Ahh... and here I am. I would just like to say that I am so ready for spring break, its not even funny. But I have decided that the things that make spring break so amazing are those that make the week before a living place-of-fire-and-brimstone. So, for your reading enjoyment, i thought i'd share just what has been proving my spring break so well-deserved.
This must begin with the fact that today I lost my ipod, charlotte. Now you must understand that i have this deep connection to miss charlotte. not only does she go everywhere with me, but she is the representation of my musical expression and helps balance my mood like a magical...mood balancer. in any case. I couldn't find her anywhere. and I thought that either i left her somewhere or somebody stole her from my truck. to make the long story short and not draw out the suspense so you worry too much, i found her. =) happy suzy. But the agony of not knowing if I had lost a recently acquired $300 piece of metal and non-scratchable glass was sort of devastating.
Next story: Sunday night. now THIS is epic. and potentially lengthy. and about work. again. so if you are bored with that, then spend your time blog-stalking elsewhere.
So it was a beautiful Palm Sunday afternoon, and while my family was headed to simi valley for a cousin event, I was headed to downey for work. Needless to say (though i will say it anyways...) I was not too happy about this. on top of this mound of misery, I had a biology quiz the next morning at 8:30 which i was not prepared for, a genetics worksheet due, which i had not started and a lot of reading for my class right after bio. to answer the obvious question, YES i did know about it all in advance. and YES i did procrastinate. but that is not part of the story. the part that is relevant is that I was under stress and not wanting to work.
The night is relatively slow. 9 pm rolls around. My boss, Rocio says, Well suzy if it stays slow, then you'll go home soon. But there's a reservation for 30 at 9:30. They haven't confirmed their reservation, but we should be able to handle it without you if they do decide to show.
9:30- no party. I start my sidework.
10:00- twenty people show up. church people. who are coincidentally the reservation. and also sadly the most strongly disliked customers we have. they are so picky, ungrateful, demanding and overall sort of rude. Even i don't like them. and i AM a church person.
10:10-Rocio asks me to stay and help a little bit. Then the doors open, and in comes a flood of people. Now i'm not talking like a mini flood that comes when your sink clogs with hair and the water overflows onto the counter. I'm talking Noah's Ark flood. Never supposed to happen again, sealed with a rainbow, flood. But here it was. coming through our front doors. and not stopping. a throng of suit-clad, skirt-wearing, sister/brother-hailing church people. (So very similar to AC's its pretty scary...)
At this point i'm staying for sure. and there goes my sleep for the night. But it doesn't stop. they just come in and take over our largest dining room. and when I say take over, i don't mean like here and there as if they were wild flowers in a meadow. i mean take over as in the storming of the Alamo.
and I was Custer.
They start re-arranging chairs, tables and sitting down everywhere. I didn't count until later, but there were 76 people, give or take two. SEVENTY-SIX. and two servers. and two cooks. do you not realize how TOTALLY inSANE this is!?!? i picked my jaw up off the floor, where it had dropped, and just looked in utter amazement. I was stunned. where do you start in a mass of confusion such as this? which group of twenty do you start with? what about the out-lying families that decided to segregate in little booths but expect devoted attention too? Who looks like they'd be the most mad if i didn't get them their "water-easy ice-lots of lemon...oh and a bread basket" first?
Now normally I would totally flip out over this sort of thing. because I flip out over a double seating on a busy night. This was like a sextuplet seating. of parties of 12. heh. But thankfully Rocio told them that they would have to be patient as we were under-staffed and they had given us no warning.
But I did not flip out. No. I had superb help. My busboys were more than amazing. "Que quieres Suzy?". "Necesitas algo suzy?" "Quiero ayudarte...dime algo que hacer." They refilled drinks, got bread and helped run tons of food! And I smiled...ish, nodded politely, kept my cool and didn't yell at the cooks.
Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles. God took this server by the hand. turned her around and miracle of miracles led her to the cool-calm-and-collected land. And trust me, my co-staff was very grateful!
This was a difficult task though, let me tell you. I mean, we have this woman who doesn't know the difference between "camarones" and "pescado" (shrimp and fish) and cannot speak english. She keeps pointing at some other guy's chicken strips and insisting that they are "mariscos" (seafood) of some kind. but they're not. So i bring her fried shrimp. not what she wanted... So i bring her fish. SUPER not what she wanted. So i brought her a box and said i'm sorry...here, eat cake. she was happy.
I have to say when they first started walking in, I wanted to just turn around and leave. clock out and go home. maybe not even clock out. just run. And throughout the following two hours I would just look at the mass of people waving me over to ask for their umpteenth refill and feel sort of sick to my stomach. and then remind myself that this is not the end of the world as we know it. But that if it was, heaven was gonna be all the more worth it!
Anyways...results: More food on the floor than was left on the tables. substantial tips thanks ONLY due to auto gratuity. a headache. no preparation for my quiz (i get to do a re-do after spring break!) and a firm conviction to never do that to anyone in my life. and legend status. =) trust me, this will get talked about for days to come. maaaybe even weeks =P
Sadly, Rocio said this was the reason she didn't do religion...because if this is the way church-going people treat others, then she wants nothing to do with it. way to undo my months of work, church people. God, you must have something in this...it feels like several steps back. maybe a whole leap. but I trust You.
Oh. And this does not mean that you shouldn't take parties anywhere. please do. But give fair warning in advance. or be prepared to tip a whoooole bunch to make it up to the poor souls that wait on you. and please don't act like you should get the same service you would if you were a party of two in a room with four servers. Just doesn't work that way.
Whew. thankfully my boss has given me Easter, my birthday AND spring break off from work. (which, by the way, NO one gets to request of holidays...) and while I love my job mucho, I am very excited. Its been crazy.
sleep time.
xoxo
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 04, 2010
In N' Out
I think that when I get in the blog-writing mood, I find I can update more often. Yay for you!
The title of this blog post comes from the simple fact that In N' Out is basically amazing. So amazing, in fact, that it would be in the top ten things I would miss about California if I were to ever leave. You may think that this is is drastic, but seriously...scrumptious and simple food is scrumptious and simple food. period. (side note, i really like the word scrumptious too. it makes me feel so happy and like i'm all wrapped up in a big comfy blanket after a nice warm bath. does that make any sense?)
But since I mentioned a top ten things I would miss from California, I figure I'll go ahead and put that list in words for you here.
Now be forewarned that I have never actually sat down and made a list, mentally or tangibly. So work with me here. I am also leaving space 10 blank, so please give a suggestion for what you think could go there... Also, disclaimer. these are in no particular order of amazingness...they should technically be written in a round robin. This is a term I learned from Charlotte Doyle and is in that context about mutinies. It is where all the names are written in a circle so that no name is on top and no one man can take the blame for starting the mutiny. but i figure it works for top-twelve lists too.
Anyways.
1. the beach. (this place speaks to my heart. the ocean is so vast and one of the most beautiful creations of God. It is my place to go to when I want to let all of life go. I stand on the pier, extended from the land, the chaos of life hundreds of yards behind me, nothing but open, calm sea in front of me...)
2. the city. (for those of you who don't know, i thrive off of people. The city is full of life. depraved, broken, bustling life. I really cannot put into words what being in the heart of southern california is like for me. I can only imagine is like what a country person feels when they are in the middle of a lush field looking out over vast flatlands and basking in the openness, feeling their heart connected to that place. And for those who think the city is dirty and god-forsaken...don't be fooled. God is here. and evident.)
