A Baker's Dozen

I find that lately I haven't had much contact with the people I regularly talk to, so its entirely possible that most people don't know that I got a new job. I had been working at Pier One and I guess it was okay. There really wasn't anything wrong with that job. I liked the people I was working with (for the most part anyway), the store was beautiful, and it was interesting learning about that side of retail. But I didn't feel like I fit. I really don't like ramming products down people's throats. And trying to persuade them to buy (almost to the point of begging) and having them fill out In Touch forms, and trying to get them to open credit cards...I just didn't like it. I liked helping people figure out how to put a room together, that sort of thing. But that's it.

Several weeks ago, the wonderful lady who hired me quit her job, much to the chagrin of all of us who worked there. She was an awesome boss, and if I ever end up in her shoes, I hope to fill them as well as she did. So now we have a new boss, and she's pretty cool too. But less experienced and a little more desperate to get the store doing better. I can't hold that against her, 'cause its her job, but it has shaken our world a bit. So, I figured since there was all this change going on, I might as well look for something new. (A major catalyst to my spurt of job-hunting might have been that my new boss changed my schedule from a well balanced mix of days and night shifts to closing for the last four weeks...ick).

My job-hunting didn't last long...mainly 'cause I found a new job. I now work at this really posh supermarket down the street from me. It is so close that it takes me about 10 minutes to ride my bike there. I've always enjoyed shopping there, 'cause they have a lot of stuff from around the world, and their meat and produce is second to none, even though the store is way to expensive for me to go there all the time. They've hired me to work in a couple of different departments. They have a Cafe that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as doing events like wine tastings. They also have a Coffee Bar that serves Pete's Coffee (the bar is more of a place to get coffee drinks, and ground coffee, rather than a Starbucks. That's what the cafe is for). I got hired for those two departments, as well as working the registers in the front and part-time in the bakery to do cake decoration.

So far, I have done a day on the registers (Memorial Day in fact, which was crazy) and today I worked in the bakery. 8 hours, starting at 5:30 in the morning. But let me tell you. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was hard, and my feet are killing me, and I'd rather not have to get up that early in the morning, but the job rocks. And working in the bakery that early in the morning means you are around when stuff is being made for the day, so the smells are unbelievable. While I managed to only consume two cookies during the course of the whole day, I think I gained 10 pounds just from the smells alone. At one point I had to melt chocolate so that I could dip eclairs for tonight's wine tasting, and Kim, the full-time cake lady, hands me this 3 gallon bucket of Chocolate Truffle. Literally a big bucket of the best chocolate you could ever get. And I had to scoop it out and melt it. The self-control involved in not sticking my gloved fingers in my mouth was almost impossible. Only the thought of an undercover health inspector watching me from the other side of the counter stopped me, really.

My least favorite thing about that job? well...It would have to be the freezer. I decided right away that I didn't like walking into the big room that was so cold you had to wear a parka to keep from shivering uncontrollably within a minute. And sometimes it is more expedient to simply run in there, grab whatever it is you need and run out...but still, that takes a few seconds. You can see your breath the moment you walk in, and by the time you get out, you have stand right up close to the ovens to get limbs working again. And since I'm the newbie on site, I'm asked to go in there a lot...Not to hold that against Kim. She was very very nice, and much to my pleasure, she thanked me often for helping her with all the stuff we did.

Okay, so here's what I accomplished. I made (decorated) two cakes with an underwater scene of fish and seaweed, prepped several cakes for Kim to decorate, decorated a whole mess of cupcakes, mixed a lot of buttercream, made a really pretty cake surrounded by ladyfingers and topped with strawberries, and two cakes totally covered in chocolate shavings. I learned a lot in a day.

And now I'm very tired. And I have to go to class. So. Adieu. I shall return with more tales of the bakery, after my next shift on Friday.

Ta!