I don’t know exactly how to explain how it feels to leave a job you like, but don’t.
Due to a recent (and sudden) change in my living situation, I am no longer able to work the graveyard shift at the diner. I had to quit, and I had to do so immediately. I wasn’t able to give two weeks notice, this happened so fast. I went in to work on Friday, and told Linda about the situation, and because she is an understanding person, she let me quit without giving 2 weeks.
I am no longer employed with Dee’s Inc. I’m feeling a loss about writing those words. I’m sad about it. I feel like a piece of who I was is gone.
“Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go. So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why. It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time.”
I have worked at Dee’s for 18 months. I have never worked any shift except weekend graves, and I didn’t even work most holidays. I have spent most of my weekends there, serving people, and making friends. I have met all kinds of interesting people, and lots of good friends.
I have seen some crazy things there. I have seen fights, I have seen brawls, I have even seen a guy shot with a taser. I saw a guy break a glass window with his fist (I chased him to the parking lot and got his license plate). I saw a guy get pepper sprayed (because he wouldn’t leave). The store has been robbed (I wasn’t there that night, and I’m glad). We have run out of ice cream (see blog post, I’ll learn to hyperlink to archives later), we have run out of other foods, we have kicked people out of the restaurant, and we have let customers do the same (they were bouncers, we figured they could handle it better than us). I have worked with dozens of employees, and I have made friends with quite a few of them.
By working at Dee’s I was able to accomplish some things I’ve always wanted, to say “I did it”. I have always wanted to say I worked true graves. I have always wanted to serve at a diner. I have always wanted to work at Dee’s, just so I can say I did.
With the good and the bad, I have to say that looking back at the last 18 months, I couldn’t have done it without Dee’s. When I separated from my ex-husband Dee’s was there so I could cry on the shoulders of my friends. They were there to offer me stability, and a vacation from the rest of my life. For the 10 hours I was there I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to do, or how I was going to take care of whatever situation I was in. I didn’t have to think about how sad I was, or how hard it was to be alone.
When I had my thyroid removed they were there for me, offering support, and carrying my trays until I was strong enough to do it on my own. My friends there helped me, and split side work with me, so that the things I couldn’t do could be traded for the things I could do.
When my daughter had a birthday there were there for me, giving me support, and giving her a great time.
And when I started seeing someone new, Linda pulled me aside, and reminded me that I should wait at least 6 months between serious relationships. She just wanted to look out for me, and didn’t remember that it had been 11 months since my separation.
I will miss that. I will miss my “Linda mom,” and I will miss Marky, Jon and Ferarri, my “sisters”. I will even remember Ryan, the “brother” who drove me crazy. I appreciate that even after we haven’t gotten along for so long, he made a point of signing my card, and leaving me a nice message. This is like a family, and I will miss them.
I’ll also miss my customers. I’ll miss my UPS crew, who came in to see me every Friday night. I’ll miss the group from the Westerner, who make sure to give me a hard time as often as they can. I’ll miss the coffee pouring competition, and I’ll miss seeing if we can beat the record of 15 mugs (I’ll see if I can’t get a pic of that up. I have one in the phone from when we poured 7). I’ll miss the crowd, and miss the rush, and miss all the people who came to see me, that I really liked, but never took the time to learn their names.
I won’t miss the mess. I won’t miss the fry sauce on my arms, or ice cream in my hair. I won’t miss sore feet, or the smell that may never come out of my aprons. I won’t miss the uniform, and I won’t miss the mean drunks that sometimes came in. I won’t miss the stress of someone calling in, and I won’t miss being yelled at by the kitchen for making a mistake (I made a few of them. They thought it was funny to yell at me). I won’t miss cleaning up spilled drinks, or spilled condiments. I won’t miss being awake for 26 hours on Friday, and having to get up early on Sunday so I don’t mess up the sleep schedule. I won’t miss the fights, though I will miss our copper. He was a nice guy, and always looked out for us. I won’t miss a lot of the details about working there.
But in the end I will miss it.
“It’s something unpredictable, but in the end there’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.”
