Ahhh, yes, home from work.
At Costco I'm a Cashier Assistant, which pretty much means I do whatever slog work the managers have available. Pushing carts. Crushing boxes. Helping members through check-out. Checking membership cards at the door. Checking receipts at the exit. Essentially, I'm Costco's bitch. In fact, it should say that on my name tag:
CHRISTOPHER M.
assistant bitch
But the thing is, I don't mind being Costco's bitch. In fact, I even enjoy it sometimes. The pay is really good. $11.50 an hour suits me just fine (plus time and a half on sundays). And I get a ton of hours if I want them. And my managers are pretty cool. And I can come back to work holidays. Okay, I'm just gonna stop there, 'cause it sounds like I'm gloating. It's just that this job is really important to me, especially considering the economic climate we're in.
Today I worked in the electronics department of Costco. I'm not trained to work in that area, they just threw me over there because we were almost closing and Eric needed his break. Standing there among the flat screen TVs and digital cameras I heard a voice I loath. Sean Hannity's show was playing. I don't know who had turned the TV to Fox News, but I wanted to strangle them for it. For half an hour I had to stand around and listen to conservative-slanted "journalists" spout off on how Obama is letting our country sink deeper and deeper into recession. Why not change the channel, you ask? I couldn't figure out how, the remote had been hidden away by the unknown Right Winger.
The important part about this story is that I had to listen to people bash Obama and his administration and it scared me. The more they talked, the more scared I got and the more faith I lost in our leader. I want us to get out of this recession. I want America to bounce back, but the truth is unemployment is higher than it's been in twenty-five years, the banks are failing, taxes are going up, Chrysler's gone bankrupt. Okay, you might say Fox News is blowing things out of proportion, we just need time to get out of this slump. Obama can't wave a magic wand and put everything back on track. And you're right. I know it's not as bad as they want us to believe. But it's still bad.
So, for now i'll latch onto this job like a tick. Sucking it dry for all it's worth and and watch the world burn.
Kick ass ending sentence...
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. As much as the long hours and crappy pay on my jobs drained me, the truth is that this year was the first time I actually *liked* both the places I worked at and what I did there. That's why I took it so hard when they dropped me.
I would chant to myself as I filed invoice after mindless invoice, or edited footage from the longest sustainable energy conference on earth, "You're lucky to be here at all...people are murdering their families right now for lack of a decent paying job, and *you've* got one. Don't waste it."
In the end the economy caught me with my trousers down, too...So keep it up and latch on tight! You've got a sweet gig!
As for FOX News: They incite fear on purpose to manipulate viewers into voting for their chosen candidates to reach ultimately selfish ends like ratings and money.
As for Obama: You know this already, but I know how scary it is when it seems like *those* guys are right, so I'm here to remind you--He's pretty damn *near* perfect, but we can't expect the impossible, especially this soon. He'll come through, we just gotta tough it out a little first while he gets his shit together...the previous administration did some terrible damage that needs rectifying so we can rebuild.
Dude, you can't let Fox News get in your head like that. Yeah, things are bad- but all signs point to things getting better (thats the part they wont tell you). Economists agree that the economy is showing signs of an upswing and jobless claims have dropped for the first time in months. So sit back, relax, and join me in saying "fuck you, Sean Hannity"
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