My Job, My Utterly Painful Job

 My Job, My Utterly Painful Job 

            “I love my job,”

“I really like the environment here,”

“I enjoy cleaning bathrooms and sweeping rugs,”

“I am ecstatic about work every day,”

“I think the customers are the best part,” said absolutely no server ever.

Among all the things I listed that waiters and waitresses will not tell you, the most accurate is the last one. I, being a waitress myself, can fake it till I make it in the restaurant. I smile so unbelievably wide and portray the image of a happy person when I’m doing things such as rolling silverware, washing the hand sinks, cleaning the food/beverage trays, replacing the chips and salsa every few minutes, and much more. But that’s where the lie starts and stops, because I am incapable of being enthusiastic when faced with a horrible customer. Here below are some of the most common kinds of atrocious customers I have to deal with.

Types of Customers

1.      The Loose Goose: This is the kind of customer that has me on my toes the entire time they are here, for they are the uncontrollable alcoholics. It’s usually two girls who just turned 21, wrongly thinking they know how to handle their liquor, although, the people generally range. The other day, these two relatively young women ordered two margaritas as well as two Miller Lites. Naturally, I was confused but it wasn’t my place to ask them why. Two minutes had easily passed before I came out with their four beverages. That was when I had realized what the double drinks were for. You wouldn’t believe it if I told you, but they had begun to mix their margaritas and Miller Lites together. Admire my restraint from letting my jaw drop to the floor. And you would think that would be enough, but nope. I ended up bringing them three more margaritas and Miller Lites before I had to tell them no. Fortunately, they did not argue or get upset. Granted, they WERE incoherent.

 

2.      The Windshield Wiper: These are the customers who change what they’re about every 2 seconds. It is, without a doubt, the most difficult thing to work with.

Me: Can I start you off with anything to drink?

Customer: Oh, yes. I would like an iced tea, please.

Me: Alright, I’ll be right out with that.

*brings back iced tea*

Customer: Oh, I’m sorry hun. Is it okay if I get a Dr. Pepper instead?

Me: Of course, I’ll be right out with that.

*goes through tedious process of fixing everything on the computer*

Me: *handing back the Dr. Pepper* Alright I have one Dr. Pep-

Customer: Actually, I believe I’m going to stick with the iced tea. But thank you!

Unfortunately, this part is only the beginning of their ongoing torment. I am yet to ask for their order, but since I knew how indecisive they were, I gave them a little extra time.

Me: Are you ready to order?

Customer: Yes! I would like the chicken tacos please.

Me: Alright, I’ll get your menu out of the way fo-

Customer: Actually…

And believe it or not, they had changed their order at least three times that night. On top of that, they sometimes wanted extra salsa, but then decided on sour cream instead. Then, they half wanted dessert, half didn’t. When I brought out their ice cream, they chose a churro instead. I kid you not, people like this are well and alive. However, and luckily enough, these kinds of customers are fairly rare. Thank God.

 

3.      The Chatterbox: To take a break from all the terrible people, here, we have my favorite kind of customer; the one who makes my job a little less crappy. I’ve learned that working at a restaurant requires a lot of walking, cleaning, and serving, however, not much communication. So sometimes, when I get a couple of chatterboxes, I am able to take part in conversation that I had wanted my entire shift. The other day, a man told me about how he was getting laid off, so he was going to enjoy one last meal at his favorite restaurant before he had to save up. We went on to talk about his college major and even tried to come up with a plan for what he’ll do next. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve learned more about him in 45 minutes than I did about my coworkers in several weeks.

4.      The VIP Wannabe: Lord help me if I have to deal with one of these people. It will surprise you, the nerve of some people. The other day, a well-dressed, professional man walked in with his three year old daughter and said he wanted our nicest table, as well as our best high chair. Okay, fine. Pretty stupid, but fine. We did try to get him one of the more decent booths and a less torn up high chair. Whatever, not that big of a deal. But once you seat them, they let you know of their importance. This man told me that he was the president of some big company and that he wants our fanciest wine. How the heck should I know the difference between crap wine and amazing wine? When I had asked him to specify, he had sort of scoffed like “wow, this 18 year old doesn’t know crap about wine, how dare she?” It was literally just that the entire night. Him, giving me attitude and me, suffering.  

