Living in the eternal present

It's been a long week.

It started with my cat being sick. He didn't eat anything for two days. I took him to the vet and got bloodwork done (inconclusive) and some appetite stimulants. I suspect he had a giant hairball clogging up the works. After a couple more days of moping around the house and picking at his wet cat food (which I don't normally give him), he finally pooped and is now finally starting to seem like his old self.   There were a couple of days of intense worrying on my part.

Then, there were the usual work shenanigans. Doubles four days in a row. My day job restaurant is now a hot ticket, thanks to a recent review, so lunches have been getting busier and busier. We were short a server at my night job, so the entire week there was busy and understaffed. The last two nights were nothing short of frantic; I had so many tables last night that at one point I very nearly lost control of everything. I got double-sat, on top of an already full section, which meant one of those tables didn't see me for at least fifteen minutes. I had to ask my manager to greet them and get them a cocktail. In the end, everyone got what they needed (eventually); I bought desserts for all the tables with the longest waits and so I think everyone left happy.

But goddamn, that was poorly organized. Friday night was slightly better because I was consumed with a party in the private dining room; a lot of Eurotrash with money to burn, they blew through $250 worth of cocktails (complicated ones, that I had to make) before they ever sat down. I made a lot of money off them. Last night was worse because I had a bunch of tables, not just one big one, and the reservations weren't spread out the way they should have been.

It sucked. It sucked ass. But I got through, somehow, and now I have two whole days off to rest.

The hard part about all this working is that I'm living in this sort of eternal present. Waiting tables is like that--your brain is filled with the tasks at hand, so it's hard to get outside of that and think about other things (bills, the future, your sick cat, etc.). When you're doing that all the time--well, I can't think beyond the next table, and then getting home and going to bed. The days all wash together. That's not necessarily a bad thing--time moves quickly when you're mentally and physically consumed--but it does mean there's not much quality time with my hubs. He only gets to see me for a few minutes at the end of the day, when I'm exhausted and cranky more often than not.

But hey, the bills are getting paid. I got myself a new pair of tennis shoes, so my feet can be cushy and supported even when I'm not working. I discovered a new cocktail, and also discovered that cold frozen golf balls make an excellent foot massager. My stepson is visiting for the weekend, and in a month we'll leave for our National Parks of the West road trip. When I do get a chance to think outside of what's in front of me, I think about that--about hitting the open road for ten days, and getting back to a part of the country that I love. Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota--fantastic scenery, wide-open prairie highways, and ten days of nothing to do but drive.

When it rains, it pours

After weeks and weeks of being half-employed, I suddenly found myself with three full-time job offers.

I'm finally (almost) up to full-time status at the place I really wanted to work. I've also started working days at a new bar down the street. It's just two days a week right now (with nights dedicated to my current job), but that will open up into more days as outdoor/upstairs seating opens up.

Then, just as I got two jobs squared away, with what looked like some actual money coming in finally, two things happened.

One: I got offered a management position at yet a third restaurant.

Two: Hubs did not get the job he interviewed for here.

Long story short, I didn't take the management job. I couldn't in good conscience quit two perfectly good jobs to start a third (making less money) if there's any possibility I'd have to move somewhere any time soon. And let's be honest; since his job search is renewed, and nationwide at that, there is a real possibility we'd have to move somewhere sometime soon. Maybe not a big possibility, but still, it's higher than zero.

The good news is that it looks like he may be picking up a freelance writing gig, and I'm working two jobs. So fingers crossed, we won't have to dip into savings to live or pay rent anymore.

And who knows; maybe we'll live here for years and years. Maybe we'll move to Florida next month. Maybe North Korea will nuke us and we'll start that family compound in the mountains posthaste. I've given up trying to predict anything.

Speaking of mountains, I'm hoping to arrange a mini-vacation to Alaska in June. My sister and her husband will be there, and it would be awesome to join them for a few days and see the sights. Alaska is the only state I haven't been to.

The job I really wanted

First, the job news. I am delighted to announce that I've been hired full-time at the restaurant where I really wanted to work. Award-winning Northern Italian cuisine, with an amazing wine list. I'm finally officially back in the world of fine dining.

