Rare Form

I don't hang out after work. This is unusual in a restaurant employee. I can safely say this because I've been in the industry for about half my life. Most of my coworkers do, and I am not judging, merely observing, and reporting what I see. I followed the standard restaurant worker routine myself for many years. The routine has a straight-forward pattern: Work insane hours (double shifts, triple shifts, swing shifts, third shift, whatever. Many many hours, til the wee-est of the wee hours.) then drink until you pass out. Get up the next day, consume crappy food and do it all over again. I am almost completely reformed. I rarely drink more than two beers at one sitting. I don't work fourteen million doubles in a row anymore, and I manage to get a decent amount of sleep.

This is Kimmie, isn't she gorgeous? Tonight was Kimmie's last night at BbH. She's finished school and moving on to greener pastures in the medical coding industry. I love Kimmie and will sincerely miss working with her. So I stuck around for a bit after work to hang out.

This is Justin, who we call Ra. (He's the Sun God! He's the fun God! Ra! Ra! Ra!) He's leaving on tour with his band, Burnt Ninja, tomorrow. Justin is going to be a huge Rockstar someday and I will say I knew him when. As soon as he returns form tour I will secure his fine musical ensemble to perform at one of our Roller Derby Bouts so you all can bask in his glory. I know he looks a bit surly, and some of you may be thinking, "What a total rockstar. I bet he's really (insert rockstar appropriate adjective here)" but I'm telling you, he's a sweetie.

This is Diana acting goofy. She was slightly drunk. Like me, Diana doesn't usually get all trashed after work. It was fun watching her down all those shots. I only put these pictures up here because I know she will be horrified by them, and I know she reads my blog.



Last but not least, we have Rachel and Dan. I love Rachel and Dan. I want to spend more time with them, outside of work. I will make a concerted effort to hang out with them as friends. Also, they have the cutest kitties on the planet. Even cuter than mine.
So I stayed out late and drank a beer with my friends at work. I realized that I miss doing this. I miss the camaraderie that is created when you work long hours in a high stress job. I'm always complaining about my job, and I'm starting to think that I need to shut up and get back into it. I really like working with these people, I like what I do for a living. I make a decent living, I have tons of time to work on other projects that are important to me, I have more flexibility with my work schedule than anyone I know. I need to know how good I've got it.