I started teaching at North Seattle Community College on January 4th, and my life has taken off! I am teaching a basic health course to 35 college students! Yah, somebody thinks I know something about basic health and thinks I can give advice to college kids. It's a great opportunity, and it takes lots of my time!
I ride the bus from downtown Seattle to NSCC each day, and I really have been enjoying the ride. I don't have to worry about merging traffic, accidents or crazy pedestrians. I just jump on the bus and get off 45 minutes later. Now, do note that it does take 30-45 minutes, depending on the passengers and number of stops, so it takes planning. The same drive, which is only 6 miles, takes about 15 minutes if I were to drive. However, since we live downtown, we park our car in a lot that's not very close to our house -- about 8 minutes away. Then, parking takes another 5 minutes, if you're lucky. I won't pay for a quarter-long parking permit, so I try to park further from campus. It takes about 5 minutes to walk from one of the parking spots on the street across from the campus. So, all said, it takes about 24 minutes to drive myself to campus. It's worth riding a bus and getting a front-row drop off. I've thought a few times how funny (and so inconvenient) it would be if I were to drive to NSCC and then get on the bus later, leaving my car at campus.
Because the position opened up at NSCC, at least for the quarter, I do not work at Seastar Restaurant and Bar, the seafood restaurant I was at. I had been learning quite a bit from them, but one thing I learned for sure is that I don't care for losing out on all my weekend nights. I also have learned how essential each position is in the restaurant, regardless of how glamours or lowly. Truly. the serving assistants, the ladies and guys who clear tables, drop off plates, and deliver bread and butter, are the busiest people in the house. Okay, if you're a server, you'll probably disagree with me. But can you imagine trying to do all of this alone?
I have learned some good lessons from working in a restaurant. Here they are. Of course, if you're in the industry, then you'll probably have some suggestions. Feel free to comment.
1. Tip well, especially if the serving staff deserved it. They are often paid minimum wage and expect to make up the difference in tips. If the server is really biffing on the job, talk to a manager privately. He or she could make it right.
2. Make a reservation. It really doesn't matter if you think it will be busy tonight -- make one anyway.
3. Give your hostess information, like if you're celebrating something special, so she can take care of your table (sometimes a dessert can be given to you -wink wink)
4. Make eye contact with staff, the serving staff, the bar staff, the assistance, and the bussers - it's basic human respect. Even though they're members of the service industry, they're not servants.
5. Don't close the restaurant -- don't be the last table that hangs out one to two hours past the last seating. The servers, while they're glad you decided to dine there, do not want to stay for an extra two hours while you and your friends enjoy themselves. They still have to clean up the restaurant and all.
6. Be sure the restaurant is appropriate for the guests - if you want to dine at a nice restaurant, then leave the kids with the grandparents. Or, if you have kids, then go to a restaurant where the other guests won't be disturbed by kids. Restaurants want all diners to have a good experience, and sometimes other guests can ruin the experience for them. Don't be that guest.
7. If you do bring kid, bring food for them, because they'll probably get incredibly hungry before the food comes out. And clean up the food that falls on the floor (if it's food you brought with for the kids). There's nothing worse than cleaning up crushed Cheerios, and it's even worse when it's at your restaurant after the patrons have left.
8. If you have food allergies, let the chef know. He or she can probably whip up a great dish for you with some advance notice. When you make the reservation, see if you can plan that in.
9. Tip well, even if the servers don't deserve it. Okay, not 25%, but at least 10%. Many restaurants split the tips with the rest of the staff, so the whole team feels the effects.
The thing about being busy is that I don't have time to cook and prepare meals the same way that I have in the past. When we were in Pueblo, we had joined Country Roots Farm, a CSA, and I did a lot of cooking and preparation from scratch. But now, I usually get home in the late afternoon, and sometimes Josh is at work. The inspiration to make dinner is almost absent when he's absent. I have been eating a lot cereal lately.
Fortunately, Day by Day Gourmet makes simple meals that come together quite quickly. So, when we are home together, and I am not in the mood to go all out for dinner (or I lack the groceries), I can thaw one of those meals or cook one from frozen. Specific items were created that can be prepared from frozen if you didn't think of thawing a meal 24 hours in advance. I made Milano Risotto last night. It was easy to make, thank goodness! The great thing about the meals - and I'm biased here - is that the meals are nutritionally balanced. They are created to be around 500 calories, have 2-3 servings of vegetables, restrict sodium, and control fat. So, at least I can give my husband a decent meal that is good for him and that tastes good.
Now that I don't have the restaurant, our schedules line up a little better. There are still nights that he works, and I resort to eating cereal again. But...I am cooking a little more. We wandered down to the Market and picked up some salmon the other day. I had been thinking of a roasted salmon filet with a balsamic vinegar reduction. So, Josh loyally trekked to the Pike Market with me and helped me pick up a salmon filet at Jack's Fish Spot.
I found a good recipe online, and I made some modifications. Check the next post for the recipe.
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