Waiter Rant

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Just when you think the world is safe from Hannibal Lecter, he gets re-incarnated into a waiter. People you seldom think have power, truly do possess the magic stick. This waiter's account on being a manager at a bistro in NY is incredible. There's tons of witty comments, ironic moments, times when you're thinking the human race could not get anymore rude and of course times where you're laughing out loud going WHAT THE FUCK! If you piss this waiter off he's not going to spit in your food he's going make you look like the ass that you really are. I never really understood how many jobs were involved in being a waiter until reading this book, ie. food allergy specialists, sommeliers, cell-phone-rule enforcers, eye candy, confessors, entertainers, mixologists, emergency medical technicians, bouncers, receptionists, joke tellers, therapists, linguists, punching bags, psychics, protocol specialists, and amateur chefs (preface). Trying to hold a restaurant together is a verying trying duty but somebody's got to do it. At certain instances this waiter has time to reflect on what is important and the few things he really does like about the job. There's not many items on that list but the ones that are have left an imprint on this guys' heart. In my personal opinion this was an amazing book because it gives you the point of view of the waiter and what they have to deal with: people skipping out on the bill, people not tipping (and how that effects their lives), people having medical/social/ martial and other emergencies, and last but not least PEOPLE JUST BEING PLAIN OLD RUDE. Take a minute and think about how you treat your server when you go out for a drink or meal. If you need a checklist on how to be a good customer, you're in luck this book has one and take note to read it.

There were some really profound passages in the book that really struck a chord with me, this one in particular:

"I also had two English teachers in high school. They taught me that reading literature could teach you about the 'universal human experience.' Maybe you'll never hunt another man through the jungle, my teachers told me. Maybe you won't climb Mount Kilimanjaro or watch a bullfight in the afternoon- you don't have to. The world's a big place. You can't do or be everything, nor should you. Life is bigger than any one man. But when you read about other people's lives, when you read their STORIES, you catch a glimpse of a world bigger than your own. You may never travel a hundred miles from where you were born, but if you read stories, you'll get to see the entire world. You'll enter into the Great Mystery." (pg. 189)

The above stated passage is exactly why I enjoy reading so much. You get exposed to different worlds and different people. You get to explore the unknown without really leaving your comfort zone. For a waiter that has a lot to say he nailed this one right on the head and he had some really great teachers.

If you read this book you won't be disappointed! It's totally out of the ordinary, which is something that is always nice to lighten up the reading horizon!



View all my reviews

The Thorn Birds

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


One of the sales people at the local coles book store suggested the Thorn Birds to me. When just looking at the book it's massive and i found it a little daunting but once i decided to give it a chance and read the book it was actually pretty good. The story chronicles the life of a family from when a baby (Meggie) is born all the way to and adult watching her children grow up and go about their lives. The wild outback of Australia to a quiet reserved place on Matlock Island to Rome and London. The best thing about this book was that when the characters were travelling to the various places I actually felt like i was there with them. I could picture myself in the hot desert watching kangroos hop around and the infestation of bunnies. When they were ranching it was like you were riding right behind them on the same horse. You felt every bump and jolt. Since i am not religious at all i found the heavy basis on religion and god hard to take. The forbidden love story wasn't as good as it could have been and i just got tired of hearing how Ralph was so devoted to the church yet he broke every one of his vows. The one thing i found relatable was that the families rarely showed emotion to the female daughters, it was almost like they were a lost cause. The end of the story gives the female character a bit of clout but that's it. It was a good book! Don't let the huge appearance fool you, there are some nuggets of fabulous-ness in there.



View all my reviews

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you liked Guernsey and The Potato Peel Society, you will love this book. With authors such as Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) and Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) giving this book great reviews how can you not pick it up and give it a try. I was given the book as a Christmas present for those very reasons, and they were on par with how fantastic this book really was.

