Mmm, finance. The sweet smell of money in the morning; the subtle art of crafting with cash. Nothing beats the aromatic smell of laser printer ink iced with application carbon copies...
Hmmm. Not buying it? Me neither.
In fact, being a recent English Literature and Art History major at university, an avid gardner and an aspiring baker, I had big dreams. And I found myself at 24 coming back to my family home and working as the receptionist for a major insurance company. A good job, but not quite my dream job.
Moving home was the hardest part. Leaving my new-found independence behind for a while to add some cushion to my wallet might have been a cheap fix, but had costly implications on my spirit. Coupled with the job that offers some big plusses (wage? plus. people? plus) and some bigger nonplusses (data entry? nonplus. inside all day? nonplus. routine, computer screen, routine? nonplus.), I knew that I needed a creative outlet. Fast. Something that, at home, was all my own, but also something that could make its way into my life in bigger ways and sprinkle a little joy around.
So I did what any creative cookie would - I decided to mix things up. If you can't beat 'em, cream and sugar 'em.
I brought cupcakes to work. The first week was after stumbling across the blog 52 Cupcakes, which chronicles one woman's journey of one cupcake recipe a week for a year. It. is. fabulous. What an amazing way to make your life and job just a little more exciting (and delicious).
I thought to myself how awesome is this idea! Could I start a cupcake revolution like this in my life? It was a pretty darn good fit: 1) Cupcakes are exciting for me: check. 2) Cupcakes are perfect sharing food: check. 3) Cupcakes make people happy: check. 4) Cupcakes are an excellent way to break the ice and make new friends: check.
And so it began. My pledge to my workplace to turn them all into cupcake connoisseurs in one year flat. It started with chocolate cupcakes and pink peppermint buttercream. I kept them at the front desk, and as each confused coworker entered that morning I handed them a cupcake, a napkin, and a pink scrap of paper reading: Have a cupcake, cupcake!
I've been at it for a month, now, and it has been a smashing success. There has even been a little envelope placed in the kitchen to take donations for the cause! The feedback is incredible, as are all of the stories that these recipes are bringing out of my coworkers. Stories of their childhood, mostly (which is hard to imagine of some of these suits), but also promises to recipe swap, and just general silliness.
It's amazing. Thursday (cupcake day) is an anticipated day of the week. People who have snuck in the back door come up to the front just to chat and grab a cupcake throughout the morning. Even the UPS man is excited for his early-morning sugar high. And life for me is infinitely more exciting - having something to look forward to, to prepare for, to joke about - it's made me twice as nice and more than happy.
Cold world of finances no more! Warm that up with a little cinnamon and spice!
Who said cupcakes can't change the world?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment