Feels Like A Lifetime Ago

Today, thanks to some very generous help, I set out to craft a resume to send to Italian Wine Merchants, a gorgeous wine store in Union Square. It's the sort of place where I'd feel ridiculously cool just to learn at their feet. So, I had to call to mind some experiences I hadn't though of quite some time, my restaurant jobs. I've worked in three restaurants in New York, all while in college. Even though it hasn't been more than a year and a half since working in a restaurant, it took a while to even remember which summers I worked where, and for how long. It seems like a completely different world, and, in a way, it always felt like that while I was working in restaurants, too.
Going from Barnard to the Popover Cafe, for example, while only 20 blocks down on Broadway, turned me into a person I almost didn't recognize. At college, I was confident, surrounded by people more or less like me, at similar ages and with like interests. We were all moving toward the same goal, and everyone juggled classes and was looking towards a certain type of life. Even in my job now, being out of school, I'm surrounded by men in suits all day, all of whom went to business school and live in either Murray Hill (if they're under 35) or Connecticut (if they're not).
In restaurants, at least the ones I worked in, I was never surrounded by servers like myself, students working on weekend nights to make some extra money for nights at bars and daytime shopping trips in the Village. I worked with single mothers, college dropouts, one memorable gay "freelance stylist" who claimed to have dressed Soledad O'Brien (and called me fat whenever he got the chance), and countless strange and listless other people.
I was almost always reserved, feeling more like a spectator than anything else. On the instances where I did let my guard down more than usual, I felt as if I could be, and was being, a different person - maybe a departure from my usual life. The expectations of working in that sort of environment were completely unlike the demands I made of myself at school, with literally no overlap. So strange to imagine how many hours I spent at those places, and how little of it I can place in my mind. Something tells me that, if I'm lucky enough to get this second job, I'll feel very differently learning about and selling amazing Italian wines than I did serving the equivalent of Eggs Benedict in a popover.
In other news, I have my first volunteer adventure this weekend. My volunteer orientation at 826, Dave Eggers' non-profit to encourage creative writing in children, is on Sunday, to be followed by Storytelling & Bookmaking. Awesome.

And, finally...The TV in my area at work is tuned to CNBC all day, so, of course, I watched the entire Goldman Sachs hearing yesterday. Tragically, because I leave work at 5, I missed Lloyd Blankfein. For reasons I can't quite explain, I find him absolutely hilarious. Luckily, so do the ridiculously funny people over at New York Magazine. They brought this to my attention. Enjoy.

Until tomorrow!!

PS. I absolutely love the emails and comments. Keep them coming!