The topic is a boy meets girl type of story but this happens in 1942 when the Japanese Internment happened in Seattle. You get to read about the story from the side of the boy, who is Chinese, and falls in love with a girl who is Japanese American (born on American soil) but is placed in the internment camps bc of her Japanese background. It's forbidden love in a different place and different time. The common ground is the boy and girl learn to like each other and share some of the same likes, such as jazz music. The boy ends up taking a job with the school cook where he travels to the various internment camps to make meals for the people. This is the way he gets to see his girl friend while she is in the internment camp. Then they continue their relationship through letters, but SOMEONE intercepts the letters from getting to the boy. He thinks that his dear friend has moved on with her life and that sadly, he should do the same. This wonderful story plays out perfectly in the end.



View all my reviews

Heat

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I will be completely honest, when the tale of this story was related to Mario Batali or his restaurant, Babbo, I really didn't care for this book. Once Buford went to Italy and Tuscany I really got into the book. Is this book 4 star quality, no. Since I can't give 3.5 or 3.75 then 4 is the closest because it isn't wholely a 3 star book either. When Buford goes to Italy to learn how to make pasta the traditional way the story begins the adventure and as he repeatedly goes back to Italy/Tuscany it furthers that food is an essential part of family. By that i mean, the people take their food prep skills very seriously and nothing short of perfect is acceptable, almost like the daunting approval seeking relationship between a child and parent. The people that teach Buford skills that he will remember for a life time become his family and friends. Simple gestures like leaving his knife steel is seen as an act of pride and true friendship. The people Buford met on his journey are people that he probably still keeps in contact with and sees on a semi-regular basis. When he wrote about them, I got the impression, these people truly touched his life and left their mark forever on his history. It was almost as if i went with Buford on his journeys and was standing beside him being the same keen student he was, sucking in the knowledge these incredible people had to offer or at least allowed him to have the privilege of seeing.

The reason i didn't like the Mario Batali parts: i found him to be a pompus character (even when watching him on tv, which is very impersonal, i find him to be unbareable, so this indepth time with him was a bit much.), the restaurant lifestyle is so fast paced and it's almost like there is a revolving door on the industry (if you can't hack it move on to the next place that will try you and chalk up your abilities. Those were the main two reasons. I found it sad that Buford held Batali in such high regard but in the same sentence some of the things Batali does......he is a flavour genius.



View all my reviews

Life Support

Life Support by Tess Gerritsen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book did not near meet what I was hoping for. I was expecting a medical thriller like Gerritsen's other book Harvest. This book really fell short which is a shame bc Gerritsen is a great medical writer. I read to page 360 and could not finish the book because i found it to be such a bunch of malarky. (the book finishes on page 369, and i highly doubt that i missed very much)



View all my reviews

The Buddha and the Borderline

The Buddha & the Borderline: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder Through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, and Online Dating by Kiera Van Gelder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really great book. It took me forever to read though because I found it scary in that it felt like the story was actually about my life. I suffer from BPD and since i was diagnosed many years ago it has been a very strange roller coaster ride. There have been addictions left, right and centre just to avoid having to deal with my emotions. Mood instability makes it hard for myself and the others around me, and relationships are few and far between. Trying to comprehend what the actual meaning of being diagnosed with BPD was very tricky to begin with. Job instability due to moods and emotions. Going throught the phases of being fine and then all of a sudden you just want to take permanent residence in your bed because it's warm and safe, a sort of shelter that you can always count on. The one thing that I felt Gelder got completely right was that once you are diagnosed with BPD many people, be it pyschiatrists, therapists, counsellors, etc, consider you a lost cause. I have felt that way many times with my own psychiatrist and it is the worst feeling in the world. Any chance of hope you might have get diminished bc no one believes that you have any chance of getting better. I currently work with a therapist that helps me practice and understand the DBT rules and such. She has written a book herself on DBT therapy, which is also a workbook for therapeutic reasons. Out of all the therapies that i have been, I find that DBT is the most challenging as it expects you to practice some of the hardest skills (at least for borderline people), ie. radical acceptance, non-judgemental stance, mindfulness, noticing when you are in emotion/reason/wise mind. Without the help of my current therapist i don't think that i would be doing as well as i am today. I have held a job for over 1 year, which is the longest yet. I am 1 yr and 1 mth drug free. I am going to school for a career that i truly believe i want to be doing. My self confidence has risen incredibly and i can stand up for myself (instead of just being a wet noodle like i used to be). DBT and my therapist have truly helped me and for once i am starting to think there is more to life then just being sad/angry/numb. Even though this book was hard to read because i could relate to it so much it definitely shed light that there is more to life. If you suffer with BPD, the journey is long and hard but at some point you will realize that it will start to get easier and it will be a huge burden taken from your shoulders.



