the beginning, but not really

yesterday was my first day of work at the deck in atlantic city. the deck is a seasonal restaurant at the trump marina, one of trump's three properties he has in ac. the menu is a glorified snack bar with emphasis on beverage. we make money on beer. my job is as a supervisor / manager. i make sure the guests are taken care of and all the staff are doing what they need to. i've done this for two other summers, 2002 and 2003. so, i've been away. i'm surprised at how little has changed. the staff is made up of young good looking girls as wait staff. we also have bartenders, bar porters, kitchen staff, music, and the whole shibang. i remember when i first started working at this outlet as a bar porter in 2001, i was awed by the servers. they were so beautiful and the like. i even went out with one. but, as i went to work yesterday, i have come to understand how much i have matured since those pot smoking binge drinking days (by no means am i denegrating those experiences - i feel everyone should try most things for themselves). i am now an adult. officially. i'll still whoop up on a 8th grader at pintado in basketball, but i'm an adult now. some of these servers are just graduating high school.

as for the job itself . . . i think i'm gonna try to detach myself from it as much as possible. i'm telling you . . . its hard work. long hours. its not so busy right now. when its busy, you just plot the course and make a few corrections as you go. you can't really stop the beast once it gets rolling. my coworkers are an eccletic bunch of folks. sheila, a puerto rican is a very smart and connected manager. she has a way of doing things and doesn't want to be crossed. i think shes gonna do a lot of good things at the deck. ayanna is another manager. she is intelligent and thoughtful. i think she'll do a great job as the inventory person. adam is a recent graduate of esu's management program. he reminds me of myself in ways. he likes the night life and is taking his job seriously. this is to be applauded. mark is the general manager of the whole shibang. he's coming from inside the building. he's a funny dude with an afflication for foreign girls. i'm not sure how he'll do under pressure, but i'm here to take orders. none of these folks have worked in this outlet before . . . which is where i come in. i'm not sure if there is any resentment at my arrival, but i'm only here to help. i have no ego to contend with, no motivation outside of personal pride and a paycheck to contend with. so, i'll do whatever is asked.

i've told myself that i would not think about the restaurant outside of work. however, as it will be a major part of my summer existence, i fear most of my posts will relate to it.

i miss paula. and i know i have to get better at talking on the phone. one little thing will set me off. i have to get over that. so, paula, i'm sorry for being a buger on the phone.


off to the gym. oh yeah bob.