Pros: I can get wine off the list at cost, as well as food (Wagyu steak, anyone?). They're closed Sundays and Mondays, which means no brunch ever. It's a small place, with a small staff, and I think I'm going to fit in very well. Also, the chef is super nice. No yelling there, ever. Cons: They're closed Sundays and Mondays, so that's two fewer shifts per week, which means less money than I was making before. It's a rigorous training program, so it may be a few weeks before I start making actual money. It's in a northern suburb, so interstate travel is required. (Still, only 20-25 minutes, nowhere near the killer commute from before.)

I quit the coffee shop job; I kept having flashbacks to working at Burger King in high school. I also had a good interview with a nearby bar. I'm waiting to hear back from them, maybe that could be a part-time second job when I'm not at the other place.

Speaking of high school, my twentieth high school reunion has been announced. I'll save the psychological impacts of that for another post. Suffice it to say they are profound. Also, what do I wear??

The apartment is officially complete. We've set up a futon in the office so that room can double as a guest room. I've hung all the pictures and packed away all the heavy winter clothes.

No job news for DH yet. He's been more morose than usual lately, even though we got some good news about his mom. (She's doing much better.) I'm worried about his mental state.

But his son is coming to visit in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping the weather is nice enough so that we can get to the nearby national parks.

So, for now, a lot of working and waiting for the chance to earn real money.

Uncertain and swirly

I know it's been a while since I've updated, but things have been in a big uncertain swirl lately. Looks like life will be uncertain and swirly for a while, too, which is driving me bonkers.

Husband is home, his mom is doing very well under the circumstances, and those are both good things. He's ramping up the job search, leaning on all his former co-workers in the area for connections, and we're starting to see little glimmers of hope. Many of those glimmers are in other areas--southern California, Chicago--which may mean yet another move at some point in the relatively near future. The thought of moving again makes me want to stab myself in the eye, but at this point any job is better than no job. So I'm trying to file that under "Things I will worry about later."

I've been offered a job at the restaurant where I really wanted to work. Hooray! They brought husband and me in for dinner, and the food was amazing. The bad news is that it won't start until the end of the month, and even then there'll be a long training period. So it'll be a while before I start making actual money.

That's the bad news: money. It's getting tight. This coffee-shop-job nonsense is dreadful. It pays almost nothing and I hate it with a white-hot fury. I'm considering temping again, just to get out of it (and make some more money).

I had an offer from my old job, to come back and make some money with them for a bit. I really, really wanted to go back, too. I miss everyone there, and I miss feeling like I'm good at something. Like I'm useful and productive. Also, we need the money. Husband wanted me here, though. And with his mom's situation being so, you know, uncertain, I understand that. We may have to fly out of here in the middle of the night at any time.

But I'm tired of feeling buffeted by circumstance. I miss being the breadwinner, I miss my friends, I miss being able to make decisions without having to factor in a bunch of unknowns.

Not what I signed up for

I'm starting to feel like my husband: a lot of good interviews, no actual full-time employment.

Except that I am, technically, employed full-time: but not at the job I want. This wine bar gig is not what I thought it was. I thought I'd be working at a wine bar/bistro, with coffee and tea and such. Instead, it turns out I'm working at a Starbucks, with wine. There's very little waiting on tables, and almost no discussion of wine or food. Mostly, I spend my days at a cash register, calling out for people to come pick up their latte. NOT what I want to be doing, and very definitely nowhere near the amount of money I was making before.

So, back to the drawing board, I guess. I'll stick with it until I can find something better, of course, but it's sucking my will to live. I had a great interview/try-out night of working on Friday at a place I'd LOVE to work, but story of my life: they don't have anything full-time available at the moment. They might be able to wrangle two nights a week to start, which is better than nothing, I suppose. But still. Why is it so difficult to find a full-time job at a decent place out here? Is there really that little turnover?

One of the baristas I work with at the wine bar knows people around town, and says he might be able to hook me up with something. He named two restaurants near the top of my list of places I want to work, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm also sending my resume back out. If this keeps up, I may have to move back to Boston just to work.

The good news is that mom-in-law is doing much better, now that she's at home. She may in fact have several weeks (or possibly even months) left, instead of the 2-4 weeks the doctors originally gave her. Hubs is coming back later this week.

Terrible news, and a job offer

The view of Mt. Rainier from my apartment building

Across the bay; downtown is immediately to the right

Sorry for the radio silence the last couple of days, a lot of things have happened.

First, my mother-in-law is critically ill. My husband flew out there Saturday morning to spend what time she has left with her. I stayed behind to work (and because I can't leave the cats alone for an indefinite period of time), but I'll be joining him as soon as he feels the end is nigh. My stepson is flying out this weekend.

