Will Work for Kitchen Ware

I don't write about it often, but I love to cook. I love food, in general. I love going out for a great meal, but I love making it at home more. Jake likes to cook, too (don't tell him I admit it, but he's better than me at a lot of things!), so we have fun in the kitchen. As much as I love to cook, I love to shop and as such, I own a LOT of gadgets from Williams-Sonoma. I know it's overpriced and a bit pretentious, but I don't care. I adore the store. I also adore this cookware. I have coveted it for quite some time, but am too practical (and a little bit cheap) to spend that much on some pots and pans. My plan was always to register for it, but then I realized no one in their right mind would buy it for us, so it would just serve as fodder to certain family members to complain. So my solution? I am now a temporary Christmas employee at Williams-Sonoma! I have the official green apron and everything. I had thought about doing it earlier this year, I figured 6 weeks of retail hell was worth a 40% (YES! It's a 40% employee discount!) discount on my pans. However, since I rarely go to the mall the store is in, I never really followed up. Yesterday, I had to go there to return a shirt I bought Jake, so I stopped in. . . wearing no make up, ratty jeans and a fleece. I asked if they were still hiring for Christmas and could I have an application. The response was 'can you stay for 15 minutes so we can interview you?'. I looked down and said 'Well, I'm not really dressed for it, I just expected to get an application.' 'That's not a problem'. Umm, OK. So I fill out my application and wait.

Cindy, the manager, comes out, looks at the 'education' section of my application and says 'Well, you have a Master's. . . you realize you are overqualified?'. My response 'I really want the copper pots and so I want the discount to buy them.' Cindy's response 'Well, at least you're honest!'. Another 5 minutes of chatting about if I am good at gift wrapping and the job was mine. The best part (aside from the discount, of course) is that I'll be mostly gift wrapping, with some register work. No Sales!! So I get the perk of retail without really having to work with the annoying customers! Seriously, gift wrap is in the BACKROOM of the store, me and 3-4 other people, just wrapping away, no customers to be seen! I understand this means I will likely HATE the sight of gift wrap after this, but it's a small price to pay.

Really, it couldn't be more perfect. They only want me to work 15 hours or less each week, so I don't have to give up much in the way of personal (knitting) time. . . one-two weeknight shifts and one shift on Saturday or Sunday. And the rough math says the money I make working there (it will be sad little paychecks at $8/hr), combined with my discount, will pay for the pans with no out of pocket! I realize this equates to whoring myself out for 6 weeks for some French cookware. .. .but I'm OK with that :)