Day thirty four: my folks.

My folks live in a little town a stone's throw away from St. John's, Newfoundland called Torbay. My dad is an RCMP Superintendent and my mom is a bank manager. They up and abandoned me roughly six years ago and I've seen them just as many times since they've left. 


Working in a restaurant with unpredictable hours has cut down the number of times I talk to my mom on the phone especially because of the time change. Newfoundland is two and a half hours ahead of Winnipeg and since my mom goes to bed as soon as the sun goes down our phone calls have since dwindled down from almost everyday to a couple times a week. Good thing she's discovered the internet and email.

Here's a typical email exchange with my mom:


Hi there,

What a great weather day here today!  Can't believe we are in the middle of November.  We have a busy day tomorrow with my bank party...plus get my roots done. Dad is up to bed & I am quickly following. Dad is now playing indoor soccer....he has something sore in the back of his leg and th house smells of HEAT.  Just watched a movie, dishes & now to bed.   

love mom 

Mom, 

Dad is too tall to tall to play indoor soccer. 

H 

My dad, on the other hand likes to send me pictures of his dives. Not only is he a soccer star, which is ridiculous because his height would be better used in basketball or volleyball, but he is an avid scuba diver and he likes tea. He also sends me links or recipes or jokes. 

Here's a typical email exchange with my dad:

Yummy teas. www.davidstea.com 

There are stores near you! 

M

Dad, 

You are too old to use words like 'yummy'.

H  

Day One.

Today, I officially started living off of my tips. 


I worked a split shift. The lunch shift, which for some reason I call a morning shift, started at 11:30 and lasted until 3:15. Rarely do I work past 2 on a lunch shift. Longer shifts mean more tables and more tables means more money for me:

• total sales $466.32
• tips $61

The evening portion of my shift started at 4:00. 


Tonight was one of those nights that being at work was a lot of fun. I had no problems with my tables, guests laughed at my jokes and when food went out late, as it tends to do when (insert real name here) gets busy, my tables understood and didn't get upset. I think I was as Zen as I could be considering that I was at work. 


When a table is pleasant to serve it makes my job easier. 


A good section is pivotal in having a good night, too. In my opinion, good section is close to the windows and had both booths and regular tables. 


A section is the area of tables in the restaurant a server is assigned to wait on. 


Of course I forgot to write down my total sales and tips I made but my guess is about $700-$750 and $80. 


I decided that I'd go an meet a pal from work at my neighbourhood bar. In oder to not blow 60  bucks on booze, I'm taking $20 for a couple of beers and the rest goes in the savings jar. I don't understand why, until now, I've never only brought out some cash rather than all the cash I had. Maybe I'd have more to show for my summer of non-stop working if I had used this method earlier. 


Only bring out some cash is also nifty device to help me snap out of patio season mentality and put me back into reality. I can't sleep away my mornings because I was out having dinner or drinks or dinner and drinks with friends like I did in the summer. Now I have to limit myself and --gasp-- budget. 


Tonight, the sky's the limit... up to $20. 

Tips earned: $140

Tips spent: $20