Whiskey in the Morning

Last Monday we made the trip into town for the Fitzgeralds night, where we got to know a few of the newer members a little better and exchanged our recent adventures. For me, this was basically just complaining about work, but at least it sounded funny strung together in all its rediculousness. I had the next sunny and very brisk day off, so I met up with Megan under the Spire and we walked over to the Old Jameson Distillery for a tour before she could fly off to New York. It cost us just over 10 euros for the student rate, but it felt a little like paying 10 euros for a drink, since the tour was not very impressive. There was a short movie at the beginning featuring an American journalist in the 1900s visiting the distillery to write an article about it, and then we were led through a few rooms where we laughed at a few bad jokes, then retrieved our ginger whiskeys at the end. A few people were selected to taste samples of Jack Daniels, Scotch, and Jameson. Every one of them said the Jameson shot had the best taste.

The Jameson pub

Afterwards, Megan and I sat around finishing our very tasty drinks until everyone else had left, and she told me all about the program she volunteers for, Fighting Words. She leads classes to write a story together, from school-age kids to adults. I was very interested in volunteering too, but my work schedule definitely interferes since I never have set days off and I’m always told last minute. But since I don’t foresee staying at this job, I’m looking forward to signing up! Writing and teaching at the same time? Count me in!

Enjoying our morning whiskey

We grabbed sandwiches and chips/crisps, then ate lunch on the boardwalk of the River Liffey, with the blue sky and sun nearly blinding us. The water looked silver it shone so brightly. Then Megan headed off to her next volunteering session and I stopped in at USIT to print off my emergency tax forms (Form 12A), since I haven’t received any tax back from either of my jobs yet. That evening we had Heather and Anne over to teach them how to play Dutch Blitz, which turned into a lot of laughing and eventually into Spoons and a hilarious Youtube video.

My work week wasn’t pleasant, but it was also not nearly as awful as usual. The Food and Beverage Manager had listened to my request for 6:30 shifts, so I was able to take the bus. I worked with the best supervisor for most of the week. I even had a half day in the middle of the week so I didn’t have to work in Alfie’s.

On Saturday, because there are no buses, I rode Dale’s bike to work. It took me about twenty minutes. I was very nervous, but the roads were nearly deserted in the morning and I stayed mainly on roads with a bicycle lane. One road is one way, however, and the left half has the tracks for the Luas Line, so I rode straight down the middle and hoped no one would care. Cars did go by, but it seemed fine. I locked the bike to a steel post by the road, but when I got off work at 1:00 it had fallen and was half on the road. Luckily it was unharmed. I walked with Heather to a section of the road I was more comfortable riding along, and then promptly failed to get on the bike properly. It’s just too big for me! Then I went straight over the canal instead of going right, so I ended up walking my bike like an idiot until I figured out how to get back on track.

That night Dale and I watched the final episode of Doctor Who, then booked it to the theatre for the premier of Day of the Doctor. It was really enjoyable, pretty funny, and, as usual, I didn’t expect the ending. I loved that there were kids with sonic screwdrivers that really made noise, one with a fez, a few in bowties, and even one who wore a Dalek helmet. I always enjoy when people dress up for premiers! I also like that I actually understand why they were dressed like that now!

Sunday brought the Food and Beverage Manager down to the floor for the first time, and she immediately pulled Heather, Irena, and I into the office to tell us off for arriving late. We had gotten on the floor only ten minutes behind, and that was because we immediately started working in the kitchen. She told us we were disrespectful and insisted that we not just be at work early, but actually be on the floor five minutes before our shift starts from now on. She didn’t give us a chance to explain. If she had, she would have realized we were two minutes late by her clock. But it turns out she also “gave out” to the rest of the staff for being one minute late on the floor.

The interesting thing about this weekend at work was that we hosted the New Zealand National Rugby team. They had a buffet every morning in a corner of Alex that we reserved for them and their families. Before their match on Sunday the F&B Manager pulled us over and had us stand in a line in the lobby as a human fence to keep the fans back. Even the chefs and cleaning ladies joined. People were taking pictures over our shoulders, and it felt quite ridiculous blocking for a rugby team considering most of us are tiny in comparison. We applauded as each member walked out, and one very famous member paused for a photograph with a fan, which Brendan snapped for them.

