Go Bengals

You can take The Ritchies out of Cincy...but...

Poetry

It's official - I finally wrote a poem, breaking what ended up being a 5 year dry spell. The last poem I wrote was shortly after September 11, 2001 and became the final piece in my senior thesis. Soon after that poem Luke was born and I decided that my next would have to be about him. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time grasping how much he was changing my life (do new parents ever know how much children change everything?). The idea that I refused to write a poem until I finished one for him became a sort of game in my head which evolved into a self-inflicted writer's block.
The poem is titled "light". I need to revise it a bit, but I am happy to say that now I feel a weight lifted from me and I see the world in a familiar way again. I think I should work on Maya's poem right away so that I don't wait until she is 5...

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Hello again from Toledo / Ann Arbor.
Since my last post I have come to think of Toledo and Ann Arbor as a single city seperated only by a few chapters in a book on CD at 2am.
(Is anyone reading this?)
So much has happened. I think it is best to not write one long boring story, but to insert the details instead into the next few posts.
The big news making me sit at 1am and awake a sleeping blog is...
Maya is walking!
Well, kind of walking. She took three steps yesterday-right into my arms as she was holding a book of puppies that she apparently had decided I must read to her at that exact moment.
I am very proud.
I hope that you will read this blog again, I look forward to continuing it. I want to rant and rave about why I stopped writing for so long, but that is a different post for a different day.
For now - I am tired - and glad to be writing again.

work work work

12-14 hour days, 6 days a week. Constant planning, teaching, coaching, decisions, and about 750,000 details to work out. I guess I knew this was coming. I pushed opening by a few days to allow for some extra training. Open to the public day is now May 1, and today I will decide on final dates and times for the practice days and VIP party.
Details to follow.

Crosby's

This picture and quote were sent by my Aunt Julie Kowalski (mom's sister). It was taken on the day my Grandma returned from the hospital. Enjoy...

Back Online

With the family sick and work pressure hitting me full force, I haven't been online to post (or even check email) in about a week. Here are some updates:

Family:
Grandma left the hospital this week and was moved to a recovery floor of the retirement home. Grandpa was also moved to the floor where the staff can check on him more easily since he needs so many "cues" to get through the day. They are keeping their apartment on the first floor for now, but I gather the plan is to eventually move Grandma up to Grandpa's new room. So with living space on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, I think they are taking over the community. Thank you all for the prayers and nice thoughts.
Everyone in my house (except me) over the last week had a fever that reached at least 103. Luke and Courtney got as high as 105 at one point. Doctors say they had a really bad flu - and Maya's ended up being a double ear infection in both ears. I missed work a bit to help at home - and have so far avoided this round of it. Today everyone is doing much better - let's hope its over.
Work:
Our opening date is set at April 26. Training begins on April 10 and is pretty intensive for the two weeks leading up to the opening. At this point I have hired my core staff, and will just use next week to fill in some of the holes. I feel very confident so far with the crew. The experience of opening a restaurant is a roller coaster that is in many ways driven by these 80 or so strangers that I hired. Although I direct most of what they will do in the next month, it still feels like I am the one along for a ride. The weekend before opening does include one VIP and two Practice days. Those nights always feel like the moment when the roller coaster breaches the top of the big hill - but hasn't rushed downward yet. In that moment I can tell what kind of a ride it will be. Opening night is rushing down the hill - and the first year after opening contains the corkscrews, smaller hills, and loops that make the ride so worth it.

I hope everyone is well...

Progress

The construction phase of the restaurant is moving along. The shell of the bar is in, floors are finished, drop ceilings are in progress, and the kitchen equipment arrives Monday. Part of our deal with the city of Ann Arbor over the historic context of the building included a restoration of the original Mayer-Scharer sign over the front door. It arrived yesterday and I was amazed. It is very cool, and very very large. I took a walk on my lunch break and counted that I could still see the sign from about 4 - 5 blocks away. I can't wait to see it at night all lit up. I have completed the first 5 days of hiring and I feel pretty confident about the types of applicants so far. It is a good feeling to know that we are creating 100 new jobs. Sometimes the look on an applicant's face when I offer them a position is enough to make me smile all day.
Cheers

Crawling

This just in - Maya is mobile.

