Zen and The Art of Rolling Silverware

I'm realizing that in order to find peace with my current occupation, I must strive for perfection in everything I do; I realized this yesterday while rolling silverware into dinner napkins. Every day is a lesson in humility.

As I stand at the server's counter, waiting for customers, doing the daily crossword puzzle, and calculating my overtime to infinity, Bruce McCulloch's "That's America!" resounds over and over in my head. Each nice day that I spend inside serving eggplant parmesan and braciole to unappreciative customers, I think that maybe, when this caged freebird flies again, maybe I, too, will walk. The AT, from Maryland to Connecticut, looks pretty good right now.

Stand Up Eight

There is a Japanese koan which states, "Fall down seven times; stand up eight." I've applied this principle to my life so many times that I must be standing up close to nine times by now.

I have a conditional training today as a server in a small Italian restaurant in town. I have no former experience as a server, but the senora said she would try me out anyway. I have a decent memory, steady hands, and oodles of charm. Offsetting this however, I was reminded, is my impatience for stupid people and the mouth that has gotten me into trouble all of my life. If I learned anything from my time with Skip, maybe I'll be able to keep that mouth in check long enough to save up enough money to get back up into New England.

I was told to wear all black when I report at 10:15; I am wearing at least four different shades.

Also, I decided to start my daily tasks over, again. Too many continual days of interruptions went by and I was thrown off course. Today I'm asked to throw something away that I like. Maybe it will be my attitude ... but probably not.