Sheesh Life Can be Tough

This new job is a great opportunity. I feel lost, there is so much to learn but trying my best to absorb all I can from constant note taking and asking questions.

It doesn't help I'm working seven days a week again and have little if no time for things around the house or time enough to study for the new job. I study at work when I first get there before the manager asks me to do something or follow someone. I spend my thirty minute break looking over my notes and cramming more into my tiny brain. I learned tonight am only the second person ever hired on as a server without having to be a server's assistant first, working  my way up to being trained as a server.

Crap, now I feel even MORE pressure!

It's just a stress filled experience. I'm worried about financial things, I'm worried about how I'm letting things go around the house and mostly worried about when I leave the house every day for the airport.

Working at the busiest airport in the world is a logistical nightmare when you ride MARTA from the station where I park. I pulled into the MARTA parking lot over an hour before I had to clock in. Once I get on a train I'm at the airport in one minute, on a shuttle to International in two minutes and walking through security twelve minutes later. It took me thirty minutes to find a place to park.

Now I know why all the cars line up in front of the station. They are all looking for someone leaving and ask them out their car window if they can have the spot they are vacating and which aisle is it on?

I'm a pretty quick learner. I went through both lots twice with no luck and almost drove to the next MARTA station when I caught on to the game.

I keep slowly circling the lot by the train entrance until I spotted a lone guy in a MARTA uniform leaving with a lunch box in his hand.

BINGO!

I said sweetly out my car window, "Hello kind sir! Would you perhaps be vacating a spot where I could possibly park?"

That's right!

 He pointed to a space not fifty feet from the train entrance and I slowly crept behind him in my once again borrowed vehicle.

So now I've got the parking problem solved but unfortunately is the least of my problems.

Now I have at least forty wines to memorize, and by that I mean know where they come from, what region of the country they come from, all the facts about body, taste and price.

Here's my new plan now that I have the parking problem solved.

I'm going to choose eight wines to memorize like the back of my vein ridden, age spotted hand. Four whites, two less expensive and two higher end wines and do the same with the reds. At least I'll have eight "Go To" wines that I know quite well and if they don't work will simply look over the customer's shoulder and cheat off the wine list in front of them.

With everything going on around here on the home front am just terrified I will go into work and them tell me I'm not quite up to their standards and let me go.

I think they like me, it's hard to tell. It's sometimes slow but sometimes total chaos and just try to keep up and help out.

I pray every night I can make the grade. It's a classy, upscale restaurant and a realm I've never worked in but want to.

It's like I told the young host I was working with at the front door tonight (who was cute as a button and shared my box of  Sweet Tarts with) ...

"If you've got enough money to fly to the south of France for a month you've got plenty of money to eat here."

I can barely afford the box of Sweet Tarts and only buy them when on sale for a dollar.

What the heck, I'll wake up again and give it another try.

The problem is this job is trying and feel totally overwhelmed but sincerely think I can do it and do it well.

I just gotta be tougher than the problem.

Til next time..COTTON

Easy Peasy?

I only hit the snooze once this morning but had set it fifteen minutes early so I could. I'm learning tips every day (huge pun). Take a shower at night, have your clothes ironed and ready and load up your Marta card when you leave the airport so you don't have to in the morning rush to work.

Made it in record time, even though I had to wait a few minutes for the shuttle to concourse F, or as I call it "The ends of the earth."

Walked into the atrium of the international terminal after breezing through security thirty minutes before I had to clock in.

Dang, this was a first! I sat at a small table, ate a fruit cup, had a bottle of OJ and still had twenty minutes to spare.

I was the first server there and really didn't know what to do besides clock in so I hit the clock and looked around. I saw the soda machine was still taken apart from last night's close and after over three decades of serving certainly know how to put one together so did. The ice bin had been emptied to clean  so I found the bucket and filled it up. I saw the tea machine and turned the heater on to warm up so we could brew tea.

The only manager there was the executive chef and training new servers how to open probably isn't one of his favorite things to do so just left him alone to do his own thing with the other chefs.

Another server showed up shortly and apologized for running late. Didn't blame her one bit, she worked a long double shift yesterday and had another one today.

She began to show me how to do things in the back kitchen to open. One of the chefs was prepping and pulled an octopus out to prepare for cooking. OH yeah, I took a picture!

