Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Nebraska Book Guys Are On The Job!




The guys from Nebraska Book Company are on the job, buying back textbooks and returning rentals. They are a great help to the DU Bookstore. However, all of them profess to be Colorado Rockies fans. When they arrived in town, the Rockies were in first place. Now the Rockies are heading toward the cellar. Could the Nebraska guys be a curse to the local team? I say, why the hell wouldn't they be? Stop messing with our team, guys! Focus on the Cubs!

Monday, May 30, 2011

A Memorial Day Barbecue



I went up to Fort Collins today for a Memorial Day barbecue with my sister Susan and brother-in-law George. It was a rather laid back day, nothing like back in the good old days when we all used to go for a hike in Rocky Mountain Park. It would usually be overcast in the city, but when we arrived at the park the weather would be very threatening. We would start up the fog shrouded trail and within minutes the trail would be snow-covered, getting deeper with every step. Soon visibility would decrease to practically zero due to the fog, and by this time my now ex-wife Lisa would start to freak out. Then we would all turn around, head for the first bar we spotted, and drink beer. Those were the days!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Stuart Amongst Nature!



My friend Stuart and I spent the Sunday before Memorial Day hiking along Clear Creek in Golden. It was a very restful experience, and the trail was very pretty. At the end of the trail, we headed back the way we came and wound up at Golden City Brewery, the 2nd largest brewery in Golden and one of the nicest (and possibly only) beer gardens in Colorado. Hiking is a wonderful experience, as long as there is a beer garden waiting for you at the end of the trail. I think Hemingway originally said that, come to think of it.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Take Your Child To Work Day!




Joel (pronounced "Who-El") heard about take your child to work day, and insisted that Darrel, his grandfather, take him to the DU Bookstore. Joel was very enthusastic about his visit, and wants to start working here immediately. That's exactly what we need - volunteers willing to work at the DU Bookstore for free. Welcome aboard Joel!!!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday Night at the Bookstore



Once again it is time to update the Nebraska POS and "WinPrism" software at the DU Bookstore. This involves watching the computer monitor as a blue dotted line moves across the screen, measuring the progress of the update. Like a watched pot, this line never moves when you look at it, and before you know it, hours have passed. Just another night of excitement here at the DU Bookstore.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Chuck Holds Down the Fort!



Chuck, one of the three Nebraska book buyers here this week to buy textbooks for the DU Bookstore, is holding down the buyback counter by himself today. Chuck tells me that Jason and John drove up to Fort Collins this morning to buy textbooks for another college bookstore. However, I could have sworn I saw the two of them at the Stadium Inn (the "SI" to insiders) this morning when I went in there to buy my morning pick-me-up. It must just be my imagination.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Nebraska Book Boys Are Back!



The guys from Nebraska Book Company have returned, buying back textbooks for the DU Bookstore and taking back this quarter's rental textbooks. Chuck and the other two Chucks (Jason and John) are taking in a lot of Colorado Rockies games this week, even though the Rockies have not won a game in several months. I am surprised they are so gung-ho about the Rockies, when they have the world famous Lincoln Saltdogs back home. Even people out here in Denver are big Saltdogs fans. In fact, half of the DU Bookstore's employees are gone this week, and I suspect are all victims of "Saltdog fever."

I'm Just Saying...




Jan is showing off some of the new clothing items we have received at the DU Bookstore lately. Judging from the size of the new Law School T-shirts, the school seems to be admiting a much younger crowd these days. I assume it is due to budgetary reasons, but how many people will want to hire a 5 year old lawyer? On the other hand, they will probably work cheap. A couple of bags of M&Ms and you have yourself an attorney. It is not greed on the part of the law school, just thinking outside the box. Now if these budding law students can just reach the checkout counter with their plastic. We can only hope.

Monday, May 23, 2011

This Championship Season!



The University of Denver Lacrosse team is in the final four, the first Lacrosse team west of the Mississippi to achieve such a goal. The DU Bookstore is anticipating a huge surge in interest in the team, and is expecting lots of web orders for "Final Four T-Shirts." Lauren (pictured above) spent the entire day today processing web orders. Things are getting crazy! People are becoming obsessed about Lacrosse, which I think is a kind of sport.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

ABC News on the Job!



