There is extra money in the drawer of the cash register!

Greetings!

After we sold the restaurant in 2004, I said to myself I would never work in a restaurant again.  Looking back, I should never say never for when I focused on where I did not want to be, I learned now it was likely where I might be.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Not long after we sold the business, my husband got a call from his friend, Mark*, who owned a restaurant.  Mark said he needed some help urgently.  He said one of his employees had not shown up for work on weekends.  He asked my husband if I could work a few hours at night on Fridays and Saturdays.  Of course, I said no.  I did not want to work in restaurants anymore.  I said he could easily hire help because servers liked to work on weekends.  However, Mark said he did not need someone to wait on tables.  He needed someone to seat the customers, answer the phone, write down carryout orders, and take care of the cash register.   He said some Chinese might not be able to answer the phone because of their limited understanding of English.  He asked my husband to talk to me again.  I did not really know Mark, but my husband had known him since young.  My husband wanted me to  help Mark, and I finally agreed to work there temporary (i.e. until Mark hired someone else).

I arrived at the restaurant in the afternoon.  Since I had to take care of the cash register, Mark told me what to do every time I came to work.  He said he put a certain amount of cash in the register every morning, e.g. 20 $5 and 10 $10.  When I came to work, I should add up all the receipts of dine-in and carryout orders of the day.  Then I should check if the money in the cash register corresponded to the money he put in and the sum of the receipts.  I did as he said.  There was $10 more than it should be. I thought I had make a mistake somewhere.  I added the receipts again.  Indeed, there was an extra $10.

The boss (Mark) worked in the kitchen.  I told him what I found.  He said, "Oh, before you came, a customer walked in and ordered.  I took care of his order.  He gave me $10.  I forgot to write a receipt."

The job was easy.  I got along with the waitresses.  When they were busy, I helped them clean up the tables.  Sometimes they asked me to take care of their customers. They asked me to take the tips on those tables, but I never did.  A waitress who had worked there for a couple of years was surprised that some customers left tips for me when they picked up their carryout orders.  She said she handled the cash register before, but she never got any tips.  I did not keep the tips.  I passed the tips to the cooks.  The customers came because they liked the food.  The cooks decided to use the money to buy lottery tickets.  They always gave me a copy of the numbers.

After a couple of weeks, I asked Mark if I could leave.  He wanted me to stay.  I said I really did not want to work in restaurants anymore.  I asked him to hire new help.

Some more weeks passed.  Mark told my husband and me that he had to go to China for four to five days to take care of some personal business.  He wanted me to take care of the restaurant while he was away.  In other words, I had to work from morning to close up at night. I suggested for him to let another person take charge. This person was very good in English, and had worked for him for a long time.  However, he said he knew whom he could trust.  I promised to help him this time, but he needed to hire someone else when he came back.  He asked me to go to the restaurant the day before he left for China so that he could show me how to set up everything in the morning.

When I came in that morning, he said he did not have the time to add up last night's receipts.  He asked me to check if the money in the cash register was correct while he worked with the cooks to get things ready in the kitchen.  I was surprised the same thing happened again.  There was $5 more than it should be!  I told Mark about it.  He said a customer came in late last night and ordered a few egg rolls.  The customer gave him $5, and he forgot to write it down.

Mark, a cook, or a waitress packed the carryout orders.  They usually put two packets of soy sauce with an order.  If a customer wanted another packet of soy sauce, cookie, or chopsticks, Mark charged 5 to 25 cents for each additional packet or item. It was very different from what I did in our restaurant.

In our restaurant, I never charged any money when customers asked for more soy sauce packets.  We also gave hot mustard packets free if they asked.  For each small order, we put one fortune cookie in the bag.  Many times, I put two cookies in because I knew the husband and wife were sharing it.  In time, I came to know the customers well.  A few families had five or six children.   When they ordered, I always put more cookies in.

