Tuesday, May 16, 2006
I wrote about 600 words today because a troll comment upset me.
Then I thought, this is almost all stuff I've already posted on this blog;
depression, my eye surgeries. But I haven't written much about the
weirdness of the big Woodbridge NJ Pearl Arts & Crafts store in the 90s,
running a large book dept. single- handedly for $7.50 an hour (which was
after several small raises), why it was such an interesting, artist-friendly
environment that many people were willing to work for terrible
management, pretend we were solidly middle class, & exist one missed
paycheck away from destitution. Not that other stores paid more;
they also had stricter dress codes, drug testing, & closer supervision.
The benefits were uniformly mediocre everywhere. These weren't union shops.
So I need to collect together some old photos & have a go at it.
But sheese, is there anybody who hasn't figured out I'm on Social Security Disability,
or why? It's not like I had to hire a lawyer & take it to an appeals board.
At the time, I was the one who needed to be convinced.
If there's anyone who knows even some of what's happened to me over the
past six years & isn't glad I'm still alive & have eyesight, they're truly perverse.
I've always been very open about it. If I don't get around to the details so much
anymore, well, most of it is online. Read my poems instead, they're supposed
to be more edifiying than the blog. Or just skip it & download some music.
Then I thought, this is almost all stuff I've already posted on this blog;
depression, my eye surgeries. But I haven't written much about the
weirdness of the big Woodbridge NJ Pearl Arts & Crafts store in the 90s,
running a large book dept. single- handedly for $7.50 an hour (which was
after several small raises), why it was such an interesting, artist-friendly
environment that many people were willing to work for terrible
management, pretend we were solidly middle class, & exist one missed
paycheck away from destitution. Not that other stores paid more;
they also had stricter dress codes, drug testing, & closer supervision.
The benefits were uniformly mediocre everywhere. These weren't union shops.
So I need to collect together some old photos & have a go at it.
But sheese, is there anybody who hasn't figured out I'm on Social Security Disability,
or why? It's not like I had to hire a lawyer & take it to an appeals board.
At the time, I was the one who needed to be convinced.
If there's anyone who knows even some of what's happened to me over the
past six years & isn't glad I'm still alive & have eyesight, they're truly perverse.
I've always been very open about it. If I don't get around to the details so much
anymore, well, most of it is online. Read my poems instead, they're supposed
to be more edifiying than the blog. Or just skip it & download some music.
Comments:
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Hi Bob, Just dropped in to say I know what you have gone through.Keep the Blog alive keep writing,you have alot more followers than you think.Don,t give in.There is light at the end of the tunnel.Keep the good work up.The horseshoe crabs are on the beach.Tides in I have to go.
# posted by 
: 2:13 PM
: 2:13 PM
What made Pearl Art Supply so special? Two words: art babes.
Absolutely sensational artsy women -- Mason Gross babes, grad students, ambitious housewives, talented hobbyists -- were all over the place at Pearl.
And they were for real, too -- the people who wanted to make crappy little plaster molds of ducks and onion-headed children went to A.C. Moore and other schlock shops. Gorgeous and talented -- who could ask for more?
Absolutely sensational artsy women -- Mason Gross babes, grad students, ambitious housewives, talented hobbyists -- were all over the place at Pearl.
And they were for real, too -- the people who wanted to make crappy little plaster molds of ducks and onion-headed children went to A.C. Moore and other schlock shops. Gorgeous and talented -- who could ask for more?
# posted by : 4:25 PM
: 4:25 PM
Some days were better than others, & Pearl had plenty of schlock,too. But the two weeks at the beginning of each college semester were pretty awesome, & since that wasn't an especially busy time for books, I was always available to help attractive freshmen find the supplies on their lists. Also, there was a great bead & jewelry crafts counter that attracted exquisitely attired (& tattooed) goth, punk & neohippie girls, for whom I had a weakness (who's that weird man staring at us?) For non-artistic customers, the store had a rep for an indifferent if not always rude floor staff.
(& does it really take 8 letters to baffle comment spam??)
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