My new co-workers

Thought I'd introduce you to the people I work with. Of course, we all work different shifts throughout each week, so we don't see each other every day.

Larry is a manager and he's the one who trained me. He's got the best customer service personality I think because he's always high energy, and can multi-task like I've never seen before. He can strike up a conversation with anyone and make that person laugh, feel happy and respected. He's a DJ on the local radio station on Tuesday mornings and plays jazz. He's quirky and goofy and all around fun, and he knows how to handle all kinds of customer attitudes, both good and bad. When Larry is the manager working that day, the whole atmosphere and energy is different in the store.

Lisa is another manager and she's a lot of fun too. She's much more laid back and calm. She loves to joke around and she empathizes a lot with us as sales associates. She works hard and she's also good in handling difficult customers. Lisa is warm and friendly. I enjoy having Larry on the floor, but it's less intimidating when she's in charge. Sometimes I feel like Larry is keeping a close eye on me and giving me pointers on everything. I appreciate Larry's ever-training, but it's tiring too.

Daniel is the store manager, above Larry and Lisa. He's very friendly, but business-like. He's very laid back and friendly too. He's one to ask more about my personal life than the others. He has a slightly different accent in some of his vowels. Not sure if it's a NJ thing or a NYC thing. I'm curious to find out.

Mark is a sales associate like me, and he's been named a "slacker" by my other coworkers. Apparently, he tries to get us to do his projects, and sometimes he's MIA. He does help me when I've helped him, so I'm not sure how much of a slacker he really is... He loves his sudoku. He's a gentle man, nice; he lives with his 92 year old aunt and takes care of her. Mark is also a prankster. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Nina is an older Indian woman with a thick accent. I have to pay close attention to her when she speaks, because she says everything like a statement (with lots of head nods), whether it's a question, opinion, or suggestion. She's a little nosy about my life, with very specific "questions" about all kinds of things: my living situation, my husband, how I like our job, where I go grocery shopping, and whether or not I pack a lunch. I suppose she's just looking out for me and giving me good advice because she knows I'm new to the area. I like Nina.

Rachel is nice, but a little difficult for me to get along with because she's so negative. I'm not sure about her life and why she makes it a habit to find something to gripe/cuss about, but I do know she has cerebral palsy. I think she thinks we should be best friends. I hope she will come to understand that her attitude reflects her need for Christ in her life. Rachel also loves Panera.

Mitch is new as of yesterday. I hope I'm completely wrong about him, because based on his facial expressions and overall attitude, it looked like he did not want to be there. He reminded me of a former student who was so unmotivated for school and studying. Apparently, Daniel had hired another person who never showed up, so they hired Mitch. Mitch is closest to me in age.

Tim is crazy. Period. He's older than any of us and he's wears his white hair long in a ponytail. He works in the basement and is in charge of all deliveries. We're talking hundreds of boxes a week. He has several signs in his workspace (basically a desk surrounded by stacked boxes) that say: "gone crazy, be back soon" and "don't listen to the man behind the screen". He's a jokester but very friendly, like a crazy old grandpa type.

I met Mickey one day when I went on my 15 minute break. I turned on the lights and he scurried across the room. The second I realized it, I spun around to Tim (the break room opens to his work area) and exclaimed "there's a mouse in here!". He chuckled and said "yeah! that's Mickey!". I reassured him that I wasn't scared of it, but that it wasn't good to have mice in there. He said: "wait til you have kids and they want them as pets! HA!".

So there you have it. A few other people work in other departments, but these are my closest co-workers. I'm hoping to start up a sweet treat on a bi-monthly basis: treats on non-paydays. This Wednesday would be the first day, and I'm planning on brownies. Hopefully the others will like it and start to contribute themselves!

PS. Everyone except me and Mitch, has been working at the store for over 10 years. I can't speak for Mickey.