Summer Plans

Chris: wow, Mark, that'a a very clean waffle iron.
Mark: yes, yes it is.
Chris: in fact, it's ... it's beautiful!
Mark: dude, this waffle iron is so clean, not only can you see yourself, but you can also see the future.
*pause*
Mark: go on, ask it a question ...

As some of you know, I was recently (March) hired at an ice cream store. March, you ask? I know, I was shocked, especially my first night working when it started snowing and we had a grand total of one customer and two girls trying to stay warm while they waited for their parents. Business has picked up a bunch since then, but apparently not enough - the new store manager had to deny me the full-time work promised to me this summer (by the last manager) and so today was spent looking for a new job to fill out the rest of those elusive 40 hours. Hopefully Panera or Dicks will call back tomorrow, but alas, there are no guarentees.

But as for Coldstone, I've begun to enjoy working there. Basically we do one thing: make ice cream. This takes two basic forms: in an ice cream maker, and on a frozen slab of marble. I rather enjoy it, to be honest, except for one thing: the singing. Now, ok, I'm a musician, and I'm supposed to enjoy singing. But when I'm supposed to sing things like:

we're cheerful and we hollar because we got a dollar
we're happy 'cause we all are the coldstone family
da da da dum (hit something twice)
da da da dum (hit something twice)
da da da dum da da da dum da da da dum (hit something twice)

Yes, we're supposed to sing specially crafted songs if we get a tip. It's times like those when I wish I could shrink into the woodwork, but alas, the only options are MDF and marble, and they're too hard for shrinking. Fortunately I like my coworkers, so when it's more than two of us, I'm usually ok with the singing - group humiliation is so much easier to take. Most of the time we don't even have to finish because the customer gets weirded out and makes a break for the door, but sometimes (like yesterday) they say thank you and ask if we're required to take singing lessons.

Sometimes other things happen. We goof off, and get pictures like this:



And this:


Or we get large groups of well-dressed college girls in:



... and I try to set up my teenage coworkers. It's always a no (poor Mark) but it's fun to ask anyway. It's sort of youth-ministry, only stickier.

So that's what I'm doing this summer: work in several places, only one of which has actually hired me yet. I might get to read books that I've chosen (instead of my professors), which will be fantastic, and maybe I'll write about those at some point. We'll be off to CT for my cousin's wedding in early June, and who knows, the baby might show up one of these days. And Sally's coming. Here's to the warm season!