new job

My last day at the university was July 3rd. A week later I was working at a new job and I don't think it could have been more different if I'd thought about it. I actually didn't think about it much. I just sort of said yes.

I'm making signs for a Trader Joe's. I'm also organizing the sign team, giving them the time to get their shit together for when the big CEO shows up (mid-September), buying stuff so that things can get put away and not just shoved away out of sight.

I'm getting paid next to nothing.

I'm having a good time, but I'm glad I don't do this for a living. I've been having a good time with this job. For one thing, I'm close to anonymous. No one has asked me a single question, except whether or not I was a transfer from another store. I get the sense that being on the sign team is regarded as a prize for good behavior, rather than an index of any particular graphics talent. I tell them, "No, I'm not a transfer. I've just had a lot of grocery experience." Oddly enough, that's the truth. I've worked in natural food stores, for natural food distributors, and in cooperative groceries. So I know how this stuff works, if not the specifics of the peculiar Trader Joe's universe. One reason that I don't get asked a bunch of questions is that most of the people working the floor are in their twenties and someone as old as I am is simply not in focus. It's sort of refreshing.

I have told no one that I have a Ph.D.

The second thing I like about this job is that clarity of the task at hand. New product? New sign. Restocked product? Find old sign. I've been trying to eliminate the mis-spellings and really ugly signs as I go. I'm supposed to re-design the meat area, which is actually an interesting challenge.

The last thing I like about this is that I'm getting my confidence in my ability to make pictures back again. I still have some chops. Now I need some ideas.