Tonight, tonight, the minutes feel like hours, the hours go so slowly...la di la da la daaaaaaa

I have to learn the frickin' menu. Must learn the menu NOW. I wish I could read it once and have it stuck permanently in my head. I'll have to study like mad. I guess someone is on vacation so they started me on a bunch of tables. I didn't even know where the frickin' water was!

It was okay though. They're helpful, just too shorthanded to train in a leisurely way right now. I like it though. I can see that once I know my stuff things should be fine. The way they have the tables ordered is confusing though. Because it's such a small place, and there are 2-3 servers, they just alternate the customers, and we seat them ourselves (not really used to that.) There's lots of mixing going on. So it was extremely confusing figuring out the table numbers, who was my table, and how they did things all at once, not too mention how to pronounce everything and clarifying every order of wine because it literally sounds completely different coming out with an accent. Even "Lockwood." This is what I heard: "Logchwoo(d)" Ok, but you must say it softer and make it as foreign sounding as possible. I had no idea what the lady wanted.

I swear, so much of the night was trying to decipher everything out of their mouths. Lots of foreigners with heavy European accents. God love them, but if only I knew the menu. Lots of "bler bler bler-a-lini, blah-blaaahs-satini, and veal mrrrrblerblah..." Steamed mussels to start.

At Bubba's, everyone runs everyone else's food, it's by ticket time so the oldest food goes out first. Here, you run your own, and others just to help out. The worse part (for me) is having to remember to tell Marsamair (or something like that, everyone has a completely hard to pronounce and even more difficult to remember first name, but I mean, the head Chef) - what was I saying... oh yes, one must remember to tell him to fire a table's entres once they're done with their appetizers, or will be soon done. And the food comes out SOOO fast. OH MY GOODNESS, you would not believe it. I got tied up having to run a credit card (NO ONE WAS SHOWING ME HOW TO DO IT) and didn't get this poor lady's wine out before her food was up. Wait, I think his name might be Meeramar. Or Mairamer. I don't know. (I'll just call him Marry a Mar.) Wait a minute. That's it. Mair-a-mar. I think that's it!!) Anyway, he's nice and helpful, although it's kinda weird when everyone sort of expects you to already know a lot when you haven't been shown or told where the frickin' spoons are.

Anyway, I know it sounds like I did horrible, but I don't think so. I think it actually went okay, I just have a lot to learn menu and procedure-wise... or what I mean is, get the procedures I've basically learned, picked up, and observed -- get them to be habitual and I think things should be cool. Smooth.

It's so quiet there. Ahhh... No more blaring music to shout over. They have music, but it's at the right pitch. I like it. And the sidework... LET ME RHAPSODIZE ABOUT THE SIDEWORK!!! I wonder if anyone who has not worked at Bubba Gumps can appreciate the amount of sidework they have to do over there. It is literally insane. Literally. And it's all gone. Just gone!! It almost brings me to tears, my friends. To tears.

So anyway. That was my first day. :)