Happy Birthday to me...

Yeah, how did Stranger spend her birthday? Work...and having to deal with an uber asshole cause he wanted a pizza at 3:15am on my birthday. Now we were supposed to be done at 3 am...keep in mind ladies and gents that I'd put in 16 hours already, and was dreading the cleanup. So this guy walks in..at quarter past 3...the signs were turned off, and yet he demands that I make hima pizza cause "he's such a good customer" (his idea of being a good customer is saying he pops in about once a month). I told him no, cause I had to close. He got upset, and then said, "well, I don't have to order from you if you're going to be such a bitch..I can make something at home". To which I replied "You do that. Goodnight." So he leaves..then I had to deal with a real drunk chick we call "Amazon Barbie", who was having a bitch of a time trying to do an Interac transaction. She's crying cause she thought my mom was upset at her. Finally I got all the stragglers to get into the waiting cab outside to take their asses home. Then I started my cleanup. Took me til 5 am to get the place back to normal. I finally got home and fell asleep at approximately 5:30am...woke up to the phone ringing quarter to 2pm..mom's signal for me to wake up. I was grateful I got to sleep in a fewhours. Then I went downstairs, and Mom produced a beautiful cake, angel food cake layered with whipping cream and mandarin oranges. Fucking amazing! So all day I had people coming in to say happy birthday, and I'd get them a slice. I still have a few pieces left. So then I worked til 11pm. What a day! But on a good note, I won $25 on a scratch ticket, so the days not totally lost.
Blogger question...if you are in a service related job, what was the worst customer you ever had to deal with? Heres the fun part...tell me the original story, then write a dialogue of how you wished it really went down, complete with an action hero type name for your job position. For me, in the case of uber asshole..hmm my character The Pizzaslinger would do this...
Asshole: Hey make me a pizza!
Pizzaslinger: No I can't..it's quarter past 3, and I should've been closed 15 minutes ago.
Asshole: Aww come on! I'm a good customer!
Pizzaslinger: Sorry.
Asshole: Fine. You don't have to be such a bich about it. I can make something to eat at home.
Pizzaslinger: You do that. And don't expect me to serve you pizza when you call me a bitch.
Asshole: Well, you're acting like a bich.
Pizzaslinger: Listen asshole! You haven't seen a bitch yet...you'd better trot your balls outta here before I slice them off and stuff them down your fuckin throat!
Asshole: I dare you to try it.
Pizzaslinger: You asked for it! ( She does a super cool triple flip over the counter, which resembles action from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She draws her pizza knife back, with the point aiming at asshole, her left arm stretched toward him, pointing in his face, much like that badass scene in Revenge of the Sith. She gives an evil grin, does a kewl spin, and a split second later has the knife up against assholes throat.)
Pizzaslinger: I believe you owe me an apology.
Asshole: (starts to cry, and shits his pants) I....I...I...
Pizzaslinger: Say it Shitty Pants, before I kill you where you stand.
Asshole: (Blubbering, snot coursing down his nose)..I'm soo soorrryyy!!!
Pizzaslinger: next time you make a stupid comment I won't give you the opportunity to apologize.
(With that, she takes the knife away, grabs him by the throat with her left hand and starts marching towards the door. Another customer is kind enough to open the door, and the Pizzaslinger tosses him so far he does a somersault thru the air, hits a lamp post, and does another somersault and lands on his shitty arse with a nasty splat noise. He gets up weakly, and runs away awkwardly, and with a noticeable limp. Pizzaslinger laughs, wipes the pizza knife off with a corner of her prisinte white apron and goes back inside).
There! Violent yes, but it sure makes me feel a heck of a lot better. So come on Bloggers! Give your character whatever powers you want, and blog me your stories! Cheers!

Wow.....Messenger is starting to suck rocks!