5.      Negative Nancy: We all know about Nancy, and we all know that she sucks. She strolls into the restaurant, gives you one look, and then you know. This is Nancy, and she is about to let her inner Satan loose. So right from jump, the chips are too dry and the salsa is too spicy. Oh no, looks like the table isn’t spotless. Unfortunately, it is too cold. These are only few of the many complaints I hear in the beginning only. It’s usually when I bring out their food, that they erupt. And I don’t hear the end of it either! I mean, it isn’t my fault that your burrito doesn’t have ENOUGH cheese on top. Or that you didn’t get as much sour cream as you had anticipated. And right when you think you get rid of them, they decide to leave you an amazing tip. And I’m not talking a money tip, I’m talking “get a nicer pen, this one is weak” kind of tip. Cheers to the good hearted Nancy.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about my health and well being, you can just shoot me an email (-: 

 

 

 

 

Body Image

Body Image

"To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself." -Simone de Beauvoir

How did the obsession with weight begin?

Although there's no exact day, time, or year to trace back to, America's first taste of the trend began in the 1800s.

Before the 1800s, Americans were generally larger than Europeans because they had access to more resources (foods). They ate more, so they gained more. No one thought much of it. In fact, hundreds of years ago, being stick-thin was considered ugly and disgusting. Only the poor, starving people were thin, while those with money ate more food, therefore being much larger. Take a look at famous kings and queens before the 1800s, most of them are fairly large, and their size was praised by the commoners.

So, when did this stop?

In the 1840s, a Presbyterian minister named Sylvester Graham began a diet for women that was seen as the key to health and mortality. This diet consisted of eating mainly bread from coarse graham flour (later used to make graham crackers), vegetables, and water. Then, in the 1860s, William Banting created the Banting diet, which is used as a basis for diets popular today. These two diet plans spread like wildfire, and by the 1920s, obesity no longer symbolized wealth, but instead showed laziness.

Marilyn Monroe, most famous during the 1940s through the '50s, was seen as one of the most beautiful women of her time. Even today, her name is still well known. Marilyn was curvy and sexy, and every girl wanted to look just like her. Today, that may not have been the case. Marilyn Monroe was not large by any means, but she was considerably bigger than the standard size of today’s models. This was mainly due to her height, since she was only 5'5”, but she weighed 118 pounds (this number varied, since her weight changed dramatically as she starred in many different roles), making her dress size a twelve. Average models today normally don’t exceed a size eight.

How did this happen?

In 1959, the first Barbie fashion doll was created. Barbie was a slim, blonde plastic doll that was viewed to be “the ideal woman’s body.” The early Barbie doll hardly resembles the Barbie we see today. She started out as a thin, but curvy doll. Barbie was often dressed in petite clothes and bikinis, just like the popular films in the 1960s. In the 1970s, when drugs and illegal substance abuse was at a high (pun intended), popular fashion models got hooked onto these drugs and their appearance significantly changed. They began to look almost emaciated. This unnaturally thin, ghost-like appearance became common among models.

Even fashion designers were affected by this. They wanted their clothes to look attractive, and picked the thinnest of the models to show off their clothes. Skinny models were essential not only for the appearance, but also for the camera, which can make one look larger than they actually are. The skinnier models got the jobs, while the curvy ones were left standing alone and confused.

Although two hundred years may seem like a lot, in a historical sense, it isn’t much time. In those years, beauty went from being large, to being curvy, then to being stick-thin. Who knows what trends we may see in the next few decades?

High Expectations

Teenage female models average size zero to two for females, with adults being size eight or smaller, and male models hardly ever exceeding 165 pounds. For most runway models, such as Victoria Secret’s “Angels”, this average drops to a perfect size zero. These models are given strict diets and exercise routines that they must follow so they don’t gain any weight, or else they’ll quickly be eliminated. These sickly-thin models sometimes starve themselves to the point of hospitalization to keep their figure, yet this fact seems to slip from the media’s attention. Brand names don’t want the public to hear about these facts because they want people to believe if they buy their product, that it will look just as good on the consumer as it did on the model, regardless of their size.

