Think about those books you read and
I wonder if they make you think about me




I've been reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and I can't put it down! I wish I didn't have to. I keep wishing I could call in sick and just stay in bed and read it from cover to cover and memorize random facts about anything.

My first job when I got here was in a company that imported goods (knicknacks, pretty little figurines) from China and supplied them to various retailers. I worked in a little office separated by a thin sheet of glass from the warehouse. I was the only female. My particular task was to input data about various items onto a database. One day my boss asked me to input measurements for some items that just came in. The measurements, he went on, were in centimeters so I had to convert to inches. I just kept nodding yes, and at that point, he probably thought I wasn't even listening to him.

Boss: These measurements are in centimeters and you have to convert them to inches.
Me: Yes.
Boss: Before you input them on the computer.
Me: Okay.
Boss: You have to use the calculator.
Me: Okay.
Boss: Do you know how many centimeters are in an inch?
Me: Yes.
Boss (already thinking of the best way to fire a poor little short Filipino girl): How many?
Me (trying to keep a straight face and the Chariots of Fire theme out of my head): 2.54 cm..!

He looked at me then with utter amazement and afterwards treated me like a daughter and didn't say anthing about my flimsy reason for not being able to work there anymore a week later and only said that I shouldn't be working in a warehouse anyway.

My point is, tiny little bits of fact picked up from high school or Jeopardy or an excellent book like A Short History can worm their way into your brain and no matter how unlikely, might be of great use someday.