what else happened last week?

despite my injury, i went into work at embassy on the wednesday of last week.

my knee and body killed. i stuck around doing cutlery for service and peaced out shortly after. i had to go home and ice my knee so i could go into work at sport chek that evening. i had originally been scheduled for 2 shifts at sport chek; wednesday and thursday evening.

i went in for 5pm and talked to one of the managers who asked me when i was leaving. i told her she could schedule me up until august 31. she told me that it didn't make sense for them to train me on cash since i wouldn't be able to get it anyway (well, duh, not if i only go in once a month) and decided to use me as a sales associate/guard/helper for the sidewalk sale. sometime after 8:30pm, they began to take the sidewalk sale inside and i was told to go home around 8:50 as there was nothing left for me to do. i gladly went home as i never told them about my knee and by that time, i needed to  ice my knee and the tylenol had worn off.

an hour before my shift on thursday and before a big ass thunderstorm, sport chek called me and told me not to come in. they had cancelled my shift but didn't give me a reason why and i didn't ask why they did. i was happy to now have 3 days off -- which ended up being 4 days off to rest since i didn't have to work at embassy sunday either.

i'm not on the sport chek schedule for this week so i work 6 days at embassy, monday to saturday. in ten days, i move to toronto! i bought a new dining room table and a chair for my room. i haven't started to pack yet and i should probably do that soon.

i am so excited to move. this has been the longest summer ever. but at least i'm just starting to enjoy some of it.. whatever's left of my summer now.

injured on the job

i had an accident at work today, but the good news is that i'm still alive.

i finished the majority of stuff i was supposed to do for my cleanup after service today when i went to go grab a drink. i left my mug in the bar lounge where i normally leave it. not thinking much of it, i walked normally over to grab my mug when my feet slipped from underneath me and i came crashing down on the tile floor. in the process, my left knee dislocated outward and i screamed in pain. there were at least ten people standing around me when it happened, mostly servers and bussers. they called for a manager and within seconds two managers had surrounded me asking me if i needed an ambulance.

i kept telling them no in between my screaming ('cause fuck, dislocating your knee really fucking hurts) and then i felt my knee pop back into place and the pain started to recede. they asked me not to move; i tried to move anyway. now, i guess from all my years of running/soccer/track/etc i've known that i have some pretty awful knees and had several dislocations in both during the times i played sports a lot and even when i didn't throughout high school. it had been at least five to six years since i last had a super horrible major dislocation like that. i knew i was fine as i've had it happen before, but they didn't seem to understand that.

eventually, a server helped me up and i hobbled over to write up the accident report. they complained that it was because my shoes were not non-slip... but they actually are. when i got up, the side of me that was on the ground was soaking wet. what happened? well, somebody didn't mop the floor properly, there's a foot of water on the ground, and no wet floor sign. i've fallen similar to this on black ice before back at brock one morning; feet just flying from under me. luckily, my knees didn't dislocate that time.

i didn't go to the doctor but i will if it's still acting up in a few days, though it will probably be fine. i do intend to go back to work tomorrow morning, as they said i could if i was feeling better. i might just have a bit of restricted movement. last summer, i had a similar incident with my knee (a smaller, minor dislocation) when i tripped down a few stairs tour guiding (ironically, trying to help someone not fall down the stairs) and had restricted movement the next day. no report was filed last summer though, as the pain didn't start to kill me until the day after.

we'll see how i feel tomorrow. i'm scheduled to work in the morning at embassy and the evening at sport chek, though i assume sport chek will still be sitting at the computer doing training. but yes, i'm fine. i have been icing my knee since i got home this afternoon and will hopefully be alright.

clearly, this injury is just one more reason for me to not be working in a kitchen.

a long week

i had the weekend off and started back at embassy monday morning working until saturday morning. 6 shifts.

over the weekend, i relaxed and threw a party. i had fun and that's really all that matters in the long run. monday, tuesday, and wednesday, i was back working cutlery. thursday, i started earlier and was on toast for my second time ever. i guess the kid who's normally on toast was off that day. i can't say i enjoy doing it but it was okay for a change. friday, i stocked the cold buffet.

i asked for saturdays off from embassy as i talked to sport chek and they said if i can get saturdays off, they would try to schedule me for a shift on that day. unfortunately, i wasn't on the schedule at all for sport chek this week and i couldn't understand why. but i had told embassy i was working there on saturday. on wednesday, a manager asked if i could come in early on saturday for 3 hours. i agreed even though i really didn't want to -- but my terms were that i could be guaranteed the sunday off, which i did receive. by the time this morning rolled around, embassy forgot i was even coming in this morning and i just helped out where i could/sweep etc.

i had a bit of an awkward encounter with a dude at work but hopefully we can move on from it. it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks and where the rumour ends up by the time i leave, but perhaps it has already hit its peak for now. i also went to brock this week and picked up my thesis finally that's all nicely bound and printed, and spent my $10 gift card from the bookstore on a sweet canteen.

i got my timetable from seneca finally! but it's not that awesome. 
mondays i have 3 classes: 10:45am-11:35am, 1:30pm-3:15pm, and 4:15pm-6:55pm.
tuesdays i have 1 class: 8:00am-9:45am which is a such a long hike for just one class.
wednesdays i have 2 classes: 8:00am-9:45am and 11:40am-1:25pm.
thursdays i have off which i'm stoked about.
fridays i have 3 classes: 10:45am-12:30pm, 12:35pm-2:20pm, and 2:25pm-3:15pm, but hopefully the last one is just going to be online like it says.
i essentially have about a 45 minute commute to school everyday.. which means for my 8ams, i'll have to leave my apartment by 7am. not looking forward to that at all.

i've started to look into furniture and things we need for the apartment and so has corey; he moves in on monday and is super stoked. next week, i only work 3 shifts at embassy which is good since i'm exhausted from this week already. i have tomorrow off to play squash. hang out, and maybe check out buskerfest. i have thursday and friday off as i'm supposed to go to peterborough to see my brother but i may bail on that if i have to work at sport chek or might go to toronto or do something else cool.

5 days

i worked five days in a row this week.

sunday, i think i was on cutlery at embassy. again, i really enjoy that job. it's so simple! monday and tuesday, i started something a little different and was on sweep. i pretty much just walk around and clean up messes on floors/counters/etc and help out where i can. this got boring after awhile when there wasn't anything to do. time went by slowly.

tuesday evening, i had my first shift at sport chek. i went in for 5pm and they forgot i was even coming in. they set me up on a bunch of e-learning modules at the computer and i sat there for four hours completing like 1/4 of them. there were so many and they took so much time to finish! i didn't even get a chance to be on the floor. i just sat in the super air conditioned staff room and did simulations set up by the training modules of these ridiculous scenarios about some guy wanting his skates sharpened but the laces were discolored, so he wanted a discount, and he's paying in gift cards with the remaining balance in debit and cash and blah blah blah but then he also wanted to return items etc etc. ugh. they were so annoying. my hands were actually turning blue by the end of the shift because i was so fucking cold sitting there the entire time working on these scenarios. i doubt i would even come across a scenario like that anyway when i'll probably only get one customer during a shift if i'm lucky.

it seems as though i'm not going to get that many shifts (maybe only 1 shift a week?) and the majority of those shifts will be just finishing the training... and then i'll be moving away at the beginning of september. sport chek knows that i'm leaving at the end of the summer. i feel like it's a stupid move on their part for having to pay me for training and not actually use me. though i guess i don't care that much as long as i'm getting paid for the training!

wednesday, i was on cutlery again (where it was such a dead day and had nothing to do most of the time) and today i finished off with working the cold buffet. since i started working at embassy, i'm usually pretty tired when i get home, so i take a nap. when i have these naps, i have the strangest dreams. my dreams only get worse when i go to sleep for the night -- mostly nightmares that i'm definitely not comfortable with. i wake up with sweats and my heart racing. it's not a fun experience. i hope it goes away soon. i don't really know what i have to be nervous or stressed out about. i can't say i enjoy working at embassy but i don't hate it either.

i'm just happy to have the next 3 days off to relax, hang out, and throw my party.

