My life on 'U' Street

Me and Donte...first lesson

Member that time I told you guys I was going to get a lesson in frying chicken at Oohh's and Aahh's, that great little spot on 'U' street? Well that dream evolved...and now I have a job there for the week! haha!My first shift was this last Tuesday. I was there for 10 hours but it went by in the blink of an eye. (you know what they say, "time flies when you're learning to fry chicken!") But really, there was so much stimulus all day, I barely noticed that by 10 when we were closing up, I hadn't even eaten dinner. Then I took the late night shifts Friday and Saturday night (10pm-4am...craziness, but we'll get to that!)

I will try to unpack for you some of what I was seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling...but it's one of those experiences that is impossible to re-create or try to articulate and explain. But let's start with the environment. Its a shop tucked between a hair salon and some kinda corner shop, I actually haven't seen whats inside, but if you weren't looking for it, you could very well miss it. 'U' street is known as a lively part of town. The side walks are lined with bars, coffee shops and clubs! Its not the nicest area of DC but it's also not the scariest. When you walk into Oohh's and Aahh's two things happen: 1. you are instantly warmed. All the ovens and stoves create a nice space heater affect. and 2. your nostrils are inundated with the fragrance of what I can only assume heaven will smell like (corn bread, chicken, sweet potatoes, mac'n cheese...yum!)

Next, the customers. It seems like half the people that walk into that shop don't order anything, they just pull a chair up to the counter and start sharin the block's gossip. It's actually kinda cute, Oohh's and Aahh's is like the blocks hub for conversation and relationship...everyone's a neighbor. Other workers from U street are regulars and they trade services and goods for a couple pieces of that beloved chicken. There are a couple "crazies" that pop in regularly (these are the ones I tend to get sucked into talking with) and then a mixture of what you might assume...college students, families and just really really hungry folks! Like 99.9% of the customers were on board with my presence and training there (there was only one woman that had a problem with me and while my first instincts (and her remarks) tell me it was because of the color of my skin, I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and say she's just a really loyal customer who was thrown off by the change).

Lastly (this is my favorite part) the employees! There are 4 girls I've worked with...all are beautiful beyond words. Jai is a manager, she's a little bit older, maybe early 30's. She's kind and warm but also completely self suffiecient and strong...a hard combo to come by. Her 20 year old neice, Ti-ti works with her, she's a hard worker and I have yet to hear her complain about a single thing. And then there's Jazmine, she seemed intimidating to me at first, but quickly found that her independent, tough exterior is only a small part of her, she has such a soft center (like those old strawberry candies that old people have that are hard on the outside and soft on the inside!) Lastly, Tammy, she's the owners daughter and beyond Jazmine, I wasn't only intimidated by her, I was legitimately scared, haha! But funny how people surprise you if you let em, within hours we were laughin together and askin about each others lives. These 4 women are the people I tend to run to or holler for when I'm in over my head. They have been so patient and gracious in teaching me all the ins and outs, although there's NO way they haven't all wanted to punch me in the face at one point or another. What seems so second nature to them..like breathing...is like doing long division for me; hard and complicated and requires WAY more time and focus than it should.

The guys are all characters. Donte is another manager. He's around a lot but is also pursuing music (was surprised by the depth of his stuff, little bit of a poet!) and although his life style seems to require that he give off a masculine, intimidating vibe, he actually has a great sense of humor and has a total soft spot. Arrington (think thats how you spell it, lol) is litereally singing 24/7 but it's ok because his voice is like butter! (like if  John Legend and Anthony Hamilton's vocal chords had a baby!) Tariq, I haven't had a ton of time to actually work with him but he's the one that's always checkin in on me, makin sure I'm doin ok...total sweat heart! And Wade. He's one of the mysterious ones...he kinda fits into all categories and yet none of them. He mostly keeps to himself, but when he does open up he's hilarious. he's also smarter than he lets on and one of the most articulate people I've met. And the cooks in the back!!! Gosh these guys are awesome (and SO hard working!!!) I can't give you much more than that though because they all only speak Spanish so communication is limited. But Juan, Wilbur and Manuel are the three I've had the chance to at least try to have a conversation with (which are full of awkward hand gestures and rusty Spanish vocab from high school!) One of the guys, Manuel and I have a special bond. Since we can't communicate we just say eachother's names each time we pass "Manuel!" "Gadtee (he's saying katie, but it sounds more like this!) "Manuel!" "Gadtee" and it goes on like that...it's pretty great! haha!

So that's the environment I've been in for the last few days. It's been SO fun and so valuable but I've found that it's also exhausting to be in a constant state of 'lost' as I scramble around and try to figure out all the intangible parts of the job, the parts that can't be taught or trained. A few cute stories though before this blog turns into a novel. Friday night, during the the first half of my first late night shift, I was on the register. I was a little nervous because I wasn’t completely familiarized with the system and didn’t want to screw anything up, but some of the first customers I was ringing up were the NICEST people in the world (I hate myself for not getting their names!) After chatting for a bit they figured out I was new and wasn’t from the DC and thus, my story was unravelled. And then, one of them open his wallet, pulled out a $20 and put it in my hand, “this is for your trip. I've always wanted to do what you are doing!" UMMMM, what? I was speechless and probably would have cried if I wasn't afraid of people making fun of me! haha.

A couple hours later, around 3, a man sat at the counter and asked that I take his order. I explained that he should head to the end of the counter (at the end of the very long line) and order there to which he replied, “well what if I don’t want to?” I explained that if that was the case I’d be happy to keep him company while he didn’t have food being prepared. He kinda chuckled. He was pretty far gone and each time a new song came on he gave a loud “wooo” and started grooving on his stool. Finally he flashed me some cash and said, "I promise I’ll pay, I just don’t want to wait in line…take my order." Out of pure annoyance, I complied and little by little I handed him food (don’t tell anyone!) and added it to his tab (and yes, he finally payed!) Like I said, at first I was annoyed but then over the course of the next 45 mins, as he tried all the different sides, he’d pull me over every now and then and say something encouraging (maybe he could tell that I was new and had NO freaking idea what I was doing). Before he walked out he reached across the counter and grabbed my hand…Happy Valentines Day sweetie! (If you’re thinking ewww, creepy- you’re wrong, it was actually one of the sweeter things that happened to me all day!)  Plus, he was gay (I only feel ok sharing that because he told me I could) so I know he wasn’t trying to make a move. We kissed on the cheek and he left.

Who the hell were these 3 guys?!? Valentines day superheros…that’s who!!!

Anyways, as you can see my time at Ooh’s and Aahhs is nearly impossible to capture, but has been full of whimsy moments and holy mischief (as Bob Goff would put it!) God continues to reveal himself to me in the funniest ways...through fried chicken and drunk strangers at 4 in the morning! Man oh man, this God guy...what a hoot!