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Art from books
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Link of the day
- Hits: 1637
A new way of looking at common things - art created from books. A few links to get you started:
http://weburbanist.com/2011/06/27/art-that-speaks-volumes-12-more-book-artists/
http://maskulllasserre.com/section/193004 - Click on the Archive link. Site has horrible navigation, some art from books...
http://www.bookpatrol.net/2011/07/bansky-of-book-art-world.html - about an artist who shopdrops interesting works at libraries throughout Scotland.
Common Sense
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 1898
While we're in the midst of looking for people to fill out our rather thin looking rota the owner has brought in a friend to help out.
He's never served before, or worked in a restaurant, he's an electrical engineer, but he's about my age, good looking, and he seems to have gotten the hang of it remarkably quickly for someone with no experience.
We're explaining what to do and giving him small details regarding service and seating people and he makes the point:
"You'd seat 2 people at a table for two, common sense"...
I glance meaningfully at the hostess. She's never figured this out, she seats people, on nights we're fully booked, without confirming their reservation and wherever she first happens to trip in the dining room, the size of the table is of no consequence. She understands and looks sheepishly at the floor.
Common sense, yes, but how rare it is...
Help Wanted
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 1720
Now we've been looking for some more staff. Front of house and kitchen. The owner's put an ad up on Kijiji and on Craigslist.
And every day the applicants call and come down.
They're hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.
Men and women, all of distinct minorities, accompanied by their brothers/sisters/best friends/co-workers/husband/wife.
People who refuse to speak for themselves and do it instead through a translator or have their friends explain their intent.
This must be a new thing, I've never seen it before, people showing up with their friends to apply for work.
They show up in their work clothes - McDonald's, Wendy's or Tim Horton's uniforms, they want to be a cook. The uniform should be all the proof we need that they have a job, or had one, or know what a work uniform looks like when they get it donated by the Salvation Army.
They want to know when they can come in, I give them a couple of time slots when the owner will be around to interview them. They call back and want to know the bus that runs nearest to the restaurant. Or they call back and tell me that "if they still need the job they might drop round tomorrow....".
Good people can't be that hard to find. But, really, someone with 2 arms and 2 legs walking through that door under their own power is starting to look pretty good.
They come down, hours away from the times I've quoted them on the phone, the middle of the afternoon when no one is there to interview them, in the middle of the dinner or lunch rush, waiting at the front door for the owner to drop all the orders and come out to interview them, the time I suggested, it just wasn't convenient for them. I just pitch the resume into the garbage.
And the phone keeps ringing and the ad stays up. Help Wanted.
An unexpected day off
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 1768
This is a rarity. Upon going into work today I'm told to take the day off by the owner, we have 2 new staff members on tryout and there's nothing in the book.
And for the first time in several months I have an extra - unexpected day off.
Too often it's an unexpected day of work, so often, in fact, that it's not even slightly unexpected, plans are not made for days off as too often they disappear.
The other 2 waiters are bitter, the Nephew and G, but it's "too bad so sad" and I merrily make myself an espresso while I wonder how to use this windfall day....
The new waiter, he spots a decanter with a red trace of the weekends excesses on the bottom. He's about 60, he's done it before, somehow I'm not too hopeful, but...
...he spots the decanter and he says - "Shall I clean this?".
Now, 50% of the people we hire would never spot that the decanter was dirty. OF the 50% remaining that spotted the dirty decanter, 25% would pretend to see nothing and so absolve themselves of the responsibility of cleaning it, of the remaining 25% maybe 90% would ask if it needed cleaning, 10% would just take it upon themselves to clean it.
I answer: "No, we prefer to keep it dirty".
He gives me a little look and says "You're being facetious...."
I like that he figured it out. And he could say facetious, we don't get too many waiters with any sort of vocabulary skills. Maybe we'll get along after all.
***
The day, it passes in a thousand little chores I otherwise wouldn't have found time to do. I get the new tires re-torqued, deposit a months worth of cheques in the bank (OUCH! I thought I had more than that....), I go to the thrift shop, take in some new watch finds to be repaired, eat a healthy breakfast, nap, meet an old friend for coffee (4 months since I last found time to meet him), eat dinner, nap again, and now it's time to sit up and return some emails, do some writing. A near perfect day off.
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