Gainfully Employed

I have a job.  Finally.  I am a customer assistant (and cashier) at the L'eggs, Hanes, and Bali store, one of the few surviving shops in a little strip mall down the road.  It's a very relaxed atmosphere and the women who work there, so far, have been pleasant and patient.  Today was my first day on the floor and aside from aching feet, it was a very good day.  I learned the basics of the cash register, learned a bit about a variety of sales and discounts, got to know my fellow employees, and got to see how the store operates on a fairly regular day.  Of the six other women who work there (me being lucky number seven) three of them are management.  There is always a manager on site and it seems that there is usually three people in the store at any given time.  This is a huge relief because in the end there is always someone there to help me throughout the learning process.

I've met five of the six women I will be working with (one of them is the one who recruited me and she is very sweet), and already I like them.  They feel very much like a little family and when one leaves at the end of her shift, they say 'love you' instead of 'see you tomorrow.'  I can't help but look forward to the day when they fully accept me into their close knit group and demand 'hugs' from me before I head out from my shift.

The two cutest things I saw today: One) there was a young man - he was tall and chubby in a cuddly bear way - who came into the store and spent over half an hour carefully perusing undies and bras until he'd selected several things for his wife.  He just seemed so determined and while he looked a bit shy about the whole ordeal, he never seemed annoyed or embarrassed.  We thought he was just precious.  Two) a tall, slender Mennonite girl (extremely pretty!) came into the store and picked out three pairs of wild and lacy underwear.  She was so sweet and polite.  It just goes to show that you really can't judge a book by its cover.  I thought she was absolutely fabulous.