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Adventure with the Flying Squirrels is multifaceted. Lest you think it’s all about baseball, after 27 games at Pinecone Hollow Café, much has been learned. Here’re a few lessons from a bottom-level, don’t think about work after you clock out, employee.
1. A diverse team of 4 generations has rhythm to do the job with finesse and minimum spills.
2. One can drink a fountain soda without lids or straws. If you must have lids and straws with your sodas at the Diamond, you’d better bring your own.
3. Like Microsoft Vista, cashiers’ brains and touch screen registers shut down at peak times.
4. In the queue, there is a zone where customers mentally go away, forget where they are and why they’re there.
5. Customers can’t talk on the phone and order food at the same time. So much for multitasking.
6. Opening cardboard boxes with my bare hands builds muscle and ruins manicures. At the risk of sounding like a feminist, isn’t that why there are strapping young men working there?
7. When a guy says “That’s why I’m here.” in reply to “What can I get for you?,” he’s not looking for burgers or fries. More on that later.
The Star Sprinkled Banner
“National Anthem. Stop what you’re doing. Take your hat off.” yells Pipper. A FUNN Staff rule is to stand still, hats off, during the playing and singing of the National Anthem. I’m loving showing respect for our country. The crew know I’m the anthem nazi (is that an oxymoron?) about it and get choked up and teary when I hear it.
“Princessaaaahhhhhh Princess, put your phone down and stop. It’s the National Anthem.” I say under my breath. If looks could kill, I’d be waving my banner in the sky.
Customers are surprised. At first, they kept talking and ordering. I did the Post Office routine (I’m not seeing you) and ignored them. With a look of total surprise I saw the light bulb come on their faces and they got that it’s the National Anthem and everything stops for it, including them.
All kinds of singers have their time with opening the game by song. It’s American Idol tryouts baseball style. The Anthem is very difficult to sing, according to Placido. It’s also long. At the quickest it takes about 3 minutes. That doesn’t sound long but when burgers are ready to come off the grill, that’s a problem.
One night a young woman was giving it her best, most reverent, deliberate shot. And the burgers burned. Another night the singers were children, their tiny sweet voices not audible at Pinecone Hollow Café. Customers were standing still, a few were enjoying their beers, others were shushing their family. No one was hearing it. There everyone stood, facing the flag.
I love to sing so I started singing in the second line…”what so proudly we hailed”. Princess took over the musical presentation, thankfully. She belted it out like nobody’s business. We were glad, excited and surprised! Turns out she’s a trained singer and sings professionally! Who knew!
Between Placido and Princess I’ve learned more about pitch and singing than imagined. We want to hear them sing a duet. Perhaps they will when we can’t hear the singer on the field.
Another time the young woman struggled with the pitch, notes and words. I’ll give her credit for standing before the large crowd as she deliberately gave it her karaoke best. The pitch and tempo she slaughtered. Then she sang “oh, say does that star sprinkled banner yet wave…”
That star sprinkled banner is still waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave. Happy Birthday USA!
“Princessaaaahhhhhh Princess, put your phone down and stop. It’s the National Anthem.” I say under my breath. If looks could kill, I’d be waving my banner in the sky.
Customers are surprised. At first, they kept talking and ordering. I did the Post Office routine (I’m not seeing you) and ignored them. With a look of total surprise I saw the light bulb come on their faces and they got that it’s the National Anthem and everything stops for it, including them.
All kinds of singers have their time with opening the game by song. It’s American Idol tryouts baseball style. The Anthem is very difficult to sing, according to Placido. It’s also long. At the quickest it takes about 3 minutes. That doesn’t sound long but when burgers are ready to come off the grill, that’s a problem.
One night a young woman was giving it her best, most reverent, deliberate shot. And the burgers burned. Another night the singers were children, their tiny sweet voices not audible at Pinecone Hollow Café. Customers were standing still, a few were enjoying their beers, others were shushing their family. No one was hearing it. There everyone stood, facing the flag.
