The issue of the drug test is a source of great anxiety. She winds up closing the deal-“drug screen results, of course, pending”-at a Menards housewares store, where she’s offered a position in plumbing, $8.50 to start. Ehrenreich, who is used to allowing for “a little wriggle-room” on these sorts of tests, so as to not seem a fake, finds that when “presenting yourself as a potential employee, you can never be too much of a suck-up.”Īfter scheduling a drug test-which presents a major problem for Ehrenreich, since she has marijuana in her system, from a one-off downtime puff-the journalist heads off to look for more jobs. As it turns out, a few of Ehrenreich’s answers require further discussion. “I’m psyched for a change.” She applies to a few Wal-Marts, and winds up nabbing an interview at one of them with Roberta, “a bustling platinum-haired woman of sixty or so.” Roberta administers a “survey”, then runs the answers through a machine that “scores” them. “No waitressing, nursing homes, or housecleaning this time,” Ehrenreich writes. She picks up her Rent-A-Wreck and is able to shack up for a few days in the apartment of friends of a friend-in exchange for looking after their cockatiel, whom she refers to as “Budgie.” It’s a liberal state, with clean air, friendly people, and affordable housing. Ehrenreich arrives in Minnesota, hoping to find there a slightly more comfortable environment than what she has so far experienced.

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