end of chocolate dream

omg look at that shipment on left corner...

6-7 stacks high...

often i feel as if i have somehow extended my childhood right into the present.  despite of all that education (haha), i still dream about doing and learning something new, especially the things that you cannot and will not learn in formalized schools- such as stone paving/yard work, making pizzas at home from scratch, etc.

and this winter, i took a look at my life and thought:
1. i could use some extra cash for dental bill,
2. i never done retail work.

and as fall term tends to roll in slow (till point of avalanche in winter term), back in october, i dropped off my resume at lindt and a shop-display (like shopping mall santa display) building shop.

the building shop, i thought it would be super cool to go back to working with power tools and build something in reality. sturdy, heavy things.

why chocolate?

i wanted to learn something from immensely popular and successful international corporate. and in my mind, chocolate had much similarity to classical music.

1. no one really needs it.
no one will die because they dont have any.

2. not everyone likes it.
i dont like chocolate, for instance.

3. you can pay from free to expensive.
just like concert/record prices.

4. people do consume it quite frequently, for pleasure.
as no one really needs to 'buy' of 'need it to live.'

5. it does not last.
experiences, or ahem, a extra poundage might though.

on my interview date, i was totally sure that i totally bombed the interview. i was sure that when i got a call back, the only reason i got hired was that i 'seemed' punctual. HAHA.

working in retail industry during christmas high season may sound like a sadomasochistic experience. some days, it really was (mostly to do with people who forget that workers are also people with their own lives); some days, i dragged my feet to get to the shop for 6am call for shipments (did you realize those chocolates come in pellet packs, like kilos and kilos of them at a time? i didnt!). some times i was happy to make someone happy. some times i wanted to slap them on the face with dirty shoes (i managed not to).

i worked there for duration of 104 days, (first day on 04 october), and just had my last shift on monday, till 2017 holiday season (i wrote that i would love to come back, and they wrote to let them know once im back for the fall! yay)

i spent about 35% of my earnings at the chocolate shop on gifts for others. funny enough, that is also our standard rate of employee discount (35%).

i met a few lovely people who comes in regularly.

i also met a few super cheapos who demanded samples, pressured to make returns (because we sell food items, we dont do returns), yelled at our faces because of... something, and people who continued to steal stuff, day after day...

but the most impressive were my co-workers. their dedication to doing it right, really impressed me.  being on time, being responsible, being graceful in the face of self-centered-customer-melt-down.

in music world, i hear (including myself) often complaining about our 'values.' mostly about how we dont get paid enough.

most of my co-workers at the shop, im sure, of course, just like all of us, would like to earn more.  but i really did not see anyone with less-than-perfect dedication during their shift. this was eye opening, heart-touching. so many times, during my shift, i realized that it was me, who needed attitude adjustment- to be kinder, real and reasonable...

so much thanks to them.

im gonna visit them in near future with a few gifts i think. i learned a lot. and i got to practice what i learned. humility. grace. and toughness.

and their dreams, i hope all their dreams will grow one day, so that they may grow branches further towards the sky. they really are lovely people.

thanks, lindt. see you in the fall 2017!