Formality?

Saturday and I get to work.  One good thing, there is no Kid's Workshop today.  That happens next week and I have, as has become my habit, requested off.
The dogs are running around shaking the shit out of their T-Rex.  Earlier they were toying with their pink flamingo.  But now?  Their attention is focused on the tan predator they got for Christmas.
And speaking of work, it is very slow.  I did sell some flooring yesterday.  Even though sales normally go down this time of year, we are still given goals.  The idea is that even though we might go into the hole, we have the rest of the year to make up for these winter doldrums.  Me?  I'm happy to just stay in the middle of the pack.  I don't sweat the big stuff, don't aim for 'big sales,' as there tend to be problems with them.  A customer spending $2500 doesn't have the grand expectations of one spending $12,000.  The low end customer is just looking for carpet.  The one spending more money is trying to fulfill a dream, one usually inspired by that pretentiously insipid HGTV.  Those customers are expecting perfection in superficiality.
Stores always get their associates a gift for Christmas.  For the past few years, ours has been giving us sweatshirts.  Last years was a hoodie with a zipper all the down the front and you could chose your color (black, white, or gray).  I chose a heather gray color, and wear mine quite a bit.  This year there really was no choice in color.  Everybody got the same gray.  And they're turtleneck sweatshirts.

They're very nice... but I don't do turtlenecks.  After years of mandatory shirts and ties, I don't want anything tight around my neck.  Nothing.  The same thing is true with my wrists.  Long sleeved shirts are always unbuttoned and halfway up my forearms.  I am a very informal person.  My tuxedo has been hanging in my closet gathering dust.  It's been 20 - 25 years since I last wore it.  I guess I should dust it off and give it to Community Aid.  I'm sure there must be one desperately poor person out there who needs one.

Pier One / Big Seig

So, after the Viewing yesterday, I went home and changed into something more comfortable and ran a few errands.  One of those was going to Pier One to buy some candles. I buy most of my candles there since they're less expensive than Yankee Candle and have a decent variety, otherwise I avoid Pier One.  Pretentiousness, you know?  The last candles I bought (2 months ago) were called 'Linen' and I was told that scent was part of "our winter collection."  Yesterday a clerk was walking around with a customer in the candle section and I heard her say "this is Orange Whisper, and it's part of our Fall collection."  Give Me A Break!  I but candles because of color and scent, not because they're part of a seasonal collection of scents.  Yesterday I bought 2 red candles and a blue one because... I liked the color red and the color blue and they smelled good.

The Red Candles

I don't buy anything else at Pier One because, let's be honest here, most of the crap they sell looks like it was designed by a failed HGTV Home Decorator.  And most of it looks phony.  

After Pier One, I stopped by the Gay Giant in Camp Hill, because it was nearby.  It's called the Gay Giant because it's a straight shot across the Harvey Taylor Bridge from the gayborhoods of downtown Harrisburg.  Being the only supermarket within 3 miles, the clientele is, at times, very gay, very lesbian, and very... well everything.

And, of course, yesterday being a nice day, the back door was open quite a bit, which meant that the dogs were running in and out all day and having a blast.  Last evening I found Big Seig sleeping on the futon with his moose.

Ain't that the life?