7.15.2006

Fire

I put out a fire today.
Walking out the garden side of Fred Meyer I saw some smoke coming from near Dunn Lumber's fence that borders us.
Smoke was rising from the ground.
I ran over to find that a 5'x6' patch of bark had been burnt and turned black.
The periphery of this area was still smoldering and slowly spreading.
Maybe this thing had been going for hours.
I went inside and told my manager. He knew what I was talking about.
Apparently we get those a couple times a year.
He says the bark spontaneously ignites.
My thought is a carelessly placed cigarette, but what difference does it make, there was a fire.
So we went to the garden side and pulled a bunch of pots.
We found a flat-bed cart and loaded it up with the pots.
The nearest hose wasn't that far off, and we filled the buckets at our leisure.
We rolled over to the site and between the four of us that were there (two garden people joined in on the excitement),
the fire was out in about 2 minutes.
We'd pour water, wait for smoke to dissipate, check to see what was still smoking, pour more water and repeat as necessary.
It wasn't really that big of a job.

To reward myself, I went back inside to the bakery. There I know this girl Lindsay who decorates all the cakes and cupcakes. She knew what I had come for, "Cookie time?" she asked.
I nod, she points. Sugar cookies! I grab a handful and go.
I offer some to fellow employees on the floor, but for some reason they see eating on the sales floor as unprofessional. What do they know?

After finishing those, I notice the jewelry department is having a huge sale and using all sorts of methods (food) to attract people.
Right as I'm walking by, I see pizza warmers sitting on one of the cases. This is worth waiting around for. Garlic Jim's has delivered! I wait for the right moment and go up to one of the jewelry women with which I frequently conversate.
"It would really help me out if you could get me some pizza," I tell her.
She tells me she'll see what she can do. She goes up to her employee and whispers that I want some pizza. She pulls out two slices, artichoke hearts with some sort of white sauce. Good-looking pizza. She gives me two slices, I thank her and I run. Her manager who thinks of me as a pest to his department yells out, "Hey! He needs to pay for that!"
However, it was aimed at the jewelry employee and not me, so I keep going.
I try to share my precious find, but again the "food on the sales floor" doesn't sit well with some people.
So I went outside and enjoyed them by myself.

The rest of my day was spent climbing a ladder and hanging banners from the ceiling.
I'm so going to miss getting paid for doing not so much work with some perks here and there.
When they hire my replacement they'll maybe find that they didn't really need that person.
HA! Wouldn't that be hilarious.
But in the meantime, I'm enjoying my time, especially my time where I get paid to do not a whole lot.

And don't even get me started on the pool...