Friday, September 21, 2012

My New Job

I'm at the Starbucks on the Syracuse University campus. While I'm typing this post my iPhone 4S is plugged into my MacBook and the iOS 6.0 software update is downloading. I like this Starbucks because of the free WiFi, the lively ambience and the fact that there's lots of cute college guys, as well as a lot of vegan-friendly restaurants in the area.

I'm very sorry that I haven't blogged in a long time. I can't think of a good excuse except to say that I just felt like stopping, but now I'm back. The most recent change in my life is the addition of a new job. I got hired by a 100 percent vegan restaurant two weeks ago. It's about a 20 minute drive from my house and I've been working about four days per week. I mostly work the closing shift and right now the only things I know how to do are the dishes and making milkshakes and shots of espresso, but I was told by my boss that they're going to "fast-track" me onto other responsibilities. I feel very nervous and insecure here because I don't know how to do a lot and it's quite different from my job at Dunkin' Donuts. Speaking of Dunkin' Donuts, I'm going to continue to work there about twice a week, on my days off from my new job because it's more money in my pocket and I get to keep my health insurance, plus if my new job doesn't work out I can return to more full-time hours at Dunkin'. 

My new co-workers are okay. I have a few female co-workers but most nights it's an all-male crew and they're all straight and love to talk about women and all things related to heterosexuality. I think they assume I'm straight, but I haven't expressed much interest in the women that come into the restaurant or about sex in general. I almost came out last night and said that I'm gay, but I was too scared. The context for me almost doing that was that they asked me about why I don't have a girlfriend, particularly why I'm single. I'm an average looking guy and I'm relatively normal so it's a fair question to ask. I downplayed the question by stating that I'm happy being single because I like my freedom, which is somewhat true. I went on to say that if the right "person" came along I'd want to take it slow and see if we were compatible before pursuing a more romantic relationship. I did purposefully use the gender-neutral word "person" so hopefully they got the hint. I just want to be myself at work. I don't want to pretend to be straight. I want every aspect of my life to be honest and transparent. 

Anyway, that's about all for now. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment and/or ask questions.

1 comment:

  1. The new job sounds challenging. The thing about Dunkin', I suppose is that most things are pre-set, so most food items just have to be assembled — and heated if necessary. But I assume that the vegan restaurant involves more actual preparation for a lot of items, with more cooking methods. The new job will probably work out fine, but it's good to have Dunkin' for the extra income and as a fallback.

    Of course your co-workers don't have a right to know about your orientation, but it's good not to actually lie about it. Maybe they asked the question because they were wondering, but you don't have any obvious effeminate mannerisms, so all they can do is wonder. Anyway, no need to come out officially unless you feel like it. I think I probably would have handled the question about the same way.

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