On the alcohol front.

Writing has been tough this week. I'm mostly happy with my 30 Rock spec script so now I'm doing revisions on Same River Twice. I'm trying to make the second act more compelling. Also I've been more focused on updating Mackjackandjill.

I actually think I've gotten a handle on my drinking. I seem to be able to moderate myself. Moderation is never something I've never been able to achieve before, so I am cautious.  I know it can spiral out of control. I haven't drank consecutive nights in a row. The other night was the first I went out for drinks with people since I quit. As for my drinking in solitude, I've been buying a six pack and trying to keep it a long as I can. I feel this works because when I really want a drink, I have it, but the scenario gives me pause. Is it really worth it tonight?  Can't I keep 4 beers in it a little longer?

This is opposed to going to the near by Ding Dong and partaking in their drink and shot special for $6, or even going into the convenient store/deli and picking up just one beer. Those situations give me no accountability. Their consequences are gone as soon as I've paid the tap. But to have the physical beer in the fridge, knowing I'm keeping it there is a kind of achievement for me. A trophy even. I've also been successful in not drinking in bad moods. When ever I have the feeling of "I've had a shitty day" I specifically try not to drink that night. The goal is to break alcohol as an escape or amelioration.

I go back to Dallas on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. I'm excited to pack light because of my iPad. In the past my backpack has been stuffed with such weights as; my laptop, iPod, a Gameboy Advance/Nintendo DS/DS Lite/DS*OMG*WTF, TIME magazine, Maxim magazine, graphic novels, actual novels, sketch pad, power cords, etc. Now it's going to limited to iPad, keyboard, Kindle, legal pad, and iPod. I've got this tiny messenger bag. I love it. So light.
I also used to carry along this cigarette adapter.

My laptop would only get an hour or so of power on the plane. That was half a movie or I could do writing. Some planes have cigarette lighter power ports. Unfortunately, not all rows had the power ports. Of all the dozens of times I've flown with the cigarette adapter, I think I used it once. No longer will I need my power adapter for in flight entertainment. My iPad should have more than enough power for the 4 hour flight.

What have I been listening to?
I'll do another Coldplay. But covered in the acapella style of Mike Thompkins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2YSo8Z_-a4

It's going well...I guess.

I was pretty mad yesterday. For personal reasons. Imagine if you went on a rollercoaster. And you were really excited about it. Little scared, but you were ready. And you get in and mid way though you end up hating it.  You're not even scared. It's just boring. But all you've ever wanted to do was ride rollercoasters. What do you do now?

Kinda vague, I know.

The new restaurant is working out well-ish. It's probably the easiest waiter job I've ever worked. My tips are much better than at Isabellas. I generally have a very welcoming, humorous, and charming style when I wait tables. If I could be like I am when I'm waiting tables all the time, I'd get laid so much.  At Isabellas it didn't show up with the tips. I mean I got mostly 20%. But there were soooo many foreigners. Isabellas is right next to the natural history museum. Or Isabellas got really old people living on the upper west side. Or it got parents with babies. I can't tell you how many times I'd get a big top that was half kids. All three of those demographics are high maintenance with unreliable appreciation. And if I did get 20%, it would be like $44 check? 8 bucks. I'm not going to go hungry over a dollar, but there's a psychological reward of getting $9, slightly higher than 20% because I busted my ass to make your experience perfect.

That happens at Crispo. First the first time in my 6 years of waiting tables, I'm reliably getting above 20%. The attitudes of waiting tables, or even treating employees like human beings is just so much better. You're treated like adults by competent and appreciative management. Which is funny because at Isabellas you were treated like children by a management team that was younger than you were. Here's an example.

One of the managers last night, Jordan sat me down to chat about my performance. He said he just wanted let me know that they thought I was doing a good job, I know the food, have good customer service, and that I was thrown in to much busier situations than they (the management team) would have liked. He mentioned the things he wanted me to work on. But was confident I'd get there.

Let's compare that to Isabellas' attitude.

I never got a sit down about my performance (with the exception of going over my sales percentages.) There was never a check in on how I was doing. The only comments the general manager ever made were when she saw I did things wrong. She was never receptive to any of my problems and when I mentioned them she became defensive and shot me down. When ever I tried to approach her with a problem during service I usually either got a response of "can't you see I'm busy" or she would criticize me for not being brief enough.  

"All you need to say is X." Her constant criticism always made me feel on edge. If she was around me while I was waiting on a table, I always stumbled.

Jordan, the Crispo manager, is quite possibly one of the best managers I've ever worked with. Supportive, fair, firm. He'll call you on your bull shit, but he'll also call customers on theirs. There was a large party that felt the pricing of their meal didn't match up with the contract they set up. The girl had it on her iPhone and was showing him. To which he pointed out clearly calmly and reasonably in the contract wording the restaurant standards and terms. Not even Wild Ginger would have kept to that. At the ol' WG if you complained enough you got almost anything for free.  

Granted the place does have some pit falls. No discount. Closing takes forever to get out, especially since you have to wait for all guests to leave. The food they do make for you is carb heavy (it's pasta.) And to be honest, because it's an easier job, it can be boring. Especially since the way they make cuts, (pooled tip house) you're not going to be working less than 6 hours. But all in all it's a pretty cool place.

One last thing about how they treat you. When you get called in for your on call shift, you're one of the first to leave. And they thank you for coming in on your on call. It's like they're aware you're some sort of human being. Weird huh?

New band I discovered on good ol' Pandora.
Speechwriters LLC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg6Yy_yIffE

Little Sick

My back has gotten marginally better, but now I have a cold. Now that I have a job again, I've been spending money and it feels so good. Went to Macy's, Old Navy, and Uni Qlo the other day. Uni Qlo is this new Japanese store. Some of their stuff is really cheap (like $9.99 women's jeans) and some stuff is really expensive ($99.99 men's sweaters.) I ended up getting a down jacket for $130.00.

The new job isn't bad. It's not as hectic ( though tonight is supposed to be crazy busy b/c of the New York marathon.) The runners like to carb load on pasta, a staple of the restaurant. I've mostly been writing my 30 Rock spec script and memorizing the menu of Crispo. The only big downsides are that I don't have a locker. So I don't like to bring anything like my iPad or Kindle. Also the house is pooled which in and of itself isn't bad, but the closers all have to stay till the end. I.e. when all the customers are gone. Then you have to do closing side work. And I'm only scheduled closing shifts for the next 2 weeks.

Saw Harold and Kumar 3-D last night. Better than the 2nd one, but not as good as the first. They do some clever stuff, and unlike the first movie to the second movie (which picked up the next day,) this movie takes place years later. So it's fun to see how the characters have moved on.


Been into this song lately
City and Color.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZqnqH9s1jk