What happens when someone leaves a career in engineering to work in a restaurant?
For many people, it might sound like a step backward.
For Yasemin Kamci, it became a window into something deeper — human behavior, community, and the strange sociology of the service industry.
In this episode of Moped Outlaws, Yasemin joins Marc and Greg to talk about the world behind restaurant doors — the place where hospitality, stress, humor, and humanity collide every night.
Yasemin is the creator of the Bitter Waitress podcast, where she explores the often invisible realities of customer service work and the emotional labor that comes with it.
Her perspective is unique.
Before entering restaurant work, she spent more than a decade working as an engineer in the IT industry. But the demands of constant travel, endless accessibility, and family life pushed her to rethink what success actually meant.
Sometimes stepping off the expected path reveals something more honest.
The Sociology of Restaurants
Restaurant work is one of the most revealing environments in modern society.
Every shift becomes a small social experiment.
Customers arrive stressed, celebrating, impatient, grateful, or distracted — and servers must navigate every interaction with patience and professionalism.
As Yasemin explains, the job requires constant emotional negotiation.
Servers balance the needs of customers, kitchen staff, and management while trying to maintain a welcoming presence. Much like her former work in IT, the role involves managing expectations, solving problems, and keeping things moving smoothly.
The difference is that the work happens in real time, face to face.
The Invisible Labor of Customer Service
One of the themes that runs through Yasemin’s story is how invisible service work can be.
From the outside, people often see a server as someone simply delivering food.
But inside the restaurant, there’s a complex web of coordination, timing, teamwork, and emotional labor that keeps everything running.
Servers absorb frustration from customers, handle unexpected problems, and keep smiling while doing it.
And sometimes, that energy has nowhere to go.
That’s part of what inspired Yasemin to create her podcast.
She wanted a place where customer service workers could share stories, laugh about the absurd moments, and acknowledge the realities of the job.
From Engineering to the Dining Room
Yasemin’s transition from engineering to restaurant work surprised many people in her life.
But the change also brought something valuable: balance.
Engineering work required constant connectivity and frequent travel — challenges that became difficult while raising a young family.
https://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Feature-image-238.webp423667Two Outlawshttps://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mo-logo-sq-trans_white-1030x1030.pngTwo Outlaws2026-03-16 01:00:322026-03-15 22:32:12The Bitter Waitress: Yasemin Kamci on Service Work, Human Nature, and Finding Joy
Allen Mostow: Consciousness, Music, and the Infinite Now
What happens when a life in music, mysticism, and curiosity intersects with eight decades of experience?
Allen Mostow joins Moped Outlaws for a conversation that moves effortlessly from the music industry of the late 1960s to quantum physics, from psychedelic awakenings to spiritual mystery schools, and from marriage to mortality.
At 80 years old, Allen brings the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime observing how consciousness unfolds.
And he’s still deeply curious about what comes next. Read more
https://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Feature-image-237.webp423667Two Outlawshttps://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mo-logo-sq-trans_white-1030x1030.pngTwo Outlaws2026-03-09 01:00:542026-03-08 21:37:24Allen Mostow: Consciousness, Music, and the Infinite Now
Shadow Work in Public: Dr. Sterlin Mosley on Narcissism, Power, and the Collective Ego
What happens when a personality psychologist has a mystical awakening?
And what happens when that same psychologist writes a book about narcissism… during a cultural moment obsessed with exposing it?
Dr. Sterlin Mosley returns to Moped Outlaws for a conversation that moves from the Enneagram to ego liberation, from spiritual awakening to the Epstein files, and from masculine shadow to collective consciousness.
This is not a surface-level psychology discussion.
It’s an inquiry into what it means to be human — and what it costs us to deny that humanity. Read more
https://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Feature-image-236.webp423667Two Outlawshttps://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mo-logo-sq-trans_white-1030x1030.pngTwo Outlaws2026-03-02 01:10:172026-03-01 23:03:54Shadow Work in Public: Dr. Sterlin Mosley on Narcissism, Power, and the Collective Ego
There are conversations about building.
There are conversations about leading.
And then there are conversations about listening.
This one is about listening.
Jeff Simmons joins us to explore what happens when you turn toward the soundscape instead of away from it — when you stop filling silence and start paying attention to what’s already there.
Jeff is the founder of Audio in Trees, a project rooted in environmental field recording and deep listening. His work is simple on the surface: go outside, record, and preserve the sound of a place.
But what unfolds is something much deeper. Read more
https://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/moped-outlaws-235-jeff-simmons-audio-in-trees.webp.webp423667Two Outlawshttps://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mo-logo-sq-trans_white-1030x1030.pngTwo Outlaws2026-02-23 01:01:312026-02-22 22:42:30Listening as Craft: Jeff Simmons on Audio in Trees, Attention, and the Art of Slowing Down
And then there are conversations that feel immediate.
This one is immediate.
Lyubim Kogan joins us with a story that spans Winter Olympics, 9/11, Wall Street, war zones, and ultimately a beach in Turkey where amputee Ukrainian veterans are relearning how to stand — and fly.
