Estelle Harris thinks I'm adorable!

No, seriously, last night I waited on Estelle Harris and she said that I was "just adorable." My response?

The exact scene that popped into my head.

"Ma'am. I think YOU'RE adorable."

She asked if I knew who she was, and I said the minute I heard her voice I was transported to watching Toy Story 2 & 3. We talked about it being nominated and how I thought it was the best movie I'd seen all year. She noticed my ring and asked if I was married and said that my fiance was a lucky guy.

It made my freaking night. To top this all off, an extremely well-known commercial casting director gave me his office number so that he could help give me references to commercial agents. And tipped me twenty bucks on a sixty dollar bill.

Wow. I feel pretty lucky. Now I have the next two days off to get some serious work done.

January has been a pretty busy month for me... obviously, given my lack of updates. I've been..

1. Working a lot. Of course. But I feel 10x better about January 2011 than January 2010 where I thought I was going to be fired every other day. It seems like business is up and my managers like me. Can't ask for more than that as a server. Busy. Flexible schedule. Awesome.
2. Helping out with an "Acting for the Camera" class that's now over... My mentor is amazing and I learn a ton from him every time we work together. Plus, that's extra cash in my pocket and the life partner's (he helps film the final scenes and edits them for the students)
3. Planning a wedding. The success story on this front is that we now have a date set in stone and we think we've decided on a location. We haven't booked it yet, but I'll give you a hint... It's home to our favorite pachyderm.
4. Editing my dad's novel. He's retired and has a lot of time on his hands. I don't, but I'm helping him anyway.

It's been a good month.

I also turned 25 this month and am now old enough to audition for alcohol commercials! Woohoo! We went snowboarding and ate at Susan Feniger's STREET... Which was slightly disappointing, to be honest. I liked it well enough, but wasn't thrilled enough to go back for the price. Maybe if cost didn't bother me, it would be a different story. The snowboarding, however, was excellent. Conditions were pretty awesome for such warm weather and every time I get better and better. We spent the majority of the day on the intermediate slopes and I was pretty pleased with myself!

I decided to get over my vanity. This is a terrible photo, but it's the only one!

The day after my birthday, I had an interview with a print agent, and while nothing has come of it, I do know feel more confident all future interviews of that sort. The agent was incredibly nice and now I feel like I know what to expect a little bit better.

Overall, January was great, here's to fabulous February!

Big Secret: I'M ENGAGED!

Some readers of this blog may already know that because they know me "in real life," but I've been avoiding saying anything about it on the blog until pretty much everyone in my life knew about it and until we started actual planning.

The Life Partner (LP) and I are officially engaged. In fact, we have been since October 9th, when he proposed to me on our anniversary. We've been together for six years and were in no rush to actually get married. We debated the moral/ethical quandaries of marriage in the modern world, including whether it was right to get married when others are denied the right. But, in the end, the decision we came to is obvious.

Now, please indulge me while I share our engagement story. I just can't help myself.

Jake and I had a big day planned for our six year anniversary. I got the entire weekend off of work, and we knew we wanted to spend the morning of October 9th at the Griffith Observatory (which you can see from our apartment window), followed by a Thai Massage, and then dinner at Mozza. I had absolutely no clue that Jake was planning on proposing to me... until we got to the observatory. He started wandering around aimlessly, restlessly, until we got to the roof. I went to the ledge, trying to spot our building.

When I turn around, Jake is kneeling, rummaging through his backpack.

"Oh! Did you bring your camera?"
"No..."
He pulls a huge fairytale pumpkin out of his bag...
"Will you marry me?"
Jake takes the lid off the pumpkin, which he's carved out, to reveal two cupcakes from my favorite bakery.

I might have said something ridiculous like, "for realsies?" at this point, but when Jake started talking about wanting to get a ring custom-made and how he'd been talking to a goldsmith... that's when I realized that this was actually happening and started smothering him with kisses. And then he asked, "Did you say yes? I kind of blanked out there..."

Oops. "Yes! Yes! Of course, yes!"

And then I devoured the cupcakes... and Jake bought me some flowers.

