The Good and the Bad

I've worked in restaurants for a while now, and last night, more than ever, I have seen the good and the bad of doing so.

2 short anecdotes for your enjoyment:

On Saturday morning I left work with one table that hadn't paid. I trusted that the server that picked me up would save the tip for me, and I could get it when I came in on Saturday night. When I arrived at work on Saturday night I asked Linda if she would get my envelope for me. I knew there was one, and could she grab it? (This table has been coming to see me every week for 6 months, and they tip well!)

I took my next tables' order, and after entering it into the computer, the cashier handed me an envelope. Upon opening the envelope I discovered that there was only $5! (side note: one of the people at the table leaves me $10 every week, so I knew there had to be more, I usually get about $20 from this table.)

Needless to say, I was a little upset. So I did the grown up thing, and asked to see my credit card tips. Maybe the rest of my tips were there? No go.

At this point my choices are: Stolen Tip, or Something Else. I like the server that picked me up, so I started to come up with "Something Else"es in my head. While I was doing this I wandered into the kitchen. There was Linda, eating her lunch. I told her the whole thing.

She looks at me and says "Did you check your charge tips?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't think the server that picked you up is that kind of person, Are you sure they left you a tip?"

"Yes. They have left one every week for 6 months, I don't know why they wouldn't now!"

As we are having this conversation, Linda gets up and walks into the office, reaches into the safe, and pulls out another envelope. With $20.

Practical joke at any ones expense run rampant in restaurants.





The second (much shorter) anecdote for your enjoyment:

I had a table of 8 come in at about 3:30 last night. (you should know how happy that made me.) They seemed nice enough, and were willing to wait for me to get to them.

When I went to take their order they tried to tell me they all needed separate tickets. I told them I could do that, but then one guy spoke up and said "No, all on one ticket, I'm paying."

Ok, I can do that. So I put the order in, all on one ticket.

When I brought the food out, before I had even begun to pass it out the guy asked me how much the bill was. I told him it was $60. He hands me a $100 bill and says "Keep the change."

$40 tip. Largest single tip I have ever received. Wow!

The Cute Things Kids Do

I am feeling a sense of guilt about not posting yesterday, and about not knowing how to post pictures yet, so this afternoon I figured out how.

I know that most people don't want to see a million pictures of my kid, but I think a few are only appropriate.

Here is a picture that Kitch took of himself. I told him to stop messing with my camera, but I think it was already too late. Cute?

Rebecca has taken to dressing herself. This usually means that while her clothes will usually almost match, (I buy them that way) they aren't always quite right.

Notice the inside out shirt, and the shoes on the wrong feet. Cute.

I Hate Ice Cream

Ice cream is the bane of my existence. It is as hard on me as a wooden stake is on a vampire, or a silver bullet on a werewolf. It is evil and there is almost nothing I hate more than making any dessert with ice cream. I dislike this cold evil so much that I recently got myself into trouble at work.

Saturday night I was working, and we were so busy we weren't able to stop for anything. We were too busy to do much more than wipe counters off if we had a second. At about 2:30 (a.m., I work graves) I had a slow and noticed that we were nearly out of ice cream (oh the irony that dessert bar was my side work for the night. I dislike hot fudge almost as much as ice cream, but we'll save that for another day). I walked into the freezer to get some more.

Now my personal goal when I walk into the fridge or freezer at work is to be in and out before the door has a chance to close. I walked into the freezer, went straight to where the ice cream has been kept for the past 18 months, and lo! No ice cream!

I looked again.

Still no ice cream. And the freezer door closed.

Now not only had I not met my goal of getting out of the freezer before the door closed, but now it also came to my attention that when you are in a freezer at -40 F it doesn't take very long for glasses to fog over. I think it was about 2 seconds. So now I'm in the freezer with foggy glasses looking for ice cream that doesn't exist.

I was starting to get excited at this point. Was it possible? Could we be out? I didn't want to think about it, but I was starting to get giddy with the anticipation.

I ran out of the freezer, raced through the kitchen, and only slowed down when I got to the server line and started looking for the manager.

"Linda, Linda, Linda!!!! Guess what!!! I think..." I pause to look around, as though the Ice Cream Gods might strike me down.

"I think we're out of ice cream!!!"

Now I know it annoys some people when a blogger uses excessive punctuation, but I really was 3 exclamation points excited, this was like a dream come true for me.

Linda looks at me and says "Then I guess we'll have to borrow some from another store."

Whatever the opposite of excessive punctuation is, that was what I felt at this moment. Borrow some from another store? Why can't we just tell people we are out, and let me have my night? "You said that just to watch my face fall, didn't you?"

"Yep. Amanda, this is Dee's, we can't run out of ice cream at Dee's. I know there's more, lets go find it" She replied.

Well, turns out she was right, there were another 5 buckets of ice cream in the building, but in my own defense, they weren't where the ice cream had been kept for as long as I've worked there.

So a few minutes later we have a group of people walk in. A large group of people. At 3 a.m. Don't you people know how to go home? It's 3 in the morning, go to bed, and let me clean! "Party of 17, please" They say. You're kidding, right?

So we seat them in the only section that has enough tables (mine) and I get to work. I take out drinks, and take their orders, and go back to the serving line to enter the order. Linda walks by me at this point and says "What can I do for you, Amanda?"

I Glare at her, "Nothing."

"Did they order ice cream?"

"No"

"Did you tell them we were out?"

"Yes"

"Amanda! You can't DO that! This is Dee's, we don't run out of ice cream!"

The only vindication I got out of this is that after making 5 shakes, one banana split and one hot fudge split during the night, I made Linda make my 2 Oreo shakes for the party of 17 of doom.

I hate ice cream, and the shake machine is still winning the war.

First Post

Well, from what I can tell, everyone who starts a blog is the most nervous on the first post. I'm no different.

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a few weeks now, and thanks to Google, here I am!

Tomorrow's goal is to learn how to add a link, and how to add pictures. Until then all I have is the top 10 list. Seems like a good way to break the ice.

Top 10 Reasons for Amanda to Blog:

10. I'm an embarrassment to my boyfriend and my father because of my lack of basic computer and Internet knowledge.

9. My home life looks like a sit-com, kinda like "Full House" only fewer kids, and fewer cool uncles. (Ben, I think you are Joey)

8. Blogs mean more friends!

7. Anyone who has stories to tell about drunk cowboys should have a place to tell them.

6. Where else can I rant about ice cream without people rolling their eyes (or thinking I'm crazy)?

5. Less people will make fun of me if I'm blogging.

4. "Friends" from "far away" can keep in touch.

3. I have the cutest baby ever, and now I can share pictures! (still working on that, I'm hoping by tomorrow?)

2. If the Harlot can do it, so can I!

1. It's not that my life is more interesting than anyone else, it's that I tell a better story.