(this is the fourth post in a series detailing my work trip to Houston.)
Calm before the storm.
Had a long day today and this was just the tip of the iceberg. We were at the store today from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. getting prepared to meet the staff tomorrow and go through their first day of training. Some of the procedures were a little confusing at first, but I finally caught on to how things were going to take place.
Getting the kitchen set up is going to be a hassle because it is a small area and all the equipment isn’t working yet or hasn’t arrived. The fryers are not getting any gas, the stand up freezer for the fry station is backwards, we don’t have a bread rack yet and the plates are too high for me to reach. Korrey (the other broil trainer), Vince (fry trainer), Christina (pantry trainer) and I are going to have to put our collective minds together to figure out some procedural things as to how to complete tasks. We definitely still have our work cut out for us.
As with the trainers, now that we’re all here (Tito and Tommy got here three days early) we are all getting along well. We’re not really butting heads (yet — knock on wood) and we are very helpful to one another and respectful of one another. I thought about it today that I felt like a cast member of “The Real World” when we all came together, like “so these are the people I will be spending all day every day with for the next 11 days (some aren’t staying as long as I am.) but, so far so good in that regard.
I ate lunch today at Potbelly Sandwich Shop which was delicious. Tito, Korrey, Tommy and I all went out to Pollo Bravo for dinner and I had some of the best quesadillas I have ever had in my life. I feel I will probably be eating like a king while I’m down here, which means I will probably put back on that 30 pounds I lost earlier this year. Good thing I brought my running shoes, right?
The boys mentioned above and I all we tout tonight after the trainers had another meeting about training and strolled around town looking for a decent bar to get a few drinks. Let me tell you, the language barrier down here is a bitch. I wish I knew more Spanish because not many people we have encountered outside of our restaurant speak English. I mean, I had a idea I’d come across the occasional Latino, but little did I know I would run into more Spanish-speaking people than I would those who are fluent In English.
So we found a bar (Uncle Joe’s Club) to grab a drink, and boy did it make me feel like I was really in Texas. There was country music on the jukebox, four elderly people sitting at the bar, and a few stragglers at the bar as well, but it was definitely the kind of place I was looking for; a Texas bar with country music and country people. The bartender took her time with when she asked for our IDs, which I expected, but I was surprised to know that although she was of allowed to serve alcohol to people with non-Texas IDs she served us anyway.
It was after this that we really started to walk around. But after a while of walking and not finding anywhere to go, Tito and I decided to head back tithe hotel so he could go to sleep and I wanted to do more preparation for tomorrow, because after all I am a little nervous about the entire day. when I got back to the hotel, I was perturbed when I found out I left my note packet with the agenda on it at the restaurant because it wasn’t in my folder and someone had moved all of our stuff. Ohh well, looks like I get to cram in the morning.
Keep checking back for updates throughout my travels while I’m down in Texas. I am going to try and post every day.
Until next time …
The Write Schanz 