On not being Bookshop Laura anymore

If you are new to the party (and by party I mean blog) then allow me to introduce myself. I am bookshoplaura (according to twitter and my blog) a term I coined while working in a bookshop. I am known mostly for my voracious appetite for reading, reluctance for Crossfit and inability to have a full conversation without at least one sarcastic comment.

For the last two years I have been looking after the Children's department of a bookstore. A venture that initially seemed quite exciting and then less so over time. There were certainly aspects I enjoyed but my time there has run it's course and I am moving on to other things.

I had the opportunity to dress up many times for Children's parties in  the shop and that was immense amount of fun, the only notable exception being the Christmas I was given an elf costume, to wear for a few hours, that seemed to be lacking pants. I did not enjoy walking around in a shirt that barely covered my bum and green tights. I also got to model wedding dresses twice for our annual wedding shop (yes I also think its weird that we hosted it in a Bookshop) and that was a huge amount of fun and made for some lovely photos although it did cause some people to believe I had gotten married in the bookshop ( I am most definitely not married) when I shared the photos.

I enjoyed reorganising the children's section and just the satisfaction of knowing where everything is. And being on hand for Children's book recommendations ( the exception being the customers who like nothing who suggest or the ones buying for tiny 'geniuses').

I loved being there to see new books come ( that I might read as opposed to just a stock order) and having the chance to talk books with others who share my passion for reading but  my favourite part of all was reading all of the many books, between my discount and being allowed to borrow books as a staff member it was like being a member of the coolest library ever.   

Naturally working in a bookstore isn't all reading awesome stories and dressing like a princess, some aspects can be rather tedious especially in January when it's mostly just staff and the odd tumble weed blowing through the store. I wont go into them as I would hate to spoil the magic for anyone who still has it pegged as their dream job. 

What is also worth taking into account is the fact that I am out of college five years and my social care degree was originally intended to be more than the most expensive piece of paper I owned. I had been looking around for a while to see if I could get work in that area but I was scared because I felt I wasn't skilled or experienced enough for most of the jobs out there and the more time the passed since college the stronger this feeling got. The thing is that even if you got as far as an interview, and I have done many, that process can be terrifying. You will fill in endless forms, I once had one that took 3 hours and sometimes be subjected to a written exam and you'll be asked all manner of questions that can't really prepare for. I think the fact that I have a learners permit and not enough recent experience in the field has held me back. Over the summer I applied for an Academic Pa role through a social care agency but didn't make it to interview. I did ask that they keep me in mind if another opportunity arose and then promptly forgot about it. I had stopped looking for new jobs in the weeks coming up to Christmas and really meant to get back into it and then out of the blue I get an email saying another position has opened up. After that it all happened quite fast, the interview was more of a laid back chat and before I knew it I had accepted the job and was working up the courage to tell my manager.

The new job will require to me sit in on Business and marketing lectures with a student and take notes on his behalf. It's pretty straightforward, it will be a stepping stone towards other social care work and It will be really interesting because I am a complete nerd and really enjoy learning. I have to be in college Monday to Thursday and I am off Friday to Sunday. It's all very exciting but mildly terrifying. I am going to have to work something out financially as it only offers 20 hours so I may have to sign on for the remaining ( something other pas in my position are doing) but there will be a few weeks where I will be too broke.

I think I will miss the bookshop, there's definitely some faces I will miss and a whole lot of books. I reckon I am going to have to rejoin the library and ration what I am reading because there's no way I'd be able to afford my book habit. I know they will miss having a full time staff member in the children's section and I'm sure some people will miss me and the rest will just remember fondly the time Sean Kelly ( the cyclist) came in for his own book signing and I didn't recognise him and told him where Sean Kelly was signing books ( he was very nice about it, the other staff still slag me mercilessly about it) and I won't be bookshoplaura anymore except here and on twitter. Somehow I don't think academic pa Laura has the same ring to it.