One time, my son was taking care of the dining room and the orders.  He told me a woman came in with five kids to pick up a small order.  She asked for four more cookies so that the kids could each have one.  My son asked how much money should he charge for the cookies.  I told him to give her five more cookies free so that the woman could have a cookie too.  After the woman and her children left, my son was upset.  He said, "Mom, how can you give them cookies without charging more money?  No doubt the restaurant is not earning money."  I said I knew this family was not rich.  Sometimes they dined in our restaurant.  They could not order much. They shared the soup and food.  The children were very happy as if this was a special occasion for them.  I said, "I always put more cookies in if I know a family has more than one or two kids.  For instance, a family with three kids order a quart of sweet and sour chicken from us.  We normally put two fortune cookies with a quart size order. Do you want to be the kid who cannot have a cookie because there are only two cookies?"  My son was quiet for a while.  "Is it very wrong for me to put in another cookie if I know there are three kids?"  I added.

Of course, I had to follow Mark's instruction since I worked in his restaurant. Occasionally, I saw customers winced when I told them the extra charge for each additional packet of soy sauce.  I talked to Mark about it.  I knew some Chinese restaurants did not charge for soy sauce packets.  Mark said every penny mattered, and it was the reason his business was a success.  He had his restaurant for a long time, and it was true he was quite successful.  I thought I was not there to change anything since my work there was temporary.  I came up with a way to handle the situation.  Every time I came to work, I took with me a handful of coins.  When a customer asked for an extra packet of soy sauce, I gave it to him or her without charge.  I took a nickel from my own pocket and put it in the drawer of the cash register.  I believed I used less than a dollar of my own money while I worked there since most of Mark's regular customers did not ask for extras.

When the boss was away, I had to take care of packing carryout orders.  Therefore, the cooks and I came to know each other better.  They had worked for Mark for years. It seemed they worked well together.  The waitresses talked to me after the rush hours.  They told me Mark liked to scold people.  Some servers left after working there for just a few days because of his temper.  The waitress who had worked there for two years said I was the only one that Mark had shown much respect.  She said the boss had spent less time in the restaurant in the recent year.  He asked the waitresses to take turns taking care of the cash register when he was not there.  One day, he scolded her for stealing $10.  She said she was sure she did not make a mistake, and did not understand why the boss said $10 was missing.  I realized the extra $10 and $5 in the drawer might be a test for my honesty.

When Mark came back, I told him to hire somebody else.  He sat down with me in the restaurant a few times trying to convince me to stay, but I did not stay.  In all fairness, it was a pleasant work experience.  There was harmony in the restaurant, and Mark did not scold anybody while I worked there.  However, my mind was set.  I did not want to work in restaurants anymore.

Months later, my husband and I happened to come across Mark.  During our conversation, he said it was not easy to find someone who was honest and capable of taking care of the restaurant.  He said to my husband, "Your wife is honest, but many are not.  When I let other people handle the cash register, it is like there is a hole in the drawer."

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

If you have been reading my blog, you probably know that years later I worked in a cafe.  My amazing dream played a part in that experience.

One day, I participated in the quarterly healing service at church.  I believed there were seven or eight healers that day.  Afterwards, a woman came to me.  She asked, "Where do you work?"  I said, "I work in a cafe."  It seemed she already knew that. She looked at me.  She said, "You are a healer!  Why do you work in a cafe?"  I did not expect to hear that.  I did not know how to respond.  She repeated those words (i.e. you are a healer...) before she walked away.

I knew my cafe experience was relevant on my journey.  It was in divine order that we were here to connect and work with other people.  When I said I did not want this or that, there was a negative emotion attached to what I said.  I was glad I felt good in these restaurant experiences.  I truly appreciated the people I met and worked with.

I understood the sister who talked to me at church meant well.  She must have seen something that day, and wanted me to step forward.  Oh, Sister, at times I wonder what to do too.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Different people have different experiences.  To some people, giving away something without charging money or paying for the soy sauce packets out of my own pocket is stupid.  Every penny counts may be the right attitude towards building a business.  I cannot say I am right or wrong.  Experiences are experiences, and it is not about who is right or wrong.  However, what matters to me the most is I am at peace with what I do, and, I am.

Peace,
Q of D

*not the actual name

May your days be full of laughter!

Greetings!

Yesterday I listened to the channeled messages of the Ascended Masters on YouTube.  In one of the messages, I heard the words man, woman, and child.  It reminded me of an incident during which I burst out laughing uncontrollably and heartily.  I knew there was no way to convey how I felt at that time, but I would try.

