it turns out that at the end of the day, the worlds of jewish communal service and retail really aren’t that different – at least when it comes to the ice breaker. yesterday i sat through 3 1/2 hours of training, with 2 1/2 more to go on friday. while there were a lot of forms to fill out (apparently there are extra forms in california) we also watched a number of “brand” videos like how to maintain a safe work environment and what excellent customer looks like. there were multiple choice quiz questions at the end of each video. while i assume that many retail chains have new employees go through a similar process, i found every aspect fascinating – who knew there was an entire team of people dedicated to loss prevention? (who knew this term even existed?). clearly the MOST exciting part is the discount…and because we’re married, ABN gets one too (unfortunately he doesn’t seem nearly as excited as the rest of you would be so…so men, if you are anywhere close to the same size as ABN, send me your orders!). tomorrow i go back for training that is focused on sales which god knows i need. haven’t sold a single thing (except being a BIG BROTHER!) since i was in 8th grade and sold tshirts at beatlefest…so yeah, train away.

this morning i’m off to have the car window repaired…mragh. then i’ll walk downtown to roundout a few more basic workwear essentials. i was shocked to learn that no denim of any kind is allowed so…although i do have a cute pair of dark, skinny jeans…they aren’t allowed.