Can I be honest? (“Please, bitch, when aren’t you honest?” says everyone who has read this blog more than once.) Almost every day, I get the requisite email that says something akin to the following:
If you don’t like your job, then why don’t you quit bitching and do something else? p.s. I love your hair.
Yes, I bitch about waiting tables and it has basically become one of my jobs to continue to do so. Being the Bitchy Waiter is a job within itself. I have been waiting tables since the early 90’s and we all know that if anyone really hated something that much, they certainly would not keep doing it for over twenty years. The truth is, I don’t hate my job. There, I said it. I may deny it tomorrow but at this very second, it is the truth. Though it may seem as if this blog is fraught with negativity and full of bitterness, the truth is that we all have to find some kind of joy in whatever it is we are doing because this is the only life we get, right? This is very clear to me this week after hearing of my husband’s friend who died yesterday. Last week he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and six days later, he died. He was 36.
Boom. Done. Game over.
Why does it take something so drastic to remind us how lucky we are to be alive? No matter how bad things may seem, there is always (a Jose Cuervo) silver lining. I don’t want to go to work but at least I have a job. Silver lining! Yesterday the 7 train smelled like a fucking fish taco that had been in the sun for five hours, but at least it didn’t smell like one that had been in the sun for six hours. Silver lining! It really sucked last week when a customer knocked my tray and made me spill half a martini onto my uniform, but on the bright side, I was able to take my shirt into the restroom, wring it out into a rocks glass and have a mid-shift cocktail. Silver lining!
Sometimes on my way to work, I play a game with my iPod. I think of something and then I put my music on shuffle and I try to figure out how each song that plays can relate to what I have decided to focus on. Today, my thoughts were about living my life to the fullest and trying to appreciate each and every moment I am given. I hit shuffle and the first song that came on was one called “Stand Up” by Jessie J. The opening lyrics are:
If you surround yourself with negative people
You’ll never feel settled in or become equal, no
They’ll suppress you of your spirit and rinse you dry of smiles
So reach deep and release your inner child. Yeah, Yeah!
‘Cause you’re as old as you feel you are
And if you don’t reach for the moon you can’t fall on the stars
So I live my life like every day is the last, last, last.
Okay, it’s not going to get any better than that, so I listened to the song four times in a row and then turned off my iPod before some depressing Morrissey song came on.
I don’t hate my job. There are times it can be frustrating and maddening and annoying but there are also times it can be quite rewarding. If I can tell that someone had a great night in my section and I know that part of it was because of me, I can’t help but find some tiny sense of pride in that. Nowadays when a customer grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard, all I do is reach into my apron and take a few notes about them so I can turn them into a blog post. Silver lining!
This posting is short and sweet, much like Herve Villechaize dipped in powdered sugar. It’s Thanksgiving week and it should be easy for all of us to find something to be grateful for. If you can’t find anything, you’re not looking hard enough. For me to be reminded of how lucky I am to be alive, it took the untimely death of someone I have never met. Maybe for you, all it will take is a blog post from the Bitchy Waiter.
Have a good day.
Joey B
I like working and I been working a lot & just trying to make it (example working 14 months w/o a day off -double shift everyday -I tried to create my own biz -didn’t work out -I had 4K in sales but it wasn’t enough -I lost my savings and jewels & got sued cuz I was forced do break the lease ) . People tried to take advantage of me cuz they think if u have a biz u r some rich bitch . No -I was scrubbing pots and pans by hand (no dish machine ) I & my bf were the only ones working & my “friends ” would come in -order a sandwich -critique this and that -really went around the damn place to find something not perfect ….never attempted to pay or leave a tip making me feel awkward …so , now I have to beg ? Hey , Mike can u pay for ur sandwich and soda ? WTF .I helped everyone when I managed the restaurant . Never needed anybody . But when my time came -nobody was there for me .I had finally learned that NOT all ppl are good . Some are just reptiles . My current boss is .I work as a waitress at a cafe that is super busy . I’m always on the counter station 7 seats + 5 /6 tables -ppl seating themselves to a dirty table screaming I’m ready , pushing dirty dishes with their elbow ” ” clean that up .Im ready . Tip 2-3$ ” Not stressful at all .My moron boss jumps out of the kitchen starts taking orders . Puts then under my name . If he fucks up -it is still my fault .Im under the gun non stop . I lost 2 shifts this week cuz I took wheat toast (WWT) instead of white toast (WT) + the sermon .Btw -I brought 15 buckets of ice (no one else does it) -they 25 lbs each , and made every pot of coffee for 5 servers -cuz somehow that’s my job too .I feel like I’m ai a hard labor camp .WTF is this . My boss is a prick who calls me with his finger ” come here ,seniorita ” and blames me for shit I have nothing to do with .I still love my job , but it shouldn’t bring tears to my eyes and bring me depression instead of income . Thanks for reading .I needed to share .Peace.
Mark W
Every day, you get an requisite email from Clay Akin?!
Kerry
Morning BW..please give your husband regards and an extra hug today..sorry to hear about that. It can be difficult to find the silver lining sometimes and stay positive,but,it’s so much easier to do so. Everyone has bad days at work and good. You just happen to make my day better when I read a new blog,just love it because,yes,I am a server in NY for 20yrs now,so,I totally get you…keep it up& if someone doesn’t like it,it’s because they don’t understand it..so,ultimatly,who cares..
Jenn
Still trying to find the silver lining in regard to the 10 year old girl biting her toenails at a table in my section today…
So sorry about your hubby’s friend <3
My 8 year old daughter just made it through heart surgery last week. Talk about appreciating the beauty that surrounds us every day. I appreciated it all before but I almost feel like she is a newborn again and every day a first.
Keep Calm and Bitch On
anne marie in philly
“the 10 year old girl” – SAY WHAT? WTeverlovinF? :-0
hope your daughter gets well soon! 🙂
Anonymous
Ummm…. At least it wasn’t a 20 year old biting their toenails in your section?
Sorry. I’m bad at this.
Anonymous
And I hope your daughter gets well soon <3
Jenn
Thanks everyone!
Kris D
I love how waitstaff are always singled out for complaining about a job. The simple truth is that EVERYONE complains about their job at some point- even if it is a passion for them. The reason you hear about servers is because so many people have experience with it. We have all been customers & many people have at one pint worked in the industry. It is one of those rare things where just about everyone can relate in some form or another. So keep on being Bitchy! Those in the know love you for it. Sorry to hear about your husbands friend- life is too short to worry about the people that don’t understand you 🙂
anne marie in philly
happy thanksgiving, BW! sorry to hear about your husband’s friend; gone waaaaay too soon and that sux. 🙁