Alex and Alfie's and Waldos

A jar for my humble tips

On Tuesday I hated my job. I was up before the sun and running to catch the bus with my throat burning, then one of my trainers had me waiting tables already instead of “running” to the kitchen the way I had the day before. In some ways it felt like a first day over again, except that I was treated like I had already learned everything, doing a different job, the day before. Flaws were pointed out in front of other people, including supervisors, like I wasn't standing right there. The good news was that Heather started that day as well, so I got to occasionally talk to her in passing. I was disappointed to find we didn't get lunches together, and that after breakfast she would be in a different section entirely. After work I went around the corner to Gilligan Black Recruitment for an interview. The woman I spoke to was extremely friendly and happy to hear about my experiences writing, working on UFV's "Louden Singletree," and my overall resume. I mean CV. Damn it, I'm still doing that. She said that although she doesn't have any positions at the moment, she would put me on her list of temps. In general the positions are a month long, but are during regular working hours, and they tend to lead to longer employment. I think my willingness to enter into new work situations all the time is a huge mark of how much I've already grown in the last three months. In the past the idea would have caused me a hurricane of anxiety, but now I actually like the idea.

On Wednesday I felt better about the Conrad job because I crashed so early the night before and because I realized I wasn't so much the problem as certain people were the wrong teachers. For whatever reason, the knowledge made everything much easier to deal with. Plus, Brendan, a recent graduate from Limerick who attended orientation with Heather and I, started working in Alfie's Bar and Grill with me. I got to share a section with Heather for breakfast at Alex, then had lunch at the same time as Brendan, then went down to Alfie's with him.

On Thursday the tips were quite good and I went home with ten euros. By the end of the week I had 29 euros. I have never done any waiting tables before, so I'm quite happy with any tips, even if they would be much bigger in Canada. Irena seemed happy to tell anyone who would listen that I was like a mouse at Alex in the morning, but fine at Alfie's in the afternoon. It was very irritating. However, I do feel much better downstairs because I can walk the pub looking for work when there is nothing to do, whereas there is no room for wandering at breakfast and I hate looking like I'm not working. It must show. I hate having to stay on the floor rather than running to the kitchen for that reason and I don't know what others would do differently. Thursday and Friday were very long days, from 6:45 to 4:00, and my feet felt awful by the end of them. I felt like it was a treat to attend the “Recognition Ceremony” and have a seat for half an hour as they awarded the employee of the month with a bottle of champagne. Then we got into a group for a photo and I was handed a plaque and shuffled to the front of the group. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm on the website already.

By Friday Irena and I were both sick of working, and we chatted a little about what we would be doing on the weekends. Sometimes she would rub my back when she asked me questions throughout the day, and on and off seemed more calm than before. She told me most of the employees go out together to celebrate birthdays and such, and that working at the Conrad is the most fun she's ever had at a job. While all of this seemed promising, and my experience with most of the other employees was positive, I'm still dreading going to work tomorrow. I'm waiting to be told off by the new manager after seeing it happen to two other waiters already. I am very grateful to have a job, and I'm very excited for my pay check on Thursday, but every time I start a job like this I feel some hint of discouragement, as if I could, and should, be doing something more challenging. And not the, “Shit, I have to get out of bed right now or I'll miss my bus,” kind of challenging. At least I'll be able to buy shampoo instead of using the bottles Julie's mom, Louise, hoarded from their cruise before Julie visited us. Okay, I'll admit I enjoyed that slight poverty a little bit because it was amusing. And maybe I'll be able to afford a bike and I won't have to take the bus soon. Anyways, I bought insoles for my shoes yesterday so I'll try to be more optimistic about work now.

On Saturday Dale and I pulled together our Halloween costumes and went to Niall and Leonie's party. I was very surprised to find their house unrecognizeable. The walls were draped in black, spider webs and decorations hung from the ceilings, and they even had a room setup for dancing complete with lit jack-o-lanterns and junk food. Niall and Leonie were dressed as a pair of Waldos. We were able to do some catching up with Fionnuala, and I had to explain my costume to everyone because apparently no one in Ireland is familiar with the Paperbag Princess—I wore a brown pillowcase under paperbags with a cardboard crown on my head. I realized too late that Robert Munsch is a Canadian author. Still, it was kind of appropriate considering I am Canadian. The night ended a little roughly for Dale, and the ten-odd minute walk ended up much longer, but it was a good party overall, and I'm now eager to try my dirt-cheap costume again around the fellow foreigners Thursday to see if they know the story.

Yesterday the time fell back one hour, so we recuperated from the party fairly well. I didn't like having to call in to find out my work schedule so last minute, but was happy to find out I had today off. I'm a little concerned for Friday because that's the start of yet another Nanowrimo! I haven't started a new story in ages because the last one went on so long, but I'm mainly worried that I won't have the time or energy for it with the job. But it would certainly keep November interesting! And with that second wolf spider that I found living on my woolen scarf on the wall safely in the vacuum cleaner, and the moldy walls currently at bay, I guess there has to be something to keep me on my toes!