August 30, 2007
Jen noticed Opa! opened their doors August 24th and organized a blogger meetup last night for dinner. Never one to pass up good Greek food I happily agreed and sat down with Jen, Kevin, Sarah, and Joe for an excellent meal.
Service was extremely quick from our appetizers to our meal. Drinks came immediately (Kevin - a Fanta? Seriously?) and we settled in to eat. We ordered a selection of four dipping sauces and were impressed by most except the hummus, which I noticed sat untouched by most after the initial dip. The Tzatziki was excellent, as was the Skordalia (potato-garlic dip) and we all enjoyed the Tirokafteri (Feta cheese, olive oil, lemon and herbs) as well. The pita was served hot and delicious.
When our meals arrived we dug in with gusto. Sara and I both ordered Myzithra spaghetti which was fantastic. I had never tasted myzithra cheese before and absolutely loved it. I highly recommend it, but plan on taking a box home with you - my stomach was full long before my plate was empty. Jen and Kevin ordered lamb dishes - Jen a stew and Kevin chops - both of which were gorgeously plated and came with rice and potatoes tasting deliciously of lemon.
Joe was the only one to clean his plate, having ordered a chicken dish. You can see Kevin's shots of him digging in here, and the aftermath here. Well done Joe!
I ordered the strawberry cheesecake for dessert and Sarah and Kevin split the white chocolate baklava. The menu states that the desserts are all fresh and homemade, but they taste like they come straight out of a freezer box at a mass produced warehouse. The only disappointment of the night.
The was a bit of a surprise when the check came. I thought the total was a bit high so I looked over the check closely and noticed that there was a gratuity already added. It seemed odd to add a gratuity for serving just 5 people, so that's something they may want to reconsider. Either make your customers aware that this is the practice in your restaurant or do away with it since it's not customary.
For a place that's only been open for 5 days, Opa! was bustling with customers and has a good feeling. The owner came out and bussed our table and said hello, which was nice. The menu has a lot of choose from, if you don't want Greek food you can have lots of other "fusion" options. Our waitress was funny and friendly, the atmosphere was nice, and I will definitely be making a return to Opa! in the future.
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August 22, 2007
Today the designated hot spot was Mary's Burger Bistro on Pacific. They opened their doors bright and early for breakfast, but Frinklin and joined in for the noon rush hour, and holy crap, was it busy!
We met up with so many well known Tacoma bloggers I hardly need to name them. Head over to feed tacoma and pick anyone you want and they were likely there. Reviews are up all over the place. I sat with Frinklin and Jen, Kevin, Sarah, and met Todd for the first time. I also spotted Joe (with a fancy new blog) and Michael of Red Hot Tideflats fame. And I had the luck to meet Tacoma Chickadee in person finally. It appears that even Ed of Ed's Diner made an appearance today.
The atmosphere was festive when we arrived at noon, and the line was out the door. The folks behind the counter were jumpin'. It took about a half hour to order, but we entertained ourselves by meeting new people and munching on the free cookies that were handed out (great cookies, BTW!). Once our food was ordered came the long wait. And long wait it was. Our food took about an hour to come, but we chalked it up to working out the kinks and there was very little grumbling. Free cookies continued to keep the troops happy.
Frinklin proclaimed his BBQ onion burger "great" and happily inhaled it. Unfortunately mine resembled more of a burnt hockey puck. When I pointed out my disappointing burger to Mr. Mary, he immediately swept away the hockey puck and moments later an enormous MIGHTY BURGER was thrust into my mits. Piping hot and deliciously adorned, the MIGHTY BURGER was perfection in burger form. The fries were fantastic and I left mighty satisfied.
The general consensus is that the food is good, operations are still working the kinks out, but overall everyone left feeling full and happy.
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August 17, 2007
Special message to Angela and Steve - get a website...everyone's doing it.
