05/31/2026
I swear some mechanics act like basic hygiene is a personal insult.
Our boss bought pizza for the shop today, and before anyone could even get a slice, this guy walks over straight from under the hood of a car looking like he just lost a battle with an oil filter. Iām talking BLACK hands. Grease packed into the fingerprints. Fingernails looking like theyāve been through three lifetimes and a rebuild. And this man just grabs two slices barehanded and starts eating like contamination builds character.
So yeah, I said something. I told him if your hands can permanently stain a paper towel, maybe donāt be the first stop on the communal pizza line. Apparently that was ādisrespectful.ā My bad for not wanting brake dust parmesan on lunch.
He immediately starts getting dramatic about it tooābig sighs, rubbing his forehead, talking about how āhard workers donāt have time to look pretty.ā Brother, nobody asked you to do skincare and light a candle. Just wash your hands for 30 seconds. Everyone else in the shop seems to manage it without turning into a symbol of working-class suffering. Now the whole roomās awkward because the boss is looking at me like I just insulted the entire blue-collar industry.
And yeah, this is the part people are gonna side-eye me forāI quietly threw the rest of the pizza away after he got to it. Whole box. I watched motor oil fingers digging through pepperoni slices like it was a raccoon at a dumpster, and my appetite just completely checked out. One coworker called me āsoft,ā while theyāre still over there eating mystery grease supreme like germs are just a myth.