The part of life I would love to enjoy more of is my boyfriend. We met almost three months ago, when I handed him his hamburger, ketchup-and-mustard-only, double-folded inside a white paper bag branded with the McDonald’s logo. I guess I seemed interesting and had a friendly smile, so he decided to ask me out for coffee. I was reluctant to say yes at first, because I didn’t know what kind of guy he was. We began texting, getting to know each other a little before our possible meeting. I found out he had just turned 30 in January. That news made me even more hesitant.
After much ridicule on Facebook from friends saying that I was weird for even considering going on a date with a man almost 10 years older than me, adding that he was probably a pedophile and/or rapist, I received a wise response from a woman I’m related to somehow. She told me in kindness that coffee is harmless and that I would never have to see this guy again if I didn’t want to. This, plus curiosity toward how the situation would turn out, set me off in some of my best clothes to a local coffee shop for our date.
I chose to walk there, just to be safe (I’m a firm believer in “better safe than sorry”). We met inside the building and began our date. He wanted to pay for the coffees and the blueberry muffin I picked out, but I refused to let him pay for everything, so I bought my own muffin. We sat down at a table and conversed, discussing common first-date information: family, friends, work, school, leisure, etc. With some people, this type of conversation is boring, but this guy was special from the start. We had a lot in common, including our reluctance to date each other at first, because of our ten-year age difference. He admitted that my age was the youngest he would ever consider, and I agreed that his age was the oldest I would consider, so we both just barely stayed in each other’s radars after revealing our ages.
Now, as I look back, I think of how close we were to just walking away from each other simply because of our age difference, and I am so grateful that we decided to try it out. My life is so wonderful now that this man is present in it. I am so blessed to have found such a person. He feels perfect for me, and it may have happened quickly, but I have fallen in love with him.
My life has been wonderful lately, especially where my boyfriend is concerned. The part that’s been less wonderful is work. It’s getting a little more hectic. My schedule seems so random. I’m working in the mornings on some days, nights on others—not to mention a couple overnights in a row this week. It’s exhausting. My sleep schedule no longer exists. I pretty much live on Red Bull and coffee (which I don’t even like that much). My days off I spend sleeping, preparing for the next days of work.
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Even though work isn’t terrible most days (though some days it is!), I don’t want my life to revolve around it. Life is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, and yet I have almost no time to enjoy any other aspects of life outside of work and sleep.
I know this is common and necessary in life, but I just wish that something would change that would allow people to work less and live more, while still being able to achieve certain levels of comfort and leisure.
I haven’t been on here in a looong time, and, quite frankly, I miss it. that doesn’t mean I’m going to start writing again any time soon, as I still don’t have access to the Internet without borrowing my sister’s iPad. But I do miss it.
Some updates on my life: I’ve recently had the wonderful news that I am now in debt because of the apartment I used to live in. My ex-roommate and I now owe the manager around $2000 for unpaid rent. My credit score has also been fucked because of this debt, but that is something I’ll worry about later.
Though I have job now, I barely made anything on my last paycheck. And I owe $50 to my mom for rent to live here, I paid another $50 on my new debt, I gave my best friend $15 for gas to get the rest of my shit from Vancouver, plus I got a Red Bull for me and a pink Rockstar for her. I still have to get some Dr. Scholl’s insoles for my work shoes, because my feet are killing me when I get home, and my left big toe has mysteriously started going numb during work and doesn’t get feeling back until later the next day. I hope it doesn’t end up falling off. Just kidding.
Hmm, more news, you say? Well, since starting my job, I’ve found that I actually like it. No, I don’t like working per say, but I do have a sense of accomplishment upon returning home. I’m seemingly always in a good mood after work. Plus, I think I have a greater appreciation for the time I get to spend at home being lazy.
Sometimes work gets incredibly hectic—everyone loves McDonald’s, apparently—but I enjoy many of my coworkers. Some of them are insanely funny, which makes working more fun for me. I do think it’s rather sad that so many people eat fast food, and it makes me feel worse that employees are required to “sell up,” which kind of enables customers, in my opinion. Also, I swear I served someone who was on something the other day. The guy was super weird.
Oh, and one day, I was bringing food out to a car that was waiting in the parking lot because the drive through was backed up, and I tripped over some mats that were propping open the door while the lobby was being cleaned. Needless to say, I fell, slamming the bag of food on the ground and squishing it in the process. I also ripped my pants at the knee and scraped my elbow and wrists on the concrete. All in front of the drive through. I can only imagine what they thought when they saw me biff it so hard. After that incident, I brought the squished food back inside, told my coworkers at the counter that I fell and that new food needed to be prepared for that customer, and went to wash my bloody elbow in the sink. I was trying really hard not to cry, nit because it hurt that bad, but because of sheer embarrassment at what had just occurred adding to that the fact that it was only my eighth day working there. On the way to the sink, I passed by the coworker who had trained me (my favorite person at work so far), who noticed something was wrong with me. He said something along the lines of “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to cry.” And after that, all the tears I was trying so hard to keep restrained came pouring out. That was even more embarrassing. First, falling, and then crying about it. Hahaha. Then my boss and her boss, who was there that day, both took care of the first aid and had me fill out an accident
report.
That was a rough day! I am still sore in multiple places from my fall, and I have many bruises and scrapes to mark the occasion. At least I can laugh about it now. And at least it provides others with something to laugh about as well. That’ll be a story to tell the future grandkids.
I had an interview at McDonald’s today. It was short and went by quickly. After it was over, the interviewer told me she was going to hire me. Success!!!!!
You lit the candle within my heart Don’t let the wind blow it out I need that light during these dark nights I need that flame to feel alive Because I’ve only survived throughout this life I’ve never lived
