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| My last shift drink cup from Cafe Amelie courtesy of Jordan the Mistress of the bar. |
What I did not expect is having anxiety about leaving New Orleans. I have gotten into a bit of a rhythm here. I swim 3-4 times a week and have begun a habitual workout regimen. I've gotten into the habit of getting a gi-normous piece of gluten-free banana choc. chip bread and an iced tea from Fairgrinds coffee shop. I've come to appreciate the 3 o'clock rain that doesn't seem to really cool things off enough. But the thing I will miss the most that I did not expect is my day job. The people at Cafe Amelie have turned out to be some of the most awesome people I have met thus far on the trip. After knowing me for barely 2 months, many of them came out to show me love and support when I performed in the WWII Museum's Stagedoor Canteen Idol Competition . They were my cheering section. I never had as big a cheering section in Philadelphia, where I had lived for the last 11 years!! These people are so full of life and love to live it!
Each individual at Amelie is just that, an individual. Somehow amongst the vast differences we find a common ground and miraculously, everyone gets along. We don't LOVE each another all the time, but the staff goes out together, plans events together and genuinely likes and supports one another. Many of the staff members are on their way to somewhere else, working at the Cafe just until they are finished with school, or until they get accepted to school. Others who have had a hard time keeping a job in the past, have been there for years. It feels like a family. And I'm going to miss the traditions there. The constant banter of sexually charged dialogue and inuendos, the weekend staff breakfasts where we try to eat our eggs before they get cold, the never-ending-never-old siracha hot cock sauce jokes, the pranks that Jerry, the Chef, plays on the staff, the leaky ceiling blues, the sweat soaked uniforms we don as we tend to picky customers, in 95 degree heat and 95% humidity, who just don't seem to understand why we are sweating so profusely, the Mardi Gras stories, the Decadence stories, hell, ALL of the stories. Working in this restaurant located in the French quarter of New Orleans, EVERYONE has STORIES!!!!
In the time that I've spent at this Victorian Estate turned tourist eatery I've been reminded of something about myself; No matter what, I enjoy being part of something. Somehow it makes life more enjoyable and the struggles a little easier. When the computers went down at the beginning of service on Sunday brunch, it was ok, because we all worked together to make it as seamless as possible. When the air conditioner broke down mid-July and there was no relief from the heat the complaints were lighter, because we were all suffering together. When the washer broke and all of the napkins had to be dried at a remote location causing them to be horribly wrinkled and annoyingly difficult to fold properly, it was just funny because of the impossible task we all laughed and kept on folding. I walked away with a sense of community, a sense of family. Anyone who knows me knows that this is something I seek out everywhere I go, but finding it isn't always a success.
So, last Sunday, as I drove toward the East, back to the RV, the sun was litterally setting on my time at Cafe Amelie. I have been so so very lucky to have been able to work there and meet all of these amazing people. I look forward to my return. This isn't goodbye, just a so long...
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