Oh this is WORK WORK

It all began when I started my new job at The Cheesecake Factory.  I had worked as a busser before but not for a company as big as The Cheesecake Factory.  Drake never rapped about fighting in a Pho Noodle House (I worked at a pho place before this time).  Anyway, when I started I was still pretty new to work.  I didn't know the small little things of a job like kissing up to your manager.  I wasn't aware to treat every word they say to you like its the best thing you have ever heard.  Whether you admit it or not, you should always kiss up to your manager.  

Now working at a somewhat high-end restaurant there are certain ways you should conduct yourself.  I will start by how your face should look at all times.  I guess you have keep smiling and look like your at Disneyland when your seven hours into your closing shift and you haven't taken any breaks because when your in the restaurant business, breaks mean less workers to help out(Yes, I know thats illegal).  I quickly was sat down by my manager and was asked if I enjoyed working there.  He was concerned because I wasn't looking as happy as a little kid being told they're going to Disneyland.  I thought my face was how it should have looked, in pain because I've been running around for hours.  Now I couldn't complain to him so I just sucked it up and said, "I apologize. I will do my best to ensure we do not have this conversation again." I began to embrace a different persona than my own.  When I clocked in, it was "showtime".  I began to act like every shift I worked was the best time of my life.  I didn't know how well I was doing it, but he never told me again about my face. 

This was a good time where I faked it until I made it.  I changed my facial expression and my language.  Not my actual grammar, but the way I said things were more Mickey Mouse happy sounding. James Gee talks about how when you communicate its not what you say, its how you say it.  This is one of the strategies I used. 

In this class, I have faked it a little bit as well.  When writing our blogs, we were told to try our best to construct an identity we want our readers to see.  At first I was like, "How do I do that?"  So I just started to write how I would talk to my friends.  I forgot about all the rules to writing and I just became myself.  I didn't know if I was doing it right, but when I saw I didn't get a zero on the first assignment I knew I did it. Roz Ivanic said, "Writing is not just about conveying content but also about the representation of self."  I feel that this blog is an extension of me and I enjoy doing these blogs. 

Overall, I have done many things where I wasn't comfortable at the beginning, but The Cheesecake Factory stands out to me the most.  Probably because it taught me so many real world lessons.  The most important thing I learned was everywhere you go, there will always be that one person you can't stand.  Mine was one of my managers, but you know I kissed up to her and I stayed off her radar.  Sometimes in life you have to kiss up.  After a long day of being fake happy and using a different voice all shift long, I would finally relax......like this,
If you work in the restaurant industry let me leave you with one word of motivation...............quit. 









References
James Paul Gee https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-5138677-dt-content-rid-103538035_1/courses/RWS305W-69-Fall2019/Gee%20-%20LIteracy%2C%20Discourse%2C%20and%20Linguistics.pdf

 Roz Ivanic https://benjamins.com/catalog/swll.5