I Must Be Getting Old...

My focus is broken as I catch Gina in my peripheral vision, bobbing and weaving at her table.  She looked like shit.  And that was putting it nicely.
I stood her up the previous night even after I heard about how "dank" the show was going to be. Heard the afterparty would be off the hook as well.  What the hell does "dank" even mean?  Am I getting to the point where I need to look words and phrases up on Urban Dictionary?  
 
Well.  I stayed in. Again.  Watched a few movies (thank you, Netflix). 
Here's the catch:  I didn't come into work today with a massive hangover wishing I was chopped liver.

I remember those days, not too long ago, when I was in her shoes.  Hoping my tables would be having a "no fuss" kind of day.  Hoping the rest of the servers would pick up the slack on the side-work and not rat me out because we've all had these days.  Hoping someone would want to stay through and finish the shift for me so I could go back home and lie down. Hoping I could disappear because all I wanted was a five-minute break to get my shit together.  

 Why do we do it?  When we know we have places to go the next day, things to do..."responsibilities".  Good lord, does being an adult suck sometime.  It's one thing when you're jammed like a sardine in some cubicle with your head pounding and splitting as you're forced to look at a computer monitor and return phone calls all day.  It's quite another when you're job description is to be timely with orders, look well-kempt, and for god sakes-- smile.  It's a little hard to do all of this when your face is hovering in a porcelain bowl every ten minutes.


I always wonder what guests think when they get stuck with someone who's had a rough night.  Can't be pretty.
  Should the worker have shown up to work?  No.  Probably not, especially had they been sick.  Which is another issue at hand.
Cold and flu season.  If you're sick, stay home.  That's just plain gross, especially in the food industry. I, nor do you, want someone who has been sneezing and coughing handling their dishes of food.  Cleanliness is godliness, however I cannot guarantee you are washing your hands as you should.
Could you as a guest ask for another server? Definitely.  I would advise to as well.  And don't you dare feel guilty about it.  Better safe than sorry.

If I come into work looking like I was hit by a train, it's because I'm working a sixty hour work week-- not because I was tanked the night before.  If I'm irritable, it's because I am now the person who shows up on time to complete the side-work that won't be touched for another thirty minutes by those just rolling out of bed.
If I'm calling in sick, it's because I'm legitimately ill and do not wish to spread my goobers to others.

I walk in on Gina later on in the bathroom and can't decide if she's really sick, or just sitting there in an act of "poor me".  I laugh to myself and shake my head as I skirt out of there and hustle off to pick up on the tables she's passing.  One man's loss is another man's gain.  And boy, I'm happy to coming out on top with that.


- Malia Etienette

Photo Credit:
"What is a Hangover?"- www.sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com
"Employees Must Wash Hands"- www.webstaurantstore.com
"Hangover Cures That Aren't Healthy"- www.abcnews.go.com