The day we've all been waiting for: I have a job. Naturally, it's in the buisness of my biggest employment enemy: RETAIL. Eeeeww...but, it's completely redeemable because I get a 33% discount on books. I work in the cafe at Borders, strangely enough with my boyfriend. It all started one day with me looking through the paper for jobs when Logan got back and was looking for a job while I was doing odd and end temp jobs. I found a jobfair for Borders that we both planned to go to, but I got called in that very morning for a temp job starting that afternoon (for ?? amount of time) so I couldn't fill out the hours on my application and didn't turn it in. Logan did, they called him back, and he got hired on in the cafe to open a brand spankin' new store in Natomas (just NW of Sac). My temp assignment naturally ended like a few days after and I was pissed, so I filled out a Borders application online while Logan was working 14 hour days moving, opening, shelving boxes of books. [insert helping mom and dad move to Elk Grove in here while jobless, which was actually pretty convenient for things that needed to get done] He casually mentions one morning that they needed people in the cafe, he recommended me, and oh, by the way, they're going to call you today....and you've worked in a cafe before, Kat. They called and though I wasn't quite prepared, I didn't much need to be. I went in for the interview with nothing (they printed the app from online) and before they could call any other references, they wanted to know if I could start 8am the next day. Sweet, so Tuesday to Friday of this week I was working 8:30am to 10pm with Logan setting up a new store and training to work in a cafe. The store called out some mock rushes to the cafe and it was pretty cool how once I got on bar, EVERYONE started screwing up and panicking. Mass chaos with only 4 people regularly working in the cafe (one of the girls couldn't hang even more than me and got reassigned). I have no problem admitting I'm awful at making the foofy, uber-sweet drinks, but everyone has to learn some time and that time is now for me...the stress of the rushes actually encouraged me to learn my shit rather than panic and quit before I start. Plus, I work in a BOOKSTORE that has a cafe, so hopefully most people will want books and dvds and journals and stumbling upon a cafe, may or may not be in the mood for a beverage. Hopefully. I think there's a Starbucks in the stripmall just down the road for the morning java addicts, plus Borders doesn't open until 9. All in all, I think it will be a more relaxed environment and I get store, not just cafe, discounts.

As if 1/3 discount on books wasn't cool enough (I think it will go down to 25% for the full-timers, but that will take a few weeks to go into effect), this soft opening weekend is employee appreciation time er something and we get 40% off on already great opening bargain deals! Logan is getting a stack of books as tall as me and, well, I live with him and get to read them! So yeah, retail sucks but has it's perks...plus, we get paid more to work cafe...plus, we aren't a Starbucks...yet (we'll start selling Seattle's Best some time next Feb or Mar and have to adhere to the buck's dresscode and the like). We'll see how this all works out. Logan and I both work cafe and though I(we) told our manager that we live together, somehow everyone in the store knows we're dating. We're both chill and play off each other well (Logan is surprisingly helpful and patient when teaching me cafe shtuff) and I think we've both proved that this past week as we're on the schedule for this upcomng week working together a few days with just us at cafe. Oh yeah, we open today (Saturday the 16th).

Time for another cup of coffee and a book. More later.