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...