All around us are people manipulating their bodies to become thinner, and it's no wonder why people easily get sucked in. Being an average, healthy size is viewed as overweight, and the high expectations set for body image can be deadly.

Anorexia

Anorexia is not dieting, it is an eating disorder that includes losing a significant amount of body weight, having a fear of weight gaining, and having a self-image that relies mainly on weight.

Anyone can get anorexia, no matter what age, size, or gender. About ninety five percent of those with anorexia are teens and young adults. Anorexia is becoming more and more common because of the media, which makes being anorexic seem easy and makes you skinny quickly without any consequences.

This is not true. Yes, starving yourself will make you skinny quickly, but yes, the weight will come back.

Anorexia often begins as cutting down calories, and the person doesn’t realize that they’re not eating enough. They then start skipping meals, then skipping a day of eating, and eventually they can’t eat much of anything without getting sick. They first lose muscle, which is their body’s way of getting all of the nutrients that it is lacking when it’s not getting enough food. After the muscle mass is gone, then the fat mass begins to shrink.

They will be very skinny because their body is starving, not because they’ve become healthier. Over time, their metabolism will slow down, and eventually it will almost completely stop. A slow metabolism makes your body take longer to break down calories, therefore, you will gain weight quicker. In order for one with anorexia to stay skinny, they will have to continuously cut down calories, which is dangerous when they are already hardly eating anything.

It is okay if you have anorexia, it does not make you different from society and it does not mean there's something wrong with you. Please talk with a peer or someone you trust if you are anorexic to find treatment. You're not alone, there are millions of people with anorexia, and there are many people you can speak to about overcoming it.

Rehabilitation for anorexia consists of a slow, steady diet that adds more calories over time so it does not throw the body off. The metabolism can go back to normal over time, after consistently following the new diet and taking all of the steps given. If you have anorexia, you can overcome it.

Body Types

There are three body types: ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs. It is unusual for someone to fall perfectly into one body type, instead they're usually a mixture of the three. You cannot change your body type, it's hereditary and you'll have it your entire life.

Ectomorphs are generally thin and find it difficult to gain muscle and body weight. They have fast metabolisms, small frame and bone structure, a flat chest, and small shoulders.

Endomorphs have a larger bone structure with more body mass. They have slower metabolisms, are generally shorter, find it difficult to make muscles defined, but do gain muscle and fat the easiest.

Mesomorphs are generally known as the more athletic structure. They have well defined muscles, a rectangular shaped body, and gain muscle and fat more easily than ectomorphs.

Click here to find out what body type(s) you are.

Remember: no body type is better than the others. They are all beautiful and all have their highs and lows.

Dieting the Safe Way

There are millions of diets out there, some good and some bad, but it is difficult to find the one that works best for you. Some people spend years dieting with little to no results, and they don’t know what they’re doing wrong.

Before you diet, talk to your doctor to find the safest and most effective method for you. Mention your body type and any physical activity you do. You can lose weight in a safe and healthy matter, with just a little bit of effort.

The best diet is always cutting out fats, like those donuts in your pantry or the brownies your mom made, along with added physical activity, but this is also the most difficult way. Completely cutting out sweets will be more difficult, and less effective, in the long run. It’s best to follow a plan, and for serious dieters, to count your calories (set a goal for yourself, not too high but not too low).

How to Love Your Body

We see so many different people everyday, each with a different body, and they always seem to look good with it. But then, we look at ourselves, and we hate our own. How can you love your body?

The easiest thing you can do is to dress according to your figure. Women have four main figures: petite, circle (apple), triangle (pear), and hourglass. Just because you’re not super petite does not mean you can’t look good! Click here to look at different ways to discover the best way to dress for a particular woman’s figure. Men have three main figures: thin, heavyset, or muscular. Click here for the best way to dress for a particular man’s figure.

Make sure you're not surrounded by negative people, their attitude could easily transmit right to you. Try to be around people that are positive and you'll find yourself more upbeat. Give other people compliments, and you'll be surprised how many compliments you get back. Just one compliment can easily brighten your, and someone else's, day.

Don't be afraid to talk it out. We all have that one person who we can trust with our secrets; talk about your insecurity with them. They can help you through it, and even give you tips.

