Saturday Night Madness

I had forgotten the madness of Saturday night in food service. Saturdays are generally the busiest days of the week and almost always busier than anyone can handle. Last was all hands on deck, as would be expected. I knew that it would be busy going in, I new it would be hard and that things would be crazy. What I left out was the human element of crazy.
There comes a certain point in the evening where a server takes food to the wrong table, or a cook forgets to make something. Usually it is as things are starting to really pick up. This is the timeline for the madness…

5:00-all staff are trying to ignore that tonight is not like the rest of the week and we will be over our heads in hours.
5:30-things are picking up and the managers start telling the hostesses to stop talking and get to work.
6:00-things are flowing well and most of the servers have almost full sections
6:40-a server rings in an order incorrectly or a cook forgets to make something. This is where things start to go downhill.
6:50-the restaurant fills up and the kitchen is slammed.
6:55-the cooks start yelling at the servers.
7:10-the servers are yelling at the specialists to take their food to the correct table.
7:30-three 7 person tables come in…the servers are freaking out.
7:45-Everyone else has just been given seats at the bar because all the other tables are full. The bar tender is yelling at the hostess to stop giving her so many tables.
7:50-9:30-general yelling and error making throughout the restaurant.
9:30-at least one waitress is on the verge of tears.
10:00-things are finally slowing down, but no staff speak to each other as bitterness has build up over the last few ours.
11:30-a group of 17 people come in to eat even though the restaurant is totally empty and should close in 30 min.
1:45am-the final staff leave the restaurant.

This chain of events is just a fact of life. It makes me laugh because next week everyone will all have forgotten what this was like and repeat the same thing all over again.

I love work. Wait…I mean that I love working. Work is pretty good though. I am so blessed to work at a relaxed job, but am still challenged. I am blessed because of how much money the Lord provides. I am blessed because I get out of the CIU fortress of solitude and enter the real world.

My time at work keeps me connected to the rest of society. CIU is a great place to be, but it is not the real world-kind of reminds me of Summer Project. Praise the Lord for work.

Your Daddy Does Rock and Roll

Last night I went to a local rock show. The show was great! It was in a pub = poorly lit, smoky, a few crazy people. It was reminiscent of the days I went to Phil’s Radiator Shack arguably one of the most hole-in-the wall places in Pueblo. Here’s to you Nick Wiley!

I couldn’t cheer because I was sick and lost my voice, which I am still feeling today, but it was still great. Three out of the 4 bands that played were really good. I bought the album of Jupiter One. They are a New York group and good friends with the headliners, Baumer.

Baumer is a local craze. At least one of the members is a CIU alum and his dad is my academic advisor. It was fun to be at a rock show and have my academic advisor there too. He didn’t mosh, but it was the thought that counted.

Hungry?

Ever since I have come to Columbia, I have been haunted by the verse, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Every where I go, it is brought to my mind. Not a day has passed without it scrolling across my heart. It tends escape pursed lips leaving me to explain the seemingly spontaneous utterance. I hope its contextual significance is revealed to me soon. Although such desire often carry difficult lessons with them.

To Study or Not To Study

Studying is underrated. I must admit that until this fall, I have whisked through academia without studying. Granted, culinary school was a far more tactile environment and required reading was minimal. None-the-less, I am not a stranger to Humanity-type classes. Literature, Speech and Leadership Style were courses that were significantly hands-off…a solid study bloc for any of those classes cannot be recalled.

Tonight made the second test, of two, that I studied for. Not only studied, but did so with some degree of forethought and are certified ‘cram session free’. I think I learned to study in Russia-where the desire for knowledge far outweighed the burden of obtaining it. A moderate amount of personal study and a fair bloc of group study sits very well with me. Again, my extroverted character traits allow me to succeed amidst chatter, distraction and rabbit trails. It would be an unclear picture to believe that there was no organization in group study however, for without some, I would take solidarity in a heartbeat.

To finally realize active study’s benefits, gives it an intrinsic novelty. I plan to continue to partake…(laugh)

Ya'll

Today I spoke with a Southern accent. It wasn't very obvious. In fact, it was only one word. A name. It was Caroline-which certainly is a Southern name. I think a little part of me died...