A few years ago, I booked a reading with a channel who gave readings in a way similar to Edgar Cayce, the sleeping prophet.  Before the reading, a friend told me it was not the same as a psychic reading.  The channel would lie down and get into a trance.  He would then relate information from the Akashic Record and guidance from our guides / angels.  My friend said, other than the channel, someone would be there to assist or conduct the reading.

When I arrived, I learned that the one who was supposed to conduct the reading could not come.  Therefore, the channel gave me a sheet of paper with instructions as what to say before and after the reading.  Unlike Edgar Cayce who went into a deep trance, the channel told me he was about 20% conscious of what went on during readings.  At one point while we talked, he left the room to attend to something.  I began reading the instruction sheet, and found the following confusing.

.........release the outcome to the universal forces that help this _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                                                                                                     man / woman /child

I thought, " Why not simply say the name of the one who comes for the reading?" Instead of saying 'the universal forces that help this woman', I wanted to say -

.........release the outcome to the universal forces that help (my name)

Meanwhile, I wondered if there was a particular reason for the instruction to be the way it was.  I decided to talk to the channel about it.  When he came back to the room, we talked for quite a while.  However, I forgot to ask him about it.  Later, he lay down and the reading began.

It was an amazing reading.  The information from the Akashic Records or Book of Life was interesting.  It answered some of the questions that I could not get from a regular psychic reading.

When the reading was over, I began to say the words on the instruction sheet that helped the channel to  come back to the present.  I soon came to those words man/woman/child.  I paused.  At that very moment, I thought, "Hey, I have lived many lifetimes, and I have been man, woman, and child!"  So I said -

.........release the outcome to the universal forces that help this man, woman, child ....

As the words came out of my mouth, they sounded hilarious.  I burst out laughing, and the channel laughed too.  We had another round of laughter after I managed to finish saying the words on the instruction sheet.

Well, it is true I have been all of that - man, woman, and child.

To the brother who gave me the reading, thank you.

Laughing is good for the body, mind, and soul.  May your days be full of laughter!

Many blessings,
Q of D

Beauty is not in the garment we wear

Greetings!

There is an old Chinese saying that people bow to the expensive, elegant clothes before they show their respect to those who wear them.  In other words, in this materialistic world, people often judge others by what they wear.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

When I graduated from secondary school, my older sister advised me not to accept jobs in two particular districts with a similar reasoning.  She said, "People who work in the offices in those places wear nice, expensive clothes.  If you work there, you will have to spend all your income on cosmetics and clothes."  I knew what she said bore some truth.

However, some of the ads for job opportunities on the newspapers did not specify where the companies were located.  One week, I received responses from three companies.  Coincidentally, the companies asked me to go for interviews the following week on the same day.  Luckily, the interviews were hours apart, and I had enough time to go from one place to another.  I was successful on all the interviews. One of the jobs happened to be in the district that my sister had talked about.  It was an import and export firm.  The pay was the least among the three job offers.  Another job was a clerk position in a factory.  The pay was two times that of the import and export firm.  The salary of the other job was somewhere in the middle.  I discussed the job offers with my mother.  My mother said she trusted my judgment, and whichever job I chose would be good.  After some contemplation, I accepted the one with the least pay because I saw potential of learning on the job.

When I reported to work, I found out I was one of 7 new employees.  The company assigned us to different positions in different departments.  I never liked to talk to others about salary, however, others did.  We learned the company offered us the same monthly salary except one whose pay was a little bit less than the rest of us. To this day, I did not see the point of people asking others how much they earned.  Many people liked to compare and compete.  Some people did not want to teach others what they knew about the job fearing others might do better than they were.  To me, work was never about competing with others, but working together in harmony.    

A few days into my first job, I saw a coworker crying in the washroom.  She was new to the company just like me.  She worked in another department.  She told me she cried because she overheard other girls in the office talking about her dress.  She said she made the dress by herself.  I said she looked nice in her dress.  I told her not to feel bad because of what others said.  She was more at ease when she learned the dress I wore was very inexpensive.

The company paid us monthly.  When I received my first check, I was surprised it was more than what the company had told me.  I asked the manager of the accounting department if it was a mistake.  He told me it was not a mistake because I worked in a department where employees received additional monthly bonuses tied to the sales of the company's retail store.   (Our department had something to do with sales.)  He told me some employees working in other departments did not get these bonuses.

