March 30th, 2014

We woke up at 8 and had eggs for breakfast. We went to church and we were warmly greeted by multiple people. They announced there was going to be a mission trip to Costa Rica during the summer. After the service I asked about the trip. They leave at the end of June and the cost is going to be about $2,500. I wish I could go, but I don’t think we can swing it right now. The fact that the trip is right in the middle of the World Cup sways my decision toward the negative.

After church we went to Popeye’s chicken for lunch. It was the first fried food I’ve had in over a month and it didn’t sit well.

We went home, changed and then we went for a drive up to the north shore. We took as many different roads as possible just so we could explore new parts of the island. We then drove over to the west side of the island to look at the Disney resort. There was no parking so we drove down the road about a mile and parked in front of a beach park.

We drove home and relaxed for about an hour and then we went to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the week.

We came home and made dinner and hung out before going to bed.

March 29th, 2014

I woke up at 9 something and we made almond flour pancakes for breakfast. They tasted like cardboard, but they served their purpose.

We drove to the mall to send some packages to the mainland and look for work boots for me. After 3 stores we finally found a descent pair.

We drove home and had lunch and then we hung around the house for awhile. I rode to Walmart to buy laundry soap and then did a load of laundry.

While at Walmart I bought the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. For dinner we broke the diet in half and ordered a pizza and ate while watching the first movie.

I ended up falling asleep during the movie and woke up right at the end.

March 28th, 2014

I woke up at 10 and ate a nutritious breakfast of ice cream. We were out of eggs and there was no milk for cereal.

I went to a new bank to see if I could open an account at a bank that has an ATM machine capable of doing cash deposits. When I get off work, I would rather deposit my money into an ATM rather than take it home and have to go into the bank the next day. It’s both a safety concern and the hatred of dealing with back tellers and lines.

The back said that if I had less than $300 in the savings account they would charge me $4.50 a month. I thought backs were there to keep my money safe, not penalize me for not having enough.

I went to Starbucks to buy coffee for my buddy josh and then I went home and grilled done chicken and onions for lunch.

I got to work at 3:30 and was told that there was a water leak. Our dish washer could not operate without pouring water into the store beneath us so we couldn’t wash dishes, which meant we couldn’t serve food.

We stayed closed for about an hour and then we let in 15 people at a time with a limited menu. Half of the servers went home, and about 1/3 of the restaurant was empty. Eventually we let in 30 people at a time, and we got a little busier.

I sold about half as much food and beverages as I would have on a normal Friday night.

I got home around 11:30 and made some eggs and toast to boost my caloric intake up to 1500. I then stayed up for a couple hours watching Sons of Anarchy.

March 27th, 2014

The painters are back for sure. After going to bed around 2 this morning, they woke me up at 8 yelling at each other in Chinese and throwing tools to the ground from the 4th floor scaffolding. At 8:30 one guy started using a power chisel to take out some concrete.

I made eggs for breakfast and then went to work. It was a great shift except for one table. It was 3 ladies, as a male server this situation never goes in my favor. After 7 years of waiting tables, I have found the 6 groups of people who are notorious for leaving bad tips. They are, in no particular order: women, old people, teenagers, minorities, foreigners, and Christians. I’m not saying this happens all the time, but stereotypes exist for a reason. This table was 2 of the 6 groups, possibly 3, I didn’t ask their religion.

Everything started out great, I asked for ID when they bought alcohol even though they were 20 years over the legal drinking age. When I finished taking the drink order, I asked if they would like some garlic bread to munch on before the meal. This is a trick waiters use to get you to buy more food so the check amount increases, which makes the tip amount increase as well. They were a bunch of needy broads who kept asking for more dressing, extra cherries, extra this, extra that. I smiled and fetched their requests in a timely manor. When I dropped off the check they asked me to split it. This is another sign that I’m not going to get a good tip. I separated the bill and then they waved me over to ask why I charged them for garlic bread. I explained that it was not complementary. They informed me that Red Lobster, The Outback, and Olive Garden do not charge for bread.

