By Melik
I would not say I am the healthiest person however I believe I am doing more right than wrong. I try to eat well at least during the week. I do not eat breakfast but I have a vitamin filled protein drink and I have trained myself to drink a fair amount of water. I try not to make a habit of eating fried foods. My stomach can not bear much from any fast food places. I am not overweight. I do not drink alcoholic beverages nor do I smoke. My major addiction is sugar. I am a goner if I ever become diabetic. I just can not quit the candy. The worst things I do to myself are work too much and not get enough regular sleep. I figured I was doing pretty okay considering my position in life. I was trying to take care of myself, a single male living alone with a mortgage, car payment and a yard that needs a lot of work and a house that could use a lot more attention than what I am willing to give.
I had not taken a real relaxing vacation in a few years. I could feel the stress of life wearing me down. Working all day and waiting tables trying to be nice to people all during the holiday season was really taking a toll on my mental state. I mean really, how can you enjoy the holiday season when you are working eighty hours a week? I could feel myself being a little more exhausted than normal. People in my world probably noticed I was a little more surly than normal. I was thinking that I probably should plan a vacation for myself. I had the usual excuses of did I have enough money, what about my job, where would I go and things of that nature. I was having a difficult time releasing the stresses of life. I had this feeling before and I knew it was my body telling me I needed to take a break, but when?
Graduation time around the restaurant is absolutely crazy. I am a college dropout so I never had the privilege of celebrating the receipt for higher education. Maybe that does warrant a day when you can act like the spoiled girl, Violet, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Add Mother’s Day Sunday May 13, 2007 to the mix and that is a long work week. People get a little crazy when it is their special day. I was getting tired of getting talked down to by people that had just graduated. I appreciate the magnitude of the feat but why does it cause some people to act so arrogant? I mean, for the most part people are great and just want to have a good celebratory time. It is those few rude ones that can make things almost unbearable. Like the guy that came into the private room I was trying hastily to clean for a party that had rented out the room. He was barking orders to no one in particular, clapping his hands demanding to know why the room was not ready yet. I guess it did not matter that he was 25 minutes early. I tried to blow off the outburst and finish my job but I then got yelled at by my boss. The people began to file in and wanted things immediately. My head began to throb. This little, frail looking great grandmother-like woman came up to me speaking in broken English that she was cold and could really use some hot tea. She was very sweet and polite I had no problem dropping everything to meet her needs. I went to fulfill her needs and grab some other drinks for people that were not so sweet in nature. As I was finishing my task another wait person was not watching where she was going, ran into my tray of drinks which caused the water for the hot tea to pour onto my hand and down my arm. I can tell you that 180 degree hot water causes your body and mouth to do some involuntary reactions. I dropped the tray and exclaimed a profound expletive. Without hesitation I left the mess and walked out the back door of the restaurant.
This is Part I of II. Part II will be continued in the next edition.
Melik welcomes feedback, comments and suggestions for future commentary ideas. Please contact me at
melik_2001 @ yahoo.com
oing, ran into my tray of drinks which caused the water for the hot tea to pour onto my hand and down my arm. I can tell you that 180 degree hot water causes your body and mouth to do some involuntary reactions. I dropped the tray and exclaimed a profound expletive. Without hesitation I left the mess and walked out the back door of the restaurant.
One of my bosses followed me outside and calmly asked what was going on. I said I needed a cigarette. I hadn’t smoked a cigarette in eight years. I managed to get an instant head rush on the Marlboro red. We talked a bit. I felt like I was at a psychiatrist or something. I wondered if I should find a real head doctor to go to. Nope, pass me another red, boss. I was not going to let these people cause me to end up going to a head doctor for the rest of my life. I have plenty of other unresolved issues that I could go for without being a waiter being my root cause. I would rather have lung cancer I guess.
Later that evening I was talking with a friend of mine about all my stress and had a few Newports. They went down a little too easy. Even though I was talking I was not doing a good job of releasing my stress. I had grown accustomed to internalizing everything knowing I had to push through. Years of dealing with one major event after another I knew were finally catching up to me. I could not put a finger on it but something just did not feel right. There was the restless sleep, money stress, in and out of relationships, house going into foreclosure, trying to figure out how to dress up Ramen noodles for the third or fourth day in a week, and wondering if heat was going to be turned off in a cold Michigan February. All the while trying to put on airs that everything is okay when that was furthest from the truth. I was becoming a great illusionist. I had no idea that it would almost cost me my life. I am sure those five or six cigarettes did not help either.
