Being a grownup sucks

I'm alive! I say this because I haven't posted anything in a long time. Nothing new and exciting is happening. Work is still work and it still sucks. My co-workers are great and my managers still suck-great-big-donkey-balls! I would like to find a new job, but it is almost impossible in this economy to do that. I still have a good schedule and make great money, but I get weary of putting up with all the corporate policies and the whimsical nature of my managers thought process. Today is a day off and I need to do some day off things, i.e., errands, laundry, catch up on reading, see a movie, stop and talk to some people at other restaurants. I already have spoken with my parents this week. My roommate is very busy with school, work and his gf. As of today, I am five months into my one year suspension on my driver's license. That makes life harder, especially with spotty public transportation, but I am getting through it well. Not being able to drive is another reason for not quitting my current job. I'm trying to get hired on at one of the other bars in the mall where I work, but it is taking a long time. I know the regional manager very well, so its just a matter of waiting for something to open up. Oh well, back to reading. I'll post more later.

I really need to write more

So, last weekend was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The videos were all very boring. The medical lecture was really good. I learned alot from Mindy about how alcohol affects the body and the brain. The brain part was way cool! The group sessions were helpful and my counselor was awesome! Charles is a former alcoholic and has been counseling for twenty-five years. He cared about getting us to see what we had done wrong, help us not do it again, and get us done with the weekend.

My roommate has started dating a new female. She is way cool. We all went to dinner with one of her friends and some peeps from Starbucks on Friday. That was a night! Alot of fun was had by all, especially me...and her friend!

Work was slow last night. I still made good money. My managers still suck. I had my annual review. It went great. I don't have anything to work on, and they only had good things to say about me. My managers are such idiots.

My roommate is on his way to meet the female's parents. It should go well. He is very good with parents of all kinds.

I'm trying to catch up on bills right now so I can get my school loans paid off and BUY AN iPHONE! I think I can do it very soon! It won't make my life complete, but it will give me something to play with for awhile and keep my brain occupied.

Yep, I'm boring

Another day over; another week almost over. I get to do my weekend at AA this weekend, so from Friday at four until Sunday at three-thirty I get to go to meetings and watch anti-alcohol videos. Yea, me! I've had a good few days, made some money, had some laughs, went to the movies with a lot of my female co-workers and got pissed off at my managers (again!). I love the mall where I work and I love everyone at Bar X because they treat me well and not like another annoying customer. As the days and weeks go by, I'm beginning to feel more and more alone. I don't know what to do about it. Any advise?

Snow Day!

We got about ten inches of snow last night and today. It made it very hard to get to work, but it didn't stop me. I caught the bus this morning (it was a half-hour late) and made it to work on time. Weird, I know! We didn't open until Noon, so I had plenty of time to open. I opened wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and construction boots (because of the massive amount of snow). My manager wanted me to take the first table that walked in at eleven-forty which is well after we normally open but not today. I looked at him and didn't know what to say. I just said I would take it and proceeded to get dressed. While I was dressing, a server walked in (thank God!). So, I didn't have to take a table outside the bar, which I absolutely hate doing! It was a good day. Some of my regulars came in so I made some decent money. Happy hour was good. I worked with Dawn and stayed till close with her so she could give me a ride home. (We closed way early at seven-thirty. We still didn't get done in the bar till nine-thirty even though we had every thing broken down at eight!) It was a good day. A snow day! (Get it? Ha-ha!)

Another day in paradise

Another weekend down the tubes. Manged on Thursday and Saturday mornings. Closed the bar Friday night and worked it with Christi and Dawn on Saturday night. The best story of the weeks; The Bar Manager came back on Wednesday night with his girlfriend and proceeded to get drunk(er) at the bar. Dawn was closing. At one point he asks Dawn across the bar in full ear-shot of his stupid girlfriend, "What do I have to do to be the cool manager?" Dawn's initial response was to laugh hysterically, but she kept that down and instead told him, "Stop being a dick." He just doesn't get it.

I try and then get shot down...again

So it is the post-holiday season. In restaurant life this means fewer people out spending money, because they have to save it all to pay off their credit card bills from Christmas and such. (In the Midwest they also need the money to pay their heating bills. Its 20degrees right now. The low tonight is -5degrees! I love Ohio!) Because of the downturn in sales all restaurants come up with some ideas to save money by cutting back on labor hours, cutting food cost, and utilizing promotions to increase foot traffic. As a bartender that means that there are fewer shifts to go around. It helped that Jana quit two weeks ago by no-call, no-showing two days in a row. That leaves four and one-half bartenders. (The one-half is Ashlie, who the management would not let us train and refuses to listen to any of us when we try to explain anything to her. Don't you just love people!) So, I decided to try to make everyone's life easier and try to put together a kind of permanent schedule for this quarter so we would always know when we would be working and to make sure that we all were making good money. I let Dawn, Lauren, and Christi see it and got their approval. I wanted to present it to The GM and The Bar Manager at the same time so I would not have to explain myself twice, but that was not to be. The Bar Manager saw it and shot me down because he is irrational. He will not accept any idea that is not his or The GM's. I have been in his situation before and the only way to get him to act like a real human being is for him to be fired. That is what it took for me. There is no way to tell him this. We just have to wait for it.

The long weekend becomes dull

We had a good weekend at The Seafood Restaurant. I closed the bar on Saturday night and The GM did the bar inventory so I didn't have to put up with The Bar Manager in such close proximity to me all night. I opened as a manager on Sunday morning and left at four because we were so slow. The Service Manager said that we had a good night on Sunday Night. We did more that our usual sales and the servers made money. My roommate dropped me off at work early yesterday on his way to school. I had the bar setup and stocked by the time we opened at eleven. That was good because I ended up getting a lot of tables. Everyone wanted to sit in the bar yesterday! The servers didn't get half the tables I did! I setup in anticipation of a busy happy hour, but to no avail. I left as soon as happy hour was over at six and was informed by the closer, Lauren, that the two people who sat at the bar for happy hour were the only two people who sat at the bar all night. We had our worst night for tips that I have ever seen! Five dollars an hour was our average! I have the day off today, but I might stop by work to pick up my meager tips from last night. I know, I know, I need to stay away from that place at least once a week, but Dawn and Christi work tonight and I haven't seen them in a few days. I need to get a life!