Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Life Update & Bookstore Nerd Alert

Original version of this post was published on my Tumblr. Yes, I'm aware that this is inexcusably lazy.
I've been buried in non-required reading for weeks trying to finish up my last project for college before I start back at work with the kiddies next month. Still no word on exactly where I'll be heading after the summer job ends, but I've been applying for teach abroad/nannying positions back in England AND all across Europe in the hopes of having something solid worked out sooner rather than later. So, we'll just have to see how that goes. All I know is that I need to get the heck out of my hometown before I go crazy and start forgetting that the world's a much bigger place than small town, Washington, U.S.A. The motivation is there guys. Believe me, I won't give up until I've given myself the chance to see if I can really make it on my own elsewhere. It's been nice being home, but I can't (won't) stay here forever. So, I guess it's off into the great big world with me once this business wraps up and I earn myself some traveling money. No matter how scary it will be when it comes time to move on, I know from experience it's the only way I'm going to figure stuff out. Until then, have a humorous slice-of-life post while I attempt to sort through my existential issues & avoid eating too much ice cream in the process. 
     So, I came across the amazing 25 Signs You're Addicted to Books list a few days ago and discovered that I'm definitely guilty of the following: "You've even developed a crush on a bookstore employee based solely on their staff picks."
     You guys: I am so DAMNED GUILTY of this, I'm almost blushing right now. Seriously, I think I may have a problem. I mean, I may or may not do this at video game/comic stores as well...
SHUT UP. I'm nerdy & single; I do what I want.
 ANYWAY: The last time I was in one of my favorite local shops to pick up another copy of Ready Player One (which I'd just finished) for one of my friends, I couldn't find it on the main shelf and wandered around looking for it until I noticed one last copy being featured under Mr. Cute-and-Obviously-Nerdy bookseller's staff favorites. 
     Naturally, I took the opportunity to casually pluck it off the shelf and ask him (who was serendipitously manning the register at the time) if he thought it would make a good gift for a guy friend of mine whom I'd been slowly trying to convert into more of a habitual reader. 
Yeah, right: 'casually' my ass. I was probably being completely obvious.
     My actual level of awkwardness notwithstanding, he agreed and said he thought it was a great pick and we ended up having a nice conversation about how often people assume book-devouring and gaming are mutually exclusive hobbies and how that's JUST SO NOT TRUE. Hence, of course, our mutual appreciation for the nerdtastic Ready Player One-- basically a video game in novel format with a punch of fun the size of Kilimanjaro.
     Needless to say, I was pretty happy with how the potentially embarrassing attempt to strike up a conversation with attractive Mr. Bookseller turned out! I successfully purchased a copy of Ready Player One for another of my video game-obsessed, but not-so-readerly friends IN ADDITION TO getting my recommended dose of nerd-cute for the week. Now that's what I call a success story!
BOOM! Successful social interaction engines are GO! 
UNSOLICITED LIFE TIP OF THE DAY: Seriously guys, I swear the best place to pick up potential dates is at the bookstore. It works at least 5x better than the video game shop and 10x better than your local comic hangout (statistics courtesy of my own personal experience; particulars are probably best explored in a future blog post)

SUMMARY: So, TRY IT. You never know! :)


Lots of love & plenty of existential angst + social awkwardness,

Torey