One disadvantage of working at a retail job is that everyone wants to talk to you.

Aspiring Screenwriter A finds it inconceivable that I'm not going to Neil Gaiman's public reading, the one with the $10 tickets, attending which would mean closing the store an hour and a half early. Curator B wants to tell me all about his summer trip to Europe. Didn't I go? No, I was working at the store. Artists D, E and F would like studio visits. How's this afternoon? No? Maybe tomorrow? Customer G wonders why I don't have a used copy of Kurt Vonnegut's new book, which was just released last Friday. Saleswoman H wants to sell me display advertising in a local newspaper. Angry crank I volunteers to report me to the Better Business Bureau when I decline to buy her collection of "valuable LP records...Boston...Arthur Murray...Fleetwood Mac." Book scout J arrives on rent day with a bulging backpack, two suitcases, and a pressing need for cash. Hagglers K, L, M & N want to argue about the price of the twenty-five cent books on the bargain table. Staff member O has another job, family pressures, and professional sports tickets. Traffic Manager P wants to disrupt the flow of traffic around the block. Retailers Q and R want me to listen as they describe their business' slow decline. Thief S tries to boost some new books. Browser T brings her little Paris Hilton "accessory dog" shopping with her.

& etc.

To paraphrase a favorite poet, I love my life, but I don't love you guys, and today I would rather nail both hands to the floor than ever argue over a discount on a table book with anyone ever again.
- posted by cjb @ 6:09 PM