i ain't gonna work on maggie's farm no more

[ontology]

Um. I think I'm applying for a job today: two jobs, actually, which I am trying not to think about because it is several different shades of terrifying, but am thinking about quite a lot anyway because it is also sort of nifty, or would be, if it weren't terrifying. (I am also bicycling about town like I did before it got all nasty and cold and snowy because it is warmish now and I need to get into Rosie's Bookshop before my store credit runs out and if they haven't got Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell I am going to be right displeased.)

Right. Um. Mostly I am applying for a job because I need money sort of desperately and haven't got any other concrete ways of getting hold of it, and also because I haven't got a life at the moment (less so than usual, I mean) and am starting to be terribly miserable and bored and it is very depressing to not be doing anything worthwhile, you know. Also because I haven't any good excuses not to apply for a job. So far, the places on my list are FYE and Waldenbooks, and I am tossing them around in my head and trying to decide which one I would want to work at most, if they should both be so kind as to accept my applications.

why i ought to work at fye
i. It's got music. And movies. And I get discounts on them. Better, they have good music, like Sufjan Stevens, and Loreena McKennitt, which is very, very nice.
ii. The manager is really cool. And by 'cool', I mean 'she was a folky hippie in her younger years, and she and her husband are historical re-enactors in their spare time and have got Civil War swords and muskets and things mounted on the wall of their house and an antique stove which they really do cook off of and her taste in music is rather impeccable because she let me go through all of the albums in the cupboard when I was over and I was deeply impressed'. Also, we like each other. This could be a serious benefit.
iii. I listen to such a wide variety of music that I could be very helpful to customers looking for things to listen to, and whatnot.
iv. It's next door to the very nice cinnamon roll shop at the mall.

why i ought to work at waldenbooks
i. It's a bookstore, and therefore awesome (although it's miniscule and the poetry section is the size of my hand). Working at a bookstore gives one automatic geek points (whereas working at FYE would only get me cool teenager points and I wouldn't know what to do with those). And anyway it sounds nice: 'I work at the bookstore.' It's got a ring to it, doesn't it?
ii. I know quite a lot about books and can recommend when pressed to. Especially children's books.
iii. It is also in the mall, which is very convenient because I can bicycle there and do a bit of shopping if necessary (there's Goodwill, and Claire's, and the cinnamon roll place, and in October there is a very nice costume shop) after work.
iv. Two words: BOOK SEVEN. If I worked at Waldenbooks, I could be stocking it. I might get to touch it before the rest of the world does, though I'm sure a fellow employee would be standing over me with a rifle making certain I didn't open it and read even the wee-est non-spoilery bit. I would also have no trouble getting my copy first thing on the twenty-first of July.

why i should just run away to wales and not work at all
(why Wales? because I like Wales, and it is underappreciated.)
i. It involves Responsibility, which is scary, and possibly also involves Getting Up Early, which is in my nature about as much as rap music is.
ii. I am used to having a great deal of freedom and flexibility, having been homeschooled all of my life and never having to adhere to schedules very much. Having to get days off for things (and maybe not getting them) is a dire prospect.
iii. There will be people there. I will have to hobnob with them all day long. This could be very, very good, and it could be very, very awful, depending on the people. It would be terrible if I worked with the sort of people that I have to recover from afterwards, but also deeply splendid if we had a fun co-worker camraderie with inside jokes and things.
iv. If I work at FYE, I have to wear an ugly polo shirt. Eurgh. (I'm not being serious about this. Mostly.)

And now lunch is calling, rather persistently.

Comments

[builtofsorrow.livejournal.com]

I think I would choose FYE, simply because having a boss one likes and gets on well with is splendid (and often makes getting-days-off thing easier). Although I don't know what the people at Waldenbooks are like, so...

And working next to a cinnamon roll shop would be heavenly.

(Also Wales because I am partially Welsh, and it is therefore Awesome by association. ^_^)

[faeriemaiden.livejournal.com]

Yes, it would be lovely to work with Mrs. Casagrande and she knows that I am friendly and trustworthy, so I might have an easier chance of getting the job in the first place. :D I don't know any of the people at Waldenbooks, either. Didn't get to go today, but hopefully tomorrow Dad (moral support!!) and I will nip over to the mall for a bit.

Hee. The problem with working next to this cinnamon roll shop is this: a considerable amount of my paycheck would attempt to defect into their coffers. Because you can smell it passing by. I think it is a conspiracy. There are also cinnamon-covered soft pretzels and ice cream, and, really, it's mean.

Drat, my Welsh ancestry is so vague that I don't know anything about it. I know there is some, someplace, probably on my father's father's side, but I don't know anything about it. I do know quite a bit about my Scottish heritage (on my mother's father's side), though--ancestors John Bradner and Christian Colville eloped from Scotland in the seventeenth century (he was her tutor, they fell in love, and her father did not approve), crashed on the Isle of Man, had a baby at sea, and finally made it to America. :DD This is kind of begging to be historical fiction, someday.

[builtofsorrow.livejournal.com]

Oh, the family history you do know is so lovely & romantic (and definitely should be a book someday)! The ancestor I know the most about is my Polish great-grandmother, and even that is somewhat sketchy.

All I know about my Welsh roots is something about an Abraham Jobe (the 'e' was added later, though) who came over in the mid-1600s and worked, I believe, for William Penn. I like to imagine, given the OED definition of Jobe (“to rebuke, reprove, or reprimand, in a long and tedious harangue; to ‘lecture’”), that Abraham was a grammar stickler, which was how he got the surname in the first place, but I suppose it's more likely that the source was related to religious beliefs, given the later connection to Penn.

