Employed...sort of

When I was still working for EH Publishing, I often worked a second job to make ends meet. One place I had considered applying to on numerous occassions was Sur La Table. French for, "On the table", it is a fantastic cookware and anything cooking & baking related store. I go into this store and get lost for hours, and usually end up wanting to spend a lot of money. This place makes the wheels turn in my head and inspires my culinary creativity.

One of my first thoughts after being laid off was, well if all else fails, maybe I can get a job at Sur La Table. I called the store to inquire about job openings right away. The store manager answered the phone, and I explained my situation and asked if they needed any help. He responded, "can you start today?". I guess they were a little short handed. I did not start that day since I was leaving for my trip to Ohio and would be gone a week, but promised to be in touch. As soon as I got back from Ohio, I stopped by and was pretty much hired on the spot and told I could be in charge of the bakeware section. Hmm that just so happens to be one of my favorites.

Today was my first day. It was tough going back to work after having 3 weeks of doing what I want with no set schedule. It was also a good thing, yesterday I was starting to feel a little isolated and missing human interaction. Retail is always tough. You're on your feet for long hours, the varied schedule can be a challenge, and well the pay.... Overall it was a pretty good day for a first day. Although I couldn't readily locate some items in the store for customers, I was able to discuss cast iron skillets, help a lady pick out dishware for a dinner party, and sing the praises of my Bialetti Mukka to another coffee customer. The customers were engaging. Kind of reminded me of what I used to say about working for Godiva, "you rarely get angry or difficult customers, chocolate just makes everyone happy". Appears to be a similar mind set amoung customers at Sur La Table.

I'm going to have to be careful however, with a generous employee discount and so much culinary inspiration each day, it's going to be hard not to spend large portions of my pay check in this store. Oooh but now I can get those red silicon spatulas I need.