Random Fortune At Work

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Every once in a while, I'll notice that a customer has an old fortune from a fortune cookie in his/her wallet -- usually right in front of their driver's license. If I have the chance, I'll ask what the fortune says, and the customer will either show me the fortune, or read it to me.

I had one of those moments a couple of nights ago. A customer was getting the money for her purchase out of her wallet, and I spotted the fortune. As always, I was curious, and I said, "Just out of curiosity, what does the fortune say?" She looked at the fortune for a moment, then told me:

"A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work."

I'm not quite certain why she found the fortune to be that much of a keeper. Then again, every fortune speaks to each person differently.

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Fortune The 13th

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Last night at work, I got takeout from Oriental House. It wasn't planned; it was just one of those days when I had a number of things to do before going to work, and it turned out to be the best option. I suppose the more superstitious would say that it was a case of Friday The 13th rearing its ugly head.

Fortunately, there was enough overlap between my arrival and Hale's departure that I was able to take a couple of minutes, walk over to Oriental House, and place my order. A little while later, they brought my food over.

I wasn't particularly adventurous last night, and I ordered the lemon chicken lunch special. It was interesting to note that the lemon sauce came in a separate container this time, instead of being part of the dish as I have previously received it.

The food was great -- even if I had to eat it a bite or two at a time. And here's what the fortune said:

"Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome."

For once, a fortune that appeals to my own sense of humor.

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Better Than Half A Fortune

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As I have mentioned once or twice, I occasionally find the random fortune at work. I'm guessing that they probably come from Oriental House. At least, that's their most likely origin.

While I was cleaning last night, I found a fortune at the lottery station. It didn't surprise me too much. I merely assumed that whoever left it there filled out a Powerball or Mega Millions playslip using the "lucky numbers" on the reverse of the fortune. What did surprise me just a little was that, before discarding the fortune, the person had ripped it in half. I have no idea why he or she felt the need to tear it in half, other than possibly wanting to make more work for me.

I kept the fortune, of course. I took it back to the register, and carefully taped it together. And here is what it said:

"Human Evolution: 'Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.'"

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Okay, That One's A Keeper

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Since I started this particular online journal, I seem to notice more often when other people hold on tothe fortunes from their fortune cookies. And of course, whenever I spot one of those slips of paper, the first thing out of my mouth is usually, "What does the fortune say?"

Something like that happened late last night at work. A customer was buying alcohol, and of course, I asked to see her ID. When she brought it out, there was a fortune just in front of her driver's license. It didn't cover anything important (like her date of birth), but I spent a little more time than usual looking at the ID. Well, I was looking at both the ID and the fortune. I even read the fortune out loud, to make sure I got it right.

I think I told the customer that I was always a little curious when I see someone hanging on to a fortune; that I'm wondering what that fortune might be. Here's what this particular fortune said:

"Your love life will be happy and harmonious."

Okay, I can see why she decided to keep that one.

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Outsourcing Fortune Sources?

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Last night at work, a customer took out his wallet to pay for his purchases. In addition to pulling out a few bills of various denominations, he also inadvertantly pulled out the fortune from a fortune cookie.

I joked with him that fortunes were, unfortunately, not acceptable as legal tender. As it turns out, he's a little like me -- he likes to save his fortunes. I told him about my writing about fortunes, but I didn't have the chance to give the URL for this site.

I did ask to see the fortune that came out of his wallet. He let me see it, and copy it. It had to be one of the strangest fortunes I have ever encountered:

"Affirm it, visualize it, believe it, and it will actualize itself."

That's not what you would usually find in your fortune cookie. That actually sounds like something taken from Tony Robbins.

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Not Doing THAT Again

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Last time, I mentioned that I had had a few more customers ask me to run Powerball numbers for them based on what was on the fortune from their fortune cookie. I did, but I made them fill out playslips -- unlike the jerk from a couple of weeks ago.

The first one came in last Friday night. He wanted me to punch them in manually. I pointed him in the direction of the lottery station. When he asked why I couldn't punch them in manually, I think I told him something along the lines of my not wanting a line forming if other customers started coming in. I think I must have convinced him, because he filled out a playslip for me.

To be fair, I did show him how to fill out the playslip. And I did take a look at the fortune and the playslip once he was finished, to be certain he had filled it out correctly. I also took a look at the fortune, and wrote it down. Here's what it said:

"Fortune truly helps those who are of good judgement."

I didn't make note of his numbers. Since he did fill out his own playslip, I didn't see the need to treat him like I did the jerk. I hope this was one case where I was making good judgement.

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Just Needed A Little Instruction

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You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I had a total jerk come in to where I work, and demand that I manually input numbers from a fortune cookie because he was just too lazy to fill out a Powerball playslip. In the past few days, I've had two more customers bring fortunes to me and want to play the numbers. There was a difference on both of these occasions. These customers filled out playslips.

The most recent was last night. A lady came in, and put four fortunes on the counter. She told me that she wanted to play the numbers on the fortunes for Powerball and Mega Millions, but she didn't know how to go about it.

