This time last year my Friday and Saturday nights consisted of getting home from school, getting ready and going out with my friends. Oh how things have changed in a little over a year. Now, most of my weekend is spent working. My Friday and Saturday nights are spent at Applebees asking people how many are in their party, seating them and later bussing their table. Sounds fun, right? Then on Saturday and Sunday mornings, I go to work at the Cook Shack Cafe, where I wash dishes and sometimes waitress. Even though this may sound like a lot (20 hours a week, but who’s counting?), it’s really not that bad. I actually kind of like putting on my black shirt, jeans and name tag on Friday night and my old jeans and t-shirt on Saturday mornings.

Strange as it may seem, I actually think working is fun. Sure, cleaning up an ice cold slushie that was spilled in the cracks of a booth or scraping egg yokes off plates doesn’t really sound fun, and I’ll admit it’s not always my favorite thing to do. When I say I like working, I mean I like the people I work with. The Cook Shack is a family owned restaraunt where I am one of three people who is not related to each other. This can be crazy and hectic at times, but it is so much fun. Everyone there treats you like you are actually family. I’ve gotten advice on school, friends and life. I’ve laughed until I almost cried and we’ve ordered takeout when business was slow one day. Applebees is a little different. There are so many different people who work there. I’ve been exposed so many different characters its not even funny. First, there are the servers who like to mess with you. I can name countless times where my knees have been knocked out from behind, mints have been thrown at me without warning and my hair has been pulled. Then there are the servers who are picky. One told me not to put any kids in her section because she has enough kids at home and doesn’t want any more. Another told me she didn’t want any tables with more people than five. Then there are some random servers. One night, when one server got off, he ran up to the host stand and yelled, “Wooh! Weekend starts early for me!” He did this to a full restaraunt of people who just stared. Another didn’t take any tables for a good 10 minutes because he had money on how many points LeBron James would score in one game (he lost his money). These are just a few of the things I see at work. So, the next time you groan about going into work, try and stay positive and take a look at all the different type of people who are there.