I love serving tables this summer. I get to meet people when they are stunting at their fanciest. I learn from chef and his team, the managers, co-workers and the rest of the staff. I’m glad its a music venue with lots of interesting things to hear and overhear.
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I’m having all the cliche ah-ha moments about labor in the service industry and about successful (or constraining) business and hospitality practices.
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It’s rewiring my attention for high-stakes problem solving—in a moments notice—and it’s giving me room to practice drawing on different sides of my personality.
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It’s also a fresh challenge to all the conceptual work I do: learning about textual and interpretive traditions, observing systems and trends, describing models, and building tools for learning online.
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Bare minimum: I’m learning how to assess the quality of my attention throughout the day... ways to express when I’m getting fully present, ways I get off track, ways to invite people back into shared attention, ways to accept that shared attention will always been impermanent.
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Waiters, cashiers, baristas, all these laborers (when jobs are done *even somewhat* well) are doing so much of the heavy lifting for us to make us feel heard and understood—even if that’s just around a small need they provide a commodified solution to.
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In the heat of a night of waiting tables I’ve actually seen some people hear my initial question, find it either unintelligible or complicated by the other things running through their mind, and they have simply walked away with a shrug! Understandable.
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^ These experiences fascinate and excite me because it means I can only improve with the ways I get other’s attention and how to ask precisely and directly. It makes me more appreciative for the ways people bid for my attention and follow-up.
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These experience spur me to strive at making a contribution no matter what kind of day we’re having. Well. Ask me in a week if I haven’t grown cynical. But I think this holds up.
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It’s not glamorous or original but I’m enjoying this bit of side work and finding these ways it gets me thinking about the value which people deliver to businesses and institutions simply by having attention, courtesy, and a cool head in the face of chaos.
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I've worked as the bodypainter at functions for years, giving people some face or body art while they sip champagne or whatever. Such a good vantage point for social observation, cultural dynamics, and learning about parenting! Service is an art, and a pleasure to do well.
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Replying to @autotrnslucence
Absolutely. Your example stands out to me. & I think it’s true about parenting too—serving families is eye opening, noticing who speaks on behalf of a table or how kids express themselves or are cultured into polite rituals of mealtime. It’s interesting to play a role in it.
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