Judith

In retail, there are always going to be returning customers. In some cases, those customers are good ones who you don't mind seeing again. In other cases, you rue the day they stepped into your store and singled YOU out for psychological damage.

When I left Kingsway the first time, I was giddy at the thought of potentially not seeing these people ever again.

Now that I'm back? Guh.

I had the misfortune of seeing the two banes of my former stint at KGM enter the store today.

The first is Judith.

Judith is a paraplegic in a wheelchair. And she can't talk properly. And, I'm sorry, but every time she comes in these days, my blood turns to ice.

Because she'll ONLY deal with me.

AND because I can't communicate with her. (And if you know me, you KNOW how much I have the need to communicate. And how it frustrates me if I'm not able to.)

AND because it takes three hours to figure out what she wants.

AND because she's only going to return it the next day. And take ANOTHER three hours worth of time.

So I end up going into the backroom afterwards, ready to cry. Or scream. Or drink copious amounts of alcohol. Or all three simultaneously.

(Heh. Just picturing myself trying to hold down liquor while screaming and crying. Which makes it look like I'm gargling whiskey, for some reason...)

Judith came in today, and ever since I came back, I try to pawn her off on someone else in the store. Just so I don't. Because my patience is a fault in this case.

So today, it was Nathan's turn. I started becoming all busy, filling out waybills and rushing to the backroom. Answering the phone at every opportunity, and keeping talking into the phone after that person's hung up, so I can keep the illusion of "too busy of Judith" alive.

And I shoved Nathan her way.

After a while, he came up to me, and said, "Do you know this person?"

I tell the dead phone, "Hold on for a sec." And I nod at Nathan, still doing anything else to occupy my time.

She wheels over. "Aaaaaio. Aaaaaio." (Kyle. Kyle.)

"I'm busy, Judith. Nathan can help you just as well as I can."

She asks me, in her non-vowelled speech, about "movie machines," which I find to be DVD players.

I turn to Nathan. "Nathan, can you show her the portable DVD players?" And go back to work.

He sells her this small DVD player for $90. Which *I* strap to the back of her wheelchair.

And she asks ME a question, which takes ten attempts at deciphering.

I end up selling her a extension cord and a longer video cable, after about half an hour of trying to decipher what she says.

And I was right up beside her, and could sense the stench of the bile she coughs up. Almost twelve hours later, and I'm STILL retching over it.

So I send her across the way to buy a Lion King DVD. (Unfortunately, my constant attempts at breaking the Judith code back a few years ago makes me the only one who can really understand her on staff. And if *I* am the best shot at understanding her, it means I'm stuck with her a lot.)

And I go in the back room to vent.

Nathan's saying, "Dude, you deserved that for shoving her off onto me."

I look at Nathan square in the eye. "No, I don't. I put up with her for two years. I've paid my dues. THAT'S why I avoid her."

He looks astonished. "Oh. Two years? Okay, then..."

A few hours later, a Chinese man pokes his head into the store. "Kyle! Kyle!"

I furiously look for keeping-busy tasks. Damn. He comes directly up to me. "You're back here now! When did that happen?"

I mutter, "June."

This gentleman called me up a lot when he had problems figuring out how to locate his DVD player icon on the laptop sold by my manager at the time.

And so I became his computer help, receiving incessant calls asking for help. It usually led to tears of frustration and me yelling into the phone.

When I left, it wouldn't have been a problem. Until he somehow learned that I went to Bonnie Doon.

The phone rang one day.

"Good afternoon. RadioShack, your answer store. Kyle speaking."

"Kyle? Kyle!"

My heart sank. After I got off the phone with him, I immediately called up Kingsway.

"All right. Tell me the name of the person who gave out my new location to this guy. And that person will die at my hands."

So, yeah. Hopefully, this rant will help me ease out the frustrating time that today was. Good thing I'm doing stock at the toy store tomorrow, and then on my way to Jasper for the weekend.

Thank god. A break.

* * *

And man, looking at that last post, I really need to clean up my living room if I'm seeing that much stuff...Milk carton beside the couch? Must. Clean.

In parents news, mine are bringing me a dishwasher. Whoo! Another modern convenience I will cherish again!