I don’t know how many of you follow along with my ever-changing part-time job situation, but over the course of the ~5 months I’ve been writing for Hourglassy, I’ve gone from a nanny, to a waitress, to a bartender, all while working on numerous singing/songwriting projects (that’s the part I love). Last Sunday I was in the middle of cutting a demo for a new producer I’m working with when my boss from the bar called to let me know he would be cutting down my shifts that week . . . to none. As it turns out, working in a place from day 1 and making innumerable sacrifices to my personal and musical obligations were not enough of a commitment to impress my new employers. They gave my hours to a personal friend and told me that although my job performance was stellar and my personality “great,” they just needed to make some cuts. How rude! Aside from being insulted, I was completely petrified–it had been a slow couple of weeks with my freelance music work, and a week with no side-job would surely deplete the little bit of savings I had accumulated.
I spent Sunday night and all of Monday applying to everything I could find, and on Tuesday lucked out at an open call for a really popular Mexican place: so a waitress/bartender combo I am once more. Phew! After a few training shifts I’ll be out of the red, at which point I’ll try to restore my savings account and sort out the surgery situation. But what a stressful week it has been!!
An unstable job situation = an unstable life, and some people (like my grandfather, and a couple of my uncles/aunts, and a handful of frenemies) are critical of my decision to put my *very expensive and prestigious* degree on the back burner to pursue a life of (possibly) starving artistry…but I love it! So there are a lot of ups and downs. But then there is beautiful music and happiness.
Rant/life update over.
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Bra*Tenders is a specialty garment store in my neighborhood, Hell’s Kitchen, which has, according to my research, been providing undergarments to busty women and Broadway shows, among others, for the past decade. I don’t know how I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 7 years without knowing about this place, but I feel cheated!! I discovered it when Alan Kaplan, one of the store’s owners/founders, approached myself and one of the waitresses at my old job last week. We were hanging out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of President Obama when Alan handed us a flier with an insert from Time Out New York and a picture of an absolutely gorgeous Freya bra.
“Come in and get yourself something gorgeous!” he said.
“You won’t have my size,” I quipped.
“Ah, but we do!”
I haven’t been yet, but I’ve checked out their website, read tons of amazing reviews, and google-stalked enough to know that they are the be-all-and-end-all of “custom” fits (like us!) in the area. I’m still up in the air about my surgery date and not really wanting to buy any more bras in 34F if I can help it, but I plan to shop there for post-surgery bras, because I know that a perfectly fitted bra in the right size is worth more than a cheap/mass marketed bra any day!
I went to Bra*Tenders a few weeks ago and it kind of changed my life. I had been wearing a size 38B prior to my fitting. My actual size? 34 DD (I know, shameful). I could feel my posture change right away. I have been going to the chiropractor 1-2 a month for back and neck pain which since my fitting has diminished significantly. I recommended them to a friend and she too had an incredible experience. You won't regret it.