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.

and so it begins

margaritaville called and offered me the position. now i work 2 jobs for the summer. i caught a very lucky break i think.

the manager reminds me a lot of my manager from last summer. nobody liked her and she tended to ruin people's lives with scheduling and passive aggressive tendencies. we'll see if this is any different. i also had to buy two shirts that come out of my pay and now i need khakis and white shoes. i don't have khakis but i found old white adidas i can wear for now i guess. damn uniform. imax had black pants and black shoes that i had to buy with a uniform shirt/vest and now this is completely different in things i need. java joes only has black pants and uniform shirt.

i was hoping i could work set days, 3 shifts at each with a day off a week but that can't happen as java joes is rotating shifts and flexibility is key. so now both of them will have to get along in scheduling but it's mostly up to me based on what the schedule shows. if that makes any sense at all!

it all starts tuesday at java joes 3pm-9pm. wednesday margaritaville 5pm-10pm. friday margaritaville 5pm-10pm. and saturday java joes 3pm-9pm. i may also have another thursday java joes shift but not sure yet. i'll have some long weeks ahead of me but hopefully it all works out.

next week will no longer be about the frustrations of a job search but rather the frustrations of working 2 jobs. stay tuned.

the good news

the good news is that i received a call from java joes yesterday and start my first shift on tuesday.

tanya had called last night and offered me the position. a bit late on the call, but a call nonetheless. i'm pretty stoked. i'll be a barista but don't have to prepare any food (it's already made) and i look after plate presentation/beverages/cash/etc. all things i've either never done or rarely have done. it will be great to gain some more experience in that industry. i was considering just taking java joes as the only job for the summer unless i could snag another part-time job (such as calls from sport chek or margaritaville if i could get in for a part-time position).

i had the second interview with margaritaville tonight. i met with the director of operations and had a nice conversation. he wants to talk to the new people on the waiting list to be hired, which makes sense i suppose. he enjoyed talking to me (or fake-enjoyed talking to me) and spoke to me about implementing a recycling project for the restaurant as they don't recycle anything at all.... what?!

this was awesome and terrible at the same time. awesome that i can definitely help implement a recycling project that works and isn't greenwashing, but also terrible that they've been open 2 years or so in the heart of the fallsview tourist district and have yet to recycle anything at all. i feel like i could seriously change things for the better and add some fantastic fieldwork experience to my resume.

i had told the director of my problem with java joes, since i was now only able to work about 25ish hours give or take at margaritaville, but he said that it would more than likely not be a problem. he was to leave a message with the lady who interviewed me yesterday and she is supposed to call me tomorrow with a final decision on hiring.

i suppose my job hunt should be ending soon as i've at least landed one job that i will hopefully enjoy and is close to my house as well as a possible soon-to-be second job in the tourist district with a fieldwork project i can help with.

but things can always change.

more interviews

this week i had 3 interviews.

java joes called wednesday night to schedule a thursday afternoon interview. i thought things went well as we really only talked about my brother for the most part. i hoped that i would get lucky and land the job at least for the summer. she said that she would call back after 7pm thursday night. i did not get a call. and then i was bummed out.

i set up an interview with sport check for friday afternoon. the interview was supposed to take an hour. i got there early and the manager said to come back in 15 minutes. so i looked around for a bit and went back. i filled in an online questionnaire similar to those you get at future shop/starbucks/the source/petsmart/etc and then had the actual interview which ended after 5 minutes once they found out i was returning to school in september. apparently, this position was for a full-time permanent merchandiser.. as in, to start a career from. but they didn't read the first line of my resume that says i'm going back to school in september. wouldn't that be the first thing you look at in order to make a decision on calling to interview someone?

so, i asked them if they could at least interview me for a sales associate position. they decided to do that and asked 4-5 scenario questions. i thought i answered them pretty well. it felt more like a conversation than an interview. i was told that i would hear from them by june 30th if they make a decision.

