We are a bunch of nuts at work and all a little crazy in our own individual ways, but that's the way I like it. Mixed nuts have always been my favorite.
She's not feeling her best, our furnace has been out for three days and of course she came down with a cold right before the heat went out. On top of that her bedroom is the only one on the ground floor with the garage on the other side of one wall and the front of the house on another...in other words her room is the coldest one in the house. Luckily I bought her a small ceramic space heater last week on a whim for her room and also she is right by the kitchen so I just turn the oven on 200 degrees before I go to bed around 2 and Tim turns it off when he gets up early for work. Heck, I should throw a roast in the oven before I go to bed and dinner would be ready by six in the morning!
She worked with us last night busing tables and I'll have to hand it to her, even feeling like crap she did a great job. She has grown up surrounded by the restaurant world and knows how the system works, knows to ignore the potty mouth she hears from the back and how to behave in the front of the house. One of the hostesses who is eighteen decided to call in and quit over the phone so she got got put on the schedule for this morning as well. I had to close last night and didn't get out til late so Tim picked her up and she came home... fell into bed with another dose of cold medicine and was ready before me this morning for work.
When we got there she asked who the hostess was and I told her "It's YOU."
With brief instructions we opened the doors and "Off she went!" She did just fine and hung in there til almost four this afternoon when I got off. I took her across the street to Target and bought her some flu medicine, bought her and Zach some sandwiches from Panera and dumped her off at home and got back to work ten minutes late for my night shift. What amazes me is she did a better job than some of the grown people we have had host for us. She made me proud and has fifty bucks to show for it.
She has the owner Len wrapped around her little finger. I have never seen the big ole bear as sweet as he is when talking about or to Massey.
Another server, Hoke (my best friend...remember Driving Miss Daisy?) told Massey "Don't get sucked into this restaurant world...it's like a drug, you just can't stop or get out." He is right in a way...look at me! It's a life I chose but a life that has served me well. (small pun) Every shift I work is pay day, the better I do my job the better the pay check. Not always, but if you do your best the odds are in your favor. At the age of fifty "ish" I think of myself more as a writer...a poor writer but still a writer. I have faith in myself that one day it will happen for me and being a server has helped support my family until I can reach my OWN goal... of being discovered, published or both.
Massey will go far in life, I have no doubt. She is driven and hungry (totally a metaphor...I DO feed my kids although we HAVE been through a ton of peanut butter in the past two years and she has only recently learned to drive.)
She will use this job as a vehicle to help her reach her her desired goals and it will be padding along the bumpy way to a successful life.
She's working with a bunch of nuts, me being one of the biggest ones. I like being a nut, makes life so much more fun!
Another server and I had a group of ten older ladies in a private room today for their little Christmas get together. They all came, each in a Christmas sweater or vest..some had both. Of course it was all separate checks. I had the checks printed off but when I went back into the room they had all changed seats to chat with other friends so I just called out what they had ordered wanting them to raise their hand and claim their check.
The first check, I said "So who had the small Barbarella salad?" They all sat stunned and no one said said anything. I repeated it and they all sat silent and stared at me. Finally the woman in the reindeer vest sat up straight and said "Oh, that was me!"
I said "Thank goodness, I thought maybe I was in the wrong room...it happens to me all the time, that hamster falls asleep in his little wheel." That got a chuckle and things went smoothly after that. They were adorable and left us a phat 20% tip.
I enjoy being in charge of my own destiny. The harder I work, the better service I give... the better my audience seems to appreciate me.
My co worker was right in a way...waiting tables IS like a drug. You need money... you work. If you need more money you work even more. You work until you have what you need then enjoy the high of your success and want even MORE!
People who don't think being a server is a real job aren't being real...trust me!
I don't wanna brag but I am a master of my craft and a professional at what I do. What makes icing on the cake is that I enjoy it and it suits me just fine.
Call me a dealer...I am! I deal out great service in a time when people want the best bank for their buck. When they go out and spend hard earned money...how lucky are they to get not only excellent service but a comedy show for free?
Come see me...I do ten to twelve shows a week!
The beach season has opened in the restaurant world...three weeks where you pack your nuts for the rest of winter. Hopefully my little cheek's will be poppin' and droppin' !!
Come see me for some yummy food and meet the new Hostess Extraordinaire!! Remember, mention my blog and you get a free appetizer or dessert!
Til Next time...COTTON
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