Sad People Love Fast Food

Sure, we all know that I've only been in the business of dishing up the fast food delicacies for almost two months, but, even in such a narrow timeframe, I have already witnessed the most depressing trend that could possibly exist. Sad people (and really, let's just be honest and just say people in shitty moods in general) are attracted to fast food. I'm not even exaggerating this at all. It's probably the greatest love story/ romantic rendezvous that has ever occurred.

Droopy faces and fat thighs come waddling in through the front doors at around 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening like clockwork. With distant eyes and exhausted minds, these people aren't hard to miss. It gets even better when they approach the counter and you have to ask them how their day was and they just release this long, heavy sigh and let their eyes flicker under the florescent lighting. You really wish you could just walk away and wait for someone else to help the customer, but it's really too late.

Me: How are you doing today, m'am?
Customer: *long, heavy sigh*
Me: One of those days, huh?
Customer: You have no idea.
Me: *fake laugh that everyone knows is totally fake and actually a deep-seeded cry for help*

As someone who interacts with these people on a regular basis, it can be a little, shall we say, weird. You want to treat them just like any other customer that walks in the door but it's like they are dragging a sack of steaming cow dung behind them and it kind of really smells bad. The dark, thick cloud of suck hanging in the air is just the cherry on top of a super awesome 5-hour shift.

One time, when I was working the evening shift at work, a woman came in during a dead time and I was working the counter. She seemed so out of it. She would mentally tune out reality and then, once she'd returned back down to earth, apologize for being so out of it. Finally, when I was finishing up her order by offering her sweet and sour sauce, she started telling me all about how she'd recently had her mother put in a nursing home and how exhausted she was and how she really didn't care what she put in her body as long as it was food. I could have probably fed her cold food, and she would have been fine with it. I'm not that mean, though.

WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THAT? MY JOB IS ALREADY KIND OF DEPRESSING AS IT IS SO WHY WOULD YOU BRING MORE SADNESS TO IT? 

But, let me tell you, the best part (and I really meant THE best part) of this whole ordeal is when you tell them to have a nice day and they just roll their eyes like they have just given up all hope in ever feeling a real feeling ever again.

I witness people give up on life and any possibilities of them actually enjoying their cold sweet and sour chicken every shift I work. I'm probably going to need years of therapy after this. Or I'll finally have the inspiration for my first great American novel.

But that's kind of the same thing, right? 

Would You Like Fries With That Shake?

Today, I guess I'm taking a page from my blogging pal Brandon's book by doing a second post! See, I knew getting hooked on his blog would lead to some self-improvement. (Go check out his blog, by the way. He's an awesome writer and a pretty cool cat).

Yesterday I was at work and it was a pretty slow day. I spent a good portion of my shift doing things to
make myself look busy (like cleaning and taking frequent trips to see if the bathrooms were looking okay). There was literally no one customers in the lobby at one point so I decided to refill the sauce packet dispenser thing by the register. As I was neatly arranging packets of soy sauce and hot mustard into this metal bin, my manager was behind me taking his meal break and talking on the phone. I was trying to listen in on his conversation, but he's just a little too Hispanic for me to do that if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I started thinking about whether he always wanted to be a manager at a fast food chain restaurant. Like, when he was growing up, did he have any other ambitions or dreams for his future career? An astronaut, maybe? At what point did he realize the only thing going for him was fast food employment?

Honestly, I thought about asking him because I really was curious. I talked myself out of that, though, as to not seem to nosy.

But, seriously, think about it. People who work in the ultra-glamorous career field of fast food once wanted to do something else with their lives to support themselves. It wasn't like they grew up telling their parents that they wanted to run their own Taco Bell later in life. I wonder what it was that made them think that was all they had going for them. I mean, I don't entirely hate my job, but I would never consider working there for an extended amount of time. There is a point when I actually want to pursue my dream career, ya know?

Don't get me wrong, though! The fast food industry isn't a horrible career field to work in! I am not saying that anyone should be ashamed for being a manager at a Wendy's or Burger King. After all, it's an industry that will probably never die as long as America is still fat and sassy. I'm just considering the fact that these people had ambitions other than fast food.

How do people get stuck with jobs they might never have anticipated? 
How do people get jobs they really love and enjoy and keep them?

Those are things I often think about because I am in college working on a degree that might or might not take me where I want to be in 10 years. I mean, even now, I sometimes lose sleep at night thinking about whether I even enjoy writing anymore. What does that say about me or my future? 

I don't know. I'll just leave that for Future Angela to figure out.