Monday, January 11, 2010
(Originally posted on Facebook)
Welcome to the first post of the new year! I hope you’re all keeping up with your resolutions. I am.
As you may recall, my primary New Year’s resolution is to get a new job. I have my job rant thoroughly memorized (low pay, no discount, inability to communicate with my coworkers, general lack of appreciation, etc.), so I’m sure I’ve written it here before, or at least complained to a number of you individually. Well, behold yet another—and the most pressing—reason: the only coworkers I’ve made friends with have left or will be leaving.
A not-so pleasant picture of An Qi (we pronounce it “Angie”) and a way-too-cool picture of Justin.
Justin was the only American working at Kikka Sushi when I arrived, and naturally, my favorite one to talk to. When we would work at the same time, all we did was check out women, talk about nerdy stuff, and complain about our job. He had been there a year by the time I started, and by December, that had been too long. He worked his last day at Kikka while I was in California for Christmas.
An Qi was the other person who worked with Justin and me in the teriyaki section. She doesn’t speak English well, but she speaks it often. And quickly. At first, I couldn’t tell if she was speaking Cantonese or English, but now I have an ear for her rapid broken English. I respect her for her willingness to learn, too; she’s always asking what words mean, writing down new ones and—to my suprise—usually spelling them correctly on the first try. I give her grammar lessons; Justin taught her bad words. Needless to say, it’s always fun talking with An Qi, hearing her complain about the other Chinese people and teasing her ceaselessly about everything because she does the same. Unfortunately, she’s being transferred to a Kikka on Maui in mid-February.
Now is the time to leave.
Last weekend, I went around picking up applications for several restaurants at other nearby shopping centers. I’ve decided I want to be a server because I like being on my feet, I like food, and I want tips. I’ve heard of servers who were able to pay for all the entertainment, clothing, food, and even rent with just tips. I’ve never been able to let paychecks build up. It sounds like a good plan.
I have my fingers crossed for Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Forest Gump is in my top three; every time I go to that restaurant, I get most of the trivia questions right. I can see myself getting pretty enthusiastic about this job. Wish me luck on the interview.
I also have applications for Old Spaghetti Factory, CPK and Macaroni Grill. They were right around the corner. Why not?
Now, I do have an application for a movie theater on file at Ward Center. Although working at a movie theater is the cliche loser path for a film school graduate, I figure such a status ain’t too far from server. Besides, I spend a ton of money at the theater already; it’d be nice to save money while seeing more films.
So, here’s to hoping the new year (okay, quite honestly, the new month) sees a change of employment. As for my other resolution, I’m keeping it right now. I plan to keep up my blog more frequently, as long as you all keep reading and responding.
Peace!
To keep with the theme of “change,” I present to you a Roxy model in winter clothing instead of beach gear. As you can see, still gorgeous. Also, her name is Torah Bright. Bright, like my future.
Don’t worry, we’ll return to bikinis with the next post.
Young Man Went East 