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.

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.