First Day

I remember my first day at the Cedars. November 4th, 2005. I had never waited tables before so I was a little anxious. Working with the elderly was not going to be a problem. Not only did I love my grandparents but I had also volunteered at the local senior center in Boone, NC, my first year of college. When people say they're afraid of old people I don't understand that. They have their quirks and they're slow; it's a pain to get stuck behind them, anywhere really. But they're still people, they're just living life at a different pace. That's what I thought anyway. I think really when people say they're "afraid of old people," what they mean is that they themselves are afraid of getting old. It isn't really a fun topic to think about.
A friend of mine had gotten me the interview and after a month long game of phone tag, a drug test, orientation, paperwork, etc., it was finally time to start. Waiting tables would not have been my first choice, at least not at a TGI Fridays or Outback or something. A friend of mine told me I might like this though. You didn't need experience waiting tables (crucial), and the clientele was, unorthodox. More importantly, it paid, I needed to help my parents needed me to help with some of my bills, and it beat anything else available to an undergrad. At 4 pm on November 4th I donned my issued Cedars Blueshirt, put on a still-creased apron, and clocked on. The timeclock answered with a single, staccato "beep." My life would never be the same again.