My time off and 'Fighting'

This week is slow. Holidays are over vacations ending it's a bit of downtime for the next week or two. I volunteered to take Sunday off, I was already given Monday free so I hop in the car and go see some friends and family for the belated Happy Holidays visit. I hadn't seen anybody since October. My restaurant is also closed on Wednesday. yeah, me! I have time this week. I did some shopping, got my Christmas gifts. Listened to my cousin's 'interesting' stories about her Internet dating. And chatter about her horse, I don't know anything about horses. Not that iteresting I get it. She has a horse. At one point I wanted to hear about the 'almost cute enough forty something year old skinny guy in Vegas rather than bits and halters'

I listened to the best friend cracking jokes about making me laugh into an asthma attack. Heard all about her Molly Ringwald sappy moments she had with new boyfriend during the course of the holidays, hell I had one myself so all is fair. hers, however are complete with four new orgasms.. she's counting and not one is the same as the last one. I'm happy to see her so.... happy. It's my blog folks. If my best girlfriend tells me about orgasms I can write it on here. Don't worry she gave me the details, actually texted me with them while I was at work I'll leave that part out. GO KATIE!

I Bought my ten year old niece a pair of boots with horses on them for her late Christmas present. Went hunting for that damn bottle of wine that I still can't find. The best wine store in the bigger city is shut down. There I am staring at a discount t-shirt shop when it used to be floor to ceiling wines and all the glassware and misc. items that go along with the pretty grape juice in the pretty bottles with the fun labels. Damn. Damn. Damn. And I'm late getting back home for tentative dinner plans with my friend. Damn. Damn. Damn.

I bought Goose a t.v. tray at Walmart. She wanted one so I picked it up for her. drop it off after her work night and got another earful of Old Dog and her latest. Actually kind of glad I wasn't there for it. The fight this time is about one server going home. And Javiar in his misplaced wisdom has told Goose and Old Dog to decide amongst themselves which one it will be. Now, Goose is normally the malleable one. She doesn't raise her voice doesn't pick fights usually backs down from any confrontation. She wears pale pink lipstick and a lot of floral. She's sweet. I on the other hand sport a leather jacket (it's amazing!) My lipstick can change three times a shift I don't fight with anybody but I don't let people talk to me poorly either.

And then There's Old Dog. I suggest that we get rid of the half dozen racks of white wine glasses that are still hanging out even though we stopped using them before Christmas (red wine is being used as a universal) This is a pretty simple statement but, not good enough for Old Dog. She has to pipe up. "I think we pour to much wine with the bigger glasses". Really? You can't pour a six ounce glass of wine? You can't determine by the bottle how much wine you have just put into a glass you can't find the curve in the glass that signifies a portion? Really... The point is that there was a comment she could make to disagree with something that somebody said. I comment on the napkins that are folded to carry hot plates to various places in the dining room are being left everywhere (small pet peeve of mine) and that we wouldn't fold so many if they found their way back to the original starting point. Not a bad comment. But, again. There was disagreement.

Last night the 'who's going home' debate was accompanied by more than Goose's fair share of hostility. She is assigned a Sunday shift for the massive brunch every week. That's an "instead of" shift so Old Dog thinks that she should leave. Old Dog has taken one turn leaving. It's on the board. Goose is at two and this time she's not backing down. She's not going home to paint her toe nails rather than risk a fight with Old Dog. I'm liking this chic more and more. Good for her. Unfortunately things escalated. The 'international' employee card was played. The fairness of temporary employees vs. permanent ones brought up. Nothing was said with any sense of fairness or respect. But, when all was said and done Goose stayed and Old Dog went home. Good for her. I'm not sure just how much things are going to escalate. I have chosen my strategy. I stay away from her avoid as much interaction as humanly possible. We don't discuss our mornings, I don't ask about her day job or kid. She doesn't ask me about my love life. It's a bit of a stalemate.

Strangely enough Goose is taking things over a bit. She comments on the clock every day when Old Dog walks in twenty minutes after the rest of the crew. She goes about her business moving things back the three inches after Old Dog's adjustments. It's a bit entertaining for me, as well as a bit disturbing Goose is good and mad and hostile with it. Haven't seen this before. She defends me after each and every cutting remark that is made by Old Dog. A few of the other servers have also 'chosen sides'. This I don't know how to respond to. What used to be a 'Old Dog doesn't like Rose's cleaning' Is slowly turning into something else. I think it's going to be counterproductive. I said it once before when a server becomes unpopular in a dining room things never go well and there's usually disaster. I can kind of feel it coming on. Not sure when or how but it's like waiting for a storm. I just want it to be over with already and I wish I knew who would be left standing. Time will tell. Will see if there's any chunks missing out of me when all is said and done.