I love to sing so I started singing in the second line…”what so proudly we hailed”. Princess took over the musical presentation, thankfully. She belted it out like nobody’s business. We were glad, excited and surprised! Turns out she’s a trained singer and sings professionally! Who knew!
Between Placido and Princess I’ve learned more about pitch and singing than imagined. We want to hear them sing a duet. Perhaps they will when we can’t hear the singer on the field.
Another time the young woman struggled with the pitch, notes and words. I’ll give her credit for standing before the large crowd as she deliberately gave it her karaoke best. The pitch and tempo she slaughtered. Then she sang “oh, say does that star sprinkled banner yet wave…”
That star sprinkled banner is still waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave. Happy Birthday USA!
Learning to Jive
Pinecone Hollow Café is a long slot of space painted Flying Squirrel gray. It’s about 40 feet long and 11 feet wide. One third of it is the storage room, the rest is cooking and serving space. The back is lined with deep fryers, grills and refrigerators, all the things that get hot. The front is the customer service area lined with registers and soda machines. In between is space for 14 of us to walk, zig and zag without hitting each other. After 60 minutes we finally get a rhythm, dancing with fervor and finesse with hands loaded with sodas, burgers, tenders and fries.
Princess yells “The soda machine isn’t working.“ “Oh great. I’ll call the Coke man.” says Placido, taking a break from wrapping burgers to radio for help. In short order Coke Man arrives and with skill you’d expect, sodas are flowing again. If only Skywire would show up and get the register going. It’s hot over here at the grill. How many hot dogs and buns have I wrapped?" I'm thinking. (Would you believe 800?)
The game is SOLD OUT! That’s good news. Being a part of the excitement, providing fun for the customer and doing the café jive with new friends really is exciting and stretching me big time. That is why I’m doing this, right?
“Big, tuck in your shirt tail. It’s the dress code. Tall Boss is on the way.” Placido says. Thank heavens for shirt tails. It covers up those drawers hanging out. I am so glad they’re wearing drawers – otherwise I'd surely be mooned.
“Blackberry, you keep checking that thing. Are you waiting for a note from Nutzy? All the Princessahs must be expecting to hear from him too. Are you having a contest to see who gets the note first?” I ask. We’re in the storage room taking a break and drinking water to replenish ourselves. My ears are ringing from all the conversations. It’s a baseball Tower of Babel.
Break is the 2 minutes when we’re drinking water, sweeping, straightening up, getting some food under the heat lamp and drinking more water.
It’s back to wrapping dogs for Doggie Dude and burgers for Burger Guy. We’re grooving with the Pinecone Hollow jive, zigging and zagging in the aisle.
As happens to all good things it’s time to close the Café which takes 45 minutes. The point is to clean up and be ready for tomorrow’s business. 14 of us work there and there are 14 ideas of clean. My area is where I began – the lifeless cash register. While fans animatedly leave the Diamond, the Funn Crew is having a different experience.
My legs are throbbing, feet are stinging. I am worn out. With all tools in everyone’s hands, Pinecone Hollow Café is clean and ready to jive in tomorrow.
The Funn Squad is dirty and droopy. I wonder if those spongy insoles would make a difference. The parking lot is two blocks away - much too far away. Wish there was a trolley to take me there. "Feet, don't give out yet," I pray. Slowly I crawl to my car dragging my lifeless tail behind me. Prayer's answered again.
Princess yells “The soda machine isn’t working.“ “Oh great. I’ll call the Coke man.” says Placido, taking a break from wrapping burgers to radio for help. In short order Coke Man arrives and with skill you’d expect, sodas are flowing again. If only Skywire would show up and get the register going. It’s hot over here at the grill. How many hot dogs and buns have I wrapped?" I'm thinking. (Would you believe 800?)
The game is SOLD OUT! That’s good news. Being a part of the excitement, providing fun for the customer and doing the café jive with new friends really is exciting and stretching me big time. That is why I’m doing this, right?
