Cristina Has A Job Too

As most of you know, I am currently employed at an Asian restaurant. Seeing as I spend the majority of my hours each week there, it's also where most of my stories and thoughts on life come from. Partially, it's just time to give Casey a break from being the only one to ever hear every restaurant story, so I'm sharing with you some of my favorite things (and/or my pet peevs) about this job. Also, for quite a while now, God has been trying to teach me to be content with where He has me. I have fought hard against this, but every once in a while, I get a glimpse of what He's doing, and I am still, and know that He is God. So, in light of that, I'm also sharing some fun things about where He has me now.

1. Okay, here is my first favorite part about my job. I told you I work in an Asian restaurant. The descriptor "Asian" has been used loosely. Once I tell people where I work, Casey loves to tell them how I described the diner early on---"I'M about as Asian as THEY are!"

In fact, I may be more Asian, since I actually know some Chinese, and have eaten the real-deal "Kung Pao Chicken", along with a number of other dishes that you'll never find at the local "Panda Star Dragon Buffet". But, here in Raleigh, most people don't know that if you just throw some of the same ingredients together, slap on an Asian-sounding name, and cook it in a wok, it won't necessarily come out Asian. So, there you have one of the most ironic things about my workplace. But here's what I think is even more ironic.

Putting aside all that I just told you about it not being all that Asian, pretend that it really is Asian, and then let me tell you that our staff is maybe 60(ish)% Hispanic, coming from Mexico, Colombia, and I'm not sure where else. (Of the other 40(ish)%, I have two co-workers from the Philippines, one co-worker who is half-Japanese, and another handful of co-workers who are Caucasian). I LOVE it! So, summary of #1: I work in an Asian restaurant, but not really.

2. Onto my second "favorite part of my job"...which may sound more like a rant, but just trust me that these things actually make me laugh more than they make me complain. Alright, now I know that for most Americans, Asian languages are really difficult to understand because the way things sound and look can be so different from the way English sounds and looks. However, like I said, this isn't really that Asian...I hate to burst your bubble, but the name doesn't even have a meaning. It just looks "Asian" to the American eye...and, I think, is supposed to be easy to pronounce for us English-speakers. Well, apparently they did not have North Carolina in mind when they came up with the name, because North Carolinians cannot pronounce it. So I'm gonna give you some tips on how not to say the name:

-This restaurant is not named after "Pee Wee" Herman, so please refrain from using his name in your order.
-Nor is it a bakery, so please refraining from asking the question "Pie Why?"
-From now on, think of it as a place where you buy your own dinner---in other words, where you "Pay [your own] Way."

(Disclaimer: you may very well be one of the people who does this, so if I offended you, I'm sorry, and I also encourage you to now learn the correct way pronounce the name. For more information on how you can pronounce the entire menu correctly, please email or call me...I joke. Sort of.)

3. Third favorite part of my job time! So, along the same lines as #2, this will be about pronunciation. However, this is about a much more important issue. Food. Isn't there a saying---"You are what you eat"? Then, people, people, people...you should know what you're eating (including how to say what you are eating...correctly). The most obvious menu item for this is edamame.

Now, the first time I ever heard of or saw edamame, was actually in China. When I came back, however, I soon learned of its growing popularity in America. It's now pretty easy to find on your salad bar, or in your local grocery store. So, if you don't yet know what it is, it is time to learn. It's basically little green soybeans in the shell. They are usually steamed still in the shell and you put salt on them and take them out of the shell to eat the little beans...or you can shell them and then cook them and eat them in salads or just as a veggie. Anywho...they are an appetizer in our little diner, so A LOT of people order them. But, when I say they order them, what I really mean is I translate whatever non-language they are speaking and eventually decipher that they want edamame (ED-UH-MA-MAY). There really is no end to the ways that I hear this ordered:

ENT-UH-MON-EE (there is not a single T in this name people)

ED-UH-MEE (which I personally thinks sounds like some sort of serious crime)

ED-DAH-MUH-MAY (emphasis on the "dah"...very European, but let's remember, this is supposed to be Asian)

ED-UH-MOMMY (your mom)

EED-UH-MEE (apparently, in America, if you don't know how to pronounce a syllable, you just leave it silent...is that why we have so many silent g's in English?)

