February 27, 2013. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. A Job.

I watched him for about ten minutes doing his job.   He did not see me...at least not at first.   It is so much fun to watch a person performing a boring job and turn that task into a game, thus enjoying the job.  He was unloading a box of liquor bottles and placing them on a shelf and putting a case of beer in the fridge.   At the small Mexican restaurant we like,  this young man works the evening shift.   He cooks at the outside grill and he works as a bartender.   When he first gets to work, he sets up the bar.  I watched him.   The reason I watched him was because when he was cooking at the grill the last time we were there, he was dancing by himself the whole time.  Clearly, he likes to amuse himself.

Every bottle he picked up,  he spun high in the air then caught it.  Next he flipped the bottle into his other hand where he spun it in air again.  Finally, he put it onto the shelf.    These full bottles of liquor are expensive and here he is, flipping and spinning them two feet in the air before he catches them.    Bottle after bottle he had fun with no one looking.  He did the same with the beer cans.  It was amazing to watch.  Finally he spotted me watching and grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders.  But he did not stop until he was finished, just playing his game.    It probably took him twice as long as if he just put the bottles on the shelf but it certainly was more fun for him and for me.  His task gave him great joy. You could just see how a boring task can turn into a game.