The Other Me

I think most people have a place where they're really comfortable with everyone.

I don't know why mine was a Taco Bell for a while, but there it is:

See, there was a time when I worked every Monday from 12-5, and I would leave for work at about 11. Every Monday, I'd swing by the Taco Bell and get the same thing. I always got a soft taco, a cheese roll-up, and a small drink. I'd smile at the cash register attendants and they'd smile back, and I'd sit on the bench and wait for my food. Eventually I realized that every Monday, this Taco Bell played swing and jazz music. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, you name it and it probably played there. 

Now, I really like that kind of music. I've already decided that if I ever have children, they're going to be listening to Ella Fitzgerald while they're still in the womb.

After a few weeks, I started softly singing along to the songs I knew. Sometimes I'd shuffle my feet along to the beat as I sat on the bench, bobbing my head. One day I came in and the lady who worked at the register at 11:30 looked so tired. The person ahead of me in line was being very demanding and rude, and I started feeling a little frustrated on the behalf of the cashier. As soon as I got up to the counter, I smiled and I said, "How are you today?" After that, I made it a point to greet the ladies who worked at Taco Bell on Mondays, and they figured out that I came in every Monday.

I started to feel very comfortable in that little fast food joint. I actually liked Mondays because it meant I could go to that Taco Bell and hear the swing music and say hello to the ladies who worked there. One day, I came in and they had such a fun swing beat going that I couldn't help dancing along. I was off in a corner, kind of out of sight, so I figured I wasn't bothering anyone. Then I heard this older man chuckle. He was standing off to the side and he asked, "You like swing music?" I grinned and said, "Yes sir, I do!" and we started talking.

I struck up a conversation with a total stranger! Me! The introvert! O.O

One time, I was be-bopping in the corner at my table and the lady who was normally at the cash register was on lunch break. She laughed when she saw my feet going back and forth even though I was sitting, and said, "Y'know, I think you just come in here for the music!" I told her that that was only part of the reason, that I came in because I liked to say hello to her and her co-workers. She smiled at me and said, "The world needs more people as happy as you, baby. Don't let anyone tell you to stop dancing."

It turned into a routine after a while

I'd get in my car and drive to Taco Bell at the same time every Monday. Once I got inside, I'd say hello to the custodian and we'd talk about our week, then I'd go stand in line. I'd start bobbing my head to whatever swing beat was playing, and sometimes I'd start talking to the people behind me in line. The cashier would glance over the line and call out, "Mornin', baby! How you doin' this week?" and I'd say, "Just fine, ma'am, how are you?" and she'd say, "Oh, I'm alright. You keep dancing!" And I would, even if it wasn't much more than just shuffling my feet and swaying to the rhythm in the corner. 

When I'd finished my meal, I always stopped at the door to call out to everyone in the building, "Y'all have a good week, see you next Monday!" Sometimes the patrons would wave to me as well, and I'd head off to work with a smile on my face. 

Then my work schedule changed and I don't go out there on Mondays anymore. I still go to that Taco Bell sometimes, but the same ladies don't work there on Wednesdays (or if they do, I don't see them). They usually don't play swing music on Wednesdays either. Still, the last time I was there, they were playing "My Girl", and the girl learning how to work the cash register ended up singing it with me in a funny kind of duet. 

It was kind of strange how extroverted I was at that Taco Bell on Mondays.

Generally speaking, I am more of an introvert. Large crowds kind of drain my energy, and I don't really open up right away to people I don't know. I prefer to have a handful of friends that I've taken a long time to get to know. (After which point they get classified as family). So why in the world wasn't I introverted there? I don't get how it works, but it was almost like I was a completely different person on Mondays. At Taco Bell I could start conversations with people I'd never met before and would likely never meet again. I'm not really like that anywhere else! I never did figure out exactly what it was that made me so comfortable there, but I suspect it was a mix of the cashier ladies and the music.