3. the mountains. (for as much as I love the city, everyone needs a place to get away and meet God. whether it be in a corner in your closet, driving in your car, sailing on the open seas or climbing a high mountain...everyone has a place. Being so close to the open sky, looking out over the smog-covered city i love so much, i am filled with an overwhelming sense of what God must see, on a very minute level. For anyone who has spent any time in the mountains, you know it has a certain fragrance about it that just proclaims life, God's creativity and becomes comfortingly familiar.)
4. the diversity. (I have only recently been thinking about how much i love the representation of diversity here. cultures, skin colors, languages, religions, foods, music, art, car models, names...it is so beautiful to me.)
5. the weather. (So I like snow. I really do. Its so prettyful, so white....SO COLD! Hence why i am totally fine just vacationing in snow, or driving up to the mountains for a snow day. But I do not want to live in snow. I can deal with fickle rainy/non rainy weather. But let the temp dip below 50 and out comes the winter wardrobe.)
6. the mexico. (i.love.everything.mexican. I love the food, the culture, the language, the country. I really can't explain it. And the reason this has anything to do with california is that mexico is SO close. and that I can work in a place where i have customers that cannot speak a word of english. i love it. they call me mexicana blanca. ;)
7. the in n' out. (told you it was coming =P. its just so...california. and everytime i go, i feel so californian, and at home. its quite wonderful. and turns out i eat there a lot. its easier on my college-girl wallet than many places.)
8. the idiosyncrasies. (i mean, we are called "land of the fruits and nuts" afterall. But I have come to just enjoy the *ahem* unique nature of people here. Yes there are unique people anywhere in the world, but come on... It could be everything from a professor who unicycles to class every day to a group of young adults walking backwards as part of a demonstration for whatever cause they support. people tie themselves to trees to save them and walk their decked out cats on leashes. oh the human mind.)
9. the popularity. (this may sound super shallow to you. But i'm not gonna lie that its fun to tell people you're from california and see their faces look like you just announced you are a professional dagger-swallower. a deeply satisfying mix of horror at your career choice and utter admiration that you have made it thus far without death. truly, we are superheros here. don't even trip.)
10.> (this is where the interaction side of the blog comes in!)
So that is my list. These are things I love. But I will say that I am not totally opposed to leaving california. Its not my heart right now, but as I well know, God is in the heart-changing business. So I'll stick close to Him and let him take care of me. He knows what i love. he gave me these passions. But he knows about things I might love that I haven't even considered yet.
And I know this is slightly off topic but the words to this Third Day song have been in my head recently after reading a Psalm proclaiming the Lord as King of Glory.
Who is this King of Glory that pursues me with his love
And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of Glory who offers it to me...
His name is Jesus...Precious Jesus.
The Lord Almighty, King of my heart...King of Glory
The title of this blog post comes from the simple fact that In N' Out is basically amazing. So amazing, in fact, that it would be in the top ten things I would miss about California if I were to ever leave. You may think that this is is drastic, but seriously...scrumptious and simple food is scrumptious and simple food. period. (side note, i really like the word scrumptious too. it makes me feel so happy and like i'm all wrapped up in a big comfy blanket after a nice warm bath. does that make any sense?)
But since I mentioned a top ten things I would miss from California, I figure I'll go ahead and put that list in words for you here.
Now be forewarned that I have never actually sat down and made a list, mentally or tangibly. So work with me here. I am also leaving space 10 blank, so please give a suggestion for what you think could go there... Also, disclaimer. these are in no particular order of amazingness...they should technically be written in a round robin. This is a term I learned from Charlotte Doyle and is in that context about mutinies. It is where all the names are written in a circle so that no name is on top and no one man can take the blame for starting the mutiny. but i figure it works for top-twelve lists too.
Anyways.
1. the beach. (this place speaks to my heart. the ocean is so vast and one of the most beautiful creations of God. It is my place to go to when I want to let all of life go. I stand on the pier, extended from the land, the chaos of life hundreds of yards behind me, nothing but open, calm sea in front of me...)
