June 11, 2014
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the ex-vendor
Motherfucker, don't stop
spinning those idle hands.- EXGF, Idle Hands
-+-
"Good thing you're cute, Christa."
-- "Excuse me? I'm fucking ADORABLE."-+-
Rachel: "I'm thinking about dropping the Headquarters Market. ... It's just not earning enough to justify the hassle."
Me: "Im'ma be real with you, Rachel. I'm in it for the honey. Whatever you choose, I'll support it."
Rachel: "Ahaha, fabulous. Thanks, Christa!"A few days later, I received a follow-up text from my boss, Rachel. Just like that, I was no longer a honey vendor.
A lot of people comfort me and sympathize for me when I tell them that I no longer sell honey, but I have to admit, I'm walking away from the experience with incredible satisfaction. Part of me wonders why I don't feel defeated, but the other part of me is grateful to sleep in on Sundays again.
I think it's because my big goal was to learn more about bees and honey, and I really think that over the course of three months as a vendor, I achieved that. I learned about the San Diego Beekeeping Society through my honey gig, and I'm now a member of that guild. Through that leap of networking, my learning is no where close to stopping. Just Monday, I learned about top-bar beekeeping and potential upcoming hive threats. I learned that the Varroa mite arrived with Asian immigrants in the late 80's. I learned that while there are hundreds of species of native bees exist in San Diego (and thousands of species across the country), 90% of San Diego pollinators are honey bees -- and no one knows why. And there's a lot more knowledge where that comes from.
I'm saddest about no longer being "The Honey Girl."
However, no matter what happens to my love for bees and honey -- whether it takes off into my own apiary or it proves to ephemeral -- I'll always adore that for at least a glimmer of my life, I was the girl that sold honey on Sundays.
