That's right this entry is going to touch on God's providence. How is God looking out for me? This might be a silly example but it's very fresh in my mind.
Tonight while I was at work someone walked out on their bill. This happens more times than you'd like to see in the restuarant business. What these miscreants usually don't understand is that the servers are accountable for the bill and it comes out of our hard earned money.
As I mentioned earlier some young guy (probably 19 or 20) and his girlfriend walked out on their bill tonight leaving just $4 on a $14.80 bill. The people who leave a few dollars are the ones who think they are being sooooo smart. Leave a little money so it looks like they've paid up, and then the server doesn't think too much about it until they've already raced out the door.
Where does God's providence come into this you might ask. For starters I was only taken for $10.80, it could have been a much larger sum out of my pocket. Secondly, this guy wasn't so smart, he left in his seat a receipt from Blockbuster video with his name on it.
Blockbuster was kind enough to work with us on getting his phone number, but unfortunately that was a disconnected number. The disconnected number was a surprise to both Blockbuster and us, seeing as the fact that he just signed up membership to Blockbuster that very evening.
I was the first one to try the number and realize it was disconnected. This really didn't discourage me though, I still had his name and at any moment I could pick up the phone and call the police. I know that there are plenty of view points out there as to what you think I should have done in the situation...I mean somebody stole from me and I had his name.
I didn't call the police, but I did visit Blockbuster after work (it was right across the street). I felt a certain responsibility to inform them that he had given a disconnected number. I also knew from talking with the table that they weren't happy with another video store because of interest they had accrued due to late fews.
The ladies at Blockbuster were so nice to me (again God's providence). They were thankful over the phone number issue and made a note in their computers that they needed a correct number. They also volunteered making another note on my behalf stating, "Jenn from Chili's says Hi, she would also appreciate it if you could pay the remainder of your bill $10.80. A tip would also be nice, Marcus!"
I might never see that money and that's okay (I mean it's only money). But it does make me smile to think that every time this young guy goes to rent a video he's going to be reminded of my little message. This to someone who thought they were being smart and cool, getting away without paying their bill.
This whole episode tonight has made me stop and think of all the years I've waited tables and they people who've walked without paying. God's providence has been with me, for it really hasn't happened all that much to me (though I've seen it happen to others plenty). Only one other time sticks out clearly in my mind. It was a married couple and they ordered so much between the two of them. I left the check at their table and then had to check in the back for another tables order. By the time I was back they were gone and leaving me with a $80.00+ bill.
At the time I wanted to cry. I hadn't even made that much money that night. I was going to be stuck giving over all my earning from the shift and then some. It was then that I noticed the nice leather jacket the man left behind. I mean it was top quality, worth far more than $80.00. Well, again with God's providence, here I had lost out on $80.00 cash, but I had a jacket I could sell on eBay for a hundred or more.
I took the jacket and the bill back to the manager explaining the situation and my plans (we had a good laugh about stupid criminals). About two hours later though the same man walks through the door looking for his jacket in the booth. He had the nerve to come up to me asking if I had seen his jacket (I will admit he did so with some nervousness).
At the time I smiled and took pity on the man. I explained how we keep all lost and found in the back office and I would have a manager look for it. I then went back and explained the situation to the manager he came out with the jacket and the bill. I don't know what was said but in the end the man left with his jacket and the manager had the bill paid. God's PROVIDENCE!!!
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Whatcha Got There?
Recently I was reading in one of my friend's blogs (YEAH Maija). She went into an account of the contents of her purse. This reminded me of a time when I was younger and was told that you could learn a lot about a person from examining their wallets.
Well avid readers you're about to learn some interesting stuff about me, here's the list of what is in my wallet at this time:
Car insurance card.
Health insurance card.
Utah state tax commission - sales card.
Utah Lighthouse Ministry business card.
Bank account numbers for VA account (probably could take that out at this time).
Preferred Savings card to the Albertsons Grocery Store.
The City Library Card.
The Salt Lake County Library Card.
Blockbuster membership card.
KOHL's card.
VA state driver's license.
A handwritten discription of me composed by the Weaver's (my Church back in Virginia) Young Adult group - I even still reconize the handwritting of the person who was asked to write the list (thanks Kyle Yoder).
Check book.
Bank cards.
Credit card.
AND change, but NO paper currency.
I don't know what all that says about me, but I'll leave it up to you all for the assumptions.
Well avid readers you're about to learn some interesting stuff about me, here's the list of what is in my wallet at this time:
Car insurance card.
Health insurance card.
Utah state tax commission - sales card.
Utah Lighthouse Ministry business card.
Bank account numbers for VA account (probably could take that out at this time).