It brought back memories of the movie Alien when that thing jumped on that dude's face and it slap kilt 'em!

The last two days have been following this server and has helped me out tremendously. I guess she appreciates senior citizens who can still work!

The management wants me to take a thirty minute break after five hours because they are paying me training wages but keep forgetting to so have adjusted my times to show I took a thirty minute break.


Today I finally remembered to take a thirty minute break at one thirty, must have been the breakfast I ate! I have terrible eating habits and been so worried about learning everything at this new gig I simply forget about time.

I also forgot that when on break can eat free for up to $9.50 at any of the other restaurants operated by the corporation that employs me. So only having thirty minutes had to eat close by. I could eat at The Varsity, The Original El Taco or the Bistro next door to us. I saw one of the cooks from our restaurant meandering around and asked where I should eat? He said he usually just ate at the Bistro so took his advice. I asked him what he ordered and he replied  "Chicken fingers with fries are always a safe bet."

I stepped up to the counter once again unsure of what I was doing because have never used my meal privileges before.

A very young, pretty Asian girl was working the register. She asked what I wanted and told her chicken fingers and fries. Shes asked if I wanted the kid's meal or snack meal?

Heck! I didn't have a clue.

She looked at my tag, letting her know I was using my meal voucher and said "You new? I no see you before! If you get snack there no drink, you go over and have to pay money. You get kid meal you get drink too."

I said give me the kid meal please and handed her my employee card. She pointed to a basket of bananas and said "You want banana too? Get one and you still not pay!"

Heck yeah I said!

I had two pretty nice sized chicken fingers, waffle fries, a drink and a banana to boot for free.

After my deliciously free lunch and clocking back in asked my general manager about picking up my Marta card?

I drive to the Marta station directly across from the airport, park for free and am in the airport in less than three minutes. Parking at the airport is I believe sixteen or seventeen dollars a day, Marta is free parking and five bucks round trip.

The corporation I work for offers unlimited Marta usage for ninety bucks a month and pay half the cost. I've been paying twenty five dollars a week. I signed up for it during orientation. They deduct your part once a month on the first from your paycheck and was scheduled to pick up my card today from HR.

He told me to go get my card and I headed back domestic side. For Pete's sake it's a long way back to domestic but saving forty five bucks a month made it well worth it. My glasses fell out of my pocket going up the escalator and broke in two.

Great! Now I was blind with a full belly of food.

After trying the door we used for training was alerted by a code that I didn't have access and had to go back downstairs and walk five more gates down to take another elevator up to Human Resources.


Over an hour later, had my new Marta card and headed back to the edge of the earth on concourse F.

Lucky for me they let me leave shortly afterward.

I left the airport a little after four and got home around five or so. I stripped out of work clothes and put on my shorts and tank top. I cranked up Johnny Dear and putted up to the front of our subdivision to cut the entrance insuring I would get paid tomorrow for the cut.  That will be sixty more bucks and help pay the Verizon giants who seemingly always be short of my cash to pay their own bills.

I got back to the house after eight and cut our side yard. The rest can wait. My last day off was May 24th and my next day off will most certainly be several months from now.

I don't like change. I don't like having to take a new job but after the past few days of adjusting my timing and having lots of help from new co workers decided it has been a wise decision for not only me but my entire family.

Thank The Lord I don't have to be in tomorrow until one thirty.  I'm crashing on the couch after wiping off all the grass clippings from my legs and face and ruffling them out of my hair.

I have a few more days of training and nervous about every one of them but comfortably feel confident enough to actually say "I THINK I got this!"

Old dogs don't like learning new tricks but if know there's a reward will learn it.

Let's hope it's Easy Peasy!

Who am I kidding? It's gonna be tough but as my daughter always tells me "You got this Momma!"

I talked with her briefly tonight. She's at the camp where she is working this summer. Lucky for me she said she's coming home this weekend. I need my Massey fix.

This is me holding her the day after she was born.

This is her holding me almost eighteen years later.

I love my husband and love my boys too but NOTHING feels better than having some extra estrogen pumped into this house of balls I live in.

Three more days of chaos at the airport and training for a job I feel freaked about. Then two more days of double shifts at the old digs where I feel comfortable.

Then Massey goes back to camp and I move forward.

Easy Peasy? We'll see...

Til next time...COTTON