we're closing due to the fire, you know, the FIRE??

[chainedbarista]

maybe not sucky, but certainly annoying; we have one of the 'regulars' (he buys a coffee or whatever he can afford after panhandling, but usually just annoys us all day for water and restroom tokens) come in around 3:30 pm, nothing new, just another day.

except, right now, we're under fire evacuation warnings for most of the nearby areas, so most stores nearby have already closed and sent everyone home. we're getting ready for the same, still serving, but ready for the call.

we get it about four pm; we serve the last few people and start closing things down, so we can also go home-manager posts a sign stating our early closing and why.

this idiot comes in, wanting water; my manager tells him, hey, we're closing, so you'll have to get it to go. no problem, right? WRONG.

idiot then comes INSIDE, sits down and acts as if nothing's different; outside, traffic is dwindling rapidly, when normally, it's insane at this time of day. does this clue the genius in that there's something not quite right? nope, not at all.

he sits, stares, looks around, and our manager has to tell him TWICE, after the first time (which would have been enough for most people) that we are CLOSED and he needs to leave.

he stares at them stupidly for a few seconds, then says, 'allright, man, i'm going...' as if we're pushing him out for no real reason.

gah! what do some people need, a hydrogen bomb exploding underneath their asses to get a clue? there are many FIRES burining, people are leaving and SO SHOULD YOU. sheesh.

yah, i know, not that big of a deal, but i wonder about the state of reality for some people. argh.

[Jack T. Chance]

Remember where you are, though. You're in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AKA "So Cal" or "Lo Cal"! Yes, that's right, you're in an area that is home to what are, without a doubt, some of the absolute STUPIDEST morons to ever walk the face of the Earth! Morons so stupid, they don't even have 2 brain cells to rub together to spark a thought!

And THEN you add on top of that the ADDITIONAL stupidity that results in someone becoming a HOMELESS PANHANDLER?!? Yeah, it's NO WONDER the guy doesn't have a clue!

The best thing you can do for yourself is get out of that idiot-infested area PRONTO and never return!

--Dan (Who cringes every time he sees the brain dead Californians on Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" and who also thanks his lucky stars EVERY DAY that his own plans to move to So Cal ended up being thwarted!)

[BookstoreEscapee]

Yes, that's right, you're in an area that is home to what are, without a doubt, some of the absolute STUPIDEST morons to ever walk the face of the Earth! eek:[/SIZE]

Worse than 867?

I can't watch Jaywalking. It makes me . Then again, if I'm up that late, I'm watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

[Jack T. Chance]

Worse than 867?

I can't watch Jaywalking. It makes me . Then again, if I'm up that late, I'm watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Do I even want to know what "867" is?

[Greenday]

The guy probably left, walked around, found a fire blazing, and decided to roast some marshmallows and make some smores. But we aren't that lucky. You'd think he'd want to get his ass out of there if fires are in the area.

[Acolyte]

Do I even want to know what "867" is?

The source of Gravekeeper's insanity, better known as Nunavut, Canada. The dictionary definition of 'backwater' or 'buttfuck nowhere'.

It's kinda sad how many people just sorta ignore the fact that there's a natural disaster in progress. Oh, well, eventually it'll be Darwinism in action.

[gunsage]

The guy probably left, walked around, found a fire blazing, and decided to roast some marshmallows and make some smores.

[Sharsarannon]

Remember where you are, though. You're in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AKA "So Cal" or "Lo Cal"! Yes, that's right, you're in an area that is home to what are, without a doubt, some of the absolute STUPIDEST morons to ever walk the face of the Earth! Morons so stupid, they don't even have 2 brain cells to rub together to spark a thought!
--Dan (Who cringes every time he sees the brain dead Californians on Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" and who also thanks his lucky stars EVERY DAY that his own plans to move to So Cal ended up being thwarted!)

Oh hey now.
Only a few Californians are braindead morons. We survive fire. Midnight earthquake? We roll over and go back to sleep. Eightfoot waves and high seas? We break out surfboards. Floods? We rebuild. Not to mention we grow 1/3 of the world's fresh produce and probably made your computer's brain.

If what you know about California comes from TV, you're about ninety miles off-base.
And dude, you live in Maryland. Nooooo room to talk. Yes, I just said Dude.

[Hon'ya-chan]

Oh hey now.
Only a few Californians are braindead morons. We survive fire. Midnight earthquake? We roll over and go back to sleep. Eightfoot waves and high seas? We break out surfboards. Floods? We rebuild. Not to mention we grow 1/3 of the world's fresh produce and probably made your computer's brain.

