Today Something Happened

Today I landed a job. Nothing too remarkable about that except that I'd been seeking one for over a year. I got laid off in May of '09 from a job that I thought I'd keep until retirement. A job I enjoyed in online marketing. So much for best laid plans as the economy tanked. Anyway, today I got a job. Sort of. In retail sales, something I've never done before. I'm now on call at a large well-known department store for $7.40 per hour. I can look forward to approximately 10-15 hours of work a week. The math on this one is easy. I'll be lucky to take home $400 per month. That's a long fall from $67,000 per year plus performance bonus.

I suppose beggars can't be choosers. That's how the expression goes, isn't it? My unemployment benefits ran out a few months ago, and I have since been sucking dry my meager savings. Any employment is good employment, I suppose. My goal now is to make this work, get rave reviews from whoever my managers will be, and pick up as many hours as I can. This plan should lead to full time, 40 hours per week, and that much more income to pay my bills.

So this is how I begin my days of blogging. With this good news of a sort. I'm happy about it, but not really. It's nothing to sing and dance about. As my fiancé said, we'll still go broke but it'll just take a little longer now. That was a joke, sort of.

Do I sound bitter? That's because I am. I'm 46 years old and too tired to start a new career. Except that I have no choice. Ha! I sound like Danny Glover from Lethal Weapon. Ah well, time to make some lemonade out of the lemons life has handed me. Let's see. Here's one glass of that sugary sweet libation. I now have an excuse to purchase some new clothing! And, I get an employee discount of 20% off in the bargain! Yeah, I can live with that. Things are looking up already.

Now for some more fun. My job hunting days are far from over. Since I don't have regular hours, and hence, no steady income, I must find another job. A daunting task, yes, since it took me this long to get my first, but I remain optimistic. The snot-nosed little kid who hired me today (yeah, he was a twenty-something), did so on the spot. Maybe being crazy overqualified, which little snot nose reminded me of more than twice, at a retail position is the way to go. I'll find out soon enough. I have another interview lined up for tomorrow at another well known national department store. Maybe I can be on call at two retail locations. Fingers crossed. Whoo hoo!

I'm a writer (unpublished, yet) so I hope I've not already become a boring blogger. I'm not all that good at writing nonfiction. I prefer dark tales of bad things happening to good people and how they rise to the occasion to battle the forces of evil to become heroes to themselves and those around them. Errr, sort of. And now that I think about it, that, hopefully, describes my life as it is right now. I should start seeking an agent. This could be my big break! Not really, and for the record, I like writing simple urban fantasy and horror stories.

I suppose that anyone who stumbles upon this diary of mine can come along for the ride as I chronicle my Adventures in Retail. Hmm, sounds like a book I'd read. Hey! I should write it! Anyway, I welcome all those who do find their way to my humble blogging abode. Have a look around, read a few words. Heck, even settle in and put your feet up on the furniture. I don't mind at all. Here's a glass of lemonade, the use of coasters are optional.

Well, there you go. I've written my self-imposed goal of a minimum of 600 words. I should have striven for 700, I'm sooo close. Ah, there we go. Thank you and good night.

(702 words)