Van guy

Today was my first day back at work after a 4 day break. (I didn't have work last thursday or friday because of the holidays, which were great by the way.) It's good to back in philly and back at work though, for the most part anyway. I got to see my favorites: Jen, Nate, Henry, Galdino, the van driver delivery guy....pretty much everyone. I can't remember if I've already mentioned the van driver, but he's really growing on me. He comes to our location once or twice a day to deliver the food and specials for the day, and sometimes some other random stuff. And lately I find myself looking forward to the moment he walks in with his cart full of stuff. The only bad thing about him coming to deliver the stuff is that he only stays for 5 minutes and then he has to go to the other locations we have in philly. I don't even know his name, and we've only spoken a few times, but each day we say a couple more words to each other. Today I wasn't so lucky though. Kevin decided to take about a half an hour messing up and then messing up again while counting the deposits for the bank, so by the time I went, I walked out the door, and there he was! He just pulled up in the van and I had to leave. I was so mad. Stupid Kevin...I could have stayed and been with him (for all of 5 minutes, maybe 10) but still, I was annoyed. So I just asked how he was and he asked where I was going. It was a very unexciting conversation. Maybe it's just all in my head, but I think he's taken a liking to me too. When he drops off the specials, he used to just leave them on the counter, my counter, without saying anything to me. He didn't have to, I knew what they were and he had no reason to talk to me. But NOW, after days of saying "hi," and then "hey, how are you" and slightly more eye contact each time, and slowly more sentences, each day something more, now after all that, he walks up to me, even if I'm in the middle of doing something, and says, "here are the specials." And then stands there almost like a lost little kid. How sweet! Okay, I know I'm taking this way overboard, but I think that means something. He now hands me the specials because maybe, just maybe, he wants a reason to talk to me and see me, even if it's just for a few seconds. He never used to do that with the specials, but now he does. I think this is a breakthrough! Wow I am pathetic! The things that amuse me while on counter!

Double

Today I woke up on the right side of the bed! For some reason, I was in an extra good mood all day long, despite the fact that I was working a double. Really the only thing that irritated me all day was when Ryan shoved some sugar in my face and said, "take that to my table!" That just sent me into a whirlwind rants and raves in my brain. All of the things I wished to say to him just bounced around inside my head, and all I could come up with was, "why? I'm busy." To which he of course got really pissed and ran off and did it himself. Ugh... I don't know how you servers do things at night, but during the day we're nice to each other, and considerate of each other. I do favors for servers, and servers do favors for me, but we always ASK for favors, IF they're not busy. And then we THANK them for helping us out. We don't just shove objects in each other's faces and yell at them to go take it to their table. You don't know how busy I am! I have other things going on right now, I'm already running errands for other servers, plus someone is waiting at the counter for me. I don't have time to do whatever you ask, to wait on you hand and foot! Maybe I am taking this too far, but people can sometimes be so arrogant and that is unacceptable to me. The world does not revolve around you, and neither does this restaurant. And I sure don't!

But what made the whole night so much better was Natalie! Natalie used to work during the day twice a week and she doesn't anymore, and so whenever we rarely get to work together we always have fun. What can I say? We're just 2 goofballs together and we love each other! So it was great to be with her and I even got to meet her family! Hah... it sounds like some sort of makeshift date. But her family did come in tonite and she asked me to meet them all, and they were all sweethearts just like her.

And then there's Gary. Gary always brightens my day, even if he is in his worst of moods, I somehow smile because of him. Today it was because of his ridiculous Steve-from-Blue's-Clue's sweater, which I immediately commented on, which then made me laugh at myself. I laugh at myself a lot when I'm around Gary. He makes me giddy like a little girl! Tehe! No but seriously, Gary does have a very positive effect on me. And I'm sure that it's a mixture of his sense of humor and the fact that he can read me like a book, which is something no one else can do. There's a lot I could say about Gary but that is all I will say for now.

