On another note... I worked all weekend. Made good money doing so, but it made for a long weekend. Friday I subbed at Saint Benedict, and spent the evening relaxing for a long/busy weekend. Saturday everyone in my family was up and dressed by 8:30, a rare occurrence for us. Chelsea had her first life guarding class, dad was brewing his summer ale, and I was heading off to work my (hopefully) last double. I needed to be at work by 9. I bartended that morning, and it takes me at least an hour to open the bar, usually more like 2. We open at 11, but we had a dance class at 9:30. That's right, those line dances we do at Texas Roadhouse... we actually have classes to learn those. So I spent the morning/early afternoon at the bar, took a 30 minute break, and then served the rest of day. I ended up clocking out around 11:30. So for those counting, that's 14 hours (w/o the 30 minute break). However, I made the money to reflect such a long shift, $159. Of course Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for the restaurant industry, so that makes the weekend, one of the busiest. The first people didn't get cut until 10pm, we close at 11. Of course our MP spent the majority of the shift freaking out and fighting with the kitchen staff and just being very insecure all around.
On Sunday, I got up and went to church and then headed off to work at 3. I knew it was Mother's Day, but it is also Sunday, and I think having that mindset made things a lot easier for me. Plus, I didn't have to deal with groups over 5. A real plus in my book because parties can be bad, but parties on Sunday... forget about it. I don't want it. That's the fastest way to crush a server's spirit. I was very proud of myself. I stayed in a good mood pretty much the whole day (except when i started getting hungry before the pizza came). Our MP stayed fairly calm (at least calm for him) the whole afternoon shift too! I was very proud of him.
At church, the sermon was about sacrificing, the story was about Hannah and Samuel. And although I know that the pastor was actually talking about sacrificing money for our building campaign to expand our church, I took it in a different light. We had 6 doubles yesterday, and man do I feel sorry for them. Some made good money, some, not so good (it's those parties again). However, we also had 3 food runners yesterday. One in the morning, and two at night. Now on top of tipshare that we pay the hosts, SAs, and bartenders (3% of our sales) we also have to tip out the food runners out of our own tips. I usually tip $5 - $7 to the one food runner who works on Saturday nights, but I haven't had two food runners since I worked at the Evansville TRH. When the food runners were cut, tipping them $5 a piece (instead of say $3 a piece) meant the difference between making over $100 and not for me, so it was difficult for me to decide to stick with the $5 a piece thing. However, the food runners were cut about 9 when the first people were cut, and about 10 min later the next set of people were cut, and so the late nighters who came into eat got sat in my section. So I had three more tables before the night was up at 10. And their tips put me back over $100 in tips. $102 to be more specific. So whether it really is or not, I saw that as my reward for not being stingy with my tip out. :)
For the week I'm at 34 hours, after tonight I'll be at 38 hours and $284... not bad for a busy weekend. Happy Mother's Day!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Happy Mother's Day!
So this past weekend was Mother's Day weekend, in case anyone was under a rock and didn't realize it. :) In my family, we don't do a whole lot for Mother's Day, partly because Mom's Birthday is usually 2 - 3 weeks later, and partly because we're a super busy family, an it's hard to plan stuff like that. I got my mom a card and a gift card to Sport's Authority because she's a PE teacher and is really big into running. I figured she would enjoy that more than a Barnes and Nobles gift card (which I think is something I would enjoy more). I love my mom very much, and I think sometimes we don't tell her enough in my family. She gets up and cooks us breakfast on weekends, and listens without judging, and plays referee in our family. I think she plays referee the most because anyone who knows my dad, sister, and I knows that we are very stubborn, and very stuck in our ways, so disagreements are plentiful in our family. So here's for all the arguments she puts an end to, all the eyes she opens to the other party, all the breakfasts, and all the listening she does. Mom, I love you!!!!!!!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
And the winner is....
