Brownie Hell

 I have returned to Columbus until the beginning of the new year, feeling better, and holding down a job at a local family-owned (not vegan)brownie shop. Allow me to rephrase: working my ass off at a local, family-owned brownie shop. Said shop does not run in shifts, instead each employee stays for however long he or she is available every day. That means that I work from 6:30AM to somewhere around 7:30PM Monday through Thursday, fewer hours on Friday, and not at all on Saturday or Sunday. This arrangement is only for the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve (Or, in my case, this past Monday to Christmas Eve) - when the shop needs help with their holiday rush.

I start my day, blinking and bleary at 6AM. Making my way up to the kitchen to grab my prepared lunch and a piece of fruit, I retrace my steps countless times to collect the daily necessities. I blast the heat in my mom's car to melt the ice off of the windshield and my ears. The shop is a 15 minute drive of dark solitude away from my parent's house.

The factory where the brownies are made is behind the storefront. We soldiers of the batter arm ourselves with caps, aprons, and rubber gloves to shield the onslaught of chocolate, cooking spray, and human flesh. (Okay, maybe not that last one. But seriously, vegans, they use around 1200 eggs a DAY. And so much butter. The company's contract with Sysco has got to be enough to feed a small country for life.

So why do I work there, you ask? I hang out with my friends all day, baking and making lots of money. I've worked there for a couple of seasons now. It's not a living, it's a way to make some much needed cash in college. Everyone has to choose their battles, and I've chosen mine. I wish I could save the world by being 'Super Vegan', but all I would accomplish is an empty bank account. There are no 100% ethical places to work that pay the bills.

I do love working at the Little Shop of Horrors. Although I stand for up to 13 hours a day, it keeps me occupied. It's fun to see all of the(literally 14,000) brownies go through the rotation every day. I could use the exercise, and I talk to the people I work with about veganism. It's cool. So that's been my life since my last post. I finished my Christmas shopping after work today and plan to do some Christmas baking with my mom. Each member of our family was to choose their favorite Christmas cookie, and I have yet to decide...