And So Another Chapter Ends....

...as a new one begins. I finished my last shift at the bookstore on Saturday. It was very bittersweet. I met so many super awesome people working there, but I am soooooo ready to be done working retail. I welcome a giant change with this new job. I will be working regular hours, which means more time with Russ, and the pay is nothing to complain about.
Yes sir, things, they are a changin'!

Could Someone Please Explain...

...the Barbie car phenomenon?? I have now seen three different vehicles around town this week with the Barbie logo in vinyl on the back window! And none of the cars were pink--one was a beat up looking army green-coloured pick up truck. I'm so confused.

I've been so exhausted these last few weeks. Moving into an assistant manager position definitely has it's perks, but it is also a LOT more work and responsibility. I feel like I'm completely starting over, and sometimes I wish that I had been with the company longer, and had a better grasp on the basics before having to learn everything else...but on the flip side, I totally dig the challenge!
I just wish I wasn't trying to plan a wedding as well...thank goodness for my family, without whom I would definitely be LOST! Whenever I get stressed thinking about work or wedding planning...I just remember that in 4 months, 6 days, and 17.5 hours, we will be married! And then, in 4 months, 7 days, and 11ish hours, we will be on our way to Hawaii!!!

The New "Messiah"...

Working in a bookstore is an interesting experience. It allows you to make some observations about society based on the people that come in, and what they buy. One thing that has surfaced is my extreme dislike for Oprah. I never liked her to begin with--I can't say she doesn't do a lot of charity work, but at the same time, she is also prejudiced. I don't agree with a lot of her views, but the thing that bothers me the most is the way that people almost worship her! Oprah says "Jump", and women all over North America squeal, "How high?!" Any author that Oprah features on her show, or through her book club, celebrates instant celebrity, and we can't keep their books in stock. People don't seem to care at all what the content is...they just gobble it up because Oprah says...

Oprah was raving about James Frey's "biography"...until it was revealed that he "embellished"key aspects of it, then she was forced to issue a statement about it, yet people still come in searching for it.

A while ago, a customer came in and told me, "I just read one of the books from Oprah's club, and it was so amazing...I was just wondering when the author is going to put out a new novel?" I asked her what book it was, and she told me that it was Anna Karenina. It was all I could do to keep a straight face as I explained that, since Leo Tolstoy had died in 1910, it would be unlikely that he would be publishing anything new, then directed her towards War And Peace, but explained it was a lot more complex than Anna.

Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious was flying off the shelves at Christmas because she was on Oprah, but the idea that hiding veggies from kids when they should be cultivating tastes for new things is a controversial idea, and not necessarily a good one.

Selection #61 on the book club list is A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, which is a self-help book. We can't keep it in stock. The thing that bothers me is that people are buying two or three copies of this book, without even knowing what it's about! The author bio on the back describes him as a "contemporary spiritual leader", traveling the world, spreading his message. One woman actually asked one of my co-workers where she could find Oprah's new book. He responded with, "The Eckhart Tolle one?" and she said, "No, the one that Oprah just put out--A New Earth." So he explained that it was not WRITTEN by Oprah, but rather, just selected by her. The woman didn't understand...
It's getting to the point where I just don't want to even SEE another copy of this book.

Now don't get me wrong...I really enjoy my job. I love books. I just wish that people would pick out their own books, not what a TV personality tells them to read. I totally get that Oprah is getting people to read when they wouldn't normally choose to do so, and that she is supporting the book industry...but SERIOUSLY!

Okay...That's my rant. I'm putting the soap box away....I feel better now...

SHOCKER!!!

I love my new job. Seriously! No, you didn't read that wrong. (You can re-read it, if you don't believe it...it is in writing after all...) I actually like my job! Think about it. I'm surrounded by thousands of books, I work with other people who love books as much as I do, and who are educated as well, and I get to help customers find books! The type of customer that comes into a bookstore is definitely different than the type of customer that comes into a grocery store, or a coffee shop, or a clothing store. One huge difference is that they actually assume that you KNOW SOMETHING!!! They don't usually try to come off as being smarter than you!!

There are a few drawbacks to working in a bookstore though...one being that you are surrounded by books, shelving books, sorting books and immersed in books...which makes you want to buy LOTS of books with your discount. There also was a slight pay cut from working at the place whose name I shall not utter, but it's also closer to home, accessible via public transit, and DOESN'T SUCK.

Cass is happy.

Moving Moving Moving, Cass and Russ are Moving!!

Yes! Finally! We get to get out of this awful hole of a hovel!!! Nothing is finalized yet, but we are going to be moving into an apartment in my sister's building. The rent is $100 cheaper, including parking (designated parking, so no retards can threaten to get us towed because we are in "their" spot, even though there are no designated parking spaces...), the apartment is almost twice as big, its not a million years old, there is tons of storage, there isn't a freakin' crazy bowling ball woman with schitzophrenia living upstairs, it's bright, away from the Albany, and the landlords aren't CRAZY!! Yup...needless to say, we are pretty excited. What's even cooler, is that we can start moving in on the 10th, and they will only charge rent for the period of the month in which we actually have possession, rather than for the whole month. So, Russ got me hooked on this PS2 game called We Love Katamari, and in it you are an alien prince who has to roll things up into a giant ball because the king of the universe destroyed all the stars and you need to make new ones. Its hilarious, because as the ball gets bigger, you can roll up people, and animals, and buildings, and continents...yup...fun stuff.
I applied for a job at Coles books. I had always wanted to work in a bookstore and in a coffee shop. I have the coffee shop thing checked off, so next is the bookstore.
OOOoooooOOOo!! Also, after a long search, I FINALLY acquired my bright red Chucks!! They are surprisingly hard to find...there is a plethora of pink, black and white ones, but no red ones...but now I have some!!! Yay!! Things are looking up...except that I haven't got to talk to pretty much anyone from the Cup who has moved on and left and such, and that makes me sad...I miss you guys!! I also miss Yvonne...I haven't talked to her in way too freakin' long...maybe tomorrow will be my day of reestablished connections...