Why I Adore My Job

Sure, there are days when I wake up and would rather wedge bamboo shoots under my fingernails than go into the shop. There are days when I'm homesick-hollow, days when customers make me feel so small that even I don't quite believe I exist. But then my coworker calls to tell me about some pancakes she just made, or my boss walks in quoting Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and I recognize how lucky I am--that there is not a single place on this planet I would rather be than right where I am.


Several months back, Janet had to call a customer to tell her that her order was complete.
*The phone rings and a man picks up*
Man: Hello, Rosie?
Janet: No, this is Janet at Orcas Island Pottery.
Man: Well this is Ralphie!
Janet: I'm calling for Sonja.

I walked into the shop the other day directly after returning from the mainland. Janet was at the desk, slouched down over her book, and she practically jumped out of her seat when she saw me. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm so glad you're home! I have to show you the worst decision I ever made!" She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with the latest issue of Kinfolk, a lifestyle magazine for "young food enthusiasts and adventure-seekers." "Have you seen this before?" Janet asked. With a look of disgust she plopped the magazine onto the table in front of me. I flipped through a few pages. There were a lot of photographs, some of them pretty decent, some recipes, articles with titles like "The Art of Weekend Drinking" and "Swimming Holes in Upstate New York." "I can't figure out who would find this interesting!" Janet said. "I mean, it's just ridiculous. Who reads this?" I'd rarely seen her so animated. "No," she added after a moment, "I'll tell you who this is for: young California beach computer." I truly have the best coworker in the whole wide world.

Janet: It's so hot.
Me: Take off a layer.
Janet: ...I don't do that.

*The phone rings*
Me (seeing Janet's name on the caller ID): Hello!
Janet: This heat.
Me: Yes.
Janet: It's like Hell.
Me: Yes.
Janet: Okay, that's all I had to say. Goodbye.

I walked into the shop one day after getting back from a bike ride into town. "So you went for a ride this morning," Janet said, a statement rather than a question. "And you went to the library." "How did you know I went to the library?" I asked. (It had been, as a matter of fact, the only place I went in town.) Janet laughed. "Because you always go to the library!"

*During a phone call with Janet*
Me: It's been so slow that I spent an entire uninterrupted hour picking blueberries this morning.
Janet: Oh, you sweetie.
Me: It was fun! I felt like I was living in an Anne of Green Gables novel.
Janet: Well aren't you a delicious little person to have around!

Janet: The bike group is here.
Me (looking around and seeing no one): They are?
Janet: I'm probably hallucinating. I think I have a brain tumor.
Ann: Or maybe they're just very small people.

*I sniff Janet's kombucha*
Janet: It tastes like fizzy orange juice. You should try some. Pour yourself...no, actually, don't--you may catch my brain tumor.

Me: A couple nights ago it was cold and I could snuggle under my comforter! It was lovely. But then last night it was hot and thick and gross again.
Janet: I've been thinking a lot about lamb stew.

"I've got a case of the Slows." -Syd

Classic Janet one-liners:
"I'm deficient. And I can't grow corn."
"I added tax when they were shipping. Then I was writing the wrong date on the receipts. Then I sprayed myself with water. You know what, it must be the brain tumor."
"Doing work makes me tired."
"It takes a lot of work to keep the woods in order."
*On the phone* "I bought cream to make peach maple ice cream. Oh, the rooster just walked into my house. Oh dear, and he just pooped."