August 2013 - Justamere Café & Bakery

Shortly after I began managing at the Justamere, Eileen started pestering me… er… I mean “supportively encouraging” me to start a restaurant blog. It was something we had talked about fairly often, but I had always been to shy to put my thoughts into text for everyone to read. Eventually though, I just decided to do it (wine may or may not have been involved), and while it may have taken me some time to work up the courage (possibly liquid courage), I’m really glad I did….. I never thought this blog would go over so well, or spur as many encouraging comments from friends and customers… It’s really is wonderful and never ceases to make me feel special!

BUT wait, holdup! It’s not all rainbows and butterflies and horse dresses….I now find myself constantly under stress when trying to come up with new blog topics and better posts. I feel pressure to keep the people happy!

So… fairly often now as a solution, I combat my writers block by Googling “Interesting blog topics”, “Restaurant blogs”, “How to write a good blog”, or “how to beat level 97 in candy crush”… and so on… For a while this was helpful. I found links suggesting I make lists; hence the blogs about My Final Meal, or My (Not So Guilty) Guilty Pleasures. I found blogs based on interviews, from which I created A Casual Chat with Mark Curry, and my homage to Chelsey. Then there were all my blogs on notable events at the restaurant, like the time the water was shut off, or my article on the Menu Tasting Evening… It seems though, that since Devlin the Desk arrived in my life, I just can’t quite think of anything to write about….

Once again though, Google saves the day and I stumbled across an interesting article about how to build the reader base of your blog. This particular article suggested that I should find the most popular Google searches of the last week and write a blog about that… therefore, when anyone searches this very popular topic, they may be directed to my page! Genius!

So… that is why my blog is about Beyonce’s Haircut… which received over 1,000,000 searches in only one day! Holy cow Beyonce, she even beat out OPRAH!… OPRAH!

My hope for today is that when people Google “Beyonce’s Haircut” they will be led here… where I will…

1. Show them photos of Beyonce’s Haircut…

2. Comment on Beyonce’s haircut: Oh B, you can do no wrong… Is that Oprah in the background of this photo?

And then….

3. BOMBARD THEM WITH PICTURES OF FOOD FROM THE JUSTAMERE!!!!

MUAHAHAHAHA

4. Shamelessly plug restaurant:

Come to the Justamere Cafe and Bistro where your food is made fresh to order, the service is outstanding and the atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming!!

Are you tired of sharing a desk with your boss? Are you sick of twisting your back into a pretzel in order to do your work? Are you finished with living in fear that someone may spill coffee all over your laptop?

“Ouuuhh, my sciatica!”

Well, I know I was! For over 9 months I sacrificed my heart, soul, and back health to the Justamere Cafe and Bistro while I worked without a desk of my own… but everything changed yesterday! Enough was enough, and Eileen splurged on the most beautiful second hand desk from a woman on the internet!

So I write to you now, from behind dark mahogany that is scratched with the names of old lovers, to tell the tale of how I came to have my very own desk at the Justamere Cafe!

Now don’t mistake my comment earlier about the desk being second hand as any form of disdain, I was honestly very excited about getting a desk, and even more grateful to have it! I had been looking for quite some time, and finally found the perfect desk on Antigonish Buy & Sell two days ago… so yesterday we sealed the deal and Eileen and I were off to pick up my new baby… I shall call her Devlin!

In preparation for our big adventure, Eileen and I made sure to refuel on matching Cordon Bleu’s and Caesar salad for lunch! Nothing says “New Desk Excitement” like a solid inch of ham!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Refuelled and refreshed with lunch in our bellies and Justamere Cafe’s Ice Coffees in tow, we set out towards North Grant where Janice (the seller) and Devlin (the desk) were waiting patiently for our arrival!

Filled with Bleu and lots to do!

So, as you can see I was pretty excited…I had never had my own desk before – I was feeling like a big girl with a big girl job- I wasn’t wearing my horse dress today, no sir, I was wearing pantyhose, I had taken a few important phone calls that morning and now I was getting my OWN DESK!

There she is! Safely in the back of the truck – ready to come to her new home! (Thanks for driving Eileen!)

We made it back to the restaurant in one piece, well mostly… Devlin lost a little chunk on the way out of the truck, but she’s still beautiful! The middle drawer may sag, the top drawer may not always want to open, there’s is a pretty jagged piece that protrudes that I’m quite sure will ruin many future pairs of panty hose, and the left front leg is quite weak… but she’s perfect all the same… (I literally just cut my arm on a jagged corner…)

You know what my favourite thing about my new desk is though?… besides my new constant fear of splinters and a possible mold issues?…. it’s the handy dandy cutting board it came with – perfect for mid-afternoon snacking!

And that my friends is the story of how Devlin the Desk and I found each other

The End!

…..

… Now of course there is much more that I could (and maybe should) be writing on rather than my brand new, used desk… I could elaborate on Carrie’s iced coffee’s, or talk about exciting changes at the Justamere, or even profile one of the two new waitstaff we’ve hired… but I don’t really want to today. This may have appeared to be just a blog about my new desk, but it’s more important than that… it’s actually a blog about what my new desk means to me.

My desk didn’t cost $100, it didn’t even cost $50 – and it probably won’t even make it two months, but that’s not the point. The point is that it’s mine, and Eileen and the Justamere Cafe got it just for me. It’s a symbol of respect and appreciation because after all, important people who have important and valuable things to do sit behind desks, and now I sit behind one too.

While sometimes I write about the food, and sometimes I write about the staff…today I wanted to write a little bit about the owner. Above and beyond Eileen’s usual efforts to make myself and all her staff feel appreciated everyday, yesterday she bought me a desk. I love my job, and I’ve yet to find a better boss. We should all be so lucky to be employed by such a person; a lady who would buy you the stinkiest, oldest desk imaginable just because you loved it, a friend who would borrow a truck just to help you lug it back, and a boss who would push her own desk back into the corner to make room for yours.