For girls, know that women were created to be more curvy than men because the women bare the children. It's just the way women were created to be

Keep in mind that your body was built for one main function: to keep you alive. Everyday it works hard for you and fights off all of the bad things that came your way, it's best to treat your body properly and be grateful for the amazing body that you have.

If you have questions, comments, concerns, or you need someone to talk to, you can email me here.

Remember that every body is beautiful, no matter what shape or size.

Childhood Homes

          Discussing places I have traveled with friends always starts out with discussions on our home countries. The question ‘where are you from?’ usually makes me slink back from the discussion, giving myself time to think of how to answer once people ask me where Sudan is. ‘That country in Africa’ is generally too vague, ‘that one under Egypt’/’atop Ethiopia’/ ‘beside Libya’ either sounds too demeaning (I don’t want them to know my country because it’s next to another!) or confusing. So I settle for referencing ‘that one country in Africa that divided a few years ago?’ and hope that they were keeping up with news in 2011 AKA when everything fell apart in Africa and the Middle East.

          Not having a permanent childhood home is a bit bizarre to explain. From what I've seen, everyone who says they moved around a lot is addressed with a single word, ‘military?”, more a statement than an actual question. In my case, my family was simply not satisfied with where we were living, so I moved from place to place until I settled down in the US in 2007.

          Moving from UAE to Sudan, London, Wales, and Egypt makes it sort of hard to relate to other people my age when they talk about their childhood. I find that what I lament the most is feeling sort of out of the conversation when someone mentions a cartoon and says something like, “If you don’t know this you had no childhood!”,and it feels silly, but I'm still a bit jealous. Strangely enough, since most of the countries I lived in were Arab, I’m still figuring out the English names of some cartoons I was into (forget Nick, my go-to channel was Spacetoon. I actually have a coat hanger with the logo on my room door, but I digress).

          I feel like going to different places is always meant to leave you with life lessons and different points of views on morals but honestly, I was way too young to do anything but play around and adamantly refuse to learn English (“It’s too hard! Why do they write their sentences backward?”), so those lessons were a bit lost on me. My experiences overseas have me thinking that while a lot of people have wanted to travel when they were younger, there isn’t anything quite like living in the same neighborhood since childhood and knowing every last crook of your street. But I guess I’m just feeling faux nostalgia!

Have you ever experienced feeling out of place where you live? Share your story with me at jumanadali@gmail.com.

You have the RIGHT to WRITE!

It’s always so petty, that moment.

“I don’t have any good ideas.”

“I don’t have anything interesting to say.”

“I will misspell a word and people will judge me for not being the best at never making a mistake in my writing, all of the time, always.”

“I will incorrectly use effect/affect as I may have done above. Wait, did I incorrectly use effect/affect?”

“People will just rip whatever I say apart and hurt my feelings.”

These are all terrible, horrible, no good, very bad reasons.

Look, writing is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be “because.” It’s important not to lose track of how much greatness happens when you hit keys or write words on paper that are out-of-control feelings you’re dying to share with someone.

There’s some huge misconception about writing—that the people who call themselves writers have any idea what they’re doing. Like everyone thinks they’re Jane Austen or J.K. Rowling or whoever your “whoever” is.

I think people should always write.

It’s easy to overthink it. To think that any piece of writing that you do has to have a point, some giant bigger meaning.

But it should be enough to know that when you write something, anything, it’s like a lottery ticket. Someone could read it and could laugh uncontrollably for the best of reasons. Someone could read it and become violently angry at your view on something (or your “non-view” for that matter). Someone could read it and feel absolutely nothing.

And any one of those things is spectacular.

Because, that’s the “because.” Write just to write. It’s healthy and there is always an amazing off chance that it affects someone more than you had any idea it ever could.

So people might hate what you say. They might really love it. They might feel nothing. Any one of those things is oddly terrifying.

But they will read it.

There’s always the off chance of that, and that’s the whole reason you wrote in the first place.

To make some tiny little piece of you available to anyone who may want it.

It may not be a handwritten calligraphy note, but it’s enough.

It’s more than enough.

Need more reasons to write? Check it out! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, WRITE me an email!:)

Why It's Fun To Be Young

Why It’s Fun to Be Young.

