i went to work yesterday to do some maintenence around the pool. i walk in and ask Rob what needs to be done (Rob is not really my boss, but my bosses put a lot of responsibility on him when they're not around, simply because he's probably been working there for 10 or more years). Rob was sweeping with a big push broom, so he hands it to me and says i can do that while he moves on to other things.

i make a fat pile of dirt that had accumulated over who knows how many years. but all i have is the pushbroom. so i set out to hunt down at least a dust pan, if not also a regular broom. the place is usually cluttered and in disarray, but during closure it was magnified tenfold. so i run around down stairs, nothing. hop on up to the upstairs, and i eventually find a dust pan. and as i'm going downstairs, i see the broom that the dust pan attaches to.

i get back to the pool deck only to find that Rob's other duties included using the power washer. i guess he got impatient with my rooting around up stairs becuase he just blew away the pile that i had created. shit went everywhere, onto the tarps that cover the pool. then i show up behind him, broom and dust pan in hand. what do you do in a retarded situation like that? i just threw down the dust pan and set the broom up against the wall. a somewhat silent protest, other than the clanging of the dust pan. my hot, 17 year old co-worker stood there watching. clearly in Rob's view, she'd throw her hands up in the air in disgust as he pushed more and more shit onto the pool. but Rob's used to uncomfortable situations so he kept power washing.

i couldn't stand watching it any longer, so i just walked off and let him do whatever the fuck he wanted. i was just kinda pissed because my girly hands couldn't hang with the broom and i got this fat blister at the base of my thumb. if Rob would have told me that he was just going to blow all the dirt and crap onto the pool, then i wouldn't have bothered to sweep like he had asked me to.

but i guess you can't ask for the smartest people when you're working at a pool. especially with people who have made it their career. i guess the guy used to be a pharmacist, but i can't see that. why would you give it up? maybe he got laughed out of the business.