A Day in the Life of a Traveling Woman

2009-09-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing new to report. I've got a bit of a cold so I'm a little miserable at the moment. Weather was beautiful today. I wonder how long until it snows....

Today is my only day off this week. So I'm trying to be productive, get some rest, and enjoy myself. So far so good. The laundry is done, my room is sort of clean and I'm catching up on bills and stuff.

This week is another busy work week. I look forward to the slower pace of winter.

Nothing new on the serving front. People are still people.

I'll write more when I'm feeling better.

Another Day in the Restaurant

2009-09-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

So last night was another glorious work experience...

The night started out with my coworker claiming that I wasn't doing enough side work ( I won't even get into that). Towards the middle of the night, as we reach our busy peak, I have a trouble table. An "8 top" or party or eight people, comes in and sits at 2 separate tables right across from each other, but in 2 different sections. When I talked to the hostess, she said they didn't have a large table available for them so they were siting separately. Since I had just been double sat, Iwona, who had the other 1/2 of the group in her section was going to take both tables.

Keep in mind that we charge 18% Gratuity for parties of 6 or more (even if the aren't all at the same table)

Well it became apparent that one lady at the table was kind of in charge and calling the shots. After Iwona talked to her, she found out that the lady had chosen to sit at 2 separate tables so they wouldn't have to pay the gratuity. She assured Iwona that one person at the other table would be paying that bill and she would be paying the bill at her table....( Almost like they were 2 separate tables that didn't even know each other) Soooo anyways, I wind up having to take her table since they were choosing to eat separately. It took me a while to actually get over to the table for their order because I was already so busy.

As I talk to Iwona throughout the service of these tables, she informs me that no one at her table could even speak English, and that she had to come to my table to get their order from the "Lady in charge." She had to do this all night if the table needed anything. Also at the end of the night, this lady had Iwona bring the table's check to her (and paid with the same card she used for the bill I dropped for her table)...

Iwona and I were both pissed that this lady had the balls to lie to us about them being 2 separate tables with 2 separate checks, when she herself handled everything....

As I returned her sales slip to her before she left, I told her (as politely as I could manage) that next time, even if her family sits on 2 opposite sides of the dinning room...she WOULD be paying the 18 % gratuity, and it was not negotiable!

She left each of us servers a $5 tip (10 total at her expense) her 2 checks together came to about $90!!

Some people are so fucking cheap!!

We don't charge that gratuity just for shits and giggles, its there because as the number of a party increases, the difficulty of serving them goes up also.

After work, I completely crashed.

It's so mentally exhausting kissing ass all night, that the only peace I get is in my sleep. And that's not always safe either. I have work nightmares sometimes too... Yikes!

Is there no escape?

Parents please teach your kids restaurant etiquette while they're young.

And YES 18% is what you should be tipping your server if the service is good.
20% for excellent service, 15% for not so good service, and never less than 10% for terrible service. These percentages are backed up by CNN Money Talk, and can be found on their website.

Also, please keep in mind that Good service from your server is different than kitchen problems.

Try to decipher weather any problems you had during your dining experience were because of your server or if it was something out of their hands (kitchen problems include misscooked food or lengthiness of food cook time) If a server shows good service in spite of these mishaps, their tip should not be affected.

Everyone does deserve good service though, so don't be affriad to have expectations of your server.

That's all for my Restaurant class for today. Tune in next time to see what else I'm bitching about...lol

New Seasons

2009-09-08T16:22:00.001-07:00

Summer has come and gone. It is now September. Slowly, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. Summer was busy, crazy and stressful, but still it was slower than the year before. No doubt due to the slow economy. This meant more foriegners. And foriegners only tip 10% if they tip at all. Needless to say, I didn't make quite as much as I wanted to this summer.

I'll tell you one thing, the ability of some people to treat us servers the way they do, amazes me. I had a gentleman that after waiting 25 min for his food (mind you, we don't precook anything here..this isn't McDonalds...our food takes time), became very hostile and aggressive with me. Saying things like "I don't need to hear this crap from you"... when I tried to explain that he hadn't been waiting that long (especially since his family had our complimentary bread, drinks and salad while they waited). He also raised his voice again stating, "well that's your job, isn't it" when told that the Roasted 1/2 Chicken he ordered needs to be cooked and that takes about 20 minutes.

Either way, It took every ounce of strength I had to not say "Sir, I don't know where you're used to eating, but this is not Applebees (meaning that vot every item on our menu is frozen and can be fried in just a few short minutes) here is your check, please don't come back!!!!"

I am so ready for winter to come again. Almost everyone is leaving this winter. So it should be mostly new staff members, and only about 20-30 people total. I really loath driving in the snow. It's not like driving in a snowy city. 10 feet deep in snow on a dangerously windy mountain road, in a car that wasn't built for the snow..hmmm. Not fun.

