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THE VIRUS KILLED SOME EMOTIONALLY TOO

After the start of the virus in March of 2019, everyone expected a holiday time for a week or two but Jacob could never have imagined what was to come.  Jacob was a head chef at a restaurant downtown in Cincinnati. For 29 year old, Jacob was doing was good for himself with a 3 bedroom apartment in one of the finer parts of the city. When the Virus spread across the states he did not think it would affect his day-to-day activities. But after 3 weeks of my restaurant being closed in mid-April, his boss told him that the daily cost of giving the wage to the employees was too much so he was letting all of the employees go.

When someone is normally fired he or she tries to find an alternative job in the related field but in this case, there was none which Jacob was suitable except in the culinary business. He struggled to keep up with his expenses as the groceries kept getting more costly than before.  He was living on a one and a half meal diet than the usual three. He had to cut his cable connection and even started to save in the minutest way possible like not using the laundry machine in the basement of his apartment and instead hand washing everything and it kept on getting worse.

He stopped using taxis altogether and was dependent on public transport entirely. Jacob had to get a minimum wage job in a grocery store but due to the covid regulations the shop stopped operating and he lost his job in a mere 3-week span and by May end he did not have enough savings left to afford not just his, but any apartment at all. He had not paid his rent for the last 2 months and was afraid of what was to come.

The next week he got a random knock on his door and Jacob wondered who must be knocking at his door at 8 in the morning. It was the landlord and he had given Jacob a two weeks notice to vacate his apartment. He had to put his ego aside and realize that he would have to ask his parents to move back into their house. Jacob realized that there was no other option left than to ask his parents if he could move back into their house. His parents were disappointed but understood his situation also. Jacob spent the next 4 months unemployed and depressed with nothing to do than to wonder when this dry run of his would end. The two weeks' notice of leaving his apartment made him realize how empty his life could be with no job and no residence of his own being dependent on everyone but himself in the weakest of times thinking if ever things will get “normal” again.

 

[adispata11]

WHEN HIGHLY ANIMATED LEGENDS BECOME YOUR FAVORITE PEOPLE

Anyone who studies at the Unversity of Wisconsin has heard of the Windowchefs. A restaurant on the top floor of the UW Life building. A fine dining restaurant popular among the kids to get a beer during the happy hour and between classes whilst doing an assignment. But for David, the gallery and its former staff hold a different place in his heart. Oddly enough the day had been 2 weeks since he gave the manager his 2 weeks’ notice to leave his job.

5 weeks ago David came for his 6-hour shift at 1 p.m on Monday. The aura of the staff was feeling kind of peculiar but he could not think why. Then his friend Smit dropped a bombshell on me. The head chef, the manager, two waiters, another chef who was a close friend of his Melanie, and Smit himself, all of them had handed in their two-week notice and were leaving the restaurant. Wednesday felt like a bitter-sweet day. All of the chefs as usual were super nice to him and had given him free food. What made them the best staff was that all the seniors would let the junior staff go early as they felt like it was their responsibility to close the kitchen. But, then it comprehended it to him that this would be the last “normal” day as this routine, which he had been having for the last 2 months was not going to stay the same anymore. David was trying to get as many “small talk “ conversations with the departing staff as he could.

The next shift which David got was on Friday. He went to the restaurant with low energy but his spirits got lifted by the head chef- Smiti’s cheerful conversation. Yash – the head manager was as carefree as ever and was like “do not ask me for help today as I am not actually doing his job but just enjoying these last 8 hours”. Around 5 pm SmithI called David to the front and he was scared if they realized some of the mistakes he made but she was calling out everyone for the last group picture. The twelve staff members assembled and said: “Mac & Cheese” instead of the usual “cheese” which had the other staff members laughing. David hugged everyone at the end of his shift and said goodbye.

The next Monday when he went to the restaurant he felt detached. It seemed as if he did not belong there. It was still a nice and hospitable working environment but the change in management did not feel right to David. He would describe it as if someone cut the roots of a tree and the tree was not just growing again but slowly dying. It felt like he should not do something but at the same time, he needed to do it. David made a spontaneous decision and ended up giving his 2 weeks' notice minutes before his shift ended as he did not want to continue in the same place where he loved to work every day but without the feeling of love after this moment. He did not have the feeling of utopia for his place of work anymore.