blueswede

we can't hire you; your hair is all wrong

My name's Dave, and I'm a gaming addict. I am speaking of
Fallout 2, one of the most addictive games ever made. And
believe me, it's difficult, too. The most impossible thing
is figuring out where to go, what to do, and who to talk to
about what. I've spent who knows how long playing that
over the past few days. Further proof that I need to get a
life, pardon the e/n.

I've been sleeping until noon just about every day. It's
really going to cost me when school starts up again. 6:00
is just way too early to be getting up.

I dropped off a job application at the health food store
today, and also dropped off a resume at a computer store.
With any luck, a position will be available at the health
food store. It's a strange dream to have, selling soy
products and flaxseed, but it's something I'd like to do.
Besides, it would be damn cool to be able to say, "Yep, I
work in a health food store."

It's tough to say which job would be more enjoyable. The
computer place would probably pay more, and might make for
more interesting work, but it's unlikely that they'd hire
me while I'm still in high school. The health food store
would probably pay less, but the people would most likely
be more interesting, and the hours would be better for my
schedule. Plus, if I got an employeed discount on health
food, big savings would come my way.

I have two major problems when it comes to getting a job:
age and schedule. I'm only 17, and a number of places are
reluctant to hire anyone under 18. Schedule-wise, my time
is taken up by school, extracurriculars, and a computer
programming course at the local college.

If I get past these issues and snag an interview, then the
problems tend to lie in my grooming, i.e. my long hair and
my beard. People who run retail places are fools if they
still operate under the 1960s mentality of "long haired man
= hippie = drugs = bad." Hell, most of the drug users at
my school have short hair.

On a side note, why is it that most girls don't seem to dig
guys with long hair? I have no problem with girls who wear
their hair short. Sometimes it's better that way. I think
I'll blame the WB for this one.

Back to work. The reason I would dig health food is
because of the sort of people I'd be working with. People
who are into health food tend to be more laid back and
accepting than others. Small-scale technology operations
tend to be the same way, to a lesser extent. See, a place
like Best Buy, for instance, will hire a guy who bleaches
his hair, or who uses too much butchwax, or who is a
complete jerk, but they won't hire a guy with long hair.
Place like that won't even have the decency to call and let
you know if they've rejected you. So, I'm applying to some
less traditional businesses.

Of course, if neither of these prospects comes to fruition,
I may end up working at Dairy Queen. The horror! The
horror...