It's a small world after all

I ran into my new landlord at my new job last night. The one guy I know in Providence, and he shows up at my restaurant. Turns out he's a regular there. Cool, huh?

Speaking of the new job, things are looking up. My first day, Sunday, was dreadfully slow, and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make any money there. I'm still not sure exactly what my earning potential will be there (I'm training, and therefore not eligible for tips), but I really like the place. Great food, great cocktails, and best of all, they treat me like an adult. I get family meal, a shift drink, the chef says "try this" when he's experimenting, the bartenders say "try this" when they're experimenting, it's small enough to be intimate so I'm never running around like a chicken with my head cut off, there are no kids/teenagers, and the menu changes every night. In short, fine dining.

In other news, we begin the moving process this weekend. Pray for us.

Back to fine dining

I found a new restaurant gig in Providence, not far from our new apartment. It's a highly rated gastropub, small, intimate, with a constantly changing fresh local menu and craft cocktails. It's almost exactly the kind of place I would have, were I to have my own place.

I started there last night--and while I love the place, it was a very slow night. I fear for my money-making potential there. I'm worried about money in general these days; last night I dreamed that I was hired for another administrative/corporate job, started, and was promptly fired. I realllllly don't want to go back on that particular firing line, but neither do I want to be making no money. (And my darling husband, whom I love more than life itself, insists on leaving all the lights on and waiting until the last possible second to buy gas--you know, the kind of behavior that costs money.)

Once again, I seem to only be interested in low-paying gigs.

The moving process continues

Sorry for lack of posting, I've been, you know, getting ready to move. We've signed a lease on the new place, and will begin moving in earnest in two weeks. I've been getting the house ready for the movers/packers, and working as much as possible.

But I haven't been earning nearly enough--I think once we move to Providence, I'll need to get a job at a fine dining restaurant, where I can make more money. We're also considering getting rid of one car--Providence has a decent enough public transportation system, and ridiculously high car insurance/property tax rates. With the car payment, gas, insurance, and new property tax rates, we're spending $600 a month on the Camry (more on the Prius, since its payment is higher) and that doesn't include maintenance. While I appreciate convenience, a $60 bus pass costs a lot less than $600.

Otherwise, nothing to report. Trying to wrap up gardening for the season; packing; working; getting excited about my upcoming trip to Virginia to see friends and go to a high school reunion thing.

Speaking of which, the dress code for the reunion thing is "party casual, no jeans." What the hell do I wear?

Well, that was fast

Yesterday, DH and I went and looked at an apartment together.

We were offered it last night.

So it appears we'll be moving to a new city in short order, to a really kick-ass apartment.

Yes, it is an apartment. I had hoped for a house. But it's a great apartment (and half a house). 9 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths (one with rain shower and separate full-size Victorian clawfoot tub), with a built-in wet bar in the dining room. There's a patio backyard, which is a bummer for me, because it means all my future gardening will be of the container variety--but there is a pear tree and grapevine back there, so at least there's free fruit. It's fully enclosed and a little overgrown, but trimmed back, there should be enough sunlight for the containers. It's the upper half of an old house, so there are hardwood floors throughout, twisty stairways, an additional deck off the front, gabled roof in the upper floor, and big kitchen. Plus storage in the basement and washer/dryer. The closet space leaves something to be desired, but there is a cedar closet.

We'll lose the fireplace and the backyard, but a year's worth of snow shoveling/lawn maintenance has apparently convinced my husband that he will be an apartment dweller for the rest of his life.

Once we get the moving details/dates situated, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

Now, on to getting rid of the furniture we won't need there (fireplace equipment, possibly china cabinet, one dresser, oh, and the outdoor stuff) and accumulating the new stuff we'll need (more bookcases, probably more things to sit on). If anyone's in the market for anything, let me know.

Good moving news

We're going to look at a couple of apartments in Providence today. I spoke to the movers yesterday (my husband's company is providing movers, free of charge), and they can pack/load/unload everything, and we'll get it all the next day. Hopefully this will be a MUCH easier moving process than last year's, in which we had two and a half weeks to pack everything/move cross-country. I don't ever want to have to do that again. *shudder*

But if we don't have to pack this time around, that means I can spend my time looking at apartments/working instead of worrying about moving logistics, which is fine with me. Still waiting tables, my feet still hurt. Last week was abysmally slow, but last night was jumpin', so I'm hoping this upcoming week's tips will make up for last week's lack of them.

Side rant: you DO know to tip 20%, right? That's 20%. Not 10%. Or even 15%. It's 20%. If you can't afford to tip 20%, you can't afford to eat out.

Also, for whatever reason, I've been getting a lot of teenagers in my restaurant, and NONE OF THEM KNOW HOW TO TIP. Seriously, I'll get maybe 4 or 5 bucks on an $80 tab, all of which is cheese pizzas and soda.

Parents, PLEASE TEACH YOUR KIDS HOW TO TIP. I do not work for $2.83 an hour to provide constant Sprite refills to giggly teenagers, only to get stiffed on the tip.

Thank you.

Anyway, there's not much else to report. My husband will be working pretty much constant overtime between now and Christmas. I was planning a visit home in October for a high school reunion thing, but it looks like I'll be going solo, since he won't be able to get away. I'm working as much as I can, trying desperately to get at least one credit card paid off before my severance runs out. The garden is full of tomatoes, I'm hip-deep in tomatoes, I love tomatoes but damn.

Also, I know what day it is. I'm not talking about that. I'm going off-grid, like I do every year on this date, so I can (hopefully) avoid sobbing like a child. I hope you can, too.

The house is quiet again

Everyone left this morning.

By "everyone," I mean my stepson, who's been visiting us for the last month, as well as my BFF and her kids who were here this weekend. We've had a steady stream of visitors this month, to take advantage of stepson's presence on the East Coast, and while it was great seeing everyone, I'm looking forward to a) quiet, b) free bathrooms, c) being able to watch R-rated movies again, and d) no longer having to keep a steady supply of Cheerios, hot dogs, and peanut butter in the house.

Although right now, the house looks like the laundry-and-dirty-dishes fairy exploded, so I have that to deal with.

Did you know ice cream cakes now cost $30?