Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I may be losing my job
Posted by Chris in bookstores, chris sartinsky, columns, manga, working
Editor’s Note: Let’s extend a hearty 2.0somethings handshake to our newest columnist, Chris Sartinsky, who will be providing some insight into the life of a recent college graduate trying to survive in Manhattan. Greetings and thanks to Katie Bassett as well for providing the lovely artwork you see above.
To supplement my Coveted Unpaid Internship (from this point forward my “CUI”), I got a job at a big chain bookstore just down the road from my apartment. Because I applied at the end of October, I was on the books as a seasonal hire, though Christmas came and went and no one mentioned anything of it, so I figured I was in. Until the Saturday in January when one of the other seasonal hires didn’t show up because he had been let go and then one of my supervisors pulled me aside and told me don’t worry, because you’re on the schedule tomorrow. Which was nice to hear, because I had been planning to show up anyway, and it would have been an awful mess if I had to ask someone why I couldn’t punch in and that person had to tell me that I didn’t work there anymore.
“It’s just a manner of coming up with the hours,” he said. “We’re trying to find a permanent place for you.” He assured me that it wasn’t a question of the quality of my work — “of course we want to keep you around.” It was just simple economics. I smiled and nodded and said I understood and when our little chat was over and he let me out of the office back onto the floor, I didn’t know what to do, or more accurately, how to feel.
I knew it wasn’t a question of my work. I am a good bookseller; many people have told me this. Not that it’s an accomplishment. I am polite to strangers and I know the alphabet — these are my qualifications.
Keep reading