Posted 8:11 PM by Ben
I'm not ready to concede that this blog was a memento of my summer, but it's certainly been a while since I've updated. Aside from random craziness at school, most of my days have been the same. Pleasant, happy, and relaxing, filled with teaching and Katie and our cat Mia.

....oh, I forgot, Katie and I are engaged now! That's a pretty big happy deal.

Maybe I'm inspired to update because I travelled back to the summer today and it was a blast. I went back to Ivey's Grill as a dishwasher, filling in over Thanksgiving weekend because most of the real employees are out of town.

I walked in the door and one of the waitresses said, "Welcome home!", which felt great. They thought I was just visiting and did a double-take when I put on an apron and headed for the dish room.

It had only been a few months since I'd washed dishes there, but those few months have been a gigantic psychological divide between my college life and my new professional life. Still, I did a great job remembering how to do everything and fitting into the old role.

I really missed it. I can't go back, and my life has since taken me to the magical, scary world of Eastside High School. Still, there is something so enticing about washing dishes for minimum wage, working my arse off, listening to music, getting chapped hands, bantering with everybody, and leaving it all behind me when I go home, feeling filthy and refreshed.

I got to be the butt of Rick's crude sexual insults; I was able to talk to Mandy and Ryan and annoy Heather and talk music with Ed; most importantly, I was able to be great at something instead of great-in-training. For whatever reason, they value me at Ivey's and it's a very gratifying feeling. Much of my work experience has consisted of me being a step behind everybody else.

Maybe you can't go home again, but you can still work a summer job now and then? The next two days should be muscle-wracking and fun, and then I go back to "the real world" that I yearned for after five years of school and low-level jobs.

Happy late Thanksgiving, all.