Broken Hearted Runner

Well, my life certainly has taken a fork in the road. I went from unemployment, spending all day in my running clothes or my bathing suit - writing, reading, sunbathing, and sketching, to waiting tables - turning down one job offer for another, and continuing to get offers from customers regularly - while continuing my consulting work. It's quite busy and I'm enjoying it. For example, last night, I was waiting on a fun couple; I taught the engineer husband that there really IS a difference between pints across the world (go ahead look it up - there is a difference between a pint and an imperial pint). I think he really enjoyed being challenged to "Google" the difference. After that initial conversation, he kept making comments about how I'd be a great members to "the team." So finally, I look at look the wife and ask,  "Are you assembling a team of Super Heroes?" Both of them laughed as she handed me her card and offered me a position at ...

At the beginning of my second shift today, I asked around for some good material for my writing. I probably should have clarified that I wanted to write about other people's shitty serving experiences, not my own. It was totally different from last night. I was actually waiting tables with someone following me. The back of the house was understaffed and I was probably a little over zealous. My trainer and I took on some extra tables thinking that the two of us could cover a lot of ground. But, yeah, we can't cook the food so, we were left making promises and trying to keep people happy. I admit, that I was a little unprepared for this. After the first few nights of everything moving so smoothly at the restaurant, I was unsure of how to handle things. And honestly, I AM still in training, and I did make a few mistakes. The couple of small mistakes I made, however, would have been easily recovered any other night. Tonight was just a complete shit-show. I literally had a tab...

Day 3 of server training - Food running. Wow! That was fun. It was a super busy Saturday night. It was strange because the weather was supposed to be really crappy and rainy, so it was completely unexpected. I was afraid to run food because I thought it would be boring and honestly, I didn't know the floor plan very well. But I only made a couple of mistakes which were laughed off easily with the customer. And I learned a lot - fast. I had forgotten how much I loved manual labor, or service work. There is always something to do whether it's re-stacking the dishes, getting more glasses, cutting bread, or whatever. I love to be busy and busy I was. I'm pretty sure I have 2nd degree burns on my fingers from running hot plates. There were moments when I'd grab a plate knowing it was hot but it didn't have to go far so I took it anyway.  And then a large party would walk in front of me. It was like a test of my strength, "Just keep holding it, Sarah. You can...

Tori Amos has a song called The Waitress . Back in the good ol' Evans Seafood days I would listen to it after a bad day at work. Listening to Tori's haunting vocals and scream-singing along as I drove home always made the bad days better. Well, today was my first day back as a server in a restaurant after, what, 10 years? Wow. Things are different now. For example, I spent an hour and a half in a classroom setting, complete with a menu quiz before I got to walk the floor following a server. The computer systems are much more intuitive - I like that. But at the end of the day, it's just the same - hospitality and food service. I'm the second oldest person in the place - and the age gap is pretty big. I had a hard time dealing with the fact that my peers are only a few years older than my son. We played, "Guess What Year I Was Born" most of the night. The good news is, I don't look as old as I am (or these kids are really bad at math). The bad news is, I...

So, I have this friend, Joe. I know, I know. This sounds like it's going to be a bogus story, but hear me out. I have this friend, Joe. Well, maybe he's not a friend. Maybe that's a bit of a harsh word. Joe is a guy with whom I used to work. And, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that 6 years ago, when we worked together, that we were not friends. Actually, I'm pretty sure that Joe disliked me very much. Ooh, I'm going to say it... yeah... I was Joe's boss. And other than that one time in February 2011 when he and William and I went to Atlantic City on the company dime, I can't say that we ever did anything that would resemble a friendship (but that was a fun trip). So, what's the point of my story, you ask... I have been following along in Joe's blog , and I have found myself inspired. Like me, he admits to also being in the process of going through a midlife crisis (although he calls it something else), and instead of continuing down the p...

Tonight, I stood for way too long in my garage door admiring the rainfall. I enjoyed watching as the excess water flowed out of the storm drains and erupted out of the overflow hoses. It was immensely calming and powerfully inspiring at the same time.  This is supposed to be a big storm - a long storm. It is meant to last for days and to cause serious flooding.  Oddly, this brings me joy.  There is something refreshing about the water washing over everything. I am excited for the impending thunder. Maybe I'm embracing the gloom or maybe I'm looking forward to the changes about to occur over the next few days, weeks, and months.  I sometimes have to remind myself not to be afraid.  Tonight, I am not afraid at all. I was, however, reminded of a poem. I cannot take credit for the poem below. These are not my own words, but they do speak to my emotions.  So let it come on then - bringing the wet smell on the wind, hearing the di...

The girls and I went out for a celebratory dinner tonight. Side note - Cooking for 3 has been a hard thing to learn. I tend to cook 2-3 meals a week and force us to eat all of the leftovers (and still throw out food). It will be nice when Logan comes home so that I can cook a meal that actually gets eaten. Anyway, we were celebrating the fact that I completed my first paying consulting gig, I have another small one lined up for next week, as well as a part time waitressing gig, and an interview for a full time job. (To be clear - I was celebrating. The girls are mortified that I'll be waitressing. "What if one of my friends recognize you?") Ah... teenagers. They haven't been humbled by real life yet. I have to admit, it was a pretty fun night. Ceci has a date (more on that later) and Eve was heading out to a football game, so it was nice to sit and hang out for a bit without chores or responsibilities to argue about before the night began. As I sat with them ...