Inner Life

Friday, February 01, 2019

Yesterday, during my part-time job in Costco as a sample-server, I slogged through the boring process of handing out chips and salsa. On that slow day, while we pushed snacks for next Sunday’s Super Bowl, the outside temperature hovered around 70-degrees and fewer folks shopped. I yearned to go play with my horses.

Today’s photo is an old favorite from a sneak-click of my cell phone. Adorableness worth capturing! Occasionally, I’m in a lucky position and not caught using my cell phone, which strictly is disallowed for working servers. To us often-bored demo folks, happy kids like this little girl are sparks of delight.

During my years on and off of serving samples, I’ve learned to combat dull shifts by finding ways to keep my brain busy. My usual ways aren’t as risky as flashing a cell phone, but one musn’t be caught doing something beside pushing samples. Yesterday, a fairly new server paused at my table and sighed over the boredom of serving a less popular food item.

I shared some of my tricks and suggested planning for dull moments by carrrying a pencil. To move time along, rip off a bit of server instruction paper and keep it to the side. In quiet moments, create a shopping list, scribble a poem, outline a story or book idea, or jot random notes. While filling cups with samples and hawking a product, one can consider the scribbles and if they amount to anything slightly worthwhile.

One day, long ago, my coolest diversion occurred accidentally. Upon spotting a tiny ball bearing on the floor, I pocketed the shiny object. Soon, unnoticeable to casual observers, I arranged pieces of paper on my serving tray into a faux bowling alley. Shooting that little b-b was fun even if my slightly-warped tray dictated all its action.

This may speak to dull days and secret diversions but isn’t much different from my former working life in a large corporation. Even then, on busy days while burdened with tasks that challenged and preoccupied, I created temporary diversions to refocus and ease my brain.

As kids play, like little girls in princess costumes and little boys in Spiderman outfits, so do adults, sometimes openly, like next Sunday when football fans will cheer and dance while sporting a favorite team’s jersey. Other times, grownups secretely play, by creating diversions from the lackluster to energize their bains.

Dear Readers, have a wonderful day…and play! Diana