2. the city. (for those of you who don't know, i thrive off of people. The city is full of life. depraved, broken, bustling life. I really cannot put into words what being in the heart of southern california is like for me. I can only imagine is like what a country person feels when they are in the middle of a lush field looking out over vast flatlands and basking in the openness, feeling their heart connected to that place. And for those who think the city is dirty and god-forsaken...don't be fooled. God is here. and evident.)
3. the mountains. (for as much as I love the city, everyone needs a place to get away and meet God. whether it be in a corner in your closet, driving in your car, sailing on the open seas or climbing a high mountain...everyone has a place. Being so close to the open sky, looking out over the smog-covered city i love so much, i am filled with an overwhelming sense of what God must see, on a very minute level. For anyone who has spent any time in the mountains, you know it has a certain fragrance about it that just proclaims life, God's creativity and becomes comfortingly familiar.)
4. the diversity. (I have only recently been thinking about how much i love the representation of diversity here. cultures, skin colors, languages, religions, foods, music, art, car models, names...it is so beautiful to me.)
5. the weather. (So I like snow. I really do. Its so prettyful, so white....SO COLD! Hence why i am totally fine just vacationing in snow, or driving up to the mountains for a snow day. But I do not want to live in snow. I can deal with fickle rainy/non rainy weather. But let the temp dip below 50 and out comes the winter wardrobe.)
6. the mexico. (i.love.everything.mexican. I love the food, the culture, the language, the country. I really can't explain it. And the reason this has anything to do with california is that mexico is SO close. and that I can work in a place where i have customers that cannot speak a word of english. i love it. they call me mexicana blanca. ;)
7. the in n' out. (told you it was coming =P. its just so...california. and everytime i go, i feel so californian, and at home. its quite wonderful. and turns out i eat there a lot. its easier on my college-girl wallet than many places.)
8. the idiosyncrasies. (i mean, we are called "land of the fruits and nuts" afterall. But I have come to just enjoy the *ahem* unique nature of people here. Yes there are unique people anywhere in the world, but come on... It could be everything from a professor who unicycles to class every day to a group of young adults walking backwards as part of a demonstration for whatever cause they support. people tie themselves to trees to save them and walk their decked out cats on leashes. oh the human mind.)
9. the popularity. (this may sound super shallow to you. But i'm not gonna lie that its fun to tell people you're from california and see their faces look like you just announced you are a professional dagger-swallower. a deeply satisfying mix of horror at your career choice and utter admiration that you have made it thus far without death. truly, we are superheros here. don't even trip.)
10.
So that is my list. These are things I love. But I will say that I am not totally opposed to leaving california. Its not my heart right now, but as I well know, God is in the heart-changing business. So I'll stick close to Him and let him take care of me. He knows what i love. he gave me these passions. But he knows about things I might love that I haven't even considered yet.
And I know this is slightly off topic but the words to this Third Day song have been in my head recently after reading a Psalm proclaiming the Lord as King of Glory.
Who is this King of Glory that pursues me with his love
And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of Glory who offers it to me...
His name is Jesus...Precious Jesus.
The Lord Almighty, King of my heart...King of Glory
Monday, March 01, 2010
March Madness
Here it is, the first day of March. Wow, how time has flown. And as I sit here pondering what I could write, I really am having difficulty pinning a topic down. (No, the title was not inspired by anything, I just have issues coming up with clever titles.) *sigh*
Ok. here we go. So this past weekend I worked four nights in a row, three of which were theater nights. This is big. Allow me to clarify. There is a performing arts theater that shares our same parking lot (along with an Embassy Suites) and every season they put on a play, musical, or showcase. Now this attracts a *ahem* unique crowd. Basically they planned it perfectly. The same sort of people who are generally attracted to Downey theater are also attracted to eateries like Mimis Cafe. (now as a side note, yes i know I have terrible punctuation and grammer skills and specifically that I forgot the apostrophe in Mimis, but there is none. feel free to check)
Back on topic. So, to answer the burning question I'm sure is plaguing all of your minds...YES! theater nights are WONDERFUL opportunities to make money. But allow me to clarify and gripe just a bit. These nights are also the bane of my restaurant/serving existence. Don't get me wrong. I like classy, middle-aged, wine-sipping, quiche-eating folks, I really do. But when you have like five tables full of them, and they left themselves a grand total of one hour to come in, wait, order, eat and pay...it gets challenging. What they don't realize is that over a hundred OTHER theater goers have the same plan.
