Week for the books

So, since my last post:

Mike and I stopped in at the Broadway Panhandler, a very cute, fabulous kitchen store that he and I both love but can't really afford. He encouraged me to pick up an application (after the Organic Avenue fiasco which I STILL haven't been paid for), and I did. The next Thursday I turned in the application. I got a call to interview on a Friday. I started work that Saturday. I am officially a weekend cashier at the mom and pop shop, at ten bucks an hour which isn't too bad. The people there are, each of them, charmingly unique. Please read because each one could literally be a character in a play:

Kim: African American, grew up in the South without indoor plumbing, watching Jackson 5 cartoons when she came home from school each day, now living in New York and manager at the Panhandler. On my first day she brought in a large box delivered from Fresh Direct (an online grocer a lot of people around here use), that contained one head of garlic. She brought it in just to show the excess in packaging. I like her.

Victor: Puerto Rican. Came here 8 years ago not speaking a word of English. Think Agador Sparticus from The Birdcage. That's all you have to do because he's exactly like Hank Azaria's character (and he is fabulously gay). He calls me "Mami" and "Baby" and frequently asks me "Whass up, Mami?" when he sees me. He is hilarious in everything he says and wears a baseball cap to work every day. And he is always smiling. He grabbed my thumb one day to examine my ring. Something about people who are so soon to be that comfortable with you without being creepy is really endearing.

Joe: He was the man who let me in to the locked store doors on my first day. "I saw you yesterday interviewing with Arnel!" He said as he let me in. And then he said, "Thank god you're not a murderer." What (you just wait, he promptly explained)? Joe had seen, on the news that morning, a picture of a man he used to work with at Key Foods (a chain grocery) named James. He said to himself, "Oh, I know him, that's James!" As he listened further, he found out that his old coworker had apparently entered that same Key Foods and slashed two people with a machete, one James' girlfriend, and the other her friend. The girlfriend died and the friend was in critical condition at the time. "I remember feeling bad for this guy and telling him I'd go out for beers!" Joe also wears an apron, which no one else does in the store, and is also good-smelling and fabulously gay. "And I actually gave him my phone number," he said.

Chase: He is from either Virginia or one of the Carolinas (leave it to me to not listen to the details), got a degree in psychology and found out that was a bust, so came to New York to live for a few years and see if he could make it. "That's how I ended up working retail," he said to me, as if to say, "I'm smart, just like you, but everybody's got to make a buck." He constantly makes me laugh in a really nerdy way and he is genuinely nice to each customer which I really admire.

Tom: missing a tooth on the bottom, looks like Santa Claus because he has a big fat belly and he wears red suspenders. He's a slow-moving old guy with an endless supply of corny jokes. Example: After hearing "Fools Rush In" sung by Elvis on the stereo today he said to Chase, "You know this is Miss Piggy's favorite song? 'Take.... my.... ham!'"

Bridgett: She honestly looks like the type who goes out and gets wasted every night, based on the circles below her eyes and her constant disheveled look, but I think that is completely awesome. She's an assistant manager, helps me with everything I screw up on... wears a lot of black and actually asked me about my favorite books yesterday. She lives in Astoria as well so we might actually "hang" because she's staked out all the cheap, strong drinks and good live music bars.

Antonio: He's from Dubai. Yes, that weird country in the Middle East that they're trying to turn into the Las Vegas of the Middle East, creating islands and such. He is black, has a substantial beard but his hair is short except for two well-maintained dreadlocks behind each ear. He has a slight stutter which he powers through quite well and I often catch him dancing to the music overhead. He once came over with a price gun and without me knowing, priced me as "24.95" on my arm. At the time, he lunged, and I asked, "What?" and he said, "Nothing, I think you're pretty." Not until later did another associate let me know I had been "priced."

I do believe those are the only people worth mentioning because of their exceptional demeanors or personalities but I will update you if any of them present themselves to be more interesting.

On another note, I got word yesterday that my chief at Audubon approved a 3 dollar an hour raise, "To deter any real pan handling you might think of doing,'" said my associate editor. So, really, I wouldn't need this other job so much but I'm going to keep it and save up. There's a looming move of some kind at the end of June, no matter where I end up, and feeling productive for once is a good thing. BTW, the new issue of Audubon has a shit ton of my stuff in it. Please see: http://audubonmagazine.org/fieldnotes/fieldnotes0803.html
And others from the issue. And the photo essay rocks this time around.

I've worked 6 days this week and I work every day next week. My heels are killing me.

It's alright. It's gonna be alright for the first time in awhile. And I really like that feeling.