Work

Did a trial shift for a baking job yesterday morning. I didn't like it. The restaurant is basic southern and they do a a lot of catering. It's all production work, conforming exactly to recipes they've used for years.

Weighing it out, it seemed to me like there were more pros than cons. It's a job where I'd be responsible for certain things, then would get to leave, which I like. It's not tied to hours of service. It pays better. It's a day job. It's baking, not line work. The place is busy, while the Acorn has been really slow lately.

But all I could think of while I was doing it was that my husband would like this job. When I saw him later that day and described the job, that was exactly what he said.

I went to my other job last night and realized that I'm comfortable with it and want to stay, even if it's not a baking job, doesn't pay well and has been ridiculously dead lately. I left at 7:30 last night. We just didn't all need to be there, and the other hourly kitchen person got his hours cut on Monday, so I left.

I think the difference is the people. There is a lot of banter behind the scenes in a restaurant. The Acorn happens to have both an intellectual and a wild crew. We come from a variety of backgrounds. The food and service are upscale and creative. Fine dining tends to get hit hard in a recession and I know this, but it's also a place where I can expand my culinary knowledge. Our chef is young, but really knowledgeable and loves what he does.

Most of all, I fit there.

Not that the other people weren't nice. They were fine, but the banter was kind of ghetto. The owner was out sick. I haven't talked to her yet. I wonder if it will be too weird to ask her if my husband can try out the job. He doesn't have the baking experience I have, but he used to assist me when we had the coffeehouse, and it's about the right level of experience needed.

That may be the problem. This is well below what I am capable of. If I were jobless, I'd jump on it. But I'm not, and now that I am accustomed to working at night, I like it. It has meant giving up evening activities. While I don't go to songwriter nights with Kurt, each day is a day off and I like that. It's better for gardening, writing and doing artwork. But I do have to opt of writer meet-ups, etc.

We have been switching work stations the last few nights. Tonight, we will be busy and I'm working on the hot line. I'm a bit nervous, but it was the only way one of the other guys could get his birthday off. The front of house manager is doing my job tonight. She's excited. She's into costumes. I'm not. I wear jeans and tee shirts to work, but I'm bringing her a chef coat. I think she'll get a kick out of it.