we're taking a ride, we're looking for stars, we're looking for satellites.
I am confused. How it only 8:45 PM? How? Man, I thought yesterday I did all of the things?! Today:
1) Couldn't fall asleep until after 2 AM.
I suspect that the massive "decaf" Americano I had at 7PM last evening was nothing of the sort, and so I mainlined three shots of espresso shortly before bed. I do not appreciate this, Starbucks barista. I climbed into bed at around 11 then just rolled around checking things on my Blackberry until I fell asleep cradling it. This is my life, these are my choices.
2) Woke up on my own at 7:30.
Yeah, I don't know, what!
3) READ MORE KRAKEN.
I love this book, I love it!!
4) Saw Keith Richards' twin on the Kings Road.
Like.......twins. Fuckin' eerie.
5) Went in for my trial shift at the cafe.
Okay. Let's get real here. Personally, I had a pretty fun time, thought I did pretty damn well considering, and discovered that serving is 100% exactly like playing Diner Dash. I mean, I'm talking the hearts above people's heads are practically in neon. However, some issues: The manager had me come in the day they switched computer systems. This means a new point-of-sale procedure, and new seating software, neither of which anyone was really clear on how to use. Add to this the fact that it had completely random table numbers missing and was buggy, and you get pandemonium.
Basically, everything was handwritten all day. But the manager didn't want me taking actual orders, just seating people. However, because it was pandemonium and no one was assigned to any section, I clearly ended up taking people's orders. But wasn't allowed to write them down or even attempt to use the computer system, because I was just "seating people". So what they asked me to do was go track down an actual server, repeat the order to them, and have them put it in to the kitchen. This.......frankly, this was nonsense. I didn't forget or mess up a single order, so it's not as I though I needed a pad & paper (and trust me, no one was more surprised by this than I was), but the fact that I had to go through a middleman to put them in? Nonsense.
The same deal happened with getting people's bills, too. The machines & the pads of paper were off-limits to me, since, again, I was "just seating"...but every other server kept legitimately abandoning their tables, so I had to run around asking anyone who was nearby for poor people's bills, and then track them down again to get them to take payment. Like, guys, I would have been so on top of this if I'd been allowed to, you know, do things.
Anyway the manager kept apologizing and insisting that it was usually never this disorganized, and people did have actual sections, but what I saw was basically servers aimlessly doing anything that needed doing at any table, so people saw, like, four or five different employees over the course of one lunch, and also I wasn't allowed to do the things I needed to do to keep things running smoothly. It's funny, I'm not very organized in my personal life (haha oh god you should see my desk right now), but in a work environment shit like this drives me crazy. I know it was my first day but I wanted to grab people, assign them to sections, and tell them to pay attention to their freakin' customers. I just felt so bad most of the time for being unable to get people their bills/food/etc in a timely manner because, you know, I wasn't allowed to.
Uh. Anyway. Yeah. I was more positive about this when I started writing, even, but just over the course of the afternoon I've just been getting increasingly annoyed about the entire series of events. The manager wants me back in on Thursday for another trial after everything settles down and people get the cash system sorted out, but obviously I'm going to continue doing interviews and dropping off resumes until then. I've got an interview tomorrow for a receptionist position at another restaurant near me that I've actually been to and love love love, so maybe that will go well! Also, it's run by a larger company, which I think is something I like better than working for a personally-owned/independent place. I like structure that allows you freedom but is still, you know, structure. Not "everyone run around everywhere fun time!"
Whew. Unexpected rant time over.
6) Applied to the BBC TV Production Trainee position!
I had a coupon for £1 for a coffee at a new coffee shop that just replaced a really obnoxious nightclub at Piccadilly Circus (this transition made my entire life complete), so I took my ass there and did the entire application in under two hours. I feel really good about it. They encouraged creativity, so I wrote a lot of it in a creative non-fiction style (not word-vomit nonsense like on LJ, but, you know, like a true short story about why I am awesome and have always been awesome and want the job so bad). The biggest challenge was having to analyze this 4.5 minute clip that was mostly jokes about football. I was all "Durrrrr IDGI?" (I actually raised the point that not everyone is into football and so it might not make sense to all listeners, but now I'm concerned that this will ruin my chances because, like...everyone here is into football? WHATEVER, HONESTY, MAYBE IT WILL WIN ME POINTS.) (Football: IstillDGI.)
7) CAME HOME, PHEW.
And now I am going to get ready for bed (at 9:10 PM hahahaha! I'm tired, leave me alone) and read some fanfiction or watch Fringe or Star Trek or read more Kraken or write or, you know......something science fiction related. Because, hi, have we met?
OKAY, NIGHT. SMILE TIME.
P.S. I kept hearing this song at Starbucks and finally got around to Googling it, and I really really love it. Basically any song that has the words "stars" and "satellites" in it, I will love, as a general rule.
