Lesson learned!

Last night I had a long day. I've been working a little bit with a local cafe and doing some of their catering deliveries. They had about a bazillion events yesterday, so I got the opportunity to be on the serving staff at a wedding reception. Not only was it amazing money, I learned some things.
First off, setting up a wedding reception for catering can be stressful. Only in the same stressfulness that setting up any special event on the stage was. You have a bunch of crap and a usually hand-drawn sketch of where things go. They never fit because nobody knows how to measure anything. So you have to make everything up as you go. I like that!
Then the food was running a little behind. Then the bartenders were late. Then I found out that the band playing is Hookers and Blow. They fricking rock. http://hookersandblow.org/
I started in the set-up area. We were putting appetizers on plates and walking around, making people eat them. I think I said "shrimp toast" about a bazillion times. Then the buffet had to be set up. The bartenders did arrive and were getting people nice and relaxed. While we set up the buffet, we are also striking (don't know the right word here) glasses and trash from tables, and still walking around with food for people.
Then they eat. We are still striking glasses and dishes, offering more appetizer things (new ones showed up late) and keeping the buffet stocked. We are also trying to keep the back room from being all nasty and the food from getting cold.
Okay...buffet is over and we break most of it down, leaving some nibbles. Now we are cleaning up the back room, keeping the coffee filled and trying to keep tables looking like under dorm room beds. We pack up left-overs, rack the dishes, clear more plates and glasses, repeat.
Eventually, we have most of the non-rental stuff all packed up and we take a load back to the cafe, leaving a few people back to keep clearing those tables. The band winds down at 11, we strip tables and pack up the cupcakes. Gather the rest of the dishes, pack up and bring back the final load. It was about a 10 hour shift of constant walking and lifting. It was awesome.
The other servers were a wee bit more experienced than I. My first few trips out to gather, I managed about 3 plates and some glasses on my wee tray. They had them stacked up 10 high and stuff in their other hand. They were quicker and better at spotting empties. They would just swoop in and take things, while I didn't want to bug people (at first).
Basically, my respect for servers went up about a bazillion-fold. I always knew it was tough work and long hours, but dang. Please remember to tip your servers! Not only are they making sure you get your food, but they keep the place as clean as possible, wipe tables, get drinks, and try to smile.
And if you are in Minnesota, please don't vote for Emmer.

Thanks!

The BS Chef