Fortunately, things were on the quiet side at the time. I pointed her toward the lottery stand, and I told her bring me playslips for both, and a pencil.

When she returned, I placed the playslips side by side, and I told her, "Powerball and Mega Millions are basically played the same." Pointing to the two sections of the playslips, I said, "You pick five numbers from the top section, and then one in the bottom section for each play."

The lady took the Powerball playslip, and the first fortune. She marked the numbers as I had showed her, and asked me if she was doing it right with the first one. (She was.) She took the numbers from the other fortunes and filled them out, then repeated the process with the Mega Millions playslip. Once she was finished, I ran the playslips through the terminal, and handed her back the playslips and the tickets.

Once she filled out the playslips, she was finished with the fortunes, so she let me have them. Here is what the fortunes said:

"Listen to the wisdom of the old."
"Your ability to find the silly in the serious will take you far."
"Your ambitious nature will help you make a name for yourself."
"Your virtues are priceless treasures."

I'm not going to play any of her numbers, nor will I mention them here. She was being far too courteous for me to do that to her.

I will say one thing, though. That second fortune definitely applies to me.

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Just Too Damn Lazy

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Every once in a while, I'll have a customer walk in after having dinner at Oriental House, go the the lottery stand, and fill out a Powerball playslip using the numbers that were on the fortune in their fortune cookie. Usually, the most I do is point them in the direction of the lottery stand, and of course run the playslip once they have filled it out.

Last night was a different story. A guy comes in, shoves his fortune at me, and then demands that I input the numbers on the fortune manually from the lottery terminal. And this is also when I have a couple of other customers as well. And the two or three times I try to point him in the direction of the lottery stand, he says, "All you have to do is . . . " and proceed to tell me what I have to do.

Yes, I know how to manually input the numbers. But if you go to most places that sell lottery tickets, they will usually tell you that unless you're playing a quick pick, you have to fill out a playslip. It's too time-consuming for the people behind the counter to punch in the numbers for every jackass who is too damn lazy to fill out a playslip.

I probably shouldn't have done it, but I punched in the numbers -- although I would have much rather punched out this incredibly rude and inconsiderate piece of work. And when I handed him his ticket, I rather pointedly said, "That is what the playslips are for, you know."

His response? "Oh, I've never filled out a playslip."

And people wonder why I sometimes want to bring a chainsaw to work.

Yes, he did leave unscathed. No, he won't be getting away with that little stunt if he ever tries it again.

He did leave the fortune behind. I'm not sure why, other than maybe I didn't give it back to him. Here's what it said:

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice."

I've heard a number of variations on this one.

This jerk really pissed me off. As I said, I still have the fortune, and I think I may play those numbers myself for tomorrow's Powerball drawing. Here are those numbers:

28, 14, 35, 32, 49, PB 09.

If you play Powerball, you might want to play these numbers tomorrow night. I'm not guaranteeing that they will win, but it would satisfy my sense of justice to know that he would have to split the jackpot with who knows how many others because he was just too damn lazy to fill out his own playslip.

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Two Ways To The Same Idea

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I was at work a couple of nights ago. As one customer opened her wallet to get the payment for her purchase, I noticed a fortune from a fortune cookie in the ID slot, right in front of her driver's license.

Obviously, I was just a little curious as to what the fortune said. Part of it, of course, is because I'm always collecting fortunes. I was also wondering what it said because it seemed clear that she took this fortune to heart. I asked her if I could see the fortune, and she said, "Sure," turning her wallet so that I could get a better look at the fortune:

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another."

I can see why she kept that fortune. The message is a good one to keep in mind. My friend Bill Levy, through his alter ego of the philosopher Weng Shu, expressed the same idea, but in a slightly different wording:

"Chop wood, fetch water. Achieve enlightenment. Chop wood, fetch water."

Personally, I think Bill's version sound more like it came out of a fortune cookie.

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Quotable Fortune

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I had eaten a somewhat sizable lunch yesterday. I still thought I was going to need just a little something else to see me through the evening at work, though. And since I was cutting it a little closer than I had planned, I decided to get takeout from Oriental House.

I almost didn't get that. As soon as I walked in the door, Emma's first words were something along the lines of "Hurry up." Not a good sign, to say the least.

I managed to make it next door to Oriental House, and I ordered the subgum chicken chow mein lunch special. As I was paying for it, I asked the lady at the register if she could bring it over, "because Emma is about to chain me to the register." She was amused by my declaration.

When I got back, I discovered why Emma was in such a rush. When our manager had made the schedule, it had Emma leaving at 5:00 PM -- and me starting at 6:00 PM. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture? For a number of reasons, Emma needed to clock out as quickly as possible. As in RIGHT NOW.

The food came a few minutes after Emma left as though the hounds of Hell were on her heels. Other than the especially rushed turnover, the evening wasn't too bad. The food was good. And here is what the fortune inside my fortune cookie said:

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

The line seemed familiar, so I turned to Google. The quote is from Aesop -- the moral to his fable "The Lion And The Mouse."

