I was working at Barnes and Noble, which was a job I loved because it had some variety. I remember that I didn't like much of what I did, but each task was rotated so that I never did the same thing for more than two hours.
Sometimes I wrapped presents- I wasn't good at that. Sometimes I manned the cash register- I was always somehow able to earn the company an extra penny without any desire to do so. Sometimes I shelved books and sometimes I cleaned the bathroom. And sometimes I helped people that wanted to find a book; like the people who looked in an art history book to find confirmation that the painting they just bought at a yard sale had to be a recognized masterpiece so important that it would be in an art history book.
"Is this all the art you got? We're looking for one that has boats in it."
I have to say doing anything for an hour is better than doing the same thing for eight hours. But the pay isn't as good.
Coming out of college, which provided a plethora of choices for me- I would just grab the class calendar and then narrow down the 15 classes I wanted to take each semester into something affordable and manageable- and I was working three part time jobs- was a great environment for me. I was doing lots of stuff, all the time, and it was all different. When I finally stopped being a music major, I was playing my violin more than ever, just not for a grade anymore and life was great.
Then I packed up everything and moved and needed a job and worked for Barnes and Noble.
In the break room was an advanced copy of a little paperback which I've read about twenty times.
I recommend William Maxwell's So Long, See You Tomorrow to you.
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