Adventures in Retail

In the past month, I've had a few unexpected moments, some of them good and some of them bad. I feel they've all made me more aware and even a little more fearless. They've also made me realize what joy there can be even during stress and chaos and hard work. I'll share some of the following.

 My mom saw that I work with a mouse and mouse pad on a daily basis. She found me a special mouse pad with a crown on it, and said it reminded her of something I might like. I use it everyday.

 This is one of the trees on my photo set. Two L-shaped stockings frame a round ornament. Is it just me, or does it seem like this tree is trying to spell out "LOL"?

 When I least expected it, I was suddenly surrounded by a bunch of mariachi players who serenaded the shoppers with Jiggle Bells, Feliz Navidad and even Schubert's Ave Maria. It reminded me of a similar performance that happened at my College last year. :)

I heard otherworldly singing coming from the set when I stepped away for a moment. When I walked back, I saw a caroling vocal quartet, in full Victorian winter garb. I sang along quietly, and one woman who worked with them said I should consider joining the group in the future. :) I would love to! 

Velvet Gent

Gotta love those ruffles!

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of a lady named Rose. She told me today that she'd like to have me photograph her 10 (ten!) grandchildren and after introducing herself with a handshake, she didn't let go of my hands until the conversation was over. It shocked me to realize that even when I get to work with people every day, and I truly enjoy being kind, accommodating and making my customers happy, I still have so many walls and boundaries up. Perhaps that's because of my nationality (living in the US my whole life) or because I really am quintessentially shy. I'm still so much more outgoing than I used to be, but I see that I'm also just naturally an introvert. No ifs, ands or buts about it, I guess.

Believe me when I say that I've seen even more weird and wonderful things going down in this mall (like fairies that paint faces and make balloon animals for kids for free!), and I'll do my best to bring all my awesome readers photographic evidence. Haha!

Or should I say:

That's all for now. See you next Thursday!