The When I first moved to L.A., I waited tables at a very popular and fancy wine bistro.

The food was fantastic, and the ambiance was beautiful, but the business wasn't run particularly

well and we were chronically understaffed. I distinctly remember having to be the hostess,

bartender, waitress, and food runner some nights. The only other server on shift and I would

run around like crazy people, each of us trying

to accomplish the jobs of four people entirely on our own. I remember being so stressed that I nearly

started to cry as I searched fruitlessly for a pricey bottle of wine that one of my tables wanted.

I knew it was our last one in stock,

and yet I couldn't find it anywhere and didn't have time to keep searching, as the chef called

for me to run food, other tables were waving me down for water, were their check, and still

more people were waiting at the front to be sat. I could feel the tension and adrenaline radiating

through my body. I waved down my coworker for her help in finding it, and she gently took me by

the elbow and said, Carissa, it's in your hand. I looked down disbelievingly at my hand, and sure enough, I was clutching the very bottle I needed and didn't even realize it.

I began to laugh. It was a deep belly laugh that I could not contain. It was contagious, and my coworker began to laugh with me,

and for a moment the craziness of the evening and the demanding needs of

the restaurant fell away. I still had to complete all the tasks I did earlier and still had no

additional help, but for some reason that slightly hysterical laughing fit gave me a giant

and much-needed wave of relief.

The shift in perspective felt so dramatic.

One second, I felt like it was life and death,

and the next I realized, no, it's just wine.

I think the thing that struck me most about it was how swiftly my mood could change.

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