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Post by Lars van Rijn on Jun 8, 2013 4:59:37 GMT 1
Lars wiped off his hands on his apron as he stood up from setting down some potted plants, he had been working all morning getting the center all ready for the day. He had come in early so he could prune the small hedge trees and the roses, and as far as he knew he was the only one in the center this early as he did not see his two co-workers Gilbert or Lilli yet but that did not bother him at all because he could get his work done with out any distractions.
Looking around he noticed that they were getting low on the fertilizer and mulch so he headed to the back to grab a trolley so he could load some bags on it. Loading the trolley he made sure to take an inventory of the remaining bags so they would not run out later. He would take inventory later in the day when he got a chance later.
Heading back he started to stock the fertilizer and mulch in their proper places, he noticed that he was going to have to sweep up the trimmings from his earlier pruning as well from the bags of mulch and fertilizer, the small holes in the bags making a small mess around the stacks of bags. Setting the trolley out of the way he grabbed the broom and started to sweep. As he moved across the floor he made sure not to miss any dirt or trimmings because he did not want anyone to slip and fall and get hurt.
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Post by Lili Adelaide Zwingli on Jun 8, 2013 5:34:24 GMT 1
There was something to be said of people who could wake up in the morning excited to go to their job. Most people dreaded the upcoming day, and perhaps it was by sheer luck that Lili landed a job in a department (or two) where she felt most at home. She spent most of her time indulging in hobbies and general housework, but part of the contentment with her life came from going back and forth between gardens, one which she owned herself and the other at her workplace, even if the garden wasn't legitimately a garden. She brought her apron with her, the white faded to brown and stained with many colors from paint, dirt, and petals. To hear Lili tell the story, the apron was older than she was and frayed enough at the edges to prove it.
"Passed down from generation to generation," she would say, "but we all know how to sew, so we just fix it if it gets a little torn!"
Ah, but this is not a story about family traditions or the fact the family would rather repair the item than throw it away. No, this was just a story about a normal day at the work place. It began like all others, with Lili coming into work early and cheerfully greeting her senior co-worker with a warm, "Good morning!" After five months of working with Lars, she'd grown to expect no heartfelt response, but she accepted that as just his way of doing things. She was merely being polite by greeting him. How nice would it be for her to just ignore the people she worked with? She couldn't do that! She learned very early to not press people into speaking with her. They were there to work, not hang out... yes, yes.
This was often the way she saw him every morning, sweeping up trimmings and thorns and the remains of dying leaves. She had her own assignments to complete before heading over to the pet department to see what needed to be done there. One of the biggest disadvantages she had to deal with: running back and forth. Ahh, money was money. All she really needed to do here and check and double check, re-pot what needed to be re-potted and perhaps trim away bits of brown that Lars might have missed - something she did not expect, as doubtless he'd already done a fair bit before she had even got there.
Though she did have to admit, she'd love company that actually spoke back to her when she tried to engage. She didn't mind the quiet, but even at work she would have loved to socialize. Keeping her bubbly personality contained was difficult at times, which seemed to lead to some rather odd situations where she might be caught talking to a plant or animal out of sheer need to converse. Ah... it was difficult being weird, sometimes.
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Post by Lars van Rijn on Jun 8, 2013 6:20:04 GMT 1
Lars looked up when he heard a soft voice warmly greet him with friendly good morning, he didn't answer her back but he gave her a nod in greeting so that she knew that he was not ignoring her. He kneeled down to grab the dustpan so he sweep the dust and trimmings up, he dumped the dirt and trimming into the large garbage bin they had in the department then set aside the broom so it was out of the way of their work. He knew now that Lilli was in that their other co-worker Gilbert shouldn't be too far behind but he would work with what he had. " There is not much that needs to be done, just the plants need to be watered and some seeds need to be restocked " If she was doing that he could get started on taking inventory so he could get some new supplies and stock for the next week.
He didn't like to assign Lilli anything difficult since she was not a strong as himself or Gilbert and he may not look like he cared but he didn't want her to hurt herself. So he always gave her the easy tasks to make it easy on her so she could go to her other department sooner because he knew that she had other duties there as well.
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Post by Lili Adelaide Zwingli on Jun 9, 2013 3:11:15 GMT 1
A nod of the head? Alright, she'd take it.
He was sweeping the floor, getting as clean as he could the gardening section, which she always found kind of funny. By default the gardening section was bound to be covered with dirt, debris, and all sorts of nasty things. Cleaning never seemed practical, but she wasn't one to complain when the area didn't look presentable. Alright, now what was her assignment for the day... she initially planned to do a second patrol around the area, but the logbook was left conspicuously out on the main desk in the area off-limits to customers. He spoke to her before she could reach it, though. "Oh wow, how long have you been here? You must have done a lot."
On one had it made her feel bad. He did so large a chunk of the work she often felt as though she didn't pull her own weight around the department. But, no one seemed to really complain about it, so maybe that was okay. She had a bigger workload over in the pet department anyway. "I'll get right on that!" She finished, setting her belongings securely in a safe place, and after checking up on the seeds to see what desperately needed replacing she took note and heading to the storeroom.
