New Streams of Life (16)
New Streams of Life (16)
I started to work as a team member in Little Chef, a popular chain of roadside restaurants in England, last week.I worked on shifts on this summer part time job
. I should say I enjoyed the experience overall up so far: The customers I came
across have been very nice to me. The compliments they offered me relieved me ofall the ennui of the drudgeries in the washing-room and made me forget the disappointment people I worked with gave me.
There are several groups of customers that I can still remember very clearly. There was a lovely old couple this morning. The old gentleman told me that it was
smile that made the whole world different, and that I have a beautiful pair of eyes and the sweetest smile in the world. You know that’s what I liked about this job. I love to see my customers come with expectations, and leave with enjoyment and satisfaction. For that I am willing to put all my efforts in.
I also love the sense of humor in the temperament of people in this country. For
example, there was another family of four yesterday. When I offered them Latte
and Cappuccino along with sugar, the father said to me that they didn’t need sugar. “We are already sweet enough.” He said. Then there were the three pairs of couples who regularly dropped in to have a morning toast and a cup of tea. Now I can remember what type of preserves which of them prefer to put on their toast. I greeted them the other morning when they came in and said if they preferred the same table. Then one of the old gentlemen asked me if it was because of him that I recognized them, as he was the most handsome guy in the group. I just couldn’t help smiling.
I find such sense of humor, even little, is enough to enlighten the world. It can remind you of the benign side of our life and forgive the bitterness and disappointment of it. Yesterday it was my mother’s birthday, but I had to work late on shift. When I finished the work at eleven at night, someone told me that there was a woman expecting me outside. I looked out and there was my friend’s mother. She came to fetch me because she was worried. In the changing room, tears
welled up in my eyes.
But as tears can come after happiness, they can also came out of disappointment
and even anger. To this probably every of us can find the proof in our daily life. As I was doing shift, every time I ended up working with different people.
I knew there were all sorts of people in this world, but until I met this woman
today I couldn’t imagine there was such one.
She was in her thirties, owning the look of having seen the whole world, bit sarcastic bit self-absorbed and bit self-content. She talked too much, did a little and showed a lot. I understand that I haven't worked in the restaurant long,
but I don't see for that reason she needs to tell me what to do all the time. At
one time I was serving drinks, she gave me advice in front of the customers, saying things like I should take the tray at the customer table when serving them.
But I didn’t know if she saw there was a kid sitting at the table, and I was serving hot drinks! Maybe she owned the confidence but lost her common sense over
the years.
I think all this was the accumulative reasons that I don’t want to work nine to
five. It’s like you are stuck in the small world of your working place and yourself and, if you are careful, you have the tendency to forget your world was not the whole world and you were not as important as you thought. On the woman there was too much imprint of the repetitive past and too little sign of sensible thoughts and consideration .
For that I think that we should not forget to remind ourselves of where we really are in the life and where we want to strive forward now and again. And, if possible, we should try to give ourselves a break and jump out of our normal selves
from time to time. Otherwise, as I said, life probably will be too easy to become small and trivial.
But anyway I think I will try to finish this summer job nicely. It is interesting to know people, and this job can offer me the capital I need to do my import and go on my camping trip to France. Also this job, in some way, allows me to see
my own improvement over the past few years. For example, I start to accept the
fact that most people are different, let them be bad or good, and this allows me
to get along with people more easily, which included the woman I aforementioned
. I finally learn to forgive people when they don’t know how to make out of themselves.
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