Conscience

Do you have one?
If you get something you're not supposed to, say, at a store and realize the error the clerk made later on when you get home, do you do anything about it?
Do you go back and pay for it?
Do you call them and tell them the mistake and say you'll come back in to pay for it? Or maybe pay over the phone with a credit card if they accept such a method?

I resolved all of these questions in my mind and heart long, long ago. I don't have to think about it - I do the right thing. Because they "gave" it to you - on error - does not mean it's right to just keep it. If you can sleep at night doing such a thing - I will not say more power to you, because I believe it to be unethical and immoral.

I'm not preaching to anyone, really, just making my observations and opinion about it. I was given 6 bags of dog food today, when I should have gotten 5. I am currently buying Nutra dog food - it's an excellent quality food and this place has a smoking deal on it at $22.95 per bag. The extra bonus is after you buy 10 bags, you get an extra bag free. I didn't know I had reached the 10 bag quota for the freebie. The guy showed me my card and asked if I wanted the extra bag today? Yes, I do - I don't want them to make a mistake and have them thinking I already got the free bag and then not get it on my next visit.

Well, I was on the phone with my mother and not paying a lot of attention to the fact that he had put out 6 bags for me, not 5. I was trying to get mother off of the phone - not that I didn't want to talk to her but I think it extremely rude to stand there on a cellphone talking while doing a transaction at the counter. It's not totally my fault, though. I was standing at the front of the store, talking with mother and was just going to wait there until the conversation was finished and then go to the counter. Well, the guy running the store came in from the outside - drenched in sweat from moving bales of hay around - and asked if I needed anything. I pointed at the dog food and told him 4 bags, and then it went on from there.

Anyway, I grabbed the bags he put out. Piling them up in my utility room, I counted 6 bags. My mind is just all over the place today which is why I really didn't give it much credence until I got home with it. I would have identified the problem sooner if I had been here on planet earth. I'm still perplexed and a little rattled at the situation with work. I don't feel any sense of job security at all right now. Fear? No. But - if something like that happens, it creates a huge vacuum and a HUGE problem. I have absolutely NO desire to start over somewhere else right now. I am not a job-jumper at heart, I did it until I found the place I'm at, I just didn't want to waste my life away working at sub-par companies that treat their employees like crap. My company treats employees like gold.

So, I got a free bag of dog food. Yes, the free bag I legitimately got, the other bag I am going back in there tomorrow after work to pay for it. It's a great deal, no sense in taking it back, the prices undoubtedly will go back up on that stuff and it's just as well to keep it. Some - maybe many - people would say they made the mistake - too bad for them. I don't really want to judge people - I'll just say that I would not be able to sleep tonight wearing that kind of crown on my head. I already have problems with sleep - and it has nothing to do with stealing bags of dog food.

Speaking of money, Discount Cab just called me not 30 minutes ago. I had totally forgotten about that. I'm telling you, I am definitely not quite right, right now. They want me to get the DMV 5-year driving history report and come in. Them calling me means they must need drivers. The lady was quite amenable - and quite honest about the daily pay. I asked. I laid down a "line" (in my mind, not to Discount Cab) - I do not want to take on any part time job that pays less than half minimum of what I am currently making. I truly believe I can make more than the average taxi driver - service and attitude are everything, I have encountered my share of drivers that are absent-minded, calloused, even rude. They do their job - but they do it minimally. Sure, they get the fare, but they apparently don't think about the potential of getting a tip for doing more than just sitting there, driving the car. No doubt there are people that pay the fare only regardless of how well you treated them, no doubting as well that there are people that will hand you a tip on top of the fare.

The only problem - sacrificing either Saturdays or even entire weekends. No. I will only do it one day per week, I must have at least one day off.

Michael and Kyle just went to a skateboard park. Caleb didn't want to go, I totally don't blame him. I warned Michael he better take a lot of water with him. He took nothing. It's currently 110 degrees out there. A couple more hours it will be minimum 112, if not much higher. As I said, I warned him. I'm going out there in a few minutes, but with an ice cold drink in hand. That wide-brimmed hat would be nice, right about now.

Oh, a lady at Fry's told me today about a couple of places with job openings. Target is opening a distribution center somewhere in Tempe and Walmart is opening a store in Tempe as well. I will NOT work for Walmart - my ex was treated very poorly by management when she worked there. I rarely go to Walmart, I have been learning to find ways to stay away from that place. I can't say I never go, but my visits have dropped exponentially. I really do not want to support a company that is abusive towards it's employees. I get that information not only from the ex when she was working there, but also from talking with numerous ex Walmart employees and even a couple of news stories that have hinted at the same.

Enough.
Later.
ben