so long, farewell....

Borders is closing??? I am not emotionally prepared for this.



On one hand, I anticipate the awesome going-out-of-business sales over the next couple months. However, I have next to zero self-control when it comes to buying books. Dangerous? Perhaps. But if I'm going to buy the damn things why not get them on sale, right?

Also, where will I read for free now? Sometimes, like when I intentionally don't bring cash or plastic with me, I enjoy lingering for a few hours with a cup of coffee and reading a book FOR FREE. It's pretty awesome. Hawaii's hot, so you're in the air conditioning for one. If the book sucks, you can put it back and pick a new one. There's no residual guilt for spending $15 on something that will inevitably just gather dust on your bookshelf. Now what am I supposed to do? Go to the library? I've done it before, but the idea takes some getting used to. I am a book snob.

I'm not a fan of Barnes and Noble. Okay, that's a slight over-dramatization because I've got myself all fired up over this. I prefer Borders over Barnes and Noble. Borders membership is easier to maintain and provides you with more and much better deals than B&N's cheap ass "discounts." B&N throws around the Starbucks label in their coffee shop when they merely just brew Starbucks coffee. I have no clue why this aggravates me so, but it does. Their seating options are minimal and all but a few suck. Plus, for the majority of their seats you have to have a coffee in hand to sit there. Not that I usually don't have a coffee in hand and not that I'm exactly clear on Borders' cafe guidelines, but this just strikes me as unfriendly and money-grubbing. I have no reception in B&N, but I'm only speaking in reference to the one location. My most convincing and rational argument is that there have been at least half a dozen instances of entering B&N looking for something specific, because it is actually more convenient for me to get to than Borders, but they never have it. Crap, I say!

Plus, as a Michigander, I have a little pride that Borders started in A2. Maybe this affects my perception of both chains, but because I know it's origins, I view Borders more as the friendly liberal college town bookstore while I view B&N as the elitist east coast capitalistic bookstore. Michigan doesn't have much to boast about, so this is an unfortunate loss. Why couldn't Kid Rock have gone out of business instead?

snuggles

It's a strange life I lead right now. My desperate search for employment during the afternoon is balanced by the epitome of domesticity in the evening. It's like the whole Clark Kent/Superman dichotomy. I'm a driven and self-sufficient waitress by day, scouring all of Waikiki with resumes in hand, but by nightfall I am SuperHousewife(!!!). The cooking and cleaning are the least I can do with all this time on my hands. It's not as though I have the money to go out and play. And avoiding the boredom is a number one priority. Stir crazy doesn't even begin to define it. So cleaning is a decent alternative.

Funny how things have changed in the last two months. While I was miserable before because of life with da kine (I hate referring to ex's by name. My ex of four and a half years is still identified as "what's-his-face" in my circle of friends. I thought it would be appropriate if this latest moniker had a Hawaiian twist.) the rest of my life was stable and in control. In fact, I used everything else in my life to escape. Now I find myself in what has already become the most successful relationship of my adult life (knock on wood...not that previous relationships offer that much competition) and everything else has gone to shit. No exaggeration. Just when things seem bad, my Mom calls telling me my Grandma has two weeks to live...at most. Come on! Give a girl a break.

I'm not complaining. I've generally had it easy. And it's better than having absolutely everything in life suck. But it's dangerous. Avoiding your shitty living situation by working extra shifts makes you money, money you can use to go out with friends. Or more ideally, but not as satisfying, money you can use to save up and move on with. Avoiding your life falling apart by staying in bed to snuggle with your amazing boyfriend, while seemingly the only option at the time, does not actually accomplish anything.

here beginneth the job hunt

I apologize for disappearing for the last two months. It was completely unintentional. You see, I fell in love.

That tends to be rather distracting.

Oh, I also just got fired from Auntie Pasto's. If anyone can inform me of what exactly constitutes as wrongful termination, I would appreciate it. I'd prefer not to look like an ass when I go down to the Department of Labor.

More on that to come...