So Much Funtimes! (So Much Food!)

From l to r (clockwise): sweet potatoes, cranberry chutney, rolls, Cornish game hens, mashed potatoes,  pecan pie, cram-apple ribbon pie, pumpkin pie, mixed berry pie, key lime pie

All of the food. We had all of the food. And I cooked 90% of it. And everyone loved it! First time cooking a bird, first time time-managing an entire (mostly oven cooked) meal, first time hosting in the new apartment... All the good things. And let me just say, that I completely understand the need for two ovens when it comes to cooking a meal like this. SERIOUSLY! There were too many things that all needed to cook for the same amount of time at different temps! How are you supposed to serve everything HOT when you can't cook it all at the same time?! Frustrated. But, other than that... VERY successful first Thanksgiving.

People started arriving around 2 and the meal was served around 6 and we eventually kicked everyone out at midnight. I guess they had fun...

Also, today I worked and it was boring AGAIN. It isn't fun to work when it's so slow I barely make enough to cover my train fare to and from. BUT I found somewhere that sells Aveda hair products, so I was able to buy new shampoo and conditioner (FINALLY) and after work I was able to stop by target and finally buy full-sized bedding, a memory foam pillow, and curtains for my room. Things! Settling!

Tomorrow my thoughts are to go back to Target and buy a crockpot to make some "turkey" soup outta our leftovers, do some laundry and generally just enjoy a relaxing day off. You know, one where I'm not cooking for eight hours and entertaining for 10...

Pie Time

Pies!

Pies are done! Cornish game hens are stuffed and ready for the oven! Sweet potatoes are prepped!

Saturday Thanksgiving

Fresh groceries!

Well, one of my pies is in the oven, the others waiting to be made. And once the rest of the supplies arrive from my roomie, I will start on the entrees.

Cannot wait to eat all of the things!

Not-Too-Black of a Friday

Please don't be too busy at work tonight...

Here's hoping for a Friday night close that is busy enough to make me some monies. but not full of Black Friday insanity.

Also, just for the record, last night's Hawks game was one of my favorite moments ever. It was amazing. Thank you, boys, thank you for coming back with such a vengeance these last two weeks. I missed my defense in all its trash-talking, hard-hitting glory. The. Best.

Yay & Boo!

What we all looked like at work today...

Well, it is both a blessing and a curse that I, literally, worked less than 7 hours today and had a total of three tables... Yup. B.O.R.E.D. Also we made zero dollars (well $2/hr--suck). But, BUT! I think we made time-and-a-half. AND I got off work with time enough to grab ice cream, heavy cream, apple cider, and spices from the grocery store across from work, and drop everything off at home (and update my blog), before heading BACK uptown to Carlow East to catch some Hawks v. Niners action! Plus, whenever I'm bored and there's football on, I love chatting with the customers about footballz and all that jazz. And they love that I care, and tip generously on holidays (THANK GOD, too because otherwise it could have been even WORSE).

Cannot wait to (finally) make pie crusts tomorrow before I close, and have my foodz delivered Saturday before I cook all day and have people over and eat and watch the Apple Cup and generally have a for realizes Turkey Day, just two days later than everyone else! Good times! Five pies! Fresh whip cream! Cornish game hen! Yams AND sweet potatoes! Cranberry sauce AND cranberry chutney! Mashed potatoes AND garlic mashed potatoes! SO MUCH FOODZ!

(PS Can you tell what my favorite holiday is? Can you??)

(PPS Back in Seattle in t-27 days! See you all so soon!)

Thankful

Celebrate!

Yay! Turkey Day! I work all day with hopes that I end up being able to watch the Hawks game tonight.

I am so thankful for my new city, new job, new apartment, new friends, new roommates, new EVERYTHING! New York City!

Best Laid Plans...

Pie Time

Wish I could have made the pie crusts yesterday like I had originally planned, however, like with so many other things, I ended up having to sit around and wait for the stupid UPS guy to come. He didn't show up until almost 7pm... So, it was too late to go shopping for the last few things I need and start making the crusts. Le boo. But hey, I have a bed! A whole bed! And I got to sleep in in last night! And it was glorious!