Yeah...all night I've been plagued with the inability to access some important emails on my friggin Hotmail account..I tried to access, and the window pops up that the server "is too busy". Ummm..excuse me? Like when does this ever happen? Certainly never happened to me before tomight, and I've had the same email address since 1998. Geez..then to complicate matters, my fuckin comp starts to freeze up on me, so accessing the info I needed to take care of the freezing prob I had became utterly impossible, and so, am slightly cheesed that I have to stay up longer than anticipated tonight to run my Norton program to ensure I don't have a worm or Trojan Horse lurking in my system. This'll be the first time since I installed the new hard drive and had all the bells and whistles programmed into this puppy. So Norton is halfway thru scanning all the files on my comp, and at the rate its going at present will complete when the sun starts rising, which out here is in an hour and a half. And to think...I have a 16 hr workday ahead of me.
Don't get me wrong...I can handle 16 hrs...its the next day, working the second set of 16 hrs that starts to get to me. I've actually decided to test drive a new energy "gel"..called Agel..a friend is selling it and claims to be just wired all day..basically its supposed to give you natural energy. Apparantly its a gel that is loaded with vitamins and minerals..you take one (or 2) a day and you should have energy for hours. Well, I just wanted to get it for the weekends, mainly cause I work ridiculous hours and don't want to be cursed with yawning through my shift. So, I get the package, and I try one....hours later, I'm yawning through my shift. I think, hmm..maybe it needs a few days of using the stuff before you feel the effects. So the next day I have another...still yawning thru the shift. So I decide to take one early in the afternoon and then one in the evening. I'm yawning, but not as much. I have a sneaking suspicion that it doesn't work as good as it says...its better at putting me to sleep, rather than keeping me awake. Hmm...maybe if I take one before bed, I'll fall asleep faster. I think I'll try it. For me tho, caffiene is the one drug I use in excess, and I have no probs with that. Coffee all day, even if its hot out. I find I drink pretty much the same amount now as I did when I went to University, but, it keeps me awake, and keeps yawning at bay...I hate yawning, because if you're in a group of people, it becomes some "Monkey see Monkey Do" or "Simon Says" game..suddenly everyone is yawning. It can get annoying, let me tell you.
Damn..Norton is still running..frig. What else can we chat about today? Oh! I had my picture in the local paper this week (for the record, I didn't want to do it, but Mom had it in her head that I was far more photogenic than she that day) cause some lady won a shirt from the house giveaway contest thats happening in town over the summer. Since the shirt had the restaurant name on it, it made sense that one of us would get the mug shot done. I insisted that my name (specifically my first name) be spelled proper. I was assured that my name would be accurate. So the paper comes out, and am dismayed to find that my last name is misspelled. Keep in mind, ladies and gents, that my first and last name was on their files from last year, accurately spelled and yet they still fuck it up. Then when I saw in a title the name "Northshore" spelled "Norhtshore", I had to shake my head and walk away. That error was in THE TITLE!!! How the hell could he miss it? How could the spellcheck on his comp not see that glaring error??? How much crack did he smoke that morning as he was meeting his deadlines???? God Almighty!
I swear..the next time I buy a paper with atrocious spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, I will personally mark it, and send it back to them via the mail, so they can see. And to add insult to injury..they are raising the price of this "paper" (I use the term loosely) from 70 cents to 75cents. Well, I know that with inflation,sometimes one must raise the costs to offset overhead, but come on! Isn't there one person in all the people that work for the local paper that can at least SPELL????? GGRRRRRRRR!!!!
Anyhoo, virus program is done, and I must be off....Blogger question...what stupidity did you witness this week? This is your chance to rant! Also...alll my Blogger friends, and I know you all check this site from time to time..why the heck don't you leave a comment? I know some do, but they neglect to answer the Blogger question I almost always have with every chapter. SO evryone must leve a comment! One rule...keep it clean...no sexually derogative shit aimed towards me or anyone else who responds to the blog...I get enough of that crap from customers at the restaurant! You can swear (obviously I do). SO So tell me your stories, and rant away, and as always..long live Blogs!

Wow! Another Busy week!

