drama
no one should ever carelessly combine two real words to make a fake cute word. it's annoying and awkward and simple. but if it were allowed, the word "dramedy" would be an appropriate application to this life of mine. the details will remain confidential and left to the imagination...this blog isn't exactly private. but the basics can be disclosed here.
in the interest of expanding my cast of characters i have added to the one-woman ensemble a sassy and brassy smart-ass cocktail waitress. named shelly, of course. i know that the term cocktail waitress is antiquated and not very feminist of me, but that is part of the character. she doesn't mind the term. she starts her shift as a "server" but by 11:30 "waitress", "hey", "sweetie", "honey", "doll" and even "i need a drink" become perfectly reasonable nomenclature. and as the names get less personal, (or just plain wrong: "kelly", "sheila", "sheri" etc.) the tip jar grows and grows. i have given a lot of consideration to this choice because, as my friend judy pointed out last week, it is a strange fit. but i tend to take myself and other people a lot less seriously than i used to. i could never have done this in my twenties, but now i just observe and think "these guys are going to be obnoxious and they are going to talk about their dicks whether i am around or not, so i might as well make some money off of them. and besides, this will make for fantastic story-writing material. i have also come to recognize a more universal humanity in people that may have eluded me 10 years ago. at 21, i may have written off a lot of my customers as archetypes of the monolithic subcategory "sexists", but there is so much more depth to people than i used to recognize. it's embarrassing to even write this, but it's true and why pretend it isn't, right?
the bottom line is this: it is just damn fun to work in a bar. i laugh so much and i am so
entertained while i am there. sometimes it's kind of busy, but it never stops being fun. doesn't really feel like work, except to my back and feet. and i love any opportunity to play a new character. "bar shelly" tends to be really funny and quick-witted. she also laughs a lot when she has no idea what is being said to her. i like to think that if there was a movie made about this character, bette midler (in the 70's) would play her. i know, i know, i just suggested that i am the same as janis joplin. but when one says "fuck"as many times in a night and is surrounded by as many chemically enhanced people as i am....i deserve it.
in the interest of expanding my cast of characters i have added to the one-woman ensemble a sassy and brassy smart-ass cocktail waitress. named shelly, of course. i know that the term cocktail waitress is antiquated and not very feminist of me, but that is part of the character. she doesn't mind the term. she starts her shift as a "server" but by 11:30 "waitress", "hey", "sweetie", "honey", "doll" and even "i need a drink" become perfectly reasonable nomenclature. and as the names get less personal, (or just plain wrong: "kelly", "sheila", "sheri" etc.) the tip jar grows and grows. i have given a lot of consideration to this choice because, as my friend judy pointed out last week, it is a strange fit. but i tend to take myself and other people a lot less seriously than i used to. i could never have done this in my twenties, but now i just observe and think "these guys are going to be obnoxious and they are going to talk about their dicks whether i am around or not, so i might as well make some money off of them. and besides, this will make for fantastic story-writing material. i have also come to recognize a more universal humanity in people that may have eluded me 10 years ago. at 21, i may have written off a lot of my customers as archetypes of the monolithic subcategory "sexists", but there is so much more depth to people than i used to recognize. it's embarrassing to even write this, but it's true and why pretend it isn't, right?
the bottom line is this: it is just damn fun to work in a bar. i laugh so much and i am so
entertained while i am there. sometimes it's kind of busy, but it never stops being fun. doesn't really feel like work, except to my back and feet. and i love any opportunity to play a new character. "bar shelly" tends to be really funny and quick-witted. she also laughs a lot when she has no idea what is being said to her. i like to think that if there was a movie made about this character, bette midler (in the 70's) would play her. i know, i know, i just suggested that i am the same as janis joplin. but when one says "fuck"as many times in a night and is surrounded by as many chemically enhanced people as i am....i deserve it.
posted by shelly at 8/26/2006 08:49:00 AM
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