My new job...
IS AWESOME!
And painful. That's the hardest I've worked my ankle since the last break. And my back feels like I got hit by a large pickup... twice. The shift change is still killing me; I was barely hanging on by a thread by the time we were wrapping up.
It's a restaurant up front, doing pizzas & sandwiches & pastries. There's a half dozen people working up there at any given time. The back 1/2 of the building is my domain - after training it'll be just me back there. There's 2 of us for the job, I'll have 4 days on, 3 off, 3 days on, 4 days off. (But he made it sound like I might be able to snag a few more hours if I want them.. maybe doing straight 4-3's) During the peak summer & winter season, I'll get an assistant on some days, but I still run the show. It's all rustic baking - loaf breads, focaccia, baguettes, sour dough, french dough breads, bagels, buns & rolls. I make all the breads for the restaurant up front & provide orders for the local grocery store as well as some restaurants in the area. It's almost like 2 different places in the same building - no one really comes back into my area & I rarely have to go anywhere up in their section.
It wasn't that difficult of work - rustic baking is rustic baking, follow some recipes, set some timers & read the dough - but they were all making a huge deal out of how fast I was picking it up. The hard part is learning the new recipes & getting the flow down. The owner (who is training me) is super awesome. He has a ton of respect for his people & is just a cool guy all around. He has high expectations where he needs to & is super laid back about everything else. The people are really nice too. Can't remember hardly any of their names... but there's the guy with a big
beard & dreadlocks... and that other guy with a
beard and dreadlocks... and this other guy with a big
beard and dreadlocks... and that other person with dreadlocks, but she doesn't have a beard... yeah... I work with a bunch of hippies mostly.
All in all, I haven't been this happy starting a job.. maybe ever. Now I just gotta get these old bones from convincing me it's past my bedtime at 11 so I can power through that last hour or 2. Tonight... there shall be coffee. Muchos coffeeos.