Place @ MindSay

I'm sitting in a cafe by the university relaxing in solitude, having some lunch and people watching. What's that you say? Solitude and people? How does that work? I don't know......I've just always been able to feel solitude in the middle of strangers....listening to conversations....watching facial expressions and nervous tics...noticing the array of humanity frequenting the booths and tables.....college students.....office workers on lunch break.....middle aged yuppies discussing politics.....workers scrambling to keep the place clean.....the wonderful aroma of fresh coffee, baked breads and desserts.....it's been awhile since I got out like this.

 

I'm having New England Clam Chowder, my fave....an Asiago Roast Beef sandwich with horseradish mayo, red onions, lettuce and sharp cheddar cheese, and an iced tea. I know, I know, I'm gonna need a breath mint.

 

Why am I not at work today? Well, to top off all the other troubles my family is going through, I got laid off yesterday. I was offered a much less paying job with the same company, but I have yet to make a decision on it. I was shocked to say the least, but then again, in these times, with the economy the way it is.....well, maybe I should save my shock for something more drastic.

 

Because deep inside, I feel so much Peace. I can't explain it, and I'm not trying to. There are some things that "pass understanding" and this is definitely one of them. In days past, if my life had turned upside down like it has in the last month or so with everything negative that seems to be happening to my family financially, I would've been in the bottle by now.

 

But I'm not that man anymore. I'm a man of home not a man of the streets. A man of the King of Kings not a man of Crown Royal. A man of integrity not a man of deceit. I drive past the old haunts sometimes and the allure is gone. POOF! Oh sure, the hordes of the enemy still sink their spiny talons into my head and play images on the screen of my mind's eye, but the movie was long ago sold out and I don't really care for popcorn.

 

For years I wondered what my place in this world would be. Now I know.

 

The heart of Abba, my Rabbi, my Teacher, my Savior......my One and Only Lord.

 

Crush

Some of you have heard me complain about some of the issues I have experienced at work.  One of the problems has been finding, hiring and keeping good help. 

I think most people have experienced that moment that hits you upside the head that ‘Your prayers have been answered” or the “be careful what you wish for because here it be,” moment.

So I show up to work today.  There is this young girl waiting for me and I can say that without being patronizing because I will be 56 and this girl is 19, so yes, little girl plus she looks about 100 lbs maybe soaking wet.  She informs me that she is my new bus person (I work as the night cashier at a Mexican restaurant).  First thot which keeps reoccurring while I start asking her some basic questions is “Oh hell no.” 

Did anyone tell me she was hired let alone coming to work? – Oh hell no.

Is there anyone there (one of the other bus people) to train her? – Oh hell no.

Has she ever bussed tables before or had any experience working in a restaurant? – Oh hell no.

Has she been introduced to anyone or has anyone showed her what she needs to do? – you guessed it – Hell no.

So guess who is elected – yup you guessed it….lucky me.  And yes you guessed it we were busy.  So I showed her what to do from beginning to end and the little girl stuck it out.  I showed her how to clean a table, remove dishes from the table, load and unload the bus carts, where things were located and how to make drinks, refill salsa bowls, make more coffee and ice tea, where the towels to wipe off tables were, how to line chip baskets, where the ice is that has to go in the soda machines, and the list goes on.  The little girl made it thru until about the last half hour because I think I wore her out.  I ran my ass off and my feet are killing me doing my job and showing her what to do and how to do it.  I know I was talking non-stop and she might have felt overwhelmed but I also know exactly what she faces the next time she works because I’ve seen it before. 

There are 2 women at work who have been there for years, one works the day shift and one works the night.  There is no nice way to say it - these women are bitches, which does not necessarily mean that they are not good at their jobs, if all they stuck to was being a waitress.  Neither of these women would ever succeed in any kind of a management role, their attitudes and manner of dealing with other people they work with (not the customers) sucks canal water.  These women think they are the authority when it comes to anything that happens in the restaurant, they are legends in their own minds and they take a particular perverse delight in telling the newbies what to do and how to do it and the two of them don’t agree how things should be done in the first place so they end up confusing the heck out of the poor kids.  They do this deliberately because they can get the poor kids to do half their work so they don’t have to do it.  They set the kids up to fail because they know sooner or later the confused kid is going to say, “but that’s how Connie taught me to do it,” to Kathy, or to Connie, “that’s how Kathy says to do it.”  Which lets Connie (day shift) bitch about Kathy (night shift) or vice versa….the rivalry goes on which is the reason one works days and one works nights.  Goddess help anyone who is unfortunate to work with both of them on the same shift. 

