Pressure

Everyone at work is exhausted. There are about five or six of us, all working more than five shifts a week, who are all on the verge of going crazy. It has been a slow process, but we're all starting to show the strain. It has been a busy summer, with New Year's and the tennis, and heaps of hot nights where everyone just wants to sit around and drink beer. There's also the Chinese New Year's events at Crown to deal with, and looming on the horizon, the Commonwealth Games.

It just doesn't stop. It doesn't get any easier. The bosses are putting on more pressure as it eases off slightly. It seems that nothing you do is good enough, and if you kill yourself working a horrible double or getting slammed for six hours at a time, they don't seem to care. You might get yelled at for not turning your tables fast enough, or forgetting to bill someone.

Tonight I was completely unenthused. I couldn't even work up the energy to smile and be nice to my customers. I was blank and stony. I suddenly didn't care.

We all need a holiday. One guy confessed to me that he wouldn't care if he got hit by a bus tomorrow, and a girl said that she'd been up at 4am on Friday night having a panic attack because she had done 14 closes in a row. Mind you, that's a 5-6 o'clock start and a 2am (if you're lucky) finish.

I am so glad that I'm going on holidays. I think it's about the only thing getting me through it, right now.

The work party had better go off.

Just Perfect

Ah, I'm just sitting here with a huge smile on my face. I don't know what it is about today that's making me so damn happy. I just feel so... Perfect.

And, my god, I am so in love. I can't stop smiling, and thinking of Ash and how damn wonderful everything is. Yes, we are apart (for now) but I will be in her arms soon enough. And the mere thought of that just makes me feel as if I'm lifted to somewhere higher or more majestic, or something...

I'm rambling. But I'm rambling happily. And smiling, too.

For Jes

This is little Emsie. See? Told you I look the same.

My Plus One

When I found out that we are allowed to bring a guest to the infamous work staff party, I chose James without a moment of hesitation. I think he's always going to be the person I think of when I can bring a guest. Either James or Erika, most of the time. But, James is one of the most social people I know. He came to the Spoken Word night and had a ball, mingling with perfect ease. I love that about him. You can always guarantee that he's going to make the night a good one.

So. The work party is going to be held at Transport, a massive bar at Federation Square. The owners of my restaurant own it, as well as Auto and Chocolate Buddah (also Fed Square) and Soul Mama (Southbank.) It's going to be huge. They have shut down the entire bar for the work party. There is free beer (and good beer, at that) wine and bubbles all night, as well as a live band and a dj. I really can't wait. When the Auto crew party, they really party.

http://www.melbournepubs.com/v/1137/Transport-Hotel.html

I really did intend to clean my room. I even picked up most of the stuff that was on the floor and sorted into appropriate places. I have a bag full of random pieces of paper that I shall recycle and a load of clothes for the washing machine when the towels are done.

I always get so bloody distracted when I'm cleaning. I'll stop and start reading something random (in this case, the SYN magazine, Pecado) and end up losing all motivation for cleaning.

It's just so messy. I really can't be bothered. I know I should, but it's so much easier to ignore my messy room.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, one day it's going to kill me in my sleep.

A Restaurant Rant

Most people are fine, just fine, when it comes to eating out. Here are some things not to do. Tell your friends. And if I have to tell you again, you'll be eating food laced with poison. Promise.

• DO NOT call a waiter over if you haven't decided. Wait until you know what you want to order, and make sure that other people on your table are ready to go, too. It's really bloody annoying if you're standing at a table for ten minutes with a pen in hand because Customer A can't decide between the greek salad and the risotto. Waiting is a busy job. Look around. Your waiter probably has dirty tables to clear and other people who have just sat down and need attention. If you can hear bells ringing frantically, it means that the restaurant is freaking busy, and your waiter is going to get blasted for not running food, all because of you. RULE: Don't piss around.
  
• DO NOT ask a waiter to do anything like get you a drink or organise a high-chair when they're carrying a stack of dirty dishes. They're really heavy. Remember that most restaurants use much heavier plates than you have at home, to keep the food warm; also because they don't break as much. Your waiter is probably going to be in pain from holding and balancing a huge stack of plates. RULE: Be considerate.
  
• DO NOT let your kids run around. This is a big one. When you're walking quickly through a crowded restaurant balancing heavy plates which may or not be scalding hot, the last thing you need is a kid jumping out. It can end very badly for everyone. RULE: Keep your damn children in their seats. Otherwise, leave them at home.
  
• DO NOT yell at waiting staff because there is something wrong with your meal. Hey, it happens. The waiter didn't cook it, the chefs in the kitchen did. And believe me, they don't give a fuck if you didn't want red onion in your salad or don't like the sauce on the fish of the day. If you tell your waiter that something is wrong, they will either have it remade for you, or you won't have to pay for it. RULE: Don't shoot the messanger.
  
