Violinist waits tables to pay expenses
Barbecue restaurant became like second family
In high school, Samantha Colridge played violin as if angels pranced on her bow. Her violin talent became obvious after she started playing in third grade. In the high school orchestra she rose quickly to the position of first chair, whose leadership role is second only to the conductor. With violin, Colridge found herself. She practiced for hours daily. With a couple of elementary school girls as students, she tutored for money. During summers she worked as a counselor at a music camp. "That was my passion," she says. "I thought I was going to stay in it and teach."
Then after earning average grades at Santa Rosa High School, she graduated and went to junior college in Chico, CA. The social scene enveloped her. She went more often to parties than to practice. The school's orchestra was far from the level to which she was accustomed. "Trying to find people to play with was hard," she says. Violin faded to the background almost as her secret. If she was feeling upset for a day, she'd pick up the violin to console herself. "I stopped playing for five months, which took a toll."
In Chico while studying child development, psychology and communications, she found a job as a waitress at a Mongolian barbecue stir-fry restaurant called Hula's. "It was the best job," she says. "I miss it. It was so much fun. Your regulars would come in and have their certain table and drinks. They knew my name. People would come in and ask for my section. It was a homey atmosphere. It was fun having a lot of people interaction. That was my favorite part. It was awesome."
She worked 25 to 30 hours a week. On a good night she could earn $100 to $150 plus a modest hourly wage. The owner gave her busy nights to work. Her parents covered school tuition and rent. "I had to pay for utilities and my dog. And of course the extras—shopping, hair, getting my nails done with friends. I had to pay for that. Gotta have the girl time!"
"It was my own little bubble," Colridge continues. "I loved going there and meeting so many new people, some from different countries who spoke different languages. It was the best experience."
Hula's restaurant became family. "I loved everyone I worked with," Colridge says. "My bosses were phenomenal. Girls worked as servers and hosts. It was a close-knit girl family. No one argued. No one was catty or gossiped." In the kitchen were mostly guys.
"I was nervous at first," she says, "especially coming into all those girls. Are they going to like me? Are they going to think I'm superficial? They were all welcoming. In my first hour I realized it was not going to be a problem." There were about 20 servers plus seven hosts, along with 10 cooks, three employees who dished up food and four food line workers.
After turning 21, Colridge moved with her boyfriend back to Santa Rosa to study viticulture—and to rediscover violin. "I signed up for orchestra this semester and felt discouraged," she says. "I used to be top of the firsts (violin chairs). I played college-level music in high school. But now I was back of the seconds. It was really hard, a big ego blow. That's what I loved to do for years and years. I still have the skills and passion, but you have to work at it."
The drop in her violin skills motivated Colridge to get back into regular practice. She realized that talent isn't enough without constant work.
"If you feel you are doing it for your parents or your teacher, you're not going to excel. You have to do it for yourself."
"You think you know it all. Then you learn something else and you think, oh I guess I don't know it all. If you feel you are doing it for your parents or your teacher, you're not going to excel. You have to do it for yourself."
Colridge found a job at an Applebee's restaurant, at first only as a host, seating customers and cleaning bathrooms. She made far less money. Compared to Hula's, Applebees is immense, with more than 1,500 restaurants. "You feel as if you're a tiny little ant," Colridge says.
There are four managers, as well as "leads" or assistant managers. "Every manager has his own set of rules," she says. "Each time you go in, you look at who the manager is to know how you need to perform that night. It's completely different. One manager sticks to the Applebee's rules verbatim. He's a stickler. Then we have three who are a little more laid back. I know who to please. But I'm still learning."
Certain bosses want her to say, "Please come back and see us again." Other bosses prefer that she simply ask, "How was your meal?"
No matter what is going on in her life, in restaurant work, "You have to stay positive," Colridge says. "If you have a bad day, you cannot bring it to work because everyone will feed off you. Leave your emotions at the door. Better tips if you're not angry at the customer." She laughs. "You have to be happy or your customers are not going to like you. They are not going to tip you."
"I miss Hula's," she continues. "It's getting better. I'm going to stick it out." A manager has already suggested that he will promote her to serving drive-up and then likely indoor table service.
—James Dunn
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