Throwing "Discrimination" around indiscriminately

This never happened at the big store, or at least I never heard it happening. Since I have been at this little store, I have experienced it personally, well, watched it happen once and heard about it 2 other times. What am I talking about? People throwing around the word "Discrimination" to get what they want or better yet, to put the fear of God into you.

The one time I saw it happen, this man used the word in order for us to circumvent store policy so he could get cash back on a purchase his daughter had made. Store policy clearly says we don't give cash back unless you have a receipt saying you paid cash. He didn't have one, but throw the word "DISCRIMINATION" out there and people will bend over backward trying to get you what you want, even if you don't deserve it. So we gave him cash back. As he was about to walk out the store, he thanked us for our respect. That wasn't respect, that was fear. And believe me, they are NOT the same thing. And I am sorry for the world that he lives in that he thinks that they are the same or doesn't recognize the difference.

And yes, the other 2 times it has happened I wasn't around...well, one of them I was around but didn't know what was happening until afterwards. All I saw was a co-worker, who wants to be a children's librarian, profusely apologizing to another person. I found out later it was all because she told him twice that the store was closing in 5 minutes. Well, geez, if you don't acknowledge that you heard us, we are going to repeat ourselves in hopes that you will hear us the second time. That has nothing to do with what ethnicity you are. So this woman I work with, who is working herself through graduate school to be a librarian, has to deal with this animosity. We are not paid enough to deal with this crap.

Throw that word out enough and it will be a case of the boy who cried wolf, if it isn't already. And everyone, in this lifetime, has experienced some form of discrimination so don't think we don't have a clue. We all have problems. What separates us, truly, is how we deal with them.

Insomnia---bad for sleeping, GREAT for reading!

So I woke up around 3 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Up until about 3 years ago, I never, NEVER, had issues with sleeping. I would know when I was tired, go to sleep and wake up in the morning. I could keep myself awake rarely longer than my body demanded and only if I was reading a fabulous book. I have had the occasional late night because of too much caffeine, but, like I wrote, up until around 3 years ago, sleep was easy.

Now its not.

Sleep for me is a precious comodity. And I don't have regular bouts of insomnia, only around 3 to 5 times a year, which doesn't justify my anxiety over insomnia. I freely admit a big part of it is stress. But now the very nature of my thoughts regarding sleep have changed. I treasure it. A full night without waking up is a glorious thing. And i don't even have a lot of insomnia. Just enough to put the fear in me, that I will never sleep well again.

So, I do what most experts tell you to do when it comes to insomnia. I do something else beside "trying" to sleep. Most of the time that involves reading or taking a hot bath in hopes one of the other will make me tired enough to go back to sleep. Its a lonely process. Reading makes it more normal.

Last night, or early this morning, depending on how you look at it, I read. I had gone to the bookstore (not the one I work at, too small to have the selection of books I wanted) and bought book after book. 5 books later, it was the perfect night to have insomnia. I read "Mona Lisa Awakening" by Sunny. It has definite similarities to Laurell K. Hamilton's series, both actually, with one very strong woman, and multiple beaten down male partners depending and partnering her. I like her books. That's why I went to the big book store. My store doesn't carry her books. Yes, I will be remedying that, but until such time, I need my instant gratification.*

*See previous blogs...

So, while I am dying today of lack of sleep, it was all worth it because the book was that good. Its a keeper. Can't wait to read "Mona Lisa Blossoming". I found Sunny from an anthology I read. I picked it up originally because of Angela Knight and Mary Janice Davidson. Angela and Mary (can't believe I am about to write this) are writing too many books. The quality is showing. So, Sunny's book was all the more thrilling because of the other mediocre stories. The only bad thing was the store is set after "Mona Lisa Awakening". You definitely feel like you are missing a whole hell of a lot, which you are, but you still can't put it down.

And onto bookstore gossip. The assistant manager, the one that I was concerned was going to get this store for his own, is moving to a larger store to be a assistant manager. Its a step up for him which means congratulations are in order for him. What does that mean for our store? Well, the manager that hired me will be taking care of the store part-time until such time as we find another store manager. Ugh.