There was definitely a festive feeling in the air upon our arrival at six, and the place was already busy. The bartender recommended the Woodchuck Pear Cider which went down well on such a warm day (not recommended if you're looking for something strong - it's more like a soft drink). I started a tab and ordered a couple of appetizers for the table.
Consensus on the apps is that they were OK - not recommended for large groups, but we hardly paid anything for them, so no great loss. Everyone ordered something different. Michael ordered the Tideflats which has absolutely everything on it. He wins the award for bravery 'cause I know my stomach would have put up a serious fight over that thing.
I had the Chicago dog minus the onions, peppers, and tomato. I KNOW OK! I KNOW. What kind of Chicago dog is that? But I wanted the poppyseed bun. Essentially I had a dog with mustard and relish and it was delish! Whatever neon green relish is used - it's the best I've ever tasted. Absolutely amazing.
Kevin's dog had cream cheese on it which sounds weird, but tasty. I'm branching out in that direction next time. Frinklin said the sour kraut was great, as was the slaw.
After three dogs, the cider, water, a root bear, and the two appetizers our grand total was $20.25. Practically nothing!
This could become a regular thing. Thanks Chris!
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August 10, 2007
Happy Birthday to Meeee!
Happy Birthday to Ensie!
Happy Birthday to Meeeeee!
I'll be celebrating by going out to Joeseppi's (did someone say birthday tiramisu?!) tonight with Frinklin and the In-laws. Thanks so much to Kevin and Sarah for doing drinks and dinner last night. It was tons of fun, even as we discovered they are just better looking, younger versions of Frinklin and myself.
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Happy Birthday!!!August 09, 2007
1993 – 1994 Tutor
· Assist middle school students with English assignments
1993 – 1996 Horse Clipper Extraordinaire
· Shave horses as needed in winter and late spring
· Sounds like a crazy job but I made $25/horse plus tips or $15 an hour and I was good at it
1994 – 1994 Stable Hand
· Feed and look after 20+ horses on small farm
· I shocked myself by asking for $17 dollars an hour when I was negotiating for the job, and getting it! I only worked a couple of hours a day.
1994 – 1997 Unit Counselor – Camp Winacka Girl Scout Camp
· Look after kids, lifeguard, crafts, riding instructor, hike, etc.
· Became a lesbian in spare time
· This job was pivotal in changing my thinking about everything in life. If there is one period in my life I could relive just to experience it, this is it.
· Unit Leader in 1997, left early due to mononucleosis
1995 – 1996 Super Pets (bought out by Pet Co shortly after I left) Sales Associate
· Care, feed, clean, sell, and train domestic and exotic birds (we even had toucans!) at large pet store
1997 – current Bob’s Hogs and Weiner Pigs
· Many different jobs including the one I do now
Anywhoo – throughout this time, I’ve either been my own boss, or I’ve had really great bosses. I could go on and on about Osa, the Camp Director at Winacka, who taught me so much by saying so little. I was at one of the most confusing times of my life (lesbian? good Christian girl?) and she dealt with it so well. She had to deal with half of the counselors pretty much having that issue. In retrospect, taking us all down to Tijuana and getting us drunk probably wasn’t the best way to deal with it, but it certainly allowed us to let our true feelings show.
Or Ginny, my manager at one BobÂ’s Hogs location who helped woo me to another location with her and then when I left again for other reasons was smart enough to see that I wasnÂ’t happy and made me an offer I couldnÂ’t refuse (not that way you dirty birds). She pushed me gently in the direction I needed to go to move forward on my career path, forcing me to advance without my even knowing it. Growing my skills and abilities and allowing me to challenge myself when I became bored with what I was doing. And I loved her kindness and friendliness and the fact that she let me do my own job while she did hers.
And then for a time I was terrified when I was offered a new position with all new territory and answered to the High Powered Boss of All Things I Do and I fell apart a bit. One has an outline of a position and a goal, and itÂ’s my place to make up the points in between. Once I nailed that part down, the High Powered Boss of All Things I Do became more of a partner and I really got to like her.
