Sunset on the Bakery Battle

I didn’t get a real weekend.  Actually, it was a lovely weekend but there was just so much of it that I woke up really tired this morning.  Saturday I delivered a wedding cake and told my boss that I’d work through the end of May and that would be it for me at the bakery.  Just between us kids, I’ll likely still go back and help out here and there but I knew I’d never get a raise unless I left completely and then made that a condition of returning.  And the girl they hired for me to train came in for two hours a while back and saw my work and tried to decorate a cake with the icing I use.  I’ve never seen her since.  She got totally intimidated but I thought I had really encouraged her strongly, so either I entirely missed that boat on what she was actually feeling or else the intimidation got the best of her.  Either way, it leaves the bakery without a decorator and that’s not cool.  But it’s not my bakery, and therefore not my problem.  Though it is harder to leave without leaving them someone who can take my place.

Sunday we delivered a wedding cake to Luray Virginia which is an hour and a half from here.  I’ve never taken a cake that far.  It was a small casual wedding on a lake and we set the wedding cake up in a picnic pavilion.  I had barely gotten started when the first bugs came and started to hang out on the cake.  A prospect that I do not find appetizing, but that’s just me.  It was a beautiful day with an incredible view.  And the groom was absolutely adorable.  It just seemed like a very casual and comfortable group of really good folks. 

Boss Lady and I stopped at an artisan food place for lunch on the way back and the food was incredible.  (I paid for my own!)  I made the mistake of saying that I didn’t feel like I had worked, that it was more like a day trip.  And she indicated that she was glad I felt that way and something about not needing to get paid for the hours I was in the car.  She said she’d have the Business Manager Elf talk to me about that.  So apparently she’ll sick the “pit bull” on me to see if they can get me to agree to not being paid for working on a Sunday.  If they even seriously try that I will be furious.  Sadly, not surprised, just furious.  I made $50 (before taxes come out) for working Sunday, and spent $57 buying sugar cookies that I had decorated to take to two parties over the weekend.  I got really frustrated with myself for not putting quite a few of those cookies back but BL was standing there breathing down my neck as I was trying to make up my mind.  So I bought more than I should have instead of taking my time.  I was really annoyed with myself for that.  So if they try any weirdness, I’ll just remind them that whatever I earned that day I returned to the till by buying overpriced cookies because I was not at home where I could have made a whole batch for waaaay less.  So with my lunch of $10 and the sugar cookies, I ended up with a net loss on that day.  *grumble*

I’m already at my first job of the day and will head off to the bakery at 10:00 this morning.  After work there I will teach a friend whatever she can learn in the way of cake decorating.  Sadly, she’s leaving the area for culinary school and can’t take my job.  I think she has a natural knack for it though, so I’m looking forward to that. 

This is my last week at the bakery.  After fighting with BL once a week for the last number of weeks over not having the equipment I need to do the job… the battle is about to be over.  I will do my best to end things nicely and leave on an up note.  There are three of us leaving at the same time so it’s a good time to go.  I know I’ve been saying the end was in sight for a long time…  I may have to be a real hard a$$ to accomplish that goal, but I really think this is it.  I hope.  I'm ready for the next thing.

I'll post photos of this weekend's wedding cakes when I get the chance.