Not metaphorically.
Actually fly.
Lyubim is the founder of Wings for Heroes, a humanitarian mission helping combat veterans reclaim dignity, confidence, and independence through community, rehabilitation, and tandem paragliding.
This isn’t charity in the traditional sense.
It’s presence.
It’s action.
It’s staying longer than a photo op. Read more
There are conversations that feel like an interview and others that feel like sitting around a fire, turning ideas over slowly, seeing what light they catch. This ride falls firmly into the latter.
“The stars incline. They do not determine.” Aleksandra Ceho
https://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/website_template_233.png423667Two Outlawshttps://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mo-logo-sq-trans_white-1030x1030.pngTwo Outlaws2026-02-09 01:15:092026-02-09 15:37:50Astrology, Archetypes, and Agency A Conversation with Aleksandra Ceho
There are certain conversations that don’t rush you. They slow you down. They ask you to sit with complexity instead of trying to solve it.
This episode is one of those.
Patrick O’Donnell is a retired police officer, a writer, and the host of Cops and Writers. He’s also someone who has stood close enough to life-and-death moments to know that certainty is often a luxury—and that wisdom usually arrives after experience, not before it.
Early in our conversation, Patrick shared a simple phrase that became the spine of the episode:
Dig the well before you’re thirsty. ~ Patrick O’Donnell
It’s not a slogan. It’s a survival strategy.
Patrick spent 25 years in law enforcement, much of it on the street, eventually serving as a sergeant responsible for others in volatile, high-pressure situations. He’s investigated officer-involved shootings, navigated public scrutiny, and lived inside the biological reality of fear—tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, adrenaline flooding the body when milliseconds matter.
But what makes this conversation resonate isn’t the intensity alone. It’s what Patrick has done with it. Read more
https://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/website_232.webp423667Two Outlawshttps://mopedoutlaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mo-logo-sq-trans_white-1030x1030.pngTwo Outlaws2026-02-02 01:01:122026-01-30 22:45:11Dig the Well Before You’re Thirsty: Wisdom from the Thin Blue Line
The Bitter Waitress: Yasemin Kamci on Service Work, Human Nature, and Finding Joy
/by Two OutlawsWhat happens when someone leaves a career in engineering to work in a restaurant?
For many people, it might sound like a step backward.
For Yasemin Kamci, it became a window into something deeper — human behavior, community, and the strange sociology of the service industry.
In this episode of Moped Outlaws, Yasemin joins Marc and Greg to talk about the world behind restaurant doors — the place where hospitality, stress, humor, and humanity collide every night.
Yasemin is the creator of the Bitter Waitress podcast, where she explores the often invisible realities of customer service work and the emotional labor that comes with it.
Her perspective is unique.
Before entering restaurant work, she spent more than a decade working as an engineer in the IT industry. But the demands of constant travel, endless accessibility, and family life pushed her to rethink what success actually meant.
Sometimes stepping off the expected path reveals something more honest.
The Sociology of Restaurants
Restaurant work is one of the most revealing environments in modern society.
Every shift becomes a small social experiment.
Customers arrive stressed, celebrating, impatient, grateful, or distracted — and servers must navigate every interaction with patience and professionalism.
As Yasemin explains, the job requires constant emotional negotiation.
Servers balance the needs of customers, kitchen staff, and management while trying to maintain a welcoming presence. Much like her former work in IT, the role involves managing expectations, solving problems, and keeping things moving smoothly.
The difference is that the work happens in real time, face to face.
The Invisible Labor of Customer Service
One of the themes that runs through Yasemin’s story is how invisible service work can be.
From the outside, people often see a server as someone simply delivering food.
But inside the restaurant, there’s a complex web of coordination, timing, teamwork, and emotional labor that keeps everything running.
Servers absorb frustration from customers, handle unexpected problems, and keep smiling while doing it.
And sometimes, that energy has nowhere to go.
That’s part of what inspired Yasemin to create her podcast.
She wanted a place where customer service workers could share stories, laugh about the absurd moments, and acknowledge the realities of the job.
From Engineering to the Dining Room
Yasemin’s transition from engineering to restaurant work surprised many people in her life.
But the change also brought something valuable: balance.
Engineering work required constant connectivity and frequent travel — challenges that became difficult while raising a young family.
Restaurant work, surprisingly, offered clearer boundaries.
When the shift ends, the job stays at work.
For Yasemin, that shift created more space for family life and personal well-being.
Sometimes the unconventional path leads to a healthier life.
Technology and the Future of Work
During the conversation, the discussion turns toward automation and the role of technology in service industries.
Robots are already appearing in some restaurants, assisting servers by carrying food trays to tables.
But Yasemin sees the future as uncertain.
Technology evolves rapidly, and many industries — including hospitality — may face changes that are difficult to predict.
What remains constant, however, is the human connection that happens when people gather around food.
Hope in Everyday Moments
Despite the challenges of service work, Yasemin holds onto a simple philosophy passed down from her father:
Every day is a new day.
That idea shapes the way she approaches life and parenting — encouraging her son to enjoy the present instead of worrying too much about the future.