As life had its own plan, I actually worked some years in different companies in the two districts that my sister advised me not to.  I had always been simple, and was not into fancy clothes.  I was unassuming in every way.  Fortunately, those I worked with (the bosses as well as my coworkers) often treated me with respect.  They did not judge me by what I wore or how I looked.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Have there been times people look down on me?  Of course, there are.  Some people like to judge what others wear or what others should wear.

One day in the restaurant years, a customer who owned a small medical office in the neighborhood came to pick up an order.  When I gave her what she ordered, she looked at me with disdain.  Then she said to me with disgust, "You do know that you work in a restaurant, don't you?  Why do you wear such an expensive shirt?"  I never expected to hear what she said because I did not wear an expensive shirt!  I said, "The shirt is not expensive.  I buy it at ..... (the name of a store).  It is on sale.  The original price is $16.  It is 50% off.  I buy it for $8.  There are still some in the store.  If you like, you can go and buy one." The woman was surprised and embarrassed.  She said, "It looks so nice.  I thought it was very expensive."  Hurriedly, she walked out of the restaurant.  Right or wrong, we lost a customer.  I did not see her again.  She was probably too embarrassed to come back.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

All of us have our preferences of what to wear.  That is why there are huge varieties of clothes and accessories.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look beautiful, wear something nice, or wear something we feel comfortable with.  I compliment on how beautiful or handsome others look from time to time.  I don't bow to the expensive, elegant clothes.  However, I do appreciate the beauty of our creativity in clothes, arts, and music.  Most of all, the older I am, the more I can appreciate the true beauty within others as well as within me.  Beauty is not in the garment we wear.  Beauty is who we are.

Love,
Q of D
  

Do you desire change in your life?

Greetings!

A friend called.  She told me she had gone to a workshop.  I asked, "How is the workshop?"  She said, "In the workshop, we learn the techniques to live a  happy, peaceful life.  We learn how to love ourselves, treat others, and look at situations in our lives with new perspectives."  I asked, "Do the techniques help?"  Cheerfully, she answered, "Yes!  I find them very helpful when I apply them to my life."  She paused for a second.  Then she said, "Well, what I learn from the workshop is not something new.  In fact, you and others had talked about it years ago.  But, at that time, I was not ready to change even though I was not happy with my life."

We moved onto other things that happened in our lives.  It was always good to catch up with my friends.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

When my friend said "At that time, I was not ready to change", I knew very well how she felt.  Many times in my own life, I was not ready to change, let go, or move on just liked she did.  For example, when my spirit guide suggested for me to learn a healing art, I did not follow the advice.  It took a year and a half for me to say "okay, I am ready, and please bring me a teacher."  One night, my brothers and sisters at church shared with us the stories of how they answered to their hearts' calling.  I was fired up.  I wanted to follow their footsteps.  However, when I cooled down, I told myself I could not for I did not have the qualifications.  At that time, I was not ready too.

                                            ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

When we find life unsatisfying or depressing, we know deep inside we need to make some changes.  When we are not happy with a situation or a relationship, we know it is a call for change.  However, we often let the condition linger because we are used to the familiarity of our life.  Sometimes we tell ourselves we are powerless towards a situation.  We pray for the outside world to change (i.e. a situation or relationship), and fail to realize that the change begins with us.

It takes me years to realize I am the one who is responsible for holding me back from being free or happy.  I find out when I change my view of what seems to be the problem, I change what is before me.  The outside world may seem to remain unchanged, but it has.  As I stop giving power to negative emotions such as fear, worries, hurt, pain, anger, and self-imposed limitations, I am open to the new and better.  When I am at peace, people around me are more peaceful too.  Gladly or sadly, I find out the cause of my suffering in life is often none other than my wrong view of looking at a situation or a relationship.  I learn that the first step of change is but a change / an adjustment of my view or attitude.  Furthermore, when I consciously choose love (incl. love of self) over all that is not, I no longer subject myself to the emotional turmoil of life.

"When love is present, everything flows with ease and dissolves with ease" - a quote from a channeled message from Master Djwhal Khul on YouTube.

Do you desire change in your life?  It may help to reflect on your views.  Set your intention, and let love guide you through.  This affrmation may help to set your desire in motion.

                                                  Change is easy.
                                                  Change is easy.
                                                  Change is easy.

                                                                                So it is.

Peace & blessings,
Q of D