It’s warm.
The coworkers are supportive, and they connect with you in little ways, like singing your name or blowing on the back of your head as they’re passing. The servers speak candidly.
I get junk on my hands. Whatevs.
Today, Blondie and I had back to back shifts at the Bee. He was cut at 3:00, and he stuck around until 4:00, waiting for me to come on shift, so he could greet me. I really wanted him to linger at the bar, but he had to go to a barbecue at his uncle’s. “I’m not even going to take a shower. I’m just going to go like this.” He had food on his shirt. He reeked of the kitchen. Later, one of our coworkers told me, “Your husband is going straight to a barbecue at his uncle’s, and he's not taking a shower. I told him he needs to shower first.” I like how the people who know him know me.
I hear "Don't fight the Applebee's" when Jay-Z says, "Don’t bite the apple, Eve" in
"Empire State of Mind."
I sometimes hate being at work. I get sore in the legs. I agonize over a high school host's lack of communication skills.
But, whatever. All is well.
Blondie began working at the Bee in January 2010, and I started in August 2010. One night in August, when I had gotten the job but hadn't had my first shift, I expressed to Blondie my fear that it would depressing to work there (pointless), and he said something really inspiring. He described Applebee's, our store, as it's own world. It is one universe. We are always going back to that idea–the idea of our store as a world, where there are so many things happening, such a distinct order of operations. The Front of the House (host stand, bar, restaurant area) is one hemisphere. The Back of the House (kitchen, Powerhouse, where the real work is done) is the other hemisphere.
"Yeah, I'm up at Brooklyn,
Now I'm down in Tribeca,
Right next to DeNiro, but
I’ll be hood forever,
I’m the new Sinatra,
and since I made it here,
I can make it anywhere."
I love your Appleknees.
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