I locked the bike to a fence on the opposite side of the sidewalk this time, and it was safe when I picked it up after work. I took off on it right away, and chose to go down Harold’s Cross after the canal this time, which has less traffic and construction than the street I was planning to take. Unfortunately it is also very slightly uphill, which was deceivingly exhausting after a while. But before the canal I managed to make a fool of myself by stopping on the incline of the bridge, then, with a combination of that and the bike being too big, when the light turned green I struggled to get going and somehow ended up swinging around the corner and hopping off instead of going straight. I quickly walked across the road as if I did it on purpose. I don’t think I fooled anyone.

Me and the lights

Lights on Grafton Street

Me and the tree

Sunday evening Heather and I walked into town for Dublin’s Festival of Lights, where they had a crew dance on stage followed by ballet, then broke a Guinness World Record for the most Christmas jumpers in one place (a record Dublin already held), and then lit up the big Christmas tree. We stood in the crowd while the Christmas music blared and watched the judging for the best—and insane!—Christmas jumpers and wished we had our own. Afterwards we met up with Anne, Becca, KT, and Aline for some Hot Wok Indian food that was delicious and well-priced. They had just come back from a tour in Wicklow.

The tree and the Spire

Ballet beside the Spire, and some Christmas hats!

Today work got worse again. It was my sixth day in a row and I really struggled to wake up, mainly because I was scheduled to work even earlier at 6:00! The schedule was given to us too late for me to even notice and ask about, so I had no choice but to get up before five again. Thank God I had the bike or it would have been even earlier. Dale also called in sick, so it didn’t matter that I had taken it. He’s had a bad cold for a few days now and even I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I got to work early enough not to get in trouble, but found out it would be the unpleasant supervisor again. I thought I did well throughout the day, but I definitely benefited from coffee on my break at seven am.

Brendan had told Heather and I the day before that he was quitting. Today he had had enough before his shift ended, so left halfway through. I was quite jealous. But we seemed very short staffed afterwards and I ended up staying 45 minutes late. I flat out told the supervisor ‘no, I can’t today’ when she asked if I could stay on, and I didn’t give her a reason, even when she stared straight in my eyes like she was waiting to hear it. I’m not going to give any of the supervisors excuses which they might decide aren’t legitimate and try to poke holes in just to bully me into staying. No means no. There, I learned one thing from this job: not to be guilted into doing something I don’t want to do.

My bike ride home was much smoother today, but I still chose to walk over the canal using the crosswalks rather than ride it and attempt to get into the middle of the lane and turn right. It’s definitely a work out, which makes me feel really sweaty when I get home, but at least its warm—I’m writing this now as I’m wearing gloves and a Slytherin scarf!

Now I have a bit of a challenge: in order to complete Nanowrimo successfully I need to write five days worth of Nanowrimo words in three days because Barcelona is on Friday (after work). I think I can do it! And I'm kind of loving the crazy story I'm writing, but I doubt it will be only 50,000 words. Again.

Luck of the Not-So-Irish

This week was a bit of a disaster. First, I had to get up before five am to walk to work for 45 minutes because the buses don’t run early enough for this job. I was already exhausted from work when I had to take the bus, let alone from walking too, but Dale was exceptionally helpful and actually got up with me in the morning to make my tea and see me off. It made for a much more pleasant start. However, more than once I found myself running for stretches of the walk in order to make it on time, and one day in particular I managed to get lost. I called Heather to try and figure out where the heck I was and she had to laugh when I suddenly found St. Stephen’s Green…I had managed to get a block past the Conrad. So I sprinted to work and signed in, believe it or not, exactly on time.

A quick picture of Alex, the breakfast restaurant

Then I went to my locker and realized my key had gone missing from my wallet. I was shaking enough as it was! Luckily for me one of the laundry ladies had a spare size six pair of black shoes and she was able to collect a vest for me from the laundry. The tie took almost an hour to make its way upstairs for me, and there were no spare aprons. The female supervisor didn’t notice that I got upstairs so late, thank goodness, but she noticed my clothes. I was relieved that she seemed okay with the situation. I guess it’s happened before. But then she pulled me aside and said I needed to cover the tattoo behind my ear. I had a side-braid that day, but apparently hadn’t done a good enough job covering it. Damn it.

For the rest of the day we felt attacked as she criticized everything. No one had told me that there were almost literal measurements for how far to set the forks and knives along the tables, and she delivered this news by asking, “Does this look like a five star setting to you?” Down at Alfie’s in the afternoon she stopped Heather and I communicating a guest order to each other by saying, “Girls, I see you chatting on the floor all the time. You need to stop.” Then she walked away so we couldn’t even defend ourselves. For the record, we don’t stand around chatting. We’re far too afraid to get in trouble for that. By the end of the day stress was on high and I doubt anyone felt like they could do anything right. Then I had to get my lock cut and am now sharing a locker with her until she can collect a new lock for me.

