New Job

So, back in late June, I had an interview with Taco Bell. Seemed to go okay.

The next day, I was going about my day, and at some point checked my phone to discover I had a missed call from Taco Bell. Called them back, and they said they were going to offer me the job.

Me? Actually getting a job? This must be a parallel universe.

Anyway, the manager said she was going to e-mail me some forms and such to fill out. I followed the link in the e-mail, and spent a while going through things. Then, remembering she said during the interview that I'd need a food handlers card, I looked up the website and went through a bunch of videos and quizzes, followed by the final test. Then I got the actual card, or rather, a pretty file for me to print out. We don't have a printer, so I figured I'd get that done later.

The next day, they called again, and a guy told me that I could pick up my uniform. Then he called back a few minutes later with more details, that I'd have to pick it up before the manager leaves at four, and I'd need to bring a photo ID and Social Security card. Apparently the manager didn't know the message had been passed along, because she called a bit later to tell me the same thing. (cue laugh track in the insane sitcom of my life)

When my brother came home from work, we drove to my aunt's and used her printer to print the food handlers card. Chatted for a short while, then headed to Taco Bell, got everything done there, and ate at a hamburger place. We dropped off leftovers at the house, and then my brother stayed home while Mom and I went out again. Wise man, considering we had to look for clothes, and who knows how long it would take. The provided uniform, you see, includes hat, shirts, and apron. However, you're also required to wear black slacks and all-black shoes, which aren't provided. All of my pants were blue jeans, and while I had black and white tennis shoes, I didn't have any all-black ones.

So we went to Wal-Mart first, where we hunted for black slacks. After a frustrating search that involved many pairs of black skinny jeans and some black yoga/gym-type pants, none of which were what we were looking for, we located some decent slacks. I had looked at sizes on some of my jeans yesterday, so I grabbed slacks that should be in my size. They were too small. So we went back and grabbed some in the next smallest size, and those actually fit. So that was done. Got three pairs of black slacks.

Oh, and the woman who was in charge of the dressing rooms? She was very pleasant. She barely spoke a word, barely made eye contact, acted like she did not want to be there at all. Like, the sort of thing where you almost feel like an inconvenience or annoyance for existing in her presence. Mom said she tried to start a conversation with the woman while I was in the dressing room, and the woman just wasn't interested in chatting with anyone. If she hadn't been on the work phone off and on, I'm not sure we would have heard her voice much at all.

How that woman seemed to feel about her job.

Went to look for shoes, and didn't seem to find much. So we (foolishly) decided to try Famous Footwear. I went in there, and was trying to figure out where to find the kind of shoe I wanted. Saw some stuff on the displays against one wall, but whenever I saw a solid black shoe, I would look at the boxes below it and not see the displayed shoe anywhere among them. I looked at the clearance area and saw one that seemed decent, but when I tried them on, they felt a bit small.

Saw some all-black shoes that were advertised as work shoes, supposed to be non-slip, etc. etc., but after seeing so many sixties on the other shelves, the last thing I wanted to see were even higher prices than that. I mean, I know work shoes are going to be higher regardless, but when you're sitting there wondering what fool decided every shoe in the building should cost a stupid amount of money, you're just... Why did I come in here again?

Went to Target, where they had a lame shoe selection. So lame I kept wondering if I missed something. Then I finally noticed a pair of all-black sneakers. They fit, so I bought them.

I swear, any other time, I would have been tripping over completely black shoes. But since I was specifically looking for shoes that were totally black, I kept finding black shoes with white stripes, white soles...

Now, this trip occurred in summer, keep in mind. And we had a vicious heat wave that summer. So during this whole long trip, it was also hot. So danged hot. Miserably hot. And while Mom and I were shopping, and driving to and from places, some of the traffic lights chose to be insanely long, just to further torture us. We were both so happy when (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles) we got to go home. We relaxed for a bit, and then Mom hemmed the legs of one of the pairs of slacks I got, since they were just a bit long.

So now I was ready to start work. Tune in for the next episode of the thrilling saga, in which our hero enters the land of infinite tacos.