SIDEBAR - THIS BOOK IS RIDDLED WITH GRAMMATICAL/SPELLING ERRORS, WHICH DROVE ME A LITTLE CRAZY, but if i use my non-judgemental stance and radical acceptance : it did not take away from the message the book was meant to send.

Tribute To Abby

So i just turned 28 on November 4, 2011. Probably one of the worst birthdays ever. I had to put my dear cat, Abby, down. She may have had a brain tumour and at the end it was so bad that she was in a coma and incontinent. She may have had little or no eye sight and she had lost all recognition. She would gaze in a trance most of the time. Me and my other cat, Zoe, are very lonely. We are relying on each other to get through this time of grieving. I have had strong urges to use/drink but i have been good and not had a single drop/toke. I am kind of in a trance myself. I don't really feel like myself and any emotion whether good or bad just registers as nothing. I don't really care about myself which is not good and can sometimes put me in compromised situations. The worst part of it all was slowly watching my AbbyCat fade into a nothing-type state. She didn't want to eat and could hardly move. I can only imagine what the world looked like to her near the end, if she even noticed it all. My therapist said to do anything i need to avoid self medicating with inappropriate substances. I have just chosen to stay away from them altogether but damn! It would definitely help. What i would give to feel numb again, especially right now. I don't feel happy and today i should be happier then a pig in shit. I went for my last appointment at the fracture clinic and got to be completely cast-less. It's been 3 months since i've been able to be totally independent, from showering to driving. The driving i missed the most. You never really realize how hard it is to be a passenger. But getting back to my point, bc i feel so depressed i can hardly smile or be joyous. I have turned inward and don't really want to talk to people. Sometimes communicating with family is difficult but it's not their fault so i make the extra effort. Before i had to put Abby down i was edgy, always wondering if i was going to find her dead. It was one of the harder things i have ever had to experience.

I want to remember the good things about Abby:
-we saved her life when she showed up at the farm, so anaemic she was barely existing
-she loved living at the farm
-she really enjoyed laying out on the pavement when it was warm and sunny
-in the winter, i remember her being curled up under the heat lamps nice and toasty
-sometimes i would put my gloves underneath her body so they would get extra warm under the heat lamp
-she loved to eat, food was her passion in life
-when she moved the apartment with me she made a perch on top of the couch
-she would sit on her perch staring out the patio door for hours
-in the summer she would lay out on the patio and just be a beach bum minus the beach
-she loved playing with her toy ferrets
-eventually, she would play with anything that would rattle when she batted it around
-the kitty condo was her sanctuary and i'm sure if she could have gone in the hammock she would have
-she had the most loving gaze, it was something that would truly melt your heart
-when i came home from work or something, she would greet me with a friendly meow
-even though her and Zoe had tiffs, they were the best of friends
-they would bake in the sun together on the warm days of summer
-Abby was a really chill cat, she loved lounging around the house
-afternoon naps were something she lived by
-she loved Nana, and when Nana visited she would be with her non-stop
-Nana always babied her and she loved it
-when she purred she sort of murmured like a pigeon
Dear Abby,
Zoe and I miss you every day. It's really lonely without you but we are glad that you aren't suffering anymore. We hope to meet you at rainbow bridge.