Sunday, February 17, 2008

serving

i like waiting tables. it's so friggin easy compared to other jobs. i make 20 to 30 bucks an hour, i bust my ass for maybe 2 hours during the shift, and the other 4-5 hours, i'm cleaning, or standing around, or talking to customers. it's just not hard. i don't have to get up early, or stay up inordinately late, i get fed a free meal, wear comfortable shoes, and talk about food and wine to people who like food and wine. this makes it difficult to pursue other avenues, career wise. i'm a licsenced massage therapist, and i really do love bodywork, but it's not as easy as waiting tables or bartending. nothing is, that i've found. when i leave my job, i leave it all there. no clients to call, no appointments to schedule, no mountain of paperwork to return to the next day. an nobody expects me to be loyal to this job, no follow through required. when they hired me, they knew i'd quit at some point, and there was never the illusion of a "career path", or a commitment. it's very good for my sense of freedom. there's no room for advancement, really, but i don't want it. i want out when i want out with minimum hassle.
there's an understanding among hospitality workers, we pass in and out of each other's lives often and easily. there's no holding on or holding back, we hook up, hang out, have fun, and move on. it's a tribe of sorts. a place where the doors always open, to enter and exit at will. it's no wonder i've been in the business for over a decade. other work is too hard to get and too much is expected of the worker.
it's not bad to be where i am, but it's not good either. always in limbo, always ready for change, i can never plan for anything, but i'm ready for anything. yeah, i guess that sums me up.

3 comments:

urban vandweller said...

I've worked on/off in the hospitality business for around 25 years; been a waiter, bartender, bellman, bar and grill manager, fancy maitre'd and all that. Not only is the lifestyle flexible, fun and easy, you can travel around and find work almost wherever you go. Also, you can plan holidays; work 4 months, take 2 off, and so on. Work in the city, a small town, a ski resort, the Caribbean, and so on. I now mix in other administrative and renovation contracts for maximum gain with no pain.

Work hard, play harder,
Urban Vandweller

River said...

It's like that for me too.

IW said...

what a great, well written post about waitressing.

i alternate waitressing with stripping and have a history of working as a PA/secretary in the corporate world.

alot of what you say is exactly who i am and for this reason im going to link to your blog from mine.

im really looking forward to reading your blog.

big love
lisa