Preferred Savings card to the Albertsons Grocery Store.
The City Library Card.
The Salt Lake County Library Card.
Blockbuster membership card.
KOHL's card.
VA state driver's license.
A handwritten discription of me composed by the Weaver's (my Church back in Virginia) Young Adult group - I even still reconize the handwritting of the person who was asked to write the list (thanks Kyle Yoder).
Check book.
Bank cards.
Credit card.
AND change, but NO paper currency.
I don't know what all that says about me, but I'll leave it up to you all for the assumptions.
Monday, December 12, 2005
A Favor for Brendan...
That's right Brendan...here's that favor you requested, I'm posting an entry. You'd think I could let a week go by without posting an entry, but NO, some people have insatiable curiosities and have to know what's going on in my life at all times. Either that reason, or they're just bored and need some reading material : )
I had been thinking since last evening that I should post another entry. It just so happens that something interesting happened last evening and is entry worthy (atleast in my opinion).
My young adult group from Church got together for a Christmas dinner last night. It was a fairly simple evening. We visited, ate, discussed the study book we're working through, and finally played some fun get to know you games. The reason for the get to know you games is that our group is newly formed and though most people have known each other for years (and in some cases are related) there are the few of us that are new to the Church and the people in it.
For me the evening really didn't get started until we played our last game. That's when I was finally able to relax and really open up with everyone. The game was simple, we were each given a piece of paper with about 12 questions on it to answer. Once we had written our responses we turned the paper in to the designated leader (with no name attached to the sheet) and then he shuffled up the papers. A paper was picked the responses read aloud and then everyone tried to guess who it was who had written that about themselves.
The questions were plenty of fun and really started to give each of us a good idea as to who the people in the group really were (meaning their personalities). I learned things about my new friends that I never would have guessed at before.
The two most favorite questions on the sheet seemed to be, "What's your most embarrassing moment?" and "What is the craziest thing you ever done?"
For me the answers were one in the same. It was the time I went skinny dipping (with some of my female friends mind you) at the Highland Retreat camp pool. What was so embarrassing about this crazy act is (you guessed it) we were caught.
Of course everyone in the young adult group wouldn't settle for my short written answer they had to hear the whole story. Needless to say there was plenty of laughter over the story.
By the end of the evening several of the group members seemed more relaxed around me than they've ever been. A couple of them couldn't stop mentioning how they never would have guessed that about me. That kept saying how quiet and reserved I always seemed and they never would have thought me capable of something as outgoing as skinny dipping.
Hmmmm...these comments really got me thinking. For starters....PULEEZE....ME quiet and reserved....I think not. What kind of impression am I giving people here, but I've certainly never seen myself as a quiet and reserved kind of person.
Secondly....I think the whole Mennonite stereotyping is coming into play here. Most people out here don't have much experience with Mennonite communities. There is a certain mental image that comes to mind when someone mentions the word Mennonite and I've been telling people how I belong to that community. I'm afraid that even those people in my young adult group think I'm some conservative little mennonite farm girl and how they have to be on their best behavior around me or I'll be offend.
I guess I'll just have to work one shaking them from that image of me ; ) This could be fun!!!
I had been thinking since last evening that I should post another entry. It just so happens that something interesting happened last evening and is entry worthy (atleast in my opinion).
My young adult group from Church got together for a Christmas dinner last night. It was a fairly simple evening. We visited, ate, discussed the study book we're working through, and finally played some fun get to know you games. The reason for the get to know you games is that our group is newly formed and though most people have known each other for years (and in some cases are related) there are the few of us that are new to the Church and the people in it.
For me the evening really didn't get started until we played our last game. That's when I was finally able to relax and really open up with everyone. The game was simple, we were each given a piece of paper with about 12 questions on it to answer. Once we had written our responses we turned the paper in to the designated leader (with no name attached to the sheet) and then he shuffled up the papers. A paper was picked the responses read aloud and then everyone tried to guess who it was who had written that about themselves.
The questions were plenty of fun and really started to give each of us a good idea as to who the people in the group really were (meaning their personalities). I learned things about my new friends that I never would have guessed at before.
The two most favorite questions on the sheet seemed to be, "What's your most embarrassing moment?" and "What is the craziest thing you ever done?"
For me the answers were one in the same. It was the time I went skinny dipping (with some of my female friends mind you) at the Highland Retreat camp pool. What was so embarrassing about this crazy act is (you guessed it) we were caught.
Of course everyone in the young adult group wouldn't settle for my short written answer they had to hear the whole story. Needless to say there was plenty of laughter over the story.
