Interpersonal relations at a restaurant

If you work at a restaurant you tend to overhear many things. A lot of people will hum, whistle, grunt, groan, and complain about the guests. I'm sure people want to hear about the gossip though. I don't pay attention to that.

I know I mentioned on my Facebook page that I wouldn't mention anything I overhear... but here we go.

Where to start? I have sensitive hearing that's great for critical listening, which is useful for audio engineering. Well... I think the kitchen staff expects someone to end up with someone else. I don't know who they refer to. I sometimes hear people talking about me though.
"Doesn't he ever stop working?"
"He watches out for us."
When it got really busy, at one point one of the managers turned to another and said, "If it was anyone else..." then shook his head. I took that to mean I didn't fold under pressure.
That's the positive side for me.

It's been a while since I heard negative talk. Before I got a handle on anxiety (job performance, workflow, being overwhelmed) I would shake more than usual (familial tremors runs in my family). At that moment I'd hear something like, "Is there something wrong with him?" I'm sure there's more gossip behind my back, I'm not immune to it. Gossip is acceptable in society, but I vowed not to buy anything society sells anymore. Shit happens and it's part of life. I overhear gossip involving other people too.

The people I work with have some really tight friendships. Often they will go out together, drink, and sometimes they'll work with hangovers. It's been about 20 years since I had any alcohol so I'm not invited to any reindeer games. Anyway, sometimes they'll grab a friend and go somewhere private to discuss something. There was a big event to help out one of our managers around the time some private conversations were had. Many people I work with are a very caring crew.

Sometimes my coworkers will come to check up on me, when I'm working one of the lonelier positions at the restaurant (pantry is far from being lonely! but one position is really isolated from everyone else). This is the position where you bring your own music, and portion away necessary ingredients for the line cooks. I heard, one time, of one person telling everyone else what I said! I had to laugh because I assume it was something I wasn't supposed to overhear. It might be a little disturbing to know I hear better than a lot of people.

I'm not part of any social circle at the restaurant, but there are a few people I hold dear. These are the people who make absolutely sure they stay on my good side (very few people on my bad side but I don't make a big deal out of it... you're not immune to my joking and friendliness... could I be two-faced? Probably but this is a work environment and morale needs to stay up!) These are my work friends who make the job enjoyable! They take the time to make sure they know they appreciate me, and in return they have my gratitude.

Even though I'm currently single, dating a coworker gets a bad reputation in society. Who better to date than someone you know? How they handle stress? You can't really get that from a dating app. Coworkers will flirt. People will talk sex (the things I overhear could make your toes curl!) Dating coworkers will kiss. It's part of life.

I like teasing and joking around with people. One of my dearest coworkers was C.O. or D.C.O. (person who assigns jobs to other people... basically) one night and I asked, "Should you get a whip?" She replied, "I already have one!" 🙉I joked about that another night while the kitchen manager walked by but he heard enough... The things you walk in on!

Coworker walks by tapping a knife against a loaf of bread... Me, "Bread isn't percussion!" Another coworker walks by, "Drum roll!"

Well... this post was a little more personal than I intended. So?

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