“Big, tuck in your shirt tail. It’s the dress code. Tall Boss is on the way.” Placido says. Thank heavens for shirt tails. It covers up those drawers hanging out. I am so glad they’re wearing drawers – otherwise I'd surely be mooned.
“Blackberry, you keep checking that thing. Are you waiting for a note from Nutzy? All the Princessahs must be expecting to hear from him too. Are you having a contest to see who gets the note first?” I ask. We’re in the storage room taking a break and drinking water to replenish ourselves. My ears are ringing from all the conversations. It’s a baseball Tower of Babel.
Break is the 2 minutes when we’re drinking water, sweeping, straightening up, getting some food under the heat lamp and drinking more water.
It’s back to wrapping dogs for Doggie Dude and burgers for Burger Guy. We’re grooving with the Pinecone Hollow jive, zigging and zagging in the aisle.
As happens to all good things it’s time to close the Café which takes 45 minutes. The point is to clean up and be ready for tomorrow’s business. 14 of us work there and there are 14 ideas of clean. My area is where I began – the lifeless cash register. While fans animatedly leave the Diamond, the Funn Crew is having a different experience.
My legs are throbbing, feet are stinging. I am worn out. With all tools in everyone’s hands, Pinecone Hollow Café is clean and ready to jive in tomorrow.
The Funn Squad is dirty and droopy. I wonder if those spongy insoles would make a difference. The parking lot is two blocks away - much too far away. Wish there was a trolley to take me there. "Feet, don't give out yet," I pray. Slowly I crawl to my car dragging my lifeless tail behind me. Prayer's answered again.
Living a Chinese Fire Drill - Part 2
Hot dog orders were piling up. Doggie Dude was sinking fast. All the food in the Café is frozen and those hot dogs were double frozen. Doggie Dude was rolling them on the grill just to speed up thawing. Once nicely cooked and brown he stuck them in the bun and it was taking too long to nicely cook and wrap.
I have wrapped presents and sandwiches and I’ve unwrapped plenty of hot dogs to dress them. It couldn’t be hard. Doggie Dude needed to concentrate on cooking them. I watched him wrap one and I was trained. Like Skywire said “It’s easy.”
I had a job! Anxiety was gone. My job was secure because those suckers disappeared every time we’d get one in the hot box. Princess had a hungry customer wanting 12 of them.
Princess and Princessahs were shouting their orders for us: 10 hotdogs, 5 chicken tender meals, 6 squirrely fries, 3 ¼ large cheeseburger meals. Doggie Dude and I are wondering what these people look like that are getting all this food. Hadn’t anyone eaten before they came? Blackberry was checking his blackberry for Lord knows what between every customer. “One more plain burger meal. 12 squirrely fries. Eight hotdogs.” all the Princessahs yell.
Tender Chic was working the deep fry baskets of fries and tenders with both hands, fries flying everywhere as she filled meal and jumbo orders. “This is really hot. Watch. I’m coming through.” “How many orders do you want?”
On a scale of 1 to 10 this Chinese fire drill was a 12 and rising! No one had worked together or done the job before and we were drinking from the fire hose.
“They just radioed me The National Anthem’s started. Stop.” yelled Pipper. Yea! Finally I can stop and turn around and see who’s ordering all this food. A Flying Squirrel rule is to stop what you’re doing, remove your hat, and stand stone still while the national anthem is played. We’re told “Don’t worry about the customers. They’ll catch on.”
I’m loving this. I can be an anthem nazi when it comes to respect and exhibiting proper behavior when it’s played. My world travels have given me much pride and high regard for our symbols of freedom and all that America stands for. That’s enough about my soap box now. Back to the fire drill.
Customers waited in line patiently. Nothing better than starving customers to serve. They kept us informed of game status when they left the stands about 60 minutes earlier. No kidding – that’s what they said and they were pleasant. They knew we were doing the best we could. Princess did have fries thrown at her by one woman. I wish she hadn’t done that. Someone was waiting for that order.
