I can help you!

I've just finished three days of training for my new career in retail at the Large National Chain Bookstore (l.n.c.b.). I've learned to run the registers, to remove DVDs and CDs from their plastic security cases, to search for things on the in-store databases (a woman today wanted a book she'd heard of that was "short stories about tennis." We even had a copy "on hand" -- supposedly. When I took her over to the Sports section, tennis was all mixed up with hockey, soccer and wrestling, so we never found the book she was looking for), to load up electronic "gift cards," to invite people to join the company's email newsletter (3% positive response is the goal!).

My favorite moment so far was when the goth girl who was training me was saying you should recommend another book to go with the book someone had already picked up. "If someone picks up Hillary Clinton's new book, what would you recommend?"

"How about Ann Coulter's new book?" I chirped. She nearly blushed, which for a goth girl would have been a major disaster. "Don't get me started!" she finally sputtered.

The job pays just a little bit better than the $8/hr. I was making doing data entry as a temp in 1989. The point of the job is not the money but the toehold. In case Cris loses her lucrative software job, one of us needs to be employed at a place that gives domestic partners benefits.

In any case, I immediately got a lead on another job, one which would pay 75% more, and which I could actually do along with the l.c.n.b. job.