Multifariousness

such things have i to divulge:

i have an interview, an interview of the academic sort, and i am now somewhere between afraid and considering making a robot of myself to do the interview for me. which is silly. i always said that i wouldn't mind an interview, because i was fairly confident of conveying my intelligence and enthusiasm well. but now one seems to be in the pipeline (no date yet), i am actually afraid. not because i can't talk about literrrachewer with people, but because it's an "Interview". and i don't like those; frankly i don't like any situation where i have to impress. i'm crap at job interviews too. at least in this instance i can summon some genuine enthusiasm, more than i can in most job interviews (what do you feel you could bring to this job? my natural brilliance, and a my innate desire to get money, now what can you give me????! eh?).

i can see it will take some considerable mental adjustment to keep me confident and relaxed about it. it just seems sooo important. i shall be drawing upon every compliment i've received to keep me pumped.

On another front, the inaugural session of The Place's new training scheme occurred the other day; it actually sounds alright, their plans: more customer service, more help, more engagement with people's desire for books. however, i've yet to be shown any reason why we'll be freed up to do this; are they going to increase staff so we can spend more time with customers? are they going to cut the silly constant stickering and destickering that takes up large quantities of time? one imagines they aren't going to, they generally only see half the equation in these things. they can't cut costs on the staff side, and expect us to have more time for customer-based stuff. i also have very real doubts about the company's ability to see their own economic strengths : offering a broad range of books to people, in their hand. that physical tangibility is the only advantage, aside from customer service, we have over internet companies. but if we get caught up in trying to overstock items to compete with the supermarkets, then we'll lose what people came to us for in the first place. no-one goes and buys on a whim really in either supermarkets (their range is too small), or online (their range is too large, and too distant; for all the benefits of internet selling, it isn't "Shopping" and doesn't appeal in a "in yr hand" kinda way). But the company offers little evidence to me that they realise this: our range and depth is becoming increasingly narrow, and quantity is taking precedence over quality and width.

On another front: two of my friends have just split up after years together. it's final, it seems, and very sad. i can only say they are both splendid chaps, and hope they both find what they're after in the future, and they both prosper. they deserve nothing less.

Also the Dark Lady (she'll like the Shakespeare reference) is having dude trouble, i gather, and i hope that that sorts itself. she, too, is a splendid and lovely chap, and i hope she don't get messed around. bury yourself in books, my dear, it's what i always do. until then think of Nigella and the special way she holds the precious things, think of Senor White, and sneer on.

oh, and referring back to the training: they had clearly spent ludicrous amounts of money on fucking consultants to come up with most pointless diagrams, pie charts, etc. why do management-level business folk love to convince themselves (let's face it, no-one else is convinced) that what they do is some kind of science, definable by rules. Furthermore they see fit to explain the bleeding obvious to us, in the guise of training: "some customers like us; some, Brian, are indifferent; and some don't like us at all. they prefer value, and good customer service, and a wide range". Worse, its obvious to anyone that has ever been trained by these sorts, or been on a training course with the consultants, that these people are the most stupid people you could ever meet. As my friend and i agreed yesterday (she's been victim to these people too), they're like the people you meet at school who have no special intelligence or ability of any kind, but an overwhelming desire to get on, and an appallingly chirpy semi-stalinist way of going about it. their ambition is so far exceeding their talent they're an actual danger to society. the fact they get paid several times what the rest of us do, only takes the complete piss.

how would you feel if you're child told you that, when they grew up, they wanted to be someone who goes into other people's jobs and tells them how to do them??? i hope you'd slap the little bugger and set him straight. hopeless wastes of space.

i am reading Adam Philips book Equals (a mixture of Psychonanalysis and politics, and literature), if you're at all interested. its as usually good, as i expect from him.

i'm also loading up Motown, specifically Smokey and Marvin, and some rarities CDs. i love the Motown. so that stuff, plus some soul of the more southern variety, is counterbalancing the very good new Radiohead album, which whilst good, is no more "up" than you'd expect.

so all is fine, considering....

how are you? still got that condition, what did the doctor say?

and Mandibles, it was a loveliness to see you. a fine afternoon.cheers, darling.