Bird on a Bun, Drag It Through the Garden, and Put Legs On It!

In light of the severe deficit in my (non-existant) trust fund, I decided to look for work using the most valuable skill I have: waitressing. I was good at it when I did it in college, I actually enjoyed it for the most part, and most importantly, it's fairly lucrative. Oh, and I won't feel guilty about leaving the job after a short time.

I've developed a list of criteria for potential restaurant jobs over the years: anywhere that is hiring all the time is out (super high turnover seems like a baaaad sign), anywhere that requires you to put your tips into a communal pool is out, anywhere that has a clientele with an average age of 50 or older is out (tips are too low, as a general rule), anyplace that I particularly like to eat is fair game (it's nice to feel enthusiastic about the hash you're slinging, plus many places offer discounted or free meals for employees, so you ought to want to eat that benefit), any place that never advertises for help is good, any place that seems to have the same wait staff for ages is really good, any place where the managers can be seen working the floor on a Saturday night (not just walking from table to table asking if everything is okay) is also good.

With this in mind, I decided to apply at a local middle eastern restaurant that I really like. I noticed when we walked by the other night that they were hiring, so I was pretty sure I could get a job, and sure enough, I walked in today, filled out the application, had an interview, and I start tomorrow!

I was feeling a little... depressed about going back to waitressing until I talked to a professor from Our Law School this weekend. He laughed and remarked "You aren't the first, you won't be the last. I remember those days myself." Well! If he could do it, so can I, right? In fact, I kind of like the idea of taking a year to work as many hours as I can and work on my book. Of course, if the right job comes along, I would be thrilled to death, but I'm not going to force it. If it takes me awhile to find the right thing, so be it.

Anyway, I figure if nothing else, waitressing should provide me with fertile blogging ground.