MIA

don't worry, i'm still alive. since I finished working at the credit union, and we don't have internet access at home, I haven't been able to really doing any reading or writing online. here's what's going on:

the saute cook (and a good one at that) was fired early last week for giving his opinion when asked for it by the GM. now, he did sort of insult the exec. chef in doing so, but it was still a pretty lame thing to happen. it sucks that he's gone but on the bright side it has opened up some opportunities on the line. i'm currently training on the section they call "middle." it's on the line between saute and grill. it's sort of a filler position and does most of the hot veg and plating. it's an awesome step up and one i didn't expect so soon; i haven't even been at the restaurant (which is my first kitchen job) for a month yet.

on a not-so-good note, the restaurant is doing poorly. most casual fine dining places have been hurting the most during these financial troubles that our country has been going through. many similar scale restaurants have been closing. at least it's the holidays and we are busy with parties. tonight we had a 60 top, a 35 top, a 30 top, and a 14 top. that pretty much maxes out the restaurant so we were basically closed to the public except for bar seating, which saw some business as a result. we were absolutely slammed; it was as busy as Plate will really ever get. the good thing is that because it was all preplanned parties, it was also preplanned menus. only the 14 top was al la carte which meant we knew way ahead of time what was needed. this made for some busy prep time but when it came time for service we were locked and loaded and everything went down smoothly. the chef gave us all a big thanks and the end and the GM passed out beers, which is alwasy a pleasant way to end a shift.

i've also received my first paycheck from my new job. ouch. the paycut hurts but i have zero regrets. i love what i'm doing, i'm learning a lot, i'm moving up more quickly than i thought i would, and it is awesome experience. if i can train quickly to jump on saute or grill (our grill guy is currently looking for work elsewhere) then i can also ask for a raise and will have solid hours; and again, it will be awesome experience. i know it will happen, it's just a matter of time. i think hard work, reliability, and a tactful expression of my opinion when asked for will make the difference. it's a fast moving business with a good amount of turnover.

i'll try to get some pictures of the restaurant and the food we make soon to show everyone what i'm up to.

the only other thing i have going on is school. i'm just taking one class this trimester: adv mgt/restaurateur. it's been getting off to a slow start but the entire class is basically one big project, which is to go through the steps of opening a new restaurant. choosing a site, raising/collecting funding, owner arrangements, hiring staff, and of course the fun stuff - design, menu creation, etc. it will be a fun project and i hope to learn a lot.

if you want to read some cool stuff (because i don't feel like i'm divulging anything of much interest), check out http://blog.ruhlman.com/

that's it. i'm tired. a few more beers, maybe some leno/conan, and then bed. night.