I have absolutely no motivation whatsoever to go to work today. Recently, customers tend to annoy and aggravate me more than usual, no idea why. This is why I'll be live-blogging my workday here today. Every time I get an idiot customer getting on my nerves, I'll take a small break afterwards and write about it here.

Now that I've announced this, I probably won't get all that many sucky customers, but even if I do, ranting here will help. Hopefully.

I'm handing in my resignation on Tuesday (when my boss comes back from vacation).

( And so it begins ... )

( and the next one ... )

( colour blind )

( but I'm too laaaazy! )

( Thou shalt have no other customers besides me )

Hey customers! You know what? Asking me questions, and then not only ignoring my answers, but dismissing my excellent advice? Makes me want to poke you with sharp objects.

That is all for today.

When I ask you if you want a plastic bag for your purchase, just answer "yes" or "no."

Why, oh why do people feel the need to tell me a long, convoluted story explaining their need (or lack thereof) for a bag? I don't care if you

* didn't plan on buying anything today, thus leaving your shopping bag at home, but on your way past the store suddenly felt the inexplicable urge to buy yarn for twenty dishcloths

* have a backpack with you, but there are groceries in there from the market down the street, and you just don't want your precious new skeins of alpaca to get dirty

* already carry a gazillion bags from other stores and do not, under any circumstances, want yet another bag ZOMG!!!1!

Also, asking "do you have any?" in answer to my question only makes me want to say "no," and watch your head explode.

Again, it was an eerily quiet day at work. In past years, the weeks before Christmas were hectic and laborious, with only a few moments a day to catch your breath. The streets were full of people looking for Christmas presents, and the lucky ones who had finished their shopping filled the cafes and restaurants nearby.

This year, the first three weeks of December were awfully quiet, as if people had forgotten about their Christmas shopping, perhaps because of the unusually warm weather. The temperature rarely dropped below 10°C, there's even a blossoming cherry tree in my neighbourhood! No wonder no one is thinking about Christmas.

But even now that the streets are finally bustling with people, only very few of them find their way into the yarn shop. And when they do, it's only to by a single skein of sock yarn, or a few balls of yarn for a scarf. Hardly anyone buys a sweater's worth of yarn anymore – or any of the machine knit sweaters for that matter.

Where are people buying their presents these days? Have they all switched over to e-commerce? I know it's delightfully convenient to just have everyone send you their Amazon-Wishlist, but is that really what's happening? Or are people just not spending any money because the fear the sales tax raise in January?

I just had a customer loudly proclaiming her debit card PIN for everyone around her to hear.

customer: Can I pay with my debit card?
LYS employee extraordinaire (me): Of course! *works the debit card machine* Just enter your PIN here.
customer: Oh, I need my PIN? Let's see if I can remember it ... seven seven ...
me: Um, you probably shouldn't ...
custmer: I'm pretty sure it's seven seven five zero. Let me just take a look here ... *grabs the locket from her necklace, opens it* Yes, it's seven seven five zero! *types in PIN*
me and other customers: o.O

I was so tempted to just keep that woman's debit card. She was confused enough, I bet she wouldn't even have noticed. ;)

Ah well, she's a regular and I know her name. Maybe I'll just tell her which number to enter the next time she comes here.

Our boss is in the process of redecorating the shop windows, which means that they're empty this afternoon. Now that it's getting dark outside, I feel very uncomfortable with all those people walking by, staring through the windows at me.

It's still going pretty slow. I'm afraid that people will suddenly remember they need warm clothes and knitting supplies two weeks before Christmas, and then storm into the shop all at once.

I've been knitting the sleeves of the Weekend Pullover all afternoon, but every time I measure it, it's 47cm long. And I need it to be 49cm. It's driving me crazy!

Thank the Gods it's Friday! And I don't have to work on Saturday. Yay!

Still not much to do; I'm making progress on the Weekend Pullover while the store is empty. :)

My mother is flying to Tunesia today with a friend. It's 25°C over there! I'm green with envy.

ETA: Ugh, half an hour later the idiots began storming the store. Listen, lady, if you don't want to hear any answers except for the ones you're expecting, don't fucking ask me in the first place! Also, when asking me a question, don't interrupt me every two seconds when I'm trying my best to phrase the answer in simple terms so your stupid little brain can comprehend it. kthxbai

I take it all back! Difficult customers are better than no customers, after all. The ridiculously warm November weather here (10-15°C) makes people buy all sorts of things, but not wool or woollen sweaters. I've been sitting in the shop for up to 45 minutes at a time, and not a single customer!

At least we got sock yarn for sale today: 100g Meilenweit by Lana Grossa for 3,95€. That seems to draw a few people in. I think I'll go snatch up a few balls of Mega Boots Stretch for myself now. :)

Okay, only six more weeks to go until Christmas. This week, I have to work an extra shift, so I'll be spending 20 hours in the yarn shop, trying not to strangle any asshole customers. At least business is still slow because of the warm weather. People don't seem to be thinking about woollen sweaters yet. I just hope this won't lead to loads of last-minute customers who decide they have to knit a scarf two weeks before Christmas, and how dare we not carry that fugly-as-hell extra-special cat barf fun fur they need ZOMG right now!!!11!1!!

Ah, now I feel better. Off to work, whee!