My Saturday Night Off

Working long, exhausting hours as a waitress at the Bench Bar & Grill is how I've been saving money to fund my Italian voyage. Located a mile down the road from my house, I know about 80% of the people who walk in the door. During the day I have tables that consist of my family doctor, my priest, my elementary school health teacher, etc. While the nights turn into a high school reunion because let's face it...when you're a 22 year old college graduate, where else to congregate than the local bar for a cold alcoholic beverage to let you forget, if even just for a moment, how life is currently "up in the air". I've become addicted to working and the Bench feels more like home than my house, spending more time with the Bench workers than any member of my family in the last 7 months. I live and breathe the Bench. I work there and I drink there. I love it and I hate it. I've had my fair share of breakdowns in the kitchens, fights with managers, funny interactions with customers, and a WHOLE lot of embarrassing myself because let's face it...I can't control 97% of what comes out of my mouth and I shouldn't be allowed in public. But when it comes down to it, I love the Bench because of how it makes me feel. Like I have a purpose. If even that purpose is to serve quesadillas, slider samplers, and beer to the happy members of the Stony Brook community.

So tonight when the owner of the BENCH realizes that too many waitresses are working, I am the first to be sent home being that I have been there since 8am to work it's very first day of serving brunch. TRIVIA! Here comes the question...what do I actually do with my Saturday night off of work?!? The answer to this question: Driving alone to the local Burger King to purchase a BK Oreo Sundae Shake, the best part being that yes, I called them before hand to make sure that it was, in fact, still on the menu. Then, I drove back to my house where I parked my bottom on the couch to watch Angels and Demons (set in Rome!) and download music from The Lizzie McGuire Movie (set in Rome!). True Story.

It's nights like this that I have missed during my nights of being a waitress. Nights where I can just relax. It's something that, until recently, I've found SO hard to do and honestly, that's one of the major things that I'm looking forward to abroad: Callie Relaxation Time. If you know me at all, you are aware that I tend to overreact and work myself up about nothing (something that I'm trying to work on). When I break it down, though, it's the simple things that keep me sane and happy. So I give my Saturday night off an A thanks to a little bit of communication with friends, a giant milkshake, Tom Hanks, and "Hey now! Hey now! This is what dreeeeeaaaams are made ooooof!"

Productive things I've done towards my Italy trip:
-Talked to my bank
-Emailed some friends of friends in Rome
-Sent my resume to a few different possible jobs
-Did some Digital Camera research
-Made a packing list
-Researched Self Defense for Travelers ("Don't be afraid to use objects around you as weapons, like broken bottles")

On THAT note...Fun Fact: 1 in 4 Italian parents spank their children.