I spoke to the Food and Beverage Manager that same day and told her the truth about how the shifts were too early and asked if I could start at 6:30 instead. I dealt with it for the rest of the week, but next week’s schedule has improved by that necessary fifteen minutes. Unfortunately for me, the Saturday bus schedule is different from the weekdays and even Sunday, so even though I was scheduled to work at the much more pleasant time of 8:00 on Saturday, I had to hail a cab and set myself back nine euros. The cab driver railed about the stupid buses and she just about invited me over for Christmas, so she managed to lighten my mood a little. It’s too bad the changes won’t help me on the weekend when drunken people are still walking around from the night before. If I can say one thing about this week, though, it’s that it never rained on my walk. It’s actually been quite nice. Also, my back is getting stronger from balancing heavy trays in one hand and I’m definitely getting my exercise with my morning “runs.” By the way, I caught some American guy at work look at me and then say to his lady friend, “Did you know it’s a sign of an inexperienced waiter to hold the tray like that?” I wanted to shove my tray in his face. We are expected to carry them that way because it looks more professional.

On Saturday I walked home with Heather and did some grocery shopping at Aldi again, then she went home and I met Dale at Lenehan’s for lunch. In the evening we even bought tickets for the "Doctor Who" special that’s playing in theatres on Saturday. Now we have about eight more episodes to catch up on this week before we go see it. I’m also really looking forward to seeing "The Hunger Games!"

Dale's new bike!

While I was at work on Sunday Dale took two buses across town to meet with a very chatty lady about buying a bicycle she was selling on either gumtree.ie or donedeal.ie for 80 euros. Then, his first time riding a bike in Europe, he took it all the way across the busiest parts of town without a helmet and managed to survive. I’m actually really afraid of riding a bike on the opposite side of the road through town, but his bike is a bit too big for me anyways.

Trying out Dale's bicycle

I’m currently all caught up on my Nanowrimo-ing, but I need to get two days ahead so I don’t have to worry about Barcelona. In the meantime, I have today off at last, and tomorrow I might be going into town with Megan, also from USIT, for a little touring (and some errands I’ve been putting off). It is with relief that I can say that money, while not abounding, is now under control! And the water is fully and officially back to normal!

Dicey's

It didn’t happen just this past week but I came home one day to find the door at the top of the stairs open. It was completely dark inside, but I didn’t linger very long in the hallway. Not long after I’d gone into our apartment, however, there was a knock on the door. Dale answered it to find a little Spanish-looking woman asking if he’d come with her to see if there was anyone inside the apartment. According to her teenage daughter, it had been left open all afternoon. The woman was concerned that the owner might be dead because there was an unresponsive shape under a blanket, but didn’t want to put herself in a dangerous position by going into the room alone. Dale went in and pulled back the blankets to find a big pig stuffed animal. We all started to laugh with relief, and the woman and her teenage daughter introduced themselves. They were the first and only neighbours I’ve officially met, but she said she believes it’s important to look after each other, which I thought was a very nice sentiment.

This work week had its ups and downs. It was very cold in the mornings, except when I had to run to catch the bus. Last week I got on the bus just after six am on Saturday and the bus driver cried, “Do you ever take a day off?” I just laughed and said, “Nope.” I didn’t have to work with Irena most of the week, and when I did she seemed much more pleasant. The water shortage has also slowly tapered out. But there was a crazy day down in Alfie’s when every seat was full, including the bar. The new manager was also supervising, which meant that we were struggling to make everything look good. It was so busy that there was one walk-out because the guy had to wait so long for his food, and two complaints. Otherwise, things went very well considering. The manager pulled us together for a discussion afterwards and was in the process of saying that with the new set-up the saving grace will be the person doing the job I was doing that day, when Levente, who took it to mean I was a huge help, said genuinely, “Yes, she is very flexible.” I was surprised by the compliment, but happy that he expressed that I was helpful in front of the manager.

What was even better was that a guest from last week left a comment saying, among other things, that, “Nicole and other staff were very friendly, professional, and calm.” I had a meeting with Artur to sign off on my training, and he told me that not everyone gets those comments, let alone someone who’s only been working there three weeks, and that customer comments are very big with the new general manager. This was all very encouraging considering I’d broken at least four glasses at once in front of him (and all the other staff working at the time) and he responded, “Nicole, we don’t have enough of those glasses as it is.” I won’t tell you how many things I’ve already broken in my three weeks...Luckily the other times weren’t in front of supervisors. Then Artur finally took me on a tour of the hotel, although the only thing we really got to see was the Pent house. He told me that J-Lo, Snoop Dogg, and Chris Brown have stayed there. It was no Vegas Pent House, but it was definitely the size of an apartment and had a decent view over very flat Dublin.

