haha

So my parents bought new dining room furniture, and it was delivered this week. It's really beautiful.

Mom: And did you see the new china cabinet?
Me: Yes, it's really beautiful.
Mom: And did you see the drawer inside for the silver?
Me: No, I didn't see that part.
Mom: Look inside!
Me: There it is. That's really nice. But I really like the dining room table best. It's really pretty.
Dad: (pause) And all this can be yours when we're dead.
Me: (longer pause) Ok.

It's almost payday.

Lots of good things...

I had planned to move all my things into storage in Bakersfield since it's half the cost to store things out there than what it is here. Well, my mom shared with her small group that that's what I was going to do and a man in her small group said, "don't bother with renting a storage unit...I've got a huge warehouse at work and she can store her things there." wow. and my mom said, "well, she's got almost a whole apartment's worth of stuff. it's a lot." and he said, "it's a huge warehouse." wow. and she said, "well, but she'll need to store her things for at least a year and a half, maybe longer." and he said, "just let me know when you're coming by with all her stuff." wow.

The nice man's name is Reed Adamson and he and his brother are the owners of Adamson Electric in Bakersfield. So after finishing up at Morongo Sunday night, I drove out to Bakersfield and on Monday we took all my stuff over to Adamson Electric on Unicorn Rd. (I'm not making that up) and unloaded it into the huge warehouse. Turns out he does have a huge warehouse...and there are other people who store their stuff there as well. What a generous guy. And I don't know if he has any idea how much of a blessing this is to me to not have to worry about paying to store my things. But what I do know is that he had never even met me before this Monday, and before he met me he offered his warehouse so that I could store my things without having to worry about the cost. That's the love of God.

here's what else is awesome (at least Jason will appreciate this, I'm sure...maybe niall too.) These are the nearest cross-streets to Adamson Electric:
So...that's that. I came back to Downey and moved the rest of my things into my Aunt, Debbie's house. So for the next month or so I will be living with my Aunt, Debbie, my Cousin, Chrystal, and Chrystal's son, Jacob. Paddy had gone with me maybe a month ago to move my bed in over there since I wouldn't need my bed out at Morongo...and when we moved it into the garage (my new room), there wasn't really anything in there, just the washer/dryer, some carpet, and a few cabinets, which believe me, was totally fine. I have no trouble with unfamiliar living-conditions. So when I got there yesterday and Debbie gave me the little "just so you know where everything is" tour, she took me into my room and I saw that while I was away at Morongo, she had brought in a little coffee table for me, complete with coasters, smelly candle, lace doily and a clock. And she had also brought in a rug to sit on top of the carpet, a chair, a fan and a tv. She even hung a couple shower curtains so that I can have some privacy even when the door is open (they recommend leaving the door open so it won't get hot in there). Anyway, the point is, she hooked me up. And that's awesome. I've got great family. I'm looking forward to getting to know some of them a little bit better over the next few weeks.

the hot water is on now.

Alright...I got off work a little earlier tonight, so let's see how far I get on this post before my eyelids get too heavy.

So...what day is it? Anyway, Monday I get a knock on my hotel room door and it's a guy with a letter in his hand. The letter says that on Tuesday they are replacing the water heater in building A and that they are so sorry for the inconvenience and that if I would like to change rooms they would be more than happy to accommodate me. So I thought for about a second and a half about changing rooms but since I'm way too lazy to pack up all my stuff and since the letter also said it would only take one day, two at the most...I decided to suck it up and take cold showers for a day or two. The problem is, that it took four days, not one or two. So last night I come home from work, exhausted and in need of a good shower, thinking, "alright...it's been three days...maybe they'll have the hot water on by now." nope. so i went to the front desk to say, "hey...where is the hot water you jerks?" and when i walked in to the lobby, i made eye contact with the Loser Front Desk Attendant Creep who was on the phone and I waited. When he got off the phone, the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi, do you have any idea when there will be hot water in building A?
LFDAC: Hey girl...nah, the morning shift didn't tell me nothin' today.
Me: Ok...uhh...is there someone here who knows when there will be hot water?
LFDAC: so...you stayin' here alone? nah, you ain't old enough to be stayin' here alone. you 18 girl?
Me: Yes. I've been here for two weeks. I'm in building A. There's no hot water there. I really want to know when there will be.
LFDAC: Damn girl, I should card you.
Me: Nope. You should fix the hot water heater.

I'm curious to know...is "hot water" some kind of euphemism I'm unaware of? was I begging him to hit on me? I hate the Ramada.

