working girl

i had an easy week of 3 shifts at embassy.

monday, i was stocking the cold buffet again with the same dude from last week. except, this week, he tended to disappear when we were the most busy and leave me to run around on my own. my supervisors kept asking me where the dude was. fuck, how am i supposed to know? he's not doing his job and i'm not his keeper! i hope he was yelled at because that was not cool. wednesday, i was on cutlery again. i enjoy it immensely. it's routine, i get it, can do it pretty well, and it's easy. the people helping me are usually pretty nice and the bar kitchen conversations make me laugh.

friday, i was stocking the hot buffet, something i had never done before. i had to look after all of the french toast sticks, milk, yogurt, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and cooked omelettes. it's a lot to handle when everything is constantly being tapped. there are two lines of each item and the cooks were definitely not cooking and putting them out fast enough at times. so, guests were angry and frustrated. yes, i understand that we're out of _______ but we're getting them as fast as we can. and sure, you can stand there all pouty with your arms folded tight, holding up the line and making the line even longer until you get your ______ but it's not my fault that the 500 people before you took all the food! geez.

the worst part about this week was the way that i had to clean the hot buffet as my cleanup. and well, we throw out all of the leftovers... even when it's entirely full. instead of thinking of starving kids around the world (or even, starving employees working the buffet) we throw out the food. ugh. ridiculous! at least on friday there was a staff appreciation lunch with some decent-ish food for us to eat. i wonder if that will ever happen again.

this week let me have a bit of a life that i missed, which was nice. corey and i got the apartment! he moves in august 15 and i've aimed to move in for september 1st. i'm sooooo stoked! i should be getting my timetable soon i hope and i can figure out my schedule. i really hope i don't have any super early or super late classes. also, my party is next weekend and i should have the whole weekend off. i'm excited about that.

i start sport chek on tuesday evening as my only shift for the week... i think. it could be a long day if i have to work embassy. also, that's the day that embassy is having their orientation but i don't know if i actually have to go to it or not. i don't even know what it entails or where it is. hopefully i can just skip it.

5ish more weeks left!

first week

i'm alive after my first week working at embassy suites.

the mornings are difficult but somehow i managed. wednesday, i stocked the cold part of the buffet, which is a ridiculous amount of work all the time. i looked after all the muffins, pastries, cold cereal, bagels, fruit (grapefruit, watermelon, 2 types of apples, oranges, bananas), bread for toasting, and english muffins. it amazed me how much i had to constantly stock and the amount of people going through the buffet.

thursday, i was stocking cutlery and mostly working with high school kids in the bar kitchen. i knew working in a kitchen wasn't the best idea, but fuck. these high school kids are so fucking rude. not to me -- just in general. i'm pretty sure i wasn't like them when i was that age. anyway, so i had to stock the silverware (knives, forks, spoons). i'd grab all the washed ones from the dishpit, polish them off, put them in an insert, and run them out to where they belong on the buffet. this was a pretty easy job.

friday, i was on toast. i was situated at the end of one of the chef stations toasting bread for each of the 3 chef stations. all i did for the entire time i was there was toast bread and talk to the chefs cooking omelettes and eggs. this was okay but was also the day it was like 49 degrees outside and so standing in front of a toaster for 3 hours was not the greatest time in the world.

saturday, i was on cutlery again and it was insanely busy like every other tourist destination on a saturday during the summer. a few other people working had to help me out a couple of times just because the cutlery was disappearing so fast and not exiting the dishpit fast enough. i survived, though. i just think it's strange that the majority of people working in the kitchen actually do their work and don't normally shoot the shit that much. it's probably my first job i've had where quality work is being done almost all the time. that being said, i haven't met that many people and rarely if ever take a break.

there is one dude who's been helping me out since my second day. he's nice and we get along. we normally get assigned together to do cleanup duties. yesterday, 2 of the girls got me to take a break with them.. so that was nice to talk for a bit. we got along too. next week, i only work 3 shifts at embassy. i called sport chek and am not scheduled for next week at all since the trainers are on vacation. they said they would schedule me for the following week. the first week in august, holy shit.

corey and i are working on still getting the apartment. we should be able to have it soon! i'm so excited. also, my timetable for seneca should be arriving the second week in august and i'll know my schedule finally. a few weeks after that, i'll be moving to toronto!

i just want to move now.