The bad news is that I’m not such a hit with the female supervisor. I’ve heard that she stresses everyone out, and I’ve observed that she seems to pick on Brendan relentlessly. Unfortunately for me I was on the receiving end of this on Sunday after having to walk to work in the morning since the stupid buses don’t run early enough. I signed in five minutes early, but according to her watch I got upstairs ten minutes late. Then she pulled me aside and told me my hair was too long. I must have given her a blank look for a second because I thought she might be about to ask me to cut it off, but then she expounded, saying I’d have to wear it in a bun now rather than just a ponytail. Alright, that’s fine I guess. But she was very critical for the rest of the day too, and I was relieved when my shift ended at twelve. I even had a customer who wanted his eggs runny, his steak medium, the fat trimmed, and a latte. I kept the picky customer happy, but in the end he walked out without signing his bill. Customers are supposed to pay with the hostess, and I had been in the kitchen when he left, so when the hostess told me he hadn't signed I knew that it was somehow going to be my fault. Sure enough, the supervisor blamed it on me even though I was sharing the section with a more experienced girl and had never been told to stand over the customer as soon as they finished eating to make sure they signed the bill. Besides, breakfast is included for guests, so bills are rare in the first place. To be fair, the supervisor is new to the job, so she might be stressed herself. It’s certainly unpleasant to deal with though.

Such early shifts on the weekend mean that I have some time after work to actually live a little. On Saturday Heather and I walked home and met up with Anne for some grocery shopping along the way, and we stopped at Lenehan’s afterwards so that I could have lunch with Dale. On Sunday I was able to walk over to Penneys on the north side and finally find a pair of boots for casual walking. I also bought a cheap pair of walking shoes for eleven euros, and a super warm sweater for Dale (with a pattern of maple leaves on it) that I’m actually really jealous of.

I chose this blurry photo for Jacob's sweet dance moves going on in the front!

Then in the evening Dale and I walked over to Heather’s to have some drinks with her and her visiting friends, Casey and Jacob, before going to Dicey’s. Casey and Jacob had shown up unannounced on Heather's doorstep, which was pretty awesome. Dale didn’t last long because he had to work the next day, but the rest of us didn’t get home until about 3:30am, which meant Heather and I were up for almost 24 hours. It was a great night, however, and warm enough under the heat lamps in the beer garden that I was able to just wear my dress—and two layers of tights. There was dancing, probably a million photos, and, after several two euro drinks, some vomiting on the dance floor by one of our party which we then laughed about all the way home. It seems like everyone in Dublin likes to get pictures with strangers. At one point in the night I was even hauled into a massive one and nearly strangled by a drunk girl with her arm around my neck in a (possibly endearing?) headlock. Today I just have some writing to catch up on, although I was careful about not drinking too much anyways. I’m not looking forward to the rest of the week, however, because for some reason I am now scheduled for almost ten hour shifts, and there are no buses leaving early enough so I’ll have to get up an hour earlier than ever! Thank goodness for my second pay check coming in on Thursday. Assuming we can cover rent, this might be the last straw before I get a bike.

Halloween in its Home, and a Water Shortage in Ireland?

Heather and I after a long day at work

Last week passed by in a blur. We had a conference in attendance at the Conrad all week, which meant breakfasts were very busy and downstairs at Alfie’s I was manning the buffet rather than waiting tables. I actually liked this better because the guests were more likely to engage with me and have a few words rather than look through me, place an order, and then expect me to get out of the way. By the end of the week there were a few guests I could actually recognize and look forward to seeing. But a huge problem occurred during the week, and that was that the water shut off in all of Dublin, and was expected to remain that way for six days. It took us by surprise, so all of us waiters were suddenly lining up in the lounge to make the 200 guests individual cups of coffee off the one machine that was still running, and in the meantime all the other orders were backing up. We had to improvise with portable hot water tanks for tea, which eventually got too cool, and in the meantime had only one water cooler for ourselves. All of this meant that we were running around even more than usual. And I suspect there were also quite a few hangovers going around. I couldn’t believe that on an island surrounded by ocean and constantly deluged by rain, that there could be a water shortage, but it turns out that the main issue is contamination. Supposedly only the cold water taps shouldn’t work between 8pm and 7 am, but that hasn’t been the case at all. In my house, the hot water taps haven’t been working, and it has been going on all day, everyday. Needless to say, I haven’t had a shower in about five days. I’m thinking about boiling water in a kettle and using a cloth…

