Waiting around

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

More Topeka's

Well it's been awhile since I posted, and that's because... ok, no real good reason.

The readership at Topeka's continues to expand, so to those of you reading this from the printouts in the office, I say hi.

For those of you not working at Topeka's and not living in Richmond, you probably haven't heard of the Department of Health violations that were announced at the opportune time of the 11 o'clock news Thanksgiving night. Way to go media, slam a place right as it enters the holiday season. After some massive cleaning Sunday night, which included powerwashing essentially the entire restaurant, the Department of Health revisited Monday morning, this time with 0 violations. Again, a great "thank you" goes to the media for not covering this aspect of the saga.

Business has been understandably slow since the report, and because of that, I have gotten more and more crap for not including more of my coworkers on this blog. Basically if you aren't included, maybe that's actually a good thing, considering you would be among people like Carter, who I think we all find a bit, how do you say it... Yeah, I can't even find a good word. Or you would be with Jennifer, which might not actually be a bad thing.

I will digress about another one of my coworkers right now though, and that would be Jorge. This character comes in, mostly on Saturdays, and just says he's working. That's cool and all, especially considering some nights when we have 7 or 8 servers, but not on Saturday where 17 servers are on the schedule for the night. Granted, 1 or 2 will generally call in sick, but what happens is that Jorge will jump all over your tables. There was one time I had a 3 table section, and his girlfriend and someone came in, and Jorge sits them at one of my tables, thus leaving me with 2, offering nothing in return. There was one time where Matt had a 3 table section, and Jorge had a party taking 2 of Matt's 3, and then Jorge continued to take parties, not giving any to Matt. All Jorge does is complain about not having enough tables, not making enough money, and then when it comes time to check out, he is the first person out the door, saying he's done all his work, when I am about 95% sure he hasn't. And on the way, he says stuff about "only" making $180 that day -- some of which should be other peoples since the bastard took tables. Working with him aggravates me so much sometimes as he is only concerned about himself, not giving 2 craps about anyone else he works with. He is the epitome of "There is no I in team, but there is a ME".

I could say some stories about everyone else there... for instance how Luke wanted to punch me in the face just so he could be put in the blog. However, today is my birthday, and I need to go get ready for what my roommates have in store. I can't believe I am 24. At least I am still on the uphill side to 50.

peace
-wait

Friday, November 18, 2005

Topeka's Welcome and Update

I would first like to extend a warm welcome to my Topeka's coworkers who have seemed to find my little space on the internet. In light of that, I would like to clarify one thing I realized shortly after I posted it, and that concerns the girl Jennifer (who now reads this blog). She is not dating Katie from Topeka's as previously stated, and she is also straight. I was a bit too accepting of facts when I entered Topeka's, and with all that was going on, I wasn't about to question anyone's sexuality. That being said, I believe everything else to be true, so I do not need to add any additional clarifications. So welcome to my Topeka's readers.

I haven't updated in awhile - since I met with the dean from GW. I ended up emailing her on Thursday of last week, thanking her for her time spent talking with me, and she responded saying that the pleasure was hers, and that it was really great meeting me. I also began shadowing a PA (Physician's Assistant) at Crossover Clinic last week, so last week everything seemed to be going my way. I really did not understand this, because for that much stuff to go my way means the stars must be aligned in some sort of paranormal pattern, and I did not hear of any strange findings in the skies lately, meaning something must be really weird.

I was brought back to earth for a little while when I recieved a letter from Case Western University saying that I was rejected. Ian reminded me that Cleveland is not a great place, so really, this was good news, meaning that I was not going to be in Cleveland next year. That happened on Thursday night, and after I found out about that, Ian and I took a drive. We just kept driving - 2 hours in all - just chilling and talking. It was really good - we both sorted out some stuff, and although we got back at like 3 AM, it was a nice reprive from everything.

I headed to DC on Saturday morning after grabbing breakfast in Richmond, and spent the afternoon with Leon, Gill, and James in Cleveland Park then Georgetown. We eventually headed to Rhino's, and my sister and her friend showed up. After awhile Erin showed up, and we headed over to J Paul's after a few hours and saw Mike Grippaldi. It was a lot of fun hanging out in DC, although I didn't get to see as many people as I would have liked.

Crossover is going well. I am being given more and more control... In other words I essentially ran the front office Monday morning, which is weird because I am volunteer that doesn't speak Spanish, yet over 50% of our patients speak Spanish. It was real weird. The charge nurse at one point asked if I needed anything, and I just said a beer. She laughed really hard at me, and told everyone there, and when I went back in on Wednesday (I go to a different clinic on Tuesday's) the nurse told me that she told lots of people that. They all probably think I am an alcoholic.