Peter

Okay, the real reason for today's update is solely just to write about how Peter brightened my day. Peter is the name of the guy that called for a delivery and it was the most entertaining delivery call I have ever taken. I wish I could recall all of it so that any readers of this could fully understand the extent of his friendliness and refreshing humor, but I have the memory of a 90 year old and so I only remember bits and pieces. But when I was taking the call, the first thing he said was, "is this Ellen?" Which made me think it was someone I knew who was calling (even though I say my name when I answer). Then he kept asking questions about me like what age I was and what I like to do and what my favorite items on the menu were. (At this point I honestly thought it was a prank call.) But he told me that he was stalling because his girlfriend had no idea what she wanted to order yet and so he told me what he wanted to order (which was my favorite thing on the menu, he decided to get that) and then he stalled some more by making conversation. (And just to clarify, this guy--judging by his voice and tone of voice--was not a creeper, but simply a goofy guy trying to brighten someone's day. Maybe he could tell I was bored.) Then he proceeded to tell me that he was morbidly obese, which I didn't even know how to respond to so I just said, "are you...being serious?" Which he wasn't, and we both laughed. Luckily I was not busy and didn't have anyone waiting in line or anyone waiting on other lines on the phone, because if there were I wouldn't have been able to listen to this guy's ridiculous antics. Meanwhile I can hear the girlfriend in the background telling him to ask me what my other favorite things on the menu were. But despite her best efforts, his girlfriend never did decide what she wanted and so he said he'd call back to finish the order. And they never did. Maybe it was a prank all along now that I think of it, but either way I don't care because he made me laugh and it's nice to get funny calls once in a while. Because I answer the phone all day and it's always someone boring. So if anyone is reading this, try to say something nice or something funny or interesting to the takeout person next time you call because they would like a lift!

Other than that, some things that happened at work today...I made cookies, I ripped my pants, I saw Natalie! I miss her. Then after work I got pizza with Jen and then we watched tv at my house. Tomorrow I work a double, how exciting! Eeee!

Lazy Sunday

I have off work today and I had off yesterday and I've been doing almost nothing except taking care of Bella (my cat) because she just got declawed and spayed. Today I did a little Christmas shopping and yesterday I got my hair cut, but that's the extent of my weekend. I was going to go to NYC but that's an entirely separate story. Anyway, thursday and friday at work were typical. Well, friday I was 45 minutes late because picking Bella up from the vet took longer than I expected, but luckily Gary was managing that day and could not have cared less. When I called to let him know, Gary answered and I said, "Gary, it's Ellen. I'm gonna be a little late." And he said, "That's fine I gotta go!" Crazy morning I guess. When I got there he just smiled and didn't even have an ounce of madness in him. Gotta love Gary. Lately on counter it has been soo slow! I'm assuming that because of the holidays everyone is broke and therefore no one wants to pay for take out food. Hopefully things pick up after they're over though.

Friday after work I sat at the bar for a while talking to Jen and Sheena, not wanting to go out into the cold. Then Jen got off and sat with me. Then Sheena got off and we all went shopping for jeans. Jen and Sheena are by far two of my favorite people at Marathon Grill. They are two REAL people. They are completely honest and never ever fake, and give themselves fully to each other. I envy what they have so much. And while hanging out with them, I couldn't help but feel happy and lonely at the same time. Being around them is always a hilarious time, but being in their presence also reminds me that they have each other, they have someone, and I have no one. I hate to go on this depressing rampage, but I have to do it. Here goes: being alone, especially around the holidays, is kind of an inconvenience. So I'm happy to have Bella right now (lame I know, I'm like a 20 year old cat lady) and I'm looking forward to work tomorrow, and hopefully the new year will bring new beginnings.

