More Baptism!

Submissions: 18 Rejections: 6 Requests: 0

So today was my first day of serving and despite the nightmare I had last night about S thinking my dress had too much white in it, I handled it just fine. It was nerve wracking but I managed okay. The hostess followed me around to the tables, advising me, and making sure I didn't forget anything. I didn't forget much (except I did carry the buspan in to the room to be efficient, but since they didn't have buspans in 1855, I had to leave it outside and lug out soup bowls, main course plates, side plates, dessert bowls, and biscuit bowls (4 on each table) in trips - so I made like 100 trips to clear just the first course! I got several compliments on my dress, and quite a few comments that I was doing a good job - they announced ahead of time that we were in training, though, so everyone knew that they were dealing with a n00b. :) Only like $12 in tips, but considering they arrived at 1 and we were all cleaned up, all dishes done, etc by 3, that's not bad for 2 hour's work, and that will put my gas in for the rest of the week. :)

I have another dinner group on Friday, and I am hoping to make enough tip money to go to Tiffany's housewarming bonfire thingie, at least for an appearance. We shall see how things work out!

Baptism By Fire

Work has been going crazy - not as in crazy busy but just crazy boring. The days drag on forever. Today, I spent the entire day in front of the Hobart industrial dishwasher. It reminded me of the Hobart mixer they had in the kitchen at summer camp when I took the cooking session and they told me the baker called it "Hobie" for short. All of this food service stuff is making my head feel like exploding.

Tomorrow, they have Josh and I serving a group of 45. I have never served anyone ANYTHING before, so I am not sure how that will work out. Amber plans to go in, and acting as a hostess, remind everyone inside that we are in training and new to the job so to not be mean bitches, though I am sure you get some in every bunch. Luckily, they are only ordering off of the preseason menu which has like, two soups, a couple of sandwiches and two dessert options - there may be 10 menu options total, if that, so it's not like I have to remember the ingredients/prep of an extensive menu, but I haven't had a chance to really look at the preseason menu and memorize that. Hopefully, I will have a chance to do that tomorrow before the group arrives for lunch, and also find out what salad dressings we offer, and if iced tea and lemonade are the only drinks we serve besides "libations".

Today, I discovered that the shoes I purchased were even on the list of recommended shoes (shoes "similar to" the shoes on the list would have been suitable as well). I will have to buy better shoes later because I know those $20 shoes aren't going to hold up my feet for long shifts, but they look good and 1855-ish, so that's all that matters. I also drove S's van to Laundry to make sure they had changed the lace on my dress and let the hem down (or did they bring it up, I can't remember?), which they did. They are also trying to find me the right daycap but I don't know if it's gonna happen.

Anyways, I am nervous out of my mind! Agh!

Working for the weekend, yes I am!

Aaaaagh. Work is making me exhausted. I think it's the waking up first thing in the morning thing. We didn't even do much today and I was nearly falling asleep.

Yesterday, I helped with dishes and burnt my fingertips on hot blue willow, then I washed down the walls in the kitchen servery and cleaned out a milk dispenser. Then I meandered into the garden and found J and K working on candlesticks and wall sconces so I spent the rest of the day melting wax out of old candle sticks, then melting wax INTO them and setting new candles in, trying to Windex old ratty mirrors with broken pieces and stabbing myself with a butter knife. I also got cuts under both of my thumbnails and those hurt like bitches.

Today, we finished and hung all the wall sconces except for the ones for the Simeon Jones room, then I followed Sar around for the rest of the day, doing random little things... I washed off all the tables that had already been washed off, we sat in the pub downstairs for a while, I cleaned out nasty pickle jars from 1989, then we cleaned the staff room which was disgusting (read: poop in the flush from last season!, and then the long back room which was what some like to call a "clusterfuck" of useless things that someone obviously put down there because they thought they might need someday - so it was basically rearranging stuff so it looked less like a mess. Then we knocked off an hour and a half early because there was literally nothing else for us to do.

Monday, we clean the ice cream parlor and head for the family restaurant to clean and set up. We have our first group in Wednesday and I hope I get to work it because I am desperate to figure out what the heck I am doing and how to do it. Then we have a group on the 30th, 31st, and a 120 seat lobster dinner on the 2nd of June - all before the site even officially opens! I am sure my legs will be falling off by then and I will have bored everyone with eight million stupid questions.

Sar was very good to me today, discussing things and explaining stuff, and answering all of my dumb questions about serving even though she knows I will be asking them again in the future. When I first met her, I was not sure I would like her very well, but I actually like her a lot. She was also a never-been-a-waitress-waitress when she got hired by S in the first place, and she expressed the same thing I did - I am relieved that S took a chance on someone that didn't have two clues to rub together about waitressing.

Day one of work in!

I am sleepy but I didn't even do any work today! We sat in the lodge and listened to a big presentation all morning, then we had lunch in the KHI garden area, and sat in the sun all afternoon, listening to S tell us about policy and procedure. They hold two week's pay but we have event groups coming in three days before the end of the month so that will give me some tip money (yippee!). The boys also told me that we get to keep all our tips during our regular shifts but during group events, we share them - which isn't a problem with me at all, I just need the freakin' cash.

I also met with wardrobe today and had a dress fitted for me. They have to make me another because the only other available in my size had a ridiculously short bodice and the skirt was about a foot too short for me!

Ahhh, now I feel like taking a nap!

Can't get anything done right!

Ugh, if the last two days have not been glaring examples of me dropping the ball, I don't know what will be.

I was awoken this morning by a call - I WAY overslept (it was 11am). I hear, on the other line "Did you forget you started work today?" (Please note that this is, like, my all time nightmare - forgetting to go to work). I just about had a heart attack and then I remembered - I had training last week but NO ONE mentioned ANYTHING about any more training and I was going to call S this morning to ask her about it. She beat me to the punch, I guess. So she said it was alright and to come in tomorrow, we're just cleaning the restaurant and getting it ready for the opening weekend. She also made me call to arrange for a costume fitting. The costume ladies want me in tomorrow (presumably because I am so frickin' late to the ball - everyone at training last week had been in all week and such) afternoon while I am supposed to be at the restaurant cleaning... hopefully S will let me sneak away for X minutes for them to arrange my costuming.

Last night, I was also so desperate not to work on my synopsis that I traded Shay for it. I drew a picture of a church burning for her The Outsiders paper bag project and she was going to work on my synopsis for me! It has been so long since she read the book that she forgot what it was about, lol. Oh well, she ended up not doing anything on my "snotnopsis" and I haven't done any work on it in ages, either. I am having a really hard time sitting myself down and focusing on it. I've even started Marco and Abrianna's story already, which I promised myself I wouldn't do until I got at least 20 queries for "No One Else" on the road.

I'm kicking myself, you can see!

Plus, I have been sleeping a stupid amount, too. I don't know why, but I sleep til like 11 - usually I don't sleep that much at all. I think I am just getting restless and antsy because I haven't been to work or out of the house very much over the last 11 weeks. Thank God, we're cleaning the rest of this week and probably next week, too. I'm just glad I didn't miss any major training!

Then I have to get the 14th off to photograph Nicole's wedding. Agh!

Add to that, I haven't done a blessed thing with my ponies in days, no riding, no nothing. I'm not working, I'm not getting my chores done -- what the heck am I doing with all my time!