I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet, but at the same time, I can totally believe it, because I've been busy and stressed out of my mind for two weeks.
I will start from the beginning, but let me warn you, this is a life update story.
A few weeks ago, an employee of mine at Aromas, Ashley, put in her two weeks notice because she was moving out of Richmond. Knowing that my other employee, Tarae, would be appreciative of more hours, I didn't hurry too much to hire a new employee (meaning I put an ad up the next day rather than that day, and I didn't stress out about scheduling interviews). I put ads up on Craig's List several times that week, and one time I typed in "bakery" just to see what popped up. Three listings: Cheesecake Factory (eh), some place in Ashland (eh), and an ad for full- and part-time positions at a cafe/bakery/coffee shop now opening! I checked my resume to make sure it was presentable, whipped up a quick cover letter, and sent it to the address on the ad. It was Friday.
Monday, I received a call from the lady who placed the ad, Kelly, who wanted to meet me on Tuesday. Tuesday was a day off I had scheduled for myself so I went in at 11:30 and found myself in a small cafe inside of a very cute consignment shop (housewares more than clothes). The cafe was precious, with zebra stripes and polka dots and bright colors everywhere. When I started talking to Kelly, it quickly became clear to me that this was not an interview - it was basically just a meeting to make sure I didn't have two heads. She explained to me what they were doing and what they wanted me to do - mainly coffee, but they would train everybody to do everything. She talked to me about pay, benefits, hours, schedule. And when I left there, my understanding was (and correctly) that I had the job.
I didn't know what to think, because that happened CRAZY fast! Mind you, this was the very day before Ashley's last day. So now not only did I need to finish hiring and train somebody for her position, I now had to hire and train somebody for my own position. And I only had two weeks. And I would begin working part time at the new place (called Liza Jane's Sweet Shoppe and Cafe). I was excited, but I kinda flipped out because the prospect of all of that stress was scary. When you're used to working behind the bar by yourself, and you don't have a concrete list of things to teach, it's very stressful when suddenly there's somebody else behind the bar with you and you're trying to remember everything that you know and do.
I waited a few days before talking to my boss about it all, and I gave him my two weeks notice on that Friday. By that time I had hired somebody for Ashley's position and I would put up an ad for my position over the weekend (to give you an idea of the timing, it was Halloween weekend).
Week one of last two weeks at Aromas was crazy. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I opened at Aromas at 6:30 am. I had Tarae come in for me at 11 so that I would have exactly enough time to eat, nap for 30 minutes, and take a shower before heading to Liza Jane's from 2 until 7 (lots of travel time in there, too - about 25 minutes to and from both jobs). Tuesday and Thursday were normal days for me - Sam's and a closing shift at Aromas on Tuesday, and a closing shift on Thursday. No Liza Jane's. That week I spent half of each shift training Sarah, the girl I hired to replace Ashley, and the other half interviewing people for my job and attempting to complete any tasks that needed to be completed in that shift, in addition to helping customers. It was ridiculously stressful and tiring for me.
Week two of my last two weeks at Aromas I spent training my replacement, Zach. That was less stressful because he is already very experienced, and we didn't need too much time for me to teach him everything. Nevertheless I was still working a 50-hour week, just like the week before, so I was tired. And my saint of a boyfriend, Corbin, was stuck walking Ivy at least an hour and a half nearly every day because I didn't have time to split the responsibility with him like usual. Also, our apartment looked (and still does look) like a bomb went off.
You have no idea how happy I was to be finished at Aromas on Friday. For the most part, I liked working there. But when you're working as much as I was and counting down the days until you're done... well let's just say I was relieved.
So this week is my first week at Liza Jane's full-time. To tell you more about the job, I basically do everything. While I was brought on for my coffee experience, we're not selling all that much coffee yet, so I'm preparing a lot of food and taking a lot of orders. Cleaning a lot. I work 11-7 Monday through Friday and 9-2 on Sunday. It will take some time to get used to working 6 days a week, but my hours are pretty awesome compared to having to get up at 6:00 at Aromas. I really like the people I'm working with, I like the atmosphere, the food is delicious, and I think I'll have the chance to make things and sell them (like soups and baked goods) since I told the owner that I cook and want to go to culinary school. Also, I get to watch the food network all day, and I actually get a lunch break (a concept which is foreign to me)! I am on my lunch break as I write this in fact - I just finished my grilled cheddar on rye, tomato three-cheese soup, better cheddars, and pickle. I'm sitting in a very comfortable leopard-print chair and the food network is on in front of me. I love it.
Anyway, there's an update for you - apologies for the gap, but as you can see, I've been busy and tired. I'm so happy to have a regular schedule now, I like having Saturday off cause Friday still feels like Friday, I like knowing when I'll be at work and when I won't, instead of my schedule changing all the time. Also, I'm going to the Harry Potter midnight show on Thursday night. Yes indeed. Life is good.