the last interview i had this week so far was for jimmy buffett's margaritaville. they had called me a few times this week and i never responded until today. i set up an interview for 5pm which required 3 references that i really don't have. i met with the lady and answered all of her questions and seemingly passed the 'first round' of interviews, according to her. she said that she would pass me onto some other manager type for a second interview who makes the final decision on hiring. she called back just now when i got home to set up the second interview tomorrow night with the other dude.

i don't understand the process of second and third round interviews. it annoys the interviewee and i bet it is annoying and costly to the company running them. interviews are pretty hit and miss; you nail it and they like you or you blow it and they don't like you. it's what i've witnessed from not only this summer of my job hunt but every summer of my job hunt and every interview i've ever attended.

i am really tired of the job hunt. i'm frustrated and fed up. margaritaville was interview #12 of the summer.

short-lived

due to reasons i will not disclose, i have left my position at imax.

i worked a full 7 hour shift and knew by around the third hour that this was not a job that i was entirely capable of, among other things that happened or i learned while on the job. before you hear of any ungodly rumours: i was not 'fired' or 'terminated.' i have voluntary quit the position in order to look out for my own health and well-being. and that's all i'm willing to say.

so the job search continues for the summer.

i called ardene and i was told that they hired already. it wasn't me. over the weekend, i also received a call from sport chek which i did not call back until today. i was told that they would call me back later today and they never did.

i sent out 6 emails today: jimmy buffett's margaritaville, hilton, embassy, rainforest cafe, mp paradise pools, and java joes. i walked into a job fair at the beef baron after receiving an email today about it and applying in the beginning of june. i filled in an application and met with somebody (i'm not even sure who it was) who asked me how old i was and what position i was applying for. i told him for hostess/busperson; and of course, he said they had a bunch of resumes to go through and if they thought i was qualified, they would call. my next stop was copacabana where i met with the lady for essentially 10 seconds. i handed her my resume, she wrote down something on it, and that was it.

then i hit the outlet mall. i put in another resume to java joes and handed my resume to mcgregor socks, tommy hilfiger, rocky mountain chocolate, and urban planet. at tommy hilfiger, i talked to the one sales associate for awhile who commented on my resume a ton and then i met with the manager who talked about calling me for an interview soon. java joes is where my brother worked since they opened and then they shut down. they have re-opened recently for the summer months. my dad went in to talk to the manager and put in a good word for me. hopefully i might have a chance there. clearly, my brother and i are the same person.

it could be a long time until i catch another break in the job market.

ready to start

i got the job with imax.

a little before 9pm on friday, i got the call and i was stoked. i don't know if it was because i nailed the interview questions, if it was the annoying phone call i made on friday afternoon to see if i got the job, or just a combination of the two, but i did land the job... finally.

my saturday afternoon plan was to call back and get all the details of the coming week and also let dave and buster's know that i would be taking a position elsewhere. while i'm in the middle of my breakfast, dave and buster's calls me and asks me what's up. i tell him that i've taken a job elsewhere and he seems upset. uh, sorry?

the plan for the week is to be this: three shifts this week starting tomorrow, wednesday, and saturday. both the wednesday and saturday shifts start at 7:30am. it's going to be tough but totally worth it as the latest i have to work is 10:30pm. suck it, 2am dave and buster's! however, this means that i'll be missing steve's party, a few birthdays, and the most of pride now that i've landed a job. no word on ardene yet; hoping to get that too and work both jobs turning me into zombie auto-pilot for at least a little while.

the last time i  had two jobs at the same time was a few summers back; i worked full-time at shoppers drug mart for just over a month and part-time at the library.  i worked 8am-3pm and 4pm-7pm four days a week and 8am-5pm on weekends. friday i only had to work at the library. no days off. i was dead by the end of each day and even more happy when the position at shoppers ended. i'd only like to have a second job so i can make more money since i missed out on working for a month and a half.

