Goodbye to McDonalds

Today was my last day working at Mcdonalds.

It was a long day. Most days I've spent working are long and hot and hard and difficult. Not that I minded. It's work, honest work, and I can't complain about that.

It was bittersweet. As glad as I am that I have a new job, I'm also sad to leave behind all the friends I've made during my almost two years at working at Mcdonalds. Not just my managers and coworkers, I've even developed friendships with some of the regular customers.

It's been loving. Everyone who's said goodbye has wished me the best in my new job and my school and everyone else. We all give really fantastic hugs.

Most people would be thrilled to be leaving Mcdonalds. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm really happy that I don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn or stay up super late and deal with the heat and stand for several hours and try to herd customers through the ordertaking process and getting them their food. I won't miss the days when the drive thru leaked, when the rain made life miserable, and when our airconditioning was broken. I won't miss obnoxious customers yelling in my ear, trying to tell me I'm wrong, or cutting me off rudely. I won't miss wearing that uniform, trying to keep my hair in order, and feeling like a gross mess after every shift. I won't miss freezing while trying to get things for the reach-in, or burning myself while making fries or coffee.

I'll miss Tai, walking in and taking charge when we're at our most busy and most confused. I'll miss how we'd all jump at hearing her voice and how her presence would spur us to be more productive.

I'll miss Shasha and Giovann, playing and joking in the back while still getting food out to us in good time. I'll miss how they set me at ease when I first started out, and helped me gain confidence as I went along.

I'll miss Sherrilyn and Jeff, being there all along. They taught me how to do what I now could possibly do with my eyes closed. They joked and played and were rocks that we could always rely on. I'll miss hearing their conversations with the others while they worked.

I'll miss Joy and Leela and Betty and Ramsey and Alyzza and all the other managers. I'll miss them stepping in right when I needed a helping hand, getting me food or ice cream or taking an order while I was making a drink. We had each other's backs, we did. I'll miss them asking me if it's okay if they can stick me by myself for a while, just until someone else comes in to help. That they have enough confidence and trust in me to know that I can handle.

I'll miss Paul and Sofia and Easta and Mela and everyone else in the back, I'll miss teasing them and the little conversations we'd have while waiting for food. I'll miss yelling 'thank you' to them whenever I get that last sandwich before I run the bag out to the drive thru.

I'll miss Esther, the polka dot to my afro circus. I'll miss the conversations and jokes and songs we broke into in that teeny tiny little box in the drive thru. You made my mornings bearable, getting up at what felt like the crack of dawn made a little brighter because you would always be happy and hyper, even when you didn't feel like it.

Sara and Jaycee, my other morning buddies. We always had each other's backs. Helping each other, easily switching into one another's jobs when necessary to get things done faster and better, we synced and we flowed together. You guys really are the best.

I'll miss Michelle. Order taking and doing cash, I feel like we never got to see each other for very long before one of us had to go, but we sure did work together great when we did. I loved hearing your stories and the way you talked to customers so easily, like you knew them. Which you mostly did, but that's just what comes from a long career and just living life out here. I love your sass, the little bit of fire in you that reminds us that yeah, the customer might sometimes be right, but the customer is also sometimes really, really, really, stupid. And wrong.

I'll miss Crystal and Alisha and Kelsie and Ashley and Desha and Routi and Ann and Wyatt and Tebe. All my nighttime buddies, we had our laughs and falls and accidents and incredibly awkward conversations and touching and happiness and drama and joy. I don't have words to describe how happy I would always be when I got to work with you. I love you all so much. All of us in most combinations just usually end up making fabulous power trios in the drive thru. I'll miss our singing and dancing and throwing food and joking and trying to act innocent when the managers told us off. I'll miss how we played but we got the job done well enough anyway. I'll miss our complaining and our countdowns and I'll miss our hugs and our smiles and everything else that just makes you all wonderful.

I'll miss the newbies, in all the forms that they came in, eager and ready to please and work and a little confused because work goes fast and it's hard to keep up when you don't know what you're doing. I'll miss their questions, having to guide them back and forth, teaching them, and smiling at them to make them feel a little more comfortable while I try and remember their name.

I'll miss all you people. I'd say I'll even miss our building, with the really dim lights in the back of the lobby, the waterfall that used to work but not even anymore, the leaking that seemed to be a constant in the back, and nicked walls and guardrails of the drive thru. But I would be lying if I said I missed that. I won't miss that. I will be so happy when we get a new building. It will be clean and shiny and wonderful.

But I will miss you, I will miss the old ice tea man, I'll miss the guy who came through for his senior coffee with two creams and one splenda, I'll miss that guy who always got his ice cream with his double filet and salad. I'll miss the sister missionary with her diet coke add lemon and sometimes a southwest salad. I'll miss the lady with the large nonfat mocha no whip fill it up with coffee, although she did start buying different things within the past few months or so. I'll miss these little constants.

I'm happy and excited to start my new job, and I'm sad to be leaving. But it's necessary for me to grow and continue with my life. But I can't leave silently, and I don't want to leave the impact you guys have had on me unacknowledged, I feel like that would be ungrateful of me. You guys have helped me to grow and become a better person. Hopefully a better person. :)

Aloha Mcdonalds, and mahalo nui loa for all you have given me. I do indeed luff you.