The smell of ̶c̶h̶e̶e̶s̶e̶ fear!

So...driving to my destiny at Stanthorpe Cheese this morning I think I would have been more at ease if I were going to do a bungee jump or leap out of a plane...but I wasn't. I was going to use a till, perhaps a coffee machine and wax lyrical about cheese!I don't know what it says about me but the first thing I did was make sure that there was enough loo roll in the toilets. I wiped the tables outside and then was asked to sweep the shop. I couldn't even do that properly...it wasn't exactly a brush, more of a bright blue fluffy thing but I was using it like a brush and had to be given a lesson on how to use it. You don't sweep with fluffy things, you swish and swipe and it stays on the floor...so now we both know.A customer walked in at 9.45 and we don't open until 10.00.None of the other staff said anything so I said a cheery "Good morning" and the customer walked out again. It was a good start.I don't think there was a moment all day when there was not a customer in the shop...and Sundays are supposed to be quiet.Emma is in charge while the boss, Karen is away on holiday and I started off on the till with Emma watching me.The till scares me to death. One press of the wrong button and it is unforgiving and records your mistake for posterity and by all accounts there appears no simple or easy way to correct it without causing people to frown and silently gnash their teeth."Karen (the boss) likes us to chat to the customers, ask them where they are from, if they have far to go, that sort of thing" said Emma.Heck! It was all I could do to just concentrate on the till...but I had a go.Up steps a customer and after processing her purchases I smile and say"Have you far to go?"...as I bag up her cheeses.She looks at me uneasily and slightly affronted and just says "No."I felt I was doing so well......NOT!As it got busier I found myself alone. I looked up and there was a queue of about 5 people waiting to pay for their items and I got into a flap and made a mistake, forgetting to press the 'cheese'button after the amount and started to input the next amount making the total suddenly jump from $13 to $133! I had to search out Emma to rescue me. After about three more mistakes and three more Emma rescues I somehow found myself not at the till anymore. I cannot remember if it was because I went off to attend to another task of my own volition or whether I was asked but I had very little till interaction for the day after that Georgia showed me how to plate up a 'Ploughman's lunch'...I was allowed to cut the eggs in half...I was so proud. They looked magnificent.I did some table clearing and some dishwasher loading. I could hear a bell pinging in the background somewhere but didn't know what it was. I was drying some dishes and Emma appeared saying"Did you hear the bell?""Yes, I did" I smiled."Well, it means can you please stop what you are doing and come and assist us up at the counter.""Oh, sorry," I said "Nobody told me about that."It was busy again and I found myself at the counter cutting cheeses for customers to try.'Oh heck!' I thought I better do some patter..."Would you like to try our cheeses. There are tooth picks here for you to try them if you like. Our cheeses are made here from the milk from our Jersey Cows. If you start here this cheese is the mildest and the flavours gradually get stronger. This is our 'Thulimbah' named after this area and it is soft and buttery. This next one is our 'Bastard Tait' named after a friend of the boss. I am not sure if they are still friends after she named this cheese though."I was sent to clean the microwaves. I made some milkshakes, cleared and wiped some more tables. It was all non stop. Lunches are supposed to finish at 2.30 but a man arrived who had ordered lunches earlier by phone and who was running behind schedule and he wanted two ploughman's lunches at 2.45. Poor Georgia had to get all the stuff out after tidying it away, but she had the 'egg master' to assist her.I was sent home at 3.00. I had worked 5 hours...it felt like so much longer."Can you do next Sunday?" asked Emma." I can" I said."I won't be here," she said. I visibly winced. I need Emma. I have confidence in her ability to help me.It was still busy."How will you cope?" I said looking around."We'll cope," she said.I drove away. My head was all over the place. I can't say the day was 'fun'. It was mostly stressful.'Oh heck! Which side of the road should I be driving on?' I thought.I couldn't remember at all...for about half a minute and then I realised I was on the right side...well, not actually the right side...I was driving on the left side but that was right. If you see what I mean.Back home I needed to watch the sunset to calm my nerves.One day down and already I feel like I need a holiday!