Brew

So I am back to being a Barista on weekends. Well sort of. As yet I haven't actually made any coffees but instead have mainly been waitressing.

Due to me going permanent this month things are tight with money as I will be going from a weekly paycheck to a monthly paycheck. To ease the squeeze I got a second job for the weekends at a cafe/restaurant called BREW over at Clapham Junction which is a few suburbs and a short bus ride over from my place. I got the gig through a friend of a friend and started last weekend. My first weekend went pretty well as I was given the job of running the food out and clearing tables. It was pretty easy going and it was good to meet a bunch of new people. As always - there are a few Aussies and Kiwis which helps for having common ground and something to chat about.

The cafe is really popular with heaps of people actually lining up and waiting up to 30 minutes for a table. The food is pretty basic but extremely delicious as I have been lucky enough to test it out and if I wasn't working there its the kind of place I would want to go for breakfast. Even though we only have around 20 tables we managed to turn them over pretty quickly and so far I haven't really seen a quiet patch. They even try and combat the weather by having heaters and blankets outside for the tables on the pavement so that customers can enjoy the Autumn sunshine but be shielded from the cold.

The downside of working two jobs is of course not getting a social life on the weekend but right now its more important that I earn money instead of spending money so it works pretty well as a distraction. The other downside is the pay. I will get extra tax so the already meager wage of 6.50 an hour drops to around 5 an hour. While I will never be a high roller earning this kinda sterling it will be enough to buy my tube pass and some food while I wait for my first real paycheck. Once this month is out of the way it will help me save up for my trip to Austria, the rest of my Glastonbury ticket, get some money behind me and kick start my travel fund for next year. I also get the added bonus of tips and after my first weekend I managed to get 16 pounds worth which grabbed a few groceries and paid for a cheap Tuesday movie ticket. Hopefully the job doesn't interfere too much with me discovering the city but as it is only day time hours I still have the night times to catch up with friends and have exciting tales to blog about! It also gives me an excuse to leave the house in the winter months - otherwise this blog would be about my hibernating in my trackies!