Nicole

Season premiere of Ed……. I kind of don’t want to see anyone in love, but oh well.

I’m a little freaked out because I can’t find the notebook I’ve kept for 2+ years of my and my colleagues funny and aggravating and pathetic experiences in retail, which were to be the basis of a screenplay I’ll probably never write anyway. I can remember most of the things that happened to me, but some of the other stories… have slipped my mind. I have been thinking about writing it lately, for no other reason than because I have absolutely no time to do so. And because I want to rewrite the ending… the two possibilities in my mind before had either been that the cherubic, long-suffering, over-qualified salesgirl gets murdered by a psychotic customer, possibly over the price of socks, or that she gets a job in an equally unrewarding industry and looks back fondly on retail.

I said goodbye to my Kohl’s crew for the very last time yesterday. I’ve been half out the door since April, so in a way it was good to let go. The place will survive without me. It’s late, I should be reading Dosto for tomorrow.

I am really behind in recording my wacky people stories! I hope I haven’t forgotten any good ones.

I was on the bus coming from North Campus, going through the hospital campus, when I heard one old guy say to another old guy, from out of nowhere, “Yeah, Michigan State people talk trash about Michigan… UNTIL THEY GET CANCER!” Where all that anti-Spartan spite came from, I’ll never know.

Yesterday I was on my way to Oprah’s Book Club–I mean, my horrible English class, and right by the steps of the grad library, this nondescript normal-looking middle aged bald guy was standing, holding a book. I had been thinking about something else and kind of smiling to myself, and I looked at him and smiled. Actually I usually smile at adults on campus because I know what they must be thinking about all these hooligans. Anyway, the guy grins at me, holds up his book and says, “Do you like reading about… SOCIALIST ideas?” The drama with which he said “socialist” cannot be accurately conveyed in print. I just started laughing, and his face fell. I hurt Mr. Engels’ feelings! Now I’m probably not invited to the new society.

Later on, when I was headed back the other way, there were about 5 freshman-y-looking guys standing in front of the UGLy, and one of them was looking at the ground. Suddenly he yelled out, “Hey! Somebody lost a tooth!” I hope no one beat up my socialist comrade and knocked his choppers out.

Finally, when I got on the bus this morning, the only seat available was next to my sociology GSI. I didn’t really wanna talk to him because I knew he’d bring up some topic relating to the course material, and since I didn’t do this or last week’s reading yet, I don’t really have much to say. So when he did start talking about a couple of the articles, I managed to turn the conversation around and spent the rest of the bus ride telling him the story of how t.A.T.u. came to be marketed as lesbians. I’m sure he knew I was running diversion, but at least I got to share that story again. Had the bus ride been any longer, I would have had to pull out the lyrics and teach him to sing along.