CULTsha-sha

Working Late

I haven’t done me tumblr in awhile as I’ve been working the late shift at Ripley’s (4:45pm-12:15am) and Helen came down to visit before she went to China. She gets to go to China… lucky girl. So this maybe a bit long. Sorry.

Any way I’m still enjoying the company of my fellow Ripley staff members but the management are in shit; literally. Our first opening day was last Wednesday however the sewage pipes got blocked up or burst or both, not sure of the details but sufficeid to say stinky bad water made it’s way from the fifth floor all the way down into our staff room. We were asked to start at four o’clock if we were on the late shift but because the problem was so bad we closed early. I got to go home at 8 and was paid for a full shift. Which mean’t I got to go to the pub on the clock. There is nothing better than being in the pub on the clock. Nothing… apart from that obviously.

Last night went down without a hitch, but I was on admissions all night which kinda sucks as our foyer is loud! They repeat the same five songs over and over but they have programed two impressive and realistic robot fairy tale characters to mime along with the music. The characters are randomly Jack Spratt (who eats no fat) and his wife (who eats no lean) and they don’t half attract a lot of attention.

The other problem working on admissions, other than the bordom factor, is that customers become more aggressive and more intoxicated past nine thirty. One young Scottish lad asked me for two pints of fosters, I said we weren’t a bar; he asked where the bar was and I said there wasn’t one; he gave me the finger and told me to fuck off on his way back out he door. Nice.

On a none Ripley’s subject I didn’t get the job at 12yard. They interviewed 40 people and only 5 went through to the next interview stage so I don’t feel too bad. We were interviewed in groups of three so they could see how well we worked together in a brain storming enviroment. They gave us bits of card which when turned over revealed a word or phrase. We turned over two cards each and had to come up with ideas for TV shows based on what was written on those cards. We then had to comment on each others ideas in a progressive and positive way.

I got ‘Gameshow’ and ‘Daddy’s Girl’ and ended up pitching a show where a daughter surprises her Dad with a film crew and tries to set him up with prospective wives to be. I also had to come up with a show based on a film title, Stand By Me (great film). I pitched a show where a husband or wife is secretly filmed while his or her partner purposefully pushes their buttons. The spouse being filmed remains calm and doesn’t fly off the handle the couple win a dream prize. A holiday or something.

After the interview I went to the pub with one of the guys in my group. After a couple of beers we were approached by a fella giving out free beer coupons for new beer! So we said yes and managed to swindle a few more off him. So I got pissed.

I’ve been getting pissed a lot lately. We had a big friends and family night on Tuesday. Helen and Christopher came along and saw the attraction for free which was a bit of fun. We then got to go to the club around the corner where there was an open bar!! It was a great night and we totally took advantage of it. So as long as Ripley’s keeps me pissed I think I’ll be happy.

Helen hurry up and write your China blog you’ve been there almost a day now!

Cuddly Toys

Yesterday my easy going training at Ripley’s Believe it or Not was interrupted by actual work. I and a few of my new colleagues were chosen to leave training to go help out in the gift shop. The big American cheese was down, giving his inspirational and educational talk about Mr Ripley and his organisation so the fact that they were having problems getting the shop sorted had to be kept quiet.

They probably picked me out because I had retail experience although you really don’t need experience to sticker toys and put them on racks. As I was bar-coding overpriced crap I was talking to one of the girls about working in stores full time and how it inspired me to go to university. It occurred to me that after uni I’m right back labeling shite in a store. This depressed me a little.

Still it’s easy and I’m going to have fun, although the interior store decorator was really freaking me out, a loverly Austrailian woman called Holly. She would keep saying, in a quick toneless way “This is fun isn’t it? We’re having fun now right?” ”Look at these aren’t they precious?” “Isn’t it gorgous?” ”We’re are having now right?”

I almost turned round and screamed “Yes! We are having Fun just shut the fuck up!” That of course would have been terribly mean, she’s actually a sweet lady sort of a three year old trapped in a 30 something body. She also hums tunelessly to herself. 

I won’t be working in the gift shop all the time and it is full of toys which is pretty cool. Near the end I was in charge of the cuddly toys, that was fun. But they kept on coming and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what I was going to do with them. They were everywhere!

I stayed on an extra hour but in the end I just walked off and went home. A few of those cuddly toys were cool though, I really liked the cuddly octopus.

You can wear it on your head.