Watch out world.

First Word!

Maya has been exploding with energy this week. She is so close to crawling that I would bet it will be in the next few days. She rolls everywhere she wants to go, but when she tries to crawl she goes backwards. She looks so determined. The biggest change in her this week seems to be how she is interacting with us. The first thing we noticed was that every time she has a towel or blanket within arm's reach she smiles and covers her face. She will sit there patiently and not move it until we say "Peek a Boo". It is fun. She has also found that she likes to wave. Of course when we wave at her we say "Hi". I was shocked on Thursday when she looked up at me, waved, and said "Hi" so clearly. She also babbles a lot - most of which sounds like "Dadda" to me (although Courtney hasn't heard it yet). She has said "Hi" 4 or 5 times since Thursday.

Grandma Crosby

Last week it seemed that my Grandpa Crosby's health took a turn for the worse. The doctors told us that he should be transferred to assisted living. He refused, and will not even speak of being separated from Grandma. If it is possible to live on one heart and one brain, they do.

Then, just as everyone was focusing on his needs, my Grandma had a stroke. This was very upsetting for me, as you can imagine. My Grandma Crosby, as most of you know, has had a significant impact on my life. I love her dearly.
The stroke was on the left side of her brain, causing some paralysis to her right side and making it difficult to speak. My understanding is that she was unconscious for most of the first day.

I am happy to report that she is recovering very well! She has regained feeling in her right arm and leg. She has smiled and is speaking better. It will be a long road and they will both need to be in assisted living at the least. Please pray that they can be transferred together.

The Great Depression - War - Children - Work - Retirement. These hounds could not tear them apart - let us stop poor health at the door as well.

Good night (yawn) world

It's just after 1am - I just got home from work. I am exhausted.
My job tonight was to "follow the flow". This puts me right in the middle of the experience the entire night. First, I start at the door and spend time with the hostess greeting and seating guests. Then, after the first wave is sat in the dining room, I go to the bar and help with drinks. Next, I make my way to the kitchen and work the expo line. Expo is like the last line of defense in a restaurant kitchen. When the chefs finish cooking each plate they put it in the service window and the expo reads the order ticket and compiles the meal on the tray for the server to deliver. Expo physically looks at and touches every single plate that goes to a customer. This does not happen slowly, as you can imagine. It is a good place for a manger to be for a number of reasons. I can watch the ticket times which tells me how long guests are waiting for food, I can catch errors before they are seen in a dining room, I can monitor the quality of the product being served, I can control portion sizes, and I can influence presentation. After expo, I go back into the dining room and do table visits and talk to guests. I don't visit every table (that's annoying). Instead I find a reason to approach random tables (clear a plate, pick up a napkin, etc.) which makes conversation easier. Finally, I return to the hostess stand to thank people and ask them to return. Begin wave 2 - greet and seat - then the process starts over.
Following the flow is extremely difficult.
I got in a fight with a jar of mayonaise and it won - I need a shower.

Love

Maya sits up

Good news: Maya sat up for the first time! She had a big proud grin on her face, and held her posture for about a minute before toppling over.

Still waiting for teeth...

Cincinnati Wine

For those readers who live in or visit Cincinnati:
I regularly read a wine blog by a man named Jens who runs a wine shop named "The Cincinnati Wine Warehouse" located at the east end of Madison Road where it dead ends into Camargo/Plainville at the foot of Indian Hill. If you are ever looking for a good bottle, I think he can point you in the right direction. I don't know him, of course, but enjoy his online reviews.

A fresh start

Week one is finished. I am learning the ropes at Grizzly Peak Brewing Company for the first month or two while they complete construction on XXXX. Grizzly is about 3 doors away from where I'll be, so its a great place to set up shop for interviews and hold planning meetings. Naturally they want me to learn the company's operations before opening, so I've been shadowing Grizzly's GM and helping where I can. Grizzly consists of two bars, three dining rooms, and a brewery where they hand craft their beer (very cool process - my favorite is the red). There is one huge difference from where I've been - this place is busy...always busy. A typical night brings in up to 300% more business than I was used to, and that's not even a weekend. I think the hotel taught me to accept lower levels of volume - a lesson I am quickly forgetting. I am tired - but excited.

