Another long day at work--just standing still. I do not cease to be amazed an how impatient I am to be forced to do nothing at all for whole quarter-hours on end. At other times in my life, I have found that I can spend whole hours at home doing nothing while avoiding something I should be doing. At work, however, idleness ceases to be an activity that overtakes other activities and becomes simply a lack of activity or purpose. I long for purpose.
For all of those who may happen upon this blog and actually know me in real life, but haven't run across me recently, you may be surprised to learn that I am currently a barista, making gourmet coffee (in American and Italian forms, on American and Italian machines, respectively) in a small coffee bar. Yes, it's a "bar" in many senses of the word--I pull shots, mix drinks, and have different brews "on tap" behind the counter. The customer base isn't very well established yet, however, and there are long periods of having the entire kitchen cleaned with nothing more to do.
I had a couple of interesting customers, today, however, and was happy to have the time to actually have an extended conversation with another person, even though they were not people I would normally seek out. One was the little old lady who had just come back from taking her 94 year old neighbor to lunch--they do this twice a week at regular times, she told me--and she just had to stop and tell someone of their little ritual, how much it means to her, and how "sharp" her friend is, even though his body is so worn out he can hardly walk, and he is disappointed that he can't drive anymore. Another was the truck driver, who stopped to eat his breakfast and tell me how unglamorous his job of forty years was, and how annoying all of the paperwork and government regulations were, to ensure that I never desire the same sort of life he leads. Not that I ever have, of course. :)
Of the multitude of places my life seems to be travelling towards or is currently pausing in, right now the one constant in all of my activities is that I am constantly being exposed to and meeting a lot of different people of various ages who lead very different lives. I can't wait to see why God, in his Divine Providence, has ordained it to Be thus. I'm sure it all has a grand and important purpose in His scheme of things!
What have I gotten myself into? Working for a religious order? Am I crazy? It's so quiet there. But, hey, I've complained about retail for enough of my life. And . . . this gets me out of the house. And full-time hours are a good thing. And, the people really are nice. When was the last time I worked a job and found a priest talking to me for an entire half-an-hour about how much he loves St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises? Michigan, prepare thyself. Here I come.
Isn't she just beautiful?
Another long day at work--just standing still. I do not cease to be amazed an how impatient I am to be forced to do nothing at all for whole quarter-hours on end. At other times in my life, I have found that I can spend whole hours at home doing nothing while avoiding something I should be doing. At work, however, idleness ceases to be an activity that overtakes other activities and becomes simply a lack of activity or purpose. I long for purpose.