So, there's that. She's an awesome lady, truly like a second mother to me. I'm sad, I'm worried, I'm stressed about all these expensive last-minute plane fares, and I'm in a strange city alone.

Fortunately, I have two jobs now. One is as a back-up server at one of the Northwest's top restaurants--but that's strictly on-call work, maybe two or three nights a month right now. The other is full-time, at a cute little wine bar in Fremont. I started there yesterday, and it seems like it will be a lot of fun. But I haven't worked in basically seven weeks, so now my feet and my back have to re-learn how to function. I feel worn out already. (It doesn't help that we found out about my mom-in-law, and I got the job offer, on the same day. Talk about a mixed bag.)

With DH gone, there probably won't be too much cooking going on here. I'm going to eat all the perishable stuff first, in case I have to fly out in the middle of the night on short notice, and work on finding a reliable catsitter.

On an unrelated note, we had a superb day on Friday. Sixty degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. You could see all the mountains around the city that are normally obscured by cloud cover. See pictures, above. I could get used to this sixty degrees in February thing.

Job developments

Instead of having one full-time job and one on-call-sometimes job, now it seems I have two on-call-sometimes jobs and one full-time job offer. The wine bar called me and said they didn't want me to work on call for the other restaurant, that maybe I should just work on-call for them as well. Which sounds to me an awful lot like, "I'm offended you want to work for someone else, even a little bit, so you can't work here too." That was two days ago and I haven't heard a peep since.

However, ANOTHER wine bar called me yesterday and offered me a real live full-time job. Which I'm taking. Hubs is leaving for Missouri tomorrow, to spend what time remains with his mom, and I'll be here all alone in a new city with no friends--so I'll need to work. A lot. Also, we need the money. We're also flying out my stepson for a long weekend, so he can spend some last time with his grandmother. Then I'll need to fly out, last-minute, when the time comes, and last-minute airfares aren't cheap.

So, fingers crossed this new job offer comes through, and I can start working/earning posthaste.

I have a job! Sort of

More importantly, however, we've just received word that my mother-in-law is dying. The latest round of chemo didn't work, and she's been given two to four weeks to live. My husband will be flying out there soon, as will his son; I'll stay here for a bit longer, I guess, and fly out toward the end.

One of my two jobs is the one I want: working at the Pacific Northwest's top restaurant. But I'm only working there as a back-up server, for when one of the full-time servers is sick or on vacation, so it's not regular work. The other is at a wine bar; it's a cute little funky place, but neither job is what I would call a real money-making opportunity. Both are also very different from my last job, which was high-volume, fast-paced, and stressful (but fun and lucrative). The wine bar is extremely laid-back, and the other place is exceptionally formal dining at a very sedate pace--there's one seating a night, everyone gets the same tasting menu with wine pairings, there's no frantic rushing about for anything.

Still, some money is better than none, so I'll work while I can until circumstances send me to Missouri. I also can't leave the cats here by themselves for an unknown period of time.

Pray for my husband and my in-laws. This will be a hard thing to deal with, and I fear our tentative hold on Seattle is going to be tested.

Mmm, rabbit

News flash: work continues to be tiring.

Monday I was so exhausted from a full week of work (and a record-breaking week of work: it was the restaurant's highest-grossing week ever that wasn't either New Year's or Valentine's Day) that literally all I could do was lay on the sofa and watch TV. I did manage to drink my really good wine. It was extremely delicious.

I also got Saturday night off this weekend. I made rabbit with mustard sauce and opened a cheaper but still tasty bottle of wine. Today I'm going to cook some more goodies. I'm slowly but surely using up the random weird stuff in the pantry, which makes me feel good.

Hubs has a Skype interview today with the company in Silicon Valley; wish him luck!

It's hot

Life continues apace. It's boiling hot and we don't have air conditioning. Which doesn't bother me so much, as I'm famously in love with heat, and also because I spend most of my days either in an air-conditioned car or an air-conditioned restaurant, but it does bother my hubby immensely. I don't like watching him turn white and clammy by the end of each day, and the physical misery isn't helping his mental misery at the moment.