2 jobs... again

i landed the job with embassy suites and today was my first shift.

i went in for an interview yesterday and was hired on the spot for a food runner position in the breakfast buffet. i was surprised they would even consider me for that with no kitchen experience, but i didn't care. i have to wear a chef uniform with the jacket, pants, hat, and apron that i swim in. it's pretty hilarious to see.

the shifts vary from either start time of 6am, 7am, or 8am and finishing about 12pm, 1pm, or 2pm. the buffet goes from 7am-11am then cleanup which could take awhile. getting up this morning was brutal to be in for 7am. i got a quick tour of the kitchen and was shown where stuff was. i stock the buffet when things run low and so on. it shocked me to see all these people constantly running through all this food even though i had just stocked it, went in the kitchen, came back out and the food i had just stocked was all gone already. people are crazy. also, the amount of food thrown out in the kitchen makes me nervous.. being an environmentalist and all. trashing that much food all the time is so unsustainable.

i worked and worked and worked, constantly running around. when the buffet was over, i started to clean and was not given a break. the girl i was cleaning with was hard to understand and wasn't giving me very good instructions on how to do things properly. of course, my body was tired and i had a terrible headache since i had barely drank any drinks during the shift because nobody had shown me where/how to get drinks. eventually, we had finished most of the cleanup and were told we could go on break. but instead, the supervisor said if i wanted to that i could go home. i was sold on the idea and left.

i began my search for the lockers and got lost. i ended up in a restricted area with a ton of cameras and somehow found my way out of the building. i still don't know where the lockers are. i work again tomorrow at 7am, then friday and saturday at 8am. i'm just going to let them know from now on that i can only work till noon or 1pm since i have my other job. they'll understand and at least i'll get out of there faster.

i called sport chek tonight and told them my availability -- pretty much 3pm to close everyday. makes it easier on embassy and myself so i'll have a couple of hours to regroup/shower/change/eat/sleep etc between days with shifts at both jobs.. which i'm sure will happen. i start next week at sport chek sometime when the schedule comes out. i'll rock embassy till then with one job i can sort of handle.

in the meantime, corey and i have finalized the apartment (i think) and began the process of moving in! i still don't know final costs and whatnot but at least we officially have a place. i'm so stoked. also, in a few weeks, i'm throwing my party and i can't wait for that too. i've already booked it off. woo.

okay. for the last time. there are 7 weeks of summer remaining. if i could please just keep these 2 jobs (or at least 1 if it comes down to that) i would be a happy amber.

the luckiest break yet

sport chek called today and hired me on as a sales associate.

my last shift at margaritaville was thursday night till about 11:30pm. i came home and immediately began applying for various jobs through email -- one being a front desk position at the howard johnson closest to my house. i had talked to someone at margaritaville who's mom worked at embassy suites in the breakfast buffet. she told me to go see her mom on saturday and i had plans to do so.

friday afternoon, i get a call from howard johnson and set up and interview later that afternoon. i did the interview even though i didn't want front desk (but, let's face it -- it's middle of the summer and i'm desperate) and i'm told that she would get back to me sometime next week. she asked me about my education, what the responsibilities of a front desk person are, about my last summer position and so on. i didn't feel as though i had nailed the interview but honestly, i didn't care. i had lost all my will to work after being let go.