By the end of the evening several of the group members seemed more relaxed around me than they've ever been. A couple of them couldn't stop mentioning how they never would have guessed that about me. That kept saying how quiet and reserved I always seemed and they never would have thought me capable of something as outgoing as skinny dipping.
Hmmmm...these comments really got me thinking. For starters....PULEEZE....ME quiet and reserved....I think not. What kind of impression am I giving people here, but I've certainly never seen myself as a quiet and reserved kind of person.
Secondly....I think the whole Mennonite stereotyping is coming into play here. Most people out here don't have much experience with Mennonite communities. There is a certain mental image that comes to mind when someone mentions the word Mennonite and I've been telling people how I belong to that community. I'm afraid that even those people in my young adult group think I'm some conservative little mennonite farm girl and how they have to be on their best behavior around me or I'll be offend.
I guess I'll just have to work one shaking them from that image of me ; ) This could be fun!!!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Shots of Dr. Pepper...
For those of you who might be some what out of my social loop (more or less how I spread the news concerning my life events) I'm now back at Chili's. You'd think that three years there had been enough, but not so.
Truth be told I sought out this position so that I might have a better work schedule. Now I have more weekday and morning hours free. In fact most of my shifts are evening ones, so usually I don't have to be at work until 4:00 or 5:00 pm.
The downside in this whole equation is that I'm still occupied in the morning hours with research and writing. This means I'm still up at a decent hour and greeting the day. Lately though rising hasn't been the problem it's how I've been greeting the new day that gets me. I've been rather a grump. Why you ask? Well I work evenings and this usually means I'm not home until 11:30 or midnight, sometimes even later.
One would think I could go straight to bed (especially seeing as I'm usually dead on my feet), again not so. I'm sure servers the world over will tell you how a certain amount of time is required after each shift in order to wind down.
When you spend your working hours running around filling this order or refilling another you can't automatically shut yourself down and fall into bed...it's quite impossible. It usually takes me a good 1.5 to 2 hours to quiet myself enough to finally fall asleep.
That's usually around 1 or 2 am and then I find my alarm sounding off at 8 am the next morning. This is not at all pleasant for me since I am and always have been a 8 to 9 hour sleep kind of girl. Sure I can handle one or two nights of sleep than perfect sleep, but as those nights begin to add up I start to become one BIG grump.
Okay so there is no simple solution to this predicament. I guess my body will eventually adjust to a few less hours of sleep a night. When I was in college it adjusted (though back then I spent most of my holiday time sleeping).
I will be doing one thing in the next couple of weeks and that is knocking off the Dr. Pepper shots. It just so happens that at Chili's servers are required to use cone cups if they are thirsty (about the serving size of a shot). I tend to be quite taken with the Dr. Pepper since it's the one thing that gives me the added energy and pep for my shift. I think though if I cut out the Dr. Pepper maybe (just maybe) I could decrease the wind down time I need at the end of my shift. Who Knows!!!
Truth be told I sought out this position so that I might have a better work schedule. Now I have more weekday and morning hours free. In fact most of my shifts are evening ones, so usually I don't have to be at work until 4:00 or 5:00 pm.
The downside in this whole equation is that I'm still occupied in the morning hours with research and writing. This means I'm still up at a decent hour and greeting the day. Lately though rising hasn't been the problem it's how I've been greeting the new day that gets me. I've been rather a grump. Why you ask? Well I work evenings and this usually means I'm not home until 11:30 or midnight, sometimes even later.
One would think I could go straight to bed (especially seeing as I'm usually dead on my feet), again not so. I'm sure servers the world over will tell you how a certain amount of time is required after each shift in order to wind down.
When you spend your working hours running around filling this order or refilling another you can't automatically shut yourself down and fall into bed...it's quite impossible. It usually takes me a good 1.5 to 2 hours to quiet myself enough to finally fall asleep.
That's usually around 1 or 2 am and then I find my alarm sounding off at 8 am the next morning. This is not at all pleasant for me since I am and always have been a 8 to 9 hour sleep kind of girl. Sure I can handle one or two nights of sleep than perfect sleep, but as those nights begin to add up I start to become one BIG grump.
Okay so there is no simple solution to this predicament. I guess my body will eventually adjust to a few less hours of sleep a night. When I was in college it adjusted (though back then I spent most of my holiday time sleeping).
I will be doing one thing in the next couple of weeks and that is knocking off the Dr. Pepper shots. It just so happens that at Chili's servers are required to use cone cups if they are thirsty (about the serving size of a shot). I tend to be quite taken with the Dr. Pepper since it's the one thing that gives me the added energy and pep for my shift. I think though if I cut out the Dr. Pepper maybe (just maybe) I could decrease the wind down time I need at the end of my shift. Who Knows!!!
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