Top ten ways to annoy a cashier: bonus ways

So at work today, I thought of a couple more ways to annoy a cashier that weren't on my original list of ten. Here they are:

#12 - "Here, rub this raw, bloody meat all over your hands:" Nobody really enjoys getting uncooked meat juices all over themselves. And for whatever reason, such meats are often poorly wrapped in plastic so that the blood can get eeeeverywhere. So it makes sense that, when buying "leaky meats," customers often put them in plastic bags. This is all well and good, except when they decide to put several packages of meat in one little plastic bag. Besides just being messy, this means that I, the cashier, have to reach into the bag and pull each package out individually to scan it. If you don't want to touch it, what makes you think I do? Just bag the damn things individually, and then, since the bags are clear, I'll never have to touch 'em. Nothing grosses me out more than having beef and chicken blood all over my hands. Sure, I've got disinfectant, but that's not quite the same as a good, genuine hand-washing.

#11 - Don't bring me into it: Every parent has their own way of disciplining their children, and I respect that, but what I don't like is when they try to bring me into the equation as a tool of fear to keep their kids under control. "Don't do that! You'd better stop or the man will yell at you!" Look, lady, not only does it NOT MATTER if your kids touches the conveyer belt, but I don't want them to be afraid of me! Leave me out of it! This seems to be a common strategy, however; it's often coupled with "you'd better do what I say or the police will come and take you away. They're coming right now!" I don't know about you, but it sickens me a little every time I hear a harried parent telling that to their little three-year-old kid who needs a nap.

Anyway, as far as the rest of my life, I've been having quite a nice summer so far. Went to the shore with Augusta and her family on Tuesday, which was a lot of fun. I managed to get a sunburn on my right foot, but nowhere else. Go figure. Better than my usual, which is every inch of my goddamn body. The Aichems came as well - I haven't really seen them in a long time, but we all had fun talking at dinner and generally socializing. Saw some mole crabs, too, which totally thrilled Augusta. She's so damn cute sometimes.

And speaking of my job, which we sort of were, I've officially tendered my resignation - my last day will be August 3rd, and then I'm taking the remainder of the month off to just sort of relax before going to Rowan on September 1st. At some point (probably the 4th of August, right after I quit), Augusta and I are going to head up to the lake together for a while. My second cousin Wojtek (VOY-tech) is visiting the U.S. from Poland and staying with us - or more specifically, with Mom and David up at the lake. He was only here (as in at our house in New Jersey) for one night (along with Aaron and Andrew) before they left again. So I hope he's having a good time. It sounds like he is. Dad and I have been pretty much home alone for the better part of the last month, but we're having a good time with it - watching movies and eating out, and so forth. And speaking of movies...

I saw Wall-E with Augusta on Monday, and I have to say... I don't care if you're a ten-year-old girl or a 52-year-old biker punk, this movie is too goddamn cute to pass up. It was honestly the first Pixar movie I've really enjoyed in years. It was great. See it now. Your inner teddy bear will thank you.