Like a bad tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance.

Part One: Hospi?
So, I started at the Olive Garden last week on Labor Day. That was the day that Troy, the busser's manager, told me to start. I came in on Monday, not knowing who to talk to or where to go. The hosts on staff page my manager, Kevin, to come give me the tour and get me set up and in the system. Kevin comes up there and told me he knew nothing about a transfer or a new employee, but he was glad to see me. Whatever! Kevin takes me into the "Family Room" where the family table is (it only seats 10), he starts talking to me about where I came from the differences between the two restaurants. First, there the servers do nothing more then serve and refill their salt and pepper shakers at the end of the night. Weird. Turns out that the bussers are the ones who get ice and glasses and clean sections. The host seat and when needed roll silverware for the bussers. He tells me that maybe that's why my restaurant hasn't won the P.A.C.E award like his has the past three months. Snooty but whatever.

I was working the shift, not knowing anything, and I was stuck on greeting= not my favorite thing to do. However, as Kevin pointed out it wasn't the best night for me to start learning my table numbers while seating. I met the general manager Dave, who like Kevin, knew nothing of a transfer or a new employee. Notice a trend?

There was a total of three of us working that night; at 8:30 two of us were cut. They allowed one host to close the restaurant-- in Chattanooga we were never allowed to have the lobby unattended. I was told to come back at 8 o'clock the next morning so I can learn my table numbers and get a feel for how things are done there. That next morning I found out that there are three sections in the restaurant like in Chattanooga, but they are so slow that Monday through Thursday they only run two sections. I noticed they only had two six top tables in the entire restaurant and they were both booths. Compared to Chattanooga's 14+. I started to realize this place is D-E-A-D all of the time, no wonder they can win the awards- there's nothing to do except please the few guest they do have. Nobody told me that they open the doors 15 minutes early, but I noticed it was early when people started coming in. Kevin asked me if I wanted to greet them; sure I've done that before. Once I did that everyone left me alone in the lobby; I didn't know what to do... so I sat them in a section where the server came on at 10:45. Said server came up and complained about being sat because she wasn't on the clock yet and it wasn't 11 yet. I didn't know!!! I was cut around 11:45, after sitting a table or two.

Just before I left, Kevin asked for my availability of the weekends I needed off. I gave him those with my cell number. As I was leaving, I was exhausted-- mentally! Just overwhelmed! Then I went to get my oil changed and found out that I had a slow leak in my intake gasket. That is going to cost between $400-$500! Ouch!

To add insult to injury, I went to the financial aid office to find out about my second loan. Turn out I'm not eligible for a second loan. The bitch then looked up my file and found out that I was awarded too much money, $1,000 too much. So, being the caring person she was took that money away from my account! Again, being the saint she was, she informed me there is a new government loan for $2,000 that everyone is applicable for. She printed out the form and TOLD me to fill it out THERE. I needed a pen and she pointed to the cup at the end of her desk and said, "There!" To sum this all up, I lost $1,000 and got a loan for $2,000= I only gained $1,000.

Whatever! That was all last week...all one day just about.

Kevin had told me on Tuesday to call later and find out when I worked next. I asked if three was ok because I figured it was a slow time, he said no in a way that insinuated 'Are you crazy?!' He wanted to get with Troy to see when he'd need me. "I wanted to get you as many hours as possible." I almost brought it to his attention that on my application I said 20-25 hours a week. I just told him I wanted to work a few days a week, like 3! I was told to call back around 7. I called at 6:30 because we had a dorm meeting, he was doing an interview. I called at 7:30, he told the to-go specialists he was to busy to talk on the phone. She took down my number (he now has it on my application, on the paper I gave him, and on the paper she wrote it on). He never called. I called back the next day and he was off, and I called back on Thrusday and he was off again.

p.s. I am going back to the Hamilton Place Olive Garden. I'll be back every weekend.

Part Two: Waiting to Exhale
This past weekend Jon had to stay in town for the JSU game (which they one). Jon's roommate goes home every weekend to Birmingham. So, I stayed in his room this weekend. Come Sunday I got bored and wanted to clean some things. I cleaned the floors and they were nasty! Then I tackled the air conditioning unit and it was nasty too. It is SO gross to see what we were breathing.

I brought out a Q-Tip to clean in between the grates.

DE-SCUSS-TING!

p.s. After all of this deep cleaning I doused the vents with Lysol.

Part Three- Spring Cleaning?
Roommate update time! (The '!' is only in hopes of making this next part bearable to type).

The band was at the JSU game on Saturday and I just got back from visiting my parents at the lake property, which is about 45 minutes away from campus. I was sitting in my room watching T.V. when my roommate's mother came in. She had lost a bet between her kids so she had to do their laundry. My roommate had just gotten back from his home Monday, this is where she said he did all of his laundry. As she was collecting his clothes and making a mountain of dirty clothes, she looked around at the mess. It's gotten to the point where the doorway is from the set of Legend's of the Hidden Temple (photos to come later). His mother pointed out that there were three bags of trash by the door (the trash can is at the end of the hall way), a couple of dirty bowels (which I knew were several days dirty), and a messy bed. She made his bed and took out his trash. All of his dirty clothes took up a LARGE storage container, (seen in later pictures). Anyways, I stayed in Jon's room until Monday morning, these are the photo's I came back to:

In two day's there were SO many empty soda cans (seven total around the room) in the room along with the STILL dirty dishes:

Dirty dishes! Yay!

This has now become what I enter into every time. The door wont open all the way.
(This is the "dirty clothes basket")

Tuesday's photographs: The stuff is still in the way and more!

Notice the T.V. dinner tray that has made it's way in the way.

Who want's pudding and fruit cups?

The soda cans have made it to the trash, but what of the food wrappers?
Still there!

Who's ready for the ropes course?

The room still smells like oatmeal, cinnamon, baby powder, and B.O.! However, I did go today and buy a handy Glade Plug-in (Ocean Scented). I also Febreezed the room and air conditioner!

Part Four: Home is where the homo's are!
When I was outside smoking and talking on the phone, I heard something interesting. A name I've never been called seriously, this picture was taken after I went back to my room. I saw these people back across the street and I figured I'd put them in here. I was sitting at the bottom of the steps minding my own business when the guy on the left in red shorts passed me and said this to his friends, "Bunch of gay niggas in Dixon!" Ha! I thought that was funny: a.) because it is true, b.) because I'm the tamest of all the gays here, c.) He lives here too, d.) I'm not black.