Who's the Boss?

HEY!
so, remember that secret and potentially awesome news I mentioned waaay back when?

WELL...

I'm the new General Manager of Dreams of Beans Ltd.

Its been so busy, but soo worthwhile!

argh v2.0

things are still crazy,

life is far too stressful.

but i have something in the works.

something new and exciting and very promising.

the only hitch...

patience.

(do i have enough to see this through?)

argh

i work for a multinational, so i'll keep it short...
tonight was a rediculous night.
tonight was the worst night.
i am trying to see a positive in this.
but it is more difficult than you'd think...

Daydream...

Guess who's off work tomorrow?

THIS GUY!!!

...I WANT TO DO SOMETHING FUN!
suggestions?

Ps: Dwnld "Daydream in Blue" by I, Monster.

WorkworkWORK

I am redonk busy.
REDONK.
No time off for over a week.
I like money.
A lot.
But I've grown to enjoy sleep and friends and imbibing an occasional beverage.
This may be the last you hear of me for a while.
But in the words of Ahhnold...
"I'll be Back"

trials.

I'm very conscious of living in the digital world.

I blog about work a lot. A LOT. but am very cautious about what I say and reveal. As much as I love my job, I must acknowledge that i work in a corporate entity.

So it is with a heavy hand of an editor that I type this...

Today was a BAD day. I won't go into a great amount of detail. The work itself was fine. The pace was fun, the work fulfilling. But very place of employment has a person who insists on making things difficult. Who refuses to concede, whether right or wrong, who lives off of snide comment and passive aggression. Despite my best efforts, this person got the better of me. Not to their face, although I tried to explain my position and that of what was percieved as the greater good, but behind closed (refridgerator) doors I lost my shit.

I'm going to have to try harder, but I have dificulty in moving on when I know I'm right. It's not that I can't just leave things be, if this person were only affecting temselves, I'd have no problem. They ae affecting 3 to 4 seperate but related departments. But with each keystroke, my stress dies back, and I get closer to closure.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Tomorrow will be a good day.

review...

Man!

When things come together, they really come together.
I'm employee of the month at the cafe.
And, my performance review is in at the hotel.
Not only to they love me in the kitchen, but i got me some love from the Administration and Management.
I've been reccommended to run the Gazebo this summer.
Which means, BUSY, TIRED, and CRAMPED.
Which also means, AWESOME! RESPONSIBILITY! MORE MONEY!!
It takes effect in April, and had been hinted at for a few months now.
The love is just pouring in or what I do, and I'm straight up LOVING IT!

he shoots, he scores!

today was so busy at the hotel.
atom hockey tournements fill the hotel to capacity.
and at the Holiday Inn... kids eat free!!
so I was very busy.
non-stop busy.
and can i tell you a secret?
i kinda liked it.

do you know what else i liked?
hearing things about myself through the grapevine.
i'm doing even better than i thought.

fluidity of kharma

Today will be fun.
I went out last night to shoot some stik with the guys, a thursday night tradition i've been missing a lot lately due to work. Made the effort because cluper leaves for czech very soon. A great adventure for him, but a serious loss for our crew.
I got solid sleep and solid progress made in my book.
Soon I will be getting to hawk trimmed and such.
Then a meeting at the hotel with my boss and the head of the culinary program at Sir Sanford Fleming College.
Then out for dinner, RARE, the newest kid on the block here, and from word of mouth, and excellent gourmet steakhouse.
Plus, today is payday... and I have all my bills up to date!
Money to play around with!!
Psych! Money to put towards a downpayent on a house.
Seriously. Within two years I will own my own home.
Good times always lead to good things.
Peace.

me?

So, my boss offered to apprentice me yesterday.

Which means only one year of school instead of two.
Which means discounts on school and supplies.
Which means gov't subsidies and scholarships.

2008 is starting off very very good.

turn the page

2007 saw...
The beginning of "classy on the inside" with my 23rd birthday extravaganza.
It saw the Carleton Charity Ball weekend in Ottawa.
It saw me getting my fab apartment, the first time I've truly lived on my own.
It saw new friends becoming a significant part of my life.
It saw me quitting my job of seven years.
It saw me happy at work with my new job, in my line of interest.
It saw debt reduction.
It saw honesty and openness for the first time in as long time.
It saw the multi colours, the Jew-fro, crew cut, Mohawk and beard.
It saw contacts and a drop of 60lbs.

2008 will see...
The resolve to drop another 40lbs.
The further drop in debt.
My return to school.
Travel, for the first time in my life.
More honesty, more friends, more freedom.
The resolve to cook more, if that's even possible.
The resolve to keep a visual record of my life.
A clean house. Literal and Figurative.

My heartfelt best to all of you in the new year!!

choppy chop chop

rule number one of any kitchen...