Then we got a fabulous massage, went home, changed, and went out to dinner. It may have been one of the most perfect days I've ever had. I was so excited the entire time.

We told our families immediately, and I tried to tell as many of my friends in person as possible. Then we began the process of designing the ring with our goldsmith.

He's semi-retired, so I won't share his name, but he came recommended to us by one of Jake's co-workers who had his wedding rings and engagement ring done by him. I'll call him MG (master goldsmith) and he's the most fabulous man. He has a huge, bushy, white handlebar mustache, and lives on a sailboat for about half the year. We met with MG and his wife on the boat to talk about the design together.

I brought some of my favorite jewelry, my personal aesthetic, things that Jake and I like to do together. And after the initial meeting, MG e-mailed us some sketches, and we sent him some photos of things that inspired us and we nailed down some concrete ideas.

After that, MG sent us a wax carving of the ring, along with some ring sizers, so we could OK the final design and take photographs of the wax carving on my finger. Then, on December 23rd, MG was back at his sailboat, with the ring, and we met him there.

We are talking about over two months of waiting for the ring at this point, and the suspense was killing me. "Do you want some wine?" "No, nope. Just... I'm fine." Finally, MG pulled out the box and gave it to Jake. And inside that was another box. And then finally, the ring!

I've had it for over two weeks now and I still can't stop looking at it. What's amazing is how comfortable it is. MG made a curve in the ring to accommodate the webbing between my fourth and middle finger. It's not your typical engagement/wedding ring, but it's exactly what I wanted and very much who I am and I'm thrilled with it. I especially like that the stones are off-center, so it's sort of a surprise when you see them on my finger.

We're going to have MG make Jake's ring sometime in March and I'm even MORE excited about that!

Now, I swear I won't talk about wedding stuff too much. There's definitely a lot of other stuff going on in my life that I need to focus on, as well. 2011 is going to be a busy year!

Absurd Customer of the Week #6

Sometimes, you have a customer you just know you're going to blog about the minute you encounter them.

Three older people (two very nice ladies and one PILL of guy) give me their orders like I'm an idiot, as if they require special explanation. One of them had also been asking me, what's the difference between *this* dish (pointing) and the Linguine di Mare. Well, I explain that the two are essentially the same... same pasta, same sauce. One just has an assortment of seafood while the other is only shrimp.

"Clams," she says.
"I'm sorry?"
"Clams. Not shrimp."
"OH! I'm sorry, I thought you were pointing at the dish above that. Well, the only difference between the Linguine with Clams and the other dish is that with other one you get a variety of seafood, and in this one you only get clams. And a choice of white or red sauce. The two red sauces are the same."

I don't know if she couldn't read the menu descriptions without glasses or if she was just too lazy to read. But I eventually get their order, making sure to repeat it back to them. Apparently, though, when the food came out to the table, the old man barked at the server who ran it.

PILL: What is this??
SERVER: Veal Picatta?
PILL: Why is there sauce on this?! I don't want sauce! Take it off!

So the server takes it back. I didn't witness this exchange, but saw that the food was on the table. Realizing the veal picatta was missing, I told the old Pill I'd check on it for him.

Tyler Florence Veal Picatta

PILL: There was SAUCE on it. I didn't want sauce! Just tell them to dump it off and put it on another plate and bring it back out.
ME: Oh... so just, dry? Or easy sauce?
PILL: JUST PUT IT ON ANOTHER PLATE!
ME: I'll go check on it in the kitchen.

So I scurry off to the kitchen. The new veal picatta is already ready. They left the lemon zest and capers on it, but the veal is dry and the spinach isn't cooked all the way. I bring it out  and try my luck. I drop it off on the table and hesitate to see what he says. Which turns out to be nothing, but the ladies at the table ooh and ahh and say it looks great. So I leave to attend to my other tables. Minutes later, another server tells me that this table wants to speak with me. I return.

ME: Yes, sir?
PILL: WHAT DID YOU TO THIS?
ME: Um....  you said you didn't want sauce, so they made it without sauce.
PILL: Well, it's RUINED. It's DESTROYED.
ME: Um... would you like us to make you a new one with just a little bit of sauce?
PILL: Where's the lemon??
ME: Well, they did leave some lemon zest and capers on there for you...
PILL: It's terrible!
ME: We can get you something else or make you a new dish.
NICE LADIES: No, no. Just bring some sauce on the side for him.
PILL: AND SOME LEMON!

