As my 2 Twitter followers will know, I watched All the Real Girls tonight. I would even put myself out on a limb here and put this film on my top 10 all-time favourite list. I watched part of it years ago while at my dad's but started in too late to understand what was going on. Years later I was imdb'ing Zooey Deschanel because I think she is an amazing actress. I came across the film All The Real Girls, and recalled that it looked good, so I "purchased" it "legally" at a "video store".
This movie blows my mind. It is sad and happy and touching and captures so much in such a simple way. One thing that it really manages to embrace is small-town living and its many layers. It's not some "I left for the big city and now I'm back" film. These people have lived here forever and will not be leaving. The mid-20s guys in this movie have a great dynamic as friends and the blossoming relationship between Deschanel and Paul Schneider is so real.
Last time I watched this flick I was single, and now I'm balls-deep in a serious relationship. It made me feel a bit different this time around. Seeing how adorable the couple is together reminds me of Chris and I. Probably most couples have that. Those little things that only you share. Those memories of how they made you fall for them with their cute little nuances that make you smile. That special way that you feel when you're together doing something silly, or cuddling. It's really nice, and natural in this movie. Spoiler alert. Things take a harsh turn later on(which makes me cry like a baby) and it's even more sad now that I know the feeling of having something special.
Part of me is scared for that day(in real life) where I feel the way I do during the sad part of this movie. I am very close to people who haven't taken/don't take a commitment to one person seriously. That just makes me realize how fragile honesty and trust is. How easy it is to shatter someone with a reckless decision. How important recovery from something like that is.
One question this movie raises is how long can someone hold onto that, and is holding onto betrayal just as toxic as the act itself? Does a mistake really eliminate every good thing that ever happened before that? Without question though, breaking someone's trust is a bigger deal than people make it out to be nowadays. And isn't it fascinating how those who feel it the most seem to end up doomed to repeat it.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Happiness
I think work makes people unhappy. If at the end of the day you can say it is fulfilling, then it is worth it. I work to make money. I enjoy serving a decent amount but it does not fulfill me. I do not like workplace politics and I do not enjoy the greed and selfish behavior I have encountered since I started serving at the Hotel.
Tumblers, as it presently stands, makes me feel fulfilled. I know that when I am there I am helping the business out. I dedicate my time to leaving the place better than when I got there. I can be comfortable and bitchy and whatever I want to be there, specifically with my customers. I am not under a microscope. And ever since I went part-time I get treated with the respect I never got when I was full-time. I attribute that to me being an honest, hard worker and them realizing how few and far between those are. I originally intended to quit there when I got the job at Hotel Saskatchewan, but things have gone so well in the 4 months since I started there that I couldn't imagine quitting at Tumblers. Mind you, if I was there more than one day a week or so, I would be singing a different tune.
Anyways, many of the servers at the Hotel are in their 50s. They have been there for 30 years or more. They are INSANE. We only have enough cutlery to make it through a breakfast sitting before the cutlery must be washed and polished(the servers do the polishing). Because these women want to do as little work as possible and I imagine feel entitled to it, they HIDE polished cutlery in a variety of different credenzas and other locations in the dining room so that they have a stash of cutlery that is already polished. They also feel that if they brought items out to the credenza from the back, such as saucers or teacups, or even Radisson pens, that these items are theirs, yes, these items that belong to the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza belong to them! No one else can use them. Never mind that there are limited quantities of these things, and when I bring stuff out they feel more than welcome to use them.
Another problem I encounter is that we have different sections that we serve. So regularly, these women will herd new tables to their section whenever the host is either not there or away from their station so that they will make more tips than me. The women also never smile. They are always in a rush, one of them always has a "deer in headlights" look on her face when I work with her and leaves our shared station (although if you asked I'm sure she'd say it's 'hers', because these women are nut jobs) in a completely unacceptable mess everytime she touches it. This is fine dining, and all the daytime servers in the dining room are so precoccupied with money, seniority and a sense of superiority that the customer is more of a casualty than a priority.