“Who’s next?” my junior friend asks as we continue our game of “Guess The Character.”

“ME! ME!” I scream enthusiastically. I knew who I would pick even before we began the game.

I take my place at the center of our circle and wait for quiet. Suddenly, I slap my forehead in a ‘duh’ gesture.

“Hello Megan!”

My superb imitation is met with confused looks and a pitying gaze between two of my guy friends.

“Uncultured swine,” I think to myself sadly.

“So, who are you?” My first friend presses.

I sigh dramatically, not knowing why I expected them to react otherwise, “I’m Miss Martian, from Young Justice.

The first time I ever heard of Young Justice was when I was discussing another group of superheroes with a nerd friend of mine. “You should watch Young Justice,” she said, Then she proceeded to tell me about the death of one of the main characters that occurred right before the show was cancelled. I refuse to say “ended”. There’s no way that could be an actual ending. At first I didn’t care very much, since my parents needed to do a background check before they’d even consider letting me watch one episode. But once the disk arrived from Netflix with the first five episodes of season one, there would be no turning back.

“A superhero!” of course, is what a die-hard fan of the show wants to be when they grow up. I know I want to be a hero, or maybe even just a friend like Mal Duncan who stays behind to coordinate the team during missions. I mean, how awesome would it be to be friends with superheroes? Whenever I felt alone, like my friends had left me or didn’t understand me, I’d turn to the characters. Constant and caring, never abandoning their friends. Pretending Kid Flash was running alongside me in gym or helping me with my science homework made those tasks seem just a little bit easier. Sometimes Robin would take a break from stopping crime to help me with Algebra homework. Miss Martian is always by my side when I bake cookies. When I took archery last year, Artemis was there too, shooting bullseye after bullseye. Aqualad is racing with me in the pool on a hot summer’s day, or is just always there to listen with his sage leadership counsel. Zatanna’s always up for a shopping trip, no matter what mood she’s in. And when I’m totally sick and tired of my parents pressuring me or pushing me or just yelling at me and making me feel like I’m not adequate, I can always complain to Superboy, who knows how it feels to have troubles with your family.

The main characters of the show may be superheroes, but they’re also normal, everyday citizens of Earth, just like you or me. Aqualad has love troubles, as does Kid Flash. Superboy has “daddy” issues. Miss Martian is insecure. Artemis is trying to fit in at her new prep school. Zatanna and Robin are both dealing with the loss of family. They may be superheroes, but they have your problems too. Just ask Wally, who’s unsure how to tell his feelings to the girl he has a crush on. Or Kaldur, who can tell you how to handle rejection. Or Connor, who will tell you that the popular guy isn’t exactly as cool as you think he is. Or Artemis, who knows the consequences of keeping secrets.

The thing about Young Justice, is that everyone can relate. Whether it’s watching the typical teasing banter between two teammates, eating burned cookies just to make a friend feel better, winning a fight against your inner demons, pushing through a difficult breakup, trying to prove yourself to a parent or idol, finding a connection with the characters about getting used to new places; protecting your friends and family with your life; or just showing that life can move on when all hope seems lost, anyone can relate. Especially when you discover Miss Martian’s infatuation with a certain TV show, and realizing that you’ll soon be in a similar situation. Young Justice is a show about growing up and accepting yourself, learning what it really means to be a hero. And what does it mean? Well, I won’t tell you. Spoilers. The answer is different for different people. Perhaps you’ll be alone on your quest. Perhaps you’ll have the help of a trusted mentor. Or maybe you’ll even have that one friend who won’t stop bugging you and keeps urging you on. Young Justice has changed me, it has made my life easier, and helped me with my little, everyday problems as well as inspiring me and tons of other artists and authors who are dedicated fans of the show. I hope that what I have said here may inspire you to check out the partners of the Justice League just a little bit. If you are interested, just ask me! I'm always looking for fans to talk with (And just make sure you don't skip the first five episodes of season two, like I did at first) And in the immortal words of the very rebellious Red Arrow, “Don’t call them sidekicks.”

