mm.

work.

today, my friends, was my very first day. i got my own spiffy black cap that says F. G. Meyer Delicatessen, and my very own hairnet. (stylish, believe me.) i worked all day with Luba, a Mexican grandmother of three who’s in charge of the salad bar. i apologised three times in the first fifteen minutes for being in her way as she motored about in the prep area until she finally said “it is no problem, and don’t say sorry or excuse me anymore because you’ll be out of breath by the end of the day.” what really happened by the end of the day was that she had taught me how to smell kidney beans for freshness, how to position meat on the slicer (turkey – horizontal, ham – vertical), how to heat the self-serve soups, how to make chicken salad, how to make croissant sandwiches. (“a quarter pound of meat and two slices of cheese. always a quarter pound of meat, kate, they pay for a quarter pound and they get a quarter pound.”)

i’m kate, by the way, because we already have a cathy and a katherine who goes by katie. we also have a hokulani, an erin, and a yono (the sweet asian lady with freckles who taught me how to shrinkwrap leftover meat). my manager, stephanie, rounds out the female portion of our crew. (she kindly pointed out the peppered turkey i had been frantically looking for, sitting on the shelf right in front of me.) we do have one man. his name is william. numerous jokes flew back and forth about william this morning, but as soon as i asked who he was, hokulani threw back her head with a great guffaw and said, “just wait. you’ll see. he’s … ok. he’s really like a big blubbering walrus that thinks he’s a wolf. you know?” oh, i know.

p.s. i made my first specialty sandwich today!! well, it wasn’t so ‘specialty’ after all BUT somebody ordered it and i made it and i’m quite proud of the fact. to be perfectly honest, all i had to do was layer a quarter pound of roast beef in between two slices of whole wheat bread and slice it into quarters for a two-year-old — no mayo, no mustard, nothing. but still. i made a sandwich.

p.p.s. my feet are killing me. but you know what? i made almost seventy dollars today. people, that feels good. and i don’t have to work on Sundays. that feels so good. thank You, Lord for Your provision. teach me diligence and may i slice every ounce of brown sugar ham (which is oh-so-different from maple-cured ham or honey ham!) to Your glory!