Also, it was a full size bed, and for the first time in over 2 months I got to sleep without my feet hanging off the end of the bed! W00t!

The Most Important

Both of my boys' teams are playing BIG GAMES today! Git it!

Getting home at 3:45am allows me to stay in bed until 11:30am, right?

Well, I did. So there.

Big games today for both the Hawks and the Sounders. I believe in my boys!

I!
I believe!
I believe that!
I believe that we will win!
I believe that we will win!

OK. That's all I got right now. Excited about the first of my two days off in a row. Plans really are go to Carlow East, watch Hawks win (while following the Sounders game on my phone), buy rolling pin (or wine bottle--thanks, mama!), parchment paper, vanilla extract and measuring cups, come home (or go out and see a movie? or go to a bar? or, or, or... so many options since I have tomorrow off too!)

Tomorrow I make my pie crusts(!) to prepare for my Turkey Day on Saturday.

An "On" Day Off

One of the many things I did on my day off

So... I had today off and the very first thing I did was wander downstairs and happen upon the FedEx guy delivering my bed frame. I then called and yelled at our Super for not doing all the SHIT that should have been done OVER two weeks ago... GRRR. Luckily, Maridee was able to be here for him to come and at least have the conversation about the things that haven't been done yet... And, our December rent should be SIGNIFICANTLY pro-rated, so... I guess that's a good thing.

I also picked up my necklaces from the local post office, a 30 minute ordeal of me standing in line and a 5-minute look by the PO employee. Awesome.

But, I received and set-up my bed frame, and shoe rack and completely organized my room, went to the post office, then I went to go see Mockingjay (super good, but almost all exposition, as expected), AND bought almost EVERYTHING I need for cooking Thanksgiving probably Sat? I dunno. But Monday I'm making pie crust. And I bought everything for mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and my three typical pies (apple-cran, pecan & pumpkin. I just need whole pecans, a rolling pin, and parchment paper). Done and done.

Oh, and I bought my tickets home for Christmas! YAY!

Pure Inspiration

Toni Morrison on Colbert

Well, I was gonna write about something else entirely until I had this on in the background as I was settling back into home and I just had to post Colbert's interview with Toni Morrison instead. Her thoughts on her writing being a sort of midlife crisis give me so much strength, hope and inspiration for my career. After an absolutely exhausting over-12-hour work day, that is exactly what I need before bed.

And now, a little Hunger Games to inspire me for Mockingjay: Part 1 tomorrow.

Cold Snap

It's not snowing here, but Western NY is... Well, a shit storm

Oof, it has stayed cold. And yesterday I left a warm and cozy apt (THE HEAT FINALLY TURNED ON!!!!!) to close, on the coldest day yet, in a drafty restaurant whose HEAT WAS BROKEN. It was, quite literally, the WORST. It was 20 or so degrees last night and I was stuck in an empty and freezing restaurant until 2am. No bueno.

Luckily, the heat was working again this morning (THANK THE GODS!), so it wasn't as bad today, but I still wore my fleece leggings over my tights with tall socks and a tank top and tee shirt beneath my Stout work shirt. Yeah... I was still a bit cold.

Although because we were so cold and so empty, we had done absolutely EVERYTHING early, so I think I clocked out before 210am and was home before 3am. It was glorious. Plus, walking in from the freezing weather into a warm and toasty apartment was the best feeling.

Settling In

Wish there was a fireplace here...

It's so cold today. So. Cold. It's 30, but it feels like 14 and our heat isn't really working. It's radiant heat and even though we have heaters in our rooms those have yet to turn on... Blearg.

Closed last night, close again tonight, but we close at 2am today. Booooo. These exhaust me. And I close three times this week...

Luckily I have Friday and Sunday off this week. It'll be weird to work a Tuesday since I've had Tuesdays off for the last few weeks.

Back to the East (side)

Sherman jersey making its NYC debut today!

