I'd walk through a hurricane to get to my paycheck.

Or at least a tropical depression. But that probably won't hit me until the walk home tomorrow.

Of course if you worked at my store you might think twice about braving such a storm as your paycheck would be Nelson de la Rosa tiny.

Other than low pay another bonus for working at my store is that they would only pay you for 19.5 hours rather than the full 35 plus hours that you actually worked. That's because my time clock doesn't record you as punched "in" if you are more than 7 minutes early or late. I am late everyday. That means I basically work for free.

"Um..there seems to be a problem with my check..."

"Hey, are you doing the bread promotion?" This is not the answer you are looking for when 46 dollars of you hard earned money has suddenly gone missing.

"But I can assure you that someone is looking into it."

Very comforting. This coming from an assistant manger who's training video I watched told me that if I was asked to work off the clock I should say "no." Really? You need to tell your employees that they are actually supposed to get paid. I still have no idea how they got the shot in the training video of an entire store breaking out in song and dance about how great working for $6.55 is.

The industry I work in is rife with this kind of exploitation. It commonly employs child labour (under 16), refuses to pay overtime. Blah... Blah.. Blah.....

I know what you are going to say, 'get another job'. Maybe like a pharmacist. I could still chat it up with all the 16 year old cashiers (who totally looked 18) and I would still find the time to laugh it up and 'fake meringue dance' every time they see a baker walk past with his "hotbox."

But I live in Palmetto. There are only two other places hiring within a five mile area. Circle K and 7-11. While both are "always hiring," in fact just the other day a guy walked into a Circle K without enough money for a big gulp, and he got hired for 24 minutes to work it off. Meanwhile, I can't even get an interview.

**Update**

The birds are no longer bothering me, they have taken up root somewhere in the back storage of the store. Showing themselves only occasionally by dive bombing for food on my daily trash runs.

You might not think that this would still be a bother, but I throw away more food in a day than the guys in the local homeless shelter could possibly eat. Not that they will get any of that food anymore, because the director of the homeless shelter somehow pissed of my bakery manger 'M&M.'

Now I guess the only complaint I have is when I am chattin' it up with said 16 year old is that I keep getting interrupted by Weird Leprosy Guy. I don't wanna sound like a jerk, because the guy is in a wheelchair, but he had amazing 'life like" leprosy soars all over his body. And because this is Palmetto he did not feel the need to put on a shirt just because he was making a trip up to the store.

What does Weird Leprosy Guy want? Well, it isn't easy to figure it out initially. He mumbles. It requires you to get really close to him. Close enough to 'catch something' if you get my drift.

"Beer!"

He finally exclaims to my young workmate. Cleaverly depositing enough saliva and germs to kill all of Tom Cruises enemies in seconds. What else could he have wanted?