Alright...moving on. So yesterday I get to work at about what...11:30? yeah. I walk in and see our district manager, training supervisor, food quality director, director of operations, and 2 or three store managers sitting at the bar (yes, we have a bar at ruby's morongo...did i tell you?) and they're talking about all the drinks that ruby's is going to offer once they get a full liquor license in 60 days. So I walk away, to the other side of the dining room, out of sight of the bar, and i watch my station, supervising my servers for the lunch rush. at about 1:30 I walk back to the other dining room where the bar is, and I see them all sitting at the bar, red-faced and looking terrible...and they're passing around a seabreeze, all taking a drink, saying things like, "oh yeah this one's way better" and "yeah, it just needed less....whatever ingredient" (i don't actually know what ingredient they said...i don't know what goes in a seabreeze. but you get the idea). i did not know that when they were discussing all the recipes at 11:30 they were actually preparing to create all the recipes and test them. i guess somebody had to do it. So I say, "hey Edward (my boss)...you okay?" and he slurs, "oh yeah...i'm fine. i only had a sip of each drink." "oh? how many drinks did you boys make today?" "maybe ffforty." "ok Edward...why don't you order some lunch or something?" "yeah...ok"

good times. no. scratch that...great times.

they really were drinking on the job. not making it up.

This week was the actual opening of the store. We opened on Tuesday and business has been just a little bit slow. Some genius forgot to take care of all the billboards on the highway that say "Ruby's Diner Coming Soon" and change them to "Now Open" so...that's helpful. Otherwise it's been decent. There was a big ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday. Ruby was there. She climbed up onto the motorcycle that's on display in the dining room (sort of like how Chris Luna always asks if he can climb in the bumper car on display at the Fullerton Ruby's...only she didn't ask anyone if she could...she's Ruby...she just did it).

And today...today was interesting. I woke up at about 8:30, reluctantly took a cold shower (more on that later), got ready for work and walked out the door at about 10:00. At about 10:20, after driving by the giant dinosaurs


I realized that my 10:30 shift today was actually an 11:30 shift...so I drove straight past Ruby's onto the Outlet Stores (the ones with the great sales). I found a jacket at the Adidas store that I wanted


but since I still had about 45 minutes to spare, I left it on the rack and went to walk around the rest of the mall to see if there was anything that I wanted more instead for my money. I didn't find anything, but I did walk past the poor semi-truck driver that must have felt like a total idiot after having caused this:


I walked around a while, went back and bought the jacket, got a cafe vanilla frappuccino and went to work.

I really thought I could write more tonight than I just did. I am about to pass out from exhaustion. Tomorrow's post will include the hot water heater saga at the Palm Springs Ramada, complete with quotes from Loser Front Desk Attendant Creep, and how all my bosses got hammered before noon at the Ruby's bar today.

Are you curious? Was that too much of a tease?

I don't care.

hotel: the presence of all smells

you know how all people have like their own smell? not like a bad smell or anything but just a smell. like, "this shirt smells like denise" or "it smells like the martins' house in here."

and do you ever notice that all hotel rooms smell the same? no matter what hotel room you're in, it distinctly smells like hotel?

do you ever wonder if the hotel room smell is just a combination of the smells of all the people that have lived in it? sort of how if you put all the colors in the color wheel together you'd always end up with brown?

just a thought that came to me when i walked into my hotel room yesterday.

Idea #1: Text Messaging

Me: Hey Paddy. What are you doing?
Paddy: I'm at pierced, hanging.
Me: Neat. How is it?
Paddy: Fun, I brought Dan Kim and Cory.
Me: Cool.
Paddy: What's up with you?
Me: I'm at a boring meeting. I really would rather be in my hotel watching Law & Order or something.
Paddy: Awww, I'm sorry. You should try to make the meeting more Law & Order like
Me: So like every time the manager moves on to the next topic I should make that "don don" sound effect?
Paddy: Yeah. Maybe kill some people. Ask some interrogating questions to your inferiors.
Me: Maybe I could combine that with putting my sunglasses on before saying anything and talking in a slow, deep, raspy voice since I like CSI: Miami too.
Paddy: Hahaha! Yeah!


Any other ideas on how to make work meetings more fun and/or interesting?

Way to go, Cabazon.

