New Job

I got a job at a new independent restaurant in the downtown area. We don't have a liquor license yet so we are just serving breakfast and lunch. The owners are nice and the GM is very cool. He appreciates me and all the knowledge I have to offer. He likes the fact that I work hard and he makes me want to contribute to the success of this restaurant. I pretty much took over the Togo part of lunch (I'm just not making much money off of it) and run it out of the bar. It's a crap shoot as to whether or not I'm going to be busy with Togo on any given day. I have slowly started to get some gentleman who sit at the bar for lunch. I get tipped on every other Togo, so I am starting to make a little bit of money, but I'm waiting for my paycheck on Friday so I can get my checking account out of the negative. The girls from The Seafood Restaurant keep calling and checking on me. That's nice. Some of them want to come to Sunday Brunch at the new restaurant to see me and to have some of the wonderful homemade food that we are serving. After having opened six corporate restaurants, I knew opening an independent restaurant was going to be a different experience, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be when the owners of this new restaurant have no experience in the industry! They are doing OK for right now, but just OK. The kitchen needs some serious work! We have no experienced line cooks! I've run kitchen shifts and I've expedited quite a bit. This new kitchen falls down every day. Part of that has been the computer system. The computers were set up specifically for this store so we have quite a few bugs to work out. We have the system running pretty smooth. I have had the opportunity to work with the computer guy. He is way cool. He is 75 and has been doing this type of things for years, both in the military and for NCR. He started out training people how to use cash registers. The front-of-house is good. We have some good servers and the place looks great! We definitely need to purchase many more place settings. The bar needs a major amount of work. We need to purchase pretty much everything that you would need for a new bar. Plus, we need to put together a wine list, decide which beers and liquors to carry, and need to formalize happy hour and hire some bartenders. There is potential for this place to be great...as long as they hire the right people and make the right decisions. I just want us to open for dinner so I can make some money. The bills don't stop when your unemployed for three weeks and they just get worse when your making less than twenty dollars a day in tips. The only thing that has saved me financially has been my roommate. He has been supporting me for almost two months now. He has taken care of the rent, utilities and the Internet bill. I would be living at my parents house right now if not for him and the dog. I'll write more when we open for dinner or if I find another job. There is a new wine bar opening next month...I will apply there and, if I'm hired, might work both jobs. I'm not sure. I'll keep you posted.

A blessing in disguise?

I got fired a little over a week ago. It was for a very silly reason. I got into an argument with a server on the floor. It was because he was talking shit about Dawn to her face. I asked him to leave, he refused and it escalated from there. It sucks not having a job right now. I really need money to pay bills and eat real food, but I am happy to be away from the evil management of The Seafood Restaurant! I'm in the midst of the job hunt right now and will (hopefully!) know more by the end of the day tomorrow. I'm not looking for my dream job (whatever that is). I just need something that pays me enough that I can pay my bills and I don't have to spend every waking hour there! One good thing is that I have time to read the paper every day, I'm getting caught up on all the TV I've missed and the dog is very happy to have me at home with him! I even gave the dog a bath today! He finally doesn't smell terrible! I'm bored and lonely and trying not to be a burden on my roommate (who is awesome!). I'm more relaxed than I've been in years. I want to be like this all the time! I haven't told my parents that I got fired, yet. My mom called me today and I didn't answer. I'm more embarrassed than anything. Tomorrow is another day!

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.