Wednesday, April 5, 2023

The Lives of Others: Back-of-the-House Staff.

So, at the (Thai) restaurant where I work now, there's a couple new people in the kitchen, including this (slim) (very young) (Guatemalan) guy who is on the quiet side.

The other week he came into work, too, and his left eye was all f*cked up, with bruising around it and stuff, where it was half-closed and he looked all wonky.

I didn't get a chance to ask him about it that first day, but I did the next day, and he said something in Spanish like "I go," and then started making boxing motions.

"Como Muhammad Ali?", I was like ('Like Muhammad Ali?').

And, he was like, "Que?" ('What?')

And, I repeated, and he still didn't know what I was talking about, so I was like, "Como Rocky?" ('Like Rocky?'), and he was like, "Si" ('Yes').

Later that same shift, he was back in the kitchen with all the other help, and it was quiet, and the one (Pentecostal) (soccer-playing) (Guatemalan) guy was giving him tips on how to best fold crab rangoons - -he was gently touching the wonton just at the base of each fold, to push it a bit into the cream cheese mixture so it sticks there and it all holds together -- and so since it was quiet and I talk too much, I pointed to his eye and was like, "Su mujer es peligrosa" ('His woman is dangerous') and was like, "Pshoo," and mimicked someone punching him in the eye.

"Peligrosa," I was like ('Dangerous').

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