Into the realm of chalk

Custom made santa bags filled with chalk, dusty fingers, hands, arms, faces, clothes and you name it, everything else. A physical and pychological neccessity of the climbing community and the bane of all managerial gym types everywhere. I am oft amazed at the boulder rats behavior towards this substance. They abuse it like they would drugs and alchohol. And like a low end worker who produces illicit drugs, I am exposed to breathing the stuff daily without a mask.

My day usually starts off with handing out the chalky nastiness in the following situation:

Innocence boulder rat approaches my desk like they would royalty, humbly asking in the process that I enter them into the computer system. Who am I kidding? Said boulder rats wearing baggy pants that encompass their knees, with most of their underpants flashing the world.....usually sneak in the back way to enter the gym, praying to all the gods that I don't notice them or their overdue payments to their accounts.

Then after two hours of grunting and destroying themselves on inane boulder problems, spilling their santa bags of chalk on the carpet, and after fully bathing in the stuff; they then traipse up to my counter with a drug addict's gleam in their eyes, and a coin in hand to beg for a chalk bag. I then hand over a usually half full chalk bag, (both parties knowing that the chalk bag will not return ever again the front desk, but instead deposited lovingly into the rat's own santa bag) .....to be instantly recieved into overtly eager hands that quickly dart into the bag, pull out the chalk ball, analyze the purity and quantity; only to then redeposit the given gift back onto my desk. The preceeding wails sounds like the following:

"It is a limp chalk ball!! It is barely filled! How can I possible crank a route with this? Can't I have another ball.....a full one? I promise that I will return it still mainly full!"

Response from non-caring managerial type: "Sure you will, just like you'll return your gear upstairs We all have seen you wapping your ball into your hand while you stare vacantly at a route open-mouthed." This response usually provokes laughter on the boulder rat's part and then incessant whining until said manager relents, gives out a new chalk ball, to then be thanked by empty chalk bags and missing chalk balls at the evening's end.

There is no hope of rehabilitation, once the taste for the blessed powder called chalk has been developed, all shall bow down before it............. pft! Keep dreaming boulder rats and sleep well, for your chalk stealing days are numbered. Mauhahahhahhahah.
- Management. Please see front desk for more details.