About to head to Carlow East to watch my Hawks stomp the Chiefs! Do it, boys! Then back to shopping for my room. I am definitely going to BB&B today to get my shoe rack and some sticky hooks. 

Last night's sleep with my new duvet was glorious. I was actually warm enough (without using my fur coat as a comforter) for the first time since I moved in! And the weight was perfect. Let me just say though, good thing I have a job. Furnishing a home is damn expensive!

My Bed!

This is my bed frame! It folds up! And is easy to move! And was cheap on Amazon! And I bought a pillow top mattress to go with it! I WILL SOON HAVE A COMFY BED! CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Vindicated

All is right

After having such an awful morning yesterday, yesterday evening was much calmer (or maybe I was just calmer), and today it was just Lauren and I on the floor for 6.5 hours and we rocked it. I feel like my new system is totes working and it's making me a better and more confident server. And one of the managers came over to talk to me about how much more relaxed I seemed after having the big ol' snafu during yesterday's lunch. She even went so far as to say that she thought it was a good thing that that happened in the first place. Ultimately, I agree. Although it sucked during the whole situation, I learned a TON and came out the other side having learned a valuable lesson and stronger at what I do.

Today, I was cut around 7:15pm and very much could have gone to the concert, but I decided that going shopping for the home items I have needed for a week was probably a better use of my time. Now I have a duvet! With a cover! And towels! And winter boots! And slippers! And I am now going to peruse Overstock for a bed frame! Adult things! Good choices!

Crazytimes Indeed

Yay! A giant 30 top loved me the other evening!

Whelp, following a rocking day on Thursday where I was all parties all the time and received fantastic feedback, I had a DAY yesterday. Lets just say that it was the busiest lunch I've worked since I started and I honestly had a moment where I thought, "I would not be surprised if I got fired today." Yup. One of THOSE days... It was my own goddamn fault, too. I just, straight up forgot to put in two groups' food orders. Yup, I did that, so they were waiting for a very long time and the company ate a LOT of money for that.

I just redid the entire way that I take orders and enter them into the computer and pretty much will NOT make that mistake again...

Last evening, however, was much better and luckily both groups were very cool and super nice about everything. It could have been a lot worse.

I work opening today and am still crossing my fingers that I can make it to see Lake Street Dive tonight. Day off tomorrow, so plans are for football and shopping for home stuff!

Whomp Whomp

How I felt when I realized I was not lunch only yesterday...

Whoops. Pretty sure I wrote down my schedule from last week instead of this week... So, I was not lunch only, but in fact D3. Needless to say, I did not get outta work in time to do any home shopping... Booooooo.

But, good news! I managed to trade shifts on Saturday so that maybe, MAYBE I can go see Lake Street Dive at Terminal 5 that night!!!!! Cross your fingers for me! I wanna see them so hard!

Today, I am D2, but it's a Thursday, so I probs won't get outta work until 10 or so... Still hoping to get out a bit earlier so I can hit up BB&B or Target, but I'm not counting on it....

I just need things!

Paved with Good Intentions

This is how I hope to be this evening. I'm hitting up Bed, Bath & Beyond after work (or that's the plan, at least) to grab a shoe rack for sure and potentially other things (a comforter?)...

Send me good home shopping vibes, please! Thank you!

Slow and Steady

Well, my grand plans of getting all this shit done today sorta fell by the wayside when I realized that I wasn't quite where I needed to be (energy wise) to run all the errands on my to do list...

The big thing I did get done today was laundry! There's a laundromat right across the street from the new apt and I went and did my laundry and feel very accomplished now.

I also got the gel manicure (that was falling off anyways) removed and was really grateful for Maridee to deal with the landlord and the construction workers fixing our bathroom this morning. They still need to add tile around the new handle, but at least I don't have to use a wrench to turn the shower on and off any more...

Fighting the Good Fight

Me this morning. Blearg.

Well, I assumed it was coming given how little sleep I've gotten the last few days and the fact that I worked  almost 60 hours in the last week, but I woke up this morning feeling all stuffed up and still exhausted. The worst. Seriously.