Tonight I went down to Chesterfield County Courthouse and was a juror in a mock-trial for Mike. It was a very involved case of arson with talks of like 1.667 million dollars. Luckily it was arson, so our decision as a jury really had no bearing on the actual money. I realized that was the first time I was actually in a courthouse, and then the realization that it probably won't be my last considering the profession I am entering knowing that one day I will be sued for medical malpractice. Here the question isn't "If" so much as it will be "When" because although I know I will be a perfect doctor, someone will not think so. I digress.

I think that is about all I have to say right now. I have only had 2 dreams of being accepted to GW since that meeting last week, which I guess is a good thing, especially considering my interview isn't for another 3 weeks (3 weeks from today [Thursday] actually).

Still waiting -

-wait

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Pre-interview interview for G-dub

Ok, so I said look for a post about Topeka's and David Carter on Tuesday or Wednesday. Well there's not much new there. Things are okay between us, very professional.

Buuuuuuuuut the main reason I am posting is because of medical school information. As you know (if you are keeping up with the blog) I have kepy in contact with the Dean of Admissions at GWSOM (George Washington School of Medicine). I found out (she told me) that she was giving a recruitment presentation at VCU for the undergrads on Tuesday, Nov 8th. So that morning I headed off to CrossOver in one of my new shirts that I bought from Polo when Ian and I went the other week... looking for schnazzy, if I do say so myself. I then headed off to VCU, and proceeded to park in a 30 minute spot because parking in Richmond absolutely sucks.

The dean gave her presentation and during she went around the room asking everyone's name. When I said my name, she gave me a little wave acknowledging her recognition of me. Later in the presentation, she asked if anyone was applying and again since this was a meeting for undergrads, I was the only one to raise my hand, when the dean then winked at me, which was cool because of the understanding that was there.

So there is more in our interactions besides a wave and a wink. When the presentation was over, I went up to her thanking her for presenting, and she said "Alright, so do you want to go downstairs and talk for a bit?" Ummmmmm, let me think about that. So there were the usual neurotic premeds asking insane questions, and one of them was asking questions about volunteer experiences and how she was worried about not having enough, and how when she volunteered she was changing sheets. The dean said you need to start somewhere and eventually move up. I chimed in here saying I started at CrossOver doing filing, and I have moved up in the ranks, where I am starting to follow a PA around (which is sweet because I put that together that morning). The dean said something like yeah - this is exactly what you need to do. (point for Wait!). I then proceeded to write down all my contact information and the information about the places I volunteer to give to this girl. (Point number 2 for Wait!).

So after this neurotic girl leaves (I say neurotic, but she really is a typical premed, but for those of you not involved in this, you would think she's very neurotic), the dean and I go downstairs in the VCU commons and sit and talk for 40 minutes (give or take). Just me and her. She started off the conversation saying "Well this is your time, go ahead" I wanted to be like "huuuuuuuuuuh?" (a la Steve Saul... a 2nd reference for you bud!), but I proceeded to talk about CrossOver, the hospice, and even about Topeka's and the sexual harrassment stuff going on (only touching on that, really). I asked some questions of her too, just like how she got to be dean, and about the application process, about SDN (Student Doctor Network - a message board for neurotic premeds and medical students), and other various and sundry things. She said they have over 11,000 applications this year, and they go through every single application, the AMCAS, secondary and letters of recomendation -- so for those of you out there applying, know that they are a bit slow because they look at every application very closely. So just be patient.

Her husband showed up after like 30 minutes and I met him. I stood up when he showed up, and didn't sit until he told me too. Mommy taught me well!! So at the end, she said something like well since you have my personal email, just email me if you have any questions or anything else to update. Also, email about the week before you're interview so i remember and can be sure to be there that day. That is super sweet too because it means I definetely didn't rub her the wrong way and she wants to be there the day I see visit!! I was so excited leaving there, realizing that I just spent 40 minutes with the Dean of Admissions at GW. And what made my day even better - after parking in that 30-minute spot for 2 hours, I didn't have a ticket!

So this went so well that I had a dream last night that she emailed me today saying that the interview was a mute point, and that she has preliminarily accepted me for the class of 2010. I woke up all happy, and then I got sad realizing it wasn't true. Oh well.

still (anxiously) waiting,
-wait

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Straightened Out

Sorry for the pun, but I thought it was funny and aprapos.