It’s a small idea with big implications.
Life moves quickly.
The moments we experience today will eventually become the stories we tell tomorrow.
Final Takeaway
Restaurant work offers a unique lens into human nature.
In a single shift, a server might witness kindness, impatience, generosity, frustration, humor, and connection.
Yasemin Kamci’s journey reminds us that dignity isn’t defined by job titles.
It’s found in how we treat people.
And sometimes the most honest conversations about society happen between the kitchen and the dining room floor.
Guest Links
Website
https://www.bitterwaitresspodcast.com
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@bitterwaitresspodcast
Follow Moped Outlaws
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/mopedoutlaws
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@mopedoutlaws
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/moped.outlaws
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@mopedoutlaws
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:15:19 — 103.4MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Allen Mostow: Consciousness, Music, and the Infinite Now
/by Two OutlawsAllen Mostow: Consciousness, Music, and the Infinite Now
What happens when a life in music, mysticism, and curiosity intersects with eight decades of experience?
Allen Mostow joins Moped Outlaws for a conversation that moves effortlessly from the music industry of the late 1960s to quantum physics, from psychedelic awakenings to spiritual mystery schools, and from marriage to mortality.
At 80 years old, Allen brings the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime observing how consciousness unfolds.
And he’s still deeply curious about what comes next. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:05 — 90.7MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Shadow Work in Public: Dr. Sterlin Mosley on Narcissism, Power, and the Collective Ego
/by Two OutlawsShadow Work in Public: Dr. Sterlin Mosley on Narcissism, Power, and the Collective Ego
What happens when a personality psychologist has a mystical awakening?
And what happens when that same psychologist writes a book about narcissism… during a cultural moment obsessed with exposing it?
Dr. Sterlin Mosley returns to Moped Outlaws for a conversation that moves from the Enneagram to ego liberation, from spiritual awakening to the Epstein files, and from masculine shadow to collective consciousness.
This is not a surface-level psychology discussion.
It’s an inquiry into what it means to be human — and what it costs us to deny that humanity. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:43 — 109.5MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Listening as Craft: Jeff Simmons on Audio in Trees, Attention, and the Art of Slowing Down
/by Two OutlawsThere are conversations about building.
There are conversations about leading.
And then there are conversations about listening.
This one is about listening.
Jeff Simmons joins us to explore what happens when you turn toward the soundscape instead of away from it — when you stop filling silence and start paying attention to what’s already there.
Jeff is the founder of Audio in Trees, a project rooted in environmental field recording and deep listening. His work is simple on the surface: go outside, record, and preserve the sound of a place.
But what unfolds is something much deeper. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:36 — 82.0MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
The Permanent Mission: Lyubim Kogan on Resilience, Risk, and Reclaiming Purpose
/by Two OutlawsThere are conversations that feel reflective.
And then there are conversations that feel immediate.
This one is immediate.
Lyubim Kogan joins us with a story that spans Winter Olympics, 9/11, Wall Street, war zones, and ultimately a beach in Turkey where amputee Ukrainian veterans are relearning how to stand — and fly.
Not metaphorically.
Actually fly.
Lyubim is the founder of Wings for Heroes, a humanitarian mission helping combat veterans reclaim dignity, confidence, and independence through community, rehabilitation, and tandem paragliding.
This isn’t charity in the traditional sense.
It’s presence.
It’s action.
It’s staying longer than a photo op. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:45 — 62.0MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Astrology, Archetypes, and Agency A Conversation with Aleksandra Ceho
/by Two OutlawsMoped Outlaws — Episode #233
There are conversations that feel like an interview and others that feel like sitting around a fire, turning ideas over slowly, seeing what light they catch. This ride falls firmly into the latter.
“The stars incline. They do not determine.” Aleksandra Ceho
Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:15:47 — 173.5MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Dig the Well Before You’re Thirsty: Wisdom from the Thin Blue Line
/by Two OutlawsMoped Outlaws — Episode #232
There are certain conversations that don’t rush you. They slow you down. They ask you to sit with complexity instead of trying to solve it.
This episode is one of those.
Patrick O’Donnell is a retired police officer, a writer, and the host of Cops and Writers. He’s also someone who has stood close enough to life-and-death moments to know that certainty is often a luxury—and that wisdom usually arrives after experience, not before it.
Early in our conversation, Patrick shared a simple phrase that became the spine of the episode:
It’s not a slogan. It’s a survival strategy.
Patrick spent 25 years in law enforcement, much of it on the street, eventually serving as a sergeant responsible for others in volatile, high-pressure situations. He’s investigated officer-involved shootings, navigated public scrutiny, and lived inside the biological reality of fear—tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, adrenaline flooding the body when milliseconds matter.
But what makes this conversation resonate isn’t the intensity alone. It’s what Patrick has done with it. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:11 — 67.9MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Winter 2026 Teaser Short
/by Two OutlawsWe wanted to bring you a full show but we had a scheduling challenge and we’re only able to bring you this short introduction.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:11 — 7.3MB) | Embed
Join The Gang Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | iHeartRadio | JioSaavn | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More