working hard for the money

so, tonight marks the first complete week at work. so far, i actually REALLY like it. it's SO different from the other restaurant i was working at (in the best possible way!!). first of all, it's a cafe. although there is a full dinner menu, in true cafe fashion, the majority of customers just get coffees and sit around chatting. in the states this would probably drive me crazy, since your wage is tip oriented and thus the mentality is "turn and burn." but since australia's wages are much, much higher.... i don't care if someone sips their latte for two hours. in fact, i love it! sometimes it gets quite busy, but during the downtime i just chat with the regulars. i talk about myself a lot, and who doesn't love that? actually, some people get annoyed with having the same conversation over and over. (you know, the whole "where are you from, what are you doing here, how long have you been here, what did you do back home..." etc, etc). i quite enjoy it though. you never know what kind of connections you are potentially making.

that being said, this next week should prove interesting. there is a day staff and a night staff, and i've been working nights. for whatever reason, the day staff is all girls and the night staff is all guys. admittedly, it's much easier to win over guys than girls. and i'm pretty sure the girls (who have all been working there for a while) are going to boss me around and frustrate me to no end. the few times that i've come in around 4 (which is the interim period between day and night shifts), and had to work with the girls for a couple hours.... well.... let's just say it's not the same. they always call me "darling," and whether they're doing it intentionally or not, it comes off as really condescending. it's almost like they think if they tack on "darling" at the beginning or end of the sentence, it excuses the fact that they are bossing me around as if they're my superior.

however, i love the general manager. he's really nice and very accommodating. so if this week sucks major big time, i'll simply tell him i don't want to work mornings unless they really need me. i think he's planning for me to be on nights anyhow.

christmas was nothing special. i worked christmas eve and christmas day, which was fine with me because the weather was crap this week and holiday wages are simply awesome. i did come home christmas eve to my roommate and her friends still partying the night away. we polished off wine till the sun came up, and even though it sounds lame it was actually really fun.
lastly, i have NYE off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm pretty excited about that. i still don't know what i'm doing, but the girls are apparently planning something. should be good. i have to work the next morning at 9 AM though. killer. bottom line: i will be very hungover and every one's going to have to deal. alrighty. gotta get my beauty sleep. early start tomorrow.

toodles!