There are certain times where I enjoy working at the Hotel Sask. For example, when I work supper shifts. My usual coworker, Dora, has been at the hotel for I think over 30 years. She is very particular and testy at times. But she CARES about the customer. She can talk to anyone, she has an adorable Greek accent and gives good service. I enjoy when I work in the lounge instead of the dining room as well. The general attitude is less formal, there is a team atmosphere instead of an "every man for himself" attitude. And no one hides anything! (oh yeah, we also set tables differently in the dining room from breakfast to lunch. The ladies will start setting for lunch by 8:30am so that they use all the easily-accessible wine/water glasses before you do. Before they set, they will hide said items in adjacent unused rooms so you can't use them).
I guess what I'm saying is that overall I am unhappy with my present full-time job. Serving will always involve bullshit politics, whether it's because your boss prefers some girls over others, or, like me, you work with crazy women in the mid-50s/60s. It comes with some great perks(union job, which means health coverage, a raise every 3 months, free training in things that will benefit me beyond this job), but it wears at me. I'll give it some time and see if the pros outweigh the cons. Everyone there treats me like I'll be there for a long time, but at the very least, I will become part-time in fall. And at the most, I will no longer be living in Regina and thus will quit there. Why does work have to be so difficult?
Tumblers, as it presently stands, makes me feel fulfilled. I know that when I am there I am helping the business out. I dedicate my time to leaving the place better than when I got there. I can be comfortable and bitchy and whatever I want to be there, specifically with my customers. I am not under a microscope. And ever since I went part-time I get treated with the respect I never got when I was full-time. I attribute that to me being an honest, hard worker and them realizing how few and far between those are. I originally intended to quit there when I got the job at Hotel Saskatchewan, but things have gone so well in the 4 months since I started there that I couldn't imagine quitting at Tumblers. Mind you, if I was there more than one day a week or so, I would be singing a different tune.
Anyways, many of the servers at the Hotel are in their 50s. They have been there for 30 years or more. They are INSANE. We only have enough cutlery to make it through a breakfast sitting before the cutlery must be washed and polished(the servers do the polishing). Because these women want to do as little work as possible and I imagine feel entitled to it, they HIDE polished cutlery in a variety of different credenzas and other locations in the dining room so that they have a stash of cutlery that is already polished. They also feel that if they brought items out to the credenza from the back, such as saucers or teacups, or even Radisson pens, that these items are theirs, yes, these items that belong to the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza belong to them! No one else can use them. Never mind that there are limited quantities of these things, and when I bring stuff out they feel more than welcome to use them.
Another problem I encounter is that we have different sections that we serve. So regularly, these women will herd new tables to their section whenever the host is either not there or away from their station so that they will make more tips than me. The women also never smile. They are always in a rush, one of them always has a "deer in headlights" look on her face when I work with her and leaves our shared station (although if you asked I'm sure she'd say it's 'hers', because these women are nut jobs) in a completely unacceptable mess everytime she touches it. This is fine dining, and all the daytime servers in the dining room are so precoccupied with money, seniority and a sense of superiority that the customer is more of a casualty than a priority.
There are certain times where I enjoy working at the Hotel Sask. For example, when I work supper shifts. My usual coworker, Dora, has been at the hotel for I think over 30 years. She is very particular and testy at times. But she CARES about the customer. She can talk to anyone, she has an adorable Greek accent and gives good service. I enjoy when I work in the lounge instead of the dining room as well. The general attitude is less formal, there is a team atmosphere instead of an "every man for himself" attitude. And no one hides anything! (oh yeah, we also set tables differently in the dining room from breakfast to lunch. The ladies will start setting for lunch by 8:30am so that they use all the easily-accessible wine/water glasses before you do. Before they set, they will hide said items in adjacent unused rooms so you can't use them).
I guess what I'm saying is that overall I am unhappy with my present full-time job. Serving will always involve bullshit politics, whether it's because your boss prefers some girls over others, or, like me, you work with crazy women in the mid-50s/60s. It comes with some great perks(union job, which means health coverage, a raise every 3 months, free training in things that will benefit me beyond this job), but it wears at me. I'll give it some time and see if the pros outweigh the cons. Everyone there treats me like I'll be there for a long time, but at the very least, I will become part-time in fall. And at the most, I will no longer be living in Regina and thus will quit there. Why does work have to be so difficult?
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