BE CAREFUL.

there are a multitude of ways to injure yourself. has anyone seen the commercial about workplace safety where the woman scalds herself with boiling oil? well, the other prep cook took off the tips of two fingers when the food processor exploded as he was making coleslaw. he will be off work for two weeks, so i will therefore, understandingly, have less of a life than i currently do. so i will have been working 7 days a week for almost 9 weeks. at least my bills are getting all caught up. theoretically.
a cogeco mix up means i made payments to the wrong account. so i have to make 4 months of payment at once, because they have mailed me a $240 refund check for an old dormant account.
otherwise, i'm having a relatively skint christmas. good gifts, but on the cheap. everyone understands, but it hurts me because giving is the fun part. otherwise, i've been antisocial, and i apologise. this will return to regular posting in the new year. apparently the hotel business slows in january.
if i'm not back on soon, the warmest wishes to everyone over the holidays, whatever you celebrate. hanukkah ended last week, but everything else is in full swing. so the best to you all.

at first i was afraid...

(not really)
this is just a quick not to say that i survived the 22 days straight of working, as well as the endless days of double shifts that came at recent. tomorrow is my day off work. whatever shall i do? other than come to dreams at 9ish and go online to see what you all have suggested...

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

one more day and 16 more hours untill i get to sleep.
i've been alternaing between giddy and lethargic all day.
justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.justgottawittillpayday.

walking the line.

since i don't have Internet at home (why pay for what you get at work for free?) i couldn't post about this news when i got home from feeding 96 people at a winter wedding.

today was an intense day as well. we had our regular Sunday brunch. that's enough to make for a busy day. but we also had, simultaneously, a Christmas party for 130 which was a brunch of a totally different menu. last night they informed us that it was probably closer to 180. less than 4 hours to prepare food for an extra 50 ppl was a lot of work. but here's the clincher, 237 ppl showed up to this function. needless to say today was a very stressful day. so stressful (but trust me, the good productive kid of stress) that i almost forgot about my impending promotion.
that's right, I'm getting a promotion less than one month into this job. '

I'll be moving onto the line a helluva lot quicker than i ever thought. I'll be working the breakfast shift 2 days a week. not a huge deal, but its really significant for me. more money, more recipes in my arsenal, more responsibility. cooking on personal level for a lot more people than doing banquets. one banquet, i may cook for 100 people, but its very impersonal than plate by plate feeding individuals. i expected to be on the line by February. was told i would be, instead, I'm on the line by December.

so lets all raise a glass (or mouse) to following your passions, moving up, and getting the recognition we all deserve!

I'm the Hip-Hop-appotemus, and my lyrics are bottomless...

Things are slowly getting back on track. Nothing bad has happened to derail what i was doing, but time seemed to be harder to manage than usual.
Going from having more free time than I knew what to do with straight into a full and part-time job involved me losing the patience and time to do the things i wanted to.
Work is busy. Work is consuming. Work is also amazing. I can't quite imagine how I managed to drudge through 7 years of employment and not realize that things were not just better elsewhere, but that I deserved them. I've never been so tired, and so happy.

Now that that's straight, I feel like I should share that, 2 week into the hotel job, I got a gold star. Nothing major, but its already more recognition than I've gotten at any other job I've had, and although the cafe had some drama over the last week, I did my first alone shift, and handled fine, and had not only a couple of nice comments from the manager and owner, but hugs from both. This is what I can only hope for, for everyone out there. Not just the recognition of accomplishments, but honest and sincere appreciation for them.

Also... Wednesday I'm geting my hair cut. This is big news, and cause for a better mood. It's no secret that I'm vain. I consider it to be a virtue. I take pride in my appearance, I ejoy the compliments I recieve, but do not limit myself to them. I do better work when I feel better about myself. I'm not above the use of product, and do not limit myself to that for hair. I you know me, you know what I mean here. So suffice it to say, I am excited at the prospect of taming the burgeoning jew-fro on my head. I think a physical change would be suiting.

And on a final note... if you are not aware of "flight of the conchords" you need to be. I was aware, but ignorant until i rented it a few days ago, too tired to go out and too caffeinated to sleep. This is some of the most therepeutic and rewarding laughter I have had in a long time.

you have no idea

I'm still alive.
But oh so tired...

while you were out,

Hey Everybody,
Orientation went well yesterday. A lot of the staff are my age, which is a change. Normally, I am the young guy working the day shifts with he 40-50 year olds.
I get free meals, and a free gym membership.
This is awesome.
I start my first real shift at 2pm today. Woo!
As well, I had an interview today for a second PT job.
This as well, went well.
I'm basicaly hired, except for the formalities.
See you on my day off.
Love,
Steve