I read gtags. And on these gtags I see all the fabulous things that my various classmates are doing: getting jobs, getting married, having babies, attaining J.D.’s, Masters, and Ph.Ds. And I work retail—which, I admit, does a somewhat decent job of paying the bills—which, I also admit, is important, but it really doesn’t feel like I am getting anywhere. So, I am on a continuing mission to figure out what, in fact, retail is good for. And, in my position as career-minded, feminist homebody, I have found a use for it. Retail is great preparation for being a mother.
Let’s think about it. In retail, you always have 8 projects going at once. You never have a chance to finish any one job. You are constantly being interrupted. You are running all the time. You are always dealing with people in various levels of crankiness, hurry, preoccupation, and just plain angst. You have to deal with the demands of 5 or 6 customers at once, plus a manager, plus whatever projects you aren’t dealing with at the moment. You are perpetually doing the same jobs over, and over, and over again. You rarely feel pretty or in control. Holidays, and days of rest mean that your work load goes up. And, finally, somehow, you have to remain pleasant, professional, and competent throughout.
With all of this going on, if you can do all this, you can do anything.
heh. it's true. that is why I liked the wee hours of stock team work, no customers for the first 3 hours of shift. So that narrowed it down to managers and supervisors. Which wasn't so bad. I buried myself in folding towels and restoring order to my poor little home dept.
ReplyDeleteWow, Emily Rose. This is so true and so good. The interesting this is that I have Gtag envy/angst too! I guess the grass is always greener. . .
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