I've Turned Charissa's "Prompt Friday" Into "Prompt Monday"

Okay, so we all know I am OBSESSED with Charissa over at The Smashbook.  She does a "Prompt Friday" where she asks her readers to write from a prompt she gives them.  Since I usually (almost) always have my posts planned ahead of time, I get irritated because I don't have time to answer these awesome prompts!  Well, I have decided to start featuring them on Mondays, where we are all feeling pretty blah, and I have the time to devote to these fantastic prompts, which truly inspire me.  Here's her's from last Friday:

This was not a difficult task for me, in terms of finding the book I wanted to choose, but I was blown away when I opened my favorite book, The Catcher in the Rye, and counted ten words in, off some random page.  What I found was perhaps one of my favorite quotes from the book, period.  I decided to use the whole quote, not just the word.  Sorry Charissa, you know I'm hard-headed!

“I am always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

 

This could not speak to me any more than it does right now.  I am one hundred and twenty percent OVER my job, but I am feeling very torn between leaving it, to begin at another restaurant, or staying there and perhaps becoming suicidal. 

Lately, we have an "issue" at my work with a gentlemen bartender whom we all know is HEAVILY armed at home.  He recently became disgruntled, and now he speaks to NO ONE.  I mean, he may speak to the people at the bar, or maybe at his tables (if he wants to make money I should hope so), but I feel incredibly uncomfortable working with him.  Not only that, when there are two bartenders working, we SPLIT our tips.  Now, why in the hell do I have to split my tips with old Christopher Dorner over here, while I work my ass off and I'm earning ninety-percent of this money?  Nope.  Not going to do it anymore.

I actually love serving tables, and that is what really makes me happy.  I know the title of "bartender" has a cool ring to it, but trust me, the "cool" factor is very low.  I have had it with watching old people make out, seeing these "moms" decked in spray tans guzzling Chardonnay (and then CRYING over the cost of their tab---seriously this has happened), I have had my fair share of ridiculous questions about my tattoos (they are none of your business, THAT'S WHAT THEY MEAN) and basically running the entire restaurant while my managers watch with their thumbs up their asses.

I am kind to everyone, no matter what their appearance, gender, attitude, mood or sexual preference.  I heard my GM make a derogatory comment about a same sex couple in the bar, saying another table had to relocate because of "the show at table 311".  This enraged me like nothing has ever enraged me before.  I have taken this woman's crap for over seven years now, and all I could see was my dear, darling, and late cousin Jeff, standing there, asking me, "you going to let this go down?"  Well, I decided I wasn't. 

When I called my HR department, they told me I could not make an anonymous complaint, because I could have a "vendetta against the GM, or just want to get HER fired."  We have three female GMs in the company, how does she know it's a "she?"  And furthermore lady, there's this thing called The Whistleblowers Act which protects my anonymity.  I went to college, I just didn't put a suit on and drive to Huntington Beach and get a job because I am pretty.  Also, due to my "free speech" that I like to express over the Internet, I was forced to sign a document that basically waived my rights to discussing my job or anything that happens there on "social media."  Whoops!  Guess I forgot about that.

Getting back to the original quote, (sorry about the ranting), my job is to be nice to people, no matter what.  I think this quote speaks to me because although I am well-established at my job, loved by my patrons and guests, and feel a certain affinity for the crew, that is no reason to stay there.  When I move jobs, I will still have to be nice to people, I will still have to take some guff, and I am pretty sure I am going to be dealing with a few assholes.  But these are NEW assholes, and they are the enemy outside, not the enemy WITHIN. 

When I interviewed at my new place, I actually felt welcomed, and I did bring up several of the issues I was having at my current job.  Both the Assistant Manager and the GM looked at me like I had eaten a shit sandwich right in front of them.  They could not believe I had taken all of that crap for so long.

I realized something yesterday day, as I finished my shift.  I made a lot of money, but it was based on coincidence alone.  The place was empty, and because I am a strong server, two tables took great care of me.  Had that not been the case, I would have wasted my entire Sunday, standing around being forced to clean baseboards.  These are the priorities people: baseboards.  Not the fact that we run NO ADVERTISING, NO COUPON INCENTIVES and THERE IS NO ONE IN THE BUILDING.  The baseboards need to be clean, apparently that's what brings people in.  Conclusions reached: things are not going to get better, they are only going to get worse.  So, I'm giving my notice tonight, officially.  I'll try to be nice and say "I'm glad to have met you."  You gotta say that stuff if you want to stay alive.