XXXX's Projected Opening Date = April 17, 2006

Going out in style

After turning in my keys yesterday, I hosted a party for Elle's 50th birthday at the restaurant, which I had planned well before knowing it would be my last day. It was strange to be 'just a customer' - but I was very proud of the food and service. I can't think of a better way to leave a job.

A friend gave me a copy of a monthly Detroit magazine called "Hour". The March issue is the food issue which crowns the Detroit metro area's restaurant of the year for 2005 and highlights the 17 best new spots in town. This friend told me he hoped that next year's issue would feature my new place. Guess what? XXXXX, the restaurant that mine is modeled after (and owned by my company), is one of those 17 best new restaurants in Detroit! At the end of the section talking about it they name XXXXXX (my new place) as set to open soon. It's nice to be anticipated...any bets to if I'll make the 2006 list?

2 Days

2 more work days until I say goodbye to the Hilton Toledo and 31 Hundred Restaurant & Bar. I wish I could say it is bittersweet, but I honestly don't have much reservation about leaving. Not too many sad goodbyes and all that jazz. I made my share of friends, but always knew this was not a long term gig, so I stayed comfortably distant.
As I prepare to leave I feel the most sad about leaving the bar. I know, I know, this is the sadness all Ritchies feel. I remember when we were in the heart of the construction phase. I would go into the big empty, dusty room and try to imagine the sounds of people laughing, eating, and enjoying themselves. Now, as I stand in the room filled with people and watch bartenders getting drinks, servers running food, and customers smiling I know it was worth it.
Last night I had my first meeting with my management team for XXXXX. The building is a big empty, dusty room.
Cheers to doing it all over again...

Denny the Bellman

Every once in a while we meet someone who, for whatever reason, makes us view our world in a different way. Unfortunately, we often don't value the significance of their contributions until they are gone. Today one such person in my life has passed after suffering a heart attack last night.
His name was Denny and he was a bellman at work. A motorcycle accident 20 or so years ago left him with the physical impairment of having only one arm. When I first met Denny my thoughts were the same as everyone else's. Can he lift the baggage, open doors, drive the van, and cater to the millions of needs that our guests have each day? As part of the executive committee who hired Denny, I argued from the begining that he deserved exactly the same chance as anyone else who applied. He was eager to demonstrate how well he has adjusted to his physical impairment and he proved in 10 minutes that he could do these tasks as well (or better) than anyone else.
Hiring Denny ended up being one of the best decisions our team ever made. Denny was well received by guests, consistently went over and above his job duties to ensure satisfaction, and made employees feel welcome and happy. He forged personal relationships with many of his co-workers and will be missed greatly.
Denny can teach us a lesson, even in his absence. Tie one arm behind your back and carry someone's suitcase for them, open a door for them, and help them into an elevator while not making them feel strange about the situation. This requires balance, skill, intellegence, and most of all a sense of humor. By all accounts Denny looked at the world through a wonderful lense where he did not take anything for granted.
Please, let us not take for granted the blessing that we have.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who sent their wishes on my and Luke's birthdays. The past 2 weeks have been kind of a blur.
Courtney and Luke, realizing my stress and nervousness levels have been rising, planned a wonderfully relaxing birthday for me. First, they let me sleep in with the baby, then showered me with gifts of magazines and a daily planner. Next, it was out to breakfast and then they blind-folded me. In the car Court announced that upon reaching our destination I would be left alone for a while. That scared me. After driving in what seemed like circles and walking me through loud cooridors, she unmasked me to reveal a wellness spa. They left me with a hydro-bath and a massage to calm me and prepare me for the coming year and all of its changes. When I was finished, they picked me up and blind-folded me again. This time she revealed my favorite cafe / wine store. She presented me with a card full of money and let me wonder around to find the perfect bottle. I chose Hedges "3 Vineyards Blend" and we drank it with steaks that Elle and Ed cooked for us at their house. The plan was for them to watch the kids after dinner so Court and I could go get a drink and talk somewhere - but we were so tired and having such a good time that we decided to just stay in for the night and watch a movie. It was really a nice day - one of the best birthdays ever.
I am a VERY lucky man.

