Burrito Lady

Welcome to your new part-time chain food-service job! My name is Lucy Rose. I will be your Orientation Person today. I will help you navigate your new job like how to feel cute and look feminine when dressed like a man in the workplace uniform. Or how to not lose your mind when being yelled at by angry people who are taking out their rage on the person assembling their tacos. 

Alright. Taking a tiny break from the sarcasm: I'm excited this week, because I started my new job! Yes. I have a new job! I've decided not to mention the name of my new workplace just in case my information gets intercepted by Vladimir Putin. Who am I kidding. Vlad already knows where I am at every hour of the day. Stalker. Whatever. No, it’s really just cuz I just don't want to get in trouble for blogging about work. 

Let's just say starting this Wednesday I am now making burritos on a professional basis. A few weeks ago I finally started feeling ready to look for my next non-DoorDash job. It's been about a year since I lost my last retail job. I was content doing DoorDash up until about a month ago when I just started craving more stability and structure. I also felt ready to start working with humans again. 

Ever since my job working as a Certified Nursing Assistant in the epicenter of human grimness (still haven't felt ready to blog about that adventure yet...but someday. I hope!) I made a pact with myself to become more choosy about where I work: including research the companies, scout out the locations for "vibes" and make sure it is something that I can do for a while and not burn out immediately. 

Initially I decided to apply to Aldi, because I have grocery experience and I really like their company. They treat their people well and everyone I know who works there likes it. But while I was waiting on a word from Aldi I did a DoorDash to The Burrito Place. They had a sign-up sheet out for hiring and I felt this weird feeling, like "May as well. I like this company and they have values I can get behind. Worst case scenario nothing comes of it." 

A few days later I got a call and went for an interview. I got the job. But I also did my homework and had good vibes about the atmosphere created by the employees. There are several Burrito Places near my house and I have DoorDashed to all of them. Most of them had been rude to me and irritable every time I dashed at their location. But the one I applied to always gave me a good vibe. 

(Aldi actually contacted me for an interview the same day I took the burrito job! But I was already pretty certain I wanted to do burritos instead of stocking Aldi shelves so I turned down the interview.)

Yeah! So now I'm a Burrito Lady. I'm really excited about it. This first week has been hard work; physically and emotionally. But I can already feel a rush of energy from having this new challenge and the confidence of finally being able to contribute to our family financially again.

I have been pretty isolated the past year. When The Panini hit in 2020 I got a mild case of the illness, which then seamlessly blended into a mental health breakdown that lasted a few months. 

My mental health hasn't been that low for a long time. I didn't leave my apartment for about two months. I started to come out of it in July—around the time I found therapy and cut off a friendship that had become increasingly toxic and all-encompassing. 

I couldn't see myself being able to handle another "real" job at the time. DoorDash was such a good buffer. I'm so grateful that my husband and I had enough resources for me to take that time to heal and work on getting better. 

Not everyone has the luxury to take that much time between jobs to get help. And even then, being able to afford good help and having access to healthcare through Sheldon's job is also a miracle.

My new job as a Burrito Lady is not "glamorous". And it technically has nothing to do with my career as an artist and cartoonist. It is an entry-level job. Most of my new coworkers and managers are younger than me. But I'm so grateful to have this job.

I am writing this on my day off between training days at The Burrito Place. I've done two full shifts so far. They really took it out of me, but I also like it so far. Of course there's workplace drama, stressful lunch rushes and my body isn't used to the work yet. But I respect the way this company operates and I like the vibe. I've been made to feel like a valuable team-member, not a random weirdo who keeps F-ing up all the burritos.

(Cue flashback to my glorious CNA days when I was treated like hot juman garbage by my coworkers for a month until I could “prove” myself and quit asking “stupid questions” aka normal questions you ask when you’re new to a workplace. Haha! I’m not bitter. Why do you ask?)

Folks have been patient and kind as I'm learning the ropes. (No one cursing me out while I change an adult diaper?! Bliss!) And I can't tell you how huge that is for me as highly sensitive flower child (band name? autobiography title? hmmm...there's something there. folk-duo name? We can workshop it.)

Well, I've pretty much typed myself out. I think I'm going to quit talking and maybe make some drawings to go with this post. Maybe. If I feel like it. 

Thanks for listening. It means a lot. 

Love,

L🌹

This is just a test to see if the email subscription thingy works.

 UPDATE: I’m pretty sure it does not. Poop.

Well, that was a waste of adrenaline.

 

Well that a was a waste of adrenaline slash pit sweat. Got to my new job and they were like, “Who are you, M’am?” And I was like, “It is I! Your new coworker!!!” And they were like, “???” And then we all figured out collectively that my new boss had texted me an hour before to let me know that he switched the day. But I of course did not check my texts because I was in full fledged adrenaline fueled nerves mode and ain’t nobody got time to check TEXTS! So yeah. I sat there like an idiot while we figured it out. The good side is I had enough time to draw this self portrait and they gave me some consolation food as an apology for me coming in on the wrong day. Well. I hope this was just a nice practice run and an opportunity for me to sweat out all my gross fear sweat.

Hi Guys. I’m using my phone to write this.

Good morning! I’m just sitting in my back room. I’m starting my new job at 1 today and my pits smell like onions because I’m nervous. My nervous pit sweat is rank, y’all. You’re welcome for that info. Anyway. I’m doing a load of laundry and making a comic to keep my mind off of being nervous. My new comic is for Instagram. I’m increasingly annoyed by Instagram. That’s why I’ve been posting up a storm here on Ye Olde Blorg. I’m trying to work out how to channel my Instagram posting energy to my blog. I think I’ll probably write more about this exchange later. For now just a few shots of my day. I moved things around in this back room. I store all my art crap here and I removed this big ol’ desk I have. The desk was bringing me down. I felt like I could never be in this room because the desk was screaming at me the whole time: “Hey you! You better make some SERIOUS art over here on my surface. Otherwise what the f*ck are you playing around like an amateur artist for, you lazy b***h!?” Yeah. It was a really rude desk and it had to go. I hope I can get $40 for it though. I’ll probably have to duct tape it’s mouth shut long enough to convince a buyer that it is a polite desk. Anywho. What am I doing. Oh yeah, photos! Here you go! Gotta get up and figure out a way to mask my pit stench from my new coworkers. Wish me luck!

Getting Out There Again

 

I'm feeling good right now. A little over-caffeinated. But good. Plus I did the caffeine thing to my own self, so, I can't really complain. I just did three brave (for me) things in a row. I went to the store where I used to work as a smoothie bar person and asked a former coworker to be a reference on a new job application. Then I applied for a new job. Then I asked ANOTHER old coworker from a different old job to also be a reference for me. 

That was really hard for me. I guess that's why I guzzled up all that caffeine. I needed the liquid courage. Asking people for help is scary for me. And getting out there and applying for work again is also really scary. I got hurt at my last retail job. I really loved my job there. Technically my job ended because of the pandemic, but the actual mechanics of losing the job left a bad taste in my mouth and I have avoided putting myself back out there ever since. 

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Ug. I can't seem to find my footing again when it comes to blogging. What should I write about? What format works for me now? What kind of art style? What do people care about? Clearly the whole premise of a blog about myself and named after myself is highly self-indulgent. Which in a way is great, because it means I have complete freedom: I call the shots here, Baby! This blog can be whatever! But I'm kind of lost. I don't know what to talk about. I tried doing a series again, but I petered out. I have a hard time being consistent. So now what? I don't know.