I arrived at the airport to get my husband from an incoming flight. He told me which door was closest to him, and I saw another car pull out right in front of the door. I put the car in park, and someone knocked on my window almost as soon as I let go of the gear shift.

Me: *Startled* “What?” *Realizing the person is an officer* “Yes?”

Officer: “This is for immediate unloading and loading only. You’ve been sitting here too long. You’ll have to go back around the airport and pick up your friend or loved one on the next trip.”

Me: “I just parked. My husband—”

Officer: “I’m not going to play around with you. If the person you’re picking up is not out here, you cannot park here. Now move along.”

My husband had just arrived at the car, opening the door beside the officer and loading his luggage into the back seat.

Husband: “Everything okay?”

Officer: “I just told you guys, you cannot sit here like this. Now move!”

We exchanged a look and I shrugged.

Me: “I guess we’d better go.”

Husband: “Okay. Well, thank you for your time, officer.”

Officer: “That’s good. Go on now. You can do another lap to get whoever you’re picking up, but you can’t stay here.”

Me: “Okay, then. Have a nice day.”

I don’t know if the officer thought our car was another car that had been there previously or was just oblivious to the fact that my husband was putting his luggage in the car as they spoke. Either way, we left just like the officer wanted.

I am at the airport, waiting for a friend to get through Arrivals.

There’s a concourse, with the occasional pillar here and there to hold up the roof, through which the people stream after they pass through Security and so on.

I’m casually leaning on a pillar, not getting in anyone’s way. (They have to walk around the pillar in the first place; let’s face it.)

A great stream of people comes through. A woman comes striding through leading a suitcase on wheels, walks straight in my direction, and shouts:

Woman: “Move!”

She obviously hadn’t noticed I was leaning on a pillar so, of course, when I did move out of her way, right at the last minute before she barrelled me aside, she walked smack into the pillar I had been standing in front of.

My cackles of glee didn’t go down too well.

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A hurricane is coming in, and there is a mandatory evacuation happening on a thin stretch of a vulnerable coastal town. I am directing traffic coming out of the area when, suddenly, a woman driving an SUV comes up, trying to get back in.

It is already very windy, and the rain is coming down heavily, so I shout at her to make myself heard even standing close to her window.

Me: “Turn around, ma’am! This is a mandatory evacuation!”

Driver: “What’s going on?! I’m trying to get home!”

Me: “Do you live in [Town Up Ahead]?”

Driver: “Yes! Now let me through!”

Me: “Ma’am, no one is allowed this way due to a mandatory evacuation. Do you have anyone at home waiting for you?”

Driver: “No, but I have someone coming to repair my dishwasher!”

Me: “I don’t think they’ll be keeping that appointment, ma’am.”

Driver: “No! I made an appointment last week, and they will be honoring it! I told them I would complain if they didn’t!”

Me: “I can totally see that, ma’am.”

Driver: “What is that supposed to mean?”

Me: “It means you’re going to have to make that complaint because no one is going this way until the storm passes.” 

Driver: *Shouting over the raging winds and rains* “What storm?”

A customer is paying by card and gets to the payment confirmation prompt. It’s “yes” to confirm payment and “no” to cancel it. They hit “no”.

Customer: “Something’s wrong with your machine.”

Me: “Looks like you hit ‘no’ at the confirmation question. Just hit ‘yes’ if you want to pay by card.”

I put it through again, but the customer presses “no” again.

Me: *Forced smile* “Whoops! You pressed ‘no’ again, sir. Just press ‘yes’ when you are asked to confirm the payment amount.”

One more time, and guess which button he presses AGAIN?

Customer: “You keep doing something wrong!”

Me: “Sir, if you don’t want to cancel the transaction, just press ‘yes’.”

Customer: “Oh… hehe, I am so used to knowing not to press ‘yes’ on my computer because my son said if I did that, I would get a virus! Force of habit!”

This time, I watch very carefully as I run the card through yet again. I end up having to jump in front of the customer and force-press “yes” just to get to the PIN screen.

Customer: “Oh! It worked that time! Well done!”

The card declined, and he paid with cash.

I work at a huge Walmart-type store that’s right next to a Toys R’ Us. I am working at the register, and I greet a customer as she comes into the front of the store.

She marches past the produce and the deli section and starts to look around, appearing really confused. She then disappears for a few minutes, and I later spot her staring at some vegetables.

Eventually, she blurts out:

Customer: “This isn’t Toys R’ Us!“

That took her a scarily long time.