6-14-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #124 (Starting Out Again. . .in the Big Apple with a new survival job at One U: the good, the bad, and the super bitchy)

My co-workers at One U fell into a few categories.  Other than one older (around 40!), big boned earth momma type named Mary, there was another, even sweeter, waitress named Brenda.  In her twenties, Brenda was a ballet dancer: thin, kind of (enviably, to me) flat-chested, with beautiful thick, long, brown hair.  She was kindhearted and a little bit naïve, but nice to work with.  Brenda was from Ohio.

There was Claudia, a short blonde with thick, long hair and large, nearsighted eyes, who was at first suspicious of people, but when she relaxed and got to know them, her pupils dilated when she talked, she acted kind of in awe, and she spoke with a drawl.  Just adorable.  Claudia was from Texas; she was an actress.

Douglass was one of two “cool” bitchy girls.  She was very pretty, with green eyes and long straight blonde hair that she curled into glamour girl styles.  Of medium height, she had a tantalizing walk and usually wore a mild sneer on her face.  She was an actress/artist.

The other “cool bitch” was a tall, dirty blonde girl with short, straight, spikey punk hair named Nicole.  She also had that “je ne sais quoi” fuck-you attitude that some customers couldn’t get enough of.  I’m not sure what she did, but I’m sure she did it really cool, with flair.

I figured a fair amount of masochists inhabited the backrooms of One U and the art scene in general -- and not all customers craved or even required nice treatment.  Richard Sanders was quite perspicacious to realize that his staff needed to be memorable and extreme in all different ways.  The place gave new meaning to “performance” at work.

In this world of atmosphere, I reckon I had the rep of a nice waitress. . . playing a bitch wasn’t a natural for me, though for short bursts I’m sure I did & still can. . . 

One other character, a busboy named Jimmy (also an electric guitar player), worked there at One U.  He was dating Patty Donahue (of the Waitresses!) and was a very handsome, sweet guy.  He needed somewhere to crash for a few months, so I invited him to stay in my back room, an 8 by 9 foot space with a small window that looked out on an airshaft.  Claustrophobic wasn’t the half of it. . .

And I already mentioned Nina and Victoria Ruskin. . . next blog, I’ll try to describe the bartenders. . .