I’m still having a great time here. On the slower nights, I’m running the entire line, with Brian (“don’t call me Chef”) offering suggestions and stepping in if needed. As time goes on, he has to step in less and less. He ran things on the 23rd, since we were busy, and he’ll be doing New Years’ Eve dinner (65 people!) but every other night I’ve been the one doing staff meal and dinner service. There were some nervous moments (like the night my parents came in for dinner, and I was really worried about getting everything perfect) and some temporary setbacks (like last night when I whacked my hand on the walk-in door and couldn’t pick anything up for about half an hour.) Overall, it’s going really well.
The only part that hasn’t been so great is this past week. My parents came up for the first Christmas since we moved into our house, and I had to work every night. Originally Brian said he’d let me go early, but his fiancee had to go to the ER, so he was worn out most of the week from lack of sleep. I ran the line while he dosed on Vivarin and did prep, which he really appreciated. Again I feel like someone important, not just someone who’s temporary help. I’m being given the chance to learn stuff and run things. I believe that if I was still at CR Sparks, I’d still be pushing salads as just another temp worker. I really felt like they took advantage of me there, and I don’t feel like I learned anything. I keep comparing Colby Hill to Sparks and I just get angry over how awful those three weeks were.