END-UH-MON-AY (nice try, but there's no N in edamame)

END-UH-MON-EE (nice try again, but...again...no N)

EED-UH...EED-UH...those green things! (Okay, FINALLY an honest person! This pronunciation is almost okay, because at least they admit they have NO clue how to say it)

Alright, alright, perhaps you are bored because you don't work here, and you don't think edamame humor is actually humorous (I'll just dedicate this post to all my work friends). But, everyone should be able to appreciate this last word on pronunciation in an Asian restaurant.

Now, like I said, Asian languages are really different from English, but that does not excuse you from ordering things that sound like bodily functions. When you see a dish name that actually says Kung Pao, but which you think says Kung Poo, or even Cow Poo (people, I am not making this up), WHY ON EARTH would you think to yourself, "Mm...you know, I've been meaning to try poo. It just sounds so appetizing. And COW poo on top of that??? I WANT THAT!"????????
Moral of the story: Know what you are saying before you say it. If you don't know how, ask. Of course, if you start asking, I won't have as many laughs about the way you pronounced your dinner order, so maybe just leave it be...

Alright, let's bring this super-long soapbox to an end, and I'll say that even though I sometimes can't feel my feet after working a double, and even though I think I'll vomit if I have to ask one more person "Do you need chopsticks or plasticware today?"---at least I occasionally have interesting stories, and a crazy-diverse workplace, and relationships that are being built...however slowly it may seem, and however often I forget about all that. Fortunately, God is very patient and faithful to keep showing me that He is sovereign, even over not-so-Asian-Asian-restaurants.

Let's try to get to the Heart of the matter

I read the biography of William Wilberforce today and realized something troubling about my soul:  I have not been experiencing joy in the Spirit lately.  To those religious/depressed or simply unaware, this is a command that God takes very seriously in Scripture:  "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!"  I deducted that my lack of joy has stemmed from two problems:  ONE, I have not been serious about fellowshipping with the God from whom all blessings flow, and TWO, when I have been encouraged by a word from the Most High, I have not allowed that blessing to overflow from me and bless another.  In other words, I've been very self-absorbed and wanting to hoard up all "my" treasures for myself.

How does Wilberforce relate?  If you know nothing of Wilberforce, know that he battled for 46 years to finally outlaw the African slave trade in Britain in 1833, and know that his passion & perseverance was fueled by enduring joy in contemplation of Christ becoming his holiness for him on the cross.  Such contemplation gave Wilberforce "new affections" to go and do as Christ had done for him, to serve the least of these and speak for those who had no voice.

Know as well that Wilberforce lived a life worthy of the box office & biography, and know of me that my biography transferred to the Big Screen would leave you demanding your money back.  Wilberforce lived a life FULL of "memorable scenes" which I, currently, am not.  Contemplation of this latter fact led me briefly to despair, and then to the Author of this legend's joy and passion:  His name is JESUS.

******

Sitting in my truck over lunch crying out to Jesus for joy & an understanding of my purpose, I looked up mid-sentence from my journaling to notice some yards away a man I'd soon come to know as Frank, the homeless man clutching the cardboard sign.

I'd seen Frank before while eating lunch in the shaded parking lot, and offered him the extra double cheeseburger I would soon replace with a Spicy Chicken.  I didn't know Frank's story, Frank's name, or what Frank might do with the cash I thought of handing him.  But Frank at least is human, and Frank would need to eat sometime, and so I gave Frank a hot burger.  Today when I saw Frank, I was faced with two choices:  either continue asking God to bring some excitement in my life, or realize that He'd already given me the choice to create it myself.  And so, as oddly as you can imagine, I walked 40 yards past hurried drivers in a shirt & tie to introduce myself to Frank, a homeless beggar.

