Objective: Buy some books and magazines I've been eyeing at Barnes and Nobles.
Wednesday.
12:07pm- It is humpday. But why does that matter to a recent grad who is unemployed? What is the difference between Monday morning and Saturday morning? Nothing. But I still woke up early, made a dentist appointment for tomorrow, and now I am at the post office filling out forms and reshipping a large package to India for my father.
12:48pm- Yes, it took this long.
1:05pm- Now at Barnes to buy some magazines and books if enticing enough. I haven't been to this Barnes in a very long time, since I like to avoid this city as much as possible. But shelves are empty and employees are few. In fact, the mega Starbucks inside is no longer there. What..happened?
1:06pm- Greeted by an employee who looks like he is in his mid-twenties. He looks like a friend of a friend's half-Japanese boyfriend that never smiles. Everybody knows halfies are a hit or miss. This was a miss. Anyway. Unintentionally rude of me, I don't say hi because he said hi well after I was behind him while he was pretending to stack books in the storefront. Oh well.
1:40pm- Finally after deciding which magazines I wanted and selecting a book on a whim simply because it was on sale, I go up to the empty line. Halfie boy (which I am almost positive he's not part Asian) rings me up. He just so happened to be idle and have nothing to do but to wait for me to buy something.
1:41pm- He makes a remark on half the books I brought up. "Ah, The New Yorker," he says, nodding like he's been a subscriber for years on end. "You read these all the time?"
"No," I say. "I'm more of a Times person, but I went to school in New York and I miss it."
Although like most normal people, he is assuming that I went to school in the city, and I know this, yet decide it is not worth explaining. I also didn't buy it because I miss New York. I bought it because its moderate-liberalism intrigues me, yet I didn't want to be too narrow-minded by only reading something on politics. Did I want to explain this to him? No. So I kept it simple: "...I miss it."
Now the next book. "You haven't read this yet?" he asks. I barely glance up because I'm trying to get my wallet out. He's holding a Sesame Street book for children ages 2 and up. I am buying it for the baby my mom cares for. "No, not yet," I reply, playing along, appreciating his humor, but carefully note his tactfulness.
He doesn't comment on the David Sedaris book, because he doesn't seem to know Sedaris. And he doesn't comment on Monocle, because he has no idea what that is. "New York, huh?" he says, beaming. I thought he was gonna say he was from New York, which meant that I had to explain that I didn't actually attend school in the city and that I don't actually "miss it." But as he was putting my books in a bag, I quickly mentioned for courtesy's sake that I was an English major and that I had just graduated this past May. "Congratulations," he says with a big grin on his face.
I thank him as I rush out.
"See you again soon," he calls out after me.
1:47pm- As I walk out, I think about how working at a bookstore truly makes initial conversation with strangers easy and interesting. I laugh at his attempt to strike one with me-- who likes to shoot 'em down quite easily-- but quickly forget because I am so excited about my new purchases!
2:35pm- As I flip through my new goodies, something falls out of The New Yorker. It's a Barnes and Nobles business card. On the back, it reads, "YOURE GORGEOUS. (909) ***-**** MATT B"
2:38pm- Initially, I laughed out loud and put it down. I thought about our interaction and thought about when he had the time to write that. Then I wondered if he had a stack of those cards with the same thing written on the back behind the counter that he slipped into each young female's book purchases.
2:39pm- I'm flattered, but I reach out to find the card again because I must check something: please tell me he used the correct "you're"
2:41pm- Oh, thank goodness! But he didn't put an apostrophe between the U and the R.
2:45pm- Think about this encounter for a while but ultimately feel the greatest sense of appreciation for having a special person in my life- without ever having been placed in that kind of position where I would take up that kind of opportunity. With all due respect, I think I can do better than a guy who works at Barnes at this age. And surely, I have found an equivalent to me, if not far superior than myself.
Lesson Learned: Do not go to Barnes and Nobles at this location again.