There are people at work that I’m coming to like quite a bit, but there are others that I could just strangle. For example, one of the chefs on Saturday was yelling for us all to hear that we had slept in and were being lazy, neglecting the food orders that needed to be delivered. This made me furious, not least of all because I’d gotten up at 5am, but also because we were one person short, had no water, and were running around doing the best we could and holding up very well considering! I spoke with one of the other team members at one point, and they asked me how I was liking the job. I could tell by their expression that things were going roughly for them, so I was honest, and in return they told me that they didn’t think they would be lasting much longer. Too bad they’re one of the good ones. But I’ve seen them get told off constantly, and I feel very sorry for them and know that I couldn’t hold up long under that negativity either.

Paperbags don't hold up for long!

On Thursday, Halloween rolled around. I was determined to go out that night and celebrate Halloween in its place of origin, so after work Heather and took the bus home—which is costing me too much money, I might add—I had a quick nap, wolfed down some food, met Dale on the bus, and went to Fitzgeralds for a scavenger hunt! In the rush I didn't get to see any kids at our door, but they were all over the street outside. Unfortunately I forgot half my costume at home in my rush—ironically in a paper bag—but to my delight, people actually pointed at me and asked, “Paperbag Princess?” I had thrown together a crown by carefully ripping a MacDonald’s bag. I thought it was funny that all the Canadians and Americans knew the story, while none of the Irish at Niall and Leonie’s party had, just like I suspected.  At that party, one of their friends had even asked if I was a “Garbage Queen,” which really made me laugh. So at Fitzgeralds Lisa from USIT split us up into teams of four or five. To my disappointment, I was put on a team with no one I knew. My team was composed of a cheetah from Calgary, a bloody mummy from the States, a Spanish caveman, and myself.

When life gives you lemons...! (this is Heather's photo of us and Anne, the Lumber Jack!)

We took off running. My team was competitive, although the poor caveman did not enjoy all the sprinting. Using clues, we had to find landmarks around Dublin and get a photograph of at least one team member at each one. Both the team with the shortest time, and the team with the best picture would win a prize. Some of this involved doing shots in famous pubs, laying on gravestones, or composing letters with our bodies in front of a gate. Our mummy was a great help since he was not afraid to ask strangers for advice. One of my favourite parts of the night was getting a picture with a scary Irishman in costume in front of a theatre. The mummy shouted, “Garda!” which is the equivalent to shouting “Police!” Lucky for us, one of the policeman was happy to oblige. I really can’t wait to see that picture! Then we got a picture under the arch in Trinity College, which is daring because the superstition is that whoever passes under the arch will fail all of their classes. My team mooned the camera from beneath it. Which led us to name the team, “Moonshine.” We were the first to return to the pub, with a time of one hour and six minutes. To our dismay, the next team returned four minutes faster and won a bag of Irish calendars and key chains. We’re still waiting to hear about the movie tickets for the best photo though! Dale’s team was the last to return, and the rest of us were sufficiently happy by then. I’ve never had so much fun with complete strangers!

Becca's photo of the group at Fitzgeralds

On Saturday I only had to work until one o’clock because Alfie’s doesn’t open until the evening on weekends, which was a nice surprise. So I slept for a solid fourteen hours. Then on Sunday Dale and I went into town to buy some new clothes as well as groceries. All I ended up with were a pair of plain black flats. My current ones had split from the sole, my old runners give me arch pain—and look silly with skinny jeans— my other flats were growing mold, and my black shoes are just for work. I had been making due for a while, so I was hoping to get a warm pair of boots for regular walking around, but everything closed before I could find a good pair and I ended up disappointed. Then after grocery shopping, we were hurrying across the road when one of the paper bags split on me and spilled groceries on the street. Down the road a little farther, the next bag ripped right in front of people waiting for the bus. I was grinding my teeth by the time we got home. But at least Dale had been carrying the eggs. On a lighter note, starting on Friday I also began Nanowrimo-ing! So far so good, but we’ll see how I do after I get back to work. The radiator has become my best friend because I lean against it for warmth and to help my back. I got a really good crack out of it after carrying trays all day, so I plan on using it as a personal heat pack. Also, I bought our tickets to Barcelona for the end of this month!