The sales out here are incredible!

i'm not sick of Ruby's. it's amazing.

well, it's been a few days (a few long days), and i'm having a great time. it was a little sketchy at first but i've made some new friends and even though the days are long they are fun. every day is pretty much on the same schedule so far. all the trainers show up somewhere around 9ish and we have a trainers meeting. then we do what's called 24-hour prep where we have about an hour and a half to prepare everything we will need to teach our classes for the day. then the trainees start to show up at maybe 11:30 and we go right into "homeroom." i am the red team leader so that means i've got 13 trainees who are on the red team...and....i am...their leader, you guessed it. and during homeroom i teach them all the things they will need to know for the tests they will take later that day during our second homeroom. after first homeroom, all the different groups (there are six) rotate around to the different trainers to take classes. (classes like steps of service, hospitality, phone orders, computer system, food demonstration, etc.).....meanwhile, all the kitchen trainees are learning how to make all the food on the menu, so by 12:30 or 1 there is a whole bunch of food waiting to be eaten. so then we all eat it. after our half hour lunch break we have more classes. and then after all the classes, we go back to homeroom and take tests. all the trainees have to pass each test with at least a 90%. otherwise they've got one chance to retake the test....and if they can't pass the test, they're cut. hahahaha. so that's good times. after homeroom, we do sidework, and then we listen to all the announcements that management has for us. and after that the trainees go home. but when the trainees leave, all the trainers stick around for a big meeting where we talk about everything that still needs to be taken care of. and....that's my day. i get back to the hotel by around 10 or so and then it's e-mail checking time and tv watching time and crashing into bed time. the nice thing is that the busser trainer that i was supposed to share a room with did not show up....so i have my own hotel room. i'm pretty happy about that.

today we got a little bit of a break. i do not have to be in to work until 1:00. and between 1 and 3 we have a block of time scheduled for anyone who needs to come in to retake a test. and all of my red stars (yes that's what they're called) have passed all their tests...so i will have lots of free time to prepare. it's a nice break.

i'm tired. also, i hit a button on my keyboard and it removed the task bar at the bottom of the screen. i don't know how to get it back. can anyone help me? please? nevermind. i got it. it was F11.

also, there's this poem i heard on an episode of Crossing Jordan that goes:

I stand on a mountain top
As the great bird approaches
She is small in my sight
but grows larger on approach
Until I am blessed with the full sight
with her graceful wings,
Proud countenance and good company,
All too quickly she grows small again
on the horizon
and disappears from view
and I call out
"There, she's gone"
but there are other mountaintops beyond me
and at the precise moment when I note the great bird's
departure from my view
I know there are new eyes taking up the sight of her
and fresh voices calling out
"Here she comes"

i really liked it...but i don't know who wrote it. does anyone know?

The air conditioning isn't up and running in the restaurant yet.

Day 1

6:30am-leave Downey

8:00am-arrive in Cabazon, get coffee and muffin from Starbucks, read

9:00am-arrive at Ruby's, begin trainers' meeting with Edward (Big Boss), Lead FOH Trainer, and 5 other FOH (front of house) trainers.

10:00am-begin assembling table caddies (the thing at each table that holds the salt, pepper, sugar, napkins, ketchup, mustard)

10:30am-bring loads of above-mentioned caddy-fillers in from the delivery outside, prepare said items to run through dishwasher.

11:30am-break for lunch

12:00pm-continue meeting with Edward and FOH trainers. get acquainted with the schedule for the week, receive classroom assignments and team assignments.

1:00pm-meet 5 store managers, Lead BOH (back of house) Trainer and 8 other BOH trainers, play the name game. the BOH trainers did NOT want to play. good times...no...great times.

1:30pm-continue meeting with Edward and FOH trainers, review trainer guidelines, expectations and other blah blah blah blah

2:00pm-blah blah...

2:30pm-blah blah blah blah...

3:00pm-blah blah blaaaaaaaahhhh...

3:30pm-almost done with the meeting.

4:00pm-done with the meeting, allowed to stand up and move around.

4:30pm-check into hotel (Ramada...middle of nowhere)

5:00pm-leave me alone, my neck hurts.

5:30pm-oh my gosh this is what a real job feels like...that's whack! I love being a waitress. I was making 25 dollars an hour on Sunday night this week. And I got to walk around. And I didn't have to listen to blah blah blah for hours.

6:00pm-take a quick shower.

6:30pm-reservations at MatchStick (?) for dinner on Ruby's with entire National Training Team and Management
....
...
..
.

more to come...

i'm looking forward to most of this...the only thing i'm NOT looking forward to is the different training teams yelling back and forth at each other throughout the restaurant "we've got spirit, yes we do! we've got spirit, how 'bout you?" which, i'm pretty sure, is what's expected of us.

booo!

alright...edit...shower time is moving up to 5:49pm...which is now.