Chugging Along

The summer is slowly coming to an end here in England. It is rainer and colder than it was when I got here and winter is just around the corner. This weekend is something called the Bank Holiday Weekend. Basically everyone is off for one last weekend of the summer and the bars and restaurants are all packed. But after that things should quiet down a bit. It will be interesting to work in a pub where it is not crazy busy most of the time. I think that it will be a nice change. Hopefully I will be doing a few less hours (though not too many less as I still need money).

I finally have some pictures to put up. There is one of my house and of my room. I finally got a real bed last week, which is nice. Before that I was sleeping on a thin matress that was little better than sleeping on the ground. I guess that means that I am really settling in.

I also found a Stanley Street in Weymouth! And it intersects with Cresent St. The Montreal connections around here are just scary. Actually I was in a book store the other day and I looked at a travel book about Canada. There was a picture of Montreal taken from the observation deck and you could see our apartment building! It made me miss Montreal, but only a little :)

It has been great having Dzido on the bar with me these last few shifts. With our good Aussie friend Nicole on the bar with us, we have a lot of fun.

Next blog post should have some good pictures from Bath and Oxford!

Promotion?

At last, another day off! But in the meantime it seems that I have been promoted. Given the great organization of this place, I was not told directly. Since I started I began taking on more responsibility than some people around here. I am not the only one, but I guess I stepped up when I had to. Well I had one fellow employee who was being a real pain in the ass. He would make a big stink everytime I asked him to do something and then would call me bossy. Once the manager saw this she pulled him aside and said that I was going to be an assistant manager and as a result this guy had to listen to me. I didn't hear about this conversation for a little while.

Then last night I was helping count the tills and one of the chefs comes in to ask when we could leave (we have one car to take us into town and I was the last one working) after blowing up at the chef she said something along the lines of needing to train me since she is losing an assistant manager soon. So I guess this means I got promoted. Although I am still waiting to see if this will mean more money. I am also not sure I really want the added responsibility. I don't have a future with the company and I wonder if I want the headache of more work for only a little more money. But I guess we'll see how it goes.

Further proof that the world is ever so small: I was working a few days ago and a guy comes up to order drinks. He says that he recognizes me and askes if I recognize him. I really didn't and I said so. He reminded me that when I first got the train down to Weymouth I sat next to him. I remembered the guy when he said that, but I couldnn't have identified him if my life depended on it! I was listening to my I-pod the whole ride and we didn't say more than a few words to each other before he got off about an hour before I did. But he bought me a drink and we laughed about what a small world it can be sometimes. Then again, maybe just England is small :)

On the plus side, Dzido got to work on the bar with me the last two nights. Team Canada on bar! gotta love it.

I have some good pictures to post, but my camera and this computer don't get along. I will try again tomorrow since I have the morning off!

Address

Forgot to add this yesterday. You can now send me real mail! Here is my new address:

Paul Todd
3 Melcombe Court
2 Melcombe Ave.
Weymouth, Dorset, England
DT4 7TH

The not so subtle message: SEND ME MAIL!

Selling my soul after all

Yippeee! Another day off! Ok, so 2 days off in 3 weeks is not exactly amazing, there isn't that much to do here, so I might as well work a lot of hours and make some money.

I am still on bar and it doesn't look like I am going anywhere soon, which is fine with me. Although I dont get too many tips, at least once per night someone offers to buy me a drink for after work. On Saturday I set a personal best when I got 4 drinks bought for me! Usually all I have to do is remember their drink and exactly how to make it and they end up liking me. I think that the accent probably helps too. It is really busy at the pub these days. To give you some idea, between food and drinks we did over 400 pounds during one 15-minute period on Sunday. Some people stress when it gets that busy, but I feed off the energy and that is when I am usually having the most fun.

I have made two important decisions since I last posted. The first is that I want to learn how to ride a horse. A friend of mine at work (Lucy) has a horse at a stable near by and has offered to give me free lessons. The other day I had my first one. It went pretty well. I didn't fall off or anything! I really enjoyed it, though my leg muscles were killing me for a couple of days afterwards. I just think that it would be really cool to be able to ride a horse and it gives me something to do other than work. So hopefully within a few weeks I will be able to ride a horse with confidence. I will get some pictures for the next post.

The other decision I have made is that I am going to be going to law school next year. I was unsure about when these travels would end, but the fact is that after 3 months of being out of school, I am dying to go back and I think that law school will be a great challenge. So I will be doing my online applications over the next few months and hopefully starting law school in about a years time. Kind of scary, but also very exciting. In the words or Jimbo: 'I don't believe in nothing no more. I'm going to law school!'

Also, my dear sister has decided to be the first to come and visit me! I am very excited to see someone from home. Thanks sis!

Bartending it up!

Still working long pub hours these days, but at least I get mornings off this week to recover from the late nights. I think that I can divide work into 2 sections: the bartending and the rest. The bartending I really like. I enjoying talking to people and they seem to enjoy themselves a lot whenever I serve them. Last night I accidently called one group of people my favourite group. Another set of people I was helping overheard and pretended to be offended. Nice to have people fighting for your affection. The other day I had two older guys discussing the Battle of Trafalger (British Navel battle in 1805 where Lord Nelson was killed) and it really made me feel that I was working in a British pub.

Then there is the rest. I do have to deal with some monkey-esq employees who get me angry on a regular basis. Most are very nice, but one or two are just useless. People who slack off and make other people pick up their mess is something that I just cannot deal with. Especially when I am tired. Anyways, that is all for the job just now. I have not had the chance to explore much, but I have thursday off and will try and do something fun.

Also: this is a call to all who want to come and visit me! Yes, I know its expensive (but not that bad if you use zoom air) and far away, but you will have a place to stay and I will take some time off and we can go and have some fun. So come and visit! Also, my new phone number is: 07951917880 plus the international dialing codes that I dont know. So call me as well.