How to Win Friends and Influence People

In AP Lang, we were required to pick nonfiction books from a given list for a project that I still don’t understand. I was actually absent the day that the project was given so I only vaguely understand what this project is about. We were supposed to pick and get our books by the following Wednesday, which I unfortunately ignored until last minute. The night before the deadline, I searched frantically through the public library catalog for a nonfiction book on the list. I finally found a book that looked interesting and, more importantly, was available. I quickly wrote down the title of the book onto the sheet that we were supposed to turn in with our parent’s signature.

When I got to class, I was a little worried because I didn’t know if the teacher was going to check to see if I had the book or not. I dreaded having to be further disliked by my teacher. I’m pretty sure that I don’t really have a high reputation in her eyes. Not having my book would mean that I would have not done the assignment and I would have to borrow a book from her. Luckily she didn’t check to see if I had the book with me that day. After school ended, I went directly to the library and grabbed the book.

The book is probably one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read because it teaches valuable lessons for handling people. How to Win Friends & Influence People provides important information on how to be a leader and be successful. The main lessons were that one must be interested in others, one must always smile, and one must compliment and not criticize. The author, Dale Carnegie, teaches the lessons through anecdotes. He makes references to Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and other successful people. There really weren’t any boring parts to the book.

I decided to try out some of the tips that were in the book. In the school library, I printed some documents and went up to the front desk to pick them up. However, before I walked up to the front desk, I searched up the librarian’s name because through the book, I learned that people tend to value their names. When I said, “thank you, Ms. ------“, instead of just simply handing over my printed pages, the librarian smiled back and genuinely seemed to appreciate my thanks.

But, it’s a real struggle to constantly be interested in other people. Like, it is so much easier to talk about my own achievements and thoughts than to be interested in someone else’s thoughts and problems. I guess that’s why people who genuinely are interested in other people are so well liked.

I really hope that I can at least remember a couple of the lessons from the book… then I could at least be partially successful in my life…

If you want, you can email me about anything at wtgl.lee@gmail.com

The Stuff of Dreams

   Many times I’ve woken up wondering, “What on Earth did I just dream? Was it even on Earth?” Usually this is on a school morning, so I don’t have time to think about it or try to figure out the bizarre imaginings of my sleeping brain. I do have a few theories about what could be causing all of these crazy dreams, though.

    I think there are multiple factors determining what most people dream. One factor would be the things that you detect with the five senses. Once I dreamed that I was taking a walk in the woods, when all of a sudden the woods vanished and I stood in my room, reaching to turn off my sister’s blaring alarm. I woke to find that her alarm really was going off. While that was an example of accidental dream manipulation (by my sister’s clock), messing with a person’s dreams might also be intentional. However, I see no purpose for this other than a practical joke.


    Another potential factor is food. As claimed by Mrs. Digby in the children’s series Ruby Redfort, cheese is a popular culprit. I often find that enjoying some form of cheese before bed generates outlandish night visions without fail; this might include anything from a midnight snack of a cheese slice to the pizza my friends and I ate at a sleepover. Other forms of dairy could be suspected as well, such as ice cream. Many of my friends say that chocolate has some influence on the mind’s subconscious wanderings. I don’t think my beloved dark chocolate has ever given me weird dreams, but this does make me suspect other sugary items. All throughout my Skittle-sprinkled childhood I’ve had wild dreams-could candy be the culprit?

    The last possible factor affecting a person’s dreams is rather boring, but has been supported by all reading I’ve done on the matter: your dreams are just a (possibly twisted) recount of your day. It does make some sense. Think about it: most dreams start off normally, with you taking a test at school or shopping for groceries. After the generic beginning notes, things begin to get wonky: you look up from your test to see that your teacher has sprouted two more heads, or you look down to see that you’ve been grocery shopping in nothing but your birthday suit. And Cinderella said that a dream is a wish your
heart makes! While the hum-drum parts of your day often worm their way into your subconscious, the more significant events sneak in sometimes, too. Anyone who has seen or read a good horror fiction can attest to this. Or, if you’ve fallen desperately in love recently, that certain someone could become the literal man or woman of your dreams when you save him/her from fire-breathing serpents in your slumber.

    When my elementary school teachers told me to dream big, I don’t think this is quite what they meant. I think I'll keep dreaming anyway.
If you have any funny stories about dreams, tell me about them!