Did I reach my goal and pay off my debt this summer?... Um, sadly, not even close! Which is why I am staying for the winter. I need to buckle down and start saving.

Thank God for my friend Keith, I don't know what I would do up here without him. We remind each other that there is a world off this mountain(which is easy to forget up here).

Well it's time for me to go to work now....Yay!

Until next time...

Back in the Groove

2009-03-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

I'm back in the groove of things. I'm back in the States, at work, just passing the time. Business is picking up here. Soon the summer season will be upon us and I will be working like a crazy person. Its always hard working in a resort-like area. If you stay long enough, you see friends come and go, and the seasons change. One day you stop and look around, and you realize, you're already living the life you're still planning & preparing for. Its funny how that happens.

My roomate went back to Malaysia, so I'm all by my lonesome at the moment. Soon my other girlfriends will be leaving me.

We're expecting another storm over the next couple of days. No snow though, just rain.

As always life is quiet and laid back up here in the mountains.

That's all for now.

Chillin' in the Snow

2009-02-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, So I'm just hanging out here in Lithuania. Its been snowing quite a bit over the last few days. Everything is lightly covered with snow and looks absolutely beautiful. It is slightly chilly though...
Irmantas and I rented a nice apartment in Klaipeda. Its in a new building on the 16th floor, so it has an awesome view of the whole city and the Baltic Sea. We are 10 hours ahead of California here (8 hours ahead of Texas, Amanda) So I get to enjoy every day before everyone else.
Just in case some of you are wondering what my boyfriend and I did for Valentine's Day, I will tell you. We got totally drunk and went cliff diving! lol. Ok, so that's not true. There are no cliffs here. We went to the Mall and walked around. I reminded Irmantas to buy me some flowers before the flower store closed, and we shared dessert at a restaurant before catching a movie. Yes the movie was in English (it had Lithuanian subtitles though).
Seeing Irmantas' parents again was nice. I can say a few more things in Lt now, so I felt more confident trying to talk with them. They're so nice! lol. I also got to meet another of Irmiz's friends and a few of his cousins. I liked all of them also.
So after being really sick for the first week I was here, I'm feeling much better and ready to get out. But even though I'm dying to get out and take pictures, once I feel that icy Baltic breeze, I turn around and go straight back inside. I've been watching a lot of TV. Mostly the same 3 channels: MTV, VH1, and Discovery. They're the only English channels on TV here. Lol.
Ok, I should go. It's pretty late here. Until next time.. Viso (bye)

Ready to leave

2009-02-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

Hello again! So I've done my laundry and I'm almost finished packing. Dinner was pretty good tonight.
Tomorrow morning I will drive to San Jose and check into my hotel. I plan on getting my nails done and taking care of some last minute things (bills, etc.)
Thursday morning, I'll catch the shuttle to the airport and hop on my first flight. I'll be flying to Chicago first. Then to Warsaw, Poland and finally to Riga, Latvia. I hope I can sleep on the flight so i'm not so tired when I get there.
Its beautiful here in Sequoia. Sunny and "warm." At least, as warm as it gets in the snow.
I'll try to update the blog while I'm in Lithuania so everyone knows what's up.
:D
Hope you all have a nice week.

Snowing again

2009-01-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

So it has been beautiful and sunny almost everyday since Christmas. It started raining a few days ago, and continued to rain for 2 and 1/2 days. The rain then turned into what I like to call slush. That was miserable. A day later, it finally turned into snow. It hasn't stopped snowing yet. At first it wasn't too bad, so I made plans with some friends to go into town after work for movie and some Chinese food. As the day progressed, the snow got heavier, the clouds got thicker and visibility became little-to-none. So needless to say, our trip to town had to be cancelled. I can't risk driving in that kind of weather with the little snow experience I have. So now I'm just hanging out in the EDR (employee dining room), watching tv and messing around on my computer. I'm bored but too lazy to walk out into the blustery snow to go to my cabin. lol. So for now, I'll stay put. :D

10 More days until my trip to Europe! I'm totally stoked! I still have a few thing I'd like to get before I go. Mostly things like travel size shampoo, etc.
I've booked a hotel for the night before my flight (I fly out of San Jose) It comes with 2 weeks of parking which is great. I'll be flying from San Jose to Chicago, from Chicago to Warsaw, Poland, from Poland to Riga, Latvia. So it should be a lot of traveling. :D

I'm looking forward to the summer here, although, I'll miss my new foreign friends when they leave in March.

That's probably one of the things I love the most about these kinds of jobs; you get to meet some great people!

Ok, time for me to move onto something new.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying their new year.

working...

2009-01-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

hello to all!

Sorry I haven't written in a while. It's been an interesting week. Slow, busy, slow, busy....etc.

