So I didn't drop anything... =)
I met some great folks, learned a lot and had a good time.
After arriving there, we were given about a half hour training on how to wait tables with their system. I think all of us volunteers were feeling just a wee bit intimidated and hoping we didn't screw up too badly. I don't think anyone did.
The original guest chef specializes in Japanese cuisine, but unfortunately had to cancel due to a death in the family. Another chef was kind enough to step in and he prepared a southern meal because "he was missing home". We had fried chicken, black-eyed peas, cheese grits, and corn bread. For dessert he made a puff pastry stuffed with sweet potato paste with a coca-cola reduction. A few of the guests were disappointed when they found out that the menu had changed, but they were all good sports.
At 7pm we had a brief graduation ceremony for the students graduating that week. All of them had jobs lined up in nice Seattle restaurants -woot!
I think the biggest learning experience for me was I realized I could never run a fine dining restaurant. At a table for 4, the tab for the meal and a few drinks would run a little over $200. At one of my tables, the party of 4 was having a good time and taking their time. So I have a captain that is a regular volunteer that oversees a few of us volunteers. She would assist us if needed as well. A few times she cleared dishes I would not have cleared and I realized it was in part my lack of experience, and part that they try to keep a clip going. A party of 8 arrived and they wanted to use one of my tables that was adjacent to another open table. This was the table where the folks took their time eating and stayed longer. It was hinted I should try to move them along. Yikes! I really felt like it would be rude so I just couldn't do it. I thought if they're dropping $220 I shouldn't rush them out in an hour. But the captain is a regular and she knows what can be done and what can't better than me. So, I would be out of business in no time LOL.
I also realize that there are those that drop that kind of money on a meal regularly. My husband and I were once given a $100 gift certificate to a fine dining restaurant in Seattle. We used it on our anniversary and still dropped another $120. Holy guacamole! We had ordered one appetizer to share, a dish apiece and a fairly inexpensive bottle of wine. As we were there, we noticed how crowded the place was. It is right on the water and all the folks with yachts can moor outside the restaurant and bop in for a meal. The meal was good but not particularly gourmet. My husband and I were dressed up fairly nice and most around us were dressed casually. It dawned on us during the meal that many of the folks eat there regularly as an equivalent to us dining at Red Robin. So my point is, when I see a $220 price tag, I'm thinking you can cop a squat, enjoy your meal while also talking to your dinner companion(s). But if you're used to those kind of price tags, then it's not particularly a special treat to be savored for a few hours. It's so interesting how where you are and where you come from really filters how you view the world around you.
Monday, May 12, 2008
My FareStart Evening
Thursday, May 8, 2008
FareStart
I'm volunteering as waitstaff at FareStart tonight. Hope I don't drop anything...
FareStart is a job training and placement program for homeless and disadvantaged individuals. Over the past 15 years, FareStart has provided opportunities for over 2,000 people to transform their lives, while also serving nearly 3 million meals to disadvantaged men, women, and children.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Giving MicroLoans to Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries
DiaLogic has posted about an organization called Kiva that enables person-to-person microloans around the globe.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Visit a Blog & Comment!
Take a minute to go visit a blog linked on a blog you read. See my imbedded list over there --->.
Better yet, find something you want to comment on and actually leave a comment. =) I'm amazed how many bloggers don't leave comments for other bloggers that they read. It's good to take the time to post your own stuff, but it's equally important to me to realize you are not so f*&^ked up as you had originally thought by reading other peoples' blogs here and there no?
Yesterday from Spontaneous Arising, I went to visit Coffee House Studio.
Today, I went to camelsbackandforth and from there visited Homo Escapeons.
I left my scrawl in both places. Go visit a new blogger - go on.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Wearing our Best Friends, Literally
I followed a number of links to PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) site not too long ago while following articles on horse-drawn carriages. There’s a movement to ban them, but that’s another story. So while I’m there, I’m reading about their various campaigns and watching some of their investigative videos. I came across one on Chinese Fur Farms that I had absolutely no idea about, and I must say, could not even conceive of in my mind.
