Well, it was definitely a busy weekend for me. I was planning on having two groups of volunteers assist a client of ours. The first group was supposed to come at 11AM and the second at 2PM. Can you believe that at 10:30AM, the first group called to say that they would not make it because it looked like it was going to rain? Are you freaking kidding me? Who in the world calls half an hour to cancel? I checked the weather forecast and it was forecasted as cloudy and if it was going to rain, the rain would come down at 2PM. Man, was I fuming when I got the call. So, I basically raked this client’s yard for three hours myself. It was a great way to get all the anger out of my system. The second group, Vietnamese students at Drake came at 2PM and they did a great job with sacking the leaves, cleaning and organizing the client’s yard. I was so proud of them. I told them what happened with the first group and they could not believe it. The entire time I was there, it never did rain at all and the weather in the afternoon was just perfect. Once I got done with the project, I cleaned myself up and picked Anna up from her band practice and we headed to Norwalk at John’s church for the annual fall festival.
For some reason I did not make it last year, but was not going to miss it this year. I saw a couple of people I recognized so that was nice and I got to introduce them to Anna. Anna had never seen John’s church before so that was a neat experience for her. I was starving and got to eat more than my fair share of food. Yay! All in all, it was a good evening for all.
Oh, on Thursday, our young adults group went to a little hole in the wall, mom and pop Mexican restaurant for dinner. I was looking forward to the meal because it’s the one place where they serve goat meat. My, oh my, was the food just great. I had my fill and what was neat was the fact that the daughter was the server and the mother was the cook. Awesome! We had a fun evening and all of us were full by the end of our meal.
Business was busy for Sunday brunch at Paradise and also at dinner time. In fact, I was supposed to leave at 6PM, but right when I was about to leave, we got a rush and Aaron asked me to stay to help the other server who gets a little overwhelmed when there are a lot of people. I helped him out, but he basically got all the tips. One of the tables was a dear couple who brought their parents and kids in and I’ve served them a number of times so we know each other. They wondered if I could end up getting the tip since I basically was their server and I said it was OK. They said they’ll make it up to me the next time they come in. It’s people like these that make working in the restaurant all worthwhile!
This Wednesday, Anna and I will be going to our first of two cake tastings so we’re pretty excited about it. After that, we’ll pop by Panom’s house. It’s been quite some since I’ve visited them. Also, Panom’s mom passed away two weekends ago so it’ll be good to visit her. On Thursday, I’ll finally be able to see, “Wicked” the musical. It’s the hottest ticket in town and I’ll let you know what I think of it. Those who have seen it all say it’s out of this world.
That’s the news from me for this week.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
I dislike stupid people.
I really dislike stupid people. I had to deal with two customers on the phone yesterday and both of them were let’s put it this way, less than bright. The sad part about it, I could not really tell them how I felt and I had to be all nice and listen to them rant and rave. Aargh!!! When Aaron came into the restaurant, I told him about it and he said it’s best I call it a day. Mind you, I was very pleasant to all the customers who came into the restaurant and we had a good business especially over brunch, but dealing with people who are not too bright on the phone really saps my energy. Oh well, it’s over and done now. Poor Anna was my sounding board and she took it like a wonderful fiancée. She knew something was up as soon as I saw her.
On a much brighter note, we both went to a wedding at St. Kate’s on Saturday afternoon. It was a very simple wedding without any major fanfare. There are times when that’s just the best. I got to ride over to the reception location with Charlene since we both stayed a little after the wedding to make sure things were looking OK for Mass later that afternoon. The reception was held at a lodge located in a park. Talk about a wonderful place and it just worked out really well for everyone. The food was catered by this guy who owns a barbeque shop not too far from the restaurant. The meat was very flavorful and yummy. We also had smoked salmon and that too was yummy. For drinks, you could have beer, wine, lemonade or root beer. I opted for root beer and there was a whole barrel of it there. It came from the Amana colonies and tasted mighty fine. Overall, it was such a fun afternoon. The group from St. Kate’s sat together and we just had a grand old time.
After work on Friday, I met up with Anna at one of our friend’s apartment. He organized a party and I told him I’ll only be able to make it after 10:30PM. Actually, I only arrived close to 10:50PM – there was a group of people who came in rather late so I had to get them taken care off and get as much cleaning done prior to closing the restaurant. We stayed at Kyle’s place till roughly 1AM, I think and it was a very relaxing night.
Not too much is planned for this week. The young adults will be going out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant over on the south side and I’m looking forward to it because it’s one of the few places where you can actually eat goat meat. Yay! I’ll be coordinator one and possibly two groups of volunteers from Drake on Saturday. They will be working out in the yard of one of our case manager’s clients. There’s a lot of work to be done and I’m just trying to get as many groups as possible to come in waves to help this poor, older gentleman. Later that evening, Anna and I will be headed over to John’s church for their annual fall festival. For some reason or another, I did not make it last year which was a bummer. It’ll be good to spend time with John and see people from his church. Anna has never been there before so she’ll get to see his church.
