“Sure, I’ll buy a ticket,” I tell the local Keys organizer of a military charity drive. “But do I have to be present to win? I’ll be at work in Fort Lauderdale when you have the drawing.” “No! Just leave us a phone number. We’ll call you if you win!” he says. “You have a [...]
I had just about given up leaving messages. Some days, his mailbox was simply full. Did he know on those days that I had tried again to call for the zillionth-plus time? “Have you heard from Kevin?” everyone, from the bell hops to the room service staff, would ask me every day. “No, not yet,” [...]
I wrote the previous post almost a week ago, let it sit, then finally posted it. When I went to work this morning, a miracle or two occurred: the mood was decidedly different–for the much better. My coworkers showed up on time, worked hard, helped me and each other, and even laughed with me. My [...]
With full credit to and incredible admiration for Judith Viorst for writing one of the best children’s books, ever: “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”. I woke up two hours before my 5:02 a.m. alarm on Monday morning, after tossing and turning for hours and tossing some more, and, finally, never [...]
In a world in which SoFla hospitality ads demand that applicants be “sober” as well as have some “recent” experience–i.e., not 20 years ago when you were working part time while attending college and likely not sober–the professional server is a gem hidden among so much worthless rocks and sand particles. This server oozes gentility [...]
Student Loan Madness For months and months, I have been in touch with SallieMae to straighten out my six-plus student loans taken out over the past 8 years so that my kids could attend the college of their dreams. When you have undiagnosed-but-surely-have adult ADD, SallieMae is not a realm in which to wallow. Because [...]
No one forgets their senior prom–the dress, the dinner, the anticipation fraught with drama. I, however, have no prom memories, because I never went to one. Before anyone feels sorry for a Restaurant Gal who was left home alone on one of the crucial archetypal moments of passage in a teenage gal’s almost grown-up world, [...]
When you work outside, no matter how great the view, you have to contend with the local wildlife. Where I work, the wildlife basically means the scrawny little black birds sporting an occasional splash of yellow that have figured out that our outdoor seating area presents a veritable bird’s smorgasbord. “They’re so cute!” someone or [...]
My first second of my new job, I got lost in the parking lot. A beautiful woman in a chef’s jacket showed me the way out. “I despise first days of any job,” I told her on that dark, chilly morning an hour before sunrise. “Thanks for walking me out of the maze.” “I completely [...]
“At least one of our employees got a compliment for making a difference for two of our guests,” said the biggest of the management trifecta early on my last day last week. Thank you, RG.” Oh for God’s sake. “This is our new manager, RG,” smiled the second biggest of the management trifecta later on [...]