OLE MISS!!!! Or the University of Mississippi as it is officially known. I am really excited. I was leaning that way, but was still considering Memphis because it was cheaper, and I knew my dad really wanted me to go Memphis as well. So last Tuesday my mom and I went to Memphis, so that she would have something to compare Ole Miss too, and my dad had already seen it. So Friday, my dad, mom, and I drove down to Oxofrd, MS for admitted students day, which was basically an open house for students who had been admitted to Ole Miss. It was really important to me for my parents to see Ole Miss, and see what it was that I can't describe, which is the atmosphere.
As we were driving home, I told my parents what I still liked about it, and asked their opinions. My mom told me that she really liked it, and could see why I did. And then I asked my dad, and he asked me if I really wanted to hear what he had to say, and I told him yes. He asked what i thought he was going to say, and so I said that he probably thought it was a nice school but still the money spent wouldn't be worth it. However, he completely surprised me and did a complete 180. He said, the resources and benefits of going to a school like Ole Miss would be worth the $12,000 extra the first year, as long as I est. residency by the next year.
I was so happy that I had their approval of my decision. I decided to take one more night to sleep on it and make sure it was what I wanted, but when I woke up on Saturday I knew that was my decision. So now, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and now I just have to get all the other stuff in order so I can head South in the fall. :)
As we were driving home, I told my parents what I still liked about it, and asked their opinions. My mom told me that she really liked it, and could see why I did. And then I asked my dad, and he asked me if I really wanted to hear what he had to say, and I told him yes. He asked what i thought he was going to say, and so I said that he probably thought it was a nice school but still the money spent wouldn't be worth it. However, he completely surprised me and did a complete 180. He said, the resources and benefits of going to a school like Ole Miss would be worth the $12,000 extra the first year, as long as I est. residency by the next year.
I was so happy that I had their approval of my decision. I decided to take one more night to sleep on it and make sure it was what I wanted, but when I woke up on Saturday I knew that was my decision. So now, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and now I just have to get all the other stuff in order so I can head South in the fall. :)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Ole Miss vs. Memphis
Ok, so I am having a huge problem deciding which law school to go to. I have narrowed it down to two schools (a feat I thought would make life easier, but has turned out to make it difficult). I have made my pro/con lists, I have visited both schools (twice after this Friday), I have done the math about how much I will have to borrow, AND how much I will have to pay a month after I graduate to pay each loan off in 10 years. I told myself I would make a decision by Easter, but now Easter has come and gone and I am still no closer to a decision. As I start to lean one way, something will be said, or I'll remember something, etc... and then all of a sudden I'm leaning the other way. I will have to reach a decision this weekend. My seat deposits are due one week from today. I'm sure I would be happy at either place, and so in theory, I could just flip a coin, and go with that. Somehow, I don't think that's the best way to pick a law school though. So here I am in an endless debate with myself on where to go, with the decision date looming ever so close. In the mean time here are some of the pros and cons I am considering for each school.
Pros for Memphis include: close to home, I know people and the area, it's cheaper by about $10,000, good bar passage/employment rate, brand new campus, and lots of study space.
Pros for Ole Miss include: better cost of living, close to home, but not home, big school amenities, lots of practical experience to choose from, they will have a new building come Christmas, they also have a good bar passage/employment rate.
Cons for Memphis include: It's close to home, live downtown, fewer options for classes, and the curriculum is more structured than most other law schools.
Cons for Ole Miss include: it's a big campus, it's expensive if i don't establish residency, and I'd have to start over again.
Pros for Memphis include: close to home, I know people and the area, it's cheaper by about $10,000, good bar passage/employment rate, brand new campus, and lots of study space.
Pros for Ole Miss include: better cost of living, close to home, but not home, big school amenities, lots of practical experience to choose from, they will have a new building come Christmas, they also have a good bar passage/employment rate.
Cons for Memphis include: It's close to home, live downtown, fewer options for classes, and the curriculum is more structured than most other law schools.
Cons for Ole Miss include: it's a big campus, it's expensive if i don't establish residency, and I'd have to start over again.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
A rough week...
So I've had two major problems this week... my dad and my boss. I know I should just let both roll off my shoulders, and truth be told, I'm pretty much over the first, but the second is driving me insane.
