Just had to get some things off my chest...

I haven't written in awhile and wish I could write with good news or a fun attitude, but if I don't get some things off my chest, I don't know what I'll do. I'm at my breaking point. Living in Niagara for the last year (almost) has taken a toll on who I am and I really can't do it anymore. And yes, I know I'm leaving soon, but it really isn't soon enough. I'm to the point now where the hours on my days off seem to go too fast, and the hours I know I have to work barely move at all. It's safe to say that I severely dislike (I hate saying the word hate :) ) my job and life here. Managing a restaurant is so much harder than I ever gave it credit for. What I've learnt over the last year is that you really cannot rely on people.....EVER. You can't rely on them to ever be mature or professional. You can't rely on them to do their jobs and you can't rely on them to even show up to work half the time. What you actually can rely on...is the drama, gossip and typical "High School" mentality.

I've had to try and fill so many rolls in being a manager, and know I've done my best in filling them all, but I'm sure have fallen short in some of them. I have always treated people with respect, but I'm definitely not hard enough to deal with the inevitable confrontation that comes with managing people. To be a good manager, you need to be a friend, a parent, a technical genius, a nurse, a computer whiz, a mathematician, a teacher, a leader, a kitchen equipment repairman, a plumber, a janitor, a public speaker, a mediator, a cook, a bartender, a busser, and a server. To be a good manager you have to tell people when they're doing something wrong, without offending them. You need to maintain all equipment in the restaurant, regardless of whether or not you know what it is or even what it's used for. You need to be able to problem solve, because all you'll face are problems. If you're not already a smoker and drinker....being a restaurant manager will certainly turn you into one.

If you like being woken up in the middle of the night with a stupid question, then being a restaurant manager is the greatest job ever. If you enjoy being criticized constantly by your employees, after giving them everything they've asked for, well then I highly recommend running a restaurant. If you'd like to have the hardest and least paying job in the restaurant industry with the largest amount of responsibility, well then managing a restaurant is right up your alley.

So it's safe to say I won't be getting back into restaurant management anytime soon. I can only hope and pray, at this point, that the next couple of years of travelling are hopefully going to erase all the bad memories the last year has embedded in my brain. 8 more days of work, that will feel more like 57. It's daunting, to say the least.....

Lauren