So I go back to the kitchen and request some sauce and grab a plate of lemons. I bring it out promptly and let him know that they're heating up some sauce for him right now and will bring it out in a jiffy, but here's some fresh lemon.

PILL: ACH. Just take it. I don't want it. It's terrible.

So I take it back and tell the kitchen not to bother with the sauce. I let my manager know and ask him to take off the veal for me. Ironically, when a different manager stopped by at the end of the meal (not knowing the story), the group told him that everything was great.

Meanwhile, while this whole thing was going on, I was trying to accommodate a lady who was allergic to wheat, corn, soy, dairy, and who was also avoiding hormones. Luckily, our restaurant offers gluten-free pasta made out of rice that fit all her specifications. She asked me to make it with oil, garlic, and basil with a side of spinach and salmon. I repeated her order MULTIPLE times to make sure I had it right... and when I brought it out, she said, "Oh! I wanted tomatoes!" Never, ever, did she say tomato. Was that supposed to be implied? Perhaps she could have just saved us both the trouble and asked for pomodoro.

On a completely different note. Tonight, I had a table leave me the most ridiculously large tip I have ever received. I don't know if they misread the bill, or someone gave me more money than they thought they did, or their math was bad, or if they just felt generous. Even when the tip was already absurd, another person came up to me later and gave me even MORE money. I guess they felt bad for coming in so late and staying there so long. I mean, they didn't leave until TWO HOURS after closing. But, with the money they gave me, I wasn't going to complain one teensy tiny bit.

Unexpected Generosity

The holiday season brings some of the oddest situations and guests, and the cheapest and the most generous tippers to the restaurant. Last year, on Christmas Eve, I had a woman tell me she was ready to kill herself or her entire family because they were driving her crazy. She said this in front of her family. It was awkward, to say the least. Then, we served raw chicken fingers to her kids. *sigh*

That's the other thing about the holiday season. The restaurant undergoes such a huge influx of customers, usually all at the same time in big waves, that it definitely puts strain on the kitchen. I would say that they do a great job 99% of the time during the entirety of the year, but during the holidays, things start to fall through the cracks. Trust me, they still to a great job, but you start to see about 4% more issues.

The other day these two poor ladies got steak that was rare when they asked for medium and a meatball that was cold. The first time, they were upset, the second time they were just about livid.

ACTUALLY, A VERY NICE LADY: Look, I know you're busy and have all of these big groups come in, but to have a raw steak and a cold meatball is just ridiculous!
ME: You're right, that's unacceptable.
LADY: Now, I can take this meatball home and re-heat it, but...
ME: No, ma'am, please, can I take it back to the kitchen so the chef can see it? He really should know when something isn't right, and I'll have them bring you something better.

The very nice lady continues to huff and puff, and in about two minutes I bring her two piping hot meatballs. Luckily, these are much better and she's pleased that she gets an extra one to take home. Our executive chef brought out the steak himself and apologized profusely. The ladies were charmed. We took off the meatballs and the steak and the very nice lady who had done all that huffing and puffing actually left me $30. On a bill that was only about $30.

On Friday, I was stuck in a shit section for lunch. Four tables (no booths) in an area nobody wants to sit in. Every other server had 5+ tables.... for some reason, I got screwed. Normally, I get great sections, but... c'est la vie. On top of this, I had three of my tables reserved for a party that was due to come in at 12:30 PM. So I spent the first hour of my shift twiddling my thumbs, folding napkins, and helping other servers. For my entire seven and a half hour shift, I only had one party of 13 and a 3 top. That's it. Once the party was done at 3:30 PM, management would not let me leave! Even though the entire restaurant completely died, I was held prisoner until the dinner crew came on. Here's what I accomplished:

• folded 250 napkins
• swept the entire restaurant
• refilled all of the oil and vinegar containers
• lit all the candles
• restocked/zoned just about every area of the place. 

