Work this weekend was a pleasure. On Friday we did a lot of preparing for a function on Saturday. I did manage to do a big no-no though. I drove a forklift down to the big marquee set up for the event (that was also used for Wednesday's or Thursday's function) and got it stuck in the pathway I helped make on my first working day the 1st of October. I got through it with weight on the machine but I couldn't make it out back over it. I hoped that we'd get it out with Richard before Helmut would see it but the other forklift didn't have enough horses in it's engine to get it out. Helmut wasn't pleased but he didn't scold us too badly. He used the tractor to get us out and after I repaired the damage I'd done to the pathway everything was alright. It was just a waste of time, nothing else. We did work pretty late and on the way home with Richard we wondered how people got anything like this done -- you know, getting forklifts stuck and all that useful stuff that we do -- before we showed up at Rochford...
Saturday started rainy and we did some more preparing for the noon function. When the guests started pouring in the rained stopped (pouring). I worked the bar with Graham, who wasn't very smart about it. I didn't have to do too much busy or unpleasant stuff. Before the function David almost killed me though. Not literally. We hurried all the plates down from the restaurant carrying too much weight in a impractical container and in a painful manner. My left hand was still a little numb going to sleep last night.
The function went great and nobody drank too much alcohol or soft drinks. I haven't taken a Responsible Serving of Soft Drinks course but dumb Graham kept pouring full 33 cl cups of drinks to kids of all ages, while I kept it at under 15 cl for anyone with facepaint and around 25 cl for other underage people. All of them seemed satisfied with what they got and the smallest ones were the most polite customers I've had. The kids were seriously cute and my favorite one was a three year-old girl who asked if she "could please have a wemonade?" After the function our staff diminished so David and finally myself and Darcy hauled the rest of the stuff away. It started raining but I just felt too good to care. It was fun. How did we get rid of the fryer that had made me get the forklift stuck? We started to carry it with Darcy but need a break pretty soon. I ran back and grabbed a trolley (nokkakärry in Finnish) and hauled it back with that. Easily -- Helmut had told me to use a ute the day before and David told me to use a pellet and a pellet jack. I really should do more things the way I feel is the smartest. My experience with Muuttopalvelu Niemi in 2001-2 seriously paid off. Should have put it to use 24 hours earlier though.
Boaz gave me a lift home and we decided to go to the cinema to see Skyline. We stopped at our place so I could change and then we watched some TV at Boaz before leaving. David also joined us. We all agreed that it was a stupid movie. Personally I wouldn't recommend it to anyone even though it had some cool moments. Mediocre but not positive.
At home I bagged my bags for my days off. One bag for the stuff I need for my getaway and my 40 l backpack with stuff I'd want to send home. We -- me and my mom -- are getting me a bigger one on Tuesday!
Today I worked the bar with David but I did get a trolley assignment. Or I made it one. I don't know if you remember the tables or trestles that me and Richard painted gray, but I had to get six of those from the marquee near the concert stage and get them up to the marquee next to the café. By myself. (Sascha told me to take my time, BTW I already like him more now!) The first trip I brought up one, with the legs facing forwards (I really should've taken some pictures of this) and carried it in from the door of the marquee. The second trip I brought in two tables and maneuvered them in the marquee with the trolley and on the last trip I brought in three (which was a bit too heavy to do pleasantly). By the time Graham came to assist me, there was nothing to do.
Me and David held fort in the bar and I even served some food and cleared the same plates later. AND I made two lattes while David was smoking with Sascha and brought them to the table myself -- no complaints. After the busiest part I started looking at the time to see when my mom would arrive. She said she'd come around three o'clock. I was afraid I'd start to cry. A little after three she sauntered in like nothing and it felt like running into someone your jot really surprised to see because it's natural and probable. Like seeing someone from SYK on Aleksanterinkatu or Wanha-Kettu or someone from TOKL in Klubi, Börssi or Dynamo. I was still busy polishing glasses but I got my mom a cappuccino for free. After that she looked around and took some pictures of the area.
David agreed that we had a good day and told me to go home so we left. I changed into more comfortable clothes and grabbed my stuff. I haven't talked as much as I did on the one hour drive in ages. Then again I hadn't had a conversation in Finnish in over a month. When we got to the hotel here in St. Kilda we just left our bags in the room and I got some presents from Finland, a book from my aunt (thanks!) and a Donald Duck pocketbook from my grandma (shoutout!). Then we headed out to eat in the city.
We took a tram, went through the CBD and found the exact same Italian restaurant on Lygon Street we had been to five years ago after seeing the Lion King musical. We still talked a lot and had a good time. I ate garlic bread, seafood pasta and chocolate ice cream. Then we headed to the river to find a bar and had one more drink at the local PJ O'Brien's before retreating to our hotel. I looked at some pictures that my mom had on a cd before I opened the TV, put on my peejays and started writing this.
We're going to the Great Ocean Road tomorrow and wake up's in six hours. I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this post, but I've been too busy living the moments to recapture them. My mom did get some good pictures though!
I'll hit you back with another post soon, most definitely with pictures.
Holla at your playa!
Ps. Fun blogfact number 1: My last post (What becomes of the brokenhearted) is already the fourth most loaded post in this blogs history trailing the first official post, my first post from Hong Kong and my first post from Rochford. Thanks for reading, whoever you are! It's easier to write when I know people are still interested.
why would we stop being interested in the well-being of our friendly friend?
ReplyDelete