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Trip to Creston
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 1721
A hot day off, early drinking to beat the heat. Ferry over to Kootenay Bay, then the drive down to Creston, I gotta hit the prospecting shop...
I get what I need, a hand dredge and crevassing tool, good for sniping, that's my next day off's goal...
A local mural:
Absurd. Brings to mind the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions", to which I'd append "...and bad slogans and murals...".
Now to check out a few of the antique shops.
1, owner or employee grumpy, behind the counter, hates the foot traffic, a lot of junk, reasonably priced, but junk, he's not getting out of his chair to show you anything, just grunts and sullenly suffers your shopping...
But a couple of other shops and I get lucky:
A vintage microphone, perfect for podcasting, just need a plug adapter to make it fit my computer, very cool.
And:
Classic piece of bad retro, spin the wheel to find the cocktail you wanna make, most I've never heard of, the ideal accessory for the hipster bar as ridiculous cocktails return to vogue...
From here to check out a couple of wineries, good, looking at the menu of one - "We politely decline all substitutions:" and steak: "Served Medium Rare".
Nice. It's good, heartening, especially in hospitality, to see a chef doing things his way. Serving you note how many people try and fuck with the food, have ridiculous special requests, "dietary allergies", ridiculous, where I work - ok, doesn't matter, but if you're trying to cook for the higher end and educated populace it doesn't hurt to remind them. Want your steak well done? Go someplace else. Can't eat this? Order something else. It made me happy, the crowd that needs to have a say in every detail of their burger, they're not the easiest to serve. This place, with it's no-nonsense menu, this would be a better clientele...
Now the thrift shops in Creston, they open 4-7:00, ridiculously busy, lineups of thrifty shoppers, never seen this in my life, it's not a sale day, an ordinary day, they're opening a bit later than normal and for some reason that's drawn them all out like zombies...no finds here.
The drive home, it's early yet but the pall from the smoke and the fires casts a sunset glow on the side of the road...
Pinata's bursting, filled with children, crayons and sand...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 1298
The last 4 days at the restaurant, crazy, Sunday, running, Monday, unexpectedly busy, children coming up from the dock, blended families of 8 and 12 people, 4 adults, the rest all children, separate bills, crazy again, unexpectedly so, and it goes ridiculously late...it's as if pinatas are bursting in the restaurant filled with children, crayons, sand from the beach, the night's a gong show...
The next night, quiet, much quieter by far, but we've a new cook and things don't go even slightly as planned. A slight rush - busy, but only for an hour. And in that hour the new cook gets 8 orders, more than he can keep up with, he's big, fat, lazy, likes to stand around and work the deep-fryer, came here from Prince George, only he's not working out....the orders are slow, too late, the ferry's here and there's lineups of irate customers trying to cancel food orders that have already been placed, the other waiter, classic sketchy waiter from down east, gets into a shouting match with a rude English lady at the bar, nobody does rude and ignorance better than the British, they're the soccer hooligans of Europe, he's giving her as good back, yelling at her to fuck-off, that if she doesn't pay for the food she didn't get he's gonna call the cops, it's a shit-show...
I stay out of it. I'm busy enough as is, got my own tables to worry about, later on I get the full story. That he said the job was bullshit and it was suggested by the competent chef that he leave, and he did, only he wanted to keep living in the staff accommodations and after numerous attempts to start a fistfight with the owner had to be escorted to Nelson with the RCMP. The other waiter couldn't get the food for an irate woman that wanted to get on the Ferry, hence the shouting match.
This place, restaurants in general, they're a shit-show.
Wednesday, slow in the afternoon, I stay until 3:00, short break, back at 4. At which point it's a bit busy, but we get it under control. At 4:30 we start getting phone calls - "do we have power?", apparently the power's out in Nelson, no restaurants there are open, first 1 call, then 2, by the fifth one I'm answering the phone with "Yes we have power", 20, 40, now a hundred calls an hour, hang up and the phone is ringing, there's a tidal wave of tourists and locals leaving Nelson for the pub, it's 30 minutes away, I can see it on the horizon, I warn the kitchen, the new waitress arrives just in time...
The restaurant has about 40 odd tables, or 200+ seats. 3 servers. We are slammed. Beyond slammed, people walking in, sitting themselves at dirty tables, expecting to be recognized, the entire town has had the same idea...
The other waiter, he knocks off at 10 to start doing his cashout, we're (the new waitress and I) are doing side duties to 11:00, he's still puzzling why it doesn't add up, I help him a bit, cure a few of the errors, help the waitress, then leave, he's still got problems, I'm on to a couple of days off and never have they been so well earned...
Putin in America
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Link of the day
- Hits: 1471
His reach is long and his wrath is fatal. And wonder why the US would rule this an accident? Look to it's leader.
In a Posh Bar Serving Sam Elliot
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Dreams
- Hits: 1442
I'm in a posh bar serving Sam Elliot. He's at the bar, holding up his pint glass, tapping it meaningfully, he wants another half pint, there's a white line marking where it should be filled to...
It's a beautiful bar, hundreds of beer taps hang from the ceiling, I haven't a clue as to what he was drinking, I'm new here, don't know if I'm allowed to pour for the customers, don't know if I'm to ring it in, I'm off to look for the bartender...
It's a gala of sorts, everyone is fashionably dressed, the servers as well, socializing with the customers, I'm the only one dressed as a bartender or waiter, I can't find the bartender, I don't seem to know the rules, find my way past the throngs of socializing servers and customers back to the bar with the hundreds of beer taps, the bartender has returned, he's annoyed with me, I was supposed to give him his drink, supposed to ring it in, I don't know what I'm doing here, it's a nice place but I'm pretty sure I won't last...
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