So I think all of you know my theory about girls named Brittany. Basically it's that if you want your little girl to become a whore, name her Brittany. I have never liked a girl named Brittany. There are two girls named Brittany at work. I haven't had any problems with them yet, but one of them is about 19, pregnant with an illegitimate child, and sells Adderall on the side. Don't worry though because she's marrying the father. The other Brittany had a tab walk out on her tonight and everybody was expected to chip in so she wouldn't have to pay the $100 tab by herself. I put in some money just for karma's sake.
This was my first night working off of training. I was really excited to get out on my own and make all the money everyone's been talking about. I didn't realize I was working a rehearsal dinner. There were three of us working it actually. It was pretty easy work, but not at all indicative of how a weekend night would normally be there. Also, I hate working functions. That's why I hate working at country clubs. You stand in one place for a long time and then walk around clearing plates and serve people exorbitant amounts of alcohol. It's so boring. I ended up making $150 so I can't complain too much.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I found a lady bug in my prepackaged organic spinach. It was still alive. That might be a little more organic than I wanted.
My job is going pretty well. Everyone is really chill and relatively friendly. One girl even said I smile a lot. That's almost definitely the first time in my life I've heard that. It was pretty ridiculously slow, my trainer and I had under ten tables and she still made $100 on a Tuesday night so that's pretty comforting. They have bussers, expeditors, food runners, bartenders and hosts so the waitresses really don't do that much. I might feel differently on a busy night, but right now I'm used to doing so much more that I had a hard time just standing there all night. That's pretty much what I did. Stood in one place all night. So I'm anxious to be fully trained and on the floor for my own tips. I'm scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights this week so I guess we'll see how well I hang in there on a busy shift.
I went to my landlords yesterday to see what it would entail to transfer my lease to another apartment on the premises. The manager said for me to talk to such and such person and stroked my arm and said, "Sorry, sweetie." I didn't even have to tell her who my roommate was or anything that has happened. She treats everyone this way. Then this morning I found a note on our front door from our managers saying they were sorry things weren't going well and to let them know if they can do anything to make my stay better. I thought that was really nice. It's unexpected to have landlords that are so understanding and willing to take that extra step to make you feel like your being taken care of.
A couple other good notes to leave on:
1- Check out this website. It makes me hungry and want to puke at the same time.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
2- Check out this youtube clip. It's older, so you may have already seen it. It's a classic though and says so many things I can't at times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs
My job is going pretty well. Everyone is really chill and relatively friendly. One girl even said I smile a lot. That's almost definitely the first time in my life I've heard that. It was pretty ridiculously slow, my trainer and I had under ten tables and she still made $100 on a Tuesday night so that's pretty comforting. They have bussers, expeditors, food runners, bartenders and hosts so the waitresses really don't do that much. I might feel differently on a busy night, but right now I'm used to doing so much more that I had a hard time just standing there all night. That's pretty much what I did. Stood in one place all night. So I'm anxious to be fully trained and on the floor for my own tips. I'm scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights this week so I guess we'll see how well I hang in there on a busy shift.
I went to my landlords yesterday to see what it would entail to transfer my lease to another apartment on the premises. The manager said for me to talk to such and such person and stroked my arm and said, "Sorry, sweetie." I didn't even have to tell her who my roommate was or anything that has happened. She treats everyone this way. Then this morning I found a note on our front door from our managers saying they were sorry things weren't going well and to let them know if they can do anything to make my stay better. I thought that was really nice. It's unexpected to have landlords that are so understanding and willing to take that extra step to make you feel like your being taken care of.
