Pam's Quirks

Although I am sure that many of you who have been a part of my life for a while could think of many unusual qualities I possess, I am only going to write about one in particular that has come to my attention more evidently since starting to wait tables at a Mexican Restaurant. . . .

On a warm weekday in Georgia, one can enter through the doors of a small, nicely decorated Mexican restaurant and be welcomed with an Hola and the delightful smell of sizzling fajitas in the air. After being seated in a dimly lit booth they are greeted with a smile and a Buenas Tardes, by their cute, energetic waitress. With orders in mind the waitress goes to fill two glasses of water and run to the bar to pick up a couple of margaritas, with salt of course. But then, . . . ( this is when the scary Jaws music begins to play ) . . . as the waitress comes back with the drinks, she trips over an invisible raise in the floor and spills the waters all over her customers, barely saving the alcohol from toppling on top of them as well. The startled customers barely know what to say, and yet after the waitress with the big eyes apologizes profusely, their surprise/anger diminishes.

Yes, I am that waitress. Today, I walked into another waiter carrying a tray. Unfortunately the waiter was a little taller than I and the tray hit my neck, causing the piping hot cheese dip he was carrying to slide up my neck and down my shirt. Wow.

I have recently noticed that as I walk through the kitchen all the other waiters quickly jump out of my way, knowing full well that my tendency to run into walls, them, and drop things consistently very well may slow there stride down as well. I am not exactly sure how to solve this, but am hoping for some kind of remedy. Clumsiness is just one of those things about me that make people laugh, or slowly shake their heads in pity. When asked what the best word in Spanish was for clumsy, my hostess friend looked up at me with a smile and said "Pamela."