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.