Belated Goodbye

When I got *ahem* fired from the Clay Pit, I wrote this to my fellow employees. This was months ago, and the sentimentality has kinda wore off, but I always regretted not savin it. So here it is, exactly how it was on When To Waiter. Except I took my cell number off.

I'm not on the schedule next week.

Wow.

Tonight (section 1, 4?) is my last shift. To those of you I'll see- let's rock it! For those of you I won't, I'll miss you.

It's hard to say how much the Clay Pit has meant to me without sounding like a huge corn ball, but Ashley told me once to never miss a chance to give a compliment, so I'll take her advice and say:

I have been touched, moved, inspired, and impressed by so many of you. I'm younger than most clay pitters, and I've really learned a lot from all of you. If it wasn't for the 30+ hours a week I spend sautéing in curry with the rest of you, I would be solely surrounded by young dumb college students, who can't see beyond their world of fake IDs, hook-ups, and chemistry homework. Although anyone would group me into the same category, it's a little shallow. Soul Crushing.

So for me, going to work every day and being surrounded by people that were not *much* older than me, but just enough to be passed that... to whom Austin was not the center of the universe and who (like me!) were not relying on Daddy for their rent money... who were (for the most part) over childish behavior like not showing up for work and complaining about things that can't be changed... who understood hard work and how to make money, and, more importantly, how to make it count... who thought I was stupid (at first) but didn't hold it against me when they found out I wasn't.... well, it's really kept me going. Motivated me, and made me think of the kind of person I want to be now that I've flown from the nest and finally joined the flock of adults headed off into the sunset of life. (nice imagery, huh?)

Thank you for your time, your support, your laughter, and your gossip. Thank you for every time you ran my food, picked up my shift, or gave me the dust pan before anyone else. Thank you for sweeping my section or finishing my sidework when I forgot to or did a crappy job, and thank you for giving me a hard time when I did, because it's a lesson I need to learn.

I'll be back for the mussels and to catch up on the gossip, but whether I never see you ever again, or I move in next door and have your babies, know that my time at the Clay Pit was a special one for me. When I write my memoirs years down the line, there will be a whole chapter devoted to the Bertram building and all the crazy characters crawling around inside.

To round off this short novel of a goodbye, I will pass along the sage wisdom I have learned over the last nine and a half months to those who have just started and those who will be taking my place: lassis only last 4 days but require more sugar than the recipe says, always move the trash can when vacuuming the parlor, people love it when you put rice in their to-go boxes, and whenever a glass breaks in the kitchen, somewhere Caroline gets her wings.

Love you, miss you, and dreading the day I can no longer log into when to waiter...
Caroline
Keep in touch!
Moo