A couple other good notes to leave on:
1- Check out this website. It makes me hungry and want to puke at the same time.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
2- Check out this youtube clip. It's older, so you may have already seen it. It's a classic though and says so many things I can't at times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Essay Attempt #1
The essay should be critiqued using the following criteria:
1)states or clearly implies a thesis
2)organizes and develops ideas logically
3)clearly explains key ideas and supports them with details
4)uses sentence variety
5)effective use of language
6)generally free of grammatical errors
I usually have trouble with elaboration in particular as well as sentence variety so those points are most important for me to address. The essay is timed, thirty minutes from the time the prompt is read. Because the essay is timed, grammar needs to be close, not exact. So some spelling and minor errors will be overlooked. It will finally be graded from 0-6. So let me know what you guys think in the end.
Prompt:
Should people be allowed to treat their dogs like children
Everything moves so quickly in society. Kids are adults before you know it and responsibility is being put on them at a younger and younger age. Because of this need to achieve, careers are often made a top priority as opposed to marriage and raising a family as in previous decades. The average age for marriage is pushed farther and farther away as people pursue their career goals. Real human relationships are shied away from and looked at with more trepidation. Dogs are brought in to fill emotional voids and take the place of marriage and children. More and more dogs are treated as humans and are therefore being deprived of their very kanine essence.
Career tracts are being pushed on high school students nowadays. So much pressure is placed on teenagers and college students to pick a profession and pursue a degree and lucrative job, that emotional relationships are missed out on. All of a sudden people are found in serious relationships when they cannot behave seriously and responsibly. Dogs are brought in to test the bond between adults and to see if the dog can be raised properly before children are introduced into the picture. Why should a dog be subjected to irresponsible people any more than children should be? One of two things will happen: either the couple is irresponsible and the dog is neglected, or the couple starts treating like a child itself. In either scenario the dog suffers. Dogs do not need to be relied on so heavily. They are only pets, not magical relationship band-aids or little furry babies waiting to be taken to doggy yoga.
In the cases when people are so focused on their careers that they do not settle down with a mate at all, it is even more likely that a dog will be used to fill an emotional void. These are the people to really watch. They are the ones who dress their dogs up in little costumes and outfits. The ones who take their dogs on spa days and paint their toenails. Pet owners that subject their dog to such frivolity are simply looking for unconditional love. That is, after all, what dogs are known for. Unconditional loyalty and devotion are the two qualities that almost any breed of dog has. It is the human species selfish need for reciprocated love and blind obedience that drives them to adopt dogs as a child substitute. Children talk back, complain say, "I hate you!" A dog would never do any of those things to its owner. That is their appeal and why single people all over America use dogs for companionship.
Dogs are animals, not children. Most breeds are meant to be able to fend for themselves outside without clothing or elaborate dog mansions. They are supposed to run around in the grass, not be carried around in a Louis Vuitton satchel. Being coddled in the nook of your elbow, or by talking to them like you would another human being deprives a dog of its mojo. That is when dogs become spoiled and impossible for others to interact with it. The dogs are little figurines or prized possessions rather than an animal companion that it should be and inately wants to be.
More and more commonly dogs are used as little status symbols and for the filling of emotional voids in todays society. It not only deprives the dog of what it is naturally inclined to be, but it also prohibits people from forging true relationships and communicating with each other. Dogs cannot be children or buffers for ragged relationships. They can only be simple companions and that is all they should be.
Okay, so I ran out of time. That was a hard one. It took me a while to get going and then I had so much going through my mind I had a hard time articulating what I was thinking. I kept wanting to write about stupid people that let their dogs pee on other people's beds.
On a separate note, I'm happy with today. I bought a nice little gift for Stella and Danielle's birthdays (I hope they don't mind sharing it). I also finally found the recycling center! I kept reading on all these packages, "Recyclable if facilities exist." And I kept thinking I wish I knew if they did. I have literally been driving around for days with recycling in my car trying to find the center. I was starting to think it was an urban myth.
I started my new job today and I think I like it a lot. It's really relaxed and everybody seems pretty fun. I can be more of myself rather than feeling so uptight as I often did at other restaurants. So that's good.
