I've been feeling a bit depressed the past few days. Partly work pressure, partly hot weather, partly allergies, and partly other crap.

It's raining now, which makes me feel better. I love the sound of it, and I know it will clean out the pollen from the air a little bit. It also made the heat go away. I'm really not ready for summer temperatures in Virginia quite yet.

I'm not sure if I ever will be.

I spent much of my shift today daydreaming of quitting and making a living selling stuff on Etsy.com. My stuff would be a bit expensive compared to the median price there, but I saw stuff that was more expensive. I even saw some stuff I thought was a bit overpriced ($80 for something that is mostly chips?).

Can I do it?

Gods, it's tempting.

Meanwhile, I've got to get to my psychiatrist's office soon to get a piece of paper that says I have a sleep disorder. I gave opening shifts a shot, and it really didn't work. I just can't handle such a wide range in shifts.

i_laughed is getting off to a slow start, in large part due to the fact that I have been lurking rather than posting. I figure if there are more posts, I'll have better luck when I repost in community_promo.

That's it for now. Back to my friendslist again and listening to the rain.

Just a few from my last shift:

One lady called to ask about internet access at the store. I explain the wireless plan and she is very happy that she can bring her laptop and do some surfing. She confirmed the store location, and I thought that was the end of it.

Then she mentioned that our downtown store didn't offer the same service.

It may have something to do with the fact that we don't have a downtown store in this town. All of the bookstores downtown are proudly independent. I can only imagine how the folks at New Dominion would react to the store being called a Barnes & Noble.

Then there was the guy who asked me for a copy of Devil in the White House. It turned out that he meant Devil in the White City (one of our bestsellers). I couldn't fault him for his first guess, however.

Then there were the teenagers who were so amused by the fact that I was such a nerd that I knew what book they were talking about. Yeah, see how helpful this nerdy girl is the next time you come in with a half-remembered title. Bleah.

And why in Hell is our bookstore not ordering Worst Person in the World? I really shouldn't have to order books that are being hyped that much. Besides, I want my own copy and don't want to go through the in-store ordering system for booksellers.

It was a very busy shift. Holiday weekend, forecast for rain, and having the students recently returning for school made for a pretty crazy shift. I do have a five day week coming up next week, which means I get holiday pay. I will have earned it in spades. I look forward to February, the next good break we'll get at the store.

It's cool and rainy outside and I am really enjoying having the sliding glass door open. I love the sound and feel of it.

Work has been crazy lately with the back to school stuff; not as crazy as Bed Bath and Beyond, mind you (I posted earlier about the chaos I saw from the sidewalk - eep) but we have had our share of the fun.

One girl told me that one of her classmates had told her that we could sell her a textbook for her class. I managed to convince her that knowing the title would make it more likely.

There are still folks coming in for their summer reading. My favorite was the mother who came in for a copy of Lord of the Flies. She was not pleased when she learned that we had sold out of the paperback and only had the hardcover in stock. Her displeasure wasn't aimed at the store, but at the son who had already lost three of the paperbacks. He'll either be paying for the hardcover or going without.

Some of the teachers have been fun, as well. There are, of course, the smart ones who actually planned ahead and they have really been helping things go smoothly (at least as smoothly as things can go when teenagers are involved). Then there are the teachers who drive us up the wall. I know none of the latter read this journal, but I will still try to keep identities quiet. ;)

One teacher thought to have us order enough copies of his required text to the store that all the kids would be able to pick them up, and he even got the least expensive edition. The problem? He is requiring three titles, and the other titles are not in stock and the parents are blaming us. *sigh*

Then there was the teacher who told her students that she had checked, and that we had the book they needed at the store. The only thing is, the teacher checked the website, which does not have anything to do with what is in the store. Again, we get angry parents. There aren't many students in that class, thank heavens.

And then there is the class that is driving pretty much the entire staff to drink heavily. This one is on a scale with the NYT adventure.

This is a class that is being run by both a high school and the local community college. There are two books required. One of them has been backordered at the warehouses (meaning it will take a while to come in - much longer than anyone wants to wait). The other book has a number of editions and there is no way to know which one the students are supposed to get. The class materials don't say which one to get - they only say that the students can get the books from us.

It gets better.

We booksellers were ordering them both (guessing on which edition for the second title) and telling worried parents and students that the entire class is in the same boat and that they wouldn't get into trouble for not having the books immediately. Slowly, they were coming in and people were picking them up.

Sunday (already a bad day thanks to the NYT) saw several more parents and students coming in to place orders. There were also a couple of people coming in to return books that they had already purchased. Why?

Because the books had been handed out in class.

You can imagine the reaction of the booksellers.

Mind you, not all of the students had gotten them in class, and we were at least as confused as they were.

We still don't know exactly what is going on. Some students are still trying to get the books, others are returning them, others have been told that they will get copies in the near future from the instructor, others have been told that they won't get them in class, others have been told to go to the bookstore at the community college to get the books, and still others are still being told to come to us.

Dear readers who are also teachers, I beg of you, don't ever do that to your students or neighborhood booksellers.

One other bit of news - there is a community dedicated to the Maryland Renaissance Faire. All who are interested should check out mdrf.

I had a long, ranty post to share, but I'll have to put it off until later.

Because it's quietly raining outside and I have the sliding glass door open and everything suddenly seems fine.

The suckyness of the day can wait to be immortalized.

Right now, I'll just listen to the rain.