And For My Next Act...Episode Two

Hellllllooooo!!!!! Betcha thought I burned my old job to the ground and went into hiding, huh? Nope. I'm not a vindictive person. I am, however, a huge believer of karma and I'm sure that what goes around will come around. The best revenge is living well, right? (What a load of crap.)

So I started at Outback. It's really been stressful! The menu's so much bigger than Rib City's. And there's so much to know with all the steaks, cuts, sizes, temps, etc. Some meals come with already decided sides, some come with the customer's choice of side dish. UGH!!! It's so much to remember!

I took my server test today and passed so at least that's over with. And today was my first day all by myself and I only had 2 tables and still managed to screw up one of them. I just forgot to put in their order. What?? Is that bad? They were really nice about it, though. I told 'em I was new and they were very cool.

So here's a fun little story for ya! First, let me paint a picture for you: On one side of the restaurant there's five tables that seat six people. Then across the aisle is a long bench with three or four tables with chairs on the other side and the tables can be pushed together for big parties. All of these tables were full. All of them.

On Thursday night it was my last night of training before I was on my own (today). Which basically meant I was doing everything and my trainer was just there to make sure I didn't screw up. So I go to a table of 5 and tell them I'm brand new, blah, blah, blah. Took their drink orders and went back to get their drinks. On my way back to the table (in the dining room) there was a puddle of water...I slipped and FELL DOWN!!!!! All the way down! And spilled the drinks all over the place!!! All over me. All over the floor. And on one of the girls I was taking the drinks to! I. Could. Have. Died.

Of course everyone was all "are you OK??" I just wanted to tell them to SHUT UP!!! DON'T TALK TO ME!!! You know how it is? You just want people to not talk and you'll be fine. So I go in the back and people start telling me they'd done the exact same thing. One girl dropped a whole tray of steak and lobster so at least it was cheap drinks I spilled but holy crap!!! Just freakin' kill me, please! So again, people keep asking if I'm OK. Which I was, so SHUT THE HELL UP!!! If I'm not dead, I'm fine. So of course...I get all weepy. Like a stupid girl. I wasn't hurt at all. The fall seemed to go in slow motion so I was fine. I went in the bathroom and my friend got me a new shirt and I cried. Not like full blown tears but, y'know, just weepy. I texted Tavis and told him I'd just eaten sh*t and spilled a whole tray of drinks. He laughed. 'Cause it really is FUNNY!!!!

I collected what very, very little dignity I had left and went back out to my table. (My trainer had, of course, taken over by now.) I asked if they liked the circus act and they asked what my encore was going to be. We laughed and all was well.

Can you even believe it?? People, I just wanted to put my head in the ground and DIE!!! (Have you seen Madagascar 2?) I never had that even come close to happening at Rib City and then it occurred to me why...the dining room is carpeted there. At Outback it's hard wood.

So after that, things could only improve. Remember this? I would take that with a side of me being buck naked compared to this. At least now I don't have to worry about the first time I fall/spill a bumload of drinks! And I also finally have an answer to the question, "what's your most embarrassing moment?" Although I really could have gone my whole life without an answer to that.

Things have been crazy-busy around here. Tavis is back to work (YAY!!!), Harley's been sooooooo sick (more about that on another post), school has started, I've been hip-deep in new job/training/studying for the server test, family in town (YAY!!!). So I'll be better at blogging soon. Having Harley be sick has pretty much kicked mine and Tav's butts. He's been way clingy and needing to be held. He doesn't sleep worth a crap right now. As soon as he's better I'll be back on the blogging horse! Until then, I'll be trying to keep the shiny-side-up at work!!!

I Did It

Rib City Grill has screwed me for the last time. I walked out on my shift tonight. I start working at Outback next week!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am! My good friend D'laina got me the job there. I will forever be in her debt!

Thanks for "listening" to me whine about all the crap. I'm so relieved to be done. I'll for sure miss the girls I worked with. And the yummy ribs. But I'm sure I'll love the ribs at Outback even more. (Especially since they won't be served up with a side of BULL CRAP!!!) So everyone needs to come see me there! It's the one in Orem.

Yaaaaaaaay ME!!!

Random Crap

My children are freakin' exhibitionists. They cannot potty or shower or bathe with the door closed. I'm sure their habits formed when it was just the three of us in our little apartment during the time I was divorced. Any mom knows that when you have little ones, shutting the door to potty isn't a reality. I find myself leaving it open now when it's just Harley and me at home. I should change my ways right now.


So I was at the E Center the other night working in the Rib City concessions stand and I needed to go...number 2. Now, like pretty much every female I know, this is a home-seater event. But as I was far from home, I was going to have to do this in the public restroom. So i go in there and there's easily 20 stalls along one wall and then another 5 or so across the aisle. So I put myself in the far corner, very end stall to ensure the most privacy. Let me also point out that this restroom was at the end of a very long hall and was getting very little traffic. So I sit myself down and prepare to...y'know...go. Not one minute into it did someone come in and sit RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!! "What the crap??" (No pun intended.) (Yes, it was.), I think to myself. "This woman has the ENTIRE restroom to choose from and she has to sit right by me when I'm doing this." Duh!!!