saturday morning, i went to the embassy breakfast buffet and met with the manager. the buffet was insanely busy and i had to wait over an hour to speak with her. i thought for sure that she had forgotten about me so i had a hostess go find her. i gave a copy of my resume, talked about my experience and possible working over christmas/on weekends and left. the shifts are only 3-4 hours in length but include tips. i was told i would hear back in a few days if there were any openings.

this afternoon, embassy called and i set up an interview for tomorrow. about an hour later, i get another call from sport chek, who if you recall from this blog post here, they were supposed to call me by june 30th if i was hired. i talked to the girl and she offered me a sales associate/cashier position and for me to come in tomorrow morning to get it all sorted out.

perhaps i'll have 2 jobs again for the remaining of the summer?

an unexpected occurrence

margaritaville let me go.

if this week wasn't already stressful enough, i have been let go from margaritaville. after 3 days off friday-sunday, i was supposed to work monday morning. sunday evening, i get a call that says that the ice cream cart is still broken and they have called off my shift. i was okay with that because i had stuff to do and things to accomplish. having the day off allowed me to do that. tuesday and wednesday i was to be in toronto (to be discussed later) and thursday/friday back at work.

i check the schedule this morning and see that my friday shift had been cancelled as well. not knowing what to think, i decided i would figure it out when i went into work. i did have 2 shifts on the schedule for the following week. i didn't think much of it. then, as i come into work, the manager asks to talk to me. she tells me that they are shutting down the ice cream cart for the remaining of the summer as they can't get a permit to do it (so why did we do it in the first place?) and that the store can't be responsible for hostessing outside anymore as they have hired more hostesses. she tells me that she might be able to find me a place somewhere else in the building but she isn't sure.

i was pretty shocked by this. she talks to the other managers in other departments and comes back empty handed. hostessing already hired a bunch of new people. kitchen i can't do. they don't need anyone anywhere else. so -- i'm left with nothing. and it's not just me. they have hired at least 4 new girls since i started and all of them are being let go.

the only semi-okay part of the whole ordeal is that i talked to the owner/manager guy again about implementing a recycling program for margaritaville and he seems interested still. he told me to call next week with a proposal and fee. hopefully that will go through... maybe.

i was in toronto for two days and checked out a bunch of apartments. we narrowed it down to 2 and are trying to put in a reservation on one of them. it makes my commute about 10 minutes longer but it's in an area i know and the apartment is fantastic looking! newly renovated, new floors, brand new kitchen counters/cupboards with island, brand new dishwasher, stove, and fridge. a little out of our price range but doable as it's all inclusive. i'm not entirely sure if the landlord called us back yet.

the majority of places that i wanted to see and have emailed/called for the past few weeks were full according to when we went to visit on wednesday. this sucked and was totally discouraging, so i hope the place we want does work out.

dad picked me up from the bus stop wednesday night and as we were heading home off the highway ramp, we stopped at the red light only to be rear ended by another car. dad got out to investigate and there were two ladies in the car. they both kept saying that they barely hit us and tried to offer dad money on the spot. what? he refuses and asks them to back up a little as both cars were still touching. they back up and dad goes in for a closer look at the damage to his car. a few seconds later, they drive away. no names, no insurance, no nothing. hit and run.

dad jumps back in the car with what he thinks is the license plate number and we go home. he calls the cops and run the plate but there was no match. the car was some kind of chrysler make kinda like a gold colour maybe 10-15 years old. the driver was a white female with long, super bleached blonde hair, maybe 40-50ish. the passenger was a younger, 20-30 year old female, darker skinned with dark hair. the cops came to the house and we gave a statement hoping that we would find them. damages to the car were minimal: a big scratch, couple indents/bubbles. but still. you don't hit rear end somebody and drive away. ugh.

i really hope being let go from margaritaville was the last stressful thing to happen to me this week.

a change in the lineup

officially, i have left java joes.