i've started to look into toronto apartments, so the hunt is on for the perfect apartment. i'm excited to finish out the summer while having another party in august (if you're reading this, you're likely already invited) and starting the next stage of my life in the big city. i can only hope these next 11 weeks are going to fly by.

the booty call rejection

i feel like i just got a booty call rejection.

i went to my imax interview yesterday and i wasn't sure how it went. there were lots of questions regarding teamwork, fast-paced environments, success, and motivations. i answered them all like i normally would yet i can't seem to point out or gain any feedback as to where i'm going wrong. i left the interview with high hopes. i wanted this job so that i won't have to work until 2am at dave and buster's. it just had better hours and maybe a better environment for me.

he said he would call today in order to do his hiring, so i called him instead. i actually talked to him around noon and asked if he had made a decision on hiring and he told me he had not got around to it yet. i don't normally do follow up calls/emails but i do when it's something i really want. and the majority of these follow up calls/emails are met with rejection through words or silence (usually, in most cases, no response).  i felt like i was being crazy annoying and i hated myself for following up so quickly. it was similar to the first date rule.. wait three days? wait a day? or better yet, a booty call rejection; i wanted it and he didn't. if i don't get the call sometime today, i suppose i'll have to be even more annoying and call again tomorrow.

ardene called me last night for an interview and i scheduled one for this afternoon. she asked very few questions about my likes and dislikes about former jobs and the retail industry; where i see myself in 5 years, and my strengths and weaknesses. of all the retail interviews i have ever had, this one felt like i was finally in. perhaps she was just being nice, but i suppose i'll find out. i'll hear back next week if i get it. it'll only be part-time, 6-20 hours depending on the week, but it's mad close to my house and maybe i can work at 2 places? here's seriously hoping.

if i don't hear from imax today, i'll have to surrender and go sign up on payroll with dave and buster's at least for a little while. but i won't be happy with that decision.

hired

i received a call from dave and buster's this afternoon and arranged for an interview.

they offered me the position on the spot of "mascot" where i get to run around in a root suit wearing laser tag equipment and be an asshole to tourists/take pictures with them to get them into dave and buster's. not sure what a root suit is? it looks like this: 

i don't know what colour the suit will be, but i'm sort of stoked. whenever i was the mascot last summer, i had so much fun being the centre of attention in the pink panther costume. granted that this suit will probably not smell as much or be as hot, but still. they said that they would train me on practically everything that there is to do at dave and buster's as well, but i'll primarily be mascot/laser tag/something else but i forget.  

the only thing i hate about it is that i'll have to work till 2am some nights. i have refused to work until 2am before but with the way the job market is to me this summer, i decided that it wouldn't be a problem... even though i know after awhile it will be. i don't enjoy that i'll have to get my parents out of bed for a ride home at 2am or cab/hitch hike/bike/friend/co-worker home but if it's only once or twice a week i might be able to handle it. i might not be awake for it but we'll see how it plays out.  

on saturday night, i received a call from imax theatre asking for an interview for wednesday. i haven't gone to payroll and signed up for dave and buster's yet and i don't plan to do that until i see what's up with the imax interview. i had an interview with this place, probably for an usher position (what i applied for this time around) twice and didn't land the job. both were during a summer and both were with different people hiring. this will be the third summer, third  position, and third person who will interview me. i don't know if this time around will be any different. i will see what the hours of operation are like and if i can get 40 hours or so; otherwise i'll be a slave to dave and buster's for the summer.  

since january, i must have sent out about 100+ resumes looking for summer or full-time jobs, depending on when i applied for the job. i tried to apply to as many as possible that had something to do with my field of study. eventually, i stopped applying to jobs in my field and tried for just a summer job that will give me money, and even that took two months.  

seven interviews over five weeks and i was finally hired somewhere with an eighth interview later in the week. although i am now officially offered a position at dave and buster's and have an interview with imax remaining, my job hunt will continue in order to see if there is anything better out there for me for this summer. although with the rate that things went over the last two months, i don't really see that happening.

interview update

i'm beginning to hate group interviews.