I do not wear fur. I never have and never will. I’m not into it, and at a conceptual level, it holds no appeal for me. I would prefer others to not wear fur, but the truth is I didn’t know much about the fur industry. Holy guacamole, this video hit its mark because I started to read and write letters.
Over half of the fur fashion/products imported into the US is from China. It is estimated China kills over 2 million cats and dogs each year for their fur. This is of course in addition to mink and other animals known for their fur.
I won’t go into the argument of whether or not one should wear fur. But if you knew your fur was taken as inhumanely as these undercover videos are showing, could you still wear that fur? Fur farmers are all over the world. I don’t know how all the fur farmers house and kill their fur animals, but the films I’ve seen out of China are just horrifying. Throwing live animals tied into a bag into boiling water. Skinning live animals without killing them first. This was the worst for me – seeing these animals struggling in pain as they are skinned, seeing some of them still moving after all their skin has been removed. What kind of person could do this to a living creature? It is unreal, unimaginable. This undercover video captured by Swiss International in China’s Hebei province is extremely difficult to view, but if you can stomach it, it will change your life.
Apparently calls went out to boycott Chinese products and the 2008 Olympics. Guess what China’s response was? Not that it wasn’t happening. Not that they would change. Their response was that the US and Europe buy these products so it is our fault. I agree, fur consumers should be aware and stop their purchases of fur, but it does not exclude China’s culpability. It is a sick twisted relationship of greed and vanity.
How can you boycott Chinese fur though? None of the fur you see says “Harvested in China”. This is where HR 891 comes in. HR 891: Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act is to ensure that domestic dog and cat fur is prohibited from being imported, exported, manufactured, sold, or advertised in the United States and to require the labeling of all fur products under the Fur Products Labeling Act. This bill would not only prohibit the harvesting of dog and cat fur, but it would require all fur to be labeled from where it was harvested. Then, fur consumers could know where their fur was coming from and hopefully make the conscientious choice to avoid Chinese fur. It is currently on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade’s to-do list. It was referred there a year ago. Wow. I’ve looked at who is on this committee and written to the representatives near me – James McDermott from my state of Washington and Earl Blumenauer from neighboring Oregon. I urge you to find the rep(s) closest to your neck of the woods and urge them to push this bill through. Read about the bill and find your rep here. Please take a minute to write.
I pity the next fur wearer I come across as they’re going to get an earful. Whatever your beliefs, I can’t believe human beings think it is ok to torture and inhumanely kill animals that we have decided to use for our benefit.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Five For Fighting - World
MyBlackAmerica created a YouTube video to the Five For Fighting song World that I really love. Check it out...
John Ondrasik of FfF has also set up WhatKindOfWorldDoYouWant.com video community to help raise funds for certain charities. You just have to watch a video to help funds go to charity - how simple is that! If you can afford it, pledge funds as well.
Excerpt:
"We are all connected to one another through our actions. Each person has the ability to make a difference. This is one of the messages of the Five For Fighting video "World."
Tell the world what kind of world you want and raise money for charity by making and uploading a video of yourself, your friends or your family--whomever and whatever--answering the question, "What Kind Of World Do You Want?"
Or, you can raise money for charities that John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting has personally selected. Watch any clip on this site and money will go to the charity listed with that video. Please see below for the updated list of charities and contributions per views."
The site has donated $173K to date.
Knitters Helping Children
I taught myself to knit about 15 years ago. I work on it off and on when I have the time. One of my younger son's teachers found out I knit and sent me information about the Guideposts Knit for Kids program. They have a few sweater patterns you can choose from, and they are very simple so you don't have to be a knitting maven. You knit the sweater(s), you deliver or send them in, and they deliver them to children around the globe, including here in the US. Use your hobby to help keep a child warm!
