Once upon a time, there was a Star Market on Broadway in Somerville. This store was the only place between Porter Square and Sullivan Station (a good 50 minute walk from one another, with no direct bus line) that supplied the neighborhoods in between with relatively quality foods. However for some reason, the store closed down in 2008. Since then, despite the city's attempts to replace it with another legitimate grocery store, it remains a vacant eyesore, the fossils of the "Star Market" lettering etched into a rotting concrete edifice and the parking lot reduced to a place to dump snow in the winter. Apparently, the other major grocery chains "don't think the demographic will support [their business]" (See: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1606967457/Supermarkets-refuse-to-take-over-Somerville-Star-Market-site?zc_p=0#axzz21CsyVqhl ).
I wish they had been a bit more specific about what they mean by "demographic." Everyone needs food, right?
Yesterday I decided to walk a ways from the bus station at Sullivan and see if there wasn't a grocery store around there. I GPSed a Stop & Shop that was 0.7 miles from it, and began walking in that direction. However after about two blocks I realized that this store was only accessible if I walked onto the ramp leading to I93. I was not about to enter a highway on foot (I don't even know if that's legal) so I turned around and tried to see if one of the smaller grocery stores it had listed on Broadway were any good.
All of them turned out to be 711s, Tedeschi's, or the non-chain equivalent. At the top of my shopping list was "strawberries," but the only produce I saw available were brown bananas and something that looked like it was supposed to be a mango but was the color of kiwi skin. Even bread was hard to come by. Items such as cookies and glazed, greasy pastries took up most of the aisle. Though I have to say part of this was personal, ever since living in Germany I have become somewhat of a bread snob (i.e. if it can squish like a pillow, I am not interested. What do Americans put in there to make it do that?)
Finally, this past weekend I googled the closest Stop & Shop to my neighborhood, and found that it's about 18 minutes away by foot. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the area of Somerville I live in is called "Winter Hill." Because it's a hill. A steep. Long. Hill. I'm talking San Fran status. And the Stop & Shop is downhill from my house. So I'm going to have to carry my groceries uphill every time I go shopping. Now, being an (almost) fit, young, twenty-something, to me this is just annoying. But for older people, disabled people, or injured people this would pretty much be impossible. "Tastykake or death?"
So, the conclusions I have drawn from this experience is that non-shit-containing-food is a luxury in this country. If you can't afford a car, you obviously don't deserve produce. If you have a health problem and can't walk uphill for 18 minutes, just eat junk. That'll help it. Even Davis Square doesn't have a supermarket, despite having a ton of restaurants. Hm. I guess it's clear what "demographic" they're catering to.
All in all, there is a reason why Americans suffer from obesity. But they're not necessarily the gluttonous ones.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Ah, Workforce. We Meet Again.
Originally, I was scheduled to start my first temp job tomorrow doing data entry for a non-profit downtown. However this morning I received a phone call from the staffing agency at 9am asking if I could work for another company at 11, just for today. Having woken up T-minus 30 seconds ago, I had the urge to decline, but forcing myself to think about the $66 I was going to make was motivation enough to get out of bed.
I was told that I would be helping with phone calls, and, not knowing what the company does, assumed I would be phone banking either to recruit people for something or advertise. I was surprised when I arrived to find that I would be calling department stores across the country, checking off which brands of designer shoes they sell, how many styles in that brand, and two designers that particular clerk recommended. The purpose of collecting this information remains a mystery to me.
Everything was pretty straightforward. Since I can type and dial a telephone I didn't need much training. However when I asked how I should introduce myself, i.e. the standard greeting and introduction from the company, I was told to "just act like a customer." A bit nerve racking since I don't recall putting "actress" down as one of my skills on the application, and my real-life experience shopping for designer shoes is nil. Needless to say my stoic interrogation of the first store was met with "is this some kind of survey or something?" I replied with that high-pitched oh-too-friendly "no" that pops out when one is desperately trying to keep a lie above water, and continued my questions trying to sound as curious as I could, the poor clerk becoming ever more suspect.
After the third call I had it down to a T, however, learning the proper pronunciations and grouping together the brands that clerks informed me were more similar styles to one another. I actually was able to convince 95% of the people that I was genuinely interested in buying 12+ pairs of shoes. Which to me was the scariest part of all. Yes, in America, some people actually do this.
I don't think I would take another job offer like this one. After the first half of the day my ear actually hurt from being crammed between the receiver and my glasses so much, and pretending to be interested in something you're not gets tiring pretty fast. But, at least I have money in the bank again. I'll see how data entry goes. Since I'm committed to this position until Friday, hopefully better.
I was told that I would be helping with phone calls, and, not knowing what the company does, assumed I would be phone banking either to recruit people for something or advertise. I was surprised when I arrived to find that I would be calling department stores across the country, checking off which brands of designer shoes they sell, how many styles in that brand, and two designers that particular clerk recommended. The purpose of collecting this information remains a mystery to me.
Everything was pretty straightforward. Since I can type and dial a telephone I didn't need much training. However when I asked how I should introduce myself, i.e. the standard greeting and introduction from the company, I was told to "just act like a customer." A bit nerve racking since I don't recall putting "actress" down as one of my skills on the application, and my real-life experience shopping for designer shoes is nil. Needless to say my stoic interrogation of the first store was met with "is this some kind of survey or something?" I replied with that high-pitched oh-too-friendly "no" that pops out when one is desperately trying to keep a lie above water, and continued my questions trying to sound as curious as I could, the poor clerk becoming ever more suspect.
After the third call I had it down to a T, however, learning the proper pronunciations and grouping together the brands that clerks informed me were more similar styles to one another. I actually was able to convince 95% of the people that I was genuinely interested in buying 12+ pairs of shoes. Which to me was the scariest part of all. Yes, in America, some people actually do this.
I don't think I would take another job offer like this one. After the first half of the day my ear actually hurt from being crammed between the receiver and my glasses so much, and pretending to be interested in something you're not gets tiring pretty fast. But, at least I have money in the bank again. I'll see how data entry goes. Since I'm committed to this position until Friday, hopefully better.
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