Want to Win a Book? Like Shatter Me? By Tahereh Mafi?

A couple of my Borders girls and I went into the city on Sunday to the Spring Into the Future book tour with Tahereh Mafi, Lauren Oliver, Anna Carey, and Veronica Rossi. It was so much fun!

There's a post up over at our Booksellers Without Borders NY website where you can see pictures and even enter to win a book!

And that's the lot from me for today. It's the end of the semester and you know what that means...

But I can't leave you without an adorable animal picture. Of course not!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

A Little Christmas Poem

Holy smokes! Can it really have been so long since I posted? I really shouldn't even be on here now since I have a paper to write (the last one of the semester!) but...

I have been very very sad about my Borders being closed, particularly now when I think about all the fun, craziness, angst, etc. that would be going on if we were open. It was making me all teary eyed today thinking about not spending these weeks with my Borders family. Then my manager posted on Facebook about a poem I wrote, apparently 3 years ago today, when the mall got evacuated (for no real reason as it turned out) and as we waited for hours, huddled in cars, trying to stay warm but not asphyxiate, we began composing our own version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" which I then later finished and printed up and passed around at work.

I don't THINK I've posted it here, but even if I did, I had way too much fun with it not to repost:

'Twas the Week Before Christmas
or
Evacuation: Holidays at the Galleria

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the mall
Deadly gas was a-creeping unnoticed by all.
The shoppers were shopping caught up in their cares
For in only one week Christmas day would be there.
Their children were hustled first up and then down
Unaware of the danger gathering round.
The cashiers were ringing, the booksellers selling,
Each customer wanting a book most compelling
When out in the mall there arose such a clatter
Larry called from upstairs to see what was the matter.


Away to the phone Danielle flew with a squeak
But there was no security with whom we could speak.
Our emergency box went from yellow to red.
"Evacuate the store" was all that it said.
With a breath and calm voice Danielle gave the report,
"The mall has announced we must all leave the store."
Customers were waiting with books in their hands
And the call to get out only heightened their demands.
Much slower than inchworms the customers moved
And making them leave very difficult proved.
"I just need the bathroom." "Can I buy this book?"
"How 'bout some coffee?" "My bag someone took."
From the back of the store to the front they delayed.
"We have to get out! Leave the store! Go Away!"


Like obstinate children the customers balked
As we nudged and we prodded and forced them to walk.
So out of the building we went to the cold
And gathered at lightpost D6 like we're told.
And then on the schedule that Jessica brought
She counted to see we were all in the lot.
As we noticed that Larry was not to be found
Through the cars, cross the lot Larry came with a bound.
And then we called Kevin to tell him the news.
"Are you joking?" he said. "Oh, what money we'll lose."
"Will they let us back in?" Charles wanted to know.
"I don't have my keys. I have no where to go."
We gathered in cars all lined up in a row
And turned up the heat as we warmed all our toes.


We turned on the walkies to talk in between
But then someone decided that "Rudolph" they'd sing.
(Inspired, no doubt, by the antlers and nose
On Melanie's car - at least, so I suppose)
We had a long wait, Danielle wanted to leave.
"My shift ended at seven, it's ten past I believe."
Brian's car was all fogged since the windows were closed
And we laughed and we warned against starting to doze.
"Oh, but carbon monoxide's a good way to die."
"Then we won't have to pay you," said Bill and said I.
"My managers are mean," Brian cried to the crew.
"You're just figuring that out? Oh, that's right, you are new."


"T-Mobile says we will be closed for the night."
Wayne delivered the news, but T-Mobile wasn't right.
We sprang to the mall as they opened the doors.
"If you work here, then you may return to your stores."
So with all the debris left from customer's flight
Merry Christmas to all, we've reopened tonight.

The Saddest Retail Wednesday Ever

This is it. Today is the last day. My Borders is closing later today. Tomorrow is cleaning and fixture sales. By Thursday night it will all be over. Such a sad, sad end to almost 6 fantastic years of book selling, book loving, and some of the best people I've ever met. I just hit my 5 years with the company in July - just in time to get the news about the liquidation.

I posted some of my thoughts a few weeks ago. That post is HERE if you missed it.

Today I wanted to show a video slideshow I put together of some of our happy moments over the last few years.

To all of you that have shopped at Borders - thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To all of you that have supported my random little retail stories here - thank you just as much.

I've already got a pretty good lead at CVS and hope to be hired in the next week or two, so this may not be the end of Retail Wednesdays.

I'm so filled with sadness and love and mushiness so I'll just let the Muppets speak for me:

What Borders Means to Me: An Open Letter

Dear Borders Customers,

To me, Borders was more than a job. It was more than a paycheck. It was more than thinly veiled slavery in helping you find that book you wanted. It was more than clocking in and clocking out. It was more than putting books on the shelves and straightening the aisles.

Borders was my life. Borders was coworkers that drove me crazy and made me love them all at the same time. Borders was sharing crazy stories and passing down epic hilarity. ("The man with the gun is here for the money.") Borders was making friendships. Borders was discovering things in common.

Borders was wearing reindeer antlers the week before Christmas and having someone laugh and say they couldn't get mad at Rudolph. Borders was re-reading the Twilight books to come up with trivia for the release of Breaking Dawn. Borders was dressing up as a Witch and making potions with little kids in the hall for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Borders was wearing a Dorothy costume to work on Halloween.

Borders was storytime every Wednesday with Miss Alicia. Borders was laughing at the juggling baristas in the cafe. Borders was dueling cashiers on the Saturday before Christmas. Borders was satisfaction over a newly straightened section. Borders was giggling over the cycloptic elephants. Borders was three people pushing a bargain cart piled so high it weighed a ton. Borders was getting to know the NEMF guy on a first name basis. Borders was cafe samples on the information desk.

Borders was meeting local authors that really cared and loved to come in and talk (We Love you Michelle Zink! You too Owen Palmiotti!). Borders was events that fell in our lap (Brandon Mull!) Borders was obnoxious local authors that we hid from (no names here, but true story). Borders was going to BEA with coworkers and geeking out that we got something signed by one of our favorite authors.

Borders was exchanging book titles and sharing new authors, both with customers and with coworkers. Borders was dancing with glee when a favorite author's latest book arrived. Borders was gawking over a gorgeous cover and reading a new author we never would have discovered otherwise. Borders was reading.

Borders was asking a little kid what kind of book they liked to read and handing them an old favorite. Borders was helping grandma find the perfect gift for her grandson. Borders was directing a woman to other historical fiction she might like. Borders was a fifteen minute conversation with a man about science fiction books. Borders was a middle school girl saying, "you helped me last time and gave me really good books. What should I get now?" Borders was passing on the love of books and authors and reading to anyone and everyone who was willing to listen.

Borders was more than a store. Borders was a home. A home for learning and sharing. For friendships and fun. For the regular shopper and the once a year visitor. For the browser and the hunter.

These are the things I worked for. These are the things I will miss.

So, to those of you just looking for a deal? To those annoyed that the books aren't cheap enough? Those angry that we can't find your specific book? Those smirking over the fact that we "deserve to lose our jobs"? To you? We didn't do this for you. We never did.

Borders was the people. The people that loved reading, that loved books, that loved the atmosphere you can only find in a bookstore. And it's those people that I will miss the most.

It was a great five years and I know I will never have another experience like this.

Goodbye Borders. It was fun.