At the time I read this book, I was about two years into a three-year stint as a waitress. I remember disagreeing with Ehrenreich on some of her conclusions, but time--and another brief waitressing stint--have tempered that disagreement.

For me, waitressing was freedom--freedom from expectations, from responsibility, from job stress. I was coming off of a series of "professional" jobs that I absolutely hated, and all I knew of work was absolute misery and boredom. Waitressing is a lot of things, but it's not stressful and it's usually not boring. While it doesn't take huge amounts of brainpower, you're constantly on the move, and there is a multitasking element that most people who have never waited tables before don't really appreciate. My family thought I had lost my mind, even if they were too polite to say so.

The other thing it is, which I didn't fully appreciate at the time, is hard on your body. The first time around, I was 23-26 years old. I could work a double shift and be tired, but not totally destroyed. The second time, I was 28 and a five-hour shift had me ready for traction. Partially this was due to the fact that I wasn't used to it anymore, but those two years in the middle were enough to make me feel old and decrepit.

And of course, there is the money. You can make damn good money waiting tables, but you're not going to do it in the type of place Ehrenreich was working, or the type of place I was working, for that matter. And while I made enough to basically support myself, I couldn't handle anything unexpected--car repairs, doctor bills, vet bills, etc. I had a safety net--my parents--but most people I worked with did not. And, like Ehrenreich, I had an exit strategy. I had a degree, work experience, and awesome contacts that helped me get a professional job when waitressing got old.

But in a way, it's still liberating to know that I can always support myself by waiting tables, if I had to. I still think, though, that WalMart = Satan.