Category: Beloved Co-workers

  • The Birds

    When you work outside, no matter how great the view, you have to contend with the local wildlife. Where I work, the wildlife basically means the scrawny little black birds sporting an occasional splash of yellow that have figured out that our outdoor seating area presents a veritable bird’s smorgasbord. “They’re so cute!” someone or…

  • Clusters, Wolves and Weeds

    My first second of my new job, I got lost in the parking lot. A beautiful woman in a chef’s jacket showed me the way out. “I despise first days of any job,” I told her on that dark, chilly morning an hour before sunrise. “Thanks for walking me out of the maze.” “I completely…

  • Swan Songs Not Quite Sung

    “At least one of our employees got a compliment for making a difference for two of our guests,” said the biggest of the management trifecta early on my last day last week. Thank you, RG.” Oh for God’s sake. “This is our new manager, RG,” smiled the second biggest of the management trifecta later on…

  • Year’s End, New Beginnings

    In 2010, I worked three jobs simultaneously, driving from one job and one Key to another, back-to-back with only an hour in between, to get these jobs done. I abhorred one job’s customers while I shook my head at another one’s fourth inept manager in as many weeks. The third job, however, I loved–both the…

  • Making Merry on a Whim

    On a whim, I mentioned to a once-upon-a-time-two-years-ago-almost-but-really-never boyfriend who is, thankfully, now a friend, that I was looking for work off the Rock. I was on the other side of his bar, enjoying the evening, waiting for my great guy to get off work. Within two minutes, my now-friend gave me a name and…

  • Birthday Wishes

    Happy birthday to one of my favorite co-workers and one of the best cooks I’ve had the pleasure and honor to know. Happy birthday to her for hanging in when times are tough, for hanging in when some of these times present the most challenging of times, for hanging in with me when we work…

  • Three’s the Charm II

    Add a third place of employment to your daily life, and you soon find that you live in an multi-layered netherworld of “almost” realities–almost feel like I live here; almost wish I could work more shifts there; almost wonder how the more things change, the more things remain the same everywhere. A very short list…

  • Living Amongst Ph.Ds

    The bar was sticky with splashed beer and spilled booze. Ashtrays were washed and stacked, except the ones that weren’t. Limes and lemons rotted in the hand-washing sink. Dirty beer mugs lay on their sides in the “wash” compartment. Straws and peanut shells and bev naps and a dime or two were trapped at awkward…

  • The Last Thing I Said to Him

    I made it home just fine today, despite the two rum and sodas. I was supposed to work a double, but it was only 10 hours. I needed the rum and sodas because I wasn’t ready to go home after the double that wasn’t. Because it had been a day that felt like ten. Which…

  • I was Gonna Make a Million Bucks

    A long, long time ago, well before I was a restaurant gal, I was going to make lot of money hosting children’s theme parties. I had an actual location, various theater-quality props, costumes, and a small army of high-school drama-club kids willing to serve cake and ice cream while dressed up as knights and astronauts…