It turns out I am hire-able after all! At least by a hardware store desperate for people who can tell a petunia from a geranium and work in the garden center. This summer I'll be working full time in the Ace Hardware garden center up here near school. No, it's not exactly a glamorous internship, but it is a full-time job. Furthermore, it fulfills the work hours in my field required to graduate, it gives me lots of people experience, teaches me to balance people needs and plant needs, teaches me about plants, provides me with a part-time job in the fall (and presumably a job after I graduate while I'm waiting for Josh to finish), and a great resume builder.
Five days a week, I stand outside for eight hours a day and take care of plants, people, and the store. For the plants, I water, deadhead, and keep an eye out for pests and other problems. For the people, I act friendly and welcoming, answer questions, and help them find and carry plants and other garden materials. For the store, I do all of the above plus running the cash register and keeping everything organized and in working order. I have a very multi-faceted job.
It's not a career, but I enjoy it as a relatively short-term option. I also like the people I work with. The guy I interviewed with told me they were all "cold", but I have yet to see any evidence of that. Sure, they're sturdy hardware store employees, but I like everyone without effort. Then again I tend to like just about everyone without effort. The only downsides I can see are that my feet are not yet used to standing for forty hours a week (my new shoe insoles should help) and that the sunnier it gets, the busier we are. That means that the more I need sunscreen, the less time I have to apply it. This poses a serious problem for a ginger. I'll just have to get 50 SPF or something and put it on in the slight ebbs in customer flow.
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