First time waitress at 25

Despite the fact that in an average week, I spend way more time at work than I do in class, I haven't talked much about my job here. I really should have, though, because, HELLO STORIES. Anyway, so I'm going to start writing some posts about catering, AKA what I've been doing to keep busy and, more importantly, to keep myself in school since I decided not to take out any additional loans this year.

I originally wanted to find a bartending job when I came back to Boston this school year, but I soon realized that with 100% late afternoon/night classes, that wasn't at all feasible. I somehow found my way into the world of catering and applied to be a bartender. I was accepted, and they asked me if I wanted to do waitstaff as well since there were far more waitstaff shifts than bartending shifts. I said I had zero experience as a waitress, but they offered to train me.

And here I am. As predicted, I wait far more often than I bartend. This involves everything from fancy-pants plated dinners to being one of those people that walks around passing hors d'oeuvres at cocktail parties to running back and forth replacing food trays as they run out on a buffet table.

Considering that I've always had office jobs (except babysitting and camp counseloring and tutoring and working at my temple and OKAY that sounds like a lot of non-office jobs but it's not), this is a crazy, crazy world that I've been exposed to.

To wrap up this first catering post, here is a list of useful life things I have learned on the job:

1) How to set a table. This is something I only half knew before (as in, fork on the left, knife on the right). Now I know EXACTLY where everything goes including dinner silverware, salad silverware, dessert silverware, water glass, wine glass, bread and butter plate, coffee cup and saucer. I will set the shit out of any table. My mom utilizes me for this purpose when I come home. You can bet I will be setting the table for the Passover seders.

2) How to open bottles of wine without one of those corkscrews with arms. This is also something a lot of people know how to do without being a waiter. I was not one of those people. The number of waiter's corkscrews (also called wine keys) that I've broken in my pre-catering life is absolutely obscene. Now I am supremely good at it. This is also apparently something bars will sometimes ask you to do if applying for a bartending job. If you can't use a corkscrew you are essentially saying "HELLO, I HAVE NO BARTENDING EXPERIENCE, PLEASE DO NOT HIRE ME."

3) General food knowledge. Still working on this one because I'm pretty much the anti-foodie, but in paying attention when chefs tell you what's what, you pick up on some things. I don't know a ton, but I know way more than I did 6 months ago.

There are a lot more things that I've learned from catering, though not necessarily general life lessons. Stay tuned for more catering craziness.