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Nice Advice, But . . .

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Last night at work, I discovered an abandoned fortune cookie by one of the registers. More than likely, one of my coworkers had opted for lunch inner at Oriental House, and forgot about the fortune cookie. I snagged the cookie, and when I cracked it open, here's what the fortune read:

"Don't forget to do good deeds as you accumulate wealth."

Very nice, very high-sounding advice. I might even follow it. It would really help if I could accumulate some of that wealth so I could do some sort of good deed.

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Full Potential

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One of my co-workers had takeout from Oriental House for lunch yesterday. The takeout box was still behind the counter when I was clocking in. The fact that he hadn't finished his lunch should have been something of an omen of what my own shift would be like.

Unlike the last time, he left his fortune cookie behind, for reasons unknown. More than likely, he just forgot about it. In any case, after he left, I grabbed it, and I opened it later, at my leisure. Here's what the fortune said:

"Help people reach their full potential. Catch them doing something right."

I think that may be one of the longer fortunes I've seen. Nice sentiment, though.

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Abandoned Fortune

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It was toward the end of the night at work last night, and I was starting to clean things up. As I was sweeping, I noticed a familiar strip of paper on the lottery station. It was a fortune from a fortune cookie.

Actually, I'm surprised that I don't see this more often. After all, there is a Chinese restaurant right next door.

I am making a couple of assumptions about this fortune. First, I'm guessing that it came from Oriental House. Second, I'm guessing that the diner had decided to play the lottery using the "lucky numbers" on the back of the fortune. (In both cases, these fall into the category of "most likely scenario," but I have no way of knowing for certain.)

I'm not certain why someone would have left the fortune behind. Perhaps that someone felt that they no longer needed the fortune. In any case, here is what the fortune said:

"Your dream must be bigger than your fear."

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He Got The Cookie; I Got The Fortune

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When I started work yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the coworker for whom I was taking over had picked up Chinese takeout for lunch. (I'm guessing it was from Oriental House, but I didn't ask.) As I put a couple of things of mine on the counter, I noticed the fortune cookie, and I moved it out of the way so it wouldn't get crushed.

About 20 minutes or so before he left, my coworker finally unwrapped the cookie and cracked it open. I mentioned that I collected fortunes, and asked him if I could have it if he wasn't going to keep it. He said sure, and gave it to me after reading the fortune and pondering its meaning for several minutes:

"Your wisdom will influence others."

He thought that this was a good fortune, but he didn't elaborate on his musing. I will admit, it does have something of a nice ring to it.

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Forgotten And Found

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I had just arrived at work Monday evening. I got there about 30 minutes early, mainly so I could eat before clocking in. (As I discovered, that was a smart decision. It turned out to be one of those nights.)

As I was getting settled, I happened to look over to a spot along the wall where some boxes had been stacked a few days earlier. They had been moved, and in the empty space on the floor, I spotted it -- the fortune from a fortune cookie.

I have the feeling that it had probably gone unnoticed since it had been taken out of a fortune cookie some unknown time previously. I probably would have been the only one to notice that little slip of paper, just because I collect these things.

More than likely, it came from Oriental House. That is the most likely source, anyway, and I tend to resort to Occam's Razor. Anyway, here is what that fortune said:

"The cure for grief is motion."

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Fortunes Without Cookies

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Saturday night was another usual Saturday night at work. During the early part of the evening, though, I had a slightly surprising moment. As I was ringing up one customer, she was on her cell phone with someone. Normally, I find this more than a little irritating, but I also noticed that she was going through her purse, looking for something to write on.

I fed some blank paper from the register tape for her, and as I handed it to her, I noticed several fortunes from fortune cookies on the counter. The most likely assumption would be that she had just come from Oriental House. Of course, you know what they say happens when you assume something.

She wrote down whatever the person on the other end of the line was telling her, and I was finally able to ring up her purchases. After she left, I noticed that she had left the fortunes behind. Naturally, I retrieved them, and here they are:

"Book lovers never go to bed alone."
"Have a vision. Be demanding."
"Know a person with time, know a horse with distance."

I have to admit, I really agree with that first one.

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Working Hard For The Fortune

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I was at work about a week or two ago, and I found a fortune from a fortune cookie on the floor. More than likely, one of my co-workers had ordered something from Oriental House, the Chinese restaurant next door. (That's the most likely explanation, anyway, and I tend to follow Occam's Razor in matters like this.)

Since the fortune was on the floor, I'm assuming that the co-worker had intended to discard the fortune after reading. In any case, it was now mine, and I share it with you:

"Your fortune is not something to find but to unfold."

A couple of my co-workers have told me good things about Oriental House, so they may be a source of future entries.

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Seen At Work

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As I arrived at work last night, I noticed that one of my co-workers had brought in Chinese for dinner. Well, I saw the fortune cookie, and the fortune from that cookie. I asked him if I could have the fortune, and he said, "Sure." Here is what that fortune said:

"You are born with a 'sixth sense' and superb insight."

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