Life as we don't know it

The life of a dedicated part-timer (Part I )

Monday, June 25, 2012 @ 11:09 PM PERMALINK

Ever since I finished with secondary school. I've almost always had a part time job. I haven't had very many (in total 5) because I'm pretty dedicated to them, I guess I just don't give up easily. I hope this will apply to when I start working full time too. :)

My first job ever was with Pan Pacific Hotel. I got the job because one of the boys I knew from St Pats had started working there and told me that he could get me an interview. I went in to speak to one of the managers and got the job. I started the very next day (which was a public holiday, I remember this cause I had a fight about it with my boyfriend at that time)

I was a waitress with the buffet restaurant. I always did morning shifts and I think working hours were from 8am-5pm. I believe my pay was $7/hr.

We worked on a pay slip system and the counter staff had to sign our slips when we came into work and the management would sign our slips when we left. Pay days were Wednesday and Friday.

My job was to clear plates, re-set tables, pour coffee & tea and polish cutlery.

I went to work every morning and had to change into the world's most unflattering uniform for a skinny 17 year old. My uniform consisted of a too large white shirt, a too long black skirt, an oversized vest, nude pantyhose and black flats. It was also the first time I had to wear makeup.

I remember on one of my first days, the very fierce supervisor walked by and demanded I see her in her office space. She then shouted at me to 'stop looking like I was at a funeral'. I was terrified of her, she was always shouting. It felt kind of stupid smiling while standing there and looking into space but I learnt to do it anyway.

Apparently, I was a good waitress and they wanted to shift me up to the pool bar but I was too small for the uniform. So I stayed on breakfast duty, pouring hot beverages and clearing plates.

I always hated to be the coffee/tea runner because the pots were too heavy for me and I always felt like I would spill hot drink on the customers and get told off. I never did, thank god.

I unintentionally threw away a ton of sauce dishes when I scraped the plates and somehow had the strength to stack and clear as many plates as some of my older colleagues. I was just lazy, I hated having to return to a table to clear it a second time.

I would normally have to change my uniform by lunch time because I always ended up dragging my too long sleeves through something.

I always left my name tag on my uniform at the end of the day and always had to buy nude stockings from the uniform counter because I always forgot to bring mine. I also had the nasty habit of almost forgetting my pay slips in my pockets and always having to rush back to dig through the laundry bin for them.

I spoke a lot of mandarin during these times. There was a super sweet older lady whose name was Ivy who always helped look out for me and a girl named Estee who used to seem to be very amused by me. Estee was always super cheerful. We both went to Singapore Polytechnic in the end and I used to say Hi to her when I saw her around.

I remember meeting a nice British lady who I remember coming in for about 4 days. She was always nice to me and asked about my future. On the last day of her trip, she left me a tip and told me that she "thought I was a very smart and capable girl". She told me to promise her that I would not continue to be a waitress for the rest of my life even though it was a great job for the experience.

I also remember this Japanese lady who was always one of the first people in every morning. She came by for breakfast for what seemed like 2 weeks. Sometimes she was with a child, sometimes she came alone. She always drank green tea and miso soup. She never really spoke but she always smiled and acknowledged me when I served her. I remember one morning she came in and she was in tears. I didn't know what to do. I didn't think she would want to be disturbed so I slipped her a napkin and tried to channel 'I hope you are okay' vibes to her.

I also remember a family who used to come in and demand that we get the food from the buffet line for them and had all sorts of stupid questions and requests like "What is in the buffet line?" and "Get me some eggs, scrambled, but not too much and not too little too" I really disliked that family.

I spent quite a large amount of time at that job and made quite a bit of money. Money that 17 year old me did not know how to save. I spent it all on clothes and taxis.

I made quite a few friends but I never kept in contact with them. I have come across some that are now friend of friends but apart from that, I don't think I would recognize any of them if I saw them on the street. I'm not sure they would recognize me either.

Strangely, as I type this I can remember a shit ton of details and names of my colleagues but I cannot for the life of me remember what the restaurant was called. Oh, scratch that. I just did. It was called Summer House Cafe. It still exists now but I think it's moved to the atrium and in its place is a fine dining joint. ( That's what I've heard at least)

I remember that when I was leaving the job the ladies at the uniform counter measured me and told me that they were going to use my measurements for the new batch of XS uniforms. They said that there were a lot of girls my size who needed uniforms that fit.

I sometimes still wonder if the banquet staff uniforms at Pan Pac are actually based on my 17 year old measurements.

I wish I had pictures to share but this was BEFORE smart phones and I believe any picture I did have have been lost along with all my other post secondary school photos. :(

URGH, I seriously need to fix this template, its really giving me a shit ton of problems.

Labels: nostalgia, work