Back to the juggling...

...of jobs, that is.

I went to a friend's birthday celebration last week, which happened to be at the last restaurant that I worked at 8 years ago. I was a server there for two years, in the time right before I fell into animal services. It was a decent enough gig; fun people to work with, good food & brew, and it paid the rent with fewer hours than I put in now. Of course, having a chunk of cash in my pocket usually meant that it got partied away. Given that I missed out on a lot of partying in college (working 2+ jobs & taking classes full-time), I felt justified in making up for it in my mid-to-late twenties here in Chicago. Boy, did I ever make up for it! (See prior posts' hintings at tequila misadventures).

Anyway, I was chatting it up with my old manager, going over old times (isn't it interesting how the distance of time can make even the mundane seem nostalgic?), and I told him about my leaving my green apron job, and about going to school, and about how I missed having the flexibility of a second income. Then he offered me my old job back part-time. I was really surprised; I know that the downturn of the economy has not been kind to the restaurant industry. That, and more and more people are turning to second jobs to save their ship. But the offer was sincere-I got confirmation yesterday that I'll start retraining Sunday.

Bring the black pants, the black shoes, a supply of pens & a notepad. The shirt and the gumbo apron will be provided.

On the one hand, I've really enjoyed the time that freed up once I scaled down to a single full-time job. I'm a little sad to know that there will be less of it available to me for knitting, movies, coffee with friends. That said, there are school expenses coming up, vet care to pay for (discounted does not mean free, yo), not to mention wanting to take more writing and theatre classes down the line. I worked damn hard to get myself out of debt and have no intention of seeing that build up again. It's been my experience that you can have time, or you can have money, but only rarely do you have both. So then comes the compromise, so then comes the striking of a balance. I'm ready to concede the one for the other, for the time being.

And you know, going back to something you did before gives you the opportunity to see where you came from, and how you've changed. I'll visit my late 20s self and see just how different, and just how similar, the late 30s self is to her.

Plus, the gumbo is great there. Good, good stuff. Come by to see me and have a bowl-just don't forget to tip!

-C.