I recently drove to San Diego with some friends from work. It was a 1 day trip. But it was nice to see home again. It is Martin Luther king Jr. holiday this weekend so we're pretty busy. I bought a few things for my room. A mirror, some paint, a calendar, extra padding for my bed..etc. I'm trying to make it a little more homey. I have Tuesday and wednesday off, so I'll probably try to get the room painted then.

A little more than two weeks until I catch my flight to Europe... :D

Ok, well its back to work...wish me luck.

Can things get worse?

2009-01-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

So I bought my $1000 plane ticket to Lithuania the other night, after scrimping and saving every penny that I have. Then 2 days later, my cars dies. lol Can this really be happening to me? So I'm going to have a guy friend of mine pick up a new, stronger battery when he goes to town tomorrow. If this doesn't work for the car, then it's got to be the alternator. Which I really can't afford to get fixed. So my car will have to sit for a couple of months until I can pay to have it looked at. Yay! lol. I'm trying to take everything in stride. Things have come to a painfully slow crawl here at the lodge. Now that the holidays are over, business should be slow. This means less hours, and less tips. Can a person really live off of a $200 paycheck? Is that possible?... Well I guess it is if you don't go spending it all on plane tickets, etc... :D
If anyone would like to contribute to the "Connie's car has bit the dust" fund, let me know. I am now accepting donations. He he he heee....

I'm looking forward to the summer here though. From what I'm told, It's super busy. Lots of overtime and mucho denaro!!! lol (hmmm... did I spell that right)? Oh well...

Today was my only day off this week (I'm not complaining, I need the work). I basically sat around all day online, searching for mechanics and other options for my car.
Tomorrow its back to work again.

If anything else exciting happens, like the forest catches on fire or something, i'll keep you all posted. As always, thanks for checking in.

It's been a while

2009-01-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

So I know it's been a while, but I've been busy. Work was pretty crazy through New Years and this weekend. Now things have slowed down a lot!! I have mixed feelings about this. I love that I am not running around like a crazy person anymore, but I also want the work, so I'm torn between the two. I tried to start my car today and it wouldn't start. I had some of the guys helping me jump start it. but now everyone is saying that it's not my battery but my alternator. So I am trying to figure out how to safely get down the mountain and get to a mechanic so they can diagnose the problem... Hmmm... We'll see.
I finally bought my plane ticket to Lithuania. I'll be there for 2 weeks in February. Yay!
I hope everyone is well...
Until next time...

'09

2008-12-31T21:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! Be responsible and safe! Yay for 2009!!!

Back in the snow

2008-12-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well the Power is back on and I am back at work. Things should be prett busy this week. I am scheduled to work 5 double shifts this week. But I'm not complaining. I need the money. lol. Its been sunny the last few days up here. I can tell because the roads are all mushy and everything freezes into ice during the night. It makes it impossible to walk up the icy path from my room to the bathrooms at night when it's all frozen over. I just slide around a lot. lol. I hope everyone has a great New Years. Be safe!!!

Stranded in the Snow

2008-12-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

I woke up on Christmas morning to a major snow storm that had started that night. It was pretty intense. So I was scheduled to work all day Christmas Day. Things were going fine, busy, but fine. When, during breakfast, the power went out. The Lodge's emergency generator kicked on and business resumed as usual while we waited for the power to return. By the end of lunch, it became apparent that the power would not be returning anytime soon. Because of the storm, two trees had fallen in the road. It was also snowing so much that the rangers wouldn't let anyone down the mountain, even after the trees were cleared. So with the electricity out the guests rooms and employee cabins have no power or heat. We had all the guests stranded at the hotel with cold dark rooms to go to. So needless to say, we were super busy at the lodge trying to accommodate everyone and get everyone some dinner. The employees (myself included) slept together in sleeping bags on the bottom floor of the lodge (near the back delivery dock). When I awoke a few hours later to start the morning shift, the power was still out. The roads were clear enough to drive on, so most of the guests left after breakfast. The Managers made the decision to evacuate the hotel while the roads were still safe enough to drive on. So last night all the employees were put up in the Comfort Inn at the bottom of the mountain. Today the power is still out and we are staying another night. So that's what's new here. For the full story and more details, you can e-mail me. lol. I'm meeting everyone at the local Pizza Place in a few minutes for dinner, so I'll update you all again later. Until then...

mail me something

2008-12-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

My new address:
64740 Wuksachi Way
Unit 601
Sequoia Nat'l Park, CA 93262

PLEASE Mail me something!!!!

working through the holidays

2008-12-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

Its been steadily busy here. I worked a grueling Breakfast/lunch shift yesterday and then later volunteered to work the "Dish Pit" (dishes station) after I found out they had forgot to schedule someone and were having trouble finding anyone to fill in. I knew it would be hard, but I wanted the overtime and it put me in good standing with the kitchen staff and management. It was hard and very tiring. Today I am having trouble moving around and my body aches. I have tomorrow (Christmas Eve) off. I thought about driving to Visalia to maybe treat myself to a massage or get some goodies to celebrate Christmas, but I realized that I wont be receiving my next paycheck for another week or so. And I just don't have the money for gas or anything else. So I guess I'll crash in my room or watch tv in the Rec room for Christmas Eve. : (
Ok, well my lunch break is over, so it's back to work! lol Until next time...