Teach the kids to hug

I rarely post about current events or anything that is in the news. However, this one was too tempting.

From CNN: "First-grader suspended for sex harassment"
BROCKTON, Massachusetts. (AP) -- A 6-year-old boy is getting a lesson on the meaning of sexual harassment long before he'll be able to spell it...
There have been similar cases. In 1996, a New York second-grader was suspended for kissing a girl and ripping a button off her skirt -- an idea the boy said he got from his favorite book "Corduroy," about a bear with a missing button. Earlier that year, a Lexington, North Carolina, 6-year-old was separated from his class after kissing a classmate on the cheek.

So...I should remember to teach Luke that he may never, under any circumstances, no matter how much he wants to, hug or show affection for another child. I understand that children are maturing at rates too fast for past generations to keep up with. I also understand that the "evils" of television, internet, and music are to blame - but could this child have really wanted sex? I say teach the kids to hug.

The Waiter

Some of you may have noticed my links to the right of this blog. I want to point out one that I read often - waiter rant. It is a blog written by an anonymous waiter at a bistro somewhere around New York City. He has been writing this blog for a few years now and only refers to himself as "waiter". His posts are amusing, funny, poignant, and intelligent. He not only exposes the inner world of restaurant work, but often shows a glimpse of true humanity in the process. I encourage anyone with time to start here, and if you like it then check out some of his older posts - they are equally as enjoyable to read.

Good News!

The good news is now official - yesterday I accepted a new job as the General Manager of a restaurant called XXXXXX slated for opening this spring in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The story of why I was looking in the first place starts with a school that we have been looking at for Luke. The only two drawbacks of the school were that it would require a bigger cushion of income and a move to the Ann Arbor area. I had never dreamed that in only two weeks I could solve both problems with one simple job search - I guess timing is everything. As it turns out, my particular set of skills is exactly what my new company was looking for in a GM. The new restaurant is loosely modeled after one of their other restaurants, XXXXXX in Royal Oak, MI.
The preliminary plan is to commute 45 minutes to Ann Arbor and start looking at housing options halfway between Toledo and Ann Arbor for a possible Summer or early Fall '06 move.
I'll keep everyone posted as this exciting story develops!

I'm Back

I've been so busy the last week or so that I haven't had time to post much. I hope there is someone still out there reading. Sorry if anyone has been checking to no avail as of late.
The main thing occupying my attention this week was Luke's birthday. I learned an important lesson on his birthday: Chucky Cheese's is a casino for children! I'll have pictures to post this weekend, after the party. Sadly, I don't think his annual video will be completed in time - I got sidetracked by a really bad cold that kept me out of work for 2 days and I lost precious computer time at home as well. I promise to finish it next week and make copies for anyone interested.

I may have big news this weekend, or early next - stay tuned ;-)

Self Googling

After being cautioned against Googling myself, I couldn't resist. These are some of the "faces of David Ritchie" that I found -

entrepreneur of the year
the diving instructor
the Australian Ambassador
the poet
the radio host
the musician
And my personal favorite...the physicist

Training

Not much time for posting this week. I am in training to become a certified trainer for Hilton Hotels. "Train the trainer" classes are always interesting. I am learning all kinds of valuable information on how to provide better service...and I will get a niffty little certificate to hang on my wall.

Pictures

Grandpa Crosby's Poem

On June 6, 1945, my maternal grandfather, James Crosby, was in the South Pacific while my grandmother, Virginia, was celebrating the first birthday of their first daughter, Carol. Sad that he would miss her birthday, he sent the following poem which re-surfaced this week and is now circulating throughout the family. Enjoy!

June 6, 1945

Happy Birthday little girl
With that saucy, golden curl
Perched atop your pretty head
As mama tucks you into bed.

