store.

It'll be interesting to see what kinds of animals they give us, if any.

So for now any posts about people from the current store will be one shots, and will only involve customers and peripherals (vendors, representatives, adoption volunteers).

3) Insert stupid excuses here. School, work, finals, going home for the winter holidays, helping my younger sister set up a fish tank, all that jazz. Real Life interfering with the syrious bizness that is the internets.

And now for a Random Anecdote:

Our Nutro Lady is a really awesome person. She isn't pushy, knows her subject, and is always willing to debate current dog nutrition/health issues. Plus, she runs a French Bulldog rescue and is also involved with Boston Terriers. She is undoubtedly a very smart woman, but sometimes her knowledge on other subjects is a little sketchy.

Nutro Lady: *comes jogging up, urgent sounding* Are you the Avery girl?
Myself: *confused* Uh... no, nobody who works here has that name. Are they looking for-
Nutro Lady: No, no, are you the one with the birds?
Myself: *cottons on* Oh, you mean avian?
Nutro Lady: Yes, that's it.

This is an interesting time to be an animal specialist. About a week before I took my test, it was posted on the Portal (our store sort-of-news-site-sort-of-employee-resource-center) that our animal assortment would now be determined by store instead of by district.

For those of you unfamiliar with retail terminology, the assortment is the selection of what the store sells. Research done of the surrounding area determines on what the assortment will look like. Taking the assortment down to the individual store level means whatever we don't sell will be ordered less or taken off the shelves entirely.

Basically, it means my department will be losing all of its conures, cockatiels, doves, finches and canaries. Strangely enough, I actually think this is a good move on the company's part. The only species we consistently sell are budgies. The rest sit in overpopulated or small-ish* cages for months until they are finally sold, transferred to another store, or die. This way we'll only receive the animals that sell on a regular basis; so, less fun species for me to play with but fewer, healthier, happier birds. And their happiness wins out over mine any day.



*By small-ish I mean the minimum size that the species can safely be housed in 24/7. Certainly a smaller habitat than I'd consider for my pets, but the store is a business and needs to be run that way.

I Got the First Post! Oh Wait...

I passed my avian specialist test Thursday. As such, I make no claims of being an expert in my field, especially since 4/6 of the store study books involved proper ordering methods and customer service rather than actual bird care. For that to make sense, let me back up a bit. I currently work at a large pet store. No, I will not post which one, though I'm sure it will become obvious through context sooner or later.

So what's the point of this blog? Well if you've never read a typical "This is my life at work" type blog you've been missing out. Might I recommend:

True Porn Clerk Stories

Acts of Gord

and most recently
The 7-Eleven Blog

I will be attempting to emulate the greatness of those without the guarantee of their inherent hilarity. I will also offer no firm posting schedule at first as I am also a college student and, "School comes first." (I know mother, you needn't remind me every time we talk on the phone.) Having said such, most of my posts will probably be made at school while procrastinating on some project or another so I might surprise myself and all of you in the process.

Since I have named my blog after my newly acquired position I will also attempt to focus on what happens in my department. Unfortunately being a specialist does not mean I am exempt from being on the floor or register so I'll take my amusing tidbits where I can get them. Horror of horrors, I might also be making some informative posts, with links even. Here's to hoping.