resisting the urge to title this post, I will begin by saying: wouldnt it be cool to be the guy who came up with the algorithm that determines the nhl schedule. I mean clearly they don't have a person who hums on this important layout with a hot coffee, saying 'wouldnt it be nice if the lightning had a stretch during rochocho week...the increase in hockey-minded people would sell out the building.'
Is it ceremonial? do executives dress up for the occasion? They should. It's important. it definitely affects their incomes. youd think with such close dependence on it they'd do it themselves, and maybe they do.

I smell the bread in the bread aisle, and hear George just at the last minute. 'you done facing?' "uh, just this last aisle.
' 'this is my only aisle left to do'
'k..when youre done that, go on break then help Nick move some stuff out of the basement'
sometimes he sounded american. but he was greek. he had blue and white greece jacket that he wore in november, and his last name was Hrikos or somethiing. He didn't like small talk. We rarely interacted apart from the orders and advice he gave me, which always pertained to the grocery dept. at oxford st. valu mart. I wouldnt have minded receiving a bit of life advice from him. not that i would have taken it seriously. his orders were always given quickly but with the fewest possible syllables, and often misplaced words that nonetheless conveyed his message, or so he thought. One time--and this was the great crescendo of our relationship--I was working dairy, and there was a sale on juice. they were crammed in our end freezer when i came in. george told me to keep an eye on them and refill them when they got empty. so i refilled them, but kept them in the arrangement they were in before. so it was like
Orange Orange Peach Peach Peach Watermelon Watermelon
The skid I took them from was overloaded with peach--a nearly 4--1 ratio probably. So watermelon ran out. I took all the watermelon from the crate and refilled the row, which was now only about 2 deep. 6 in total. theres all kinds of space behind them, enough for maybe 9 cartons. But it looked good. and the rows were preserved in the manner i found them in. all was good, but i would keep an eye out for them. in the meantime, i chose to start my freezer work. i made my list from a piece of cardboard I'd torn off a box and walked quickly down the stairs by the produce dept. the place is ripe for a game of hide and seek. I'd just get the main things off the list. oh shit, fuck, damn, damn. forgot the delhi freezer. I sprinted back up the stairs and right as I burst through the doors wheeled around to check the time--it was only 5 45--then walked very quickly through the store to the delhi. a few whipped creams, 3 bags of raspberries, 2 grapes (frozen grapes?) and a summer blend were needed. i jotted this down and bolted around to see Shan Dhami--whatsup man, you work here? yeah man, its a pretty whack gig too, my manager has me running around. who the fuck buys frozen grapes? I showed him the list. he laughed. he was with josh mcvicker and they both seemed stoned. They may have even offered to burn with me behind the mart. this isnt clear though. anyway, i'd better get back to work. see you boys later. I felt quite happy. those guys were cool. what made it cool was that they could relate to my situation. I think josh had been unemployed throughout that year and sold a lot of dope. we went to his apartment one day before economics. but this for a later time. ... as I kept going I saw George, and he didnt look happy. I was unprepared--confused, really, because I didnt think i'd fucked up anything I'd been in charge of that day. "I told you to fill the juice.' 'i did.' "where? (he raised his voice) show me what you did" he We walked over to the end cap. I looked at roughly what I'd looked at 10 minutes ago, when I filled it. there were a few missing, but my rows were still there. he pulled aside the watermelons, which were down to the last 2, and inserted them into the other rows. this exposed 3 full rows "...fuck" i gulped and felt my face get hot. this always happened when the eyes of authority bore through my skin, when I'd done something wrong and been scolded. 'this is becoming a problem, and i don't know how to deal with it. you always say you get what i tell you, but it's never done right. come here, i'll show you. '

A great man of valu mart was jeff reid. he never complained, was nice to customers, was well-liked by fellow employees, and was easily the best grocery manager to work with. this was

I'd been picking my nose. the lady who's manning the deli counter looks like she's been there all day. and the montreal smoked meat looks sadder than her.

but always of higher importance is the game itself. this is meant in a bare sense. many could say justifiably that the character of the game has been compromised by the saturation of brand-marketing and the shininess of it all, the product of it all. In this case, I mean the integrity of the game. Tainting is an egregious offense in pro sports. A large part of the aesthetic of 'the game', or at least a reason some people assume in their admiration for it, is it's pitting of two parties against each other, raw, pure competition. in someone's If league officials suspect any Any influence on the outcome of a game that is external to the players' competitive spirit is is considered a great breach. e Tim Donahugy is one memorable case