Excuse me miss, but I think I owe you my life...

My Worst Enemy, Turned Life Saver

          When I turned the ripe old age of sixteen, my parents did a horrible thing.  They made me get a job.  I spent about 98% of my time hating them for this, that is until I got my job...then I spent 98% of my time hating it.  Well the job AND the biggest, meanest, most awful bully I ever met.  I will never forget her.  She was older than me by a long shot, and she had been there much longer than anyone else on the team.  I was just a mere hostess at the local Italian Restaurant, aka Biaggi's, and I thought this job was going to be a breeze.  My duties included: cleaning the bathroom, answering phones, and seating guests.  Oooooooh, big time responsibility.  I laughed my way through the interview and when I was offered the job I took it immediately.  I was going to live the life, having an easy ass job while making bukoo bucks.  THAT WAS THE MOST HORRIBLE ASSUMPTION OF MY SAD PATHETIC LIFE.  

         I met my bully within the first week of me working there.  I remember it clearly because I had the balls to ask this woman if I could leave early that shift, because uhm hello Downs was having its annual fireworks and I just could not miss it.  She laughed in my face.  And never answered me...I stayed late that night...Time after time she made me go tell guests bad news, speak to angry old men who wanted a booth and wanted it right fucking now, and lastly but not least, I always had to clean up disgusting bathroom messes.  She picked on me openly in front of the other hostesses and never once let me leave on time.  I caught shit for everything.  Literally.  If something was wrong I was the first person she came to scream at.  If nothing was wrong, I WAS STILL THE FIRST PERSON SHE CAME TO SCREAM AT.  I hated her so much that I left work several times covered in sweat and tears.  She was mean and awful and she didn't care about my feelings.  (Keep in mind, at 16 feelings are big deal...so she really sucked).  I spent my entire time there trying to impress her.  I didn't quit and I didn't back down.  I worked my ass off at that job.  Even when she blatantly gave me a shift she knew I couldn't handle yet, I sucked it up and did it.  

      I spent a total of one year at Biaggi's.  By the end of my career there, I could recognize every regular and spit out their address, phone number, and what table they liked best.  I knew what guests wanted before they even came up to the hostess stand.  Every shift became a simple equation of this is wrong and this is what will fix it.  No guest was too demanding, and no phone call was too scary.  I was good at my job.  And I had no one to thank but the very bully that tortured me the entire time I was there.  

    The other day at my current job (a doggie daycare attendant) I remembered my first bully as I scraped dog shit from my shoe.  I thought of her kindly as I answered phones, bathed dogs, and dealt with customers throughout the day.  I love my job so much that I'm at now and I have become a bit of a bully myself.  I am insanely protective of my work, and anyone that comes in as a newbie that doesn't take it seriously gets to deal with me.  As I tried to recall what made me such a job lover, I remembered my Bully at Biaggi's.  And then I silently thanked her.  If not for her, I'd never know what it's like to be good at my job, or work hard for what you want, or earn the respect you deserve.  She taught me everything I know about holding a job and being the best at what you do.  

   I hope she realizes that even through her horribleness, she taught me some of the most important life lessons.  I think I owe her a thank you/batch of cookies, because I wouldn't be where I am today without having learned what I did at my first job.  Thank you Bully, because now I am tough as nails and good at what I do, just like you.  

Best of luck,
K.