Smoke, Food, and all that Jazz, take 2 and 3

Yesterday was another double day. A split shift, as Meg calls it. Either way, I worked two shifts in a row. And it rocked. I always have a ton of energy while I'm there, and its usually not until I stop moving (aka that 20 minute drive home) when I really feel the exhaustion hit. While I'm there, though, I give it all I've got, and it works!

So, obviously, it was packed even in the morning from all the people in town for the jazz festival, and Sam and Anthony and I had to work really hard to turn out all the silverware we could. None of us had time to be rolling silverware, so our stock was depleted in a heartbeat, and suddenly we found ourselves silverwareless. This went on until 1:45 PM or so, and only after 2:00 did we catch a break and have time to catch up on things.

Meanwhile, the kitchen staff was falling apart at the seams. The pizza dudes were getting more orders than they could turn out, so their line was backed up at least ten minutes even though they had all three ovens going. Erik was working his fastest at pulling and cutting the pizzas, and even then the servers were impatient to get them out to their tables. The pasta line kept running out of peas and lasagna, and Devan was freaking out on the sando line because he didn't have time to leave his counter to get more bread, and he needed it badly.

This is where I came into play. I was the floater, which means that though I was mostly busing, I also helped Samantha with hostessing when she needed the help, and ran errands to Rite Aid and Winco for Ben and Cameron, and restocked the lines when they needed it. That's what the floater does. She picks up whatever jobs the managers throw at her. So obviously with all this happening, I was kept really busy. Ben wanted me out in the dining room busing with Anthony, but Cameron thought I was needed more in the kitchen, so I had to compromise and do both!

And it rocked.

Some of the fun things that I got to do consisted of blowing up a dozen balloons, flipping the door signs from closed to open (I've wanted to do that my whole life!), being at war with Michael, doing a garbage run (for some reason I find that really fun, lol), telling jokes with Patrick and Jamie, breaking down boxes, and discovering that contrary to popular belief, we actually do have green onions stocked in the walk-in. That made me happy. Green onions are important things for the salad and pasta lines, so I'm happy with my discovery.

The morning and early hours of the afternoon flew by, and soon there was no waiting list, and only four tables or so were in use. Around 3:00 Robert showed up to take over for Ben, and I knew that it was time to trade out shifts. The evening crew would be showing up, and I could catch my break between my shifts now. My break consisted of pepperoni pizza and a red bull that Michael had given to me as a sign of truce for a few hours in the afternoon so that we could catch a break, and I was back on the clock as pantry girl fifteen minutes later.

Robert had me play hostess until Brya arrived, and that in itself was scary. I really don't like being hostess on my own. The pressure of dealing with people waiting for tables is so different from the pressure I get from the cooks and also different from the kind that you get when you're serving a table. People waiting for a table are very different from people waiting for food, and that scares me if I have to do it on my own. I can do it, but not easily.

Thus! It was with much fright that I received the news that we had a part of 37 + coming in before Brya was scheduled to come in. And surprise! They did come before she did. Let me tell you that if you work in a restaurant, seeing 37 + people walking up the parking lot toward the front door is one of the most frightening things you will ever see. Ever. Period. Thankfully, when I saw them coming, Robert was there and told me he would take care of it. I was very grateful and made my escape to the dish pit.
Me, running into the dish pit: "Run for your lives, boys, the animals are coming!!!" (that, by the way, is something one of my brothers yelled in his sleep one night many years ago)
Nolan: "Is that huge party here?"
Me: "Yes."
Nolan: "Ooooo, cool, lets go spy on them!"
Haha, so we went back out and stood behind the pantry counter and nonchalantly watched the huge stream of people walk past as they were shown to the Empire Room. Pretty much everyone in the kitchen stopped what they were doing for a moment to watch the endless line go by. It was one of the biggest groups we've had yet, and we were rather dazed.

Alas, we were like cows before the slaughter. Once Michael began ringing in their orders, we felt it like nothing else. BAM! Two Riverwalks, a Sesame, two Greeks, and a chx Caesar popped up. I didn't even want to see what kind of ticket the pizza line received. Micheal felt so bad for us that he actually went around and apologized to all the lines, haha.