Yeah...seems like every other day we have treeplanters in town that need feeding. Yeah they do eat good out in the bush, but they love coming to the restaurant and having food you'd normally find in the city. So tomorrow I get to fire up the ol' barbeque and burn my skin outside for 6 hours. Stupid me forgot to buy sunscreen. Yeah, this Stranger is getting quite the tan now. So much for prventing premature aging for another summer..
Anyhoo, I went to Thunder Bay and wow...I enjoyed the trip very much. Mom and I checked out the greenhouses for some more plants for the deck. I really need to take some pics, and learn how to upload it on my blog. Mom's lilies are blooming, and they smell so good and look so pretty...by the by, they are my favorite flower. Next would be the rose. Anyhoo, after that she dropped me off at my favorite store at present..Future Shop! I felt like a kid in the candy store. I bought some programs for the comp for virus protection and comp maintenance, and then...I saw it...a program that could teach me the basics of over 30 different languages. I was amazed. So I grabbed it. I found my favorite band's new CD that just come out, and picked that up too. I basically dropped a shitload of coin in that store, so very happy.
Next I went to Petsmart with Mom and was thisclose to purchasing an African Grey Parrott. But, I realized it wasn't a good idea for the following reasons...
1) I asked the age of the bird, and they said one year, and since it was huge and all the flight feathers were in and full grown, I'd peg his age at more like 5-8 years.
2) I asked to see his papers, basically where they got him from, when he was hatched, who the vet is that checked him over, when the bird saw the vet, whether the bird had been DNA sexed yet, you know, stuff evryone should know about an animal they want to puchase, esp since the bird was 1800 dollars.
3) I asked about their health guarantee, and the girl couldn't tell me even tho I saw it posted on the wall.
Would you believe that this was her section at the pet store?
I'm feeling a rant coming on.....
Okay at this point I would've loved to tell her to actually read the numerous books they sold about birds, preferably on her coffee break, and after work. I mean, I would loove to work in a pet store, and if I was given a section like an aviay section, I would bone up on every bit of info I could find on each breed of bird there, including making a package of info to give to people who do buy the bird so they know how to train it, feed it, what to feed it, where they should put the cage, etc...for instance, did you know a lovebird could get sick easily and die if its placed in a spot prone to cold drafts? The fact that these chicks didn't know African Greys are the best talkers, have a lifespan of over 30 years if cared for properly, and need constant attention, really pisses me off, and makes me wish I could've taken the bird somewhere safer. I even saw a bird there thats the same breed as Casey, and they were saying their bird was only one year old...hmm...my Casey is 8 this year and he's not as huge as this bird displayed. And they're both the exact same breed! Hmm..perhaps they lie about their ages to sell them, and if thats the case, it would make a lot of sense to me that there was the possibility that Cosmo was in fact an old bird when we got him. God I miss him.
Anyhoo, after that mom and I hit Payless shoe store, and I bought some cool shoes, and then we went clothes shopping, and actually found clothes that I look hot in. Before we left T-Bay, I made sure I bought Tim Hortons Coffee, cause thats the closest Timmie's we have to my small town. So for those who know me, every once in a while you can send me a small can of Timmies, and I'll love you forever and ever. We got back home at approx 10:30pm, and despite a full day of shopping, I still had the task of defrosting a cooler, and making pizza dough. I finally got it all done at 5:30 am, slept for a few hours and went right to work again. And have been busier than hell ever since. I am happy that I got to blog. Hopefully I'll get to blog before and on my birthday...FYI...the 25th is the day I pushed my way into this world. I joke with my friends that its the best day of the year, cause you know Christmas is only 6 months away. Mom's been toying with the idea of closing for the day...oh be still my heart!!!! That would be the best..to have a day offon my birthday..the last 2 years I had to work and the year before that, it was just me and my dog Shadow hanging out together. I miss him too. Sigh.
Anyhoo, I'll work if I have to, all i ask from Mother Nature is to ensure its a nice day. If it rains tho, I'll deal with it.
Hmmm...Blogger question...What did you do on your last birthday? And did u enjoy the day? I'd love for more of my Blogger friends to actually reply to this one...at least that way I know you're there...not just sayiing you're there, but actually taking part....please answer the question....hugs to blogger friends out there..hoping your wek goes well!!!Peace!

Disgusting food habits on a busy weekend.

