Get A Job

It’s time to JOIN THE WORKFORCE (temporarily) which is the only kind of adult work experience I’ve had. I sat down last year and figured out that in the 35 years Lee was in the Marine Corps, I had 18 paying jobs. At some point, I’d thrown down enough blocks of sod (8 to be exact) to eventually grow a library career. Forget chronological or functional, my resume format is temporary.

After Lee retired and we moved from Virginia to North Carolina, we agreed I would take a break from libraries and dedicate my time to writing. After a couple of months to travel, and unpack, and well, just sit for a bit, I started my writing job. That went well for a week, maybe two, and then it was just too easy to find something else to do. I’ll knock these dishes out, walk the dogs, run an errand. I had plenty of time to write, right? Too much time can be as bad as no time. I needed some external structure since, hello, we know I can’t do it myself.

Volunteering helped, so did an online workout group I met with twice a week. Add a once a month writing group here, another writing group there, and the scaffolding was erected, but it was pretty wobbly. Another issue was the nature of writing itself. I was new in town and spent my time by myself. Again, volunteering helped, so did the writing groups, but I missed people.

One Tuesday morning last fall, after talking to my therapist yet again, about meeting people or more accurately NOT meeting people, I went home, pulled out my laptop and typed the name of a large chain bookstore right up the road from me. They were hiring. The job was part-time, and bonus, temporary. I completed the application, hit send, and immediately told myself not to think about it. An hour later, my phone rang. After a quick phone interview with the recruiter, I got a call from my local store, sat down in person with the deputy assistant manager, yes it’s a real position, and was offered a part-time, seasonal, temporary job…during the holiday season.

I did worked Black Friday, which was not on my bucket list, but is now on my list that rhymes with spit. After the holidays, they asked me if I’d like to stay on. I was very hesitant, and I made some demands…haha…actually I said I didn’t like working nights, or many weekends, and that I had a lot of travel coming up. They said, we can make it work. And, they did.

Random thoughts about this entry into the workforce:

• I like the people, both the customers and my coworkers. Just like in libraries, it’s nice to be surrounded by people who love to read.
• I’m likely the oldest person on the staff but no one makes me feel old, except for the one customer every shift who thinks I’m the manager.
• I don’t have an email address and I don’t think about work when I’m not there.
• It’s interesting to work with music playing in the background. I’ve come to hate some of those songs, but not all. The cover of I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues got me feeling 15 again. You should hear my 80s playlist now.
• I get paid to work out, averaging about 7,000 steps in a six-hour shift.
• My feet hurt and I had to buy very expensive, very large, and very ugly shoes to help. They help, some.
• The discount is great, but I don’t buy many books. I have purchased many Lego sets, puzzles, and, the cutest, most unnecessary, plant name tags.
• I’m learning how to pyramid books, getting better at merchandising, and exponentially increasing the titles on my want-to-read list.
• I thought I’d like to work in the kids’ area but it can be loud, is often messy, and, frankly, it’s a bit scary. We are adding storytimes and I am excited to be a part of that.
• Commenting on what people are looking at or buying has been a hard adjustment from my years in libraries. I still respect people’s privacy, I just get paid to pay attention to what they have in their hands.
• Having a hundred quick interactions a day isn’t the same as having a friend, but, for this extroverted introvert, it’s made all the difference in the world.
• The job is flexible, temporary enough to appease my slippery self, and it’s provided the structure I needed to write.

When I see an “older” retail worker, say a Walmart greeter, I have a different perspective. Where I might have had a tinge of sadness for them in the past, now I realize they could be there to have some social interactions, add a bit of structure to their day, and get a good discount on, say, puzzles and plant name tags. I just looked up the Walmart employee discount and it appears to be 10% so maybe scratch that last part.

Retail employees get little respect, earn low pay, and often work a grinding schedule. The people I work with are young and smart, motivated and helpful, and also, fun. Next time you are waiting in line, if you find yourself complaining about low staffing or how no one wants to work anymore, remember that the people at the register are actually working and are actually people.

I can’t finish this without shouting out some of my recent favorite reads. As an avid audiobook listener I highly recommend these in audiobook format but I’m sure they are also just dandy in print. If you don’t have a library card, get thee one pronto and download the Libby app. Free audiobooks!

The Country of the Blind is a thought-provoking, often funny, illumination memoir. I still think about this book months after I read it. I promise I read Murder Your Employer before I started this job. It’s clever and quirky. I can’t wait for Volume Two. All Systems Red is short, character-driven, and so much fun. I don’t read a lot of sci-fi and I’m already on book four in The Murderbot Diaries series. What are you reading and loving? Or hating, those conversation are fun too!

I appreciate your time and attention, thank you for reading.

Before you go…I noticed a pattern a couple of months ago. When I’m feeling insecure about this writing thing, I start looking at library jobs. I even applied for one, got an interview, immediately started worrying about my non-job, and ultimately withdrew my name from the interview pool. I miss libraries but I am tired of starting over. I believe I may have entered my post-dedication phase. I don’t have it in me any longer to dedicate myself, my identity, or my time to a job in the same way I used to. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing. Whatever thing it is, I do know I’m fortunate to have an option.