I'm so sorry it has been so long since my last post! Two jobs, a career, a dog, and a boyfriend is a lot to juggle time wise!
The server position requires a lot of hours and is only just now starting to pay out as promised. I made about $200 this weekend in take home cash and if the next few weekends are similar, I should be able to save enough through the summer to move into the city in August!
The biggest problem with the server job is I am the ONLY female server in an establishment full of men. Not just men, but chauvenistic men. I am just as strong and just as capable as any of these guys I work with, but they don't let me help with the heavy lifting. They give me the grunt jobs to do and I often end up standing around doing nothing, getting yelled at for leaning, because no one will give me a job to do. I get stuck on napkin duty or roll-up detail. But when we are setting up for brunch and the biggest task is arranging the tables, one extra hand could mean the difference between leaving at 1:00am and 1:30am. It's silly. I can help. I really can. If I can't do something, I will speak up.
Which brings me to a new observation about culture up here. There women are weak. As a whole (not speaking of any individuals), women who grew up here are demanding with high expectations, but they rarely do the work themselves. A good self-respecting Texan girl is going to jump in with both hands and do what needs to be done. She is equal to the men around her, doing the same work with maybe a little more grace and class. But here? The women chew gum and ask the men to do their heavy lifting. So now the men just expect to do all the work and have learned to just tell a woman to sit and look pretty while they work. It's maddening I tell you!!! I want to work! I want to earn my paycheck! I want to feel like I do good work at my place of employment and that they have no complaint about me. It is very strange to be expected to sit and do nothing while everyone around me does all the work. There is a stark difference between chauvinism and chivalry. I don't know that men here know the difference....
Another thing about being the only woman: Men don't chat. They don't. They do their work, they complain, they argue, but they don't chat. I need to be able to laugh with someone about ridiculous customers. I need to feel empathy from someone who would understand my plight. These guys I work with are children. They treat me like I'm second rate so I go and talk to the ONE other female in the restaurant, the hostess. I consistently get yelled at for talking to her. But sometimes I truly don't want to talk about the huge knockers at table 143 or how stupid someone was when they get drunk. I don't want to hear any more about how one server is better than me or how a perfect wine bottle opening goes or the reasoning behind a certain policy. I want to talk about the sale I found at Sears or someone else's life for a change....
So that's the restaurant.
In my music world--
I auditioned for my first ever competition. We had to submit four songs for consideration with the application and recommendation letters, and then choose one to start with, knowing that they could ask for a second. I sang The Jewel Song from Faust which is a high energy, very fun and happy song with lots of opportunity for acting and plenty of play room. I may have gotten a little excited and made a few mistakes from sheer energy..... But overall I think I did fine. I didn't do as well as I could have, but I did ok. The Top Prize is $12,500. And I could really use $12,500 right about now haha! The other prizes step down from there. The winners must participate in the gala in October in order to receive their money. So I sincerely hope I win because I would love to sing at this gala and get my name out there in a positive way. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that they like me and want to give me an award to put on my resume!!
Sidenote: I saw Mignon today, who is sick, but needed some help with errands. We sat and had tea for a bit at which point she informed me she wanted me to sing for Lenore Rosenberg. Oh just another name you think? No, no. She is the casting director for the small parts and understudies AT THE MET OPERA!! Holy cow, I could sing for this woman!! It would be a dream come true of course if I could make this happen.
I also scored free tickets to see Faust last week! WOW!!! What an amazing show!! First of all, these tickets were stellar. We were on the orchestra level about ten or fifteen rows back just off the stage right aisle. Amazing. We could practically smell the actors, we were so close!! I took my very good friend, Rachel, and we had a gay old time. I just knew, I would be on that stage one day. It is so fun to be there. The red carpet, all the red velvet, the gold leafed ceiling, the beautiful wall sconces. And I'll tell you, the chandeliers alone make going to the Met worth the expense. So incredibly beautiful. The singers in Faust were amazing of course and I found the staging and set really quite fascinating. I love the Met. It is just so gorgeous.
So I think that's really it. My Italian man was here this past week and we had a few rough patches but managed to talk our way through them. Next stop is Milan for me! I can't wait! Daisy is doing great. We have found an off leash dog park in our neighborhood with some interesting, but very sweet characters. She loves running around with the other big dogs. I may have to start thinking about getting her a buddy soon... Maybe when I get a little more settled, no?
Anyway, that's my update. So sorry it took so long but thanks for reading!!
