"Just the milk"

"Good Evening, How's your day been, up to anything interesting?

I can recall at least four seperate occasions when I've made myself the same promise, and on each of those occasions I've broken it. Yep, as I stand there in my bright blue open collar shirt, close enough to the person standing in front of me for it to slightly uncomfortable for us both, and yet mentally far enough away to keep it superficial....never make sustained eye contact, that's the industry secret.

"Hi there Gary" reading my oversized fonted name badge "Can't complain, woke up this morning so guess it's a good day!"

"Good one!"

Oh yes! Some two years after I set down my Tesco tannoy microphone for the last time, or so I thought, I've gone and again donned my checkout smile and you now read the adventures of the newest recruit of Fresh Choice Supermarket.
I can't completely decide what was the most influencing factor in convincing me to go back, it could have been a security thing, finding a comfort zone maybe? I'm more inclined to think it's my bleeding legs!
We've been in Queenstown now for the best part of a month, and jobs aren't hard to come by, that's as long as your not too fussy and to be fair after managing three weeks labouring in Auckland, I can assure I'm not too fussy.
So as you do when you hit a new town, I join up with the local recruitment agencies. I'm a little wary as there seems to be no agencies that deal with office work, not overly concerned though, it's a small town and they probably can't specialise that much? My first couple of days work go well, just moving some furniture into some new houses, no real stress, and working with travellers, so a laid back atmosphere. Queenstown as a whole seems to carry that atmosphere, this is strickly a "no tie town"

"Hi is that Gary?"
"Yeah"
"It's Tradestaff, you signed up yesterday"
"Oh Yeah"
"We've got a job for you for next week, have you ever done any landscaping?"
"Cool, no, is that a problem? I'm quite happy to lend my hand to anything though!"
"Nah, should be alright, they'll show what to do, just come in and I'll get you a timesheet, and give you the directions"
"Cool, I'll see you this afternoon"

Landscaping! sounds a bit flash, I've watched Alan Titchmarsh though, should be able to blag it, how hard can it be, just planting a few shrubs, laying a deck, airating the soil, pruning the perenials, I'm sure nothing to it, all those long summer days cutting my grannies grass could count as previous experience, couldn't it?

As I stand on the side of the highway on a slope of around 70 degrees, industrial petrol strimmer in hand, pissing rain, slicing at the bairley grass covered hill with muscle wrenching near vertical motions, yet another stone propells itself towards my face, this one not a bleeder, but plenty of it's predicessors have been, my soft office skin in getting lacerated, my face now looks tennager like, and my arms and legs are covered in chicken pock scaring. No more, It's been two weeks and I can't take anymore. I once listed freshly cut grass in my top 5 favourite smells, even that now isn't enough to motivate, I'm at breaking point, where is salvation going to come from? my phone rings...

"Hi is that Gary?"
"Yeah"
"It's FreshChoice Supermarket, you put in an application form yesterday"
"Oh Yeah"
"We were really impressed by you previous experience, how would like a job on the checkouts, you can start immediately"
"Fanbloodytastic!"

The next day I made the very difficult decision to call short my job on the hill and start on the checkout in the supermarket.
The difference is, now..

"Good Evening, How's your day been, up to anything interesting?"

isn't a disconnected line, it's a thank christ I'm not stuck on a bloody hill, in the pissing rain, with my limbs mutilated, very genuinley relieved and interested inquiry into the lives of others, well sort of.