Between Jobs at the Moment

...And I mean that quite literally.  That does not mean that my employment status has changed, folks.  I am still quite gainfully employed by the State of Ohio, and it looks like my job is secure, despite the imminent governorship of John Richard Kasich.  (The Industrial Commission is thinning its ranks by attrition, so it doesn't seem like layoffs are going to be necessary.)

No, what I mean is that right now, I have left one job for the day (make that the rest of the year!) and have yet to report to the other one.  At 2:30, I took vacation leave and left work, since there was literally nothing to do.  I was so bored I enthusiastically did the file room inventory, which is a task I usually "forget" to do until the weekly reminder pops up on my calendar.  I even cleaned off much of the mountain of paper and trash that accumulates on any flat surface that I use as a workspace.  (I found things I thought I had lost, such as Xerox copies of my Ohio Writer article about Robert Lowry and a notarized copy of my mother's death certificate.)

But revelry like this has an ending point, so, with my supervisor's blessing, I left at 2:30 and am now at the main library, typing this entry at one of the computers on the third floor.  At 5:30, I'll dash into the phone booth and emerge as Bookstore Man.  (Actually, I'll walk the half mile plus to the Discovery Exchange a little after 5, and be there for the start of my shift at 5:30.)

Yesterday was my first day on the clock at the Discovery Exchange.  My supervisor, Stacey, is a long-time veteran of the bookstore, and I perused the employee handbook, which dealt with the usual--how to and how not to dress, promptness, calling off work, spotting shoplifters, how to deal with a robbery, sexual harassment, etc.  For the brief duration of my employment, I will have a small locker for my coat and my book bag.  (I added the key to my ring; it's about the size of a diary key, so I figured that'd be the best way to prevent me from losing it.)

I will be working in the textbook section on the second floor.  In my last entry, I went on at length about my sudden fascination with organizing and cataloging my personal library (that's a rather highfalutin term for the hodgepodge of books I own and have accumulated over the years).  I was quite favorably impressed with the way the textbooks are organized at the Discovery Exchange (or DX, as it is known on campus).  The books and course material are on tall shelves that take up much of one half of the second floor, arranged alphabetically by subject.  (I was a little confused about foreign languages, until I saw that each language had its own section.  There isn't just a "Foreign Languages" section--there's French, German, Spanish, etc.)  Once the shelves run out, the balance of the subjects are arrayed along the rear wall.  There are wrapped skids full of yet-to-be-inventoried-and-shelved books, and an area set aside for discontinued books.  I spent some time looking over the leisure reading books for sale, and also the office supplies (including parking-permit holders and Columbus State planners).  On the first floor, there is even a small area that resembles a convenience store, except that they don't sell cigarettes, condoms, or alcohol.

Next Monday is the first day of classes, and I am sure it will be sheer chaos.  The student body is smaller than the University of Cincinnati's, which is where I had most of my bookstore experience (working at DuBois Book Store).  I am anticipating a much easier time with the Columbus State students than I did with the U.C. ones, but the next week or two may prove me wrong.

Have to end this entry and post it before the library's Firefox system glitches and loses it!