My legs are beginning to ache and my feet are throbbing. I wrap another hot dog. Does anyone have some aspirin? Where is the rubber mat to stand on? Oh, there isn’t one. Tennis shoes are little cushion on this concrete floor. I forgot my spongy insoles and my binoculars. How unprepared can one be?
I have wrapped presents and sandwiches and I’ve unwrapped plenty of hot dogs to dress them. It couldn’t be hard. Doggie Dude needed to concentrate on cooking them. I watched him wrap one and I was trained. Like Skywire said “It’s easy.”
I had a job! Anxiety was gone. My job was secure because those suckers disappeared every time we’d get one in the hot box. Princess had a hungry customer wanting 12 of them.
Princess and Princessahs were shouting their orders for us: 10 hotdogs, 5 chicken tender meals, 6 squirrely fries, 3 ¼ large cheeseburger meals. Doggie Dude and I are wondering what these people look like that are getting all this food. Hadn’t anyone eaten before they came? Blackberry was checking his blackberry for Lord knows what between every customer. “One more plain burger meal. 12 squirrely fries. Eight hotdogs.” all the Princessahs yell.
Tender Chic was working the deep fry baskets of fries and tenders with both hands, fries flying everywhere as she filled meal and jumbo orders. “This is really hot. Watch. I’m coming through.” “How many orders do you want?”
On a scale of 1 to 10 this Chinese fire drill was a 12 and rising! No one had worked together or done the job before and we were drinking from the fire hose.
“They just radioed me The National Anthem’s started. Stop.” yelled Pipper. Yea! Finally I can stop and turn around and see who’s ordering all this food. A Flying Squirrel rule is to stop what you’re doing, remove your hat, and stand stone still while the national anthem is played. We’re told “Don’t worry about the customers. They’ll catch on.”
I’m loving this. I can be an anthem nazi when it comes to respect and exhibiting proper behavior when it’s played. My world travels have given me much pride and high regard for our symbols of freedom and all that America stands for. That’s enough about my soap box now. Back to the fire drill.
Customers waited in line patiently. Nothing better than starving customers to serve. They kept us informed of game status when they left the stands about 60 minutes earlier. No kidding – that’s what they said and they were pleasant. They knew we were doing the best we could. Princess did have fries thrown at her by one woman. I wish she hadn’t done that. Someone was waiting for that order.
My legs are beginning to ache and my feet are throbbing. I wrap another hot dog. Does anyone have some aspirin? Where is the rubber mat to stand on? Oh, there isn’t one. Tennis shoes are little cushion on this concrete floor. I forgot my spongy insoles and my binoculars. How unprepared can one be?
Life with the Flying Squirrels at Pinecone Hollow Cafe - Part 1
It was April 15. With my tax extension safely filed and out of mind off I went to work at Pinecone Hollow Café. It’s the third-base third-floor concession stand at the Diamond, home of Richmond's Flying Squirrels. My official uniform is standard issue: ball cap and red t-shirt proclaiming FUNN STAFF. Decked out with khaki pants and tennis shoes, I met my co-workers for this exciting sold-out opening night. And the fun began.
Actually it was a Chinese fire drill – squirrel style. This blog is about life at Pinecone Hollow Cafe. Names have been changed to protect the obvious.
Placido quickly told us some rules – shirt tails tucked in, no eating on the job, etc. Skywire cruised in to show us how to work the newly-installed, never-used cash registers. “It’s easy. It only takes 2 minutes to learn. I’ll be around to help.” He said as he reeled off instructions. It’s a touch screen with the menu in print so small binoculars are needed to see it. And I didn’t have them with me. What was I thinkin’ leaving home without them!
What a team we are. Placido is the manager and boss of Pinecone Hollow. Tender Chic whips out yummy squirrelly fries and chicken tenders, Burger Boy flips the burgers and Doggie Dude grills hot dogs on the 'back line'. I’m part of the ‘front line’ with Big, Blackberry, Princess and assorted Prettys. (I’ve been on front lines before because I’m short and this is a whole different front line.)
