Its Too Late To Apologize April 2, 2008

Things at good ol P9 have been good – but stressful. We have a few new staff members that aren’t pulling their weight (at all) and have the common sense of an infant, the kitchen is understaffed and stressed out and as a result of this we’ve had unhappy guests. People waiting 45 minutes for food, people having to wave hands wildly to get more water, people getting pissed and leaving – you know the drills of a struggling restaurant. I mean – the food is still great and there are a ton of people that work there that really give it their all, so this little boat is still afloat – but references to Titanic have not gone unnoticed. With that said – last night we had the band One Republic in – yes, yes – that American band that struggled for months and months and months to get the support to get their record out – they had a huge Myspace following, but that was about it and then one day BAM! Timbaland remixed their song and they are international superstars. So – they call in and say they will be there with a party of 12 in about 15 minutes… yeah. 12 people, 15 minutes. We were already super busy last night, but since we never pass up anyone – we said “sure”. Unfortunately the only person that could look after them was this incompetent little turd and he totally f’ed things up – long story short, they waiting almost an hour for food (no entree – just mains that were mostly fish and freakin’ chips) – the lead singer got up and threw an absolute FIT (you would think they had been famous for years, not months) and we had to comp all their drinks. Pathetic when we can’t even get our stuff together for a VIP table – ugh. It was, evidently too late to apologize. Great. I love my job.

The other day when I was avoiding Ken in the computer lab I putzed around town all day and successfully avoided seeing him – until right before I went to work I was down by the pontoon waiting for Dan in the bathroom so we could get on the dinghy and I could go get my work stuff when suddenly I look up and Ken is right in front of me. “HEY!” he exclaimed through his semi-toothless grin. “Crap. I thought to myself,” as I anxiously looked around for any sign of Dan. We then had a short conversation where now I am almost completely convinced that he has a few screws loose. Below is an example….

Me: “So, how is Gympie” (the town where he is staying before he leaves)

Ken: “I’ve got a surf ski if you want it”

Me: “Uh, no, that’s alright. When do you leave for Columbia?”

Ken: “Don’t worry about rent – just leave it on the boat and if I die you can keep it”

Me: “Ok…. I don’t think you are going to die Ken. When do you leave?”

Ken: “People die everyday. My girlfriend is really nice”

Me: “Yeah… so when are you leaving?”

Ken: “I left some roach traps on the boat for you and a fan. The fan is GREAT!”

Me: “Yeah, I saw that – thanks!”

Ken: “You know, I used to be really scared in Columbia – I don’t speak Spanish. But now I have a girlfriend and its a lot safer”

Me: “Yeah, that sounds great. So… WHEN ARE YOU LEAVING?”

Ken: “I hope you are enjoying Australia. Do it now while you are young”

Me: “Yep – its been really great. We really like it here”

Ken: ” Do it now before you have babies and then have to take kids to school every day. I don’t know what it is about women – all they want is babies, and then they have them and they don’t want them anymore”

WTF!!! How can someone deal with this every day?! Thankfully around then Dan came out and they started talking – I’m sure the conversation was just as informative. Apparently he is leaving next Sunday and is looking for a place to stay Saturday night -he asked Dan. I guess he hasn’t heard of a hostel. I have also learned he has had a vasectomy because a woman tricked him into having two children – maybe this is where the random “all women want is babies” comment came from – who knows.

LOVE