Plus you have some of the worlds dumbest Gun Laws, the most stupidest Car regulations, and how many frickin' warning labels for Dihydrogen Monoxide do we need really? IT'S WATER FOR CHRIST SAKES!!!

[Technetium]

Word, Sharsarannon. Insert crazy "California pride" slogan here.

I had a somewhat similar incident happen on Mother's Day this year. The power was out for our shopping center and as far as we could see from there. There was also a giant cloud of white smoke on the other side of one of the Yahoo buildings on our block, and there was enough of it that it was rising higher than the building. I believe a power substation had a fire or something like that, but no one ever found out the actual cause.

It was sometime in the middle of the afternoon, and I'm busy being a cashier, ringing up a power supply, when all the lights go out. This is not a small store either, so it was scary dark. Luckily, most of our computers, including the registers, as well as the TV displays had battery backups so it wasn't completely dark.. but it did take about five minutes to convince our customers that the power wasn't coming back on and they had to leave. One, it's unsafe, and two, we don't want you jerks ripping us off. Oddly enough, the music never turned off.

So, after running around in the dark with tiny LED flashlights, making sure we were secure, displays were off, customers were gone, tills were in the safe, we had a party in the parking lot. Two managers stayed inside until power was restored and the building could be alarmed, while the rest of us watched in awe as people stared at the store wondering why it was closed. The steel shutters were down, all the lights were out, and there were big signs in the windows informing customers that we closed due to the power outtage. Still, people would walk right up to the doors, staring inside for up to ten minutes. You think they would have noticed the power was out, considering it was out for all the surrounding blocks and businesses..

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I hate to play devil's advocate, but if this guy is homeless he may not realize the seriousness of the situation. He most likely has no access to the news...no radio, TV, internet. He may be mentally ill and not notice the behavior of the people around him. He may not have a car to go anywhere away from the fire. And being homeless, he's probably too leery of the police to ask them for help. I hope he manages to get out of there safely.

[blas]

I'm sure it'll be just like Katrina, people like that will just loot during the chaos and then when it's all said and done, claim that no one cared about them to save them and they were left behind and how dare they.

We've had stories on here before about stores on fire and severe weather and customers refusing to leave. It's nothing new. Sometimes TP and milk are more important than your own safety, ya know?!

[Gurndigarn]

Oh hey now.
Only a few Californians are braindead morons. We survive fire. Midnight earthquake? We roll over and go back to sleep. Eightfoot waves and high seas? We break out surfboards. Floods? We rebuild.

But you panic over tornados. At least the people I knew from there did. Go figure.

[Andara Bledin]

maybe not sucky, but certainly annoying; we have one of the 'regulars' (he buys a coffee or whatever he can afford after panhandling, but usually just annoys us all day for water and restroom tokens) come in around 3:30 pm, nothing new, just another day.

Just an FYI, but depending on which codes your state has adopted, it might be illegal for you to have a locking mechanism on your restrooms. I posted a link to a list of which states followed which codes in another thread.

--Dan (Who cringes every time he sees the brain dead Californians on Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" and who also thanks his lucky stars EVERY DAY that his own plans to move to So Cal ended up being thwarted!)

Woot!

You can always spot someone who's never been to California and just goes by the really stupid crap that shows up on TV by how grossly mischaracterized their concepts are.

Nekojin & I were running a role-playing game online once that started in Los Angeles. It was really amazing how scary these people made it seem. It's like they got their information on the city out of some gumshoe detective novel. I'd be afraid to go outside if the reality were even remotely close to what these people thought it was.

But you panic over tornados. At least the people I knew from there did. Go figure.

And non-west-coasters tend to flip the heck out over an itty-bitty can-barely-feel-it 2.0 earthquake. And we don't panic over tornadoes much worse than the rest of the nation. My dad was in a town where a tornado hit, and it took out the buildings on either side of the one he was in, but hopped over that one.

We had one here a while back. Took the roof off a store not far from me. One of my brother's friends was inside the store when it happened. He actually stepped outside while the eye was over the store and wondered why the heck it was so dark. He went back inside, 'cause it was scary and spooky quiet outside.

Funny thing is that other than the store, and wind damage, the only other damage was the destruction of one residence belonging to a man who had, until recently, lived in Kansas. He was quoted by the news and reportedly laughed at the irony.

^-.-^

[Spiffy McMoron]

Alright, just a reminder that --despite what the OC tells us--not all Californians are richer, prettier, or dumber than the rest of us. People live where natural disasters occur--if people weren't there, they wouldn't be disasters, just some fire/flood/hurricane/whatever in the middle of nowhere.

Chill out, man...