Significant Other is turning me into a geek on purpose

I've been fairly quiet lately, due to the fact that I've been insanely busy. I no longer work for Nanny Family (which is very sad, but it just wasn't working out). I'm working at my dad's hardware store again.

I worked at the store for about six years, and I absolutely hated it. My coworkers are fantastic and most of the customers who come in are both familiar and friendly. But let's face it. I know absolutely nothing about hardware. Folks, I have enough trouble figuring out how to turn on the radio in my car. You just can't expect me to fix your leaky sink or help you put together your own creation of a multiple-purpose swing set, leatherman, lawnmower, and dishwasher.

So I've settled for a job that I'm equally incompetent at: accounting!

Bear with me. There is a point to this.

I have no experience with accounts. BUT, instead of being normal like every other retail store in the WORLD, this particular hardware store originates from the stone ages or somewhere around there on a timeline. Instead of price scanners where all the information is neatly organized on a computer, this store has roughly 1,000-year-old cash registers where you punch the prices in by hand. And if someone has a store account, don't plan on going anywhere for at least an hour because you have to handwrite on a slip every item a customer is purchasing, how many of that item, the prices of each, the total of each, and a grand total.

The benefit to this is that floor employees don't ever have to worry about the account slips again. Because I get to deal with them!

I get to check the math on each and every individual slip, add up the total sales for each day, and then double check that total.

But wait! THERE'S MORE!

Then I get to file each and every handwritten account slip.

This

takes

HOURS.

It is not fun. It is boring, tedious, and particularly stressful when I have a lot of other sh*t on my plate. Such as, oh, I don't know...GRADUATE CLASSES.

To help me de-stress, Significant Other got me playing a computer game.

I have never been particularly thrilled by computer games or video games. In fact, way back in the day when I was a kid, some family friends got the brand-new NINTENDO 64! And we played Mario Kart on it. A LOT.

I was the one who always drove in circles until the race was over, or else repeatedly fell off the road into the lava or off the rainbow or whatever, until I was just holding up the game for everyone else.

Eventually, I just wasn't allowed to play anymore.

So now Significant Other has me playing Mass Effect 2. I've completely stunned myself by having something similar to minimal competency at this game.

I have also been playing nonstop.

Dude, I used to be SO COOL. I read books like it was going out of style. I worked in a library. I spoke two languages. I watched British TV and dinosaur documentaries. I would pretend to be a zombie or a pteradactyl or a werewolf. It was AWESOME!

And now I'm a complete geek over this computer game.

I know Significant Other did it on purpose.

Watch yourself, buddy. I know where you live.

Revenge.