Gore and catgut available at the Rose and Crown!

I haven't blogged for a while but it's only because I've been pretty busy. I've been working and when I'm not working I've been trying to learn the menu. I've already taken the pre-service test (and passed) so now I have to spiel menu items to three managers and a chef. It means I need to know every one of the items we serve and what goes with it and descriptions. I like studying (which is fortunate) but I'm really struggling because I'm working to a timescale. I've told management I'm ready to spiel on Thursday which gives me two days off to learn everything. I can now do all the appetizers and most of the entrees. My way of remembering things isn't exactly PC but it really helps. For example, our herb roasted lamb is marinated with garlic, olive oil and rosemary which I remember by thinking GOOR (gore). Also, I think of CATGUT when I'm describing the chicken because it helps me remember Canola and olive oil with whole Garlic cloves and Rosemary and Thyme. It was originally COGRAT (Canola, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and thyme) but catgut makes me laugh and I remember it better. If Disney knew I'm describing their menus with words like gore and catgut, goodness only knows what they would think! Still, if it works, I don't see any problem with it!

I've been ER'ed the last two days I've been in. That means "Early Release" and it happens when we have too many people at work and not enough to do. I probably shouldn't have taken todays as we don't get paid for ER's but it is so tempting. Imagine working in a 90 degree heat where you're standing on your feet the whole time and there's very few guests so alot of the time you're just standing there. Now imagine someone says, "hey, do you want to go home?" Trust me, even though the little voice in the back of your head is saying, "you need the money", the rest of you is picturing a cool blue swimming pool and the chance to jump in it! I think today will be one of my last ER's though as I had something I actually wanted to do (menu study). I need to start realising money has to come from somewhere so if I don't have any plans, I need to work. Still, we won't get ER'ed once we're in service so I may as well enjoy it while I can.

I'm heading to the bank in a little while to arrange online banking. I'll be taking my "cheat sheets" with me so I can study the menu on the bus. I've made some cards with the menu items on so I can carry them around and learn "on the go". I should definately be ready for Thursday at this rate.

The only other bit of news is Hurricane Ike. He is a massive catergory 4 hurricane and right now he's just to the south of us battering the hell out of Cuba. He's been a bit erratic and last night, people feared he was going to come barrelling through Florida. They called for a mandatory evacuation of the Florida Keys and Bush declared a state of emergency for Florida but it looks like we may be lucky this time. As my little map shows, he's going to bypass us and head off into the gulf but nothing is certain with storms as dangerous as these. Everyone is keeping a very close watch on Ike, as well as all the other storms that will form behind him (at the moment, Josephine and Kyle). I know alot of people are excited to witness a hurricane and I've actually had people wishing for Ike to come our way but they have no concept of the raw power in these storms and the damage they can cause. I'm hoping they won't have to find out but it's a very active season this year. We're not even at the height of Hurricane season yet (that's next week) but we're already up to the letter L (that's 12 named storms this year). Well, all we can do is wait and see and deal with things as they happen. I personally think Ike will miss us (though I pity Cuba) but they'll be others. Don't worry though, I'll keep you up to date.

Gustav, Hanna and ER Baby!

I've been seating for the last couple of days at the restaurant. I really enjoy seating, you get to talk to the guests and it's not exactly a difficult job. I've been working six hour shifts but today I got ER'd at 4pm! ER stands for Early Release and when there's too many staff on, the managers go round and ask if you want to go home. I only had a couple of hours left but I jumped at the chance anyway. It was great! I like being ER'ed. As I left I kept saying, "ER, Baby!"

The big news at the moment is Gustav and Hanna. Hurricane Gustav is an extremely dangerous hurricane. He is currently a category three storm but looks like he may become a five. Five is the worst you can get. I feel really fortunate in a guilty kind of way because it looks like it will miss us and come barrelling up through New Orleans who are only just getting back on their feet from Katrina who hit three years ago. Katrina was a category three storm so a five is really getting attention. Everyone is watching Gustav like a hawk, just in case he swings to the east but it's unlikely. I feel so sorry for New Orleans. They are very badly situated to deal with hurricanes of any strength, let alone one with winds up to 155mph! They are strongly suggesting the evacuation of New Orleans and that will become mandatory tomorrow morning at 8am. These photos above show Gustav at the moment. It hasn't even hit yet. I really feel for Louisiana and I hope everyone gets through it unscathed up there.

The second storm is TS (Tropical Storm) Hanna. She's quite a way off at the moment and all that's happened is she's made a rather dangerous undercurrent rip off the coast. At the moment, it looks like she will hit the Bahamas and run out of energy before she reaches Florida but once again, we're keeping a weather eye on her, no pun intended. It really looks like this year will be a very active season. It's only August, the middle of hurricane season isn't until September and already we've had eight storms (Arthur, Bertha, Cristobel, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav and Hanna). The next one will be Ike, followed by Josephine and Kyle. If it's just tropical storms, it won't be too bad but surely one of them will be a hurricane? Still, I'm not too worried. Obviously, I'm slightly nervous but I honestly believe that Disney is one of the safest places to be when a hurricane hits. The people of Florida are so used to hurricanes, they know what to expect and when. They take all of them very seriously, even "diva storms" like Fay (that come, make alot of noise, promise alot worse and then fizzle out). One thing that made me smile is the name for the 20th storm of this year. That will be Hurricane Vicky. My roommate is called Vikki and back home, my mum and little niece both call me Vicky. I can imagine the headlines! "Vicky threatens Florida!", "Bush declares state of emergency from Vicky", "Florida is unprepared for Vicky".....

I'm assigning again tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm only training as I have asked for extra training but it looks like I may be flying solo. I don't like that idea but I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Oh, one last thing before I go, we've finally got a TV here at 1615! Yay! I got a DVD player at one of the throwouts so I'll set that up in a minute. I cannot believe how long we've gone without TV. When no one's home, the apartment feels so quiet. I turned it on today but I forgot how dire Amercan TV really is. They make an episode of Friends (22 minutes), last an hour due to adverts. I think I'll be using the DVD player most.