Kyle walked the Petaluma streets carefully. It was his new home for now after years living in Los Angeles. A safe distance from his hometown Santa Rosa, about a 20 minute drive, yet enough newness to keep him from being bored. There were some cool venues, like the Mystic. Right now, though, money was tight. He decided to put out feelers for jobs. He saw that there was a sign up at a sushi restaurant on the main drag looking for dishwashers and servers. When he walked inside, he was greeted by an older Japanese waitress who was eager to seat him.
"Can I get an application?"
"Wait here," She said politely and dissapeared into the back. Within a half minute she was back with the owner, Ray, a Chinese man around 40 years old. He had a youthful vigour about him, and playfully inquired whether Kyle had any experience.
"Yeah, but a long time ago." Kyle had avoided restaurant experience the past 5 years after working for a small mom and pops cafe in Los Angeles that went out of business. He found that the businesses that paid well were more corporate and the ones that were nice to work for didn't pay well. But at the minute he needed whatever he could get.