Mama Mia

If you ever got bored one day and watched the deleted scenes for The Grinch, you know that the scene in the beginning where the Grinch is wandering around in Whoville causing various mayhem is slightly different in the extended version of the scene. It starts off with all the storekeepers and the people in the streets going about their day slowly and calmly.

Then the Grinch mischeiviously taking a marble and rolling it down the street. As it goes it basically brings the Apocalypse to pass as it innocently causes annhilation in it's path and speeds up the commotion of the day, causing overall panic and chaos. As it gets to the other side, the Grinch goes to pick it up and then eyes the camera from behind his bunny mask. "Innocent child's playtoy," he asks, "or weapon of mass destruction? You be the judge."

So what's that got to do with anything? Well, that's the thing I thought of as I remembered how my first two days of work went. My first real job is an employee of the Fazoli's restaurant that's next to the University Mall in Orem. It's an Italian restaurant where Eric works. He recommended that I apply there, so just before we left for Martin's Cove I applied there with Richard. As you know from the previous post, it turns out that Pamela and Harry had also applied there. When we got back Richard and I went to Fazoli's to see how our application process was going. We both got hired—and apparently so did Pamela and Harry—and because Richard would be in Orlando the next week I would start first alone. I was scheduled to work Thursday and Friday of the following week.

My first day actually went really well, a lot better than I thought it would. I thought I would mess up, or everything would be confusing. And it was. But it was a lot of fun. I got to be the breadstick runner, which means that you take a basket of breadsticks around the dining room asking everyone if they'd like some free, piping hot breadsticks. And everyone does, of course (because those darn things are really addictive, which is why most folks go to Fazoli's for the free breadsticks anyway).

And my co-workers were all really nice. My main manager, or rather a guy that's been there for six weeks named Duane kinda took to me as his Padawan. Then there's a cute girl that's 17 named Necia who was the nicest. I'm thinking about asking her out on a date. Another girl named Kendra who's 18 and likes country is a lot of fun. I really love the people that I work with. I was afraid that I'd hate them all and they'd hate me, but it's like an Italian family in that place. I love it. (I just wonder what'll happen when Eric, Pamela, Harry, Richard and I work at the same time or something, which will eventually happen.)

The second day, Friday, was somewhat more stressful. Duane put me on the sandwiches, and you've got to do everything very quickly and it gets confusing because everyone's telling you, "All right I need [blank] with a [blank] on a [blank]" and you're just sitting there like, "I don't even know what [blank] is! Except that the cheddar is here, the turky is there, and the sandwich you're asking me to make ends in -ini!!!" I thought I was doing remotely okay until my manager walked in. Like I said, there's Duane, but he's not really a manager, just in a high spot. There are two real managers at Fazoli's: a guy named Ian who's funny, cool and nice (or so it seemed) and a young girl named Whitney who's also cool and nice. Whitney and I became good friends on Thursday when she spilled to me how her best friend committed suicide that Saturday, and I told her how a good friend of mine, a teacher at Orem High, also died Saturday.

Anyway, Ian was the guy who walked in. Apparently he was having a really stressful day because I go to take a nine-inch pizza out of the oven and he takes over the sandwich bar while I'm away. As I turn around he takes some utensil that I assumed was lying around or sitting in the bar or something and just hucks it at the wall. I freeze at the ticked look he's got on his face. But there's no time to think because we're in the middle of rush hour. I can't remember what I did next, I just remember that I was a lot more intimidated at that point. Then he leaves and I go back to the bar and he goes around cussing at the Hispanic woman Ana and I just keep my eyes on the Panini sandwich I'm trying to make, but then Duane wants me on the pasta bar to cover for him, and then someone needs me to stick some breadsticks in the oven and then grab a four-cheese out of the oven but Necia's wondering if I can do a breadstick run real quick and Ian asks me to stay at my post...

At some point in the sandwich panic hour I was positive I'd get fired. I even put the wrong sauce on the pasta and then I had to throw away a sandwich because it was the wrong kind of bread. I honestly had no idea the sandwiches were so popular. I wanted to scream "Stop ordering Panini's; the cook is getting aggravated out of his brains!" And Kendra was cashier and was wondering how she'd ever manage because she, in her own words, would go bloody bored out of her mind on cashier. So she was talking to me and Necia, and we were all talking and I was afraid every time Duane walked by that he was disappointed I was talking so much. I guess I was okay, because later he asked me to go help him grab the breadstick rack. While we were unloading it he asked me what I did with the wrapping of the rack. I realized I had thrown it away, and I was so embarressed especially after everything I'd done that day.

He said, "Listen, don't worry! If you're making mistakes, then you're learning. You should take that from a old guy like me to a young guy like you."

In an effort to thank him indirectly for his kind words, I jested, "Oh, you're not so old." He chuckled. "How old do you think I am?"

"I dunno, late thirties?"

He smiled. "Nope. I'm sixty-one."

My jaw dropped. "Get out!?" He honestly doesn't look that old. My bad.