The Wonder of Reading

I have decided on something today. I’m certain it’s not a new thought, but I feel strongly about it, and so here I am.

I think someone should create a program in which people can bring in their electronic readers of all kinds and trade in their files for actual books. I realize there are many problems with this as people frequently share files or make illegal copies, but it would be nice if this were possible.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I just recently restarted my habit of reading. Everyone who knows me well would never be surprised if I showed up anywhere with a book in my hand. I’d show up for a ladies luncheon with a book just on the chance I was early and they were late. I would have five minutes of reading time. Five minutes of a fantasy world.

I left my reading habit behind quite a while ago for many reasons. I made the switch to electronic books when my father gave me a kindle for Christmas a few years back. I loved the simplicity and the instant download gratification, but when I found a truly great book, it hurt a little that I couldn’t put it up on my bookcase when I was done. There’s something about glancing through all the spines and remembering bits and pieces of the stories and choosing which world will satisfy me today.

So almost two years ago, my kindle charger quit working. Just quit. It was old and to be expected. Technology fails all the time. Trouble was I couldn’t find a charger that would work with my original kindle anywhere. Oh I found plenty that fit the port, but none that actually worked. And because I had been downloading all kinds of material, I had stopped buying actual books.

As a direct result of my kindle’s “death” and my lack of new hard copies, I developed other habits to take up my spare time and help me unwind for bed. People queried on the absence of my kindle, which had become a new appendage for a long time, and eventually someone found a working charger.

Trouble was, I lost the habit. I didn’t care much to go out and download and now the kindle won’t hold much of a charge. I know I need a new one, but I can’t bring myself to spend the money when I can have real books. In October, I went to a used book store and bought several new books by my favorite author. It has taken me until now to readjust my habits so I’m reading again.

I had no idea how much I truly missed it. My children will know a deep and profound love of reading. They will know the joy of escaping our own world for even five minutes and diving headlong into any kind of world they choose. I do believe I will soon become the girl who shows up book in hand again wherever I go. And maybe someday someone will develop a program in which I can turn in all my electronic book files and get hard copies of the books I want to keep. There are many is be happy to just discard for credit towards the great ones, but man oh man I would love for my house to be filled with books. I would be happy as a clam to have a room similar to the library featured in Beauty and the Beast. Silly girl fantasy? Yes. Amazing collection? Yes.

Anyone out there reading this, make sure you’re reading to/with your kids every day. When they’re young you do all the reading, but your roles will change as they grow. You can share the reading as time goes on and as the books get longer and more involved. A great book doesn’t require hard to read words. It only requires a love of new ideas and worlds.

I will end this scatter-brained blog with one of my favorite quotes on reading:
“Every word is a piece of a picture. Every sentence is a picture. All you have to do is let your imagination put them together.”

Retail Therapy

Having now worked the ins, outs, and behind the scenes arena of retail, I would like to impart upon you fine people some tips and tricks for not being “that guy” when you’re out and about.

The holidays are a crazy time of year, and we all want to get the best deal possible. I get that. However, there are certain courtesies that can help you along the way.

First, let’s say you’re out shopping – grocery store or outlet mall, doesn’t matter – and you, for whatever reason, decide that you don’t want or no longer need a particular item. Obviously the best thing to do would be to put it back exactly where you found it. That’s not always an easy task. This can be even more problematic when you’re holding a 24 pack of allergy caplets and all you can find are tablets and chewables and the number 24 is nowhere in sight! This is when most people look at the item, check to see that no one is looking, then toss it behind something, with an entirely different item, or even on the floor.

PLEASE STOP DOING THIS!! 99% of stores have what we call ‘go backs’. It’s a bin kept at the registers for items that need to (say it with me!) go back. So, take the item with you. Hell, take a whole cart of unwanted items with you. Find an employee and let them know that you will no longer be purchasing the items and ask if they could be placed back on the shelves for you. Hopefully the workers will be understanding and kind and tell you that they will absolutely do this for you. An unfortunate reality is that you will come across a worker from time to time who is just having a rotten day and they’ll roll their eyes or scoff to let you know that you’re being an inconvenience to them. The key here is a kind tone and even a smile. You can jokingly say “Well, I suppose I could have left it in a random aisle, but I thought this would be more efficient for you all,” or something to that affect.

Why is it bad to leave something in a random spot? Well, we have things to do. We are often doing said things when we happen upon your discarded item. We then have to stop what we’re doing, return the item to where it belongs and return to our task all while helping the many customers we encounter along the way. Nothing wrong with helping people, but can you imagine how much time we just lost? Also, have you ever tried counting items in stock when people are always leaving them tucked under a bag of chips or pair of socks because they were too embarrassed to just ask for some help? It’s a bitch. It’s even worse when you submit a report saying you only have 3 of something and then have to change it later when you find 4, 5 and 6 lying around in the toy section. Just don’t do it.

Next up: coupons.

Yes, you can get a great deal on thing and yes it’s awesome, but can we cut back on the greed and double dipping craziness?? Different stores have different policies, but I want to make something very clear: buying an item on sale and the re-selling it for personal profit is ILLEGAL!!! That’s right. So the worker you spoke to this morning when you told them that you’re taking all that hairspray to the swap meet later this week to make a pretty penny could potentially report you. Even worse for you if you have a regular shopping time. They could have an under cover cop in the store to catch you in the act. My store thankfully has policies that allow us to stop the extreme couponers when they get out of hand, but we will still get some now and again who think they own the world and they’re just the smartest little thing because they can “beat the system”.

I personally couldn’t care less if you wanna come in a make 30 transactions as long as you’re not buying 50 of one product and leaving our shelves bare. Why? Because the next 10 people coming in looking for the oatmeal on sale in the ad will end up being disappointed and asking for a rain check, which means we will end up losing money later when they come back to claim that cheap breakfast grain, and you’re sitting pretty at the swap meet selling our things for profit. It’s just skivvy in my opinion. If you really think you’re more important than everyone else, then work hard and earn a position of power in which you can tell people you’re more important than they are. At least then we can all still get our milk to bring home to the kids.

Lastly, I want to talk about attitude. This isn’t a slam on anyone, but a reminder for EVERYONE, both worker and consumer. Every single person you meet has something going on in their life that you don’t know about. It could be something great. It could be something traumatic. The point is, we just don’t know. I don’t know that you just found out about your brother’s new engagement and you don’t know about my good friend who’s dying of cancer.

The point is, we can all let our emotions, both good and bad, run away with us. It can make us overly cheery and also short-tempered. The best way to handle this is to take a deep breath, count to three, and really think about not just what we’re saying, but how we’re saying it. Are you being helpful and kind or rude and disrespectful? It can turn a conversation on a dime.

But let’s face it, we all lose it. Our emotions get the better of us and we snap at someone or ask why someone else can’t just cheer up and be happy. Well, we can reflect on it later on our own and think of all the woulda shoulda couldas, or we can go to that person and (dare I say it?) apologize. It does wonders for everyone to hear that the bitchy manager knows they were too harsh and didn’t mean to be so pointed about the morning duties.It helps to know when someone is just having an off day and might need a little extra patience. Most people seem to have forgotten the power of a small apology.

So please, be kind to everyone you meet. This doesn’t just apply to workers, but Lord knows they’ve seen their fair share of anger. A smile can do anyone some good!