I knew my tip was dwindling so I went to a manager and asked him to take their bread off after explaining the situation. Because the customer is always right, he removed the garlic bread from their check. As they were leaving, I thanked them and wished them a good day. One of the ladies came back in and demanded to know why she didn’t get to keep her glass from the drink. I explained that the drink she ordered did not come with the glass, nor did I charge her for a glass. She demanded that she receive a glass. I told her that I could charge her for a glass but this was like throwing gasoline on a fire. She started yelling and swearing at me.

It was a loose-loose situation for me. Had I charged her for the glass, she would have gotten upset, since she didn’t get the glass that she didn’t pay for, she was upset. Before I had a chance to say anything that would have ensured my unemployment, a manager ran over to her from the bank of the restaurant. They could hear her yelling at me from the office. The manager did not give her anything for free which sent the lady storming off swearing at all of us. Once she left, I looked to see what they tipped me. The other two ladies tipped 15-20%, but the angry lady left me nothing. They wrote the tips before the glass situation happened. I secretly hope she steps off the sidewalk and is hit by a cement truck.

The rest if the shift went very well.

I got home around 5 and we had chicken and vegetables for dinner. I decided that I wanted ice cream so Rebecca and I went to the store and bought ice cream and rented a movie.

Rebeca went to bed after the movie and I went for a late night ride on my moped for about 20 minutes before the ice cream started attacking my lactose intolerant system. I rushed home and saw 6 police cars in the parking lot. One of my female neighbors was screaming at her husband or boyfriend about with whom he may or may not have had recent acquaintance. Her words were much more colorful and being screamed from the top of her lungs. Strange that my dealings with very angry, very loud, and overly emotional people were both women…..

I stayed up late again to watch Sons of Anarchy.

March 26th, 2014

I woke up at 9 when the painters decided to come back after a 2 week hiatus. I think they are starting a stomp group and they were practicing by clanging paint cans together.

I made eggs and Portuguese sausage for breakfast and then packed a lunch for the day.

I got to work 30 minutes early and stretched my legs and back to make myself limber and spry for my shift.

I finished the first shift at 4 and then went to the parking lot and are my lunch before my shift started at 5.

I had a majority of English speaking tables which was a nice change from last night. At the end of the night, I went to turn in my money and credit card receipts. Upon inspection I found that one customer didn’t sign their receipt. According to either company policy or some law, I was not able to claim the tip from that table.

Aside from losing $15 because someone didn’t sign their credit card receipt, it was a fairly descent night.

I got home and realized that I had only eaten 800 calories throughout the day. I didn’t want my body to go into starvation mode and slow my metabolism down. I made eggs and toast and a glass of strawberry milk to jump my caloric intake to a respectable 1500 for the day. According to the calorie counter I use, it says if I continue eating like this, I will loose another 25 lbs in 5 weeks.

I stayed up to let the food digest and to let my brain slow down from another 10 hour shift while watching Sons of Anarchy.

March 25th, 2014

I awoke around 9:30 and made eggs and Portuguese sausage for breakfast. I skipped the run this morning because my feet are aching from walking around at work. I basically spend 6-8 hours walking at a fast pace all day.

I started work at noon and right away I had a party of Chinese people. The first thing I noticed is how slowly non Americans eat. They were taking the time to savor every bite, I like to inhale my food and taste it later when I burp. The morning shift went well, and then I had a 20 minute break before my next shift started at 5.

The night shift was not as pleasant. I didn’t have a single English speaking table the entire night. With no way to charm my way to a better tip, I relied on great service and the hope that they knew tipping is customary on this side of the world. I ended up making an average of 6% the entire night. A few tables left nothing. When I was working at Red Robin and Buffalo Wild Wings, getting stiffed on a tip happened maybe once a week, here it happens at least once a shift. With only 3 tables at a time, it really sucks.

I ended up working for 10 1/2 hours and lumped home because my feet hurt so much. I was able to see Rebecca for about 2 minutes before she went to sleep.

March 24th, 2014

I awoke around 9 and had a breakfast of raisin bran, and yogurt. After my food digested, I went for a run. I increased my run to 1 1/2 miles. It is the furthest I can go without having to cross any major streets. I was impressed that I was able to go that far after taking a few weeks off from running. I’m still working up to being able to run for 30 minutes like I was doing when I lived in Mexico.

