Full Circle

It's really funny how things come around full-circle.

A couple of Fridays ago, I met up with some girlfriends from work for drinks. We went across the freeway from our offices to this little tapas bar in Uptown Park. Never been there before, but decided to try something new. And, well, who really needs an excuse to drink sangria?

So after finding to find parking for about 10 minutes, I finally walk in and am greeted by our waiter. He says to me "I know you from somewhere."

I look at him a little closer, and don't catch the resemblance right away.

"Well, I get that a lot!" I say, which is true. People are always telling me I look like someone they know - their cousin's best friend, or neighbor from the down street where they grew up. Things like that. 

I take a closer at him and ask about his resume. Maybe I'd worked with him in the past?

He starts listing off various restaurants where he's worked. And that's when it hit me. I take a closer look into his eyes and knew right away.

"Is your name Eddie?" I ask, although I already knew the answer.

"Yes!" he says, "you used to work at Carino's, right?"

"Yeah! Like 10 years ago!" I say, causing a little embarrassment for us both. Ten years went by really fast.

And no wonder I didn't recognize him. He was nearly bald and about 30 pounds heavier than in 2003. Kind of ironic for the token hot waiter at that time. 

We chitchatted a little bit after that. Mostly about how he was my first trainer when I started at Carino's so long ago, at the tender age of 18, having just graduated from high school a few months prior to my start. It was my first gig waiting tables, and I was determined to be great at it. And make lots more money than I did working at Papa John's!

Eddie was also the first trainer I worked with behind the bar, at the age of 19. I couldn't legally purchase alcohol, but I could serve it. That never did make sense to me.

Which leads me to my whole point. If I'd never worked with Eddie, I never would've ended up where I am today, working at a food & beverage marketing agency, telling major restaurants how to run their bars and train their staff and promote their programs. And it was really weird to see him at some one-off tapas bar in the Galleria, nearly 10 years after we worked together, still waiting tables.

I guess I just always expected the people I worked with at that entry-level waiting job to move on to bigger and better things like I did, but that's not always the way things work.

I told him that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I sincerely mean that. I wish I could go back and thank all of the people in my life who have helped me get where I am today. Because without their support and patience and training, I wouldn't be as successful as I am, and for that I am forever grateful!