Sunday, February 27, 2011

"Dreams have no expiration date".

Up early for work. At least Millie was there before me! I set up pantry as usual, Millie did hot line (sounds like a routine here, aye?). Carl came in at 8am.

I noticed this morning how full the fryer looks. Janee told me that she and Ryan were talking Friday even while they were working hot line together. All of a sudden they heard sizzling from the deep fryer but each of them knew neither one had anything cooking. Janee said they turned around and there was a rat, that had been crawling along the hood, then lost his balance and fell into the fryer. NOT a pretty sight! They had to close down the fry station, dispose of the dead body, drain the fryer, clean and scrub it down, then refill it with fresh, new oil and reheat it. More of the weird and bazaar at Bolongo!

I started making the lunch salad, while Millie worked hot line and Carl took over pantry and started prepping for the employee lunch. Carl was worked up about something, this morning but didn't want to talk in front of me. Sounds like it was an issue with his hours, but who knows. Breakfast got busier, so I worked the hot line with Millie. Lots of omelets today, French toast, pancakes, egg sandwiches, a few Eggs Benedict (I made the Hollandaise yesterday and today), corned beef hash (still a yuck for me) and eggs, eggs, and more eggs! There was talk about the new guy quitting on his first day. People kept coming up to me, acting like they were surprised I was leaving! Yes, this is my last work day I would say. Everyone talked about what a nice person I am, etc, etc. I find that amazing! What? There are no nice people on St Thomas? Carl even gave me a hug! Told me I was a really nice person and it was a pleasure to meet me. What is the world
coming to?!

I was thinking of baking cookies (I know, I said the Chocolate Chip Cookies would be my last), but there was very little flour and not enough brown sugar, so that didn't happen. Lunch was slow with orders trickling in, although breakfast seemed to go on until almost 11! So at 2:15pm, I packed up pantry, gave Millie a hug, gave Jesse a hug, and left. Showered (it gets SO hot in the kitchen and I still can't stand the way you smell after all day working in the kitchen!) and went looking for Janee. She was going to let me borrow her car so I could drop my laundry off. Couldn't find her and her car was not in the parking lot. So I went looking for a cap for someone Michael works for. Apparently he had asked Michael to being him back a baseball cap from St Thomas but Michael forgot. So I got one in the gift shop, as well as a small charm with the shape of St Thomas cut out of the middle of it. A nice memento of my time here! I was talking to Laura, telling her Janee was not here and I had hoped to take my laundry and drop it off. Laura told me I could borrow her car!! (As long as I didn't wreck it, lol). So off I went in her little PT cruiser, dropped off my laundry and came right back. That was very nice of her! Laura and Linda and I are going out to Havana Blue for dinner tomorrow night, my last night here. Should be fun! Laura is such a nice person!

I sat at the bar for a bit, reading. Eating Goldfish and talking to Harry. It's been cloudy all day today and a little cool, so sitting at the bar
means I'm still outside but protected in case it rains. When it started getting crowded, I left and came back to my room. Lots of noisy party
people have been here the last couple of weeks. Of course, in all fairness to them, they ARE on vacation. So better to just step away from
the tourists, lol.

I'm excited about getting back to friends and family. Like I said the other day, I will miss the view and the weather. I have met some nice people, but it's time to go. (I keep hearing sirens go by Bolongo, wonder what's going on?). I am undecided about what to do for dinner, I'm tired of the same old menus, lol. Hmmmm......

I ended up walking down to Iggie's and found out the reason for all the sirens. I guess I never told you that Bolongo is right next store to a landfill. How exciting is that? You actually wouldn't know about it otherwise. Once I got to Iggie's you could see part of the hill west of Bolongo on fire! No other details, but it's an impressive fire. I got a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich to go. I guess I am ready to go home. The tourists never really bothered me, but now they all do. I feel like I've been saying goodbye for weeks now. More good-byes at Iggie's tonight: Gabriel, Erin, John, Janell, Sharon, and David. All nice people.

One day of freedom tomorrow! No work. I need to pick up my laundry so I can return my uniforms to HR. I need to pack, decide what to wear in my skimpy wardrobe to wear that will keep me warm enough to get to Betty's house. No jacket, no gloves, no hats, no boots, just a couple of light cardigan sweaters, sneakers, one pair of long jeans and the Bolongo sweatshirt I bought around the Christmas holiday when we had the cool "Christmas winds". We'll see how I fair, lol. I should be ok, I can buy or borrow something! I'm excited!!!