Thank You For Being a Friend

One of the best things about working in a restaurant is usually the people you work with. Granted there are always a few folks who you could do without, but for the most part the co-workers are one of the things that makes waiting tables tolerable. (The tips that allow you to pay your mortgage and buy food goes without saying.) How many of us have stayed at a job way longer than we should have just because all of of our friends worked there? I worked at Houlihan's for two and a half years or so. About eighteen months of that was just because I had so much fun with friends like Jane, Randie, Corinne and Kim. (Hello ladies, if you're reading this.) The thing is, I have not worked at Huli's for over ten years and I am still friends with the people I met there. That says a lot about co-workers, right? On the other hand, sometimes it's the c0-workers who drive you away from a place.

I worked at a restaurant called Josie's once for about two weeks. I dunno what it was with all the women who worked there, but most of them were totally rude to me. They weren't helpful and they acted like they didn't have room for another bitch on staff so they wanted me out. When I start a job, I am nothing but nice. I am quiet, never curse, never complain and friendly to everyone. In fact, after I have worked someplace a for a few months someone always tells me, "Oh my God, you are so different than I thought you were when you first started." In other words, they thought I was sweet, but they figured out I'm a bitch. Anyhoo, there was this one chick at Josie's (let's call her Evilene) who was so mean. On my first day there, I was wandering around downstairs trying to find the locker room to put my stuff in. I saw a door that was cracked open and poked my head in to see if it was the right place. Evilene was there putting her shirt on. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said. All she was doing was buttoning up her shirt but she acted like I just walked in on her while she was taking a dump or changing her tampon. "Excuse me, there is someone in here! I don't know where you grew up, but when you see a door closed, you knock on it first!" I apologized again and kinda laughed. "I wasn't even sure if this was the locker room and since the door was cracked open..." She interrupted me. "Well, here we knock first, okay? Got it?" What a bitch. It was a fucking communal locker/store room. It was my first day. Get over yourself. Like I really wanted to see her in her bra and panties. When I quit two week later, I told the manager that one of the reasons I hated it there was because Evilene was such a bitch.

At Houlihan's we changed clothes in the middle of the fucking dining room as we ate breakfast. We liked each other. We made each other laugh. It was what kept us all there. We were a family like a giant tree branching out towards the sky. We are a family like a giant tree, growing stronger, growing wiser. We are growing free. We are a family. The point is that no matter how crappy your job is, you can usually find something good about it and nine times out of ten, it's the people you work with. Okay, all together now: awwwwww.

(Bonus points to anyone who can name the two musicals referenced in this post.)


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