Up way before the crack of dawn...
I had been asked to help hand out brochures at Union Station -- but I had to get there before the morning rush. So Jess and I left St Kitts at 4:30 AM, getting into Toronto a little before 6. It's true, these people -- ALL people -- are bombarded with advertisements every day, so how is one little glossy handout going to sway them? Nevertheless, the geniuses who oversaw this operation gave two girls 25,000 brochures to hand out in one day. Give me a break. Some people will take almost anything that's free. They had no idea what I was handing out, yet their hands were outstretched even ask they asked "What's this for?" Ah yes, it was supposed to be a promo blitz -- in at 6, out by 10. We were there until 6:30 PM and we STILL had to drive around to unload about 1,500 brochures at the Eaton Centre. Boy was I cheery and chirpy at 6 AM! My most interesting exchange came very early in the day, with a middle-aged man, bald and bespectacled..
Me: Good morning! Would you like a brochure about Niagara-on-the-Lake?
He: No.
Me: Ah well then, how about a lovely Shaw brochure?
He: If I take one, will you leave me alone?
Me: No.
He: Well, I'm stuck in this fucking job that's completely sucking the life out of me. I'm pretty much locked in until 2006... so I'm not going anywhere ANYTIME soon.
Me: Except to and from work! (Insert toothy grin)
I really shouldn't be such a wiseass, especially with strangers. For all I know, Mr. Crankypants could have been carrying a gun, waiting to spray the station with bullets. But come on, who was the one who got up at 3 this morning? If I can be there with a big fat smile on my face, ready to share my sunshine and morning breath with Union Station commuters, surely he can spare me his goddamn sob story and take a goddamn brochure?
I am sore all over. Pity me.