At Work

At work. Right now. Its been dead all day. It usually is. Thats why I like it. Its the perfect job for me.

I work at a copy shop in historical Lewes. What was once a refuge for free thinkers, pagans etc. is now a haven for bonafide eccentrics.  The freaks that are my customers. The customers that liven my day.

Such a job functions as a break. A reliable routine rupture in my everyday life. It gets me away from my thesis. The mundane duties and human interactions, from others points of view– ground me and keep me in touch with the real world. I find notions of this real world absurd, but find something true in both of these descriptions. Cuz the job gives me space to be mundane. to engage in small talk, to not think, or at least think in that way.

The job can be boring. It can be stressfull. It can be  enteraining. But it is never the hell, the absolute mind numbing drudgery that is full time work. That is the  everyday life of so many who count themselves lucky.

Time, is still broken into hours here, rationalized. But it flows differently within the schema. I have several hours of free time at this work. I listen to music. I write. I read.  I drink coffee and eat cake. I watch the people go by. The schoolchildren make me think of Larkin. I consider myself lucky.

 

Looking for Work Pt. 1

As we all know looking for working is tedious. Its not only humiliating and time consuming, its counterproductive cuz the only possible outcome is (a) you have to continue to look for work (b) you have to work. Ideally working should be fine. In reality- where it presently has the potential of consisting of service jobs- it sucks.

I have been looking for work since I moved back to Brighton in October. There have been many ridiculous, dreadful experiences. I don’t know why I didn’t blog about them before. After all it is an important aspect of everyday dehumanization. This will then be the first of several;
In other news, I have continued to look for work. The other day I had the most farcical trial shift at a coffee place on campus. (trial shifts are normal for service jobs here i have had two at another coffee place and busing tables i was not hired at either) I applied cuz the ad said it would be 2-15 hours/week. the guy kept on changing when i should come in, which was enough of a pain in the ass cuz he was doing it via email and i was in london. cut to when i show up for the trial shift, at 930 am. the guy greets me. i can tell at once he is a highly disorganized flake; one in the long line of burnouts who moved to brighton years ago, did a lot of drugs and somehow ended up in a line of work. he asks if i can work until the afternoon. i agree to cuz i need the work. but then he proceeds to tell me the position is actually only a sub position for 5 weeks. i get slightly annoyed and consider leaving. he then decides to ‘train me as a barista.’ i quickly find out he has no idea what he is doing. this is made quite clear when he tells me to make a mocha by disolving the chocolate in hot water before putting it in the coffee instead of disolving it in the milk and the fact that he doesn’t know yr supposed to clean the machine between each shot. this is probably why their coffee is disgusting. anyway, i make a few drinks with him leaning over my shoulder, micromanaging me. i m not looking forward to the next few hours. i consider leaving again. this job clearly isnt worth the free labour i am providing. luckily, his flakyness works in my favour. another student appears that he forgot he told to come at the same time as me. its an attractive girl. he suddenly tells me he’s seen enough and i can leave. he will get back to me. a few days later i find i havent got the job. shame. Luckily, I have an interview for the new apple store. If you would like to help please tell me about what apple apps you use and why you love apple. i’m also crossing my fingers about another job i applied for at the library archive. but with the market the way it is, i aint banking on nothin.’