Trading a bar rag for a shopping cart

It's been 11 days since my last shift as a beertender. It was hard to close that chapter of my life. I worked in the craft beer industry for just a few months shy of four years. But I realized recently it was time to move on.

I truly and honestly loved my brewery job. I often called it my fun job. I got to meet really interesting people and talk to people about beer. During my time behind the bar, I gained a lot of knowledge about beer and brewing as well as some new friends. My job at the brewery also helped facilitate meeting my husband. (Long story short -- the radio show he worked on mentioned a beer from my brewery and I tweeted in to thank them for the shout out. He saw my tweet and started following me on Twitter.) It was a core part of my identity for the last few years. I was proud to work for one of the best breweries in town (and maybe even the state). It meant so much to me that I had a photo taken of me pouring a beer in my wedding dress.

Suddenly, in recent months, my job wasn't fun anymore. I had a ton of anxiety and stress that wasn't there before. 

My decision to leave my brewery job felt swift, although I suspect it had been building subconsciously for some time. I'd had some ongoing issues there for the last few months, but they just really came to a head in the last month of my employment. I'm not going to go into specifics as I don't want to speak ill of a business where I still have friends, but the bottom line is that I simply didn't feel valued. As soon as I recognized this feeling, I stepped back and took a look at my job there, and I realized I just couldn't stay any longer. It wasn't a fit for me anymore. It wasn't a good place for me anymore. And I couldn't fix what didn't work for me, so I knew I had to make a change.

Change can be very hard for me. I'm not good at letting go at things and people who no longer serve me well.
After I put in my notice, I felt a sense of relief I didn't expect. Sure, there was some sadness (it's always hard for me to say goodbye to people and things), but mostly I was just glad to be leaving behind some of the stress and unhappiness that had been creeping in. 

I immediately began my search for a new part-time job. Due to some poor financial decisions in years past, I have some debt that needs my attention. My salary at my main job doesn't allow me to tackle that debt while also enjoying my current life. A part-time job gives me a little more breathing room in my budget.

There are a lot of options for part-time work. I considered being a desk attendant at a fitness center (and interviewed at two different ones), I also entertained the idea of being a sales associate at a department store (and was interviewed and offered a job on the spot). But the winning option sort of came out of nowhere -- order selector for a local grocery chain. Basically, I'm fulfilling online grocery orders. It wasn't something I'd even thought of. Then again, it's a relatively new role in my area.

Honestly, grocery shopping is one of my least favorite things to do. So it's ironic that I chose this as a part-time job. I'm only a few shifts in, but I am already enjoying it immensely. I'm learning more about how the retail grocery industry works. I also get a great workout (I'm averaging 8K steps a shift so far), and it's constantly busy. I don't like standing still. I like to feel productive. I learned long ago that I get satisfaction from crossing things off and finishing things. I'm charged with filling orders at this job, and I am constantly challenging myself to see how many I can get done and how fast I can get them done.

It's also kind of fun to see all the different products. I don't often venture outside my food comfort zone, and this forces me into sections I rarely shop from. And I've only been in dry goods so far. This will probably only grow as I move into refrigeration, produce, and the freezer.

I've also found ways to entertain myself while I'm pulling orders. Often, I try and figure out what the person is like based on their order. Sometimes, I try to decide if I could be friends with them based on what they're purchasing it. It gives me something funny to think about while I work.

One of my favorite aspects is that I don't have to talk to anyone. As much as I enjoyed talking with customers (especially regulars), it was sometimes hard for me to be "on." Small talk was part of my beertending job, and it was incredibly draining for me, as an introvert. Looking back, I can now see that there were times when I was completely worn out just from the social aspect of my job. So far at the new job, I come home with sore feet but none of the conversational fatigue.

I'm trying to do a better job of looking out for myself and giving my time and energy wisely. I think this job change is in line with that mission.