two of the six interviews i had in the past four weeks have been group interview style. you're essentially asked 2-3 impersonal questions that aren't very relevant to the position and you have to make an attempt to answer them in a way that they see fit. it doesn't seem to matter how much i tell them that i live within a reasonable distance or that i have an excellent attendance track record at every job i've ever had.

group interviews are a waste of time for people like me. at reitmans this morning, there were 4 of us; a girl kind of my age and two older, bigger ladies with 30 years of retail experience a piece. how can i even compete with that? my 2 months of retail means nothing compared to years of experience. there was a question about positive work environments, one about meeting people, and one dealing with communication.. or something. all 3 of which i remember nothing about how or what i answered with. i never answered first in any of the questions either and the one lady sitting next to me interrupted me once that i really didn't appreciate.

the "fun" part of the interview was choosing an outfit for the people interviewing me. both of them were bigger, fashionable ladies and i was intimidated. so i went with a classic, simple look  (of what i could find in 5 minutes in the store) for the scenario of one of them going to an interview and then going to lunch afterwards: black dress pants, a flowery, colourful top, a black cardigan, flowery white sandals and sparkly bracelets. this was okay in my head. it's what i would probably wear in that situation. but neither of the managers gave any feedback to say if my outfit was a good choice. it was also during this part of the interview that i overheard the managers commenting and judging me and the other younger girl because we were "tiny". as in, we wouldn't fit the clothes? we wouldn't fit in with the team of several older, bigger ladies? i don't know, but i think that's pretty uncalled for. it's not my fault that i'm skinny and you're not; that doesn't give you the right to potentially not offer me a job.

seriously, i hate group interviews. one-on-one interviews are the only ones i can seem to handle right now and at least they can get a pretty clear picture of who i am and what i'm like. reitmans, similar to build a bear workshop, does first round group interviews and then second round one-on-one interviews. if i qualify for a second interview, i'll know by friday of next week. but i highly doubt i'll get it.

but in exciting news, i'm now officially a graduate as of yesterday with a bachelor of arts in tourism and environment! but apparently, being a graduate doesn't make finding a summer job any easier.

this week in the job hunt

on monday, i handed out 20 hard copy resumes that made me feel wickedly unsustainable. about half of the places i applied to "weren't hiring but it didn't hurt to leave a resume." i finished off with 5 emails with a nice cover letter and resume attachment. i applied for a few dishwashing, retail/sales associate, spa receptionist, serving, hostess, and the like. i refuse to apply for housekeeping or front desk, the two most seemingly popular job postings that are always available.

i went to build a bear and asked one of the ladies who interviewed me if they had made a decision on hiring. she said she wasn't the one who did the hiring but the lady who does was coming in for the afternoon shift. she wrote down my name and number and said the lady would call me back that afternoon. she didn't.

i also tried to get the job i had last summer back. i've emailed the company a bunch of times with no responses and getting my friends who already work there to try to get me back.  the supervisors/managers kept saying they were doing something in order for me to come back. so i went in to see them after one of their employees quit; obviously there was now an opening for a replacement. i asked and i was told that they had  "over hired" and nobody was getting hours. well, shit, i know that already. it's just like last season: we only got hours on the weekends if that (normally when it was slow, we were sent home) until it started to get busy around the middle of june which started full time hours. i was told the "next time they were hiring" would be july 1st. i really hope i will have found a job by that date.

i sent out 5 more cover letters/resumes yesterday and 5 more today. 2 of those 5 from today were the coveted howard johnson/embassy suites tourist information clerk positions, the ones i apply to every year. the howard johnson one i have applied to twice already earlier in my search; the embassy suites i applied to once earlier in my search. both of these places now have my resume once again. either they hate it or they never get around to seeing it.

today, i received a call from the marriott offering me an interview for a front desk position, even though i never applied for it. i did apply for a hotel information clerk with them which didn't say in the description of the job posting that you were doing any of the front desk duties and you were also helping to set up rooms for conferences/banquets. why they decided to interview me for something completely different is strange, but at least it's a phone call i suppose. i declined for the interview. front desk is not me.

the job search continues for another day.