1)states or clearly implies a thesis
2)organizes and develops ideas logically
3)clearly explains key ideas and supports them with details
4)uses sentence variety
5)effective use of language
6)generally free of grammatical errors
I usually have trouble with elaboration in particular as well as sentence variety so those points are most important for me to address. The essay is timed, thirty minutes from the time the prompt is read. Because the essay is timed, grammar needs to be close, not exact. So some spelling and minor errors will be overlooked. It will finally be graded from 0-6. So let me know what you guys think in the end.
Prompt:
Should people be allowed to treat their dogs like children
Everything moves so quickly in society. Kids are adults before you know it and responsibility is being put on them at a younger and younger age. Because of this need to achieve, careers are often made a top priority as opposed to marriage and raising a family as in previous decades. The average age for marriage is pushed farther and farther away as people pursue their career goals. Real human relationships are shied away from and looked at with more trepidation. Dogs are brought in to fill emotional voids and take the place of marriage and children. More and more dogs are treated as humans and are therefore being deprived of their very kanine essence.
Career tracts are being pushed on high school students nowadays. So much pressure is placed on teenagers and college students to pick a profession and pursue a degree and lucrative job, that emotional relationships are missed out on. All of a sudden people are found in serious relationships when they cannot behave seriously and responsibly. Dogs are brought in to test the bond between adults and to see if the dog can be raised properly before children are introduced into the picture. Why should a dog be subjected to irresponsible people any more than children should be? One of two things will happen: either the couple is irresponsible and the dog is neglected, or the couple starts treating like a child itself. In either scenario the dog suffers. Dogs do not need to be relied on so heavily. They are only pets, not magical relationship band-aids or little furry babies waiting to be taken to doggy yoga.
In the cases when people are so focused on their careers that they do not settle down with a mate at all, it is even more likely that a dog will be used to fill an emotional void. These are the people to really watch. They are the ones who dress their dogs up in little costumes and outfits. The ones who take their dogs on spa days and paint their toenails. Pet owners that subject their dog to such frivolity are simply looking for unconditional love. That is, after all, what dogs are known for. Unconditional loyalty and devotion are the two qualities that almost any breed of dog has. It is the human species selfish need for reciprocated love and blind obedience that drives them to adopt dogs as a child substitute. Children talk back, complain say, "I hate you!" A dog would never do any of those things to its owner. That is their appeal and why single people all over America use dogs for companionship.
Dogs are animals, not children. Most breeds are meant to be able to fend for themselves outside without clothing or elaborate dog mansions. They are supposed to run around in the grass, not be carried around in a Louis Vuitton satchel. Being coddled in the nook of your elbow, or by talking to them like you would another human being deprives a dog of its mojo. That is when dogs become spoiled and impossible for others to interact with it. The dogs are little figurines or prized possessions rather than an animal companion that it should be and inately wants to be.
More and more commonly dogs are used as little status symbols and for the filling of emotional voids in todays society. It not only deprives the dog of what it is naturally inclined to be, but it also prohibits people from forging true relationships and communicating with each other. Dogs cannot be children or buffers for ragged relationships. They can only be simple companions and that is all they should be.
Okay, so I ran out of time. That was a hard one. It took me a while to get going and then I had so much going through my mind I had a hard time articulating what I was thinking. I kept wanting to write about stupid people that let their dogs pee on other people's beds.
On a separate note, I'm happy with today. I bought a nice little gift for Stella and Danielle's birthdays (I hope they don't mind sharing it). I also finally found the recycling center! I kept reading on all these packages, "Recyclable if facilities exist." And I kept thinking I wish I knew if they did. I have literally been driving around for days with recycling in my car trying to find the center. I was starting to think it was an urban myth.
I started my new job today and I think I like it a lot. It's really relaxed and everybody seems pretty fun. I can be more of myself rather than feeling so uptight as I often did at other restaurants. So that's good.