Why they complain about labor costs and then do things like that is beyond me.

On the bright side, for having only two tables, I did leave the restaurant with $85, some chocolate, and a hand-blown glass sea turtle ornament. One of the guys at my party was showing his co-worker a gorgeous glass sea turtle ornament he had made. I commented on how pretty it was, how impressed I was that he had made it, and that I sort of had a "thing" for turtles. At the end of their meal, our maitre^d came up to me and said "Merry Christmas." The guy gave me the ornament! Luckily, he was still there, so I was able to thank him profusely, and he told me about the gallery he represents. The group also left me a little wrapped chocolate because "I probably don't get 'treated' very often."

*sniffle*

Excuse me while I wipe away a couple tears, alright?

French Happy Hours and Decorating

Last night, I spoiled myself. I went to The Grove and finished my Christmas shopping. Since I had a package at the UPS warehouse that I couldn't pick up until 8:30 PM, I killed time at Monsieur Marcel (a little Frenchophile shop and bistro). It's the neatest/cutest little place in the middle of the Farmers Market and I was lucky enough to discover their Happy Hour with 1/2 off wines and cheap-o appetizers. I had some mozzarella/ricotta croquettes and a bowl of lentil soup. The soup sort of broke my rule of not eating things at restaurants that I can easily make at home, but it was really, really good.

My favorite part, though, were the free olives given with the bread. Yum. I'm sure I had about 20x the normal amount of saturated fat one should eat in a day.

At home, I finished putting up the lights and ornaments. LP says I like to decorate like a Who from Whoville and when he gets back from San Francisco, he'll probably re-do it. But I'm OK with it just the way it is!

Do I mind the mixing of white lights on our garland with the colored lights on the window? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We also have a poinsettia and a mini fake tree with photos of LP's family on the ornaments. It's very cute and so sweet. Oh, and that's Bruce the Penguin. He hangs out year round in the living room. He just puts his hood up for the holidays.  

Our tree is a real one! I'm loving the smell. We might get a fake one some day, but the only decent ones were way too huge for our place. Since the tree is only about 3.5 feet tall, I put it on top of a big cardboard box. More room for presents! :-)

Sorry, Obama, you'll have to hang out behind the tree this Christmas. And if you're wondering who that is hanging out at the base of the tree, that's Puck. He's LP's love child, created for our indie production that's currently in post. We found Puck a tiny little wicker chair at IKEA this summer so he can hang out in the living room with us.

I'm really enjoying making the apartment a bit more homey this season.  Even if it's in our own tacky little way. Someday, I'll figure out how to use my mom's old camera better so I can use something other than my cell phone!

Tonight, I baby-sat my niece so that my brother and SIL could enjoy a night out. Watching an 8 month old is pretty easy when they go to bed so early. Read a few stories, give her a change, and nighty-night! She was SO CUTE! Also cute? Her "brother" Spike who was all curled up in his bed!

One for the record books...

Source

This was an epic one, but in a good way. It was an easy night, a quiet night, and was able to pull in a decent amount of cash for how slow it was. What was so absolutely fucking amazing about tonight was that the last customers came in 45 minutes before we closed and at 10 PM (lock the doors!), all the checks were down on the table. At 30 minutes to close, we could not believe our luck. The host stand, the bussers, the kitchen, the servers, and even the management... we all noticed. Would it be possible? We were so sure that a party of 20 would walk in two minutes to closing time. But it didn't happen. The only people who came in over the next fifteen minutes sat at the bar, ordered carry out and had a drink. It was amazing. We were able to give everything a solid cleaning, I scrubbed things that I normally do not scrub out of a simple good will and cheer that I had no customers left. As a closer, I left the restaurant at a decent hour.

Tonight, citizens of West Hollywood decided to eat dinner at a normal hour. It was slow and steady the whole evening and I walked out of there with a respectable amount of cash for very little stress.

Tonight was a night for the record books. In the 365+ days that I have worked at that restaurant, this combination of awesomeness has never occurred. Not Once. Not EVER.

So, thank you World, for being on my side tonight. Thank you for not giving me any absurd customers to complain about, even if it makes my blog entry a little dull.

Thank you.