Gallows Hill and Andersonville / it could be, it could be worse

My friend Geoffrey is quitting smoking. This is a major achievement, as his nicotine habit is older than some of the people we work with, and I am super-proud of him. One might legitimately wonder why, however, someone who works in retail would decide that Christmas was a good choice of timing. My theory? It gets lost in the melee. When the threshold of chaos is so high, what's one more thing? Sure, sure, you'd like a cigarette, but you need to be in twelve places at once, the store has been ravaged by jackals, and you're not completely sure whether the person having a meltdown in the middle of the second floor is a customer or staff. Bring it, I can take it. Besides, there's still coffee.

A little bit macho and/or stupid? Perhaps, but it's how I'm getting through. I, apparently, have chosen this time for some serious revisions of my own, including rewiring a couple of important relationships. Which, and I don't think I can emphasize this enough, sucks. But hey. More piling product onto displays, less crying until I throw up.