I'm Studying You

It was somewhere in all those books I didn't read.

Good evening Studyees, and a belated happy November to you all. As per what's almost becoming the norm around here in The Library, the lights are dim and the mood is slightly dour. The bad news has yet to reach my rear-view mirror.

What I'm about to tell you all is slightly shocking but not the end of the world. It's not life-shattering to me, but it has the potential to impact over a thousand people. And it's so serious, I'm gonna do something I haven't done in The Library in quite some time, Stogggers...I'm gonna use actual dialogue.

The following conversation, sponsored by On-Star, happened after I left Walgreens today right before I went to Borders Express for the fourth consecutive day. A pretty beast feat if you ask me. Anyway, I noticed I missed a call from Borders and had a voice mail. Ironically, I had checked and deleted my voice mails from last week earlier in the day, because I'm really bad about checking and returning calls in a prompt fashion (and I have no time...sorry Pop Diesel and my cool-shit friend Nicole, I promise I'll call soon ). I immediately thought that Borders was calling to tell me that since I was extra, and it was slow, that I wouldn't hafta come in. Studyees, we all know what wishing gets me...this is the version transcripted from memory (with my take in parenthesis):

Voice mail from Jessica: "Hey, it's Jessica from Borders...pleeeeease call me back as soon as you get this, it's really important. Something's happened and I need to discuss some things with you personally. So call me back, kay? I'll be here til 5." (It was about 4:10pm, Eastern time after turning back the clock last week so your boy here could finally get an extra hour of sleep. And now I'm wondering, "Ooooooohhhhh shit, what did I do? What am I gonna get busted for?" My pristine conscience felt guilty reeeeeal quick...but it's not even like she said it in an angry tone; she sounded slightly chipper and less-rushed than she's sounded in previous VM's, so what I was getting worked up for is only something I'll never be able to explain.)

So I did the unthinkable and returned her call (it felt like a very foriegn concept to me). The news was not good.

Disclaimer: The Jessica I'm speaking with is my store manager, not the hot lady who makes my lunch every day, more often than I make hers.

Jessica: "Heeeeeyyyyy."
Me: "'Sup?" (Like my good-mood doo-doo don't stank.)
Jessica: "Soooooo, have you seen the news lately? TV or anything?" (Like, WTF?? Seriously?!? I know she didn't call me just to chit-chat. I know this. Check me...I know this, man.)
Me: "Huh? What? Noooo, just got outta work- ummm, wait, we have news radio on in the car..."(My love has taken to listening to local news radio in the car on the way to get me now...mainly cuz I'm the iPod hoarder and she really doesn't know how to even use it.)
Jessica: "Um, well, no, anyway, look..."
Me: (Now I'm intrigued.) "Wassup?" (I really said that. I'm classy.)
Jessica: "The store is closing. Borders has decided to close 200-300 of their mall stores. We'll probably get signs up right around Thanksgiving-time, go to 25% off, 50% after Christmas, and close up around the end of January. If you have any questions, you can always call me at any time, either here or on my cell phone, or the DM." (It felt a little surreal for about 15 seconds.)
Me: "Oh, damn! Well, I'm not really surprised." (then followed some quick filler conversation about how someone else said that, and Jessica said she was shocked. I really wasn't surprised...the company's been sagging for years, nobody'd gotten a raise in the last four years or so, CEO's have come and gone, so it's the perfect table of contents for locking some doors permanently.)
Jessica: "So do you have any questions for me right now?"
Me: "Yeah...do I still hafta work tonight?"

And yes Stoggers, I still had to work tonight. And yes, Borders is shutting down most of their mall locations come January. Which means your faithful and trusted favorite Borders bookseller/keyholder over here in The 'Lo will be searching for a new second job in a few months. The superstores will remain open and function as normal, but really, are they gonna want any of us Express retreads, especially right after the holidays...those of us who aren't full-timers anyway (full-timers will be accommodated as best as possible, no guarantees, but they will be offered severance if they don't remain with the company).

I've dealt with retail stores I've been employed by closing right around the holidays before, so I kinda have some experience, dealing with it both physically and mentally. What I've proven so far is that I'm handling this the only way I know how...with stupid humor. Two examples:

Erin, to calendar stand seasonal help Melissa: "Hey, did you work here last year?"
Melissa: "Yeah, I was here."
Erin: "I thought you looked familiar!"
Me, always ready to ruin the moment in sing-song style: "Guess who's not comiiiing baaaack neeeeext yeaaaaarrrr."

Erin, after figuring out Estelle entered in some credit card totals incorrectly and fixing it: "Well, I'm glad I got this started early and fixed before we closed so we won't have to worry about staying late."
Me: "I know! Bad Estelle! What was she thinking?"
Erin: "I know, right?"
Me, with my good intentions: "If she keeps this up, she's gonna be out of a job in three months!!"

Ohhhhhh, I'm sooooo funny, I know, Studyees. You don't have to remind me. In fact, please don't. But do share your condolences and stories, if any of you are Borders shoppers, especially Express location customers. I love the job, I love the people, and I was really lucky to get back into it after not being there for a few years. Company-related, aside from their utter mismanagement, they were a great company to work for, by and large. I've met some great people all the way around. I'll miss it, fo' sho'. Especially if I decide to try to get into the superstore nearest to me and fail.

Oh, one other thing...don't feel bad for me. Feel bad for Jessica, who's the de facto Store Manager while our regular Manager is out coordinating district Day-By-Day calendar kiosks. Feel bad for Justin, who's doing that job, and doesn't have a store to come back to. Feel bad for Erin, who came back to The 'Lo and the company from Baltimore with her hubby, toddler, and bun-in-the-oven to help us out; she's basically guaranteed work for the next couple months, but she's due in April, so why should she try to find another job after we close and work for a month or two until she has her baby and isn't planning on working again for a couple of years? Feel bad for Estelle, a sweet retiree who take two or three afternoon short shifts a week to stay active. She's a really nice lady and her heart's really into it. I'll miss her a lot. Feel bad for the regular customers that come to us, because they don't want to go to the huge, sterile Barnes & Noble in the next plaza over because we give them totally personal service and get them exactly what they want in a smaller, less confusing setting...they don't get that at B&N, and probably won't get it at our superstores either, simply based on the size and traffic. But please, don't feel bad for me. I'll be losing out on some good people, a job I absolutely love, and some extra income. But unlike those other people, I have something to fall back on that I can rely on, in that I already have a full-time job that I can go to. These people, including the customers, will have to experience some sort of suffering; whether it be searching the want-ads, going back to school, relocating, or not having the guy at the book store set aside their favorite monthly series of Harlequin romance novels or special editions of certain UK magazines every month, the loss will be felt by many (not to mention the approximately 1,500 booksellers that will have sold their last book in the month of January, 2010). Look at it this way, for me at least, please...I get a chance to hopefully experience something new in my life, job-wise. Maybe I'll find something I'll love more. Maybe I'll make more money, or get a richer experience and become a better person for it. Or maybe, I'll just enjoy some extra free time. Either way, it looks like a win of sorts for me Stoggers....and in this economy, no matter how big or small, you gotta find and take the victories when they come your way.

That's all I got for ya today, my loyal Studyees. Take it or leave it; I'm peacin' either way. In other words...GOODNIGHT NOW!!