And now there is Beet. To the best of my reckoning, all Beet does is sit around all day sending out crappy memos every so often telling us what great ideas other people are having. Sometimes he’ll ride a plane somewhere and then send us emails from that location. He’ll even title the e-mails “Thoughts from Phoenix” or some other such crap. You can see why the bullshit detecting antennae are immediately waving about.
Every Monday there is a conference call with Beet where we must start by unveiling some layer of ourselves that is personal and painful, such as what our childhood nickname was. IÂ’ll be damned if IÂ’m going to tell my work colleagues my true childhood nickname. Junior high school was a traumatic time for the best of us and I will not be known as space cow (internets, I am trusting you!) for the rest of my working life. So I throw out the name a roommate used for me in my early twenties, but I can feel the old nickname there, heavy on me for the rest of the call. When I met with another rep at work that had been on the call he confided that he had a terrible childhood and does not want to discuss that time at all, ever again. I can see tears in his eyes. This is bad, I think. Bad.
Next Monday I am asked to share what celebrity I most resemble. I panic. There is no celebrity that I most resemble. I am round. I am not angular and hollow like those women. No one has ever said to me that I look like a thin, starving woman that appears on stage, screen, and in tabloids. What do I say? I am quiet as others answer reluctantly or eagerly. I nod silently as the people I have met give their answers. One says, “The creature from the black lagoon” and everyone laughs. Beet says my name.
“No one.” I say. “I don’t look like anyone famous. I look like me.”
“Oh, you don’t want to play along that’s fine! That’s fine, Ensie!” yells Beet into the phone in front of 12 other people. “You’re just spoiling the game! It’s just an icebreaker!”
I’ve always had a hard time letting things go, especially criticism. I am unusually silent on this conference call and Beet calls me on it, stating that there are points given for participation, and inflecting a smarmy voice, “points taken for being silent!” The stew inside continues to boil and I say nothing except to argue with him occasionally.
I have tried and tried to find the good points of this man’s personality, but am having a difficult time. I thought maybe I was just jealous, he having gotten the job that might have been mine, had I a little more confidence or experience in management. But every day that he send another idiotic e-mail, or calls to ask for yet another update on a big sale that is confirmed but will not happen until late next month (“Still confirmed, still not happening until late next month, Beet.”), I wonder what this man is doing within the outline of his job description to make his goal.
And the haranguing just continues, “Justify your expenses!” Beet shrieks, “What is this $12.99 charge at Red Robin? Weren’t you in your OWN territory? Were you entertaining a client?” I explain that I was in a series of meeting hours from home and that I had taken a break for lunch, something I do once or twice month, something his boss had no problem with when she was my boss for several years. Beet pauses for a nanosecond, “Well, I spoke with the DIRECTOR and he specifically stated that you can no longer lunch ALONE on the company’s dime. Also, please look into you postage expenses and make sure that you are using your funds most EFFECTIVELY.”
The man speaks in capital letters.
I’ve spent hours on the phone with my Dad detailing the daily idiocy of Beet and how to deal with it. My Dad’s guidance has been great, except that he seems a little too anxious to guide me to quit my job (Well, if you don’t like it, you can always leave), which I know is always an option, but it’s not an option, if you know what I mean. He told me today that I could just start sending Beet a daily e-mail correcting his screw-ups. Because a) Beet requires a daily e-mail to correct his fuck ups (like “Hey Beet, today you stated that the book Loving Frank is an exclusive to Bob’s Hogs, but it’s so totally not, also, it is not an architecture book, it’s a novel”) and b) Beet would totally love it if I started correcting all his errors. Bosses love that kind of shit.
The problem really is, I love my job and I hate my boss.
I keep hoping that Beet secretly hates his job and all of us who work for him too. He certainly acts like it. Maybe heÂ’s looking for another job. I hope so.
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