Still unemployed, and another game studio in Austin is laying off a bunch of people. More people in the game industry unemployment line. It's getting to the point where I'm considering some sort of big radical change. I'd love to be able to say, "Fuck it," and just move someplace new and start all over, but DH will still be unemployed. Even just moving closer to my work, in Boston, would probably make him ineligible for Rhode Island unemployment any more. If this is going to be an extended bout of unemployment, I'd rather ride it out in a place I actually want to live, but I'd hate to move somewhere, have him get a job offer, and move all over again. More importantly, we're staying afloat right now only because I'm making so much, combined with his unemployment checks. Remove any of that, and the whole house of cards comes crashing down. And any attempts on my part to suggest that he get another sort of job in the meantime, any job, usually just earn me a sour look.

So he's hot and miserable, and I'm hot (and usually cranky). In better news, my container-garden cherry tomatoes are taking off, we've only spent $30 on food this month, and I'm all caught up on "Breaking Bad."

Bankruptcy

That's all, folks. DH's former company has officially declared bankruptcy.

One hopes this means that at some point, we'll be paid his missing back salary and vacation time. But still, it's a blow, and not least because the Providence newspaper published the names and address of all the creditors listed in the bankruptcy filing, which meant A NEWS VAN SHOWED UP AT MY HOUSE LOOKING FOR A COMMENT.


Oh, I have a comment. The comment is, "Fuck you."

I'm pretty sure that shit is illegal. If not, it should be.

Hubs is devastated, as you can imagine; we were hoping there might be some way to turn this all around. I think this means we're definitely moving; even if he gets another job in Boston, the nearest alternative, we'll move to Boston, just to get out of this godforsaken state.

I'm still working 60 hours a week, on my feet. It's hard work, and it's starting to wear on me. The commute is getting worse; it's taking an hour and a half each way sometimes, instead of an hour, because of traffic and construction. Even in the middle of the night, there's traffic, because they're doing construction on the highways and forcing six lanes of traffic into one. It's seriously making me want to drink in my car.

In better news, I had my required employee tasting the other night. We got to dress up and go to my restaurant and have the eight-course tasting menu, with cheese, and wine at cost, just like regular people. The food was amazing, as you might imagine; the wine was amazing; and it was very nice to be there and not be busting my ass. It's a completely different experience from the other side of the table, which is exactly why they want you to do it. From there, it's almost like ninja service; things magically appear and are magically whisked away. I was surprised by how quiet and unobtrusive everything was.

If only the rest of my life could be quiet and unobtrusive right now.

Mo' money mo' money

After the Tax Levy Debacle Part II, I spent the rest of the week under a dark cloud of financial dread.

Then I got my paycheck, and for once I was very pleasantly surprised.

So maybe we won't starve/have to declare bankruptcy after all.

Between my increased earnings, and hubby's unemployment (he qualified for the maximum; still unsure when that will kick in), and putting the student loans into forbearance, we should be okay. Fingers crossed no one gets hit by a bus, since we don't have any health insurance.

Work's going really well. Really, really well. I'm kicking ass and taking names, and they've noticed. The chef/owner told me he didn't care where my husband got a job, I wasn't leaving. They've also put me on for six nights a week until further notice. They've been really great through all of this, and I have to say I really enjoy what I'm doing there.

I hope we don't have to move and start over again somewhere else; but I don't have much say in that right now.

The best I can do is to get ready for any possible move (Step 1: Yard sale. Step 2: Get rid of all unnecessary crap. Step 3: Collect boxes.) and hope it's to a place where I can get a comparable job. So far DH has leads in Montreal, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, southern California, and Eugene, Oregon. Of that list, I'm gunning for either Seattle or San Fran. I could make a retarded amount of money in either Seattle or San Fran.

Send money and beer

Well, that's it, folks. At 4:08 pm yesterday, hubby's entire company was laid off. He's now officially unemployed.

The videogame industry is spectacularly volatile, but even so, there were very few indications that the company was that unstable. Based on what hubby has told me, I place all the blame squarely at the feet of the Rhode Island government. I have no doubt that the current governor, for whatever reason, essentially forced the company to close; and he's now forcing everyone who voted for the deal in the first place to resign. It makes no sense--the only way the taxpayers would be on the hook for the loan guarantees is if the company failed, and he forced it to fail, despite the fact that is in no one's financial interest. Now he's got 300 more people collecting unemployment and food stamps, in a state that already has 11% unemployment.

