Children....

Children...Oh what can I say about children? They are a blessing from above...a miracle if you will. Not so much what I'm thinking when they are running around at my feet whilest their parents talk amongst themselves or smile at me blankly or apologetically as if to say, "children! what can you do?" Are you serious? Do people not understand how annoying it is to just let your children do whatever they want when you're out in public? Have you ever heard the phrase "You're the adult" I'm gonna say not many people have, because I have seen many, many, many, many children run their parents. It's absolutely crazy how an adult can let a child tell them what they're going to do! It makes me giggle, makes me shed a tear and makes me upset, but mostly annoys me to all hell when I'm trying to do my job, but you're letting your child run up and down the aisle climb all over the booth, scream at the top of their lungs, take out all the sugars and pour out all the salt n peppers. Could you imagine what life would be like if servers were allowed to say what we wanted to parents about their unruly children? HA! It would be chaos, because.. some of these parents are maybe too involved in their conversations to realize thats its not ok to treat this establishment as your dining room. Perhaps realize that the other patrons in here aren't staring you down because they like your outfit, its because they want you to get ahold of ur child ruining their dining experience and understand you're not the only ones in here. I would think that it's embarassing to have your child acting like a psycho out in public, I for one get embarassed when my child acts out, so I can't imagine just sitting around acting like you don't see it. Or maybe this, if your child is a holy terror...go ahead and throw a few extra dollars on the table for the hassle, huh?

What once was fun....

How does the saying go....what glitters isn't always gold? I don't know, something like that, well what once was fun and exciting definitely devolps a gray film over it making it dull and bland. Finding yourself in a rut in a restaurant is fast and easy. The shine loses its sparkle once the food stains and hamburger stench start to set in, not to mention the stench and stains of flaws in what once was great. Working in a diner guarantees 1 thing always: old people and young children. Old people are not so fun because most of them like to talk your ear off and reminisce about the "old days" which also includes when fifty cents was alot of money, (yea grandma, it doesn't quite translate into a new shirt nowadays), and lots of stories. My favorite stories are how I remind them in someway of their granddaughter, daughter, niece, or sometimes evan younger sister who passed away. Not to say that those stories aren't sometimes fun to hear, and I don't mind giving someone the opportunity to reflect upon their long life and remember happier times.....but come on now. When you see me carrying a tray full of plates and a drink in my hand.... I gotta tell ya, that's probably not the best time to start in on that memory, ya know? I believe old age compromises that little voice inside one's head telling you when is a good time to start into a ten minute flashback, and when it's not a good time. Or how about if I'm rushing from table to table and I stop by just to check on you and make sure you dont need anything like a soda or napkins? If I'm actually slowly walking away while you're talking, please take that as a hint to wrap it up, the question wasnt: "Are you ok? Do you need anything? Refill, napkins, or perhaps to reflect upon that time you and your younger sister were playing hide and seek and she got lost for 3 hours and it was the funniest thing, and that reminds you of....." Subtle hints....they're called subtle hints...somebody walking away while you're talking is definitely one of them ;). The worst part is most of the time they're so sweet so you can't really get mad at them, just smile and listen and when they're done...run like the wind to what you have to do next.

Children....my..oh...my......

Starting Out

Starting out my "career" as a server was by accident. I was trying to go away with a friend after graduating from high school, and didn't have any money and she told me that one of the 24 hour breakfast spots was hiring. Being young and eager I decided why not a job is a job I guess. I put in the application, and while waiting to hear back from them, I found out that a diner was also hiring so I went ahead and put in an application there. Well I got a call from both places, but decided that donning a poodle skirt would be much cooler and more fun than slingin pancakes overnight. Turns out that this diner also had a theater attached to it...Awesome! This place just kept getting better and better, a theater right next door, poodle skirts and bowling shirts and saddle shoes(love it!), fifties dj, ice cream girls and even vintage car shows on certain nights. I went through the training of learning the menu and perfecting writing my made up cool fifties name on the paper table covering, carrying trays and entering orders in the POS system. In the beginning serving was fun, dancing around the tables, playing with the kids, doing the bunny hop...then the reality set in that serving is not all fun and chicken dances.

Serving is opinionated, demanding, rude, power hungry people.....and I'm not just talking about the customers!

Why

Why I decided to put my thoughts about my serving "career" on the internet for all the world to see....because it's funny! Plain and simple. The world of being a server in America is quite possibly one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated jobs.....EVER! Of course there are many more jobs that deserve that title, but people know about them! Nobody ever gives servers credit for what they do, and believe you, me they are definitely overdue for a round of applause. Do servers sometimes make alot of money? Yes, of course, otherwise nobody would want to serve. Do servers have to go above and beyond to even to earn a measly dollar most of the time, though? Yes, yes they do. So from here on out are my thoughts and Reflections about my time as ThatServer.