Bus
by Kendra—Age 24—Kansas City, MO
My title was GM—General Maintenance. That’s Bus Boy in layman’s terms. It doesn’t matter how you try and spin that, I was at the very bottom. This acceptance will later explain how I managed to do something that even now, I can’t believe.
At 16, cleaning up after Mexican restaurant-going families seemed like a natural transition into the working world. So wrong. I can now think of a million minimum wage jobs that don’t involve scrubbing a searing tortilla machine with liquid bleach and steel wool. Either way, I had committed to a summer of service.
Between trying to prove myself to the managers and keeping my dignity, I discovered a lot about my limits and how they affected my attitude. Now you must understand, I am not a cheerful person. I smile and enjoy life and generally take an optimistic attitude, but I’m not bubbly. It’s nothing that’s hindered my life so far. But, I’ve always suspected it will at some point.
One day, my manager decided that I should check the men’s restroom. Normally, this would have fallen into the hands of any number of available male employees. I never restocked the men’s restroom simply because I’m not a man, and the customers who use it are. But, wanting to be cooperative, I obliged. The one day I do this, I find urine on the floor. And it’s not like a little splashed out around the urinal. No, someone decided peeing in the provided receptacles was too much of a hassle. Surely, someone else should take care of this. I went back to my manager and, you guessed it: finders, keepers.
At this point, it was so close to my last day, I desperately wanted to untie my apron and walk out (after splashing urine in his face, of course). Unfortunately, my work ethic kicked in, and I ended up in latex gloves. I had reached my limit, though. My last few days of employment lacked respect, enthusiasm and general interest. At the time I saw it for what it was, a manager using his power. Looking back however, it really helped define my life moving forward. I understood the purpose of deriving satisfaction from work. Obviously, my first job didn’t have this quality, but I saw the importance of finding a job I enjoy, and how negatively it affects my attitude when I don’t.
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