Now, laughter is one of the best tension releasers that we have at work, and it spreads way faster than anything. Ben and Robert work pretty hard at keeping things light for us so that we don't feel like we're drowning in our work. That's why Robert tells us jokes all the time. To help us not to stress. To keep us laughing. People laughing in the kitchen helps way more than any of us really know. Robert told me a few weeks ago that when I really am struck with something hilarious, the laugh I use in those cases is one of the most infectious laughs he's ever heard. I'm one of his best laughers, apparently, so he tries to make sure that I'm happy and have plenty to laugh at. Well, with all my salads to crank out at once, and all the little sides that all other servers were ringing in every 70 seconds, I could easily have drowned and been in a horrible mood. But Erik saved the day.

You see, Erik has a very special chicken that he carries around with him in his pocket. Its one of those little toy chickens that squawk when you squeeze it. Well, yesterday he took to squeezing his chicken every time he walked passed me, and for some reason having this random sound that happens around me is fun in a really odd sort of way. If he hadn't been squawking his chicken, I probably wouldn't have had much fun, and if I hadn't laughed, people would have had to actually work at staying cheerful instead of just being naturally cheerful. So, that worked out nicely. That chicken saved us from being miserable, and Erik was proud of himself.

By the end of the night:
1) Erik and I decided we need to name his chicken, so our mission this week is to come up with a name for it before Friday, which is when I work next. So if y'all have any ideas, bring 'em on.
2) Jamie, Teresa, and I decided that its time to start wearing short sleeved shirts to work again. We switched to long sleeves for the winter, but the past two weeks or so we've been burning up back there. When you're hostessing beside the front doors for five hours, yeah, it gets cold. But when you're working in the kitchen and/or running around the dining room constantly, you definitely don't need sleeves. So this is what we're going to start doing now that its March.
3) I discovered that for some strange reason I have not one, but TWO Addie name tags. And I have no idea when that happened, because last week I didn't have either one. Last week I had to use my Faith name tag because I couldn't find Addie. And now I have two of them! I didn't even put in a request for a new one! So, yeah, I'm considering wearing all three sometime just to see what sort of reactions I will get. Buahahaha...
4) Patrick nailed me with three pennies over the course of the evening so my right shoulder is now rather sore. He never meant to hit me, and the first time he wasn't even trying to get close. He was just throwing the penny from the bar counter to the hostess stand and I walked into its path. The second time he did try to get close to me, but again, I moved unknowingly into its path. The third time he tried to get close yet again, and this time it bounced off the pasta counter behind me and hit me. We were both amused at our horrible luck, and Robert eventually put a stop to his throwing pennies around on the grounds that it might hit a customer. Its okay if it hits Addie, we just don't want the customers getting his. I was like, "... Thanks, Robert." lol
5) Casey, who usually calls me Miss Addie, decided he likes my full middle name and is going to start calling me Miss Adeline now. Robert and Alex both call me Faith fairly consistently, while everyone else (with the exception of Nolan) call me Addie. Nolan, though, calls me Rachel. He wanted to be special and call me by a different name too, but Faith and Adeline were already taken. So he just chose some random name, and I'm now also Rachel. I have to say, though, that listening for this many names gets confusing.
6) I succeeded in getting carmel topping all over Joe's arm. Go me. Haha! Thankfully it was about twenty minutes before closing, so it wasn't at a time in which Joe or I were slammed. I don't know what came over me. I just lifted the spoon out of the container at just the right moment as Joe passed his arm over the top of it, and bloop, carmel on his arm. Erik and Matt, who were leaning over my counter talking to Joe and I, absolutely cracked up. And Joe was laughing and said, "Oohhhh, Addie, how could you?? Don't you know this stuff doesn't come off?!" And ran off to wash it off. I felt stupid, but I was laughing too hard to speak. I seriously couldn't say anything for a whole minute.

So, all in all my Saturday double went well, and we made a ton of business. Robert and Ben were proud of how well we did, as they always are, and although my feet were rather swollen today, and I limped for a while this morning, it was worth it. It always is. That's why I keep picking up shifts for people and working doubles. I may put up with a lot, but I'm happy there, and laughing isn't something I have to work at. Its genuine. My job is such a blessing, and I learn things from every new shift I work. Besides, I think that I can actually see that I've made an impact on Smoky Mountain, and being able to see this is awesome. I'll tell you about what my impact is sometime, but for now I shall bid you all adieu and close another chapter in my story about Smoky Mountain.

Adieu!