Yeah, we were busier than hell. Tonight we closed early as tomorrow there is a planned power outage in town. So finally, a day off! So yours truly is going to Thunder Bay with Mom, to do some shopping, and generally relax. Finally A day off! I'm thrilled!
But I do have a rant for y'all...today a couple French guys come in for pizza...first off it pisses me off when I know that these people can speak English, and yet they still want to speak French to me (I can kinda understand what they say, but I don't like speaking French). Well, one guy has the nerve to ask for ketchup to put on his pizza! Yes..KETCHUP!! Okay, I did have ketchup on hand, but I told him no I didn't have any..then he gives a little smirk and says ,"No ketchup?" I tell him we don't sell fries and burgers, hence no need for ketchup. I had someone else one time (another French person) ask for butter to put on their pizza crust. Okay, at this point I really would've loved nothing more than to lose it on these people..I mean who in their right mind would take a pizza, especially our pizza, which everyone whose visited us even from far away as T-Bay, Sudbury, and Toronto says is the best pizza ever, and ruin it with something so base as KETCHUP????? Come on! Ketchup is for fries, burgers, wieners...usually to jazz up something bland and tasteless...not pizza! Oy! I could see a side of spicy hot sauce, hell, some tzatziki sauce is the best with our pizza, not fucking Ketchup! Now, don't get me wrong people,...I don't have it in for the French here, but Jeez...were these Quebecois born with no fucking tastebuds? Maybe the parents eat too much poutine, and somehow warps a persons DNA, born without the sense of taste, and apparantly, in this dude's case, born without that area of the brain that governs rational thought. Who the fuck can eat poutine on a daily basis but these people? I say they need to ban that crap everywhere outside of Quebec...for those of you who don't know what poutine is (god I hate that word...the first syllable sounds like it looks...POO) is fries topped with cheese curds and gravy...the whole thing is a bland, tasteless mess that sits like a stone in your belly for several hours, and if you eat enough of it, you end up with an ass that rivals the width of the state of Texas. That stuff is horrible, don't eat that shit! I ate it before in my teens but I was training for a huge martial arts tournament, and was actually needing to gain a few pounds to stay in my weight class. Disgusting messy slop that a pig would turn his snout up at. Anyways I was going on about the French...lets see...there are also some of these people who've never eaten a veggie other than a potato, and only when it was made in to that fucking POO-Tin. Won't eat a fucking salad or a fruit to save their soul....and yet they live. I hate making the All-meat pizza here the most cause it takes the longest to prepare, and the same bunch of people will order it...never any other fantastic pizza we got here cause (Horrors!) its got Veggies! I tell you all...eat the fuckin vegetables...they won't kill ya..in fact you might feel better, especially when it helps unblock your colon of the fuckin POOTEEEN you ingested 2 hours ago. Whew! Okay I feel better now! Blogger question time....whats one food you refuse to touch and why? Note...to be fair to the particular food, you need to have ingested it once..Don't say you won't touch it, cause you don't like it, and then tell me you never tried it...doesn't work for me. I guess you know what dish I won't touch....yeah you know. Anyhoo, tell me your gross food-you-won't-eat-again-ever-in-this-lifetime. Until then...keep Bloggin!

Better Late Than Never....

Yes, finally, after months of practice, and a good chunk of change for proper lessons, I have finally achieved my goal of obtaining my Drivers License. Now, I won't get that look and the comment, "You don't drive?". I can now say, "yes, I do drive, and am very good too." My driving test went with no probs...just had to redo the parallel park...other than that, everything else was dead on. The guy who tested me was impressed. Now I finally know how teenagers feel when they get their license for the first time. When I drove back to the restaurant (by myself) I was overjoyed. What a rush man.
The weather is finally cooperating here...actually been getting temps in the late 20's, and yours truly got herself a nasty sunburn on her shoulders. Yeah...it stings a bit, but its ok.
I apologize for not Blogging in the past week or so, but been incredibly busy at work, what with two teams of treeplanters and MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources FYI--the firefighters) in town...I've had loads on my plate ensuring I have enough food prepped up to feed them all.
Recently the bar/laundromat/bowling alley/grill next door pissed us off, when they decided to put out a BBQ to serve burgers to the treeplanters. Normally I wouldn't have a problem, but because of what they did that day, I lost money. I had maybe 5 treeplanters order food that day out of the crew of 60. So..instead of getting mad and telling the next door dive off, mom and I decided to get even, mainly cause if my Dad was here they wouldn't have dared do something like that. Mom decided to go to Marathon and get the biggest, baddest stainless steel BBQ set you ever saw, complete with side burner and rotisserie. We got it set up, and on the day the treeplanters came back to town for the day, we were ready. I put up a sign, advertising that I was selling souvlaki on pita for $3, hamburgers and hotdogs for $2. Now, next door, their burgers were priced at $3.25, and the hotdogs were $2.50, so the way I did it, if they were to go lower than me, they wouldn't be making a profit. Even at my prices I made a profit, not as big as I could have, but considering we own the building and don't owe money, I still made money. I was busy the whole time out there, hence the sunburn....next door didn't have a chance. Boy were they pissed...one of their customers bitched bitterly about it to my mom, and I told him.."Hey, its not personal, it's business". As if this guy would care...the guy who bitched is the kind of guy you see in this town that sits in the bar all day waiting for someone to buy them a drink. But no worries...in 4 days another crew will be in, and I will be even more ready...cause I'd run outof souvlakis before, I'll have extras, plus I'll have pop out there for them, and I'm looking at expanding our menu in house to include calzones. This will be a very enjoyable summer I think. Whats funny, is I do hope the other restaurants put out BBq's too, cuse if they do, then at least the money ain't going next door. Anyhoo, gotta jet...gotta get ready for work. Havve a good week Blogger friends, if I don't Blog sooner, and don't be shy about dropping me a line...checked the stats and my site's been checked 1122 times. Actually, it'd be real nice to hear from all of you. Thanks...much appreciated.