I realize that I will always be a child in my dad's eyes, but I really wish he wouldn't treat me as one. I'm almost 23 years old, and I'm pretty sure that gives me a right to have an opinion of my own. If I don't like Memphis, then I shouldn't have to stay here. As most of you know, I've been applying to law schools, well last week I got accepted to Louisiana State University, University of Memphis, Mississippi College, and Faulkner University. Now those last two were "just in case" schools... Ones I applied to in case I didn't get into any others. Honestly, Memphis was as well, when I first applied. However, I received the LSU and Memphis acceptance letters on the same day. So I immediately started doing more in depth research. Mom and I started talking about going to visit LSU over her spring break, but when it came time to make sure it was ok with dad if we went, he told me there was no point in going to visit LSU because there was no point in going there. In fact, apparently, I was going to go to Memphis and live at home (yeah right). Now law school is three years of school, and generally wherever you go to school is where you get hired. And before I move from there, I have tog et some experience and pay back some of my school loans. So we're talking a minimum of 7 to 8 years before I would be able Memphis. I am not the biggest fan of Memphis, so that would be like torture. Unfortunately my dad only sees the practical side of things. We got into an argument about it, and finally I just walked away.
I don't disagree with the things my dad was saying about Memphis (except the living at home part), Memphis is much cheaper, and actually because of the fact I was considering Memphis as a real option, and if I had had to choose that day whether to go to LSU or Memphis, I'm not really sure which I would have chosen. Of course after the argument Memphis dropped way down on my list. Now I know I shouldn't not choose Memphis because of my dad, but him treating me like a child when he told all of this just made it that much harder not to be petty about it.
The other rough thing this week is my boss. Now everyone has bosses that they dislike for various reasons, but this guy, Jason Gibson, is the absolute worst. He is condescending, he calls you out in front of everyone if you do something wrong, he tends to be rude to the guests, many of regulars have chosen not to come back because of him, he causes chaos in the kitchen, he won't listen to any criticism, not even from his assistant managers, in fact he does stuff behind their backs like changing schedules and hiring new people when we don't need anymore. I have a shirt that says "I love my job" on the back, and I used to wear it with pride, because I did love my job, I loved the environment, I loved the people, but I try and avoid wearing it now because it's just not true anymore. It's gotten to the point where if you're not kissing Gibson's butt, then he's a butt to you. I've already seen 3 or 4 people fired for the stupidest reasons. Everyone is afraid for their job, and most of us feel like the only reason we're there is to train our replacements. We've decided that we need to do something, we just can't see the answer yet.
It has been proposed that we meet with his boss... I'm curious if anyone thinks this would accomplish anything, because there are mixed feelings about this. I mean this guy must have been hired for some reason, but if three or four of us sit down with his manager with a list of real items, not just "he hurt my feelings" do you think there's a shot he'll listen? There's many people who want to just get him fired, but I'm willing to give him a chance to change, if he can. What do y'all think?
I realize that I will always be a child in my dad's eyes, but I really wish he wouldn't treat me as one. I'm almost 23 years old, and I'm pretty sure that gives me a right to have an opinion of my own. If I don't like Memphis, then I shouldn't have to stay here. As most of you know, I've been applying to law schools, well last week I got accepted to Louisiana State University, University of Memphis, Mississippi College, and Faulkner University. Now those last two were "just in case" schools... Ones I applied to in case I didn't get into any others. Honestly, Memphis was as well, when I first applied. However, I received the LSU and Memphis acceptance letters on the same day. So I immediately started doing more in depth research. Mom and I started talking about going to visit LSU over her spring break, but when it came time to make sure it was ok with dad if we went, he told me there was no point in going to visit LSU because there was no point in going there. In fact, apparently, I was going to go to Memphis and live at home (yeah right). Now law school is three years of school, and generally wherever you go to school is where you get hired. And before I move from there, I have tog et some experience and pay back some of my school loans. So we're talking a minimum of 7 to 8 years before I would be able Memphis. I am not the biggest fan of Memphis, so that would be like torture. Unfortunately my dad only sees the practical side of things. We got into an argument about it, and finally I just walked away.
