Blog No. 19
I am writing today’s blog in a fashion to which I have become unaccustomed. It’s my own fault (as these things always are). I have been on a lazy slump. If you follow Adventure Worlds you will know that I am now two weeks behind on my story. It’s all about my inability to do what I am managing to do now. I am at home sitting at my desk with my big headphones on writing. That might not sound like anything special, but for the last month or so I have been writing all my blogs and most of my stories on my down time.
That might sound perfectly reasonable to you, for someone with two jobs I would be writing on time that I am not busy, but it might be more than that. I have not been able to take the time that I really have available to me to sit down and put words in an order that I think will be pleasing to read. Most of the work has been done either between going from one job to the next or before shifts start or even when my work is done and I wait for the people to leave so I can lock up. The days I have totally free have been mostly unproductive. Sure I get some other important things done, but my writing takes a back seat. Thankfully I have my fellow writing group associate Christian kicking ass in the writing department and showing me my folly over and over again. So here I am, hours before I go to work writing my blog. Now I just have to keep it going.
(Back to the real blog action.)
Television is a liar. I have lived my life in the shadow of great sitcoms making me think that life (especially work life for this blog) is suppose to be fun and wacky and full of romance and comedy. It isn’t, not really. I have had some fun times, but nothing like NewsRadio (The single best example of the situational comedy ever, even though season five was a total mess after Phil Hartman’s death). I have had a job since I was fifteen and most of that time has been spent in the retail market. For the most part it was a never-ending series of disappointment and frustration. Anyone who has to deal with the public on a regular basis can relate. People can be down right nasty.
I’m not going to spend time on this blog recounting the numerous stories of ridiculousness that I have faced at the hands of the shopping public. There are already some great blogs that are focused on that and they do it better than I could. (Those of you who have been with me since the first posts in this blog might also remember how I suggested you check out the comic Retail. I stand by that recommendation and also suggest that you read the book written by the creator of Retail “Pretending you Care”). What I want to focus on is how I was a TV addict when I was a teenager and that the work life portrayed on TV is a lie.
Not only are there not tons of crazy capers, but there isn’t even a weekend to look forward to. I have been a part of some fun times when the boss wasn’t around (I once had a coworker build a mini golf course in the Subway where we worked) but never anything to the extent of what can be seen on any TV show that revolves around a working environment. People just don’t normally have that much fun at work. There are exceptions of course. The time I spent as an employee of Rogers Video was one of the best in my life in terms of working environment. There were a lot of friendships and some really fun times both on and off the clock. What we didn’t have (for the most part) was a boss that we had to constantly thwart (he was a really nice guy) or crazy situations where we had to come up with a plan to save the day at the last moment.
Life just isn’t like that, nor is life filled with hot coworkers and love triangles. I do believe those situations happen (I have even seen them happen) but in my experience it is the people involved that make the drama, not the environment. I have worked with several attractive people in my long time on the front line, but the whole Pam and Jim thing that happens on TV (or Dawn and Tim if you are a purist) isn’t real. It might have something to do with my inability to have that heart-piercing fall (See: Falling like a Movie Star on this blog for more details on that one), but the romances I have witnessed have been either pretty normal ones with two people who dig each other and make it happen or huge gross messes that are cause by one or more unstable people and end up with bad feelings all around and collateral damage to anyone who happens to be in the proximity.
For the most part (other than the customers) I have had some really good experiences in my working life. I have made some awesome friends and had some really cool experiences. I am still in the retail environment (pretty much, I mean I still work with the public at least) and the way the job market is looking until I can either luck out there or get my writing life sorted out and have some major luck with that I am likely to be there for a while longer. I also still watch too much TV, though now it is mostly through netflix (but you can watch all of NewsRadio there and you totally should), but I have yet to have the crazy adventures that happen so readily in the workplaces seen on TV. I suppose I shouldn’t have really expected that I would, but you have to admit, work would be way more fun if it were.
Ben Van Dongen 