All Work, No Play.

Day 1: So I thought I was going to be just a waitress, but it turns out that I was actually hired to be more like a personal assistant to the owner, Nick. I’m basically his right hand man; it’ll be my job to keep notes/minutes throughout the day, organize his calendar, organize his office (which may take me a while because it’s a wreck), help with marketing and social media, input data into the computer, print files and make copies, promote and work various functions (weddings, birthdays, etc), and then I’ll even waitress on occasion too.

Today I was introduced to the “team” I’d be working with at a two-day wedding expo in the city. I’d be working with Catrine and Leigh putting together a booth to set up and attract potential clients who will hopefully book their wedding ceremony and/or reception at our Golden Ox venue. It was mostly planning and putting the final touches on the layout/design today. And then all while doing that I was being pulled in every direction trying to learn things about different programs on the computer which I would be in charge of and other things too.

Let me tell ya, Nick is intense. We literally had at least ten different meetings in the eight hours I worked; some were team meetings, some were individual meetings. But after the first one, they were basically all the same…pointless, and constantly asking how much we’ve gotten done, when in all actuality, we could’ve gotten more done quicker if he would have just left us alone to work together without interruptions every thirty minutes to an hour! Regardless, it was still a good first day.

Day 2: Last night was spent studying the wedding brochure. And memorizing the top selling points about the location of The Golden Ox venue.

I have basically been thrown into the fire and I am expected to know all these things about what The Golden Ox offers in terms of coordination and service, food, drink, decoration, and anything else you could possibly think of for holding a wedding ceremony and reception...by 9am tomorrow when the Expo begins! Luckily I am all into weddings and this kind of thing is what I would love to do in life. 

Some people know, some people don't, but I have two degrees from Central Arkansas. My first was in Business Management, and my second was in Physical Education/Teacher Education. People always ask what I am going to do with my degrees, and to be honest, my dream job would be to be a wedding planner and photographer. Random? Yes. I had no idea that I would be doing anything that had to do with weddings when I applied for this job, but I am so glad that I am. As far as the photography aspect of it all goes...I definitely need to take some classes and learn to use my fancy camera! Then I'll be on my way :) 

Anyways, today I showed up to work at 10:30am and didn’t leave ‘til 9:30pm. The entire day was spent getting the Expo wedding display finalized. At one point, I was given the task of ironing the backdrop. It.was.HUGE. And I was given only an hour to do it. I literally felt like a designer on Project Runway having to race against the clock to beat the deadline before heading to the runway. It was all kind of fun and exciting. And I was just ironing…ha. Then we had lunch, packed up the cars, and headed to the RNA Center to set up.

Five hours later we were all set up for tomorrow! It's crazy how all those boxes that could be anything, or nothing, turned into a pretty good looking booth. 

Can't wait for tomorrow!

Day 3: Wadduuppp thirteen hour work day!? Oh.My.Gosh. Worst best day ever. Nick is very particular/picky about what his employees wear and how their appearance represents the Golden Ox, which is understandable…but it’s almost TOO extreme! 

Because I had to pack light for my trip to Australia, I didn’t get to pack all of my shoes and I had no shoes that Nick found appropriate for work. I have my black wedges, but they are open-toed. I have really nice black flats, but they have leopard print on the toes. I have my Velcro sneaker heels, but obviously those aren’t appropriate. I even have all black boots, but they are too worn for his liking. So yeah, I had to go buy all black, close-toed shoes, with a heel…before 7am today. Do you think I got to spend a lot of time looking and trying shoes on to see if they were going to be comfortable? No. I had to buy quick, and find something that was fairly cheap because I wasn’t making money just yet. I settled for heels from Target. Big mistake…huge. After standing on my feet for eight hours straight (and that’s not an exaggeration) I felt like I could collapse and be fine never wearing heels again…and I LOVE heels, so that’s saying something! 

To top it off, I have to wear those darn AGAIN tomorrow, because do you think I had time to go shopping when I got off work at 9pm? No. Shoot me now.

Not only did I have to stand on my feet in those heels for eight hours, but AFTER the expo I still had to go back to the restaurant and start getting trained as a waitress (for two and a half hours)! Fortunately, Nick took me home and let me change into my uniform and different shoes, but the damage had already been done, my feet were screaming! Once I quit thinking about how bad my feet hurt, I had to focus on everything Liz was trying to teach my about serving food. Ho.ly.moly. Can I just tell you how overwhelmed I felt? Props to all you waiters and waitresses out there, especially the ones who work in the fancy-schmancy restaurants like The Golden Ox! There are so many "rules" that have to be followed to be "proper." 

And that's not even the half of it. To top it off, the Golden Ox has their own way of doing things in order to stay organized and get orders right! It was a busy night too, so it's not like I got to take it all in and process everything...I'm not looking forward to the waitressing part of this job. The first time I drop a tray or clear the table from the wrong side might get me fired. Sooo, uhhh, wish me luck!

"Cast all your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." - Psalm 55:22

XO - Cristin