Mind of Migg

I thought proclaiming on a blog post that I was ready to get back to work would be enough motivation on its own.  I was wrong.  The thing is, I was healthy again a few weeks ago, but two things happened – 1) lots of rain and I never do well in gloomy weather, and 2) I wasn’t over finishing my TV Pilot.

Finishing any piece of writing is a great thing.  There’s a sense of overwhelming relief and elation, even if it’s something as short as a pilot or a short story.  Page length is not a factor in difficulty of getting word to paper.  The next couple days are an emotional high of satisfaction.

Unfortunately, after that the panic starts to sink in.  What’s the next project going to be?  Is it going to be as good as the one just finished?  What if I can’t even think of a new idea?  That’s one part of it.  The other part is that the writing process might be painful sometimes, but it’s always fulfilling.  There’s an emptiness when a project is complete and it’s no longer with you every day.  It’s a downer.

I thought maybe this time, I could overwhelm myself with other writing.  Dive right in to a new project.  I had plenty to choose from.  But I hadn’t attached myself onto any of them yet.  They were all cool, but I wasn’t excited about any of them.  So I dabbled a little on all of them, not really getting anything done the last few weeks.  I finally accepted the fact that I had to allow some in-between time and also settle on only one new project.  Forcing the issue was only making things take longer.

Trying to convince myself that the period when I was sick a few weeks ago counted as my writing time off fooled nobody.  I’ve settled on the next project (my Doctor Who spec) and finally moved past my period of mourning the ending of my pilot.  It’s full speed ahead, for real this time.

On a side note, I didn’t understand why I felt so sluggish and tired the last two to three weeks even though I was fully healthy.  It wasn’t until I mentioned to Violet that it had been a solid two weeks since I tried to cut back my coffee that I made the connection.  No idea why I hadn’t considered it before.  I’m down to one cup of coffee and maybe one tea a day, which is way down from the 3 plus cups of coffee I was at earlier.  My body is suffering, but I haven’t cracked yet, and I think I’m finally starting to adjust.  I’ll be off my caffeine addiction in no time.

In order to maintain my sanity (and my paycheck) I’ve come to treat my time working at the Seattle’s Best Café inside Borders as a large social experiment.  Based on the last few posts I’ve made about my experience thus far, it wasn’t a reach to take this attitude.  It only meant that I observed all behavior through the lens of research rather than through the lens of “I hate my life”.  Being a café worker making enough to cover my gas and lunch money is depressing.  Being witness to all kinds of interesting social behavior is fascinating.

Observation #1:

People follow groups

People don’t get in line one at a time.  There are a lot of people that spend hours in the café.   They’ll buy drinks and snacks here and there throughout the day.  But they won’t do it when there’s no line.  Oh no.  They’ll wait until they see others walking up to the line.  Once there are two people in line, you can count on a third and fourth person stepping up.  It’s as if the line creates a sense of urgency.  The same thing happens at the checkout register downstairs.  “We need to hurry.  Others appear to be leaving.”  It’s like the retail equipment of keeping up with the Jones’.  “If he’s buying a coffee, I’m buying one now too.”

This works with the tip jar too.  I haven’t done a control (because I don’t want to risk a day of crappy tips), but adding a dollar at the beginning of the day to the tip jar makes a huge difference.  If I let people decide on their own what kind of tip day it’s going to be, I’ll see a handful of pennies and nickels.  In fact, most people won’t even notice it’s there with a few coins.  Dollar bills hanging out of a jar sends a pretty clear message.

Observation #2:

Large retailers aren’t bothering to adapt to changing technology

I can go to Amazon, read reviews, and make a purchase with all of my information already stored.  One click and they’re shipping to my apartment.  The Borders.com website doesn’t have reviews.  It doesn’t offer similar recommendations.  Borders only recently began offering free shipping to items that weren’t in stock in-store.  About two years too late.

They also only recently started offering a Sony reader.  Amazon has Kindle.  Barnes & Noble finally got their own reader.  Borders brought out the Sony reader just in time for the 2007 2009 holiday season.  You seeing a trend here?

Now, there is the argument for the experience of the bookstore.  You can count me in the group that says there is something special and fun about browsing a bookstore.  Technology these days has made most people mindlessly nod their head in disagreement.  But technology has made people connected in new ways.  Want to share what you’re reading with others?  There’s probably an app for that.  So why don’t bookstores find a way to make bookstores an experience?  Why not tap into that?  It’s a sad day when retail bookstores are shut down because people would rather click a button than walk around and take in the smell of real books.

Observation #3

The few people that do actually go to a store to buy things aren’t tech savvy.

There’s a reason why they’re still going to the bookstore.  These aren’t the browsers and book lovers that I just spoke about.  No, these are the people that cringe when they hear e-mail and can’t find a way to make purchases online.  Before I became an employee, I always preferred Borders to Barnes & Noble because they had computers that customers could use to search for items.  Barnes & Noble has “employee only” computers.  No, you can’t touch.  At least you can help with your browsing at Border.  Don’t remember the exact title?  Type in some keywords.  It even tells you which section it’s in and everything.  Follow the map and you can’t go wrong.  Or can you?