Monday, April 13, 2009
A Kat Melange
I just have a few things to say:
I have not lived with someone who slams doors since I was a teenager. It's completely baffling to me that someone my age would use that as a form of passive aggressive communication. Baffling.
I am excited and a little nervous to start my new job today. I hope this one works out. In reality even if it doesn't I'll need to stay anyway because I can't continue to burn bridges in the restaurant industry down here.
I've gone to walk on the beach twice this week. Three times if you count the time I went during high tide and had to go home. It was really nice. Even though the second time it was ridiculously windy. Like a really windy day in Boone but sand was getting blown in your eyes rather than ice. I've been going to Sullivan's Island and it's a really nice small family beach with small waves. It's not really the trendy beach down here, but that's why I like it. Beach atmosphere without beach crowds.
I bought a table for my TV and record player. Well two tables. I couldn't find a console table that was wide enough and made of a material that I liked. I settled on two of these end tables butted together.
These tables are part of Overstock's Worldstock department. It is a section of Overstock that contains furniture and household items that are made by world artisans of mostly sustainable materials. The purchase of these items supports the artisans of these foreign areas and each item has a story attached. This is the story for this item:
Mango wood is indigenous to Northern Thailand. It is here, in the Golden Triangle, where Mr. Suwichack Ampanan and a small group of fellow artisans have been perfecting the craft of working with mango wood. Mr. Ampanan first learned the trade of woodworking about 15 years ago from his father. He now oversees a group of five artisans, but is actively involved in most every piece that leaves the workshop. By employing other local artisans, Mr. Ampanan has allowed them to enjoy a better standard of living than is offered by farming. All mango wood products from Mr. Ampanan's workshop are environmentally responsible. They only use mango trees that can no longer bear fruit. He and his staff hope you enjoy their products as much as they enjoy creating them.
While it is made of a "sustainable" material and supports an artisan you do have to consider the exchange of it being shipped from Thailand. Hopefully they will do a better job than Crate & Barrel who shipped my bamboo shelves in about three trash bags worth of styrofoam. At any rate, it is a fully assembled piece of furniture and because it is from Overstock the shipping was minimal and I had a gift certificate so I got about $50 off. I got both tables for under $200 and I can finally take my TV off of my record player and stacked plastic containers.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for the essay suggestions. I will attempt to answer one of the prompts when I get home tonight and then I will ask you all to assess the essay on criteria to be divulged later.
I have not lived with someone who slams doors since I was a teenager. It's completely baffling to me that someone my age would use that as a form of passive aggressive communication. Baffling.
I am excited and a little nervous to start my new job today. I hope this one works out. In reality even if it doesn't I'll need to stay anyway because I can't continue to burn bridges in the restaurant industry down here.
I've gone to walk on the beach twice this week. Three times if you count the time I went during high tide and had to go home. It was really nice. Even though the second time it was ridiculously windy. Like a really windy day in Boone but sand was getting blown in your eyes rather than ice. I've been going to Sullivan's Island and it's a really nice small family beach with small waves. It's not really the trendy beach down here, but that's why I like it. Beach atmosphere without beach crowds.
I bought a table for my TV and record player. Well two tables. I couldn't find a console table that was wide enough and made of a material that I liked. I settled on two of these end tables butted together.
These tables are part of Overstock's Worldstock department. It is a section of Overstock that contains furniture and household items that are made by world artisans of mostly sustainable materials. The purchase of these items supports the artisans of these foreign areas and each item has a story attached. This is the story for this item:
Mango wood is indigenous to Northern Thailand. It is here, in the Golden Triangle, where Mr. Suwichack Ampanan and a small group of fellow artisans have been perfecting the craft of working with mango wood. Mr. Ampanan first learned the trade of woodworking about 15 years ago from his father. He now oversees a group of five artisans, but is actively involved in most every piece that leaves the workshop. By employing other local artisans, Mr. Ampanan has allowed them to enjoy a better standard of living than is offered by farming. All mango wood products from Mr. Ampanan's workshop are environmentally responsible. They only use mango trees that can no longer bear fruit. He and his staff hope you enjoy their products as much as they enjoy creating them.
