I hate not having internet. I'm so sorry for all my friends whose blogs I'm neglecting to see very often. There were rumors abounding that the Alisal was connecting to DSL, and they are, but they aren't making the service available to the employee housing -- even though we offered to pay for it. Our cable is tapped into the main line and therefore free. So, I'm bummed. But I have more time to go to the library, so hurray!

Reading "Shabby Chic" by Rachel Ashworth...I think that's her name. I'm in the direct center of another decorating urge. I recovered a wingback chair and an ottoman last night with three white sheets and two ruffled white curtains. It looks very chic. I'm quite happy with it...but I think I need to get another wingback chair. The two straightbacked ones that form my "living room" look dwarfed next to my huge dresser. Besides, this month we're saying in Country Decorating that using oversized furniture makes a room look bigger, not smaller. I also have too many focal points in that corner. Must consolidate. Back to the recovering!

The Lompoc Library is so huge! Compared to the Solvang one, that is. I've now picked up three decorating books, one French Textbook, two Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries, and one copy of "L'Arbre au Grand Coeur" by Shel Siverstein.

On another plus side, you may sign up for an hour on the internet by phone. How cool is that?

French

My new hobby: Learning French. I took a years worth with a great teacher my freshman year. I wanted to continue with him, but my choir director wouldn't think of letting me out of his class for a semester. I, being dumb and a freshman, believed he actually had power over my scholarship. He didn't, and there were several choirs I could have switched into. So, here I am at 23 (which is a much harder age to learn a language...or so they say) trying to fit 333 verbs into my head. I need to go buy flashcards...

Work

"Is there a bartender running this bar?

"I am."

"I bet you are. After you honey."

"Can I do something for you?"

He looks me up and down. "I don't think you want me to answer that honestly. Dewars on the Rocks."

I shoot him a glance of thinly veiled disgust. His twelve year old daughter was in a minute ago buying a smoothie.

"Anything else?"

He took the hint.

Sorry about the long waits between blogs. We have a cocktail waitress out sick now, on top of the bartender who is out for another four weeks. I've been picking up a lot of last minute shifts. I'll do the best I can to update often! See you guys around! Keep commenting so I know you're out there!

I finally met her

Remember the woman in Screwtape letters? The one who always sent back a meal if the plate had more food than she happened to want to eat? I served her table last night.

"Oh great! I have my choice of tables."

"Actually, Ma'am, all the tables are assigned. This one is yours."

"Oh no! I couldn't sit there. Not in front of the door. I want that one in front of the fireplace."

"I'm sorry ma'am, that table is spoken for." Mike gave her a choice of several other empty tables. She wanted neither. She sauntered over the the baby grand. "Will there be a Pi-ah-no player this evening?" There would not be. "Well, darling. What do you think? Here will be fine. There's carpet."

I have no idea what the floor covering had to do with the preference of the table. But at least she was sitting. For a second.

"Oh dear, no. I need a different chair. This one is all scuffed and chipped. I just couldn't." Another chair was provided. "There, you see how that one was all worn? This is much better."

Then her husband had a turn. "Do you have low-carb beer." No low carb, but a few light beers. "You don't have low carb? What about Coors light Aspen blend? No? Miller light then."

I went to retrieve it. The bartender was pouring, when the man came up behind us. "You, you know something. You don't have low carb beer?" Repeating the entire coversation we'd just had, he was finally satisfied with the now poured Miller Light. "Alright," he said staring at it. "I'll take that one." he turned and walked away sans beer.

Later that evening, "Oh, could you take this napkin from me. It fell on the floor." It couldn't be left on the floor, or set on the table, or set on one of the chairs until they left. It so offended her that it must be hand carried away. She didn't want another.

I have met C.S. Lewis' lady.

I finished the book "Children of God" last night. It was more a book of philosophy or religion than science fiction. I really liked the narrations, and philological parts --most of the major mistakes made by the exploration party came from misunderstanding the meanings of the words, even if they knew the definition. For example, the phrase "serve others" gets misinterpreted to the detriment of one of the Jesuit priests. In the second book, many of the aliens who were somewhat vilified in the first get deeper characterization. Once you get the thought process behind them, some of their heinous decisions become tragic mistakes.

The entire world undergoes revolution. The aristocracy falls. And the ruling carnivores are almost extinct by the time the Jesuits send their second mission. One human thought to be dead turns up again on the planet. She dedicated her life to freeing the herbivores. She and her autistic son transform the planet. The ending is not a perfect "everyone lives happily ever after," but it wraps up enough loose ends to bring some comfort after two very emotionally charged books.

Ahhh! Another hot day in California. I'm hiding out in the library for an hour or so.

Tonight is going to be very crazy. One of our cocktail waitresses went into labor last night. She's due at the end of August. It's really pridefull. She won't let any of us help her. She won't take it easy, or carry less, or let us do the lifting in exchange for doing the sidework. I hate polishing glasses, so I'd be happy to let her take that over in exchange for carrying wine cases. We haven't heard how she's doing, but I'd assume she won't be in to work for the next couple of days. Probably the doctor is going to enforce bedrest. That puts us really understaffed.

In other news, Phil the bartender is going to be out for three or four weeks. That means lots and lots of double shifts and more bartending. That makes me very happy. Especially the double shifts. Just working days cut my pay a lot. But if I can do both, I get night gratuities and overtime. THAT makes me happy.

I cleaned off my little patio two days ago and set out a rug and my folding rocking chair. If only porch didn't have a window into the mens bathroom, it would be a perfect reading nook. As it is, I'm going to have to get a plant to hang to muffle the sounds. Why do guys insist on singing, whistling, and talking to each other? It's rather noisy...and not in a good way.

Last night there wasn't a single good table in my room. Every one of them was "Um, miss? There's no one sitting here. You can just take that setting away."

Oh. Can I? Please? Because I'm not carrying a full tray of drinks or anything. Wait, here. Let me just drop that somewhere and take away the offending napkin.

Sheesh.