April 5th, 2018
In a place with lots of people, say like a casino, the concentration of people in one place will tend to produce a sort of low-grade background noise. I call it a ‘hum’ or a ‘buzz’. It means I’m going to be busy. That sound was 100% absent when I strode onto the floor last night. It was almost blizzard-level quiet, apart from the odd slot machine going off here and there.
Not good. Ah well. So I get my money stashed into my cash register and wait on the odd guest or two while I catch up on the news of the day, so to speak.
Firstly, Granny Nobs is back in the supervisory saddle, having returned from her extensive vacation to Parts Unknown. However, only for a week, at which point she’s outtahere for good. Ugh. It’s always ever so exciting when the supervisor who knows exactly how to finagle scheduling and payroll both decides to bugger off to greener pastures, in this case strewn with her grandchildren, and who can blame her, right? Still – when you have someone that a.) you respect, b.) you get along with, and c.) is generally pretty damned good at her job, it’s a kick in the teeth to have to lose them. I tell you this – gonna start ignoring that ‘only sports on the TVs’ rule in about a week. No clue who’s going to fill her shoes. I’d personally nominate Charon, even though she’d have to learn payroll and scheduling. She’s sharp as a tack. We shall see.
In other news, Jerry the Older is back among the land of the conscious and as of this writing is probably well on his way to being released from hospital. Broken rib, nose, and back, but otherwise in seemingly all right condition. I’ll be surprised if we see him back anytime soon, though. Broken backs are no joke. I’ve done that one. Still, good to hear he’s pulling through.
The shift however was so morbidly slow that I’m able to do things like worry over exactly where all the damned cocktail napkins have gone? Because we were effectively out for much of the shift, and had to resort to paper towels. Stay classy, casino.
The new cocktail that was in my alcohol class, and was on-duty last Thursday, hasn’t shown up since, so our numbers there are still painfully low, though it is results in more people coming to the bar for drinks and siphons their tip money to me, so….
Our senior cocktail girl, who gave me my breaks tonight, was kind enough to find the sports section of the local paper to bring around, not because I wanted to catch up on the scores, but because of the puzzle page. We were seriously so slow that I was able to knock out the word jumble, the crossword, the cryptoquiz, -and- a Sudoku puzzle, all to completion. Even the tap handle getting stuck on one of the kegs and giving me my bi-annual beer bath was sort of exciting.
Now around the end of the night, last hour or so, when I was of course my tiredest, business picked up. It wasn’t hectic, but it was nice and steady, so by the time we shut down for the evening, I somehow managed to hit my tip goal for the night, despite the tumbleweeds blowing by. So that’s good.
A nap is in order, however. The next two nights are likely to be chaos. We have one of our ‘pack-em’in’ bands playing in the lounge this weekend. The earplugs in my locker are going to be mandatory equipment for the next couple of nights, and not just a nice option if I need it.
Closing observations :
- Technically, surveillance frowns on us doing puzzles behind the bar, but it’s been a good two or three years since I’ve had a write-up for that, so if they decide to get pissy about it, I’ll take the wrist slap and move along.
- Seriously no clue what was the deal with the tap handle. I do hope they get it wrangled soon.
- Granny Nobs apparently really enjoyed her trip and impending departure. She’s radiating total “zen”.
Next up : Friday night