The past few months, from leaving TP till enlistment, has been the busiest period of my life so far and at the same time the most fulfilling. The period where I've taken more risks than the whole of my life added together, and where most of them paid off. The whole Pitstop period has also been more than just a "part-time" job as I had initially intended it to be (considering that I'm almost full-time over there but of course that's not what I mean :D).
Pitstop Cafe has been, in many ways, a direct catalyst and influence on my life, from the very tiresome late nights to meeting the most awesome girl ever (haha). To put it simply, I've gained a lot spending the past 4 months there, and I'm not talking about just the girl (though she pretty much sums up the experience :). Working there has in many ways fulfilled several muses of mine, of which included teaching. Yet, teaching can get really annoying most of the time (which explains the crazy teachers you get back in school), but the thing that keeps making you want to come back to it is that it creates a great deal of satisfaction. Of course, the free food/drinks at Pitstop helps as well. It has also been the closest thing to what people call "playing at work, and getting paid for it". The pay wasn't marvelous, but of the things to complain about, this mattered the least because in the most clichéd of phrases - it's the experience that counts.
I would also like to go on talking about the people. Just a fun fact first. It is/was the place that held the largest congregation of smart people, in terms of proportion to size considering how small Pitstop was. Much of the staffs there (with the exceptions of me, Bryan, Winston and Joey) were either pursuing degrees, or have completed degrees in either NUS(!) or NTU(!!). We even had a PSC scholar who managed 7(I think?) distinctions for her 'A' levels. With the amount of smarts, you would have expected a rather stressful, competitive atmosphere, but no there wasn't. The people were as down-to-earth as you could have it, albeit a little crazy sometimes. We all get cranky when we're tired. It’s weird.
This also brings me to what I would like to talk about, the earnestness of the people that builds the Pitstop experience. While working there, you realise that Pitstop is unlike any other cafe. There is none of that stifled feel of pseudo-classiness which standard cafes give, and none of that smiling waiter standing by the sides waiting to take your orders. In one of the bosses' own words, it’s called "casual". At Pitstop, it’s all about the shouting, and though it honestly gets very irritating when you can't hear anything over the customers screams, you still find yourself smiling. It didn't honestly feel like a job in most ways, instead, it felt more like a gathering of friends. The bosses, especially Evelyn and Weekee, would have gotten the Best Local Employer Award if there was one, or the Not Funny Jokes Award on better hindsight. Where would you find a place where you could order the bosses around (which I try not to do), get muffins to eat at night, enjoy home-cooked food by the in-house chef (haha), or just sit around and play games.
And then you also get people like Cameron who creates another kind of atmosphere altogether. All the constant jokes about one particular person. Or just anyone else who isn't around.
P.S. Tell him he’s a $%#@ pangseh kia for me. He’ll understand.
All in all, it has been fun. And on behalf of Bryan (though he probably doesn’t want to say this) and Joey – Thanks. :)
Oh, and I’ll be back after I grow back my hair.
Shoutouts to Zed, Winston, Alfie, Carolin, Cam, Shuyu, Sylvia, Haopeng, Adeline, Cherie, Yvonne, and whoever else that is working playing.
Pitstop Cafe, be part of the fun!
Huang Weijie