I hate that I work tonight, but I love that I have tomorrow off to recover and hopefully get this thing outta my system.

I am hoping tonight is slow and boring and easy. I don't want to shout over a raucous crowd. Thank the gods the MNF game isn't gonna be anything exciting. Eagles and Panthers should be pretty low-key (fan wise at least. I'm still hoping Cam Newton has a GAME so I can win this week's fantasy matchup, but considering I'm 18 points behind, I don't have that much hope...).

Also, the Sounders play the second leg of the the semis versus Dallas tonight at 1030 my time and I am hoping I can sneak away to the bathroom to check my phone often! Go Sounders! Let's kick this MLS playoff slump and move onto take LA! I believe in you!

Winning Sure Feels Like Everything

One of my tables was from Cali. They left this on the signed receipt...

Well, it's been a long one. And although I have so much more I need to tackle before work tomorrow, taking a break and just vegging and watching a movie after work today was exactly what I needed. The only thing that would have made it better is if I would have had a beer in hand... Oh well. Beers are heavy (I need to find a grocery store around here that is open later hours...) so I decided not to buy any at the grocery store by work.

But the Hawks won! And a few of my tables were super amused by how into the game I was. And how excited I was that they were doing well. Luckily, it had died down by the 430 game, so I was able to catch a fair amount of the game as well. Can't wait to see the highlights (EARL'S INTERCEPTION!) though.

Pretty sure the Hawks game got me through today. And now to sleep. I didn't make it home from work until after 5am(!) yesterday and since I was back there at noon, that didn't leave much time for sleeping...

I close again tomorrow and then I have Tuesday off. I have a ton of shit I need to get done (unpacking, finding a bed & dresser & bedside table & lamps... and do laundry), but I just don't know how much energy I'm gonna have to do those things... Cross your fingers for me.

Of COURSE This Happens...

So, I'm waiting for the train to my new home (squee!), but yes, it is 4am. And that is how the night went. Let's just say that I have a potential 12-hr shift tomorrow and I've already worked 50 hours this week... So ready for a day off on Tuesday!

She Works Hard for the Money

This pretty server got her first phone number on a receipt tonight! They say it's a right of passage

Oof. Another long one. Let's put it this way, I have worked 24 of the last 48 hours. Yup. I better have made some good monies because I am hurting.

Good news, though! I move tomorrow! And not at 8am (like the move initially wanted)! But instead at 1230! Which gives me time to pack and stuff when I wake up tomorrow! And still gives me time to settle in a bit before work tomorrow.

Cross your fingers for an easy move, a busy (but not crazy) closing shift tomorrow night, and a suuuuuper boring Sunday so I get cut early and get to watch my Hawks PLAY.

Long Time Coming

One of my tables liked that I thanked them. That says, "Hey Man, you are welcome."

Well, I worked 13 hours today. Yeeesh. Done. And I head back there in less than 12 hours. This is gonna be the longest week ever. I mean, I knew it was gonna be long (only one day off, trying to move somewhere in there, needing supplies like hangers and a bed for my new place...), but Jesus. First of all, one of the openers forgot to set her alarm, so there were only 2 of us setting up. Then, one of the noon girls' apartment was flooding so she had to deal with that and game in about an hour and a half late. THEN, one of the closing girls quit. So, that all happened today.

Needless to say, I didn't get outta there until 1115 or so... Blearg. But monies! I'm focusing on money potential.

Started Off Bad...

Looks like I did this morning 

Whelp, this morning started off a little, well, wonky. Right as the apartment door shut behind me I reached into my bag and realized that I had NOT taken my keys outta my sweatshirt pocket after I took the garbage out yesterday and put them back into my purse, so... I did not have anyway to get back into the apartment on my own...

Yup, I did that.

Luckily I realized this right away and was able to text Jess to work out when we could both get back to the apartment together. Let's just say it got better from there.