The next time the little girl works is on Friday night, our biggest night of the week and also one of the longest shifts – 5 ½ hours nonstop.  There is another bus girl who works that night and she’s only been there for about 2 months.  Sounds like there shouldn’t be a problem but that bus girl only speaks Spanish…as in no English, one of the waitresses translates.  So in my way I was trying to expose her to everything they might throw at her and it wouldn’t be total Greek.  Like I said I’ve seen these women in action and part of them ENJOYS running off people who don’t kiss their ass.

Now I should also interject here that the new little bus girl is the daughter in law of one of the day shift waitresses which is why she got the job. This bus girl who only speaks Spanish is (however) one of the cook’s sisters, which is why she got the job. 

Working at a family restaurant has been interesting to say the least.  At any given time you are working with someone’s lover, husband, wife, child, ex, cousin, niece or nephew, aunt or uncle.  It is a family run and owned restaurant and you almost need a damned score card to keep track.  I’ve often said that it’s a soap opera (or as they are called by the kitchen staff and cooks who are 90 percent Spanish speaking  novellas), just begging to be written.

Morale of the story is = It is not your qualifications - it is who you are related to - that gets you the job.  Doesn’t guarantee that you keep it, just that you get it.  It’s a lot harder than some people realize to start off on your first real job and be thrown to the lions your first day out.  I told the little girl that she did great.  I hope she decides to come back. 

 

My friend sifa raised a profound issue in her blog this week: "Home". What does a house mean to you? I grew up a "diplomat brat', my father would get a posting for a few years to some country I didn't care about and the family would move there to live. Then we'd pack up and go somewhere else. Of course, I always ended up loving the places we went and the people we met.

 

 In fairness, it was a great way to grow up and I learned more about people and life than I would have otherwise; so don't think I don't appreciate the upbringing I had. My dad was always home and we always had power, water, shelter, clothes and more food than we needed. It was a great way to grow up but it left me feeling that I had no real roots. I felt for a long time as though I had no place in the world to call my own. No place to be relaxed and kick my shoes off. I've moved house about a hundred times (maybe a little less) and I can still move house in just a few car-loads. There are still boxes in the garage that haven't been unpacked since I moved in here ten years ago.

 

 As an adult, I am very much a home-body. I love to travel but mostly, I love to be at home. My home is a place of safety and comfort; it's my nest, from which I make little forays into the world. I do feel like a citizen of the planet, rather than an Australian but my house, my 'home' is my place in it.

 

 So tell me: What does your house mean to you? 

     The first thing that popped into my head today is that I am a little freaked out by all of the Leprechauns I keep seeing today.  Now before you accuse me of loosing my marbles I don't mean in actuality I mean on television, the internet etc.  Don't worry I don't see any running up and down the street.  Now after a few Guinness and some Irish Whiskey I may just start seeing them running up and down the street but it is only 8:30 in the morning so I don't think that will be happening.  I am also struck by nostalgia.  I keep remembering being a little girl having to wear green on this day so as not to get pinched at school.  It always seemed I ended up getting pinched anyway.  Boys will be boys and all of that I guess. Aw, to be a kid again...actually I wouldn't trade where  am in life today for anything. 
    Matt, Jack and I had a wonderful weekend. We spent Saturday at the Pike Place Market and I have to say this playing tourist thing we have been doing on the weekends is pretty great. Jack fell in love with the Market in the same way I did as a kid.  It's funny I remembered when we got to the Market that Matt and I had one of our first "dates" there.  We met down by the famous Pig one day after work/school and walked around, had lunch, etc.  I had forgotten about that day until we visited the market this weekend and I was glad to have that memory back.  We did all the usual things, watched the guys and gals at the fish market toss the fish, looked at all the stalls of fresh fruit and veggies and sampled and bought some, picked up two gorgeous bouquets of fresh flowers and no trip to the market would be complete without warm fresh mini donuts.  This last thing was of course Jack's favorite thing about the market.  We ended our day by walking down to the Waterfront and having a "real" lunch on top of all the snacking we did.  It is so great to be able to spend this time with my family and I don't take a moment of it for granted. 
Well, that is all for now.  My mother in law who you all know as barryk is visiting family on the east coast right now and I am anxiously awaiting a blog or email to find out how it is going and how everyone is!  Not to mention May cannot get here soon enough so that we can see her ourselves.  Well that is all for now, I hope you all have a great St. Patrick's day and watch out for those Leprechauns. 

I Belong With You