Not even my sneakers helped. I need to score decent footware and those heelpads that you all have messaged me about. Thank you for all the congratulations. Work today was better than yesterday. I'm still not perfect but I've managed to get the hang of it real fast. I can wait on tables now and even handle 3-4 at a time. I'm starting slow, choosing to serve only two per table so I don't get overwhelmed with the amount of orders. Despite this being the most tiring job I have ever done, it was quite a bit of fun. It's so easy to panic trying to make sure your customer gets their food at the soonest possible time. Most hungry people, including me, are grumpy so it pays not to piss them off. I slammed into Paul again today while running out of the kitchen, as in body slam pare tapos natapakan ko pa siya. Ang laki kong babae at ang payat niyang intsik, kitang kita sa mukha niya yung pain pare. I could feel everyone in the kitchen laughing at me.

Kenny was amazing. He served as my cheerleader and coach, reminding me to review the menu on my lull moments and ask Paul to teach me all the things I needed to know specially for the opening and closing duties. Everytime I would have an order from his sushi bar, he would pass on the dish with an encouraging smile and a "Go! Go! Go!" I was wrong yesterday, he's not chinese but Malaysian but can speak their language. He sat down and chatted with me about his life and the economy (hehe) during the quiet hours.

Ang hirap ng trabaho. We were packed again over the dinner rush. It was crazy! I'm not even going to make it sound glamorous. I don't want people having the impression that I'm living a grand life and ang sarap ng buhay ko sa New York. T*ngina pare, mahirap talaga ang trabaho. Kung nagrereklamo ako dati na pagod na pagod na ko sa trabaho ko sa TPC, mygawd wala pa sa kalingkingan yun ng pagod ko dito. I don't know how Paul ever managed to do everything on his own for two solid weeks without help. I'm only on my second day and ibang klase ang sakit ng katawan ko. But it was all worth it when Paul handed me my share of the tips for the day. I get less than he does since I'm the new kid and will eventually get more when I stop depending on Paul for most things. I did a quick mental math and smiled. Diyoskopo! Isang araw lang at sa ganung pera, bakit pa ako babalik ng pilipinas?!? Yoko na boy!

The only bad thing about this job is the commute home. The trip going to work in the morning is okay since there is an abundance of busses and trains. The busses run fewer late at night and the cold is more unforgiving during my 20 minute wait at the bus stop. Trains are seldom during weekends and the restaurant closes even later then. I'll end up getting home at 3am and have to wake up in 4 hours to prepare for work again. I need to move somewhere close...and soon.

Oh, and before I forget...
Happy Birthday to Mr. Paul Santiago!
He turns 16 today!

So...I went back to the restaurant today and they gave me a tryout...similar to what we do in TPC. I was almost late because the idiot in me set the alarm but forgot to turn it on! On top of that, I lost my metrocard!!! Since my commute was timed and scheduled to the bus and train arrivals, the time I lost trying to find quarters for the bus and buying another metrocard at the subway station made me miss my express train!!! So I got on the local train which took EONS on every stop and I missed my 2nd train transfer. Then I got lost a bit walking to the restaurant from the station and had to consult my map. Thankfully, I got there just as I saw the manager walk in.

How did I do? Well, I SUCKED, BIG TIME. If I was the manager, I wouldn't hire me at all! Kitang kita na wala akong experience. I tried being helpful by cleaning up tables but one time, I almost broke everything in my tray when I collided with my fellow server. He was fast enough to catch all the wobbling glassware before they toppled over. I swear, that kitchen door is an accident waiting to happen. I kept slamming on people on corners, I almost dropped a plate and I was so nervous I stuttered while asking one family if they wanted more water. Punyeta para akong special child! Then, the first time I had to bring a soup out to a customer, the manager handed it to me and said "Give this to the man at table C1, got it? C1." I went out and almost handed it to the wrong table until he caught up with me and said "Kari! Over here!" Ugh. The customer laughed and I smiled apologetically.

They were all very nice to me but its hard not to feel so out of place in a restaurant staffed with all chinese people! The dishwasher was Mexican but he never talks so that doesn't even count. Everyone spoke chinese so I never really know if they were laughing at me behind my back, which they probably were.

Taken before hell broke loose.
Only the table at the very end was not used tonight.

It's a vegetarian/vegan Asian restaurant on 7th ave that looks like it caters to a lot of the students from NYU. All dishes contain absolutely NO MEAT. They have chicken, beef, shrimp and pork dishes but they are all made from soy. Even the fish in the sushi is made from soy! They're very new and have only been open for a month. The owner owns two other asian vegetarian restaurants nearby that, according to them, is always packed that they decided to open a third to help spread out their clientele. They have a very large menu, but the manager was nice and said he didn't expect me to know everything in a day. He introduced me to the only other server they had at the moment and said I was to follow him around and observe and help. Can you guess his name? When he told me, I could not hide my smile. Parang nagloloko ang mundo at tumawa nalang ako sa loob-loob ko. Can you guess it? Cmon....

His name is Paul.

Paul has been working there since it opened. There were originally three of them but the other two (who were a couple) moved to Staten Island and found the commute to be very far. He has been working opening till closing for two weeks without a day off. Wow. He didn't look like he was tired at all! He was very nice to me and taught me the basics without being overwhelming. The other lady who looked like she was also in-charge, named Lily, was very sweet and made sure I ate and had some tea to warm me up. The sushi chef, Kenny, was this middle-aged chinese man who was so funny and uber-friendly. He was the first one to greet me and introduce himself. He would share stories and joke around despite me being the new kid.

