Have I hit Rock Bottom?
I picked up shit (actual human shit) last week at work, is it safe to say I have hit rock bottom?
Hi guys, welcome to my quarter-life crisis. It’s been 216 days since I started working part-time at a pub and it isn’t as fun as it seems. I moved to London exactly a year ago and nothing has felt more liberating. I decided it was time to live independently hence I started looking for part-time jobs. One sunny-ish London afternoon I entered my local pub just to see if they had any vacancies. With 0 experience and the face of a 16-year-old (the Asian genes, LOL), I walked in with no expectations. I was fortunate enough to get a trial shift which I would say went pretty well. I had already done my research and studied the different spirits and beers the pub had. At the end of the night, my manager took me at the back and said, ‘Congrats you got the job’ and trust me nothing felt more exciting. I mean being an Indian working at a pub, as bar staff always seemed like something you’d only get to experience through shows right, but to actually be able to do it, wow it was everything!
As days went by the monotony started to kick in, the same shifts, same drunk people, same ‘what can I get you, you should try the hepcat, it’s my favourite’ *pours the hepcat* — ‘cash or card, here you go’ *points to the PDQ* — ‘tap when you’re ready, cheers, enjoy’ argh! I am tired of hearing thank you’s after every freaking sentence. Imagine if I got a penny every time someone said thank you, trust me it would be way more than my current salary. But I had a very very VERY different shift last Wednesday. Maybe it’s my fault because I kept complaining about the monotony. Basically, I go to work and one hour into my shift a customer comes to me and tells me, ‘Hey, this is weird but I think someone has taken a shit in the women’s washroom sink’ Initially my brain could not process what she just said but after she repeated it thrice I was like ‘oh, okay, I’ll take a look’. I walked into the washroom and there it was, Actual. Human. Shit. in the sink, like how does this even happen? Anyway, I ran to my manager to tell him and since I was the only female during that shift I was the one asked to deal with it. I still can’t believe I had to do it. I wore two gloves, took a garbage bag and went to the washroom. After gagging 62728 times I picked it up like how you’d pick up dog shit and threw it in the bin and cleaned the sink like it’s never been cleaned before.
I know I come from a place of privilege because I get to complain about the incident this much. I know people have to deal with way worse in their day-to-day lives. Being independent was a choice I made. I decided it was time to stop asking my parents for anything and try to do things on my own. I am grateful and lucky but also proud of myself, because when you are privileged you know you can leave your job anytime and your family will always financially support you but to deal with the problems and deal with the shit (literal shit in this case) and to stay and continue working hard takes a lot of willpower and strength.
Many people I met were initially confused, why would I want to work at a pub? How does this add any value to my life, and help me grow? But I don’t think people realize it helps in more ways than one. I have always struggled with social anxiety, talking to people, being visible in a crowd, these things have always made me feel uncomfortable but after working at this pub it’s safe to say, I am not ‘as’ shy anymore. This job is proof that I am willing to work as hard as needed, I am willing to learn and grow and get out of my comfort zone. I mean if nothing, at least now I can finally order my food easily without saying it in my head 273830 times. So yes while I won't be adding bar stuff to my LinkedIn or my CV, it will always be the job that helped me mature and grow as an individual, the job that reassured me of my capabilities, how hard I am always willing to work, which I know will always have an indirect if not direct impact in whatever I decide do.
But on a serious note, I am done with university and I am ready to leave and get a nice 9 am — 5 pm job in social media marketing (manifesting, manifesting, manifesting) if anyone has leads please HMU.