• DO NOT grab drinks off trays. If your waiter is carrying more than two or three drinks on a tray, it's probably heavy and carefully balanced. If you reach out and grab your pint of Carlton, especially when your waiter isn't aware, it will unbalance the whole tray, and people are going to get wet. RULE: Don't grab stuff.
  
• DO NOT forget what you've ordered. Especially when you're on a big table. It's not hard to remember what you ordered for dinner, folks. That's all you have to do. You would be surprised at how many people sit there with a vacant expression on their faces when you're holding three bowles of curry (on large plates) that probably weigh more than your children. If you make your waiter wait too long, they will hold you your meal and make sure you don't quite have it in your hand before letting go. Then you'll see how heavy it is. RULE: Remember your order.
  
• DO NOT complain if VB isn't on the drinks list. Go to the pub and get yourself a bogan beer and a parma. Or, you could take a stab in the dark and drink a beer that actually tastes decent. Have a Hoegaarden or a James Squire. Surely you've heard of Corona? There are more beers than just disgusting VB. OK? Let's try something new. RULE: Try something different if they don't have what you want.
  
• DO NOT make a thousand changes to what you're ordering. Sure, you can have your Caeser salad without anchovies, but don't order a pizza with no salami, no olives, no capsicum but with BBQ sauce, asiago, anchovies and prawns, cut into six and with a side of chilli flakes. It's a pain in the arse for everyone, especially when the restaurant is busy. Also, don't just ignore the menu and ask for whatever you want. It takes a minute or two to read, and you won't piss off your waiter by asking for things that they can't get you. RULE: The menu exists for a reason. Read it.
  

Right, I think that's about all I have to say. I'm sure I'll think of more on my next shift...

Shiny!

They have finally, finally updated my work's website. Too bad the photos are arse. I could take better ones myself...

http://www.automaticcafe.com.au/

Frayed

Well, I feel like absolute shit.

I don't think I've ever been more tired in my life. I really shouldn't complain, a friend of mine is doing two weeks worth of doubles, and another used to tackle 70-hour weeks.

But I... I am just past tired. I'm so weak and weary that all I can do is sit here and cry. I just wrote an extremely long, extremely weepy email to Ash (filled with countless apologies.)

I should get changed. I can't get up. It's far too late to call in sick...

God. What am I doing to myself?

Word of the Day

For Skits, today:

sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\, adjective:
1. Given to or characterized by the use of long words.
2. Long and ponderous; having many syllables.

The Group

So, last night I got picked up and driven to Lisa's place. Shane and Age took care of the driving, which I am of course eternally thankful for. We went to the supermarket and got supplies (including a couple of bottles of very acceptable red) and went back to her place, where we watched Will and Grace and Charmed with her parents. Rose McGowan is still preeeetty. Aside from that, I had no idea what was going on. We cooked, and ate, and drank, and piled into Lisa's part of the house to get snuggy on a couch and watched Garden State. God, I love that movie.

In short, a good time was had by all.

That'll do, then.

Haunted

I went to a BBQ yesterday, after dragging C out of bed along with her best friend, D. We took a cab to the house, and sat down with H and a bunch of her friends. We ate, and drank wine, and stretched in the sunshine. It was a lovely day.

Then someone mentioned that the house is haunted. Everyone who had been in the house by themselves agreed. C said that she had never liked the house. There is a cold spot in one corridor, someone said. Another spoke of a week house-sitting. They couldn't be in the house by themselves, or they would feel depressed and scared. A sister of one of the owners said that for years, she had not spoken of this uneasy feeling of depression that settled over her when she was alone in the house. After someone else mentioned it, she had told all, and people had come up with similar stories.

I was sitting with the sister, R, in the lounge waiting for a taxi. The party was largely outside in the sunshine, under a shadecloth and around an old wooded table that I wanted to steal. As I was sitting, facing away from the corridor, I could feel... something. Someone, actually. It was exactly as if someone had come into the house and was standing in the lounge, feeling angry or sad or afraid. It seemed almost as if I was being attacked, battered by something insubstantial. Laugh if you want, but I tried a shielding trick that my mother had taught me to ward off bad energy. It seemed to lessen, but I can't really be sure. It was as if something insubstantial was screeching into my ear.

I've never been one to see or hear things, but I do feel them. I can usually feel a negative or a positive energy in a place. This one was strong. For hours afterwards I felt a little shaken.

Still, the company was good, and I wasn't there by myself. I'm glad I was not.

Seven Simple Steps

Step 1. Trundle down to the shops and decide mid-trip that you'd like to cook a curry. Buy your favourite curry paste and wander down to the fruit store. Get annoyed because it's closed. Meet neighbour on the street on the way home, and get offered potatoes.

Step 2. Dig around in the cupboard until you find some faintly soft old potatoes and an onion. Go and put on the OMWF soundtrack. Flounce around singing and cutting up ingredients.

Step 3. Fry the onions and add curry paste. Wonder if you should boil the potatoes first. Decide not to a whim. Sing Giles's part in 'Under Your Spell/Standing, Reprised' into the wooden spoon with an agonised expression on your face. Put the rice on.