The Channel 7 ABC News truck was parked across the street from my building when I went to buy groceries this afternoon. The truck was still parked across the street when I returned. Were they there to record the triumphal return of DU's La Cross team, or to note the high school graduation of a high profile figure at the Ritchie Center, or were the DU students in my building once again jumping off the balconies into the pool below, with no water in it to jump into? Perhaps they were just having lunch and working the crossword puzzle. Why should they be any different from the rest of us? Life on the University of Denver campus is one thrill after another.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The End Is NOT NEAR!



I looked at my watch - winner of the ugliest watch contest for three years running - tonight, and saw that it was 6:10 P.M Boulder, Colorado time on Saturday, May 21st, 2011. The "End of the World" should have occured 10 minutes ago. Damn! I will wind up having to clean my apartment tomorrow morning after all. In any case, many people will be disappointed that that the world did not end, especially Trish, a DU Bookstore employee for many years. Yes, Trish, you will have to come into work next week. Sorry about that.

Friday, May 20, 2011

New Paint for the Offices!



The DU Bookstore is having it's offices painted this week. Most of these offices are being painted colors described as "chocolate" and "John Nichols hot wax". As far as I am concerned, these colors are Crimson and Gold - the official university colors. We chose these colors to inspire the Bookstore's office staff. Our staff will come into their offices each day, and be so inspired by the colors and the history of the university that productivity will increase tenfold. Plus, we intend to make everyone line up and sing the official DU fight song every morning before work. Talk about inspiration! We are expecting morale to go up big time.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The End of the World!



Trish has been obsessed this week with a prediction that the world will end this Saturday at 6:00 A.M. In point of fact, she seems pretty enthusiastic about the whole idea. And she doesn't even have to work this Saturday, like I do. In any case, I really don't think Trish is a true believer, since I caught her writing down next week's schedule for the Bookstore staff. The end might be near, but only the end of the week (TGIF!).

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Welcome Aboard Dave!



Dave R. is the new Operations Coordinator at the DU Bookstore. He is the third Dave currently working at the store, along with Dave B. and Dave H. (me). There are actually a lot of benefits having multiple employees with the same first name. For example, during the first week of classes, when you need help at the registers and page "Dave," you wind up getting three people instead of one, which really helps out when you need to move customers through the lines. Welcome to the Bookstore, Dave!

Visiting With Noah



Noah, the DU Bookstore's Stockroom Coordinator, is one of the most dedicated readers of my blog. It was a very traumatic time for him when I was in Europe and didn't post any entries for two weeks straight. In fact, he feels he needs more FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) time because of this, in addition to the 300 odd days he got after he and his wife had their second child. Nice try Noah. Maybe next time.

Monday, May 16, 2011

An Apology to Wally



Wally is bearing up well despite the fact that I did not make the pilgrimage to Collioure, France during my trip to pay homage to the home of Patrick O'Brien, one of Wally's favorite authors. Originally I was going to visit for several hours on my way to Barcelona, but was told there would not be another train that day. I did take a picture of the train station there when we stopped, and Wally says he will be happy with that. Thanks to the age of digital technology, I can photoshop in O'Brian, Wally, and even put Bridget Bardow between them, so no problem!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Back Home Again!




I arrived home from Europe last night after a tour of almost every hotel in downtown Denver (courtesy of the Super Shuttle). I was hoping to do a daily post to my blog from Europe, but my schedule was just too hectic. My goal of doing a daily photo blog for 365 straight days has been shattered, and now (according to NCAA rules) I will need to start over again. Oh well, I can certainly force the DU Bookstore employees to go along with another year of photographs - or else! In any case, back to work tomorrrow. Oh Joy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Madrid Airport





This morning I arrived at the Madrid airport for my flight home, only to discover it was delayed until 1:00 P.M. I felt like the person in the above photograph, ready to head home and get some serious sleep (hopefully I will be able to sleep at my desk at work, as long as my boss isn't watching). The delay gave me time to reflect on my trip - I was beginning to be able to use my left arm again after a fall in Granada, the swelling of my lips and the hives on my stomach were disappearing after a night on a goose feather pillow in a local hotel, and I would be bringing my camera in for repairs this Monday after falling on it in Nice, getting it stolen (and subsequently recovered) in Barcelona, and dropping it in Madrid. All this, not to mention a police escort to my motel room in Salon-de-Provence. It is too late for all of this to be included on my blog, so you will just have to buy the Blurb Book when it comes out.