June 25, 2012
Beach bash
My job is horrible. The way going to work makes me feel, you'd think I was being tortured everyday. The work isn't even hard! It's the same shit I've been doing for almost five years. The people are pretty nice too, so I don't know why I have these terrible feelings about the place. Perhaps it's because I'm in this weird state of limbo where I'm the new girl, and yet I'm not new. Or perhaps it's because I swore I would never work at Panera again. Whatever the reason, thinking about going puts knots in my stomach. I really hope to find a new job asap. September is my deadline.
Saturday night was my second day and my first close at this new cafe. It was a breeze. I liked the manager I was working with and the other girls were nice and helpful. My dish room was spotless and I was determined to be out half an hour early. Then I met the sink of doom and my night went downhill from there. The sinks at this cafe are the crappiest sinks I've ever encountered. They don't drain. You have to shut down one sink, open up the other two, and wait ever so patiently for the water to sloooowly whirl down the drain at about a quarter inch and hour. Two of my sinks were brimming! Then you have to use a plunger to encourage faster drainage. It was the most ridiculous thing I've encountered at work in my life. Oh, and then the mop sink had a leak in it and when everyone drained their mop buckets it just ended up all over my floor. I was the last person out. My manager made me clock out without finishing and sent me home. He did it because labor was bad (high volume cafe my ass), but I still felt ashamed for not completing the job.
When I got home I was wet and my entire body hurt. It hurt so bad I wanted to cry and barely made it to the shower. I'm used to standing all day at work, so I don't know why I was in so much pain. I felt the same yesterday when I got off, too. TJ's mom tried to tell me that I'm not used to the work, but I've left Panera on a few occasions and returned and my body never reacted this way, which is another reason I want to find a new job.
Plus, the scheduling manager and I are going to have issues. Last week I wrote down my schedule. I don't need to write it down. As soon as I see it, it's burned into my brain. I've always been good at memorization. But I write it down to avoid mistakes. Better safe than sorry. So yesterday I was supposed to get off at 2. I was all set to go. My station was cleaned and stocked, my dining room run was complete, and I checked out with my coworkers. When the managers gave me the green light I decided to check out the schedule before I left. It said I wasn't supposed to get of til 3! I checked my phone to make sure I wrote my schedule down right, and I did. The schedule had been changed since last time I looked. I brought this up with the manager on duty and she told me I must have misread it, and that they don't change it once it's posted. That is bullshit! I always double check my schedule before writing it down, and at my old cafe they used to change times on it all the time to fix labor. I was so pissed, I stammered some excuse to leave early anyway, which was fine because we were slow. But still! The nerve of her to tell me that I was the incompetent one. I know the schedule was changed! Next time I'm going to take a pic, which is what TJ suggested lol.
New job please hurry and come my way!
But other than that little incident, yesterday was really nice. As soon as I got home we had to leave for TJ's parents' house. I drove because the boy lost his wallet, which was fortunately found by a friend. TJ's mom cooked lasagna and made us salad, then the four of us piled into their van and headed for the navy base. This might sound momish, but I love their van. It's some sort of Honda and is just so spacious and comfortable! Anyway, the navy base was having a beach bash with two local bands playing alongside Bowling for Soup. It was an alright concert. At the end, everyone sat on the beach and watched fireworks. That was a treat. I don't think I've seen fireworks since high school! My favorite ones were the gold ones. They crackled in the air longer than all the others and left your heart pounding, they were so loud. Then we all crowded back into the van and went home.
TJ and I were hungry again, but since I just started working I have no money for groceries and our kitchen is quite empty. But he made us some grilled cheeses and they were fabulous. Despite work, it was a wonderful Sunday. But now I have to go back and close tonight. I really wish I could do opens instead.
I hate it!
scullerymaid at 11:06 a.m.