We had a few people come for lunch then it was dead until about 7:30 when people started coming in one after the other. I was like, "Great! something to do!" Then just when I was beginning to relax and get a slight grip on things, in came a group of fourteen people! They must've figured I'd be of no help to Paul so Lily and Ben (the manager) jumped in to help. Paul was amazing! When I was passing him the sushi plates, he takes one look at them and knows which roll is what and what goes to whom. I love sushi and I eat them all the time but I still can't figure out what goes into what roll. Early during the day, Ben looked at my feet and said, you should've worn sneakers, your feet are going to hurt. I looked down and thought, "But I'm wearing flats!" But true to form, by the time my shift ended, I was limping to the subway station.

So did I get the job?
Surprisingly, yes. :)

They must need people so bad if they were willing to hire a doofus like me. I'd have to work the same shifts as Paul (12 hour shifts baby!) and everyday until I can be left alone so that Paul and I can rotate days off. Until then, I will be incommunicado. I may not even blog as often. I'm actually so tired now and will have to wake up again tomorrow for work. I just needed to share to everyone the great news.

I brought home the takout menu in hopes of studying it but it looks like I don't even have the time to sit and read it. If you've read my blog often, then you know how I feel about vegetarians. the fact that I now work in a vegan restaurant is ironic. But I have to say, the smell coming from the kitchen is absolutely divine. The food looks absolutely fantastic, I might even try it one time. Everyone except the owner is a carnivore so I, along with everyone else, enjoyed a good and meaty staff meal for lunch and dinner. The chicken curry was absolutely delicious!

Whew...my legs feel like lead and I have another long day tomorrow. Rann, if you're reading this, mukhang tama yung joke mo nung Monday, hindi na ko makakapunta sa dinner sa Saturday. Sorry. Try ko humabol, kung may lakas pa ako. Hindi rin naman ako pwedeng makipag inuman sa inyo ng todo, kasi malamang, may pasok din ako sa linggo. Text mo nalang ako kung nanalo si Pacquiao. Basta, I owe you a bottle of wine. I promise you that. Thank you so much dude. Cheers!

My aunt scored me a 14-day pass to her gym today so I spent two hours trying to get back into my old routine. It was horrible. I haven't done any exercise in two months so my body was resisting the whole time. Hopefully, after a couple of days, I'll be okay. I didn't want to push it too much since I didn't want to be in pain tomorrow since I have that thing I need to go to. What's funny was, when they were signing me up, one of the trainers asked my aunt how old I was to check if I was old enough to join the gym. The manager, Jessica, was filling out my information and looked at me and said, "What are you, like 18, 19?" I can't describe my facial expression. It's probably the same as yours while you're reading this now. When I told them how old I was, they were all like HUWAAAT?!? Hahaha! Okay pala dito eh. Sa Manila, tingin sakin 30+ eh. Dito lang ako makakaloko ng ganito.

So dahil bata daw ako, ibabalik ko ito...

Someone (god knows who), is releasing the first two seasons of California Dreams on DVD. Californiawhat? you say? Naku, dito na lalabas ang totoong edad ko ngayon. California Dreams was one of those high school TV sitcoms that first aired in 1992 (!!!) similar to Saved by the Bell. It was lesser known but equally terrible. I didn't really watch the entire three seasons but I did listen to the soundtrack of season one (which I borrowed and copied from Candice, HAH!) I played tha cassette repeatedly, particularly these two songs.

Panoorin niyo! Tumaas ang balahibo ko dahil memorize ko padin sya!!!! Yaaaack! The 90s were so much fun (next to the 80s, of course).

Champion yung stage prescence nya tsong! Bwaaahahah!

Ok, enough kabaduyan. In other news...

Ellyn has launched her own blog today titled Bring it ONG! Check it out at http://bringitong.blogspot.com. She's asking you to dare her!!! I won't say much here. I'll let her first post explain it so click the link! I'm already trying to think of what I'm going to make her do...She said I could be the New York correspondent to her blog. Haha! Hopefully I won't have too much time to actually oblige. We'll see. The idea sounds like a lot of fun.

Nakailang ulit kami mag-load ng walang kwenta nyang webcam para ipagpilitang ipakita sakin ang katabi niya. Buwahahaha! You have been taught well. Pero, marami pang papa jan, mangolekta ka muna bago ka mag-multiple choice. Go forth and, erhm, nevermind.

Nagsusumigaw ang uniform mo inday!

Turuan mo ng matinong tagalog!
Mystery man types in YM: Kitakits Boghas!
*bukas daw...hahaha!

Thank you to Rann and his friends Claro and Eisa (on their day off!) for walking with me for over two hours while I handed out 37 copies of my resume to restaurants in the east and west village. Pag ako natanggap, papainumin ko kayo, promise. Don't worry Rann, you'll have a bottle of wine to yourself. Nag-blog na ko, tama na ngiti mo...'tay.

I'd rather not divulge any giddy details here. I do not want to jinx it. My callback for Wednesday looks promising and I've cyberstalked the resto for as much info I can find. Hope it works out. Wish me luck.

This is us buying tacos from the mexican van after our loooong walk in windy 50 degree weather.