I don't disagree with the things my dad was saying about Memphis (except the living at home part), Memphis is much cheaper, and actually because of the fact I was considering Memphis as a real option, and if I had had to choose that day whether to go to LSU or Memphis, I'm not really sure which I would have chosen. Of course after the argument Memphis dropped way down on my list. Now I know I shouldn't not choose Memphis because of my dad, but him treating me like a child when he told all of this just made it that much harder not to be petty about it.
The other rough thing this week is my boss. Now everyone has bosses that they dislike for various reasons, but this guy, Jason Gibson, is the absolute worst. He is condescending, he calls you out in front of everyone if you do something wrong, he tends to be rude to the guests, many of regulars have chosen not to come back because of him, he causes chaos in the kitchen, he won't listen to any criticism, not even from his assistant managers, in fact he does stuff behind their backs like changing schedules and hiring new people when we don't need anymore. I have a shirt that says "I love my job" on the back, and I used to wear it with pride, because I did love my job, I loved the environment, I loved the people, but I try and avoid wearing it now because it's just not true anymore. It's gotten to the point where if you're not kissing Gibson's butt, then he's a butt to you. I've already seen 3 or 4 people fired for the stupidest reasons. Everyone is afraid for their job, and most of us feel like the only reason we're there is to train our replacements. We've decided that we need to do something, we just can't see the answer yet.
It has been proposed that we meet with his boss... I'm curious if anyone thinks this would accomplish anything, because there are mixed feelings about this. I mean this guy must have been hired for some reason, but if three or four of us sit down with his manager with a list of real items, not just "he hurt my feelings" do you think there's a shot he'll listen? There's many people who want to just get him fired, but I'm willing to give him a chance to change, if he can. What do y'all think?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Update
So i haven't written in about 2 months. I'm so bad at keeping up with this. When I do think about writing, I think nothing interesting has happened lately. Over Christmas I enjoyed spending time with the family. I didn't work much at night, worked mostly during the day. I was in charge of selling gift cards at the mall for Texas Roadhouse. So I made up the schedule, and set everything up. It felt kind of good taking on this leadership position. It really helped my manager out too, which is always a good thing to do. :) I was also sick over Christmas. About four days before Christmas I was hit with the flu, or something similar. It was not a happy time for me. I went to the doctor, and after a panic attack and two shots, i started feeling better, so by the time Christmas hit I just had a cold. On top of being sick I had this really bad cough though. I sounded like I was coughing up a lung for almost two months, it's just now almost gone. Ended up on quite a few antibiotics to get rid of it.
At work we have a new general manager. Very few of us us like him. He's just kind of dumb. He acts like he knows stuff when he doesn't at all, and then tries to tell us something that is right when everyone knows it is wrong (like what kind of beers we sell). I don't know, he's trying, but there's a lot of changes going on, and he's been hiring quite a few new people that we don't need because it's the slow part of the year. Makes everyone think there is some firing that will be going down soon. On the bright side, I won the gift card sales contest. i sold about $2100 in gift cards so I won a new 32" flat screen LCD TV. However, I already own two tvs, so I am selling this prize to a coworker. It's pretty nice.
I am also getting to bartend. I started training this past Monday. I should be behind the bar on my own in about 3 weeks. I am so excited about that. After two years, I'm finally getting my shot. I have noticed one hard thing about being behind the bar. When you're behind the bar, you're not allowed to leave the bar, because there's only one bartender at a time. At least when I'm serving if I'm having a bad night, or customers are being jerks I can go into the back and vent to the other servers. I can't do that as a bartender, I have to be friendly and happy the whole time.