It was pretty busy for lunch at work today and then we had our beer/whiskey meeting, so I got to taste both before heading to Target for an airbed, sheets & blankets, a pillow, and hangers. Then I realized that it really didn't make sense for me to head back to Bed-Stuy to drop off my shit when I could take the train very quickly to the new place and drop off all the heavy stuff AND see the place at the same time! So, since Maridee had dropped off the keys at work today, I stopped by and saw the new apt! It's so cute! It's oddly shaped, but there is so much common space! This should be funtimes.

Then, because I still had some time to kill before Jess was heading back into the area, and I hadn't eaten since before 10am, I stopped by one of my fav restaurants for pizza and a little red vino until Jess joined me and we caught up for a bit before heading back to the apartment. Good from bad. I'll take it.

Government Break

Real life STICKER!

I just took a much needed break to go vote! I was grinning like a fool the whole time at the polling station. It might be slightly inconvenient to go vote in person, but it has much more satisfaction than voting through the mail. Plus the volunteers at the polling station seemed so excited to see a young person voting mid-day.

Sometimes Wandering is Just Getting Lost

I got the black one again. Obvi

So, about a week ago, my black iPod classic was stolen. I was super bummed. Like, SUPER bummed. It either fell outta my pocket or purse or someone saw it in there and pick pocketed me. So, when I got home and went to buy a replacement? Yeah, turns out Apple discontinued them. Recently. Luckily, I was able to find a refurbished one on Amazon for pretty cheap, bought it, and it arrived yesterday. Thank the gods. I was getting pretty sick of listening to electronica, house and pop music on the running mix on my mini. Too much uptempo for me.

Anyways, moving forward! New iPod (named her Trish), with all my music and a many more song options. Done and done!

Packing Up My Life

This is like me. Right now.

Ugh. Today I have two things I have to do: pack and organize all my shit (it's gotten rather unruly), and vote. Needless to say, This should not be an exciting day...

Prepared for Everything

I went ahead and did all my research, figured out who/what to vote for, where I need to go to cast my ballot, and what I need to bring with me to both prove I'm me and that I live where I say I live. I am so ready to rock this midterm election! And in NYC for the first time.

I work tonight and then have tomorrow off, so no problem with making it to my polling station while it's still open.

Yesterday I hung out at Carlow East almost all day catching both the Seahawks win and the Sounders draw. It was fun, despite the fact that my friends barely made it out to see any of the game, but all was well. I made new friends (as I always do at that bar) and had lots of fun seeing my boys win. Since I work next Sunday and we play the Giants, I will get paid to listen to the game (and hopefully watch a bit of it, too). Go Hawks!

Starting from Behind

My entrance into my coworker's party Thursday night

Well, I've already dropped the ball on my NaBloWriMo decision. Poop. Oh wells, starting today I will write in this blog more!

Thursday night's festivities were at a coworkers apt near me in Brooklyn and my first chance to show off the awesomeness of my costume to anyone other than myself. They all loved it and knew exactly who I was! Winning!

Actual Halloween was a rousing success, as well. Work was fun, albeit slow as crap, but that worked out in my favor as I was cut around 930 and was able to get into full Jessica Rabbit and enjoy my first NYC Halloween. I kept it pretty low-key, but the people watching on the subway rides and in Union Square had me grinning from ear to ear. It was insane in the absolute BEST possible way. Thank you, NYC, for making my favorite holiday amazing!

Yesterday at work, however, was one of the slowest most boring days ever... It seemed like everyone was still too hungover from Halloween to venture out into the 40-degree weather for round 2. I was cold. I was bored, but at least I made a little bit of monies...

I have today off and the plan, so far, is to head into midtown early, avoiding the marathon as much as I can, and get some food before I head to Carlow East to meet my peoples for the Hawks game.

Tomorrow I start organizing and packing up my room for next week's move. I don't have that much, so I don't think it will be too hard. The only problem is that Tuesday is my only day off next week and we can't move in until Thursday. I close again next Sat, so I'm hoping I can book someone with a truck to drive me and my stuff the 7 minutes to my new place. And I have to buy an air mattress this week, ya know, so I have a place to sleep...