Step 4. Add potatoes and adjust rice, then go and fold washing which has been off the line for three days. Sort out work shirts and normal shirts, and try to forget the nightmare you had last night in which you couldn't find any clothes for work and had to go naked. Belt out 'Walk Through The Fire' whilst checking the curry.

Setp 5. Decide that you really should have boiled the potatoes. Add more water to stop inevitable sticking. Clean room while running out to check state of curry every few minutes. Get annoyed because it's cooking far too slowly, but smells delicious.

Step 6. Poke curry a few times and look peevish. Hook up the net and then have genius idea of covering the frying pan with a plate to hold in the heat. Chat with a friend about how good curry is going to be, only to discover that they in fact, hate curry. Take a photo of curry to and use it as your display photo to spite them.

Step 7. Finally, decide that you've waited long enough and serve up curry on slightly cold rice. Scoff the lot. Find it to be delicious but slightly undercooked. Resolve to boil the potatoes next time.

A Quiz Result

Obviously this is 100% correct. *beams*

Emma, you are Cameron Diaz!

A joker like you needs to be played by someone charming, someone who isn't afraid to get a little silly — but someone who always knows the difference between being outrageous and being obnoxious. That's why Cameron Diaz would be perfect for the part. With her dazzling smile, addictive laugh, and great comedic timing, people would immediately identify with the lighthearted fun you bring to this world. Like Cameron, you love laughing — and making other people laugh, too.

Back in school, were you the one making prank phone calls or organizing spoofs of all the teachers? Sure you've matured at least a little bit since then, but you've still probably got that 14-carat sense of humor. Because of that, you're probably the center of attention at parties, as friends gather to hear you making a mockery of everything from current events to the computer-illiterate idiot who sits next to you at work. You, like Cameron, don't want to take life too seriously, and that's what will shine through if Cameron plays you in the movie of your life.

Heh, I love those stupid little quiz websites. Mm, Cameron.

Soiree

I just got back from one of those parties that could be a real disaster but wasn't. Allow me to explain. You know how you go to those parties that 'everyone is going to' and you turn up and it's just you and the person who invited you? Well, it was something like that. It was W from work's birthday, and I expected to turn up to find several people from work getting tipsy in a student-ish place. It turns out that I walk in the door, get greeted by W's Mum and find that a couple of her (I assume) high school friends are sitting around having a drink with her parents and a few rellies. It could have been awkward as arse, but it was actually fantastic. The house was lovely, with paintings and beautiful things everywhere, and polished floorboards and lots of elegant furniture. Her parents and friends were awesome, in no time at all we were chatting like mad. One of her inquisitive Aunties asked the four or five girls what we're all doing at the moment, so we did the faintly silly 'go around the circle' thing.

When they got to me, I didn't know what to say. I told them that I had moved to Melbourne and just finished my course, which prompted questions about writing. I explained Nanowrimo and they were all suitably impressed. (I guess it was good for something after all, eh?) We sat around drinking some very acceptable red for hours.

It made me realise just how much I enjoy being thrown into the deep end socially like that. I can just hear Ash shuddering as she reads this... But I love it! You meet so many interesting people. It was brilliant to chat and banter and learn about them. It gives me a rush, I don't really know how to explain it.

So, now I'm home again and have another day off ahead of me. Oh, what bliss.

1920s Me

Your 1920's Name is:

Bonita George

What's Your 1920's Name?

The Kilt!

Yeah, that's much better... I was trying to post this while pissed and talking to Sky on Skype after all.

Anyway, here it is, my New Year's costume! I'm sure none of the ancient Scottish warriors had such white shirts...

The Last Year

I was going to do one of those book posts, but I really didn't read that many books (mostly due to the fact that I had to do reading for my course, and therefore spent all of my time buggering around getting out of my homework) so I thought I'd leave it out. I will do a recap of the year as it stands, though.

• I went overseas for the first time to meet Hobblings as well as Ash. Wow, that could have ended badly... (Mostly the Ash thing, I wasn't at all worried about meeting crazy Hobblings) But it ended very very well, if I do say so myself. I suppose I can put 'Found love of life, deliriously happy' under this little point, too.
  
• I got published in a respected journal, and got to embarrass myself at the launch party with a lot of senior people from my course. I wrote some stuff that I was really very happy with, and felt as if I worked harder on them than anything else I've ever written. Also discovered the joys of workshopping via email! (Thanks everyone! Especially Sky, Rian and Ash!)
• I found Muse. Nothing else needs to be said.
  
• I did three wonderful eight week radio blocks with Shane and various guests (plus the best Hobbling show ever!) and got to rule the airwaves for a couple of hours a week. God, that was spectacular!
  
• I finished Nanowrimo. Woo!
• I completed my degree. I'm all edumacated these days.
  
• I put off getting my Ps for another year. Whoops.
  

I suppose that's about it, really...