B.K. Spanitics

Last night after punching out I got in a conversation about religion with one of the guys who works in the kitchen.

• Just a shout-out really quick, people who work in the kitchens of restaraunts are outstandingly hard workers-I'm sure that doesn't apply to every single person who has ever had a cooking job, but the staff at Flo's busts their butts each and every night and I appreciate that.
  Anyhow he was taking out the trash when I was getting out of the building and he started up a conversation. We have a habit of poking fun at eachother and other people in spanish, cussing and trying to figure out new ways to get the dishes done faster. He told me that as Christians we should be setting an example for other people and that we shouldn't use "malas palabras," and then he started to hold me accountable as an older person (I think he's 19) saying that I have an even greater duty to be an upstanding Christian of morals and decency and should consider my actions in front of even him. I responded by shoddily quoting Timothy 4:12, pertaining to his role as a young person to continue setting an example even though he doesn't have the, what, credibility(?) that older people have. We went back and forth about the responsibility of being a Christian and the relevance of being an example through ones actions in terms of stereotypical conservative behavior (Abstaining from alcohol) versus stereotypical liberal behavior (Radical love for others and dispreservation of one's self).
  I told him that I believe it is our responsibility as Christians to reconcile everyone to God, not for the sake of winning souls to Christ but to establish a relationship to the Father through our own love. I asked him how we should do that and he responded by saying that we must first establish a friendship with that person so that they will take a vested interest in what we have to say; we must construct a sincere friendship that will create conversation. We then started to talk about the hypothetical male friend (because this model gets a little complicated if we incorporate a female) who wanted to go out for a drink and whether or not we would continue building that friendship in a liberal sense by earnestly going with him or removing ourselves in the conservative fashion by being a model of Christian excellence. He told me that he would go with the friend for the sake of establishing that friendship, that commonality for something greater down the road. He quoted Paul who said that he became weak for the weak and strong for the strong and told me that he could do no better.
  
  This was big for me considering the fact that the majority of my kitchen staff does not seem to enjoy alcohol a great deal. When offered drinks by Debbie after one particularly strenuous night the majority of them opted for virgin pinapple slushies. My friend at one point earlier on in the job became frustrated with me because I bought a case of beer for some of the head chefs for all their hard work, he said that I was leading them to vice and corruption. You know when I think about it, a gift of beer may not have been the best idea when I didn't even know the people that well. My friend said to me that it would have been better to become something of friends with him first and then consider having a drink with them rather than just shoving alcohol in their faces.
  
  All of this, ladies and gentlemen, happened in very broken spanish...but none the less did happen across the language boundry with passion, concern, and even a high-five at the end.

B.K. The 17-top

For those of you that read the previous post, today began with me dropping a glass filled with coke in the kitchen. The first hour thereby proceeded angst-fully with me thinking that I was going to drop a bowl of gumbo or who knows what on an unfortunate customer. However I was lucky and didn't mess up a food delivery at all.

Yay competence.

Today was a really fun day. At the very end of it all I had the privledge to cater to both familial sides of a newly married couple. It was stressful because of all of the drinks and food and potential mistakes there-in with customized entreés, but fun considering the fact that at the end of it all I could smile knowing that I had done something that I had never before known to be a difficult task. God bless the rest of the restaraunt world - servers, hosts, cooks, and bussers alike.

I also had my first repeat customers today. They came in a few days ago looking to pass the time with some drinks and appetizers; an older married couple and their married son with his wife. The older man was a happy guy who knew how to tease with a smile. His name was Don. Their table made me feel good in that sort of you-make-me-feel-worth-your-while sort of way and if I had the chance I would be a maid in their home.

B.K. Tossed Salad

Tossed Salad

The other day I walked into a place called Speedie Pizza when the manager, Tony, asked me if I wanted a job delivering pizza. He said I would make a lot more money than I would working at Flo's and would love to give me a full-time position as the lead driver. In turn, with 24 hours notice of my decision I explained to him that I simply did not need the hours he was offering me. That night I made nothing in terms of tips, but here-in lies the saving grace of working for Debbie, Kelly, and Jen at Flo's Place.

Tonight I dropped a scallop salad with no onions and no tomatos on the legs of a young woman and her friends father - bleu cheese/cajun vinagrette dressing and all. If any of you have ever committed a royal faux-pau against a customer you'll know exactly how I felt the rest of the evening. Sure enough Kelly came up to me and explained that if I ever failed to use a tray stand when delivering food again I would be in hot water.

Later on this evening Kelly and I were playing around again, she explained to me that if it wasn't her telling me how I screwed things up it would be someone else. We smiled and life went on. Although I screwed up on the job I was still accepted by my boss, Debbie - the original owner, Flo's, daughter - even told me that she liked my attitude on the job; that's the sort of moral support that I've been looking for in a job. The only other place I've ever felt that was from a lady named Judy Klinedenst at Bath and Body works. They're the sort of socio-emotional managers that the world needs more of.

I'm kind of happy to have a good boss.
Knock on wood :)

B.K. Rejection Stinks

But is it worse from a stranger or someone that you know?

Lets go running.

B.K. The Freemans

Tonight a couple came in that told me they had just been waiting for 2 and a half hours at Drunken Jacks (a very nice restaraunt down the street) for their food when they decided to mosey on up to Flo's place. It was my sincere pleasure to wait on them for the following hour and a half there-after. They told me the story of how they were high school sweethearts and dated for 11 years before they got married. They were on their way to a veterinarian convention of sorts, the Mr (I think his name was Robert), being a vet, is required to fulfill a certain number of hours for continued education of advances in the field. They asked me about my story, about how I ended up in South Carolina and what I was planning to do with South Korea, psychology, health, and Africa and commended me for my courage. The Mr. outright told me that he admired what I was doing; it felt good to be affirmed with my life.

The end-all in this is a smile and feeling that this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. It's that sensation of wanting to get out of your car and dance to the radio when you finish parking in the driveway. The big thing now is not being blinded by money, because when people tell you that there's a lot more to be made just a few blocks down the road it can get frustrating to stay where you are. More corporate environments also have their lack of advantages :)

May you and I always have just enough of the green stuff.

B.K. The Restaraunt Biz: Dateline Flo's Place, $47 check, $0.00 tip

There's a lot I can start off with right here, right now; a lot of surprising emotions and relative trespasses that won't matter to me in 3 months. But I can start off with honestly saying that if you love people that don't deserve it you are doing something un-human. I don't mean that in a pious sense, but by earnestly taking the things that selfish people do (or fail to do) and not letting them carry sway over your life you are doing both them and yourself a courtesy.

Remember that you can always tell a person's character by how they treat people that they don't need to treat well. Thanks Mission Impossible 3

Pray for the good fortune of your customers, especially the ones that don't deserve it. You'll probably never see them again anyway, so what good does it do to put more hate into the world?

Bad tips can always lead to an appreciation for better days. And ending the day on the smile is always better than going to bed with a heavy mind.