I’ll bet you didn’t know that. I’ll bet you didn’t know that they also have 6 different styles of Ribs and that the “Awesome Blossom” is only available when the “Colossal Onion” is in season.
Did you know that every item on the menu has a specific menu code-name designation, that I will have to know by Monday?
I know these things now, and many more fun facts, as I have obtained a part-time position at Chili’s Waikele, Store #515 of the ever-expanding Chili’s empire.
In addition, I’ve got 60 some pages of material that I have been asked to study and be tested on. The material varies from understanding menu items, being able to visually identify them, getting familiar with the corporate Lingo of the place and the manner in which the cooks expect the orders to be written….I’ve made flash cards.
In the end, I know that I, like most people, have in the past been driven towards an identity that was work-induced; “what do you do?” that was the question asked anytime I met a new person, whether it be at church, at Target, or at a bar…it was always the question that people drove to, as it does have a lot to do with who we are perceived to be.
To date I have spent:
15 years of my life as a professional educator including: Teacher, Assistant/Associate/Dean of students, Theater Director, Coach (head and Assistant), summer camp director, Swimming teacher, Camp counselor, rock-climbing teacher, Dorm Parent, Administrative intern, NHS Committee member, and various other roles.
14 years of my life in the Hospitality Industry as: dishwasher, Waiter, Bartender, Bar-back, banquet server, counter guy, sandwich maker, beer and wine guru, croissant maker, waiter, bouncer, host, bartender, waiter and now waiter again. And of course, there were those two days at “Chicken Holiday.” If you’ve never cleaned a grease trap, well, I’ll try not to think less of you…I also mowed a lot of lawns, played a few clubs, shoveled a ton of snow, raked my share of leaves, and just worked.
I remember the summer that I had my first official job. I came home on the last day of school, and was looking forward to a long and slow summer of hanging out with my friends and relaxing. I had studied hard for my finals, which were gratefully done, and when I walked in the door, I was expecting to waltz down to the Family room and watch “Hogan’s Heroes” or “McHale’s Navy” (we didn’t have Cable then).
I hadn’t yet put my bag down when Mom said, “get in the car, I’m taking you to your new job.”
15 minutes later, I was washing dishes at the Cranbury Inn. I learned a lot that summer, and among those lessons that I learned was that I really could get through pretty much anything I put my mind to get through. I just did what I was told. That worked for me most of the time while I worked there, but I learned soon enough the hard lesson that some people are lazy and will leave any work they can for someone else if they are able to get away with it. This became an issue at the Inn when a much older gentleman server would give me his plates without clearing them. I let it go a few times, but when it became clear that, even after being reminded by me and some of his serving colleagues, he had no plans to start clearing his plates before he put them up to be cleaned, which was my job, I stopped cleaning his dishes. I just put them to the side, and let them pile up. It seemed to me like the non-aggressive thing to do, as what I really wanted to do was somewhat brutal and unbecoming a gentleman.
The line cooks, who were positioned right across from me, who were older and some of the wiser men I’ve ever known, picked up on my silent protest and slowed up on his food orders. Eventually, it trickled down to the Chef, who pulled this douche of a waiter aside, and said, “looks like the kid needs you to clean your plates.”
That guy never gave me a problem again-nor did anyone else in the kitchen. I was 14. Where else but a restaurant does that happen in America?
I worked a lot of jobs outside the restaurant industry, including postal work, garbage man, I’ve moved stuff and I’ve painted stuff, and a lot of landscaping jobs. If I learned anything from those places, it’s that the only thing that mattered was if you were ready to get to work. If you worked hard, you earned respect. I’ll save my Garbage truck stories for another post, as I’m not sure that there’s not a book there.
The long and the short of it is that I know how to work hard. I had little choice but to learn how to work hard in my house growing up. There was no other acceptable option, and I’m glad for that, now Whether it was something I was good at or something I was bad at, my parents gave me the chance to try it, and if need be, fail spectacularly. Or to succeed. But I was always to try.
So, when you’re not “working,” how do you define yourself? Most of the parents that I encounter think I am there as a fill-in with my kids. Mommy got sick or something. When I tell people that I am a stay-at-home dad, they are quite often put off my it. I’ve been working hard in a new way at home since we moved here. There are some parts of the job back in Jersey that I really miss, though I won’t go into that here. I was good at things there. I’ll admit that the district politics pissed me off more than I’ve ever said, and that I have a real problem with people putting politics in the way of kids learning. That in many ways sums up why I was willing to step away. I just want better for me and mine. I was working 12-14 hours days most days, and working in some capacity at least 6 days a week. My kids were asleep when I left, and on many days, were either asleep or ready for bed when I got home.
So, I’ve stepped away from education to raise my kids, and I’ve picked up a new job at Chili’s. I start training tomorrow. Stay tuned for further details on the next chapter of my employment saga.
This entry got away from me a bit, but feel free to enjoy it anyway.
Oh, and as a follow up to last entry-I’m writing again.
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