let's start from the beginning, shall we? my first two shifts at java joes were quite the learning experience as i was now doing things i had never done before, minus handling cash and points of sale. i probably burned myself more than i ever thought was possible and hated trying to 'serve' the public through drinks and food. i found some parts not so bad but there was a ridiculous amount to remember in a short period of time and i tried my best to stay away from the espresso machine in fear of fucking up more drinks.

the third shift i worked was a saturday which are normally very busy days at java joes and it was no different. i struggled to work at a fast pace preparing/plating food and taking orders while i was constantly yelled at from all directions of a 'better way to do' what i was doing. i became frustrated as i could not live up to anything i tried to do -- everything i did was wrong. and i was constantly reminded of how everything i was doing was wrong.

i decided that i just was not learning fast enough and i felt useless on the job. and my coworkers did not help me feeling useless. i was already aware that i wasn't exactly a hands-on type person, but i thought i might be able to overcome that if i had a job that allowed me to be hands-on. or at least try to be better at it. the 3 shifts that i worked last week were extremely busy; had it not been so busy i probably would have been able to perfect making drinks and food to at least one person's standard and would not need an entire walkthrough every time i used the espresso machine.

yesterday was my fourth shift at java joes and i talked to tonya about quitting. i told her that margaritaville was considering giving me full-time hours (not exactly a lie either) and that java joes was not the job for me. she understood and told me that she was just happy that i was willing to learn and that i was trying. i just wasn't 'born' to work in a coffee shop. i may as well have started at tim hortons and only have to push one button to make a drink. i agreed to work the thursday shift but not the friday as i need a day off. in the meantime during my shift, tonya had called up another lady, interviewed her, and hired her. at least i don't feel bad for leaving tonya short people if she was able to hire someone that quickly. that lady will also be in working her first shift on my last shift on thursday.

so, officially, i'm down to one job for the remaining weeks of the summer. margaritaville is working out great. i have no real complaints as of yet and am gaining retail sales experience. i'm happy and not stressed out any longer from java joes and i did pick up 2 pounds of coffee for my brother for free.

8 weeks and one job. i can have a life outside of work now. 10 days in a row with 1 double in the day (margaritaville in the morning and java joes in the afternoon/evening) is too much to handle. i won't be letting margaritaville know that i left java joes. since they are working around java joes schedule, i plan to be available during the week, monday through friday, and be 'working' at java joes saturday and sunday from now on.

definitely a big change in the lineup that was needed.

the first few days

training for two jobs in one week is more difficult than i had imagined.

i worked a close shift 3-9 my first day at java joes on tuesday. there is so much to know. i was a little overwhelmed but seemed to work through it for the first day. i learned cash, sandwiches, and drinks, all of which i had little or no experience doing before. it was a lot to take in.

on wednesday i was scheduled 5-10 at margaritaville. i found this job to be quite easy and not nearly as overwhelming as java joes. i learned about the stock, learned the cash, and sold my first frozen concoction machine (over $200!) so i was stoked. i enjoyed margaritaville more than java joes.

thursday i had a 12-6 at java joes that went on forever. the other employees were condescending and had expected me to know everything by my second shift. well, that's sort of difficult. i didn't remember all the steps for using the espresso machine (i've never used one before prior to tuesday) and probably fucked up at least 2 orders of lattes or whatnot. i guess they expect me to be just like my brother and know how to do things (even though he was a barista before for like 2 years). i found it troubling to keep up. there's just so much to know and do.

tonight i have my second shift at magaritaville 5-10. it's canada day and bound to be crazy busy but hopefully i can handle it.

the rest of my schedule now looks like this for the week:
saturday 10:30-2 magaritaville, 3-9 java joes.
sunday 11-? at margaritaville.
monday 2-7 java joes.
tuesday 11-? magaritaville.  
wednesday 10-? magaritaville.
thursday 2-7 java joes.
friday 3-9 java joes.

that's eleven days in a row without a day off, excluding the following saturday/sunday as i don't know the schedule yet. work is already ruining my life.