9 Days Til Christmas

Shoes that fit in the store and then miraculously don't fit once you wear them for a whole day should just not exist. I got an adorable pair of shoes for seven dollars and wore them today for the first time to work and my feet were aching the whole day. Luckily, we weren't too busy so there wasn't much running around going on. But then chef asked me to go to the Chestnut location to pick up rigatoni for him. So without even registering what was just asked of me (or maybe I did and just didn't want to take one more step in those shoes) I stood there and looked blankly at Gary and chef until Gary said, "Well what are you waiting for? Chef asked you to do something!" (I know he sounds mean, but he means well!) So I stepped to it. I walked the ten minute walk to Chestnut, which may actually be only a five minute walk, but truthfully it feels like an hour in twenty degree weather. Each step felt like dull knives were cutting around the edges of my feet and it felt good to walk through Chestnut's doors into warmth and the halfway mark of my journey. I waited in line and while doing so I was observing the counter girl at this location. I'm going to be completely honest (it's not like she'll ever read this). She...was horrible. She was grumpy, didn't smile, didn't make eye contact with her cusomers, didn;t even attempt making conversation with them, sat in the corner when not busy. And let me just say that this actually made me feel a slight boost of self esteem. I'm a good counter girl! Yeah, I'm JUST a counter girl, but at least I'm good at it and I'm well liked and I enjoy what I do, unlike this hopelessly cranky girl. Not to say that I don't have bad days, but at least if I do then I am still nice to the customers. Then the manager came towards me with the bag of rigatoni and I came out of my self absorption, took the bag, and left. The first gust of wind was biting but with my recent mood boost I pushed on. Minutes later I walked into the kitchen with the bag only to find out that in the bag the manager gave me was not rigatoni. I should have checked. Not that it matters, I don't know what rigatoni looks like. My mission was for nothing. But I didn't care because chef didn't make me go back again, thankfully. Well... that was my experience today on counter. Riveting, I know!

Nothing Exciting

Like many of the days on counter, this one was relatively uneventful. The only thing I can remember about the day is the fact that Jen was upset about something that happened the night before, and my day was full of unsuccessful and pitiful attempts to try and make her feel better. Then, I left early to go thrift store shopping with Georgette, which was great! We went to a new thrift store are 8th and Wolf and I got a couple things, some for myself and some for my Christmas pollyanna, but one of the amazing things I got was a fantastic pair of gloves which I am very excited about and already used tonite when I rode my bike. By the way, what I did tonite after shopping and eating at Melrose diner with Georgette was I went to the free library because Julie Powell was there and had a lecture and book signing. It was really wonderful. And I think she is really a wonderful person. I love the fact that she was a horrible public speaker; she stuttered, hesitated, seemed confused and absentminded at moments, and just could not speak off the cuff smoothly at all. BUT, just because someone is bad at speaking in front of a crowd, does not mean they can't be an eloquent, honest, and entertaining writer. It was refreshing to see that a normal nerd of a person could have success with her writing, that her blog seven years ago resulted in two novels, one of which was turned into a movie, with Meryl Streep no less! (Not that I'm suggesting this blog would ever be a novel, no way.)

Anyway, one last thing about counter that just popped into my head. Remember the matzoh ball soup incident? Yeah, well, today, I learned that matzoh ball soups are no longer going in the wide, shallow bowls they've went in for the past however many months, including the day I tilted one slightly, resulting in spilled soup on some guy's lap. They are now going in regular bowls. Similar to the shape of a cereal bowl, making it impossible to spill! Now, I have no idea how this sudden decision came to happen, but I'm thinking it had to do with my boss witnessing me spilling soup because of that kind of bowl. So at least something good came of my unfailing clutzyness--no more annoying unpractical soup bowls!

Sure, why not

When my friend Henry from work suggested that I start a blog about being a counter girl, I thought sure, why not? I already have a blog (which I never write in) so why not just change the subject of that blog from being about me to being about me being a counter girl? I'm trying to try new things, so I might as well try writing about my job. Even if I haven't really written in months, or longer I guess, I can still write! Even if it is awful and mediocre and not clever or funny or anything. And I have a very small vocabulary so prepare to dumb yourself down to read at my level of brain waves.

Anyway, I might as well make this blog honest. It's not like I'm going to be famous someday or anything like that so I'm just going to keep all the names the same. I work at Marathon Grill, 10th and Walnut, in Philly. I work the takeout counter. Which means I answer the phone ("Thank you for calling Marathon, 10th and Walnut, this is Ellen, how can I help you?") and take delivery and pick up orders over the phone, and walk in/take out orders. I have no serving experience (other than the 7 months or so I worked in a retirement home in 9th grade) and so that's why I'm not a server, and I'm stuck doing counter. Which actually, I shouldn't say the word "stuck" because it's not all that bad. I actually like it, and if it weren't for the fact that servers make way more money than I do, I would just stick with counter. But I like money, and I need money, so I'm pushing to become a server. And I'm pretty sure I would already be one if it weren't for the lazy managers who don't want to put me on the schedule to start training for serving and put someone else for counter. Apparently I'm the best counter person ever! And so, I'm destined to be counter forever. Or at least until I say otherwise. Or until I whine enough that they make me server. Anyway, until that day comes, I can write about my experiences on the counter to maybe pass time by a little more quickly.

