http://joebolte.com

While I was at the library the other day to get some movies in Spanish, I bumped into my friend Natalie’s stepmother, who works there. She was very happy to tell me that Natalie had a “real job.” I was curious what that job was, since Natalie used to work at a place called the Den, where they mostly just sold CD’s cigarettes, glass pipes and pornography. Natalie told me that she really liked working there, and that it was one of the few things that she liked about Morgantown WV. For the record, Morgantown really sucks. I figured that Natalie must have gotten a a real sweet job to leave her old one at the Den. But, what job was her stepmom so excited about? She was doing customer service for a company that had been contracted by a local utility company. What? This job was clearly numbingly boring, had no advancement opportunities, and definitely couldn’t have paid much more than the Den. At least when you work in retail, you can spend some time chatting with whoever also works there. It may not exactly expand your horizons, but people can turn you onto new things, or tell you things you never knew before. What the hell do you gain by talking about utility bills the phone all day? I hope I am wrong, but it sounds like her stepmom cared more that she was just no longer associated with unwholesome activities like marijuana smoking and pornography than about her actual career or personal prospects. Bizarre.