Back To the Grind

Back to the real world this morning...WORK.

After five days off I wasn't particularly looking forward to it but the minute I walked through the door I remembered that I had a job now that I love and that seems to love me.

Lunch was a piece of cake...slow enough that I got off by 2:30 and had a 2 hour break before I had to go back.

Came home and unloaded the dishwasher that my kids have obviously forgotten we have, sent my college room mate a birthday greeting via FB (gotta love this new high tech low effort age) and even had time to do a little weeding in my day lilies that have been taken over by a tree trying to sprout up right in the midst of them. Went to the Dollar Store (one of my fave stores) for a mop to try to help erase the fact that I have three dogs tromping in and out of my kitchen door on a revolving basis .

Wiped the sheen of sweat off my face with some toilet paper, rolled on some more deodorant and hauled back on my work clothes and returned to work.


The new Twilight movie just came out at the cinema next door to our restaurant and the people came pouring in (Thank you Jesus.)

As it usually always is in my new digs... quality over quantity. I had five tables , shared a party of ten with another server and walked with over $100.

My last table was a bit difficult. They made Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally" look like the easiest person a server has ever waited on. The husband: "I want Eggplant Parmigiana with no cheese, pasta on the side with a side of meatballs and a small Mediterranean salad with dressing mixed into the salad instead of on the side. The son wanted the Steak Alla Pizzaiola with pasta instead of potatoes with sauce on the side and a small Med salad instead of a mixed green. The wife wanted a grilled chicken breast..no pasta or side but a side of Abbabriatta (might have spelled that one wrong, there's no Italian spell check) sauce. They ate the bread like they hadn't eaten in a week. They weren't ugly or stuffy about anything...just obviously have eaten there before and know how they like their food.

It took me five minutes and help from another server who has been there quite a while just to ring in the order...but I thought I had it right. I immediately went to the kitchen as my check came in to the cook to make sure I had done it all correctly. One more trip back to the table to confirm that it was marinara not tomato sauce they wanted with their side of bow tie pasta and I was good to go...with fingers crossed.

The food came out perfect and I felt like a kid that passed the test they hadn't really studied for. I kept the bread coming and their water glasses full. By this point I was waning...first day back after a vacation, even a short one is tough on an old broad like me.

It was my last table and I was ready to go home.

The tab was $53.00 and they tipped me $35.00. Guess it pays to get it right!

BINGO!!!!

Went home and packed my husband a sandwich for work, unloaded the dishwasher (again) and hit the play button on the answering machine.

My neighbor from up the street (the vampire family...see previous post) had left me a weird drawn out message...

"Kelly, I notice that you leave your garage door open 24/7 and just wanted you to know that we saw a coyote in our front yard and want you to be careful when getting out of your car when you get home from work."

To me this translated into "My son is a werewolf and 'Eclipse' just came out today so please watch out for him because he likes skinny white women in their fifties that drive a Passat."

Number one...quit scoping out my house and garage.

Number two...if you want me to continue to cut your yard for free, because it looks like crap and is the first house in the subdivision next to the entrance that I "AM" being paid to cut...tell your son "Jacob" to leave me the hell alone and worry about your freak son not my open garage door.

Don't want to jinx myself so I stashed a silver bullet in the garage right by the kitchen door. I don't have a gun to put it in but he's a 13 year old punk and I'll just throw it at him REAL hard and let all three of my dogs out at once if I see his little freaky butt coming my way.

Sometimes I wonder about the people living in my subdivision...you know what they say "You never know what goes on behind closed doors...or catacombs or secret dungeons."

I'll keep my eye on them...obviously they are keeping an eye on us!

Til next time...going to bed with a garlic clove necklace.

COTTON