You're just one year old today
And your daddy's far away
Far away on distant shores
Dreaming, as the ocean roars.

Dreaming of a year ago
And a cry so soft and low
Heaven sent a bundle blest
Down to brighten up our nest.

You are mamas pride and joy
Sweet and shy and oh so coy
Daddy loves you so much too
As you chuckle, grin, and coo.

On this very special day
When I must be so far away
If I could send a gift - a toy
It would fill my heart with joy.

But over here they have no toys
For little girls and little boys
They hide in caves and are not gay
Because of war they cannot play.

And so I send the only thing
That fastest aeroplane can bring
All my love and kisses too
And happiness your whole life through.

The poem is signed: All my love and kisses, Daddy

Grande Decaf Skinny Mocha No Whip

Is Starbucks the pinnacle of customer service, allowing us to get exactly what we want in a Cup of Joe, or is it a secret plot designed to cash in on our hidden narcissism? Perhaps the answer is a combination of both. Most of us lumber through the day taking orders from a variety of bosses, customers, and family members. Suddenly, a Grande Decaf Skinny Mocha No Whip symbolizes a way of taking control. Where does the barista fit into all this? Does she have her favorite cup too? How does she, before making our countless special orders seem so personal, start her day?
I bet she drinks Tea.

*for the record: Court drinks the Grande Decaf Skinny Mocha No Whip - my order is much more manly :-)

little family

This is the most recent photo of all four of us. Wow, "four" still sounds weird.

Nervous Daddy

This week Luke has been visiting Pre-Schools in an effort to determine where he will begin his educational journey this Fall. On Monday he had his first of these visits without us present, which was probably harder on Court and I. As we were walking into the school, I looked down at my own shoes and saw this! Thank God he has 8 more months until he will be going on a regular basis - I'm not ready.

Five Questions

I found these five questions on my Uncle Rob's Blog a few weeks ago and it made an impression, so here are my answers. Please take the time to answer them on your own - it's a great way to reconnect with your life.

1. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I dreamed (I think from the time I could dream) of piloting a Fighter Jet in the Air Force. I visited the Dayton Air Force Museum, played with toy jets, wore a bomber jacket, idealized my Uncle Jim Kowalski (who is now a General), and memorized how to identify almost all jets visible from the ground by markings, shape, and tail fin(s).
2. Did you follow through? If not, what happened?
Two things happened. The first was a poem. My junior high school English teacher asked us to write an original poem. After much protest, I finally sat down and wrote about a dog-fight between an American F-15 Eagle and a Russian Mig-28. The process sparked a passion for writing that I still cannot quite understand, even after a BFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Poetry. The second was a gradual realization that although the high speed pilot part was appealing the military lifestyle was not. Anyone who knows me as an adult understands why I became a poet (uh - restaurant manager) and not a pilot.
3. Is your life turning out the way you thought it would when you were a kid? If not, is it better or worse?
My adult life has been wonderful so far. I have a beautiful wife who understands me and teaches me to be unique and stand up for what I believe in, a son who runs through the house and leaps from the stairs into my arms when he hears me open the door, and a daughter who makes me forget my name every time she smiles.
4. Paradoxes aside, if you could time-travel back to when you were 10 years old, what would you tell your 10 year-old self?
I would say: Relax...don't be too serious...thank your brother Michael in advance for everything he's about to do for you in the next few years...he will become the greatest friend of your life.
5. Do you think the child you were would like the adult you've become?
Absolutely.

Gathering of the Ritchies

Grandma gave us one last gift - and in typical Ritchie fashion - it lasted late into the night and resulted in bartenders staying open late. I believe we all gave her a gift as well - we traveled from far and wide to be together and celebrate with family the life of a matriarch who valued and taught family above all else. Personally, the trip to Cincinnati revitalized in me a deep sensation of the importance of family and family ties. I think that is what she would have wanted.

January 4, 2006

In her sleep, my grandma Ritchie passed away.

There are no words today.

First Notes

With the first strike of the first key, she is a natural!