That’s the news from me.
On a much brighter note, we both went to a wedding at St. Kate’s on Saturday afternoon. It was a very simple wedding without any major fanfare. There are times when that’s just the best. I got to ride over to the reception location with Charlene since we both stayed a little after the wedding to make sure things were looking OK for Mass later that afternoon. The reception was held at a lodge located in a park. Talk about a wonderful place and it just worked out really well for everyone. The food was catered by this guy who owns a barbeque shop not too far from the restaurant. The meat was very flavorful and yummy. We also had smoked salmon and that too was yummy. For drinks, you could have beer, wine, lemonade or root beer. I opted for root beer and there was a whole barrel of it there. It came from the Amana colonies and tasted mighty fine. Overall, it was such a fun afternoon. The group from St. Kate’s sat together and we just had a grand old time.
After work on Friday, I met up with Anna at one of our friend’s apartment. He organized a party and I told him I’ll only be able to make it after 10:30PM. Actually, I only arrived close to 10:50PM – there was a group of people who came in rather late so I had to get them taken care off and get as much cleaning done prior to closing the restaurant. We stayed at Kyle’s place till roughly 1AM, I think and it was a very relaxing night.
Not too much is planned for this week. The young adults will be going out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant over on the south side and I’m looking forward to it because it’s one of the few places where you can actually eat goat meat. Yay! I’ll be coordinator one and possibly two groups of volunteers from Drake on Saturday. They will be working out in the yard of one of our case manager’s clients. There’s a lot of work to be done and I’m just trying to get as many groups as possible to come in waves to help this poor, older gentleman. Later that evening, Anna and I will be headed over to John’s church for their annual fall festival. For some reason or another, I did not make it last year which was a bummer. It’ll be good to spend time with John and see people from his church. Anna has never been there before so she’ll get to see his church.
That’s the news from me.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
What a weekend!
Well, talk about a wonderful weekend to say the least. I met up with Joel and Jim at a bar for our monthly men’s brunch and we had a grand time. Prior to that, I watched Liverpool spank Burnley on tv and what a great game. Overall it was such a wonderful game and everyone played a great game. Whoever decided to write Liverpool out of the premiership title had better think again. After brunch, I went back and watched a dvd while Anna was getting set up for her gig later that evening. I met up with Carola and John at the Civic Center for the season opener of the DM Symphony and it was a knock you out of this world season opener. Everyone in the symphony was amazing and it was as if they wanted to wow the crowd since it was the start of the season. The soloist from China was outstanding and she’s probably in her mid to late twenties, but her poise, focus and composure was mind boggling. It was a tremendous performance all around. I know all of us in attendance has a blast and are looking forward to the next concert. Speaking of the next concert, the conductor is from China and the soloist will be playing a pipa. How cool is that? I know I’m looking forward to that concert.
I took the day off on Sunday because there were two bridal forums and I figured this is the one and only time I’ll ever go to a bridal forum. Let’s just say it was an experience to say the least and now I can see why women go all crazy planning for their wedding day. I’m just so thankful we had gotten a lot of the work done so it was nice to go to the forums and not worry about picking everything and anything. Anna and I knew going to the forum we needed to focus on two things which was a wedding cake vendor and florists. Both vendors were there and I got to taste no less than eight cakes for roughly six vendors. I was only impressed with one and will most probably schedule a tasting with her. Anna pretty much let me decide on that with some input from her. Regarding florists, I know we have a person in mind, but it definitely did not hurt looking at other vendors. We may or may not schedule an appointment to meet with others. We’ll just have to see.
At the office today, my package arrived in the mail. Yes, I now have a webcam and also the David Foster CD/DVD. I’ll be setting up the webcam this evening and hopefully it’ll be installed without a hitch whatsoever. I really do not see any problem with it and it should be a piece of cake. Once that’s all set up, I’ll download Skype and I should be able to speak with the family via webcam. I also know a number of people who are on Skype so it’ll be fun to chat with them.
I’m working every evening this week because the owners mistakenly scheduled me without Aaron letting them know that I now only work on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. It’s not a big deal because I don’t have stuff planned the evenings I’ll be working. On Saturday, Anna and I will be attending a wedding at St. Kate’s. Her parents are good friend of mine and I had her in religious education and a lot of the people will be from church. It’ll be a great time, I’m sure of it!
That’s all from me for the time being. Cheers to the week ahead!
I took the day off on Sunday because there were two bridal forums and I figured this is the one and only time I’ll ever go to a bridal forum. Let’s just say it was an experience to say the least and now I can see why women go all crazy planning for their wedding day. I’m just so thankful we had gotten a lot of the work done so it was nice to go to the forums and not worry about picking everything and anything. Anna and I knew going to the forum we needed to focus on two things which was a wedding cake vendor and florists. Both vendors were there and I got to taste no less than eight cakes for roughly six vendors. I was only impressed with one and will most probably schedule a tasting with her. Anna pretty much let me decide on that with some input from her. Regarding florists, I know we have a person in mind, but it definitely did not hurt looking at other vendors. We may or may not schedule an appointment to meet with others. We’ll just have to see.