Due to a recent (and sudden) change in my living situation, I am no longer able to work the graveyard shift at the diner. I had to quit, and I had to do so immediately. I wasn’t able to give two weeks notice, this happened so fast. I went in to work on Friday, and told Linda about the situation, and because she is an understanding person, she let me quit without giving 2 weeks.
I am no longer employed with Dee’s Inc. I’m feeling a loss about writing those words. I’m sad about it. I feel like a piece of who I was is gone.
“Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go. So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why. It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time.”
I have worked at Dee’s for 18 months. I have never worked any shift except weekend graves, and I didn’t even work most holidays. I have spent most of my weekends there, serving people, and making friends. I have met all kinds of interesting people, and lots of good friends.
I have seen some crazy things there. I have seen fights, I have seen brawls, I have even seen a guy shot with a taser. I saw a guy break a glass window with his fist (I chased him to the parking lot and got his license plate). I saw a guy get pepper sprayed (because he wouldn’t leave). The store has been robbed (I wasn’t there that night, and I’m glad). We have run out of ice cream (see blog post, I’ll learn to hyperlink to archives later), we have run out of other foods, we have kicked people out of the restaurant, and we have let customers do the same (they were bouncers, we figured they could handle it better than us). I have worked with dozens of employees, and I have made friends with quite a few of them.
By working at Dee’s I was able to accomplish some things I’ve always wanted, to say “I did it”. I have always wanted to say I worked true graves. I have always wanted to serve at a diner. I have always wanted to work at Dee’s, just so I can say I did.
With the good and the bad, I have to say that looking back at the last 18 months, I couldn’t have done it without Dee’s. When I separated from my ex-husband Dee’s was there so I could cry on the shoulders of my friends. They were there to offer me stability, and a vacation from the rest of my life. For the 10 hours I was there I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to do, or how I was going to take care of whatever situation I was in. I didn’t have to think about how sad I was, or how hard it was to be alone.
When I had my thyroid removed they were there for me, offering support, and carrying my trays until I was strong enough to do it on my own. My friends there helped me, and split side work with me, so that the things I couldn’t do could be traded for the things I could do.
When my daughter had a birthday there were there for me, giving me support, and giving her a great time.
And when I started seeing someone new, Linda pulled me aside, and reminded me that I should wait at least 6 months between serious relationships. She just wanted to look out for me, and didn’t remember that it had been 11 months since my separation.
I will miss that. I will miss my “Linda mom,” and I will miss Marky, Jon and Ferarri, my “sisters”. I will even remember Ryan, the “brother” who drove me crazy. I appreciate that even after we haven’t gotten along for so long, he made a point of signing my card, and leaving me a nice message. This is like a family, and I will miss them.
I’ll also miss my customers. I’ll miss my UPS crew, who came in to see me every Friday night. I’ll miss the group from the Westerner, who make sure to give me a hard time as often as they can. I’ll miss the coffee pouring competition, and I’ll miss seeing if we can beat the record of 15 mugs (I’ll see if I can’t get a pic of that up. I have one in the phone from when we poured 7). I’ll miss the crowd, and miss the rush, and miss all the people who came to see me, that I really liked, but never took the time to learn their names.
I won’t miss the mess. I won’t miss the fry sauce on my arms, or ice cream in my hair. I won’t miss sore feet, or the smell that may never come out of my aprons. I won’t miss the uniform, and I won’t miss the mean drunks that sometimes came in. I won’t miss the stress of someone calling in, and I won’t miss being yelled at by the kitchen for making a mistake (I made a few of them. They thought it was funny to yell at me). I won’t miss cleaning up spilled drinks, or spilled condiments. I won’t miss being awake for 26 hours on Friday, and having to get up early on Sunday so I don’t mess up the sleep schedule. I won’t miss the fights, though I will miss our copper. He was a nice guy, and always looked out for us. I won’t miss a lot of the details about working there.
But in the end I will miss it.
“It’s something unpredictable, but in the end there’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.”
1 comment:
I'll miss you too!
Post a Comment