From a stressful work environment... to feeling at ease after mass.

There must be a God!

This weekend went by relatively fast. I went into work at 10am today and worked until about 6pm.

Immediately after being released from work, I drove straight to mass. How do you like that? This is the second week in a row that I have been able to attend mass. I am extremely pleased about my recent opportunities to do that. May this be the case for a very long time! Next week I am once again scheduled to work at 10am on Sunday, which will enable me to attend mass for the third week in a row. Mass is such a relaxing and relieving activity. Every time I go to mass, I make some prayers and it seems as though my prayers are being answered to some extent. One must never underestimate the power of prayer. I always feel stronger, happier, more comfortable, and at ease after mass is over.

For the most part, the restaurant was pretty slow today and we only had two reservations during the lunch shift. For the server assistants, however, the day felt rather busy. Try to figure this one out...

How the hell are the managers going to schedule 13 servers and just two server assistants for a lunch shift??? Is it just me, or does anybody else see the disparity between the number of servers and server assistants? On top of everything else, the other S.A., who was scheduled to come in at noon, showed up almost an hour late. As a result, I was the only server assistant in the restaurant for approximately three hours. Server assistants definitely deserve more respect than what they receive.

Some servers will actually try to take advantage of the server assistants. As I was working stock/float (polishing the silverware and dishes and restocking them at the side stations), servers were coming up to me asking me to bring the dirty plates, glasses, and silverware back to the dishroom. I thought to myself, "How are they going to ask me to do something so simple while I'm polishing clean dishes that desparately need to be placed on the tables with the clean silverware???" Tables that are not set are tables that guests can not be seated at. Unseated tables do not earn any money for anybody working in the restaurant. Atleast to me, it is common sense. However, I am also a genius... I am not totally sure about some of my co-workers...

The point is: it does not take a genius to figure out that one can not set a table without polished plates and silverware. I can not polish the clean plates and silverware if I am constantly being asked to do certain tasks that the servers can easily do themselves.

Obviously we were short on appetizer plates as well as entree plates. If the servers keep coming to me with such absurd requests, I am unable to polish the plates and silverware. Therefore they do not get placed on the tables and the servers lose customers as well as money. The servers are supposed to take the dirty plates and silverware to the server assistants who are busing tables, not the server assistants who are polishing and restocking silverware and plates. Some of the people in the restaurants (especially some of the servers) need to start thinking before making such tactless requests.

Oh well... The physical labor of such a job is enough to drive one insane at times, but I made some pretty decent coin this weekend. On Friday night, I made $53 in tips, as well as $61 last night. I still do not know what I made today because I am supposed to claim that money tomorrow. In terms of making money, this weekend was pretty solid.

Enough about work already! The Great One is really looking foward to Tuesday night. Jaime and I will be spending the night in Atlantic City with Caroline, April, and a few others. Courtesy of Caroline and her complimentary room, we will be staying at Showboat. We will also be going to the Rainforest Cafe at Trump Plaza for dinner. Expect pictures, expect a post describing the nature of this evening, expect it all baby! I'm ready for some fun, as Dr. Seuss was once quoted as saying, "Fun is good." For the first time in almost a month, I will have the privledge of enjoying some cold adult beverages. Lord knows it has been long enough since I had that type of fun. Good times are in the very near future and I am absolutely thrilled about it.

For most of my spring break, I will be in P-town due to work. Hopefully I will be heading up to D-town for a couple days during the break. It all depends on how many days I am scheduled and which days they are. I also plan on spending some quality time with Jaime during that week.

Tonight I plan on reading Sister Carrie for Money and the American Imagination as well as Chapter 6 for Facilities Management. Maybe this week I'll start the homework a little sooner so I am not cramming like I did last week on Friday morning.

That is all for now folks! Have a great evening, an even better week, and be sure to come back soon for the latest news and information. Anything that has to do with The Great One always qualifies as not-miss material.

Take care and be safe. 1 love.

Peace.