Observations

I'm consistently amazed at the fact that people who are unhappy react with anger. Whether it's a customer that's unsatisfied with their dog's haircut, or an associate that is upset with another employee, I find it just odd that anger is more often than not a first response.

With co-workers, it's a little different and maybe justifiable. You spend so many days ignoring someone, blowing them off, and trying your damndest to be as positive as you possibly can in their generally negative-presence. Eventually, you just pop. And then you stay popped until either you or the other employee is gone. Unhealthy? Yes. Understandable? Yes. (Side note: Does "Understandable" mean "Not Derstandable"?)

With customers, it's a little different. A lot of people bring their dogs in for the first time ever, the dog has never been groomed, it freaks out the entire time, the groom takes longer than it should, the dog doesn't look as good as it could if would have just stayed still, and when the customer comes to pick the dog up, if they are unsatisfied, more often than not, they fly off the handle!

Let's backtrack. If it's your dog's first haircut, why would you expect it to be a perfect gentleman and sit on the table and let itself be groomed? I'm sure a majority of children act irrationally when they get their haircut the first time. I didn't, but I was a good little boy.

Secondly, if your dog has never been groomed before and you bring it in tangled up and looking a right mess, you should probably expect it to take longer because your dog looked like it just rolled out of a grease pit. Brush/Comb your damn dog!

Thirdly, all groom times are approximate. It takes longer to groom a dog when you call every ten minutes to ask if your dog is ready. How about this? I'll call you when it's done. That's what I told you the last three times you called. Douchebag.

Fourthly, if you're disappointed in the way the dog looks, most likely I am too. I know what a good groom looks like. I also know what your dog let me do. Don't get mad at me because your dog is a little bitch and tried to bite me the whole damn time. Be thankful that I didn't decapitate your dog with my scissors.

So with that said, it's nice when a customer comes through that fits the above scenario, takes one look at their dog and says, "Fan-Fabulous." I'm not sure what that word means, but I'm going to take it as a good sign.

I consider it a good day if I don't get yelled at by any customers. I just don't do angry.

Non-Zen Dog Grooming

Okay, while my previous post is overall accurate, I thought I should update about my shitty day so that people don't get the impression that it's all fun and games down in Fergie-land.

Basically in the short version, I got behind on my dogs. I tried to make up for it on a particular pair of dogs (they came together from the same owner) by working quickly and letting my quality of work suffer. In the process, I knicked a dog's pad. For those not familiar with canine anatomy, if you cut a dog's pad, it tends to bleed, even if the cut isn't that deep. Dog's don't clot very well on their feet.

Anyway, that was strike one.

Strike two was since I was so behind, I skipped over aspects of the dog that I normally pay a lot of attention to. As a result, portions of the haircut were uneven. I thought the dog looked like shit.

Come to find out, the owner did too. I'm pretty sure they got a refund. And they deserved a refund. I wouldn't have paid for that shitty-ass haircut. It's not like a human haircut, where you can correct the stylist during the haircut if she starts making your head look uneven.

My dad used to point out when I did a crappy job with my chores. Let's say I was supposed to vacuum that day and I only vacuumed the traffic lanes. My dad would ask, "Son, did you vacuum today?"

"Yes."

"Well, did you vacuum under the chair?"

"No."

"Did you vacuum under the table?"

"No."

"Well, then how can you say you vacuumed? If you miss one aspect of vacuuming then it's just as if you didn't do it. Go vacuum the floor."

"Yes, dad."

So, while there was no Strike Three in the case of my two dogs today, there was a moral to this story: It's not worth doing if it's not worth doing right.

I'm going to be Zen about this and use this situation to re-affirm my commitment to quality work. Let's count it as a learning experience.

The Zen of Dog Grooming

This was my first week as a commissioned dog groomer. I've been doing them at an hourly rate for about six weeks now. But this week was the first where I actually made commission. I made about $150 more gross than I would have at my hourly rate. That isn't really all that much if you think about it, but it's cushion room. Especially for someone who can't afford to fix his car, has been living vicariously from paycheck to paycheck and with assistance from the parents in the cases of emergencies. I've had about seventy bucks a week left over after the bills are paid (rent, utilities, cell phone, Useless food and meds) to cover food, gas and entertainment. And that's without trying to save any money.

I'm decent at planning my money. I've just gotten into tight spots through a combination of being overly-generous to friends in need and not collecting on debts that people owe me (i.e. former roomates not paying their rent and me having to cover it). My credit card debt is almost entirely from when I was commuting to Little Rock from Conway for an internship. But I just paid off one, with two to go. One has an absurdly low interest rate, so I may never pay it off intentionally. I could probably garner a higher savings rate than the interest rate I have on that credit card.

Maybe it's because my financial situation is starting to look up that I've felt an odd sort of peace all week. Maybe it's from chronically watching Lost on NetFlix (which I recently purchased for the sole purpose of watching Lost). There's a lot of feel-good episodes on there. As I write this, I'm about mid-way throught the second season. For not having ever watched the show before, I've made an impressive dent in the show in about three weeks. I'm hoooked.

Maybe it's because in the first time in a long time, I actually enjoy my job. I've always liked working for PetSmart in some manifest, despite numerous times of trying to quit. It's a good company, and they take care of their employees. I have spectacular health insurance and should I die, my mom gets about $70,000 in life insurance. That should cover the expensive funeral I want in which I donate my body to science. It's a good company to work for.

But it's been a long while since I actually enjoyed what I was doing. I credit the dogs. Whether because I'm more certain about what I'm doing or because just find my face more attractive shaved, they've been more at peace with me. And the feeling is recipricol.

For whatever reason, my life has been incredibly peaceful this week. Low stress. Money in the bank. A job outlook that is increasingly looking more and more promisinig (man, did I just hedge that sentence).

I early anticipate blogging from up high.

Ain't Nothin' Gonna Break My Stride