So. typical table interaction:
Server Suzy: Hey there! how are you doing tonight? Can i get you started with someth---
Dignified guest: Yes, hello, we are on our way to the theater and can't be late, so could you make sure we get our food very quickly?
Server Suzy: *thinks* Yes, you and everyone else wants the same thing. and so help me, if you order a steak well done... *says* Yes! no problem, let me grab your drinks and I'll then put the order right in for you.
Dignified guest: Make sure you tell them to make ours extra quickly because we're on a time limit here!
*Suzy goes back into kitchen pondering how people can be so egocentric and how she hates it when she can't get her full greeting out without people interrupting her*
15 minutes later: order has been put in, kitchen is backed up, and the dignified guest is craning her neck, death glaring at me because it must have slipped my mind to put a rush on their food. To verify, she sticks her bejeweled hand up in the air and waves me down. All this time I'm at another table taking an order of people who are "ready to order" but have to look over the menu a few more times "just to be sure." I put up my finger in a very polite but clear "just one moment please" gesture, but she continues to wave at me as though i'll forget.
Continuing to smile, I head on over to the now disgruntled, but dignified none-the-less, guest. she proceeds to demand (in a very dignified manner, mind you...) where her food is and can't i see that theater is going to start in 15 minutes and why didn't i tell the cooks to hurry up and she could go back there and make it faster herself. I pull the whole "nod and smile" move and reassure her that it will be up in a very few short minutes.
THEN. I head back to the kitchen, start flipping out to my lovely manager who is running the slide.
Flipping-out Suzy: JOSEPH! where is my food for 109! They've been waiting forever, they're late for theater and they're super mad at me as though i did something wrong.
Cynical Joseph: well, did you do something wrong? *chuckles a mean and evil chuckle*
Suzy: um, no. duh. ughh just. grr. GET ME MY FOOD! Tony! Are the veggies trabajando-ing? (my form of spanglish), Jose! me das papitas on los dos platos por favor! gracias!
Jose: Judas, no te entiendo...estoy occupado y i no speaking english. (he calls me judas because I get demanding and then tell him how wonderful he is, so he says I am a manipulating betrayer of true friendship...or at least i think thats what he said. heh)
Suzy: JOSEPH! dumb cooks won't help me!
Joseph: suzy, stop flipping out or I'll fire you. just let the cooks do their job. you go do yours.
I then walk away exasperated. Finally my food gets out and I deliver it to the table. and to make it up for them, bring out their check, boxes and desserts to go so they can stuff in a few bites and be on their merry, theater-going way.
Then they give me a $100 bill and ask for change. Well I don't have change. so I go ask Joseph, who is busy and tells me to find Sol, who is nowhere to be found. so i ask a busboy. after painstaking counting through his million one dollar bills, I get my change and as I'm walking back to deliver it to the table, I see Armando out of the corner of my eye seating me another table.
and so the madness continues.
Now, don't get me wrong. i love my job. =) But it is crazy. This is just a little peek at the behind the scenes of a busy night for me.