Things are organized into rationally categorized topics, but that doesn’t stop the angry computer illiterate customers.  They don’t just ask for help, they’ll demand it.

“Excuse me, there is nobody here, can you help me find a DVD?”

“No, but I can call someone to help you.”

(exasperated)”Yes, please do that.”

I’m sorry, but I’ve never sought out help at a Best Buy to find a DVD.  I’ve always though Drama/Action/Comedy/Horror were self-explanatory.  I guess that’s just me.

It’s strange the things that make people angry.  Some people act offended when I offer them a free Borders Rewards card.  They can’t deal with the “spam”.  I had a card before I became a barista because I always write out at a Borders café.  I just did a quick scan of my inbox and found 10 coupons since the beginning of the year.  These are all coupons – they are offers for discounts and notices of new items.  I’m sorry, but if 10 emails of discounts from a store you buy from time to time in six weeks are too much for you, I question your familiarity with e-mail.  It’s no different than Amazon, Bev-Mo, or Apple emails that take me half a second to delete unless something in the subject line catches my eye.

Worse are the people who go to exorbitant lengths to lie their way out of a card.  Just say no, it’s not that difficult you passive-aggressive jerk (and yes, I’ve told someone they could’ve just said “no thanks” after being caught in a clear lie.).

But enough ranting.  Those last few paragraphs strayed from my point.  It’s all a social experiment.  These behaviors and memorable lines will be invaluable to my writing for years to come.  The more I let myself laugh about it, the less bitter it makes me.  To close, two gems since the last time:

Old man – That drink the woman just picked up, it looks really good.  What is that?

Me – That’s an iced coffee.

Old Man – I’ll take one of those.

Me – One iced coffee?

Old Man – Yes.

Five minutes later…

Old Man – I can’t drink this.  Here, throw out the rest of it.

Me – Is there something wrong with it?

Old Man – It’s cold.  I wanted a hot drink.  I thought it was a hot drink.

At the register…

Me – Would you like a Borders Rewards card?  It’s free.

Old Lady – A what?  Sure.

Me (realizing this might be a bad idea since it requires an e-mail address or it’s useless) – You need an e-mail address to sign up.  Do you have an e-mail address?

Old Lady – Yes, I’d like a card.

Me – Okay, what is your e-mail address?

Old Lady – 1622 North…

Me – No, your e-mail address.

Old Lady – Oh.  1622…

Me – No.  Not your home address.

Old Lady – What?

Me – Your e-mail address.

Old Lady – (slower) 1622 S. Jones Street*

Me – I need your e-mail address.

Old Lady – E-mail?  I don’t have e-mail, I’m too old for that.

*Changed the actual address to protect the confused.

It took me a long time to see Avatar, longer than I had planned.  I didn’t want to get caught up in the hype, but I knew I had to experience it on the big screen in 3-D to fully appreciate it, so I finally made the time.

Yes, it’s true that it’s not a very original story.  Pocahontas, Fern Gully, Dances With Wolves.  The story of the man who gets to know the natives, and them helps them fight against his own people has been told before.  But that’s never reason enough alone to knock a film.  Everyone thought Vanilla Sky was original, but we all know it wasn’t.  Most stories have been told before, but if it is well executed, with an original twist, then there’s nothing wrong with that.

That is exactly what Avatar is.  The original twist is the amazing visuals of the film.  Pandora is a uniquely beautiful planet with creatures and landscapes one can barely dream of – strange animals, floating land with waterfalls, and a scientific explanation for the connectedness of all the living creatures (dealt with more deftly than the midichlorian attempt).  Sure Captain Obvious delivered every line of politically charged dialogue, but it didn’t bother me.  I knew I was getting into a tried and true storyline, and so long as I enjoyed the ride, I didn’t care that I knew where the ups, downs, and curves were.

The cool visuals, of course, are what made this movie an experience.  I’ve been adamantly opposed to the use of 3-D.  It’s a gimmick and it doesn’t bring anything of value to the movie-going experience.  It’s like adding extra whipped cream on top of the cherry – after so much, you forget that what you really wanted to enjoy was the ice cream at the bottom.  I will admit that the 3-D made the digital characters look and feel more real.  I did like the effect of small bugs flying around off the screen.  But I hated every swing or move directed at the camera that was a “hey, look at the cool stuff 3-D can do!” moment.  It would pull me out of the movie I was enjoying.  In summary, atmospheric use of 3-D: good, blatant gimmick use: bad.

As much as I enjoyed this movie, I will be a little disappointed if it wins best picture at the Oscars.  To quote Roger Ebert, while listing potential nominees, “Yes, it’s a phenomenon and I loved the experience.  But the best film?  Not compared to those other titles it isn’t.”  More than anything, it’s an experience.  It’s a breakthrough in technology in movies and for that it should be applauded.  But a well told rehashed story should not be valued over richer stories such as “The Hurt Locker” or “Up In the Air”.  No matter how much money it makes.