While it is made of a "sustainable" material and supports an artisan you do have to consider the exchange of it being shipped from Thailand. Hopefully they will do a better job than Crate & Barrel who shipped my bamboo shelves in about three trash bags worth of styrofoam. At any rate, it is a fully assembled piece of furniture and because it is from Overstock the shipping was minimal and I had a gift certificate so I got about $50 off. I got both tables for under $200 and I can finally take my TV off of my record player and stacked plastic containers.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for the essay suggestions. I will attempt to answer one of the prompts when I get home tonight and then I will ask you all to assess the essay on criteria to be divulged later.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Music to My Tears
So I saw this clip posted on Yahoo, like I'm sure many of you did.
http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=4816051&l=100022574
I watched and did something most of you probably didn't/wouldn't. I cried. I mean cried, not just a tear up. There were tears falling down my cheeks. I really don't know why I got so emotional. It actually caught me a little off guard.
The thing is I really love musicals. I think the whole idea of a musical is so innocent and pure. Even when it's about something not so pure like Gypsy or some of the songs from The Music Man. I just really kind of wish life was more like a musical I guess. I wish people were emotionally available enough that they would burst into song about what they're thinking right then and there. The fact that someone actually planned this event and made it a realization is just awesome. It's the kind of artistic impact I've always wanted to make.
In school I had an assignment to do something I'd never done in my life before and write an essay and then turn it into a book, typeset it and illustrate it. Many of you know I chose to learn how to shoot a gun. I had a friend who chose to spontaneously burst into song like she was in a musical. She went to Macado's and started singing "Dancing in the Street." People actually chimed in and sang with her. It was pretty cool.
ANYWAY, I was studying for the Writing Praxis last night and realized I don't really have a way to prepare for my essay exam. My writing style is obviously pretty conversational so I do need a little practice. I was thinking maybe some of you guys could give me some prompts and I'll write a timed essay on here and post it. The prompts are pretty general opinion questions that don't require a lot of prior knowledge. An example in my book was whether or not letter grading systems should be replaced with a pass/fail system. I'm going to be working on my grammar separately, but I really need practice elaborating on my ideas and such.
Any suggestions on prompts?
http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=4816051&l=100022574
I watched and did something most of you probably didn't/wouldn't. I cried. I mean cried, not just a tear up. There were tears falling down my cheeks. I really don't know why I got so emotional. It actually caught me a little off guard.
The thing is I really love musicals. I think the whole idea of a musical is so innocent and pure. Even when it's about something not so pure like Gypsy or some of the songs from The Music Man. I just really kind of wish life was more like a musical I guess. I wish people were emotionally available enough that they would burst into song about what they're thinking right then and there. The fact that someone actually planned this event and made it a realization is just awesome. It's the kind of artistic impact I've always wanted to make.
In school I had an assignment to do something I'd never done in my life before and write an essay and then turn it into a book, typeset it and illustrate it. Many of you know I chose to learn how to shoot a gun. I had a friend who chose to spontaneously burst into song like she was in a musical. She went to Macado's and started singing "Dancing in the Street." People actually chimed in and sang with her. It was pretty cool.
ANYWAY, I was studying for the Writing Praxis last night and realized I don't really have a way to prepare for my essay exam. My writing style is obviously pretty conversational so I do need a little practice. I was thinking maybe some of you guys could give me some prompts and I'll write a timed essay on here and post it. The prompts are pretty general opinion questions that don't require a lot of prior knowledge. An example in my book was whether or not letter grading systems should be replaced with a pass/fail system. I'm going to be working on my grammar separately, but I really need practice elaborating on my ideas and such.
Any suggestions on prompts?
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