Sick and Tired

Literally. I'm sick. Just barely. I've had a sore throat and sinus drainage since Friday. You would think that would mean that I've been off work, which would explain the lack of updates. Hahaha...no. I'm not off work. I've been working and they actually tried to call me in yesterday despite the fact that I told them I was sick. Considering the fact that they're so concerned with us picking up something from customers and passing it on to others, you'd think they'd be more concerned about servers actually /being/ sick. But from what everyone has told me they still make you work. Fortunately I haven't really been coughing or sneezing or anything, but that doesn't mean I haven't been contagious.

So let me try to catch up....I did work a double on Friday. Friday dinner was...um...I don't really remember. Saturday dinner was slow, but my pace got totally thrown off due to the fact that...um...I had a table with a lady who was waiting for the rest of her party and it took them like an hour to get there...by which time I had another table. So they all ended up ordering at almost the same time, and that is the /worst/ thing that can happen, because they're all needing the same things at just about the same time. And, of course, I had another table come in close to it being time for them to leave, so I ended up with three tables at once despite the fact that it was a slow night. I didn't screw up too terribly, but I /did/ make mistakes. It can be difficult to split one's attention between nineteen people spread across three tables. Oh, /that's/ right! On Friday night I had a party of fifteen!

I go back in for dinner tonight. Ngh...I'm getting a little bit sick of dinner shifts because they tend to creep by. And we all know what Monday means...I get almost no tables. So I expect a long, slow, boring night. Well, I've got some stuff to try to do before then, so I'm going to go now!

Creative Failure

Here I go with the sucking at updating again! But if I'm going to be honest, yesterday was a pretty busy day for me! I'm glad to say I had quite the productive day off! But nobody really wants to hear about that. Being that this is supposed to be Sunday's post, it would be another issue of Frequent Eff Ups--if I were to stick to the original plan, that is. Truth of the matter is that I don't mess up one single thing too frequently now. Well...aside from offering straws and chopsticks, maybe. I'm messing up on lots of random things instead--I had my first breakages, though it was kind of a joint effort, and I don't even remember what else has gone wrong. I'm sure I've mentioned a lot of it.

But I don't want to focus on that today. Today I want to offer some sort of serving-inspired creative musings. Poetry? Prose? Who knows. I'm just going to type and see what my brain spews forth.

Brain failure. Never mind.

First Sunday Brunch!

Wow. So as I mentioned last night I covered for someone this morning, giving me the opportunity to work Sunday brunch for the first time. It runs from 1100 to 1400 and is buffet style--we serve drinks and clear plates off of tables and after everyone is gone we get to help ourselves to the leftover food and clean up for dinner.

Let me say. It was really scary at first. I was a bit overwhelmed as it is completely different from the usual lunch and dinner shifts and it is extremely fast-paced, but I got into the rhythm of things and I can understand now why people like that shift. It was crazy though--we ran out of Pibb, sweet tea twice, and glasses a number of times.

I made about forty dollars and I am now exhausted! But I've got other things to do so...no rest for now. I'm trying to think of some more types of posts I can make here aside from just the general day to day updates. My thoughts on serving? tipping? employer/employee relations? work environment? More about the things I have a tendency to screw up? I'm curious to know what everyone would be the most interested in reading, but I don't expect anyone to actually comment. I would definitely appreciate it if anyone did, though!

As usual, thanks for reading!

There Goes My Day Off!

Well it's been a few days since I've updated--things have been a little crazy. Apparently everyone forgot the rules--Wednesdays are fast, Thursdays are slow. Thursday was crazy. I ended up working an unscheduled double for which only half of us showed up for. And we didn't make nearly enough money for it to be worth the trouble. I committed yet another mischarge and, for some reason, I've been really distracted at work and easily forgetting about the tables I have. That's bad.

Friday morning was a drastic improvement over Thursday and to make up for the less than great tips I've been getting...I'm working my first brunch tomorrow! So no day off, but I'm looking forward to the shift! That being said I'm going to keep it short and try to get back on track tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Not Much to Say

So tonight was off to a slow start. Didn't have anyone come in until an hour after we opened. I went through seven checks distributed across three tables and a sushi bar couple. Today was pretty anti-climactic. Really not much to talk about--I got my check today. Worked over seventy hours and made a little more than $250 after taxes and lovely things were taken out. I'm going to keep tonight short because it was really quite eventless and I have to get up early tomorrow. My day off will be spent moving the rest of my belongings from my previous dwelling to my current one. So yeah. My head kind of hurts and my neck has been killing me, but I'm not going to blame work on that.