So, you know what? Fuck you, Rhode Island. I have never been in a state that was so hostile to outsiders. Oh, the people of Providence have been lovely. Really nice. But the government is breathtakingly incompetent, inefficient, hostile to outsiders, and now it looks like childish, on top of that. Even if hubs does get another job in the area, he really wants to move back across the border, into Massachusetts, just to avoid paying RI another cent in taxes. I can't say I blame him.

He's filing for unemployment as we speak, so between that and my increased earnings, we may just be able to squeak by--his ex has graciously agreed not to cash her child support checks from us for the time being. I'm having a huge yard sale next weekend, and at some point, hubs' defunct company will have to pay us his missing paycheck plus time worked. All that money can be set aside for future bill paying/possible moving expenses. I'll look into getting the student loans into forbearance, too. And I hate to say it, but we've got over $20,000 in credit we can tap if things get desperate.

The good news is that the videogame industry is rallying to find all everyone a job. So hopefully hubs will have a new, better, better-paying position posthaste.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that a) we don't have to move cross-country in two weeks again, b) that if we do, it's to a cool city where I can work in an amazing restaurant, c) that we don't have to go further into debt than we already are, d) that since we are officially without health insurance now, that no one gets sick or gets hit by a bus.

In the meantime, send money and beer.

And consider this blog The Unemployment Chronicles.

Oh, the fun continues

Financial crisis update #1: as of tomorrow night, we no longer have health insurance. They're cutting it off completely. No COBRA, no carryover, just gone.

So obviously we still haven't gotten our missing paycheck, but the company also has not declared everyone on unpaid furlough. At least if hubby were on furlough, we could collect unemployment and maybe get some food stamps. Right now, we don't even have that meager comfort.

I'm going to start collecting things for a yard sale, and will also start posting stuff for sale on craigslist. If anyone needs anything (furniture, yard stuff, household stuff), let me know.

If it's not one thing, it's another

It's been a financially and emotionally trying week.

It's a long story, and I can't get into the details yet, but my husband's company couldn't make payroll last week. Hubby remains optimistic that this is a problem of cash flow, which will be resolved shortly; things look slightly better today than they did over various points in the weekend, but I'm still somewhere between "really nervous" and "freaking out."

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that this situation resolves itself, that we can replenish everything we had to take out of the emergency fund to pay bills (which was everything), that we continue to get paychecks on a regular basis and that we don't have to sell everything we own and move again, to a new city/new jobs. Please God don't let us have to move again.

At least I had a rewarding week at work. I've been told by various managers that my sales are spectacular, that I'm doing a fantastic job. I've also been told that due to various people leaving, I'll be both working a lot more and taking home a lot more money. If we'll be earning two paychecks in the near future, that's great news, we'll be able to sock away all that extra money in the emergency fund to shore it up against future cash flow problems. If we're going to have to try to live off my paycheck...well, some bills are not going to get paid. There isn't any way around that. I hope it doesn't come to that.

In the meantime, I'm going to be making doctors' appointments for both of us, to get us caught up on basic check-ups in case something happens with the health insurance, and start making a list of everything we could sell to bring in some quick cash. Memorial Day yard sale, anyone?

First dinner party in the new apartment

I had Saturday night off for the first time in months, so I decided to celebrate by throwing a long-overdue housewarming dinner party. It was a lot of fun; we had good food, good wine, and good conversation. I got a crazy bottle of wine from work for everyone to share. Then I had to work a double the next day, and I was very tired and hungover, but it was still worth it.

The new job is hard, and tiring, but also worth it. Once I get fully up to speed, it's going to be a lot of fun (although a lot of effort to get from here to fully up to speed). The hours are much longer, and because of the commute, I don't get home until usually around 1 AM. As of next Friday, I won't be temping at the law office anymore; it's too hard to get home at 1:30 in the morning and then be somewhere by 9 AM the same morning.

Otherwise, there's not much to report. I work all the time, DH works all the time, I'm not pregnant, I read a lot of wine books, the end. I'm listening to books on tape because of the commute, so if anyone has any to recommend, please let me know.

Also, my new nephew is going to be born any day now!

86 me!

"86" is restaurant slang for "no more." If we run out of steak, the call goes out: "86 steak!" Or "86 Anchor Steam!" Or "86 clams, sub mussels!" Or whatever.

So, since Saturday night was my last night at the Providence restaurant, 86 me!