At the office today, my package arrived in the mail. Yes, I now have a webcam and also the David Foster CD/DVD. I’ll be setting up the webcam this evening and hopefully it’ll be installed without a hitch whatsoever. I really do not see any problem with it and it should be a piece of cake. Once that’s all set up, I’ll download Skype and I should be able to speak with the family via webcam. I also know a number of people who are on Skype so it’ll be fun to chat with them.
I’m working every evening this week because the owners mistakenly scheduled me without Aaron letting them know that I now only work on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. It’s not a big deal because I don’t have stuff planned the evenings I’ll be working. On Saturday, Anna and I will be attending a wedding at St. Kate’s. Her parents are good friend of mine and I had her in religious education and a lot of the people will be from church. It’ll be a great time, I’m sure of it!
That’s all from me for the time being. Cheers to the week ahead!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A lot accomplished over Labor Day weekend.
A lot was accomplished over this Labor Day weekend, not by me but Anna. She left for the Twin Cities early Saturday morning and made it for her dress shopping with her sister, Heidi and mom, Karen. She informed me later that evening that they did indeed get a wedding dress and she’s really happy about it. While up there, they also talked about the wedding invitations, guests list etc. Looks like we know what that figure will come to. The printing of the invitations will be done at the office since we have a commercial color printer that is more than capable of doing the job. I’ll end up paying the cost for the printing, but it’s not going to amount to a lot of money. Another thing that was finalized was the photographer. You can check out her website at www.amyallenphoto.com Both Anna and I really like her and she does some amazing photography. See, I was right when I said she accomplished a lot over the weekend. I guess the next thing on the check list would be to finalize the florist and wedding cake. That will be taken care of in the coming weeks, I’m sure of it. Off the top of my head, the rest of the stuff would be pretty minor stuff. Oh, the color for the bride maid’s dresses was done too. I’ll be wearing a tan colored suit which would be perfect for the summer heat. I’ll send you a link as soon as I find that out from Anna so you can have an idea of what I’ll be wearing.
I on the other hand had a very low key weekend. I worked on Friday night and pretty much spent Saturday at the movie theaters. I watched two movies then it was time to break fast with a Moslem friend of mine from Jordan. She’s really neat, and lives in the apartment building where I live, just four floors above me. I made beef rendang while she prepared some Middle Eastern cuisine. Talk about a fun meal for all of us.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that on Thursday, the young adults went out for dinner at this Hawaiian chain restaurant called Alohana Grill. The food was very reasonable and pretty good too. It was the first time I had Hawaiian cuisine and I definitely would not mind going back there again for a meal.
I worked longer than usual at Paradise on Sunday because Aaron had to drive his friends to Kansas City because their car broke down half way between DM and Kansas City. When I left at 7:50PM, he was just pulling into the restaurant. After that, I watched a number of dvds I purchased since there was a really good offer for pre-viewed dvds.
Monday was spent watching the rest of the dvds and grilling some meat for a mini engagement party organized by someone from church. All in all, there were six of us in attendance – John, Carola, Mary Kay Shanley and Dennies Rhodes (the organizers), Anna and me. The weather was outstanding so we got to sit on the patio and just enjoy the surroundings. Dinner was wonderful and after that was done, Anna played a couple of songs before we had dessert. Talk about a great way to celebrate Labor Day.
Well, that’s the news from me.
I on the other hand had a very low key weekend. I worked on Friday night and pretty much spent Saturday at the movie theaters. I watched two movies then it was time to break fast with a Moslem friend of mine from Jordan. She’s really neat, and lives in the apartment building where I live, just four floors above me. I made beef rendang while she prepared some Middle Eastern cuisine. Talk about a fun meal for all of us.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that on Thursday, the young adults went out for dinner at this Hawaiian chain restaurant called Alohana Grill. The food was very reasonable and pretty good too. It was the first time I had Hawaiian cuisine and I definitely would not mind going back there again for a meal.
I worked longer than usual at Paradise on Sunday because Aaron had to drive his friends to Kansas City because their car broke down half way between DM and Kansas City. When I left at 7:50PM, he was just pulling into the restaurant. After that, I watched a number of dvds I purchased since there was a really good offer for pre-viewed dvds.
Monday was spent watching the rest of the dvds and grilling some meat for a mini engagement party organized by someone from church. All in all, there were six of us in attendance – John, Carola, Mary Kay Shanley and Dennies Rhodes (the organizers), Anna and me. The weather was outstanding so we got to sit on the patio and just enjoy the surroundings. Dinner was wonderful and after that was done, Anna played a couple of songs before we had dessert. Talk about a great way to celebrate Labor Day.
Well, that’s the news from me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
