I am so sick of coffee

[drjonah]

Reminds me of the cafe at the Awful-mart I used to work at. Mondays would be free coffee day for seniors and of course, there would be the bored old men pee-pee dancing at the door waiting for the store to open at 7. Although sometimes they would be sneaky and follow employees in and make a mad dash for the cafe to get their free coffee.

HEAVEN FORBID the person working the cafe didn't have the coffee ready to go at 7am or there would be hell to pay!

[Seshat]

There are few places near me where the ground surface is reliably flat and the climate is controlled, especially somewhere where there's actually room to walk around.

There's .. the nearby mall. And ... the other nearby mall.

Not any of the gyms - they have a small room for yoga and the like, the rest of the space is weights stuff.
Not the pools, walking around there is unsafe, too slippery-and-wet.
The parks are uneven ground surfaces and not climate controlled.

Even better, the mall has reliable public transport. And places to get drinks and food.

Now, this does not justify using a commercial space as a public exercise area. But perhaps it explains it.

[Food Lady]

I don't have any problem with them mall-walking; I might do it after the snow starts. It's just the entitlement I have an issue with.

[Dreamstalker]

On the 20 minutes guy -- That may be a liability, as your attention is very much diverted elsewhere, and he could get hurt. Will the manglement at least try to get him to stop?

Once when I was coming off the night shift, some old guy pushed his way in with an employee about 10 minutes before opening to use the bottle machine (I've said for years that we should have the machines outside--most other stores do). At that time the alarm had been turned off, so the stockers who happened to be on the front end were the only ones who noticed. Nobody did anything until the geezer jammed the machine and tried to start shopping when it was obvious we were still officially closed...he didn't get tossed out even though SM was on the floor and must have seen him.

HEAVEN FORBID the person working the cafe didn't have the coffee ready to go at 7am or there would be hell to pay!

We have a coffee machine near the bakery. You wouldn't (or would) believe the tantrums if it's broken that morning or one of the bakeshop girls is cleaning/filling it. Now, if we had a small Dunkin or Starbucks in the store--or carafes with a brand we sell--I could understand hissyfits, but lousy overpriced coffee from a machine that's more trouble than it's worth?

[ADeMartino]

I have no ill will toward mall-walkers, per se. But the last time I worked in a mall (back in the early 1990s), many of the mall-walkers we had to deal with weren't just rude, they were f*cking OBNOXIOUS. They'd go out of their way to be a pain in the ass.

They would completely ignore signs, barriers, and even verbal warnings if you had an area closed off - like for floor maintenance, repairs, hanging decorations, etc. Nope, they'd just plow right through - even if there were ample room to go AROUND. You're here to stay healthy, bud? Then take the few extra steps to go around, and don't walk through an area where something might actually INJURE you. Trust me, we'll ALL be happier.

The stores didn't open until 10am - though the mall opened up to the walkers at like 8. They'd be banging on the barricades and screaming to add various store to their 'route'. That's right - they didn't want to shop so much as they wanted to walk up and down EVERY SINGLE AISLE of the stores. While the crews were stocking shelves, cleaning, getting ready to open, etc. And when the stores DID open, they'd be power-walking through the stores as customers were trying to shop - and as I mentioned earlier, anything in their path essentially got run down.

As I would get there very early, I'd park my car up close to the entrance of the mall. There weren't assigned parking spots or any protocol about WHERE an employee could park. One old bat got in my face because I'd parked close. Her complaint? SHE DIDN'T WANT TO WALK SO FAR TO GET INTO THE MALL. WTF? She's there to walk AROUND THE MALL, and she was crabbing up a storm that she had to walk another dozen or so steps to get INTO the mall. Never mind that I'm unloading equipment and supplies and actually have a need to park close.

I get that mall-walking is a way to get exercise when the weather is really hot, really cold, rainy, snowy, or just otherwise uncooperative. But they'd show up during the most beautiful, idyllic mornings imaginable, just to go 'round and 'round inside the mall. I also get that it's also a social thing, too, but this just seems a tad excessive to me. And some of them would drive considerable distances to do this, too. I would routinely see a big Lincoln in the parking lot with Indiana plates. That was a good 60 miles or so he was driving (round trip) EVERY MORNING to walk 'round in circles.

[wolfie]

The mall near where I used to live (Tacoma) regularly had shootings, so I wouldn't consider that particularly safe.

Probably still safer than trying to get their exercise out on the Tundra. Now where did I "pick up" my punning habit?