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2002-07-08 - 2:08 a.m. Just wanted to mention a book I read (and finished) during my glorious day-o-travel. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehlenheich (may have butchered her name). This was a New York Times Bestseller so you may have already heard about it, but basically this woman decides to try getting a job in various parts of the country and see if she can live on the money. She works as a Wal-Mart clerk, house cleaner, waitress and a few other jobs, and she actually tries to live frugally and see if she earns enough to make rent and food for the month. It's a really cool book and also insightful if you haven't worked one of those crappy jobs. I personally have worked at Safeway, Arby's, and Target, so I always feel I can relate to people working at these jobs. There are so many people who think they can treat people who work at places like that like crap, and I try to be friendly and polite to make up for other people's rudeness. Anyway, I would recommend this book to everyone. I think it is a real eye-opener to people who believe that if you work hard you will be able to get by without government assistance. It made me so thankful that I have the job that I have. I actually enjoyed my crappy jobs for the most part, when I worked there, but I doubt I would have enjoyed them if I knew that was what I would be doing forever. The best part about the jobs were the job-friends I made, and the funny stories I was able to tell each day when I got home from work about what jerks/idiots customers are. Oh, another tip I have for you about this book is this: read it in a public place. Apparently the cover of it was so intriguing that this semi-cute guy asked me about it at the airport and it started a semi-interesting conversation. So basically, what I'm telling you, is this book might just snag you a man and change your life! HA HA.
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