I'm beginning my job at Piccolina's restaurant on Tuesday. It'll be nice to finally have some money again. I haven't begun yet, but I'm already very thankful that they hired me when nobody else would. Most places won't hire you if you tell them that it's only for the summer. They'd prefer someone who will be sticking around, and understandably so, but it's caused me a lot of stress this summer. Once you've had a job, it really wears on you when you don't have one.
When I walked in to apply, I instantly got flashbacks to the first restaurant I worked at way back when I was 16, Delallo's cafe. The food there was spectacular. a few of the people were extremely friendly, particularly an old woman named Lynn, who had worked as a waitress there for 35 years, since the day it opened. Whereas most waitresses seem somewhat dead on the inside after 5 years at the same restaurant, Lynn had a sense of positivity and cheerfulness even when the place was packed out the door and everyone was losing their mind. I learned a lot from her about keeping a relatively cool head at work when shit was hitting the fan, for lack of a better phrase.
However, despite the two or three friendly people at Delallo's, there were more than a few people there who did everything they could to make it as unwelcoming an environment as possible. The worst of them all was the owner, who in moments of calmness could be a nice enough guy, who explained away his faults as coming from the stress of running a successful restaurant. In almost every other situation, however, he was a terribly unkind man, who barked orders out of his 5'6'' Mussolini-esque frame. At one point, he referred to me as useless, and kicked me out of the restaurant to sweep up cigarette butts in the parking lot. During my time there, I was miserable every day. On days when I worked, I dreaded going in. On days that I didn't work, I dreaded the next time I did. 16 was not a fun age.
Therefore, when I walked into Piccolina's, and saw that the setup was almost identical to Delallo's, I got Vietnam-like PTSD flashbacks of a horrible boss, angry patrons, and surly waitresses. Then I met the owner, and my fears subsided. When I met the owner of Delallo's, he told me to get a hair cut, then walked away. The owner of Piccolina's welcomed my brother and I with a smile, and offered us both drinks, then gave us a tour of the restaurant.
I'm feeling good about this job, though I'm a bit nervous. I'm always nervous before I start a job. I never know what it's going to be like, how the people I work with will treat me, whether I will dread each coming day. Thankfully, each job I've had since that first one has been lightyears better in every way. I was fortunate enough to work at the Grand Residence for over a year as my second job, and it changed my outlook on working. I had, at one time, dreaded the rest of my life, thinking I would never be happy again, and that every job would be the same. I've never been so happy to be wrong.
Regardless of how this job turns out, I'll at least be making money. Plus, they hired my brother as well, so it'll be interesting having him around, even if we won't be working the same days. Kid's rolling in money right now from cutting lawns, but I'm kind of proud of him for finding a job on his own, despite not really having to. That's pretty cool, right?
