Ray

Where do I start about Ray?

Ray is my boss, for a while longer. It started during the interview, about halfway through which I said something and he said, "Well, I already know you can do the job." I was taken aback, because frankly, I didn't know I could do the job! But that was the beginning.

Despite my having no hospitality and almost no retail experience, Ray hired me. I think people had bets as to whether I would last the first week. I was really bad, and really stupid, and had to be told and shown things multiple times. I made Patrick (I miss you, Patrick) tell me the table numbers at least twice a day and it still had a hard time clicking until someone was able to explain it to me in a way that made perfect, logical sense a couple months into it. I don't know how long it took me to learn to take to-go orders, and to remember to label them to go for the kitchen. I was pretty bad for a long time. Ray put up with it, and didn't give up on me.

I was on Depakote when I started, which is known to cause brain fog. Somewhere in there I met a psychiatry resident who thought I was overmedicated, claimed it was hard to have a conversation with me because I was so slowed down, and took me off it. I got un-stupid.

That same resident just put me on Topamax, which also causes brain fog. I told Ray it's a good thing he's leaving, because I'm about to get stupid again. He said, "Just remember, you're still in there."

I chewed on that all day yesterday and have decided it is the best advice you could possibly give and kindest thing you could possibly say to someone who is on a literally mind-altering drug.

Before I landed this job, I got fired in 2 days from 2 others. My confidence was at an all=time low. Ray believed in me and kept building me up. The stupidity may be coming back, but I'm ready for it, and I have confidence now because he didn't give up on me no matter how much of a mess I was. I'm going to miss the hell out of him. But I've also learned a helluva lesson about how to treat people.