Nice Turkey

I will forever smell of burnt toast and kitchen sweat.
I've come to accept this fact and I've come to accept that no amount of Tide detergent will be able to rid the smell of diner from my sweaters. Between the end of a class and work I try to sleep, I try to get as much of that as I can before walking around for an eight hour shift. I think :
ugh, not today. I do not want to work today. but then I get there and it changes. The cooks make jokes about everything, they cook us fried foods for no reason, and my friend and I clap our hands and make shitty shakes with toppling over whipped cream and an over-abundance of cherries on top. We track down lost water cups and clean invisible messes for the cameras. I plated/cut/plastic wrapped brownies that stuck to my fingers as I laughed about how the battle between me and plastic wrap will continue on for eons. Despite our feisty, arrogant, and bossy supervisor, we managed to have fun behind her back, sharing employee meals, running about "jinxing" each other's tables. It's fun. It's been fun and I feel good for once. I feel like it's okay if I fuck up, if I want to spend money, be weird, flirt with people, look away, get annoyed, get a piercing, talk too loudly. I feel accepted, unlike at school where I spend the other 50% of my time. It's nice. I fear the day when I'll get burnt out as so many of the staff has already become, still, they're lively, funny, inappropriate, real people. I'm starting to look forward to the fact that I'll probably be working on Thanksgiving. If you're thinking : WTF THAT'S AWFUL, well it's not. I love to spend time with my family, but at the same time, the types of folks eating thanksgiving dinner at a diner will probably be having the same day I am. I won't mind not having to dress up for the family, pretend like school is going brilliantly, and talk of why I don't have a boyfriend (those are the popular topics with the aunts/uncles/cousins) I won't mind not having to watch the football games/hockey games/ not eating everything I want because it would be unlady-like. It will be nice to work, keep busy, and eat leftovers in my sweats, on the couch, watching "Twilight"  (I plan to do all of the above.) It's nice.