I made a sensible lunch of grilled bell peppers, onions and curry chicken while watching Sons of Anarchy. After lunch I showered and headed to work.

My very first table of the night was a guy who had just quit the restaurant. He was a host who should know about tips because I have to tip the hosts out at the end of the night. He left me exact change and zero tip. It wasn’t a great way to start the shift. It wasn’t a very busy night for me, towards the end if the shift, one of the hostesses admired that she thought I was still only doing a 2 table section so she never filled my tables.

I got home right after Rebecca had fallen asleep so I prepped a lunch for tomorrow and stretched out on the floor and continued watching Sons of Anarchy.

March 23rd, 2014

Day ? Of the whole 30 diet; I think I’ve got the hang of this now.

We woke up at 9 and I cooked eggs with Portuguese sausage. I also added in some chipotle cheddar cheese for flavor.

I was able to FaceTime with my family who was celebrating my brother’s 35th birthday. The phone was passed around and I was able to say hi to everyone. With 3 kids under 4 years old, it was quite noisy, but good to see and talk to everyone.

We went to the 11 o’clock service and then tried a fish taco restaurant near our house. We caved in and we each got a malasada on the way home. Malasadas are basically doughnuts without the hole. It was more sugar than I have had in a month and my system did not care for it as much as my tongue did.

We came home and I got ready for work. I finally had a 3 table section and didn’t have a single problem. I ended up serving one if the girls with whom I trained at the shuttle company. We had a bread catch up and then I was off to tend my other tables.

I got home right after Rebecca went to sleep so I did laundry and watched the first two episodes of “Sons of Anarchy” which is about a motorcycle club in central California. I finally went to bed around 2.

March 22nd, 2014

Day 34 of the whole 30 diet: we reintroduced wheat and gluten today.

We woke up around 9 and Rebecca made French toast. I have never been a huge fan if the stuff, it’s too moist on the inside. I fried some eggs and put them on American toast, bread cooked the way it should be.

After breakfast we went to the store to buy groceries. I was buying yogurt and Rebecca pointed out that Russian yogurt was cheaper than the Safeway brand I was buying. I told her that if we bought Russian yogurt, it would try to take over our entire fridge and invade the other shelves.

We left Safeway and went to Don Quiote where we buy produce. We go to two or three different stores to get the best prices.

We came home and Rebecca went for a run while I finished the last episode of Breaking Bad. Rebecca finished her run and then I went on my run.

I showered and we went to the mall and bought movie tickets and then went to Chili’s for dinner. I had the dry ribs with a side of broccoli. I also drank 5 mugs of water. After diner we saw a movie about a futuristic society where everyone is put into different factions to determine what they will do in life. The main character had no specific faction so she was a threat to the system for some reason. I used the boys room before the movie started, and by the time the previews had started I had to go again. I managed to hold it for the duration of the movie, but I bolted out of the theater like I was on fire. I decided to time myself again, 76 seconds. It might be a world record. I of course had to go again once we got home.

I was in bed around 11.

March 21st, 2014

Day 33 of the whole 30 diet: I haven’t had soda in over a month. I guess I miss it, but I haven’t really been craving it as much as I was in the beginning.

I woke up around 9 and ate breakfast. It was eggs and Portuguese sausage smothered in hot sauce. A few hours later I went running. Rebecca came with me today. In the entire time we’ve known each other I have not seen her go jogging. She kept up with me and completed the mile with no problems. On her first jog in over 3 years she did what it took me 2 months to work up to.

Rebecca went to her school to work on some stuff and I made lunch which consisted of grilled onions, bell peppers and curry chicken.

I showered, got ready for work and arrived 45 minutes early. Today was my fine tune, which means I was with a trainer who followed me around and observed. I was working with Kim again. He was the guy who trained me during my very first shift at the restaurant back in October. We had a great shift, full of laughter at other people’s expense, and me making random comments. He said I did a great job and released me from training. I can now officially take a 3 table section.

I left around 11 and rode home. My hair has been poking out the sides of my hat so I decided to cut it. I had to have Rebecca even out the spots I missed in the back so I didn’t look like I had mange. Once I was done, there was so much hair on the ground that it looked like someone had shaved a wookie.