So, in case anyone was bored enough to wonder what an average day is like at Marathon as a counter girl, this is what it's like: I come in, at 10AM and maybe run to the bank for the manager, who is most likely Gary or Kevin. (Gary: good. Kevin: not good). While at the bank, you also steal pens because we're too cheap and/or lazy to get new ones. (We run out really quick at the counter because servers come up and take them periodically throughout the day). Then I come back and I refill everything I'm going to need for counter that day, which is a lot. Plasticware, dressings, cups, lids, bowls, sugar, condiments, to go containers, bags, receipt paper, etc... (We are not a very eco-friendly work place, considering how much paper and plastic we go through in a day). Then the phone starts ringing. There are only a few regulars (who I like; familiar people are nice):Mary, who gets the same open face hot turkey for her boss every time, Lorraine who orders delivery every time and I've never actually met, and who gets tuna salad sandwich with extra tomatoes and 5 grain bread every time, Michelle who comes in and gets control freak salad with salmon burger every time, and there are a few others, but those are my favorites. Oh and the bleach blond doctor who always comes in to get half iced tea and half lemonade with lots (and lots!) of ice. (Lots of doctors, we're in the middle of Jefferson Hospital).

And then there are the annoying calls. One today, for instance, was such a talker, that I was glad she called after the rush otherwise I wouldn't have had time to listen to her drone on about which cheese was the least cheesy (which she decided was feta, by the way). I think it was a whole 10 minutes she took deciding what 3 things should go in her U-build omelette. I'm sorry to say, that if you are on the phone ordering food and the person says "Yeah, that sounds good, you should get that," what they really mean is "You're taking too long, please hurry up." Omelettes are not a matter of life or death, so there's really no reason to have a debate with yourself about what's going in it.

Not every day is a good day though, or even a so-so day. This past friday was a terrible day. A lot of times when I am not busy, I run food for the servers. Friday I ran 2 matzoh ball soups to the community table for Henry, and I inadvertently spilled a little bit on this one guy, and Gary was standing right there. I mean 2 feet away from me, and it was he who pointed it out to me that I was slowly dribbling soup on this guy's lap. Well, I was mortified. I know it's so silly, but I felt so guilty and stupid and ashamed, like I had disappointed someone I really care about. I didn't want Gary to be mad at me, but he was. He gave me the meanest look and I felt like punching myself for being so clumsy. (The guy was fine by the way, he wasn't burned or mad or anything, thank god). But Gary was standoffish for the rest of the day. I was fine though, until Mike. Mike was the new manager in training, and I knew him for 2 days, which does not give him joking rights. But he thought he would make a joke about it and say "Oh, well I guess you'll just never be a server!" And then he continued to crack up for several minutes right in front of me. THAT was what made me want to cry. What he said was ringing in my ears for the next 2 hours or so, mocking me and the fact that am just a lowly counter person. So all of my ridiculous hormonal girl emotions are running high and I'm thinking I'm going to be nothing but a counter person for the rest of my life. Then servers started to notice I was upset and started asking me what was wrong. Which, when you ask an already emotional and upset girl what's wrong, you're just egging on more emotions and making that girl want to open up and cry. So there I am, polishing silverware, trying to not make eye contact and attempting to hold back tears. Thank god for Jen who warded off people trying to console me. If it weren't for her, I would have had a nervous breakdown right there, behind...the counter. Ugh. Of course, later on in the day, I finally ask Gary, "Are you mad at me?" And he said, "Why?" He didn't even remember! Well I sighed a huge sigh of relief. I told him about the soup and that I felt bad, and he said the guy could have been burned, and I said he wasn't and you can't play the 'what if' game. So that's what I'm trying not to do now--not to play that 'what if' game. "What if I am on counter forever? Or at least for what feels like forever?" I can't do that, because I know that I won't be, and I just have to have patience with myself and trust myself to build a better life for me over this next year. And that's what I'm going to do.