How Quick Things Change

Its funny how quick things can change in the restaurant business. Sunday we were slammed all day: the porch was full from about 10 until 4, a waitlist was in effect for a large portion of the day, and I along with the rest of the front of the house was running around like a mad woman trying to get these people sat and fed. By the end of the day, I had collected around $75 in tip-outs in addition to my regular salary. Natalie, a friend of mine and waitress at the grill, tipped me out $21 dollars alone, meaning she made over $200 throughout the day. Everyone was exhausted but at the same time thrilled to have so much money in their pockets.

Yesterday and today, however, has been another story. To give you perspective of how slow it was, yesterday I made and filled out an entire calender for the summer while today I nearly finished reading the complete “bartender’s dictionary” as well as several magazines and a newspaper, even completing the crossword puzzles in each. I don’t know how much I was tipped out today, but yesterday I walked out with about $15-20. Clearly not my best day and I’m not expected much better for today.

The bright side is that I have at least started cleaning houses for one of my fellow Harbor Grillers. Its grueling work but the pay is good-- $16 an hour with a dollar raise every few weeks and a $20 bonus for every Saturday I work. Plus, I get to see some spectacular houses and get a little exercise while I’m at it. And tomorrow I may be doing a window job which means I’ll spend the majority of the day in the sun soaking up some rays.

The only problem is that, now that I’m making some money, I’m extremely tempted to go spend it on everything I see. Block Island has some great clothing stores and, although I need some more clothes for hostessing, the amount I’d actually like to buy is way out of my price range. And to make matters worse, I finally went back to the bagel shop which I know will cause major temptation to buy breakfast there every morning ( they have un-godly delicious bran muffins). On top of this, birthday celebrations, friends’ concerts, and sheer-drunkeness have led me to some how “misplace” a lot of money at the bar. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, I will soon be way too busy at work and tired from it to go out as much and maybe, just maybe, the $8 mudslides I’ve been consuming so much of will start to lose their appeal...hmmm, something makes me doubt that but, hey, a girl can dream.