Alone at Christmas

2008-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Well, Hello again to all my loyal readers! Today, the 3rd big storm of the season has come to Sequoia. It started snowing heavily this afternoon and we expect another 3-5 feet this week! lol Brrrr! Now that Christmas is getting near, I'm beginning to feel a little lonely being away from the ones I love. But I have some good friends here who are also away from home, so we will probably celebrate Christmas together. The Lodge is starting to get crowded and busy. Which is good for business. The job is still going well. Things should slow down a lot after New Years. I'm hoping to drive home with some of my new friends for a few days in January. Then, If I have the money, I hope to Fly to Lithuania sometime in February. :D Other than that, there really isn't anything interesting going on here. After work, things get kind of boring. There's not a lot to do here. lol I hope everyone is having fun preparing for the holidays! Remember... don't stress, enjoy your loved ones while they're near, and have fun. Life is what you make it! ;D Until next time...

Going with the Flow

2008-12-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

Things are starting to fall into place now. I finally moved into my employee cabin. I love my roommate, she is from Brazil. I also met and made friends with a girl from Argentina, a girl from Malaysia, and a couple from Peru. Today we all crammed into my ice covered car and drove down to the nearest Walmart (2 hours away). lol I started training on Monday and started taking tables that same night. The job is pretty easy. Serving is pretty much the same wherever you go, its just a matter of adjusting to the new environment. I love the people I work with. The kitchen staff is awesome! We have tons of fun! This weekend should be pretty busy as well as Christmas and New Years. I believe the hotel is booked for those weeks, so we will be working hard. Hopefully I can make good tips, because I don't get my first paycheck for another two weeks. So having that tip money would help out. My new friends and I are already planning a trip down to SD. I told them we could stay with my parents (so start cleaning Mom) and I can show them the beach, the Walk of Fame(LA), and possibly Universal S. They all have to return to their countries at the end of February so I want them to experience more of CA than just the snowy mountains. Its still freezing here but it hasn't snowed in a few days so that's good. I was able to dig my car out... Actually I got a few of the bellmen to do it for me. :D They got it done in like 15 min. It would have taken me hours! lol
This morning before we went into town, everyone had to attend this "love your customers" class. It was long and sometimes boring. But I did learn some interesting facts about the company I'm working for, so that was cool. Alright, it's getting late and I need to work tomorrow. Until next time...
Iki (bye in Lithuanian)

Alive in Sequoia

2008-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Well I made safely to Sequoia. It started snowing last night and hasn't stopped. I can no longer see my car. It just looks like a giant pile of snow. lol. Some of you may know already that the cabin I'm supposed to move into isn't ready for me yet. So I am staying in one of the cabin rooms at the lodge. Its nice because the cabins us employees stay in aren't exactly the Ritz! :D The bathrooms/showers are in a separate cabin about 200 yrds away from my room. Which is a long way to go when there's 5 feet of snow on the ground! They're small rooms with 2 mattresses on the floor and a small heating unit. It's cheap carpeting that looks like it was just thrown down instead of actually being installed. And the walls in my room are a very ugly dark blue. But who's complaining...? lol. The Lodge itself is nice. It has an old fashioned wood burning stove in the Lobby as well as a small gift shop. Also there is a small restaurant and lounge attached (where I'll be working). On the lower floor of the Lodge is a small shop that has snow gear and ski equipment and serves as a makeshift market. You can purchase snacks and drinks there as well as some other necessities. There are three cabins where the guests stay located about 400 yrds away from the main Lodge (where I am staying tempararilly until my room is available).

Employee housing is on the opposite side of the lodge. The staff during the winter here is very small. I believe there is only 30 employees or so. Which is nice, because its easier to make friends that way. So far everyone I've met has been real nice and friendly. However there's not a whole lot to do up here especially when it's snowing as hard as it is. I don't get any kind of service on my cell phone up here. And If I want to use the internet, I need to take my computer to the main lodge. That Is why I decided to start blogging. So everyone can check in on me and see whats new, without me having to e-mail 50 different people. I will be getting a PO Box as soon as I can dig my car out of the snow to get there. I'll let ya'll know what my address is as soon as I get one. I will try to update my log every other day or so.

Until next time, Happy holidays!