My teammates are in their late teens, early twenties, one 40-something and I. For most it’s their only job, for others it’s a second job. Honestly I wouldn’t know any of them if I weren’t here. And that’s why I’m here – to stretch and grow personally.
The view from our nest is a beer stand against earth-toned gray concrete interrupted by people cruising by - unless they're standing in line waiting for food. There is always a breeze coming down the concourse. A sliver of grandstand seats and sky is visible through an arch.
It’s Opening night – sold out at 9,000+ tickets. And 5,000 of them are standing in front of our cafe to get their food and beverage!
We'll learn how it all works in a jiffy. We're ready.
The concern I had about reading the screen was for naught as the register shut itself down in the middle of my second sale. Mr. Skywire "I'll be around" was nowhere to be found. And no one knew how to fix it. Such relief I felt.
And anxiety. Instantly I was jobless and scads of people were lined up for food. Oh no! PLAY BALL!
Actually it was a Chinese fire drill – squirrel style. This blog is about life at Pinecone Hollow Cafe. Names have been changed to protect the obvious.
Placido quickly told us some rules – shirt tails tucked in, no eating on the job, etc. Skywire cruised in to show us how to work the newly-installed, never-used cash registers. “It’s easy. It only takes 2 minutes to learn. I’ll be around to help.” He said as he reeled off instructions. It’s a touch screen with the menu in print so small binoculars are needed to see it. And I didn’t have them with me. What was I thinkin’ leaving home without them!
What a team we are. Placido is the manager and boss of Pinecone Hollow. Tender Chic whips out yummy squirrelly fries and chicken tenders, Burger Boy flips the burgers and Doggie Dude grills hot dogs on the 'back line'. I’m part of the ‘front line’ with Big, Blackberry, Princess and assorted Prettys. (I’ve been on front lines before because I’m short and this is a whole different front line.)
My teammates are in their late teens, early twenties, one 40-something and I. For most it’s their only job, for others it’s a second job. Honestly I wouldn’t know any of them if I weren’t here. And that’s why I’m here – to stretch and grow personally.
The view from our nest is a beer stand against earth-toned gray concrete interrupted by people cruising by - unless they're standing in line waiting for food. There is always a breeze coming down the concourse. A sliver of grandstand seats and sky is visible through an arch.
It’s Opening night – sold out at 9,000+ tickets. And 5,000 of them are standing in front of our cafe to get their food and beverage!
We'll learn how it all works in a jiffy. We're ready.
The concern I had about reading the screen was for naught as the register shut itself down in the middle of my second sale. Mr. Skywire "I'll be around" was nowhere to be found. And no one knew how to fix it. Such relief I felt.
And anxiety. Instantly I was jobless and scads of people were lined up for food. Oh no! PLAY BALL!
Every Woman's Edge
In a recent radio interview for www.radiogogirl.com hostess Jen Towner asked the age-old question. “How do we get our sexy back?” That implies sexy got lost. Just look at today’s women and you’ll see that indeed their sexy has gotten lost. Glimmers of it are few and far between.
I’m not talking cleavage and too tight clothes and skirts up to your bum.
I’m talking about every woman's essence. It’s nothing you can hold in your hand like chocolate. It is a feeling, an attitude, a confidence, an edge that every woman has.
Sexy got laid aside to work careers for pay and to work your other non-paying job for family. Nothing is left for the woman part of you. Tired you fall into bed, too tired for more than sleep. The next day you get up and do it all over again.
No wonder sexy got left out or tossed out with dirty diapers. Now back to Jen’s question "how do we get sexy back?"
There’re several tips for busy gals on the go with fast careers. Here’re two to start with.
First fall in love with your best feature. Cherish it like your best piece of jewelry or favorite person. Whether it’s your eyes, shoulders, legs, bum, chin or whatever, own it and adore it.
