Sometimes you have to say, “Fuck it!” and just do what’s right. A few years back, I did something that would have cost me my job, well my part-time job. After a trip to New York, one that didn’t go so well, I decided to limit my free time and take on a night job. (One day I’ll write about that enlightening trip) I was in my second year of my graduate program at the University of North Texas, had a full-time job as a branch manager at the library, and I was still rehabbing my house as it was a starter home that needed plenty of love. My work schedule was always different. I had some days where I worked early hours and some when I worked a late shift. Even with all of that, I decided to take a part-time gig to pay off some debt but to restrict my free time in order to focus on myself. At that time, I was distracted and did not have the patience to see what else I can do with my free time. It’s something you don’t really understand until you live alone and are constantly in paralyzing thought. I needed some perspective.
Once I made up my mind to keep busy, I immediately started looking for part-time work. I always had a curiosity about working a night job. My father had worked a night job when I was a kid and he would come home to sleep but my younger brother and I would try to play with him. He was hardly home during that time and my mother was always yell at us, “Let your Dad sleep!” As I got older, I always wanted to figure out how he managed to work two or three jobs so I decided to give it a go. I applied for a night auditor position at a nearby hotel. I now worked Saturday and Sunday nights from 11pm to 7am. I wasn’t sure how long I would last at this position. I figured, at a minimum, I would try it for a month and if it was driving me crazy, I would quit.
I began working my night job and I managed to go through a month quickly. I worked through my last two semesters and still managed to graduate with a 4.0. I’m allowed to gloat on that feat. My sleep was all fucked up during this time. Sunday nights were the worst. Once I finished at 7am, I would drive in rush hour traffic to go home and would try to sleep for 2 to 3 hours before going to my full-time job all dazed and confused. After the library I would finally come home and sleep. Sometimes I could not fall asleep right away and felt like I had insomnia. My sleep would get back to normal by the middle of the week only to mess it up again come Saturday night. I completed a year working my night job before calling it quits. I quit because I had decided to move to Washington, D.C. Had I stayed in Houston longer, I probably would have continued working the night job to pay off some of the mortgage on the house. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t a lot of interesting things that happened during my tenure at the hotel. I really would have thought I would have had seen some really crazy things, especially on a Saturday night but there was only one that I can really say was memorable.
It was August and I had come in to work my shift on a Sunday night. As soon as I walked in to relieve my co-worker, I saw that she was struggling to communicate with an older Hispanic man. I stepped in and started talking to him in Spanish. He was asking about a bus depot and was looking for a bus schedule. He was about my Dad’s age and he told me that the he had come from Galveston looking for work because of the damage Hurricane Ike had inflicted on that city. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find work and was told that there was work in San Antonio. He said he left his home in New Orleans and was looking to get some money to send back to his family. I don’t remember his name and he seemed very happy that he had someone to talk to. I was able to find him the information on the bus schedule and he was very grateful for the information. He continued with his small talk and at times kept interrupting me while I started to settle in to work. I thought it was odd that he kept hanging around in the lobby area after it looked like he would be on his way but then he asked me if he could sit in the dining area to drink his cup of coffee. I had no problem with that so he grabbed his cup and sat down by the TV, that always played the CNN news.
A little after midnight, I noticed the old man slightly slumped over on a wooden chair. I went over to check on him and he seemed to jump up as soon as I asked him if he was okay. He acted like he was awake the whole time and he said he was just enjoying his coffee, so again, I let him be. As I started to walking back towards the front desk, I thought of my father and my mother. I couldn’t help but wonder about the sacrifices they made coming to this country. Sometimes you can’t help but think that someone helped my parents in their journey while settling into this country. These were little acts of kindness that they may or may not remember. I thought about a couple of stories that my parents had told me as a kid and the one that stuck out to me was the story about my father being able to convince immigration officers in Miami to give him a visa for 10 days to go to New York. I always wondered how my father was able to convince them to let him go. My father always said that they felt bad for him and that’s why they let him go. Here I was feeling bad for the old man who was trying to get some sleep. I stood at the front desk and said to myself, I should do something. I immediately looked at the bookings at the hotel and noticed quite a few rooms available. I decided to give the old man a room. I knew I could get away with it but I figured if I were to get fired for this, it would be worth it. At that moment I didn’t care what type of repercussions were coming my way. So I got the keys to one of the suites and woke up the old man. I walked him to the room and told him I would wake him up so that he could catch the bus. I didn’t want him sleeping on a wooden chair. I couldn’t help but think of my dad.
An hour before my shift was over, I walked over and knocked on the door. It was time for him to get to the bus depot. The old man was very grateful for the room and he seemed to be in good spirits. I wished him luck on finding work in San Antonio and he walked towards the bus depot.
Every time my shift ended on a Monday morning, I would be very tired but on that particular morning, I felt good. I didn’t feel as sleepy and wanted to tell my friends what I did but I knew it could cost me my job, so I just told my best friend Daisy about it. I hope the old man found some work in San Antonio. I am glad that for one night, he was able to get some sleep on a comfortable bed rather than a wooden chair or a metal bench. I’m pretty sure not everyone would have had the same response that I did. It’s possible that someone else would have kicked him out of the hotel or let him sleep on that chair for a little bit before kicking him out of the lobby area. Or worse, someone would have called the cops on him if they couldn’t get past the language barrier, who knows. I am usually very skeptical about people trying to get something past me but in this case I didn’t feel that way. I hope that’s the case because if it isn’t, I’m going to become Liam Neeson from Taken take out that old man. I will find you Old Man! I WILL FIND YOU!
Seeking Balance While Laughing Out Loud 