It was a long day. I worked a double, but ended up getting out early, since we were slow. (Apparently people don't want to eat a nice meal out on St. Patrick's Day--they just want to go get drunk on green beer. Thankfully, I managed to avoid all the green beer/drunk people shenanigans.) My hubby met me at the bar and we had a drink and a meal out, just like regular people.

It was a nice way to say goodbye. I've really enjoyed working at that particular restaurant, and I'll miss the people and the chef. I'll be back in to eat and/or drink there on a fairly regular basis; I can only hope my new job will prove to be as rewarding.

I start full-time there this week. Somehow, I managed to get Saturday night off this week; a Saturday night off seems like such an impossible luxury at this point that I still can't quite wrap my brain around it. It'll be my first Saturday night off in six months. It might very well be another six months before I see another one. So I'm taking advantage of it, by throwing our first dinner party. And since it's our first shot at entertaining, I guess it's our housewarming, too. Just in time to work a double on Sunday!

Spring has sprung, I think. I put all the really heavy winter stuff away yesterday (yesterday being my first full day off in three weeks; I did laundry for six hours straight)--the hats, gloves, scarves, long johns, snow boots, etc. I washed and put away the heavy winter coats, and got out the spring jackets and some of the summer clothes. Obviously it'll be a while before we can transition fully from sweaters to shorts, but it made me happy to start the process. It'll be over 60 degrees every day this week. My spinach outside is sprouting!

So, wish me luck as I start the new job officially this week. I'm already intimidated.

Everything I know is wrong

The training program at the new restaurant is INTENSE. This place is like the Harvard of restaurants--hard to get into, even harder to excel, and you have to be both super-smart and super-hardworking to make it through. So, challenging. Good thing I'm smarter than the average bear, but my goodness, it's a lot of information to absorb at once.

I'll have to learn everything about the (long and complicated) menu, and re-learn everything I thought I knew about restaurant service. Apparently I've never done anything correctly--never placed silverware correctly, never poured wine correctly, never cleared a table correctly. I was so flustered and self-conscious on my second night of training that I dropped something on a table and broke a customer's water glass. I guess everything I know about breaking glasses is wrong, too.

On top of that, once I learn enough to be able to pour water, then I'll have to learn everything about all the wines on the (long and complicated) wine list in order to make it up to full server status. The good news about that is that I can purchase all the wines on the wine list at cost. Which means I can drink my way through the wine list, a bottle at a time, and call it a tax-deductible business expense.

But I'll miss the casual, fun atmosphere of my current job. I love my fellow employees, the chef, the menu, the drinks (the fact that I can pour water without worrying about whether I'm doing it correctly). I just can't make enough money there. Even at full volume, there's only so much you can pack into a place with 12 tables. And we're not at full volume every night. That's why I'm making the switch to the new restaurant--to make more money, but also to take this whole restaurant thing to the next level, working at a top place.

And let's just pause and appreciate the fact that seven months ago, I hadn't waited tables for almost six years and was just starting out again, working in a glorified pizza parlor. Fast-forward seven months and I get hired at the top restaurant in New England.

Still, the crash-and-burn potential is high here. Pray for me, will you?

I got a bonus! Good news abounds

Yesterday, I got a profit-sharing bonus from my current job. Which I didn't even know I was eligible for! I'm very excited, it means I can actually pay bills this week.

New job!

That interview I went to on Monday? I got the job!

It's the top restaurant in Boston (really, in all of New England). It has a famous chef (Best Chef in Boston, one of America's Best New Chefs), an eight-course tasting menu, a lengthy wine list that I'm almost entirely unfamiliar with, and a constantly changing menu. Working there will mean making a lot more money, but also working a lot harder. The training process will be intense--I'll have to learn everything there is to know about the menu, the wine, the drinks, then work as a back server while training to become a front server in short order. Plus I'll be driving to Boston, an hour each way.

What does this mean? Well, more money. Enough to make the commute worth it. It also means I'll give up my two jobs here in Providence. I'll be taking the next step up in my newfound restaurant career; I got hired for my brains, not merely my ability to carry a tray, and I'll actually be using my brains in this job. There's homework, quizzes, classes outside of work, you name it. This is not a restaurant that allows its staff to slack off. That's the most exciting part to me--that there will be learning, and intellectual stimulation, and people around me who value my brain.

It also means I'm going to be working A LOT in the coming weeks. Which is fine--my DH has been working his butt off, putting in 16-hour days on a regular basis, and I figure if he's going to be working that much in the coming months, I might as well work that much, too.