Do you have any "blog friends" that you've never met but you really want to meet because you're certain you'd be great friends? And you sometimes daydream about having her live next to you, so your kids could play and you and she could hang out and laugh because you just KNOW you've got the same personalities and the same sense of humor and you really don't have any friends that live by you that you can just totally be yourself with but you KNOW you could be with this friend? Ya, me neither.


My baby isn't really a baby anymore. I mean, he is. But he doesn't have that baby look anymore. He doesn't walk yet and for the past month I've just been ready for him to walk. He gets everywhere he wants to go, anyway. I'd just like him to walk there! Well, now I'm thinking I'll be sad when he walks. That's a huge milestone for a baby! Toddlers walk. Not babies. (Except my nephew, who walked at 7 1/2 months.) And since I'm not having anymore babies (it's true, mom), it kinda makes me sad to think about my last baby taking his first steps.


School starts in less than two weeks. I go into almost complete hysterics when I think about this. Here in Utah we got hugely ripped off during June because it rained the whole freakin' month. Then we have a bumload of holidays in July which makes it go by fast and now school is about to start. I pretty much have a panic attack when I think of getting up early and getting the kids ready for school. Doing breakfast and homework and bedtime. Ugh. I've got to stop thinking about it.

I was all by myself last Saturday (bliss!) so I went to see Harry Potter (shut up). They turn you loose with the butter for the popcorn. They've got a dispenser and you can just load your popcorn up! So I had her fill it up half way with popcorn, then I buttered, then had her fill the rest of the bag with popcorn, then I buttered some more. Well, guess what? The movie theater owes me a new pair of shorts because I got butter all over mine. They should know better than to leave me to my own devices when it comes to movie-theater popcorn and butter.

Ever since I discovered how to update my facebook profile status via text message, I've become really narcissistic. Like every move I make I feel like I want to fb it! As if anyone gives a damn! "Amber is...going to change the laundry." "Amber is...gonna have a Pepsi." "Amber is...the most self absorbed person ever to walk the earth." These thoughts run through my brain All. Day. Long.

I need new jeans.

OK, Here's What Happened...

First, thank you so much for all of your input! You guys are so freakin' awesome. Not even kidding. I love you all!!!! For a lot of you, this will be just the same as the email I sent you after your comment. But I lost track of who I sent it to and who I didn't so here it is. Thanks again!!!

Next, I know. I know. I know. I need to find a new job.

Tuesday night I was helping my table doing exactly what I described on the post. There were two other servers on and a manager. I looked around when the phone rang and saw no one was going to answer it. But it's not my job to get the phone. It's the manager's. Who is CONSTANTLY in the back of the joint smoking. (Or lately, he's decided that smoking in FRONT of the place is much more classy and will attract more customers) And last night he was back there smoking AND on his cel phone to his son.

Well, I'm with most of you. (I'm looking at you, Sher) People that have taken the time to get in their car and leave their home to come to eat dinner take priority over any yahoo on their couch, at home, on the phone. So I didn't run to get the phone. After I finished with my table the phone was still ringing (going on 5 or 6 rings) so I went and answered it. (Knowing that if it was "T",the owner, she'd be mad that it had rung so many times.)

Of course, it's her.

T: What's going on?!?! Are you guys busy? What are you doing?
Me: I was talking to my table. J was talking to her table. K was in the back and I guess John's outside smoking.
T: Well this phone needs to be answered in 3 rings!
Me: Ya, I know but I was talking to my table.
T: Well, you need to excuse yourself and answer the phone!!! If it's a to-go order and the phone rings too many times they'll thing we're closed.
Me: (In a very non-snotty tone of voice. For real.) So you want us to leave our table and answer the phone?
T: YES!!! That's what the lunch people do! Have John call me.

Click.

So after about ten minutes John comes back in and I tell him to call T. A few minutes after he gets off the phone with her and I say, "well I guess I got us all in trouble by letting the phone ring too many times".
John: Ya, I don't know what you said to her but she's so mad at you. She's really really mad. She told me to cut you and send you home.
Me: Really? OK.

(So I guess I'd have been better off to not have answered the phone at all. Because I took all the heat for it!! And am I the only one who picked up on the fact that I DID answer the phone??? ME. I'm the one who ran over and got it the very first free second I had. And I got my a** chewed for it.)

He goes on to make excuses that his son only ever calls like once a week and he's got like two (more like 30) minutes to talk to him and he should have been able to talk to him and have things get taken care of inside. Well, yes. That's true. But we didn't know he was outside. Furthermore, it's not like we were pickin' our noses!! It's so ridiculous there. It sucks to work at a place where you don't feel like your superiors are ever on your side. Or on the side of their customers. They only care about the bottom line. They have NO loyalties to their staff. They closed their store in Sandy and didn't tell any of the employees. They came to work the next day and found a note on the door. People's paychecks are bouncing and T won't return their phone calls.

We are the ones keeping that place in business. The servers. You could have the best food on earth but if the service sucks, nobody will go back. Likewise, you could have semi-good food and great severs and get people to come back again and again. There isn't a shift that goes by that I don't have at least one table tell me I "did great." "You're so much fun!" "What's your name? We want you when we come back!" I get at least one of these comments every time I work.

So yes, I need a new job. I don't work tomorrow and I'm taking the day to go apply at every restaurant in town. And when I leave I'll let them all know that I'm so sick of the management screwing up and making me take the heat for it. And I also realize that the longer I stay there and complain about it the dumber I look. So I promise this is the last rant I do about my job.