Flippin Friday
Friday's don't really mean as much as they used to when I was in school. Now, Friday's usually just mean that my friends will be doing interesting things, while I'm working a close shift. That's kind of why I was hired - to work weekends. I don't mean to complain, but I was involved in making plans to do something really fun with my U of T friends in Toronto tonight, and I ended up not being able to go. Everyone was going to meet up for dinner, and to go to the Royal Ontario Museum's "Friday Night Live" event - it's this social event held at the museum, with food, drinks, games, live music, etc. that is geared towards people my age. Would have been fun, is all I'm saying.
It's not like I'm deprived of doing social things. In fact, I probably do more social things now than I ever did when I was in school! This morning, Terra, an old friend Steph who I haven't hung out with in a while, and I went for a walk in Bayfront Park. I remember going there as a kid with my grandparents, and it was quite a lovely little outing.Earlier this week I played tennis with Sarah, I went to Niagara Falls on Victoria Day, had people over for dinner on Sunday, went to a BBQ Matt was having at his house and met all his friends, went out for brunch...
But...I just miss living in Toronto, I guess, and being able to go out on the town at night and see all the cool people out doing cool things. I wasn't one of those cool people, trust me - but I could blend. I really loved living in Toronto. Even just going for a walk by myself down Bloor was something I'd look forward to doing.
And actually, I really do like working at Michael's. Sure, it gets a little monotonous, and every so often there is a jerky customer who can't understand why she can't get a sale price for things that are not actually on sale. But the people I work with are great, for the most part. There are some characters, and the occasional squabbling between whats-her-face and so-and-so, but overall, it's a fun time. I'm not a good salesperson, but I am excellent at helping people so at least I can feel like I am doing a good job. Plus, I like the merchandise, and I like seeing whenever new things come in. I've done so many crafty things since I started working there!
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That's not even all of them! I quite enjoy making things, so it is nice to work in a store where a) you get a ton of ideas, and b) you know when the sales are, what products are available, when the good coupons come out, and you get a discount.
So yes, I like my job. It's just not a job that I am proud to be turning down fun things for. Like, I hate seeing people I know at work, especially people from high school. I don't think I'm being cocky by saying that I was probably one of the best students in my year. Top five, maybe. And when I see people from high school shopping at Michael's, I just feel like they are judging me. "Wow, she didn't go too far. FAILURE." I always leave those chance meetings hoping that they think I'm working there part time while I'm still going to school for a PhD or something, instead of the reality - which is that I'm 24, I live at home, and I work part time at a craft store.
Once again, the subject this post ended up being about was not the subject I originally intended, but now that I've gotten this far I can't remember what the original subject was. No big loss probably.
Can I talk a little bit about the novel "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman? I listened to it as an audiobook, with a full cast reading all the different parts. This was way back in December, but I still can't stop thinking about it.. It's just one of those books, I guess. I can't put my finger on why - reading it didn't give me any epiphany, it didn't really open my eyes to a new perspective on the world, and it didn't really reflect important things in my life. But there is definitely something about it. I think I need to listen to it again. Hearing it, the way I did, makes you feel like you are listening to a movie or something; maybe with having different actors read for different characters made them more memorable for me. It definitely made me feel more attached to them. I can imagine the sound of the characters voices, and it's almost like I miss them, miss hearing them talk. Something while I was writing up there about social life and working at Michael's made me think of the book again. Again, I have the attention span of a cat and I can't remember what the connection was, but that has happened to me enough times now since I finished the book that I thought I'd remark.
It's not like I'm deprived of doing social things. In fact, I probably do more social things now than I ever did when I was in school! This morning, Terra, an old friend Steph who I haven't hung out with in a while, and I went for a walk in Bayfront Park. I remember going there as a kid with my grandparents, and it was quite a lovely little outing.Earlier this week I played tennis with Sarah, I went to Niagara Falls on Victoria Day, had people over for dinner on Sunday, went to a BBQ Matt was having at his house and met all his friends, went out for brunch...
But...I just miss living in Toronto, I guess, and being able to go out on the town at night and see all the cool people out doing cool things. I wasn't one of those cool people, trust me - but I could blend. I really loved living in Toronto. Even just going for a walk by myself down Bloor was something I'd look forward to doing.
And actually, I really do like working at Michael's. Sure, it gets a little monotonous, and every so often there is a jerky customer who can't understand why she can't get a sale price for things that are not actually on sale. But the people I work with are great, for the most part. There are some characters, and the occasional squabbling between whats-her-face and so-and-so, but overall, it's a fun time. I'm not a good salesperson, but I am excellent at helping people so at least I can feel like I am doing a good job. Plus, I like the merchandise, and I like seeing whenever new things come in. I've done so many crafty things since I started working there!
e
That's not even all of them! I quite enjoy making things, so it is nice to work in a store where a) you get a ton of ideas, and b) you know when the sales are, what products are available, when the good coupons come out, and you get a discount.
So yes, I like my job. It's just not a job that I am proud to be turning down fun things for. Like, I hate seeing people I know at work, especially people from high school. I don't think I'm being cocky by saying that I was probably one of the best students in my year. Top five, maybe. And when I see people from high school shopping at Michael's, I just feel like they are judging me. "Wow, she didn't go too far. FAILURE." I always leave those chance meetings hoping that they think I'm working there part time while I'm still going to school for a PhD or something, instead of the reality - which is that I'm 24, I live at home, and I work part time at a craft store.
Once again, the subject this post ended up being about was not the subject I originally intended, but now that I've gotten this far I can't remember what the original subject was. No big loss probably.
Can I talk a little bit about the novel "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman? I listened to it as an audiobook, with a full cast reading all the different parts. This was way back in December, but I still can't stop thinking about it.. It's just one of those books, I guess. I can't put my finger on why - reading it didn't give me any epiphany, it didn't really open my eyes to a new perspective on the world, and it didn't really reflect important things in my life. But there is definitely something about it. I think I need to listen to it again. Hearing it, the way I did, makes you feel like you are listening to a movie or something; maybe with having different actors read for different characters made them more memorable for me. It definitely made me feel more attached to them. I can imagine the sound of the characters voices, and it's almost like I miss them, miss hearing them talk. Something while I was writing up there about social life and working at Michael's made me think of the book again. Again, I have the attention span of a cat and I can't remember what the connection was, but that has happened to me enough times now since I finished the book that I thought I'd remark.