1) Couldn't fall asleep until after 2 AM.
I suspect that the massive "decaf" Americano I had at 7PM last evening was nothing of the sort, and so I mainlined three shots of espresso shortly before bed. I do not appreciate this, Starbucks barista. I climbed into bed at around 11 then just rolled around checking things on my Blackberry until I fell asleep cradling it. This is my life, these are my choices.
2) Woke up on my own at 7:30.
Yeah, I don't know, what!
3) READ MORE KRAKEN.
I love this book, I love it!!
4) Saw Keith Richards' twin on the Kings Road.
Like.......twins. Fuckin' eerie.
5) Went in for my trial shift at the cafe.
Okay. Let's get real here. Personally, I had a pretty fun time, thought I did pretty damn well considering, and discovered that serving is 100% exactly like playing Diner Dash. I mean, I'm talking the hearts above people's heads are practically in neon. However, some issues: The manager had me come in the day they switched computer systems. This means a new point-of-sale procedure, and new seating software, neither of which anyone was really clear on how to use. Add to this the fact that it had completely random table numbers missing and was buggy, and you get pandemonium.
Basically, everything was handwritten all day. But the manager didn't want me taking actual orders, just seating people. However, because it was pandemonium and no one was assigned to any section, I clearly ended up taking people's orders. But wasn't allowed to write them down or even attempt to use the computer system, because I was just "seating people". So what they asked me to do was go track down an actual server, repeat the order to them, and have them put it in to the kitchen. This.......frankly, this was nonsense. I didn't forget or mess up a single order, so it's not as I though I needed a pad & paper (and trust me, no one was more surprised by this than I was), but the fact that I had to go through a middleman to put them in? Nonsense.
The same deal happened with getting people's bills, too. The machines & the pads of paper were off-limits to me, since, again, I was "just seating"...but every other server kept legitimately abandoning their tables, so I had to run around asking anyone who was nearby for poor people's bills, and then track them down again to get them to take payment. Like, guys, I would have been so on top of this if I'd been allowed to, you know, do things.
Anyway the manager kept apologizing and insisting that it was usually never this disorganized, and people did have actual sections, but what I saw was basically servers aimlessly doing anything that needed doing at any table, so people saw, like, four or five different employees over the course of one lunch, and also I wasn't allowed to do the things I needed to do to keep things running smoothly. It's funny, I'm not very organized in my personal life (haha oh god you should see my desk right now), but in a work environment shit like this drives me crazy. I know it was my first day but I wanted to grab people, assign them to sections, and tell them to pay attention to their freakin' customers. I just felt so bad most of the time for being unable to get people their bills/food/etc in a timely manner because, you know, I wasn't allowed to.
Uh. Anyway. Yeah. I was more positive about this when I started writing, even, but just over the course of the afternoon I've just been getting increasingly annoyed about the entire series of events. The manager wants me back in on Thursday for another trial after everything settles down and people get the cash system sorted out, but obviously I'm going to continue doing interviews and dropping off resumes until then. I've got an interview tomorrow for a receptionist position at another restaurant near me that I've actually been to and love love love, so maybe that will go well! Also, it's run by a larger company, which I think is something I like better than working for a personally-owned/independent place. I like structure that allows you freedom but is still, you know, structure. Not "everyone run around everywhere fun time!"
Whew. Unexpected rant time over.
6) Applied to the BBC TV Production Trainee position!
I had a coupon for £1 for a coffee at a new coffee shop that just replaced a really obnoxious nightclub at Piccadilly Circus (this transition made my entire life complete), so I took my ass there and did the entire application in under two hours. I feel really good about it. They encouraged creativity, so I wrote a lot of it in a creative non-fiction style (not word-vomit nonsense like on LJ, but, you know, like a true short story about why I am awesome and have always been awesome and want the job so bad). The biggest challenge was having to analyze this 4.5 minute clip that was mostly jokes about football. I was all "Durrrrr IDGI?" (I actually raised the point that not everyone is into football and so it might not make sense to all listeners, but now I'm concerned that this will ruin my chances because, like...everyone here is into football? WHATEVER, HONESTY, MAYBE IT WILL WIN ME POINTS.) (Football: IstillDGI.)
7) CAME HOME, PHEW.
And now I am going to get ready for bed (at 9:10 PM hahahaha! I'm tired, leave me alone) and read some fanfiction or watch Fringe or Star Trek or read more Kraken or write or, you know......something science fiction related. Because, hi, have we met?
OKAY, NIGHT. SMILE TIME.
P.S. I kept hearing this song at Starbucks and finally got around to Googling it, and I really really love it. Basically any song that has the words "stars" and "satellites" in it, I will love, as a general rule.