For those two months I’ve worked a full 40hrs/week + at least 2hrs OT/week with the exception of taking one day off for the PCATS. Hours are: M,T,F 6:30-2:30 and Sat,Sun 7:30-4:00 … NO BREAKS. The upside was, I made a lot of money, learned some new techniques in the kitchen, found out that most epicurious.com recipes are really good and can be sold for a lot of money if baked correctly (ex. the basic muffin recipe), and of course, free coffee/espresso/tea/kombucha/wine/beer/food everyday doesn’t hurt.

In those two months I‘ve seen:

- one of the windows get punched in

- the café get robbed (the safe was stolen along with our owner’s “laundry money” aka tin box of quarters that we use for the till)

- the café get robbed yet again (this time during one of the shifts -not my shift- $100 was taken out of the till in broad daylight while my co-worker was in the back looking for “a box for the guy’s dog”)

- the baker get fired (in front of me and two customers might I add)

- someone call my manager a “f***cking asshole!”

- someone write a long ass complaint about my manager calling him “pretentious” and accusing him of “thinking he’s a wine connoisseur even though he is not” … after which, my manager took it from me, didn’t show anyone (especially not the owner who was right there the entire time wondering what the hell was going on), and throw the paper away

- the manager get fired, rant about it, and attempt to get everyone to quit

- a countless number of crazy people. my favorites have been:

…there are so many more it’s reeeedonkulous. ask me later. i have some good stories.

- my owner taking shots of kettle one, stoli vodka, and/or grand marnier + a glass or two of wine/prosecco every morning (from 8am-10am) and throughout the day

- my owner in the same clothes for three days (meaning he slept at the café/in his car those nights)

- my owner flipping out on a daily basis about not making money, everyone sabotaging him, people trying to steal his kombucha recipe, etc

- one of my co-workers being stalked by a creepy guy she didn‘t know (via telephone and in person)

I could go on for a while, but I figured I should stop.

*Side note* Our signage includes an easel holding up a 12x24” black paper designed with a silver sharpie by any one of our staff. We’ve all been told by our owner to write one, even though he’s crazy and won’t put them outside anyway. Also, when we try to put the sign out on our own he’ll take it back inside and blame the café’s lack of customers on the sign. Yes, that is the extent of our signage. Examples designed by me (yes, I know…they look super plain and boring but that is what my owner requested I write; nothing more; nothing less):

Anywho, here’s a picture that should make you laugh:

^this sign was written by my owner’s friend who does not speak a word of English.

He also painted this:

I guess my owner assumed he’d be able to create a sign since he’s one of those starving artists bursting with creativity. Hah.

So here I am in the bay / "yay" area ... From Seattle, my friend and I drove all of my belongings to my grandfather's house in Berkeley. As soon as I got down here I started my job search. I applied for every entry-level lab and research job that I could find. I only got one interview at a location that I could not get to reliably everyday, but it was still an interview. Needless to say, I didn't get the position. Soon after I started getting desparate and switched to my back up plan (applying for food service positions...which had been my "profession" at UW for the past two years). Since I was still studying to take the PCATS on October 20, I was able to put my mind at ease by repeatedly telling myself that food service would definitely NOT become my career.

It was easy enough to find barista/cashier positions close to my grandfather's house. I mean, he does live about ten minutes from UC Berkeley. So I applied like crazy and interviewed at a couple of places. It's funny...I'm pretty sure that many places that I applied to saw "B.S. Biology" on my resume and felt that I was overqualified, while the lab/research jobs I applied to felt as though I was underqualified. For a while I was getting really frustrated, not to mention the fact that I had been out of work for three months and was running out of money.

To sum up a very very long and tedious story, I found a front of the house position at the tiniest cafe/wine bar in the Oakland-Rockridge area. Yah, I know...you hear the work "Oakland" and you're like "That's ghetto." But actually, Rockridge is a nicer part of Oakland where a lot of rich haoles live. I know, I probably sound really stereotypical, but about 85% of my regular clientele are white. Also, I swear to God, everyone in the area either has a baby, a dog, or a bike...to give you a visual, almost 90% of the people that go by are either riding a bike, pulling a baby IN A WAGON (yes, a wagon), or walking a dog. Anywho, the place is tentatively called Cafe Lyon. I say that, because the owner (this crazy Russian guy named Lev) wants to rename it Lev's Kitchen or Lev's Cafe or something. They've been open for four months (to this date) and there is still no sign outside of the building. It's slightly ridiculous.

The way that my interview went at Cafe Lyon was...

Some guy (I did not know who he was b/c he didn't introduce himself): Do you have experience as a barista?

Me: Yes.

Some guy: Okay, come back in two days for your trial shift.

I come in two days later and the owner (not the guy who interviewed me) is there. He starts talking up a storm for about two hours. After that, I was hired. All I can say is that they are damn lucky that I did not lie on my resume and that I am a really good worker or they would've been screwed. The owner literally fired the only other two front of the house workers the day BEFORE my first day of work. I was (and still am) their only employee for the day shift.

Later I found out that the guy who interviewed me is also named Lev, but he was known as "Chef Lev." The owner was referred to as "Russian Lev." But now the owner is just "Lev" because a week after I started to work at the cafe, Chef Lev quit. Since I've been working there (two and a half months now), I've seen 3 people get fired and 4 people quit. I'm probably going to stay for one more month and see if they'll increase my pay enough for me to want to stick around. I feel like I do everything for that place. I open the cafe five days a week and my duties are as follows: make espresso, brew drip coffee and house tea, stuff tea bags with loose leaf teas (as ordered), make smoothies, present & serve wine/beer/kombucha, head wine tastings, cashier, waitress, do prep work for nighttime staff (roll-ups, put away dishes, stock, etc.), inventory, ordering, and if no one is in the kitchen (which happens often) I have to cook the food that people order AND serve them. Our menu is as follows: Roast Beef/Mixed Greens Panini, Grilled Eggplant/Roasted Bell Pepper Panini, Ham & Gruyere Cheese Croissant Panini, Caesar Salad, Beet & Spinach (it was arugula until the arugula kept going bad) Salad with Feta OR Blue Cheese, Hot House Tomato & Mozzarella Salad (it was Heirlooms when they were in season), Green Olives Stuffed with Anchovies, Meat/Antipasto Plate, Cheese Plate, ... there are a few other added dishes but those are our main items. So far I've had to prepare all of them except for the meat and cheese plates (which are mainly ordered at night along with a bottle of wine). Don't get me wrong, I am totally IN LOVE with cooking...especially when you get to plate it all nicely but I mean, cooking AND serving AND holding up the front of the house is pretty difficult.

I could write so much more about this place but I'll save it for later. For now, I have to see if my strawberry muffins are done cooling...it's my manager's last day tomorrow (yep, he got fired too) so I thought I'd bake him some of the amazing muffins that our baker (who yes, was also fired) used to bake every morning.

Here are some pictures of the front-of-the-house:

Currently Listening 1234 By Feist see related

I graduated with a B.S. in general biology from none other than UW-Seattle. I went back home for a couple of months after finals (yes, I skipped graduation because just the idea of sitting in the cold rain for hours without even being acknowledged by name or receiving an actual diploma seemed a little ridiculous). Instead, I opted to go home and celebrate with family and close friends. Anyway, I took those two months to not only celebrate the end of my undergraduate career but to also utilize a much needed break from work.