She restocked the seeds in silence, making sure they were organized perfectly by their type and season and carefully making sure all numbers were even. It had to look nice, as well as perfect! What work she had here needed to be done quickly so she could get to her other assignments in time, but of course the work needed to be diligent and well-done too. "Ahhh, the season's flowers are going to be beautiful. I hope people buy a lot." She mostly said this to herself as she noted the types being displayed on the shelf. Depending on season some seeds were displayed over others.
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Post by Lars van Rijn on Jun 9, 2013 4:13:10 GMT 1
Looking at Lilli before looking at his watch he raised an eyebrow at it, he saw that it was getting close to opening time " I arrived around 5am I suppose " He normally arrived around that time unless he had football practice. He moved around the department as Lilli went to go put her belongings away sweeping the last of the dirt and debris off of the floor.
When she returned he watched her get straight to work just like he expected her to, she was a hard worker he'd give her that. Even though he didn't assign her much work she was great with the customers and that's what mattered in his eyes, he wasn't sure how Gilbert felt about it until he realized he just didn't care what the other felt. Having her in the department dealing with the customers made his job more easy since he really wasn't all that good with dealing with people.
He was moving some pots around that needed to be moved near where Lilli was restocking the seeds when he heard her " Ja, I hope people buy a lot of flowers this will be a good growing season this year " setting the pots down he took off his gardening gloves and put them into his apron.
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Post by Lili Adelaide Zwingli on Jun 9, 2013 17:54:12 GMT 1
Dealing with people was what she was best at! Hopefully despite her lack of physical labor, that one part of her expertise could make up for it. She had a lot of trouble accepting that she actually did work around the department with everyone else seemingly doing more.
"It's kind of a pity all of my favorite flowers need winter planting." Lili continued. Bulbs, mostly. They needed to be plants before winter got too cold, so the chill in the air and ground could activate their metabolic processes for the upcoming spring-- wait, why was she thinking about that again? Gosh, she could be nerdy, sometimes. She laughed to herself quietly, even though she knew Lars wouldn't have been able to hear her tangent. "But this will be a good year, regardless."
She did agree with him wholeheartedly. People needed to buy more flowers, especially in the dismal grey of cities where color was often such a rarity. She was lucky to has experienced the countryside and the wildflowers that came with them. "I might be tempted to buy some seeds of my own. My garden's been a little bare lately, and I think the shrubs could use a few friends." While placing the seeds up on the rack to be displayed, she stopped to look at them and gauge the beauty of the flowers in her garden. If she worked out a plan she might be able to work them in somehow, but she'd have to see when she actually went home with them, or looked them up online.
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Post by Lars van Rijn on Jun 10, 2013 5:17:04 GMT 1
Nodding in agreement that it would be a good year, he looked at her " Why not make a small garden on your balcony? If you have one that is. " That was the first thing he had done when he moved into his apartment. But he was the son of a tulip farmer back in his native country so he knew how to make a garden grow anywhere with a bit of hard work thrown in.
Coming up behind her as she looked at the seeds she just restocked he watched her gauge the different seeds, he reached over her to pick out a few different types of seeds for her " Plant these, they should complement your shrubs. " moving away from her he set his gloves down on the counter " I'm stepping outside for a short break. " He figured he would get a break in before Lilli headed over to the pet department, he was needing a smoke break anyways. He headed outside and went over to his usual spot, taking a cigarette and his lighter out he lit up calmly enjoying his short break.
He quickly finished his smoke and headed back inside, Letting Lilli know that he was back he headed right back to work moving some potted plants and shrubs to where they were more accessible to the customers.
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Post by Lili Adelaide Zwingli on Jun 10, 2013 17:14:59 GMT 1
"I have a garden already. It's not much... just a bush or two and a few dead flowers." Lili admitted, almost shamefully. "I haven't really had the chance to fix it up lately, but I think I'll make a point to do that!" Her poor, disheveled garden was in desperate need of a makeover. Anyone with eyes could see that, how it stood out so dismally against other gardens that were over overpowering colors.
Suddenly there was an overwhelming sense of shortness that Lili dare not turn around to face. That wasn't to say that Lars was a scary man, though his height was definitely very imposing, as Lili was only just barely five feet tall herself. Tall people made her feel uncomfortably tiny... but what sense was there in being afraid of a man who had only been nothing but good to her for the last five months, if not a little quiet and unresponsive to her attempts at conversation?
He reached over her and removed from the shelf some of the seeds she had just placed up there, and placed them back into her hands. His judgment was not to be ignored. She was sure he knew more about flowers than she did. She still had so much to learn about everything. "Ahh--! Thank you!" She turned the packets over to examine them. Spring flowers that would be in bloom by summer. Easy enough.
She gave Lars a wave as he left to go on his break, and then pocketed the seeds after dropping her own money into the register. Well, with the seeds restocked she got right onto her second job of watering the plants. Luckily this was a rather quick and easy job. She'd be out of there in no time, she had yet to actually check up on any of the animals or food and had no idea what needed to be restocked over there.
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