Tip # 2 is Smile. Yes, smile. You can do that on the run. Smiles light up you and everyone around you. People hear them over the phone and respond positively. And it takes only 14 facial muscles. Wouldn’t you rather have smile than frown lines?
The professional woman’s authenticity shines when she’s sexy and owns that part of herself. Sexy is the edge every woman has.
I’m not talking cleavage and too tight clothes and skirts up to your bum.
I’m talking about every woman's essence. It’s nothing you can hold in your hand like chocolate. It is a feeling, an attitude, a confidence, an edge that every woman has.
Sexy got laid aside to work careers for pay and to work your other non-paying job for family. Nothing is left for the woman part of you. Tired you fall into bed, too tired for more than sleep. The next day you get up and do it all over again.
No wonder sexy got left out or tossed out with dirty diapers. Now back to Jen’s question "how do we get sexy back?"
There’re several tips for busy gals on the go with fast careers. Here’re two to start with.
First fall in love with your best feature. Cherish it like your best piece of jewelry or favorite person. Whether it’s your eyes, shoulders, legs, bum, chin or whatever, own it and adore it.
Tip # 2 is Smile. Yes, smile. You can do that on the run. Smiles light up you and everyone around you. People hear them over the phone and respond positively. And it takes only 14 facial muscles. Wouldn’t you rather have smile than frown lines?
The professional woman’s authenticity shines when she’s sexy and owns that part of herself. Sexy is the edge every woman has.
More Lessons from The Celebrity Apprentice
Round three continues gals (Tenacity) against guys (Solidrock). They were to produce an advertorial (whatever that is) for Norton 360 and Life Lock. As usual group meetings decide the project manager and tasks are handed out to make the winning project. Winning is the goal.
Here’re some lessons learned from celebrities in this show to raise money for their fave charity.
1. Be clear about every area of the project, especially the outcome you want. Summer couldn’t explain clearly to their photographer what they were doing so he knew how to capture what she wanted.
2. Know how to use a computer. Rod Blagojevich couldn’t turn the computer on to do research he was asked to do. I don’t care if he did run a state with 60,000 employees, as he says. This is 2010 and he needs to know computer basics, like how to turn it on and type more than hunt and peck.
3. PowerPoint can have too much copy on it. The guys presentation had so many words explaining what the product did that it couldn’t be read. The type looked like scribble because it was too small. Don’t they know pictures speak a thousand words?
4. It’s OK to quit. Darryl Strawberry volunteered to be fired because he 'sorta' wanted to go home. His body language and degree or lack of participation from the beginning showed he was so over The Celebrity Apprentice.
If you want to learn business, how the dice rolls, and how to deal with egos, tune in. The lessons are too many to count. And talking straight, like Donald Trump does, is the best practice of all. You may not like it and he doesn’t care. It works.
Here’re some lessons learned from celebrities in this show to raise money for their fave charity.
1. Be clear about every area of the project, especially the outcome you want. Summer couldn’t explain clearly to their photographer what they were doing so he knew how to capture what she wanted.
2. Know how to use a computer. Rod Blagojevich couldn’t turn the computer on to do research he was asked to do. I don’t care if he did run a state with 60,000 employees, as he says. This is 2010 and he needs to know computer basics, like how to turn it on and type more than hunt and peck.
3. PowerPoint can have too much copy on it. The guys presentation had so many words explaining what the product did that it couldn’t be read. The type looked like scribble because it was too small. Don’t they know pictures speak a thousand words?
4. It’s OK to quit. Darryl Strawberry volunteered to be fired because he 'sorta' wanted to go home. His body language and degree or lack of participation from the beginning showed he was so over The Celebrity Apprentice.
If you want to learn business, how the dice rolls, and how to deal with egos, tune in. The lessons are too many to count. And talking straight, like Donald Trump does, is the best practice of all. You may not like it and he doesn’t care. It works.
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