The anticipation for this post has been overwhelming as within 12 hours of my putting it in my profile, no less than 3 of you have requested more information as the excitement brews.

To begin, if you have not read the previous posts about David Carter, please do so now. It will only make this post that much better.

David Carter came back to work this week after his two weeks in New Orleans. On his first night back, he had pictures of the destruction, and it still amazes me. Seeing these pictures, along with Christine's, really sheds light on the magnitude of devastation seen in the aftermath of Katrina. According to my parents, Wilma was no slouch either, despite the non-coverage in the media. Power was just restored to my parents house on Thursday afternoon - taking 2 weeks to recover. The cell phone towers are down as well, so I really have no way to contact my parents unless they call me.

Alright, alright, back to what you came here for. I had a civil conversation with Carter on Thursday night, and he told me how hard it was, and how after the 3rd day, he really was questioning whether or not he could make it... yadda yadda. So then I show up to work yesterday (Saturday) and he is working there. He is starting to be more friendly to me, which is ok I guess, but still weirds me out. Then the line is crossed. I would be standing up at the computer entering in people's orders and he would walk by (on purpose?) and kind of touch me on my side or my back. Side note, the girls at work do the same thing, but I feel this is somewhat different (and by somewhat I mean a lot). First off it is a gay man, second off with our "history" it just makes it that much weirder.

I then decide to tell Michael (my manager), and he asks me if I want him to say anything to Carter. I say yes because it is just getting weird. So then like an hour later Michael calls me into the office and I see the other manger (Debbie) and the GM (Dave... not the same guy). They ask me to close the door (which is HUGE) to ask me a few questions, and try to decide what path to take. They asked if I would feel comfortable talking to David myself to see if I can get things to calm down. I told them I thought that I had made it pretty clear, both through words and actions, and I proceeded to tell them the entire story of the fateful night. Since none of them had actually heard the whole story, they were a bit surprised on some of the details (which I have purposely left out in my blog - again sorry, I can't disclose everything). My GM then says that he will take care of it as it is quite obvious I have made the effort. I then leave the office, and Michael calls for another waitress to watch over Carter's tables for a few minutes, then asked Carter to come into the office.

While Carter was doing a couple things, I went back to the office to the group of three and closed to door. I informed them of my intentions to be leaving soon as I am not making as much money as I had hoped. My managers are really nice so it was a little hard for me to say this, but I went ahead with it, and continued on to explain that I wanted to tell them before they talked to Carter so that if they didn't want to pursue this, that I was leaving and I would be able to put up with it for 2 weeks. My manager then explains to me that it really doesnt matter if I am staying or not, because it needs to be addressed because it could happen again, if it hasn't happened before. The GM then told me that I shouldn't look at it as a closure to my Topeka's experience and I should leave my foot in the door, and maybe pick up a few shifts here and there. He said that he thinks I am good guy, and wouldn't want to lose me (but I think it's because they don't want to lose anyone since the turnover is so high there -- there are lots of people getting ready to quit).

After this conversation - where I essentially told them I am done - Carter was eventually called in and they had a 10 minute conversation. 10 minutes is an eternity in restaurant time - think if you are at a restaurant and you don't your waiter for 10 minutes. Thats awhile. For the rest of the afternoon, Carter didn't even look at me. He would walk by and look the other direction. If I was talking to someone, he wouldn't even respond to the person I was talking to. Meanwhile, everyone else was wondering why I got pulled in the office - cause usually that means you got in trouble. So I had to go through the story like 20 more times yesterday. Which is fun and all, but gets old, especially considering how long this story is.

So the long and short of it: I got David Carter in trouble, and I told them I am quitting. Vis-a-vis - everything is straightened out.

I must say that everytime I mention "Carter" I think of Carter from last year at Georgetown. So I apologize to all the Physios out there who are probably thinking the same thing.

As for the medical school front, I was rejected from Boston University on Friday. It come through email, and that really sucked. The email came at about 4 oclock, and I decided that there was no time like the present to start my night and I cracked a beer. That began quite a long night (I was up til 3) to kick off Homecoming, where I went to the cellar and then downtown to Richbrau and saw so many people with the most surprising being Chris Zuk. He moved to London this summer and I didn't think I was going to see him for 3 years, but he was there.

I think that's about it. I hope you have enjoyed the seemingly neverending drama that is Topeka's. Look for a post on Tuesday/Wednesday when I go back to work with Carter probably working as well. It will be fun!