I'm sorry that it's been so long since I last updated this blog (2 months!), but I must admit that I was ashamed to let you know what was going on in my life at the time. I'd had several things that I wanted to talk to you about regarding life in the bakery; ridiculous, annoying and funny things. Then, however, everything in my world got turned upside down.
Toward the beginning of October I was in my 2nd month of work at the bakery and while things weren't going exactly as I thought they would (they never do) I was more or less happy with life. Even though the schedule was never set in stone, I was usually off on Thursdays and Fridays and had settled into more or less of a rhythm. Then on October 8th I got a phone call early in the morning from HR, apologizing for bothering me on my day off, but could I stop in some time that day because the new Operations Director wanted to have a meeting with me. I thought this was odd and I was a little nervous, but I never really expected what was about to happen. I went in around noon, sat down with the Director and the woman from HR joined us, never a good sign. They had called me in to tell me that they were letting me go, I was in shock. I knew that things were stressful around the bakery but I had no idea that my work ethic was going to be called into question. They told me that I was just too slow to work there, and that they really liked me and would be happy to recommend me to anyone, but that they couldn't keep me on anymore. Now I know that I'm not the fastest person in the world, but I was by no means the slowest person on staff. There was one guy who I like to call Mr. KIT (Mr. Know-it-all) who was eventually restricted to just being a mixer because when he was on the floor with the rest of us he was so slow it bordered on the insane. And if you dared to give him any suggestions he would get very defensive and start sniping about how he would get it eventually, and to stop badgering him. As far as I know, he's still employed, but I suppose that's neither here nor there and it doesn't do to dwell on these kind of perceived injustices.
I cleaned out my locker and left, all the while trying to hold my head high and not let on to anyone else who had seen me enter and exit that I was in any kind of distress. I eventually was able to make contact with some of my now former co-workers online and it's good to know that I can still count them as my friends. One was on injured leave at the time and told me that it was for the best as he was unhappy with how things were run there to begin with. The other has been a wonderful source of comfort, telling me how much the guys there miss me and how she wishes I was still there because it's lonely being the only woman on the floor. She even told me that my "waka waka" friend has taken to berating her with the phrase, and seems to be as amused by her refusal to respond with "mole mole" as he was when I would. Now he apparently does this to her all the time, and every time she's doesn't say anything, he just laughs and says, "Oh shit!"
I have some of my own theories about why I was let go, but it would be imprudent to discuss them with you right now. The good news is that I found another job, and within less than a week of being fired from the first bakery. I'm now working for a pastry shop in the Bronx and I can honestly say that I'm better off. Sure, there are things that I don't like, for example the hours suck! I'm usually there anywhere between 3am and 1pm which has me on a reverse sleep schedule that isn't working out so well right now. Also, I'm literally the only native English speaker there aside from the owners, and unlike at my previous job, most of my new co-workers have very little if any English in their vocabulary at all. However, there are a lot of pluses to my new employment. I work Monday to Friday (hello weekends!) and as long as you finish your work, you can leave when it's done, meaning that sometimes I can leave early. Also, we always get out by 11am on Fridays and the pay is better due to my maternally inherited negotiating skills. It's also right over the bridge from where Dave and I live in Queens, so I can drive there within 10-15 minutes every day, as opposed to taking the subway for an hour at sketchy times of the morning/night. It sucks having to pay the bridge tolls every day, but we have ez-pass so we get a discount, plus I use so little gas now that it kind of evens itself out in the end. Also, I seem to have found the only food service job in NYC that not only gives us off for Thanksgiving, but also the day after which means that the hubby and I will be skipping town for the comfort of WNY early in the afternoon on Wednesday.
All in all, things are looking up for us and I promise to share all the coming highs and lows with you. Because really, what's real in life if you don't share it with strangers on the internet? Speaking of which...I was looking through the stats on my blog and apparently I have an unexpectedly strong European following. I have 3 times as many readers from Luxembourg as I do from Canada, and apparently there are a lot of Latvians that are strangely fond of a picture of my husband smelling a loaf of sourdough bread. So I'd like to give a spirited hello to my readers in Luxembourg, Russia and Latvia - I'd love to hear from you if you're so inclined to leave a comment.
And because this is a blog about baking, here are some pictures of the periodic table birthday cake that I made for my husband:
Science is Delicious!
Can you name (and eat) all of the elements?
