i waitress at the texas roadhouse when i'm home and need the cash. instead of explaining my first night back at the roadhouse in detail, i'll just tell you about one table that sums it all up. this particular table was built for six people. it was a party of eight, and of those eight people, only two of them were over twelve years old. those little peanut-throwing monsters ordered a total of seven cups of chocolate milk, which means that i asked the bar seven different times for the gallon of milk, took a kids cup back to desserts seven times, each time begging chocolate syrup from the high school druggie that was hung over and pissed he had to work at all. and i stirred and stirred and stirred and watched them guzzle it down (or knock the glass over) and cry for more. eh. i worked hard tonight. but to be honest, i loved being back. i love it even though my whole body hurts. waitressing is hard, but it's so fast-paced, and there are so many people to meet. and even the ones that are grouchy are at least interesting. think of all the reasons why people go out to eat. birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, blind dates, reunions, special treats...and there are also the not-so-nice reasons. a restaurant is a great place for a selfish person to break bad news, because they're bound to get less of a reaction in such a public place. i've served breakups, tearful confessions, and even someone getting fired. i just think the whole job is fascinating, not because of the food or what i actually do, but because of the people that i deal with. it's always new. sometimes i get a single truck-driver that misses his dog enough to get teary. last summer i served a prof from the medical school i'll be attending in august. tonight i served anne carrol, who may be elected county judge if the elections go her way tomorrow. remembering that i never know who i will meet keeps me going back. that and the cash.