why I still enjoy my part-time retail job:

customers.
that is, other human beings with ideas and thoughts and interests. people to have good conversations with. I am working at Midtown Books today, and I just had a few great chats with random people.
A very nice guy came in to trade in a book, and purchase another against his credit, and as he was checking out, starting asking about certain authors. This led to a chat about authors I've tried to read. Said customer was buying a Dave Eggers book, "You Shall Know Our Velocity", and I commented that I had tried, more than once, to read Dave Eggers' first book, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". I could just never bring myself to read it. It's like Dave Eggers, and Augusten Burroughs (Running With Scissors, Dry), and James Frey (A Million Little Pieces, the new Oprah book! about drug addiction), and Haven Kimmel - all these McSweeney's writers that I think should read, because they are supposedly cool, and all the other kids are reading them. But i just can't. I mean, i LOVE David Sedaris, and amazon recommends these authors if you like David Sedaris and David Rakoff and Sarah Vowell. I've had a first edition hardcover of A Million Little Pieces since it first came out, and I don't think I've even cracked the spine.
So, from books, we moved onto music, and got to talking about music in memphis, local radio, local musicians, etc. We probably talked for about 20 minutes, and it was really enjoyable. We debated Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Alanis, Cowboy Mouth, Bjork, and tons others. I found out, by his musical tastes, that he was a bit younger than I. And, I'm not making any big assumptions here, but I'm pretty sure he was gay. Making the conversation easier, as I wasn't trying to flirt, or worried about how I looked or sounded. I was chatting away about interesting things to an interesting person.
As we were wrapping up the conversation, this other guy comes up to buy a book. While i'm making his change, he jots his name into our mailing list, and it's a local musician who I had just been talking to Z about at work. Cory Branan. Cory is talented musician, who I saw play a gig 3 years ago, and who has come into the bookstore a few times. He's also quite dreamy. We only chatted for a minute, but that was long enough to soak up the dreaminess.

on another note, my friend Juan called me today, he was so worried about my last post. This was suprising, as juan and I don't generally phone each other. We relate electronically - emails, IMs, etc.
I realize that I post when the muse hits me, when I am down or lonely or feeling unloved. It doesn't occur to me to post when I'm having a great time, laughing at the TV, watching movies from Netflix, or just got in from a nice time out at the movies with a former co-worker & friend (Thanks, G, for seeing Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit with me last Saturday night). I only think about writing when I'm bummed, which is unfairly painting me as seeming more depressed or down than I really am. The truth is, i'm plugging on. Some days are worse than others, and those are the days or moments I feel the need to write. But I'm going to try to kick my own ass to write more (generally), and more positive stuff.

On a positive note, I had a few social invites this weekend. I think I will try to do all of them. A small gathering at Amy's (the coffee shop co-owner) tonight, walking in the Breast Cancer Walk tomorrow, and then basketball (memphis grizzlies) Saturday night. Keeping busy, seeing friends, all fairly low-cost. rock on!