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

Another normal day.....or was it ?

It was Tuesday November 11 and it was Lauren and I's Friday. We had plans to go out, with Vanessa to eat, drink, and relax. We thought it would be a normal day, I would serve and open the restaurant and Lauren would do the management work. We got to the shop a bit early so there was no cook yet to work in the kitchen. It was twenty after nine and no kitchen staff. That was a bit of a worry so Lauren called to find out what was happening. The cook that was supposed to come in that day had thrown out his back and couldn't come in. The next staff member was in at eleven am. The kitchen manager was a temp because the other kitchen manager was fired a few weeks before. On a side note, the restaurant has gone through six kitchen managers in a year so there has been some issues. The temporary kitchen manager was in at eleven to work but that was not the case. He came in to quit and drop off the store key. The situation from there was the bartender was coming in at ten, I was going to prep, cook and get the kitchen started with Lauren. Lauren called in Vanessa to do the manager work while we cooked, while the pussy ass temp kitchen manager was walking out and leaving us fucked. I asked a few questions to start the prep for the morning like how to work the steam table what is the temperature, what temperature do you cook the bacon at. Lauren went upstairs after prepping veggies for her soup, to see what we needed to order for food from GFS (Gordon Food Services). While Lauren was up stairs I opened the restaurant an hour and half late to serve up some grub. When I opened up I didn't think I would have to cook right away because it was Tuesday not a very busy day. I was wrong, we opened up and the printer went off with a order. I was ready to sink or swim as a cook. I had some amazing Guinness pies on the go as well while I cooked the order. Then I just finished that order and another one was up. As a cook I found the biggest thing is timing, knowing how long everything takes and when to start the next item. Vanessa showed up and got hold of a cook to come in, what a life saver! Cam came in a hour later after finding a baby sitter and life got a bit easier. There was still a lot of cooking to be done and bloody dishes. Vanessa, Lauren and myself all helped out in the dish pit. What a day! But it was over before we knew it and it was time to go out and eat something. There was no time to eat or drink during the day, it was way too busy.

Working here make Trevor want to drink...excessively

Working here makes Lauren want to hang herself with her scarf

So we worked hard all day and that means we are going to play hard too. Lauren was all for not showering and going straight out so we don't get comfortable at home. So we headed out to Clancy's to eat and drink. I had a salad with a chicken burger, Lauren had fish and chips, and Vanessa had a steak and cheese sub with lettuce and tomato. There is an Ecoli outbreak with salad going around in Niagara region. When I ordered the salad I didn't think much of it.

Drunk cross-eyed Lauren

Good times at Clancy's

After we were done at Clancy's and feeling really good we went to my old job, the Best Western Cairn Croft Bar. Its nickname is wrinkle ranch or cougar bar, mostly on Friday nights. There was a live band there so that's why we went and I knew Lauren wanted to sing. The band lets you sing or play there instruments if you know how to play so its pretty cool. Right away we got a pitcher of Blue and three jagerbombs.

Vanessa and Lauren after the Jagerbombs

It was only ten and I got hungry again, we were so drunk at this point. The kitchen was closed at the bar so I went to Ginos pizza across the street. I order a pizza from this stoner at the counter and brought it back to the bar to share. Vanessa went home before me and Lauren did. Lauren wanted to do one more song on stage. The only time Lauren sings is when she is drunk and I mean wasted. After the song we walked home together. Not a very far walk from the bar, maybe ten minutes. In the morning Lauren asked how we got home, I said we walked. That sounded very familiar especially the first time when we met, or the the time we went to the Blue Lagoon Bar, but that's a different story entirely. For not having a very high tolerance we did really well, no hang over or barfing in a drawer. The only thing was half way through the day I had some silent but deadly farts. Then my stomach started to cramp up an hour before bed. We went to bed after that and every hour or so I was in pain and in the washroom dying. I was really quiet so I didn't wake my sweety when I came in and out of bed. Thanks Clancy's for the Ecoli salad. It was good service and great food but don't eat the salad. Very normal day.....NOT.

Trev

Visa for the UK

Getting a Working Holiday visa for the UK is a little more difficult then an Australian visa and more expensive as well. The Australian visa was a few questions and a couple of clicks online. As long as you're part of the Common Wealth, have good health and have money in the bank, your set to go. The Australian visa costs roughly $180.00 for a year and you can only work at one employer for a maximum of three months. The UK Visa costs $415.00 for two years. The best website that I like to use for information is http://www.anyworkanywhere.com.
When I started to apply for the UK Visa I thought it was going to be easy, but it wasn't. At the moment I live in Niagara falls with no car and can only get around by walking or taking a Speedy, an illegal taxi company that has a flat rate to get around the Niagara Falls area. So I applied online, filled out my application form, and paid the amount due for the visa. By the way, if you don't get accepted for your visa, you do not get a refund.
I set up an appointment, to get a biometric enrollment that is part of the visa process, on one of my days off. The biometric enrollment is fingerprinting, having photographs taken, having your passport taken and showing them bank statements to show you have money to support yourself for the first two months in the UK. Of course I'm all ready to go to downtown Toronto early in the morning for the interview, but my Speedy cab never came. I missed the bus to take me to Toronto. I was pissed off and had to make a new appointment for the next day. So everything went fine at the interview and it was over in fifteen minutes. On my application form I had a second address to send it to, Lauren's parents house. The reason is, I didn't know how long it would take to get my passport back from Ottawa and I wanted it to go somewhere safe. It is somewhere safe now, it's at the post office by Lauren's parents house and I can't even get it. Fraud has gotten so bad that if all your information doesn't match the address the item is posted to, you don't get your parcel. My driver's license doesn't match Lauren's parents address that I delivered it to. I called Canada Post customer service and they told me they didn't know what to do. The only loop hole was to change my address, Thank God it didn't cost me any money to change it. I went down to the Motor Vehicle branch in Niagara Falls, to get my drivers license changed. It was really simple to change but there is a new rule that you can't be smiling in your driver's license photo. I might get a letter in the mail saying to come back and get a new photo taken. Of course I got a big stupid smile on my face. When I return to Richmond Hill to get my passport I hope I will have no problems, I'm crossing my fingers...

Trev