If you have any questions. let me know, i'd be happy to answer!
xoxo
Ok. here we go. So this past weekend I worked four nights in a row, three of which were theater nights. This is big. Allow me to clarify. There is a performing arts theater that shares our same parking lot (along with an Embassy Suites) and every season they put on a play, musical, or showcase. Now this attracts a *ahem* unique crowd. Basically they planned it perfectly. The same sort of people who are generally attracted to Downey theater are also attracted to eateries like Mimis Cafe. (now as a side note, yes i know I have terrible punctuation and grammer skills and specifically that I forgot the apostrophe in Mimis, but there is none. feel free to check)
Back on topic. So, to answer the burning question I'm sure is plaguing all of your minds...YES! theater nights are WONDERFUL opportunities to make money. But allow me to clarify and gripe just a bit. These nights are also the bane of my restaurant/serving existence. Don't get me wrong. I like classy, middle-aged, wine-sipping, quiche-eating folks, I really do. But when you have like five tables full of them, and they left themselves a grand total of one hour to come in, wait, order, eat and pay...it gets challenging. What they don't realize is that over a hundred OTHER theater goers have the same plan.
So. typical table interaction:
Server Suzy: Hey there! how are you doing tonight? Can i get you started with someth---
Dignified guest: Yes, hello, we are on our way to the theater and can't be late, so could you make sure we get our food very quickly?
Server Suzy: *thinks* Yes, you and everyone else wants the same thing. and so help me, if you order a steak well done... *says* Yes! no problem, let me grab your drinks and I'll then put the order right in for you.
Dignified guest: Make sure you tell them to make ours extra quickly because we're on a time limit here!
*Suzy goes back into kitchen pondering how people can be so egocentric and how she hates it when she can't get her full greeting out without people interrupting her*
15 minutes later: order has been put in, kitchen is backed up, and the dignified guest is craning her neck, death glaring at me because it must have slipped my mind to put a rush on their food. To verify, she sticks her bejeweled hand up in the air and waves me down. All this time I'm at another table taking an order of people who are "ready to order" but have to look over the menu a few more times "just to be sure." I put up my finger in a very polite but clear "just one moment please" gesture, but she continues to wave at me as though i'll forget.
Continuing to smile, I head on over to the now disgruntled, but dignified none-the-less, guest. she proceeds to demand (in a very dignified manner, mind you...) where her food is and can't i see that theater is going to start in 15 minutes and why didn't i tell the cooks to hurry up and she could go back there and make it faster herself. I pull the whole "nod and smile" move and reassure her that it will be up in a very few short minutes.
THEN. I head back to the kitchen, start flipping out to my lovely manager who is running the slide.
Flipping-out Suzy: JOSEPH! where is my food for 109! They've been waiting forever, they're late for theater and they're super mad at me as though i did something wrong.
Cynical Joseph: well, did you do something wrong? *chuckles a mean and evil chuckle*
Suzy: um, no. duh. ughh just. grr. GET ME MY FOOD! Tony! Are the veggies trabajando-ing? (my form of spanglish), Jose! me das papitas on los dos platos por favor! gracias!
Jose: Judas, no te entiendo...estoy occupado y i no speaking english. (he calls me judas because I get demanding and then tell him how wonderful he is, so he says I am a manipulating betrayer of true friendship...or at least i think thats what he said. heh)
Suzy: JOSEPH! dumb cooks won't help me!
Joseph: suzy, stop flipping out or I'll fire you. just let the cooks do their job. you go do yours.
I then walk away exasperated. Finally my food gets out and I deliver it to the table. and to make it up for them, bring out their check, boxes and desserts to go so they can stuff in a few bites and be on their merry, theater-going way.
Then they give me a $100 bill and ask for change. Well I don't have change. so I go ask Joseph, who is busy and tells me to find Sol, who is nowhere to be found. so i ask a busboy. after painstaking counting through his million one dollar bills, I get my change and as I'm walking back to deliver it to the table, I see Armando out of the corner of my eye seating me another table.
and so the madness continues.
Now, don't get me wrong. i love my job. =) But it is crazy. This is just a little peek at the behind the scenes of a busy night for me.
If you have any questions. let me know, i'd be happy to answer!
xoxo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)