With 20 minutes left of lunch, I invited Frank to sit down with me at Burger King.  It was a great idea to my liking, but Frank refused, and continued clutching his sign.  So, we'll talk here, I thought.  Frank was shy, telling me little of his life (he had no family, had lost work as a carpenter 2 months ago), for Frank may never have had someone so odd as me actually want to get to know him before.  Unsure of what to do next, I started to walk away, and then stopped to ask Frank what I could pray for him.  "Oh I pray and talk to God, and Jesus or whatever," he responded.  With reciprocal awkwardness I put my hand on his shoulder, then talked to Jesus as Frank glanced back at the awkward guy in a suit, and back at the passing cars--then at awkward guy in a suit, and back at the cars.  Still clutching his sign.

Praying, I remembered James:  "If a brother or sister is without clothes & lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it!?  In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself!"  I left Frank but returned with a Kroger gift card, wrapping it with scrap paper & the words of Jesus:  This is My command:  love one another as i have loved you.  No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.

Whether or not Frank will discover that his grocery card can also be used to purchase cigarettes & alcohol, I'll never know.  Whether or not I'll see him again, I also don't know.  But one thing I am learning is this:  the only life worth living is the one lived in obedience to the Spirit, the one who desires my joy and the use of my legs.  Drawing close to Jesus and being used of him to love others is exciting.

Why My Boring Job Is Interesting

Short Answer:  God has put me here. 
Long Answer:  Read on.


At UNC, I majored in Religious Studies, where I dove deep into ancient cultures new to me, into challenges of American Christianity, into debates and much writing.  Now, I'm working at a financial institution.


Why am I here?  That's my question too.  The short answer: God told me to marry Cristina (much to my delight!), and that included providing for her.  I took the first job (after six months of searching) that would hire me.


The long answer:  I don't know yet.  God has yet to reveal that.  But what makes this dry work so interesting lately is thinking on the short answer, that God is good and God is still in control, seated on his heavenly throne.  God has placed me here.  I BELIEVE God is training me for greater work--how this financial work fits into that, I'm not sure.  But here's a few things I'm learning that I'm sure God is gonna use:


1. (The Obvious #1):  God did not design me for a lifetime of this work.  I've come to know that by experience.  God has given me certain abilities, spiritual gifts, experiences, & desires that are not being actively employed in my current work.  There are some at my workplace who enjoy what they're doing, but not me.  This is not what God created me for.  Working at a job I don't enjoy has burgeoned my desire to work with God in a job I do enjoy.  We all want this; it's in our hearts, it's in our design.


2. I Want to Help People??:  So if I could choose to work in any other field right now I would choose something within the veins of either counseling or teaching, or some beautiful combination of the two.  Either way, I think I'd like to spend my life helping people.  The irony:  I currently work in customer service.  A hard truth I've learned about myself is that I'd really only like to help people in the ways I think they should be helped, or with the things that I think are most important.  50% of my job is spent unlocking internet passwords, and yes, it's boring.  But when people have needs, I should be willing to help them, regardless of how esteemed I might feel for being able to do so.  Jesus said:  "if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."  That God would be honored by my willingness to reset a simple password has been very encouraging to me lately, for I am "loving my neighbor" and meeting their needs.


3.  People really respect when you listen to them and give your full attention.  Taking 100 calls a day, it's easy to zone out.  But no one likes not being listened to, because listening communicates value to another person.  And, you can't really help someone if you're not adequately hearing what their problem is.  I had my first real "I want to speak to a supervisor" call the other day because I wasn't really listening to the client.  The funny thing is, I didn't feel she was listening to me either, which made for a comical clash of egos.


4.  You represent your company, so you're gonna take their flack.  As a follower of Jesus, hearing people blame me for how they believe my company has wronged them reminds me that just as Jesus was persecuted, so I shall be persecuted in obeying him.


5.  Go the 2nd mile:  Nothing grabs more attention than when you go out of your way to help someone, doing more than what's required of you.  Makes me feel great, and makes them feel great too.


6.  My time is not my own:  Working at a call center, I'm required to be "not ready" for a call no more than one hour a day, which is harder than it might sound.  I have to be ready to help someone whenever they want to be helped, not when I want to help them.  I believe this principle carries over from my work into the rest of life, for I was not only created by God but redeemed and "bought back at a price" to serve His purposes.


7.  (Which is the most exciting) God can do AMAZING things in the life of one who makes himself available:  More on this in my next post... :)