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.

A new job?

On Monday, I took the train up to Boston to interview for a new job--an additional job, I should say. At Boston's top restaurant (well, New England's top restaurant); this place has a national reputation, a famous chef, a tasting menu, the works. I was invited back tonight for a working interview. If I get offered the job, I'm hoping to pick up some additional shifts there, while continuing to work here in Providence, at least for a bit. I'll make more money (enough to make the commute to Boston worth it), and I'll get the experience and exposure of working in a place with a national reputation. If my husband is going to be working all the time for the next few months, I might as well work all the time, too.

After the interview, I went out drinking with a new friend, and got, well, drunk. Good thing I was taking the train home. But it was good to be able to have girl time and blow off steam like that; it had been a while. We went to Drink, Boston's hot new cocktail spot, where I discovered they make their own ginger beer and had a Dark n' Stormy that blew my mind.

I paid off a student loan!

It's a little one, and I've been paying diligently on that bastard for 10 years, but still--I finally paid off a student loan. Go me!

I also transferred the balance on one of my Bank of America credit cards to a 0% one, and cancelled the two open B of A credit cards. Now I am officially no longer a customer of Bank of America, in any form. That feels pretty good. I'm feeling all fiscally responsible this week, even after the dentist told me I would need $976 worth of dental work (out-of-pocket) in the next two months.

In other news, I'm definitely not pregnant. I start another round of Clomid today.

So it begins! 2012's container garden

Yesterday I planted most of this year's container garden.

As you may remember, last year, we were living in a house in the 'burbs, with a huge backyard. I turned most of that backyard into a garden, planting all kinds of things. I ended up with a bumper crop of tomatoes, but I had to kill 31 chipmunks to do it, and it was an awful lot of work. I also spent $760 on everything (seeds, weedeater, hoe, rake, shovel, pitchfork, buckets, hose, seed-starting lights and equipment, potting soil, etc.), and you know, $760 will buy an awful lot of tomatoes.

Of course, last year I didn't know that I wouldn't be able to put in a garden this year--those costs, especially for the gardening equipment, would have amortized out. This year, since we're in the city, in an apartment, I'm back to container gardening. Fortunately, I have a ton of containers, and lots of seed left over from last year, so my gardening costs this year so far are a grand total of $21.60 (for seeds and Miracle Gro).

I dumped out the old potting soil, mixed it with some fertilizer, and redistributed it amongst all the pots, with a sprinkle of seed-starting dirt. I planted spinach and cilantro outside (the mild winter means that hopefully I'll have a crop of spinach in a few weeks), and herbs inside: basil (regular and purple), parsley, sage, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, marjoram, dill, lavender, chives, oregano, lovage, sorrel, and purslane. I had a few stragglers from last year, puny-looking but still alive, that I hope to revitalize with Miracle Gro. If not, I'll replant those too.

I'm hoping my $20 investment will bring me hundreds of dollars worth of fresh herbs (and spinach) in the months to come.

Through the fire

This was a crazy weekend.

Well, week.

Let's start with Valentine's Day. I worked that night (after all, my hubby and I are old married people, and he was working late too). It was very busy at the restaurant, as you might expect. Made good money.

Then Thursday and Friday were dead. Slooooooooooooowww. I actually got cut at 8 pm on Friday (which is unheard of), but it allowed me to have some bone marrow at the bar, and have a drink out with a friend like a normal person. Still home by 10:30.

Saturday night, we were slammed. We ran our asses off all night long. Great money, but didn't get home until 1 am. We sat 104 people, which in a restaurant with 12 tables, is a lot.

Oh, but then. Then came Sunday brunch.

I have never, ever, been that busy waiting tables.

Not even at that dive bar in college, right before last call. Not on any holiday. Not during any special party.

We sat 125 people during a four-hour brunch.

With two servers, one bartender, no hostess, and half a busboy. (I say half, because he's still new, and not very fast.) Saturday night we had three servers, two bartenders, and a hostess. So we sat more people, in less time, with less than half the staff.

Oh, and we lost a server on Saturday night, because her dad had just had a heart attack, and we had to replace the bartender Sunday morning--in the middle of all that rush--because she had a stomach virus and was projectile-vomiting.

But everything turned out okay. Even though people had to wait for a table, everyone was pleasant about it. Everyone got their food in a timely manner, everyone got enough coffee/water/whatever, nothing got dropped or spilled, and no one complained. We made 20% in tips (everyone could see us running our asses off), and several people praised the music (we were doing Power Ballad Brunch).

So I figure I am now, officially, a fully professional waiter. If I could get through those two shifts, back to back, with six hours of sleep, and come out on the other side with 20% tips, no screwed-up orders, and no unreasonable wait times for any of the customers, I figure I can handle anything.

It goes without saying that as soon as we were done on Sunday, I went out and got drunk. I hated humanity so much right then. Fortunately, a friend of mine stopped in to eat at the bar; I made her stick around until we were all done, and then we all went out for shots and beer. It ended up back at my place, in front of a movie, with a pile of junk food.

My hubby worked every day this weekend, for hours at a stretch, and he claims his schedule will be like that until probably the end of the year. Which sucks. But if he's going to be working that much, I might as well be working that much as well--by getting another restaurant job. I could use the money.

It may be time for me to take the next step, and upgrade to a four-star establishment, the kind of restaurant with a tasting menu and a wine list like a book.