11 Hour Day at Work

It was another dragging day at work today. Things never seemed to calm down and my body really wasn't replying well. Of course, as usual, by the end I was mentally focused on the exploitative nature of my employment and starting analyzing the way customers reacted to my behavior. I have noticed that the more personal and real I interact with "co-workers" (I hate using that phrase) the more uncomfortable customers become. I have built up a theory that our culture trains us to treat those who work at service-style business as if they were purely a mechanical being. This can be seen in the guidelines of the service sector workplace: same uniforms, the expectation of over politeness, and of course the censorship of speech and activity. Once you start to act un-mechanical, some restaurant goers become uncomfortable. Prime example: Two people I work with are in come type of emotional relationship. One day they briefly hugged one another and went about their business as good "human capital." A customer was so appalled by this showing of humanity that she complained furiously to the manager about how inappropriate such activity was. How fucking arrogant.
The only highlight was that a 51 year-old drifter stopped in. I took the opportunity to have a conversation with him and he didn't disappoint my expectations. Anyone who knows me, knows that I've often considered leaving the working world and roughing it on my own. This man was fascinating. The amount of freedom he seemed to experience amazed and inspired me. Thank you drifter for that highlight and for the inspiration.