Ah--apparently it's a good thing I didn't work last night, though--people got yelled at. And, as it turns out, the free kid's meals are still causing problems.

Tonight Kinda Sucked

Something about the atmosphere was just no good tonight. Most of my parties weren't very pleasant, which I can deal with, but there was an incident with one of my tables that really agitated me.

The rules for the free kids' meals are all weird and kind of annoying everyone because it makes getting the checks right more complicated. When the promotion was first started we were told it couldn't be combined with a share. When it was changed we were told they also had to order sushi with each adult meal to qualify. Well today not only did they decide to let someone do an appetizer instead of sushi but they told me that I had the rule about the share completely wrong. So after taking a few minutes to explain it...I still don't understand it.

The family left really pissed, apparently (I'll bet anything it was just the mom--she was the only rude one all night, going on about nothing good happening on her apparent birthday and nothing being free), and were caught before leaving to be given a gift certificate for my supposed mistake. Keep in mind that I had my check looked over twice by one of the owners before delivering it. So they need to get their rules straight.

That aside, it was a steady to busy night. Wednesday's tend to be like that and then things slow back down on Thursday. I'm convinced it's the "hump day" effect. I had birthdays at my tables for the first time (only one of which was actually mentioned to me) and that table was actually really awesome. Though dinner wasn't insanely busy, lunch was, so we actually ran out of soup during dinner! They had to make more!

Shortly after we opened one of the cooks had made this sweet soup with corn and what look like tiny bobas in it. It was really hot--in temperature--and super sweet. I could only handle one bowl, but I brought some home. Makanai was leftover lunch vegetables and chicken! Chicken, finally! The silly cook tried to tell me it was "Japanese beef!" He's always lying to me. Closing went pretty smoothly. I used six checks I think, and I brought home $34.34 out of the $70+ I made in tips. Best I've done all week. I've used too much spending money this week, so I'm going to be more strict with what I make for the rest of the week!

That's all for now. I work doubles for the next two days, so I should get some sleep!

Frequent Eff Ups

Well it's Sunday! I was off, so that means it's time for me to list the things I constantly messed up on this week! I actually went to eat at the restaurant with my friends for the first time since I started working there, so that was cool. And I did get an employee discount, though I used the
money saved to give our server a good tip.

I noticed that this week I didn't so much mess up repeatedly on the same things over and over again, rather messed up on more of a range of things because I experienced more hectic situations. I had my first time waiting really large tables and dealing with parties coming in at different times. There were several times where I was unable to bid my party good evening because I was running around so much. I think I am using my trips more efficiently now, though. It just seems that there's always either dead time or a rush--rarely a happy medium. So here's for the list:

• Straws and chopsticks: I still forget to offer these a lot, though not as much as last week.
• Clearing tables: I really didn't forget to do this much this week--mainly just when I was really running in several directions.
• Giving pens with checks: Apparently I think the bill comes with a built-in pen to sign receipts with or something. And I've finally managed to lose most of my pens.
• Drinks: This is actually new from last week. No, this didn't even happen remotely frequently but a few times (when I had ten-eleven person tables with the party entering at various points) I'd think I had gotten all the drinks and I hadn't done so. I also ordered the wrong drink from the bar twice but caught myself before I actually took it...it had been opened though.
• Forgetting salads: This happened once.
• Forgetting steamed rice: Because I'm supposed to bring it when the chef comes out. Hard to remember when I don't have it written down (it's on the chef's ticket but not usually mine) and it's busy.

Seeing the theme here? Forgetting little things here and there. Some other things have gone wrong as well, but not everything that happens in the restaurant is under my control. So that's all for now. I go back in for work during tomorrow's dinner shift, so I'll update again then!

Tonight Rocked!

So last night sucked, but tonight /totally/ made up for it. And not just because of the tips I made (though that was certainly a factor). It was my first day dealing with really big tables (like ten, eleven people) and I didn't screw it up completely! I only had four tables but I went through all my checks and had to borrow another one. I kept busy for mostly the entire night and we managed to close the restaurant by just after 2200.