The last couple things going on... One, I've heard from 6 law schools so far. 5 have rejected me (Boston College, Boston University, Cornell, Georgetown, and University of Virginia) and 1 has wait listed me (American University). I still have quite a few out, so I've still got a lot of waiting to do, which is really hard. My patience is truly being tested. Lastly, last week, I got to go on a date for the first time in about two years. :-D I served a guy last Monday and gave him my number, well actually one of my coworkers stole his credit card receipt before I could give it back to him, and wrote my number and I just didn't scratch it out. He texted me that night and we went out on Tuesday. He took me to dinner at Olive Garden and a movie, Book of Eli. It was a great night. A very casual, get to know you thing. We went out again on Thursday. We went bowling, and then just talked for the rest of the night. It was definitely a great time, and he was very polite and super cute! Unfortunately... he lives in Baton Rouge, LA. Oh well... C'est la vie! :)
At work we have a new general manager. Very few of us us like him. He's just kind of dumb. He acts like he knows stuff when he doesn't at all, and then tries to tell us something that is right when everyone knows it is wrong (like what kind of beers we sell). I don't know, he's trying, but there's a lot of changes going on, and he's been hiring quite a few new people that we don't need because it's the slow part of the year. Makes everyone think there is some firing that will be going down soon. On the bright side, I won the gift card sales contest. i sold about $2100 in gift cards so I won a new 32" flat screen LCD TV. However, I already own two tvs, so I am selling this prize to a coworker. It's pretty nice.
I am also getting to bartend. I started training this past Monday. I should be behind the bar on my own in about 3 weeks. I am so excited about that. After two years, I'm finally getting my shot. I have noticed one hard thing about being behind the bar. When you're behind the bar, you're not allowed to leave the bar, because there's only one bartender at a time. At least when I'm serving if I'm having a bad night, or customers are being jerks I can go into the back and vent to the other servers. I can't do that as a bartender, I have to be friendly and happy the whole time.
The last couple things going on... One, I've heard from 6 law schools so far. 5 have rejected me (Boston College, Boston University, Cornell, Georgetown, and University of Virginia) and 1 has wait listed me (American University). I still have quite a few out, so I've still got a lot of waiting to do, which is really hard. My patience is truly being tested. Lastly, last week, I got to go on a date for the first time in about two years. :-D I served a guy last Monday and gave him my number, well actually one of my coworkers stole his credit card receipt before I could give it back to him, and wrote my number and I just didn't scratch it out. He texted me that night and we went out on Tuesday. He took me to dinner at Olive Garden and a movie, Book of Eli. It was a great night. A very casual, get to know you thing. We went out again on Thursday. We went bowling, and then just talked for the rest of the night. It was definitely a great time, and he was very polite and super cute! Unfortunately... he lives in Baton Rouge, LA. Oh well... C'est la vie! :)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Holiday thought...
So I was flipping around radio stations because of commercials earlier, and one of our stations is already playing Christmas music. They started this past Thursday and they play only Christmas music through Christmas. Well as I paused to see what was on this station, the name of the next "song" caught my ear. It was called "A Soldier's Silent Night". It was the music of silent night playing in the background while an older gentleman read the poem of The Night Before Christmas, but with different words. Now I love Christmas and Thanksgiving (just the holidays in general), and of course there are always bad days, but I love being able to be around family, and everyone tends to have a friendly demeanor. As I listened to this song thought I got kind of sad. I can think of at least eight friends who are in the military is some form (Marines, Army, and Air Force). All are on active duty. One is serving in Afghanistan right now, one just got back from Afghanistan, one is on a world tour, and one just graduated from ranger school for the army, which means he will possibly get deployed soon. As I listened to this poem I realized that I am very lucky that as of yet, none of my friends have been hurt or worse in their line of duty. My friend Zac, who is in Afghanistan right now, I haven't heard anything about his safety from his wife in a few months (she used to update her status every time she talked to him, but not so much anymore), but I'm pretty sure he's due home pretty soon. I think the Marines only due 6 month tours, which means he might be home for Christmas.
However, I think it is important to remember all the Soldiers, Marines, and Air Men/Women who won't be home for Christmas and all the families that are missing them. We are all happy and safe because of those brave men and women. So as you are thinking of things to be thankful for and who you need to buy gifts for and how much money you should spend and who you get to see this Holiday season, take a moment to think of those who won't be home this year and be thankful for them. That's all.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
However, I think it is important to remember all the Soldiers, Marines, and Air Men/Women who won't be home for Christmas and all the families that are missing them. We are all happy and safe because of those brave men and women. So as you are thinking of things to be thankful for and who you need to buy gifts for and how much money you should spend and who you get to see this Holiday season, take a moment to think of those who won't be home this year and be thankful for them. That's all.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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