I was fourteen at the time, when I landed my first job at the local burger-joint, working my ass off to make minimum wage. I had only been working there for a few weeks and had already begun to resent going to work every single day I went. It wasn’t until I had been working there a few months that I had begun to realize that work could bring about a shit ton of laughter when I started to not give a shit, and embrace the laughter that naturally came with ridiculous customers.
-We all go through life trying to work our way up in the ever changing world we’ve all created; we start off small at big chain burger joints or doughnut shops, working our asses off in the 90 degree sweat-shop-of-a-kitchen to make $5.15 an hour (hell that’s what I started out as), and work our way up from there. Most of us have been here once, standing there, 6 hours into your shift, somewhat hunched in posture, with the constant ache in your ankles that slowly turns into bricks weighing your feet down. You might find yourself searching for motivation to make it through your shift, like reminding yourself of how good it will feel to plant your ass into your lazy boy back at home.
Yet when you ask “How can I help you?” to that irate customer who begins barking his orders at you, while he continues his ever so important conversation on his cell phone, giving you the standard nod and shake of the hand to acknowledge your very basic and redundant series of questions. And as the stench of his breath smells worse than your oil stained attire, you might be inclined to ask yourself, “What the fuck am I doing working here?”
This was the very question that had to have run through my mind just about every single shift I had worked at my first job, flipping burgers for a local burger joint. But then an incident had happened to me. Something completely new happened to me at the work place… I laughed, and from that point on, I never looked at work the same way.-
The story goes on to tell the tale of my first encounter with one of the biggest asshole customers I’ve ever dealt with, and how he was the first customer that I genuinely got good laugh out of. A woman that I would work with frequently, Svet as we called her, would always be smiling at work, while my miserable ass would be staring at the slowly turning hands of the clock, waiting for my time to leave. I would constantly think, “Well why the fuck is she so happy to be here?” It wasn’t until I had encountered this asshole customer that I began to realize why she was always laughing; she was laughing at the customer.
An excerpt from the story: The Beginning
-I had learned a very important lesson that day from Svetlana, something that I make a point to do today at my current Job; make light of life. Work can be stressful, and it sure as hell can take a toll on your body physically and mentally, yet when a funny moment comes across me, I’d be damned to not realize it and embrace the laughter that comes along with it. This laughter was the driving force for me to begin writing this book.-
I had stayed flipping burgers for several months afterwards, until I had left the job. After working a series of more shitty jobs, I ended up working at my current job at the bookstore while going to college. It wasn't long after I started working there, that these stories you're going to read about, started coming to life. Unimaginable things started to take place in front of me. I have encountered borderline insane people, been placed in the most awkward of situations, and have witnessed things I was unable to put into words until hours later. I hope you enjoy all of the ridiculous stories to come.
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