My last day of work is coming this week, and my supervisor continues to ask me to fill shifts and go to new clients. I wonder if this will continue even after my last day. It reminds me of my last day at my pharmacy job when, in the middle of the last-day celebration, complete with doughnuts and a box of coffee, the pharmacist pulled me aside to say he knew this was my last day but could I possibly fill in the next day 9:00-6:00. I looked at him with a mix of panic and pity and managed to say no. That was a job where I once worked 29 days in a row (that is, seven days a week, no weekends) because I was the only wage-earner at my house and I felt I couldn’t say no to offered work; I finally said no to the offer of a Day 30, because I thought I was about to have a breakdown. I would prefer to NEVER AGAIN work in a job where I am called to fill shifts.
I am reading Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam, and it is okay so far, but the comma situation is going to drive me berserk. (I thought of this after using rather a lot of commas in the previous paragraph.) Here is a sample:
Lulu’s hair, just like the hair on that disembodied bust of Barbie, a birthday present on which she was meant to practice the feminine arts, could be pinned up prettily, pulled over her shoulder casually, or folded into a lush, delicious chignon. Lulu wore it to her waist, once upon a time, a much younger woman, though now, in her sixties, it’s mannishly cropped, which has the effect of making her face appear even finer.
It makes me feel as if I can’t breathe on a normal rhythm.
Let’s talk about two other books.
First, Dietland, by Sarai Walker.
I found this book so absorbing that I ran a red light while thinking about it, luckily with no consequences beyond burning embarrassment and the shaky sense of a narrow and lucky escape. I was trying to think of how to describe the book to Paul, and I knew there was a word I wanted but I couldn’t find it—and then I found it on the cover of the book: “subversive.” It looks like chick-lit, but notice that cupcake on the cover is a grenade.
Reading it, I thought, “I’ll bet this is her first novel”—and it is. It’s choppy, it’s oddly-paced, it’s confusing in places: at several points the main character was reading a book, and while she was doing so I couldn’t tell whose plotline we were following, hers or that of the woman in the book she was reading. There’s a serious lack of focus: are we talking about THIS issue or are we talking about THAT issue? It’s all tangled up together in one hot absorbing spinning satisfying mess. (Can you tell I’m reluctant to use commas so soon after criticizing someone else’s usage?) It’s a dark revengeful fantasy-adventure for anyone who has felt fed-up with issues surrounding women’s bodies and the way others treat them. I found it moderately life-changing and would recommend it despite its rough spots.
Next, a radical change of tone: A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman.
(image from Amazon.com)
The reviews are so mixed, you’d never think people were reading the same book. Everything from “So incredibly boring, just an old guy’s daily schedule, nothing even happens??” to “LIFE-CHANGING, THE MOST TENDER CHARMING BOOK I HAVE EVER READ, I WILL NEVER FORGET IT.” I lean heavily toward the latter, and felt similarly toward Britt-Marie Was Here. I have My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry in my library bag.
That’s a huge problem with hourly work in general, and part-time hourly work in particular, is the constant need to fill shifts because the management never wants to give out full-time hours to begin with so that they don’t need to provide benefits etc, Thus, they consistently under-staff shifts and have no wiggle room for emergencies which ALWAYS happen. If they always have scheduling emergencies, they’re not doing proper planning. The priority is on minimalism rather than full coverage.
“Ove” and “Britt-Marie” are two of my favorite books in recent memory. Each of my siblings and both of my parents have also read and thoroughly enjoyed them. I recommend them to everyone looking for new books!
I work as a store manager for a giant retailer and we are admonished by Corporate if we publish employee schedules that are over budget. The issue we face is that we never get enough hours to truly cover all our needs and we tend to survive on the bare minimum. This means that as soon as someone calls in or decides not to show up we go into total scramble mode.
There’s been days that myself and my management team have made 50 phone calls and spend half our shifts trying to fill open shifts. I think everyone screens my calls. It’s the worst. I don’t like being the person making the calls to beg people to come in and work.
I do really like my job but if I had to name All My Least Favorite Job Responsibilities, filling shifts would absolutely be number one on that list.
Dietland really was excellent, once you get past the pacing issues. I have Britt-Marie in my TBR pile. I’ll get to it later this week.
I think you should try The Flood Girls by Richard FiField. It’s a great first novel by a man who can actually write a convincing, strong female lead.
I was heading for the library this afternoon anyway, so while I was there I got The Flood Girls!
I would also heartily recommend Dietland! I thought it was so original and thought-provoking.
A Man Called Ove is on my list, too. I love so-called boring books. Most of us are just people living regular lives, and I like hearing them described in interesting and thoughtful ways. If my actual life were a pageturner, I would be very agitated. But that said, I totally get why people like to escape into pageturners.
Also, those commas in that excerpt you quoted are whack.
I love commas, and yet that sample paragraph made me feel… irritated. I will be curious to know whether you get used to it after a while, or whether it ends up distracting you completely from enjoying the book.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is one of my favorites!
Agree!! It took me a little while to get all the characters and the “lands” straight, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I sobbed through the entire second half, but it was a very cathartic sob, if that makes sense. I can’t wait to read more about Britt-Marie, and Ove is one of my book club books for later this year.
Ove was my favorite book read this summer…it made me laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page! I hesitate to recommend it to my book club because of the mixed reviews, I really dislike being the person who suggests a book the others hate. Thanks for the suggestions of Britt-Marie and Grandmother, I’m excited to take a look!
I also enjoyed Dietland, very quickly, if I can remember. I loved that the heroine did not become whole only after losing weight. A good farce is enjoyable now and then!
I want to hear about what’s next for you when you have finished up at this job.
I’m intrigued by Dietland, so I went to Amazon to look at it and it has a new cover that features a cherry bomb. Same idea, perhaps better execution than the cupcake grenade. I’m glad to get your recommendation because I’ve been thinking about reading this book for a while.