Work Updates

I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Have I said this too many times now? I work at a historic curling club-- do you know about curling? Have you seen it on the Winter Olympics, or do you get Canadian TV where you live? Well, we have a curling club in my town that goes back to 1885. And I am the bartender! I absolutely love these people. I talk and talk and talk to them and may I be so bold as to say they love me! "Hiya Joy!" "Joy's here!" "Joy, whats your next haircolor gonna be?" "Joy's here, we finally get to drink!" (6:01 pm, totally joking with me)



I have alot of responsibilities, but now that I know what to do, I feel so proud to keep a nice bar and kitchen and have answered the phone, too--these old guys are PRANKSTERS! They call up to the club and pretend to be so-and-so's "boyfriend", or they ask for married women, just to stir up "trouble"-- it is just like Cheers, in a way--except it seems to me that 90% of the people there are "Good Old Joe, John, Bill, Henry...." from forever. So I am just trying to get all their names straight but I love them all. I have yet to meet ONE person who isn't super nice-- even one guy who was kind of gruff to me opened up one night and told me this SAD SAD life-story kind of thing (he had one glass of beer) and now we are bonded!



It isn't all old guys, there are plenty of women and a good deal of younger folks. This is very cool. Unlike a lot of other jobs I have had, where the women are sort of snipey and snooty and clique-y, these ladies are just, cool! They tell me about their cats and their gardens, their husbands and jobs, their cars and their curling injuries, their new shoes and their holiday plans. They trust me with their purses and their cell phones and I keep an eye on all this stuff for them even though they have lockers. I am better at remembering the women's favorite drinks and treats than the men's, although I don't get why yet. There is one young girl who has blue streaks in her hair, which prompted me to tell my bartending superfriend that I used to have blue hair, but I had to get rid of it for job-hunting, and she was like DO IT AGAIN! So I did-- but this time green. Everyone loves it, even this one lady who is quite austere and quite a high ranking female in the club looked me over very sternly the night I walked in with short green hair, looked me over, and did not say anything. Crap! I thought. Maybe it was too soon to do this, they don't really know me yet....



But a little later that night, she came up to me and said "Turn around." and I did, and she said in the same serious voice, "Your new hair is completely darling. I could never do that. Very very cute."



!!!

So, so much for worrying about hair. These people want someone who is nice and cheerful and who makes them feel welcome at their bar. It is a members owned club, and this is the first year they have even had a bartender every night so they are happy! I make popcorn in the big machine, I know alot of drinks now, and mostly, I pour pitchers without any head on top, and I talk talk talk to them all. They keep telling me that I need to get out on the ice, and I laugh. Maybe someday. For now, I am happy to keep all these nice people happy, and I am forever grateful for my friend who got me this ridiculously nice job. it took me a solid 2 weeks for it to sink in that there was no mean boss there was no scariness, there was nothing to be nervous about, and this was not one of those nightmare jobs. I think I carry myself like someone who truly wants to be there, and that hopefully shows, because I do. I am already sad for it to be over in the spring. I work Monday Wedensday and Fridays from 6pm until midnight.

I also have been working all day Saturdays downtown at my friend's technology lab doing office work. It is super boring yet mostly therapeutic and relaxing rather than tedious. We chat some but mostly we are quiet.

So, I am a "stay at home mom", and a "working mom". I look forward to Sundays and Tuesdays when I get to see my husband! Ta ta for now...