[trollywoodqueen.livejournal.com]

As you well know, I know all about scary-responsibility. Yes, it will involve getting up early, unless you agree to work late (which really isn't any fun, in my opinion.)
Yes, there will be people. I, for one, am extremely, extremely lucky. I have the most awesome coworkers, who have now become friends, and yes, there are inside jokes. My managers (most of them, at least) are also quite cool for managers. Again, very, VERY lucky.
The days off thing, is a big bummer. Unfortunately, if you ever want a job, ever, these are all inescapable factors. *sighs* I don't like being 'grown up.' At least not when it comes to this 'responsibility' thing.

However, I will run away to Wales with you, if you choose that route. Good luck my dear! And don't be quite so scared. Overall, working has been a very positive experience for me, and I'm sure it will be for you too.
Much love!

[faeriemaiden.livejournal.com]

Hee, I'm so much of a night-owl that I would prefer to work late than work early, but it would probably be very tiring, too, and possibly make the day seem longer. *is indecisive*

It would definitely be a benefit to have a nice manager though. Especially one who likes Loreena McKennitt. ;D

[trolliepop.livejournal.com]

Oh, a job!

Argh. I need to start looking for another one. I'm in desperate need.

Good luck!

[lady-moriel.livejournal.com]

It involves Responsibility, which is scary, and possibly also involves Getting Up Early, which is in my nature about as much as rap music is.

Well, yes. Can't really get away from the former. The latter, not so much--you'll remember I worked late on both of my first two jobs. Although I imagine FYE and Waldenbooks won't have the same weird hours Carrs and Fred Meyer do, so it's hard to say--but there may be some flexibility there. (I feel your pain, though. Really. I had to get up at six every workday all Christmas break, and it was awful, because I never got to bed at a decent time.)

I am used to having a great deal of freedom and flexibility, having been homeschooled all of my life and never having to adhere to schedules very much. Having to get days off for things (and maybe not getting them) is a dire prospect.

Again...I'm afraid that's pretty much unavoidable. Now, I've been very lucky with my current job--as long as I get my work done, I can more or less come and go when I want to, so it's very flexible that way. Most jobs aren't like that, though.

There will be people there. I will have to hobnob with them all day long.

With FYE and Waldenbooks as your main options, I don't see this being a huge problem, actually. Well, as customers go, anyway--I don't think I've ever been in an FYE or Waldenbooks that was actually, you know, crowded. I'm guessing it's not too likely to be stressful that way (i.e., five different people wanting your help at once while you're trying to clean up after the last run of slobs and all you want is your lunch break). Plus the stores is small, so while it might be somewhat difficult to learn exactly where everything is, at least there won't be a whole lot of territory to wander around when you're trying to point people in the right direction. (On the other hand, trying to find smallish things so you can put them away in a smallish area can kind of make you dizzy. Yeah, I didn't love the Children's section, and Cosmetics? *shudder*)

Co-workers...that's a bit iffier, but it's why I'd recommend you go with FYE. Already knowing and liking the manager is a huge plus for both getting the job and enjoying it, and for getting days off when you ask for them. (Having to fight for your days off? Is no fun at all.) You're likely to get to know most of the employees, though, I'm guessing, since--again--those are small stores, and they wouldn't have lots of employees that rotate through on different schedules. 'Course...I'm just guessing here, but FYE might be more likely to have guys who like video games working there, where Waldenbooks' employees might be a little more on the intelligent side overall, but really, there's no way to predict that, and again: you know Mrs. Casagrande. So yeah, FYE gets my vote. (Well, I mean, running away to Alaska Wales is the first choice, but we're talking realistic here. :p)

And regarding other concerns that you didn't quite state but that I'm guessing you have, because I did: it won't be as bad as you fear, and on the off chance it is, it won't last anything like forever. There'll be a fairly steep learning curve for the first few weeks--the cash register and computer, if you use them, and the way things are set up, and how to find things and show people where stuff is, and how to talk to customers--but you'll learn it faster than you think you will. And it'll get easier. I was ridiculously shy when I started working at Carrs, and I hated it for a lot of reasons, but at least when I was finally done with it, I realized that I'd become more confident about talking to people in general. Not like I was good at it--I'm still not, and I say that after having come a long way since quitting at Carrs--but I was better.

So, um, yeah. Good luck. :p

[midenianscholar.livejournal.com]

I'm going with FYE too. I'm not sure why. Except knowing the manager is a huge plus. Jobs are good though. I've tried for several and haven't gotten anything yet... Le sigh. Now I'm too busy. But anyway, the whole jumping into the pool thing always looks worse than it will be. Unless you're going to Driver's Ed. But either way, after you've been in for a few days/weeks you tend to get the swing of things and learn to ignore the parts you don't like.

Anyhow...I think you'll enjoy it if you get the job. And money is a Good Thing. (especially when you have a $4000 trip this summer, plus SLU, plus wanting a Mac, plus the strong possibility of going on another thousand dollar trip in the late summer/early fall, plus possibly going to England somewhere around then, plus Hawaii trips...) Yes. Such as my summer. So far I have $20 for it all.

[midenianscholar.livejournal.com]

P.S. Yeah for Lady in the Water song!

[wanderlight.livejournal.com]

Your uncertainties about the working world sound like mine. ♥ Minus the homeschooling, anyway. The difference: you are actually taking the initiative and applying. *crosses fingers for you*

But mmm I DON'T KNOW, bookstore or music/movies store? Especially that sort of music store? I will be no help to you in terms of deciding. Ooh wait: which one is closer to the cinnamon roll shop? :D

You could always run away & live with me, you know. Though, I do admit, Canada is boring as anything. *pouts*