A waiter's life

I suppose it's time to tackle the other half of this blog, the TABLE part. Being in the food service industry has it's challenges and in some case it's rewards. I have have spent much of the last two 25 years "at the table". I borrow that phrase from the job description of a butler. I spend a good portion of my day catering to the whims and tastes of people from around the world. I could perhaps go on for hours and hours and days and days about tipping, serving, bartending, etc. And maybe I will from time to time. I really have no idea where this particular section will lead.

How does serving relate to weight loss and vice versa. Are the two related or wholly separate endeavors? A case could be made that one should not impact the other, much like a person who wakes up in the morning and shuffles off to a cubicle in Gotham. In some cases I agree, I wish I could separate the two. But much like the poor office rat who faces the unwelcome candy dish, or heaven forbid a whole cake placed on their desk - I contend with hours and hours of looking at, serving, smelling and in some cases tasting food. My weakness is also my job. It really is no wonder that a good portion of the chefs int he world are overweight. Although surprisingly I have noticed that pastry chefs tend to be smaller that savory chefs. Go figure. 

As if serving wasn't hard enough, there is the inevitable hunger that accompanies the typical 8 hour shift. Unlike the aforementioned office rat (I really don't mean that in a bad way), my day usually starts in the middle of the day. Usually between what would normally be considered lunch and dinner time. I try and wake up and have breakfast (although that may be at 11am), I know I need to eat before I go in to work - many times I'm really not hungry. That normally means that the evening hunger pangs hit right in the middle ofr a shift. Do I have the ability to grab dinner, nope. Can I slip away and scarf something on the sly - usually that's what it takes. The experts tell us we should sit down and enjoy our meals. Yeah right! I'm lucky if I get to sit down at all till I leave. By the time I get home after midnight, I feel like I could eat a horse and I usually do.

Then I go to bed and start the whole mess all over again. Sounds fun, huh?

Well, that's a little backstory, and perhaps a hint of things to come. There will probably be rants about customers, rants about food. Stories of challenges overcome, and goals attained. So much like the character of Don Quixote, I charge off to face my demons. Although my windmills are typically deep fried and dripping in ranch dressing.

Onward we blindly stumble!

Nate