I learned a bit more about where everyone is fun and love the amount of diversity amongst the staff. It has been decided that I'm too skinny because I don't eat enough meat and the fact that I don't eat much seems to be of constant interest. Then later I was called muscular--much preferred. Not as true as I'd like it to be, but much preferred. I am frequently being challenged on the Rubik's Cube, but I only had the time to solve it once or twice at work today.

Regarding diversity, seems quite a few people assumed I wasn't American. No shocker. I get that all the time and considering that I'm not terribly fond of my own country and its ways I don't mind it at all. What else...oh! I got knocked back down the list. Not to the bottom, but like...three spots down or so. I'm totally fine with that because I shouldn't have been so close to the top to begin with! I'm new for crying out loud! Keep the more experienced servers ahead of me! Supposedly the owners do like me, though.

There also seemed to be kind of a queer motif at table 7 tonight. That amused me. So now I've been working for two weeks. I'm on my second timecard so I guess I'll get a paycheck next Friday. I made forty-three dollars in tips tonight--twice as much as last night. And I treated myself to ice cream after work! Now I'm lazing around and spending some quality time off my feet! I'm off tomorrow, so keep an eye out for me to review my most common mistakes from the past week! Good night, all!

I Survived Week One!

Wow...I don't know if today really was as slow as it felt or if I'm just getting used to things. But one thing is for sure--we have been so over-staffed for this weekend. Again I only got like four or five tables, and I only had six checks. I met some awesome people, though, which always makes it worthwhile.

Slow shifts are bearable during lunch hours, but they drag on and on at dinner since it lasts so much longer. And things got off to a slow start, but it was a decent night. Oh! I forgot to mention last night that there were three birthdays! And there was one tonight! And there was one earlier this week. We sing the normal happy birthday song. I'm not sure if that's legal or not...

I guess I don't have a ton to say about tonight...I think I made fifty max in tips, so I must have only brought home around twenty. I didn't even count it to be honest. I was ready to get out of there. Just as I was excited last night to not have to get up early today (though I did anyhow), I'm excited about being off tomorrow! I enjoy the job, but my feet aren't used to this yet...they need some recovery time!

Alright. Bedtime. I've dragged this post out long enough!

First Friday: Part 2

So...obviously I didn't update last night. Why? Because I didn't feel like it. My feet hurt and I was too excited about not having to get up before nine am today...which I ended up doing anyhow (I guess my body is getting used to it after all).

Last night actually wasn't scary at all--it was actually pretty slow. I only had four tables and since they were all families, I only had four checks. All my parties were absolutely /awesome/! Amazing people, and I had an amazing conversation with the first family I served. Everyone was polite and nice and I had a great time helping them out.

There were five or six of us working last night--I met the last servers and busboy that I had yet to meet and I got to know everyone just a little bit better. We ended up not getting out of work until like 2230, though, because a couple of tables just sat and sat and sat after coming in /right/ before close.

Yesterday was payday apparently, but I don't know how all that works yet. I did pretty well on tips last night for having had only four parties--totaled out at over sixty dollars and kept about twenty-six (give or take) of that.

Even though it was slow last night it was lively with all of us working. I go in for dinner tonight at four and then I'm off tomorrow. To make today even better, my brother suddenly appeared out of nowhere, so I'll get to hang out with him for a couple of days before he goes back to school.

Well...it's time for me to start getting ready. Longest night of the week coming up!

First Friday: Part 1

My feet hurt. I'm tired. And today was a pretty good day. I made over seventeen dollars in tips and was only working with one other server--the one that trained me. She's super-awesome.

Hm...I don't know if I have much to say about today, really. It didn't get very busy at all but it wasn't exactly dead, either. I had a few points where I had nothing to do and then points where I had three tables at once. How many did I have total? One, two...four? And five parties? I think? Something like that.

I've decided to /always/ double check my...checks...bills...whatever you want to call them because I've messed a ton up. Fortunately I've always caught it before taking them out. So if I just double check then I won't have to worry about it and it will put my mind at ease.

I've also noticed that I've been eating terribly since working here! If I'm only working dinner then I'll eat alright at home before I leave...cereal, my mom might make some oatmeal and eggs and stuff...but aside from that I've practically been living off of steamed rice and soup! And ice cream bars... So I'm making fish now to give myself some nourishment! It needs to hurry up, though...I go back to work in like half an hour...

Well...with that said then I'll be done for now! Got to fill my MP3 player up with some SoaD to listen to while waiting for the van to warm up tonight when it's time to come home. Sayonara!