Outdoor Pillows, Box Cutters, and Neil Patrick Harris

Whew! It's been a long time since I updated and for that I sincerely apologize. There just...hasn't been a whole lot worth writing about going on. Last time I updated was right after Nats, and since then I've pretty much just been job hunting, though I'm glad to say I was finally successful (more on that later). Unless you wanted an entire blog post devoted to my adventures in job hunting (I applied at X...and they didn't need me. So I applied at Y...and they didn't need me. So I applied at z...and they didn't need me. Then out of desperation I tried to apply at the solution to the equation...but since X,Y, and Z were all undefined they were stumped and couldn't hire me.) I suppose this is the best option after all (deft rear-end covering maneuver, yes?).

So...let's see. Last Tuesday I got a phone call following up an interview following several phone calls following up an application and was hired as a sales associate at Pottery Barn in the Annapolis Mall. Basically my job is to greet "guests" as we're supposed to call customers, see if they need help, then ring them up when I'm done. Also, if I'm closing I have some basic re-stocking work to do as well. All and all it's not a bad gig, and once I figure out where/what everything is (seriously, half of the things we sell I swear we just made up names for. "Yes, the Sienna Paisley Cross-Stitched Gromet-Socketed Duvet Flatware Set is just over here ma'am, next to the glass thingies.")

My awesome coworkers/bosses are a real benefit of working at PB. Since the store is kinda starting from scratch (new managers, new sales staff, new stockroom workers) there really aren't many people who've been there more than a few months to a year. In addition to the extremely friendly attitudes of my coworkers and employee-focused policies that the company has, this relative freshness has made starting the job much less intimidating (since most of the stuff I'm figuring out, they're still figuring out to, and rather than them telling me how to do it, we just figure it out together.)

In between shifts at Pottery Barn, I've noticed an alarming trend this past two weeks. Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris are invading my life. At first I didn't think much of it, but they KEEP SHOWING UP everywhere I turn around. It's like being stalked by famous people. Last week I went to a friends house, where I was introduced to a show called "How I Met Your Mother," with Neil Patrick Harris playing one of the main characters. I then returned home and two days later all the commercials on Hulu are for Castle, a show where Nathan Fillion is one of the main characters. This seemed innocuous, but then later that day I recognized Fillion's voice in a voice acting role, looked it up, and sure enough...there he was. Creepy, but not a trend, I hear you say. Just wait. This week I was trying to ignore the sounds of Regis and Kelly, which my mom had accidentally left playing on the TV while I was checking my e-mail, and who should be hosting a commercial but Neil Patrick Harris. As if that wasn't bad enough, my sister told I should watch a short film called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and when the title screens rolled I realized that the two main roles are played by NATHAN FILLION AND NEIL PATRICK HARRIS!!! Coincidence? I think not!

Aside from being stalked by celebrity actors, today I was schedules to work a 9 hour shift in the stockroom (with an hour for lunch, which I guess makes it an 8 hour shift with an hour for lunch tacked on at the end.) Normally I work sales, (hence "sales associate") but for some reason there was a gap in the stockroom schedule and some shifts needed covering. Since I haven't finished training for sales, my boss asked if I would mind putting it on hold for a week, covering two shifts in the stockroom, and then picking up sales again. "Sure," I said "no problem." And it wasn't. I'm really tired and my feet hurt, but otherwise it wasn't bad. The morning was hectic because we got a massive shipment and had to unload it, but my two coworkers for the day (the disco/showtunes-loving Richard and Jay the helium-breathing, normally deep-voiced black dude (who was a riot) showed me what to do and we got it done. The rest of the day was spent slicing open boxes with a box cutter and putting the items where they go on the shelves.

So now I'm home and am tired, however, I felt I could not justify going another day without publishing at least something to WDJP here. I need to stick to my schedule better. My bad. :)

See ya next week! (feel free to put the spurs to me if I'm lazy about it.)