Sometimes the tips do add up.

For the first and most likely the last time ever I received a 100% pay raise at my job today. Yes I am moving from $4 an hour plus tips to $8 an hour plus tips. When I started the job I was pleased to receive anything more than the paltry $2.83 wages that I mysteriously never saw very much of from Buca Di Beppo in Wynnehood. Now to have the pay increase and not to currently have to pay rent I am more than pleased as punch. As soon as chef made his announcement I could not remove the cheesy, ecstatic grin from my face all through the staff meeting. Just yesterday I was contemplating look for another breakfast restaurant, but now I am officially making more money than any other shift in town.

Returning to the restaurant world has made me realize that I DO NOT want to be a career waitress like so many people I have worked with over the years. Yes the money is fantastic (people always need to eat) and for the most part you can choose the hours of your shifts, but the trade off in the end is not worth the trouble. Between the 5am wake ups or the 2 am closes or cranky people and the occasional $12 nights I just can't bear to make myself push through the pain for the long haul. Add on high stress, swollen feet, and bodily wear and tear and I might just stab someone in the eye with a cocktail fork before my next birthday. Now that I've acquired the necessary skills for medium to fine dining and a basic knowledge of bar tending I will always have a universal source of extra earned income and for now that is fine, but give me a month or two and I will finally be fed up enough to put together a polished resume and be out on the street looking for a salaried day job.

My mother is especially excited for me to start out on my career journey in life. She is eagerly anticipating what twists and turns I may take in the future and is constantly offering up advice and suggestions and networking on my behalf. Eventually I will even take her up on her connective knowledge and move on up in the world. 

A little pain, a little pasta, and a whole lot of tea.

I love my new job, but I definitely forgot how messy restaurant work can be, especially when it's high volume. I've been spoiled up at the Hob Knob with just one seating and then leaving by 9pm at the latest. It's more like the GMI, long hours, more tables, a way more eclectic group of staff, but instead of Jamaicans we have have Mexicans. I need to get a couple more white shirts this week, hopefully Kohls restocked their boys department.

I have almost awesome news: Lance says that I can get the Wii when I come home this summer. Samantha will be in Florida for most of the summer so I won't have to fight her for it. I just have to reason with my mom. Mom if you give me the Wii, you'll have more of a reason to come visit PA and stock me with food. So it's a win-win for both of us.

I also have bad news for me: my throat simply will not feel better. I have done everything that I can think of to soothe the icky pain. And it's been a tough week with work and school and the crazy weather (which I think is aggravating it even more). I've dissolved more than my fair share of cough drops, gargled an unhealthy amount of peroxide, drank my body weight in herbal medicinal teas, and neti potted to the point where my sinuses resemble the Jersey Shore more than a human sinus cavity and there has been no relief. I want to rip my throat out and then punch someone it's irritating me that bad. I'm also a little worried that it's doesn't mess up my tonsils or travel up my Eustachian tube to my ear and give me an ear infection. The thought of any of those make me almost want to cry and if it does turn into tonsillitis or an ear infection I will be crying and very very unhappy.

On another note in the life of Sidney: I got extremely schwasted this weekend. I completely intended to get inebriated when I went out on Friday which is why I had a friend give me a ride to the bar, but I didn't intend to let it get as far as it did. I have had to be a responsible grownup lately and I just wanted a night where I didn't have to worry about driving anywhere or having to worry about any of my friends doing something silly. I wanted to have a selfish night, it's just been a while since I've had a selfish night and I ended up pre-gaming the pre-game. I broke the Cardinal Rule of field hockey and I paid the price, but I also have one of the most amazing friends in the entire world who took it upon himself to take me home and take care of me. He didn't have to do any of it, but he took it upon himself to help me out because that's the type of person he is: an incredibly selfless and caring friend. He took me home and got me cleaned up and into bed. He made sure that I was safe and then I think he told me a story about a bunny rabbit (or maybe it was a squirrel). He probably would have even stayed the night if I had really needed him too, he's just that awesome. I need to do something in return for going above and beyond, but I know he won't accept anything. So I'm letting him know: If you every need anything, anything at all in the whole wide world you can call me and I will be like the mailman. I will fight rain, snow, sleet, hail, or death of night to help you out. I love you, man (that last part would have sounded way cooler if I were Jason Segel).  He wrote an incredibly beautiful post about the selflessness of friendship. Good friends hep each other out no matter what. I would do anything for my friends because I love them.

Tip of the day.

When you come to America and want to go out to eat, please know and respect our customs and leave an appropriate tip for the server, or at least read the tip calculator conveniently printed at the bottom of your receipt and neatly circled in red! Very few of us chose to be your server by choice. We are broke college students or people working a second job to make ends meet. We are relying on your tips to pay the bills. If you can't pony up the 20% on a bill that is already over a hundred dollars, DO NOT GO OUT! We DO NOT need your business. I am perfectly fine waiting for the gentleman with the Centurion Card to come in, and believe me, in this town I see a lot of them. If it is so hard for you pay the full tip, go to McDonald's or better yet stay home! And if you're a guest at the Stowe Mountain Lodge, stay on the mountain, you're assholes anyways.

For the rest of you that know how to dine appropriately, thank you and please come again!