Where's The Beef?!

It's comin'. It's comin'. But not on a platter.

Do you remember that slogan? Clara Peller was the cute little ol' lady who shouted it at all of us back in the late 1980's. What a massive ad campaign THAT was. And....it worked. 

At Wendy's, sales jumped 31% to $945 million in 1985 worldwide. Wendy's senior vice president for communications, Denny Lynch, stated at the time that "with Clara we accomplished as much in five weeks as we did in 14½ years."  (Taken from Wikipedia.)

Just as a great ad campaign boosts sales, great movies boost... ah... well... what do great movies boost? There are many answers to that question and I suppose it really depends on the person watching the movie. But regardless of your answer, there is absolutely no doubt that movies and the celebrities that are in them have a huge effect on the lives of people all around the world. And this is exactly why I will never give up on my mission to find the right people to remake my indie movie.

I was thrilled a few weeks ago when I discovered that we have officially been seen all over the world: in every country...196 total, and I wouldn't doubt if there are even more. It's just that 196 is the magic number the United Nations agree is the number of countries on the planet. There are many websites where you can get the movie downloaded for free and when I check on them now and then, it's really cool to see how many people at any given time are getting the movie. It makes me realize how popular the remake will be when it happens. That is, if it's made with the same element that draws people in now. I believe that will happen, and I am not giving up!

So what did I mean by "but not on a platter"? I can't really waitress any more, but am still in the food biz--that is when you consider hauling cattle to be an integral part of the process: albeit not the most pleasant part. I love the driving... I just don't look them in the eye when I drop them off. I do try to give them a comfortable final ride and watched the Temple Grandin movie because I believe in treating animals with respect regardless of their role in my life.

What does this have to do with my movie? Well, given the fact that it takes almost 2000 gallons of water to produce merely 1/2 pound of beef, and there have been unprecedented droughts in some of the beef producing states, maybe we need to take a closer look at how we act concerning our water. If we don't make changes to our behavior, we are in big trouble. My mission is to find the right people to remake my restaurant love story movie and use it to bring awareness and funds to the serious water situation. Water and restaurants are related in more ways than the obvious one and I won't quit trying until I find the right people.

Where's the beef? Hopefully, still on its way........

Where's My Food?!

I just finished a post for Remake 4 Water and it occurred to me that I needed to post here as well, on the same subject: Documentaries.

In the Remake 4 Water blog, I gave stats about their status in the movie going public and as sad as I am about the un-popularity of them, there is one out there at the moment that needs mentioning. "Where's My Food?!" by Lee Godden.

 I watched the trailer and it seemed that he was being very honest and upfront about the restaurant industry-- which is the largest employer in the US, outside of the government, and I think it's the same in any country.

Think about it. In any small town, no matter how small it is, it might not have a bank, a gas station, or a barber, but you can bet it has a restaurant, or at least a cafe where the locals can come for the daily gossip and a cup of coffee. We all go out to eat at some point and restaurants are always a hot topic in blogs or articles and always get a high number of comments, many of them: quite heated.

Which is why I made my movie in the first place: to show waitresses and waiters as the fun and intelligent people they are and that restaurants are a great life! Even though I saw some of the negative aspects in Lee's trailer and yes of course they are there in life (and his is a doc after all), but I was so tired of movies focusing on them and portraying us as total losers, all the time. "Waiting" is a great example of that negativity and I have to say how thrilled I was to see the absurditiy of it. Again, yes I know there is a negative side, but do we have to focus on it? I had a great career in restaurants and ask Paul Paz about his.

Paul runs Waiter's World and is still loving being a fabulous waiter in Oregon. He is in "Where's My Food?!" and talks about his life in restaurants. So my message was about respect and treatment of people in the business and I hope that in the end, Lee's movie does the same, maybe with a different slant. But now I am going to use my movie for another reason, hence Remake 4 Water. Still a narrative feature length movie, but with another message incorporated into it, and that brings me again to the point I have been saying all along.

There's a message that has to get out to people, and no matter how many great and wonderful documentaries there are (and there are many about water and how it's crucial that we change our relationship with it), people don't hear the message! But if we incorporate it with a fun movie and make it entertaining, they will start to hear. But why "Did I Say Thousand Island?" ? Because restaurants can't operate without water, everyone goes out to eat and the movie has already been seen all over the world, which is amazing for a "no-budget-no-name-non-marketed" movie!

Coincidentally (nothing with God is a coincidence), a Calgary based production company, Nomadic Pictures is shooting here in High River, so I went down there to see whom I could talk to about R4W. I ended up meeting a cool guy named Zoltan Barabas--(cool name too eh?) who understood my reality about "Did I Say Thousand Island?" and how I am not a filmmaker...nor do I want to be. I am a waitress-- well now I am a trucker, but anyway, I told him my story, gave him the movie and he said he would pass it on.

I really hope that Lee's movie does well for him, and I think it would help people understand some things about the restaurant industry and its people, but also that it will give credibility to my opinion that restaurants are a popular topic-- from both sides of the table. I know that "Did I Say Thousand Island?", when it is remade by those in the biz, will be a hit, and I am not giving up.

But in the meantime, check out Lee's movie and support his efforts! Peace out from the Great White North... and Happy Valentine's Day too! ;-)

Scrambled or Fried?

That's the title of today's reading in "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" by Sarah Ban Breathnach. A book that I have been reading for 16 years. She writes it as a year long journey to change, but I think it takes a life time to change a life. There's so much about this adventure, it can't be figured out in a year. And life does throw curve balls: this is not what I planned on doing today...

I love Sarah's book and maybe reading it again is overkill, but she resonates with me and I love her prodding and insights into life. I better understand some things now, as I have changed on the inside which makes for change on the outside. She has a Spiritual thread to it and I love how she weaves God into our everyday lives in a way that is user friendly. I know the book has helped me greatly in my journey and I have been buying it for friends a lot lately.

So I've read this passage many times, but for some reason, today it hit me, again. Hard. Is it because I watched Erin Brockovich last night? Is it because I saw how much she cared about something close to her heart and know how much I still care? Not only about water, but how people view waitresses. By the way, Erin, as you probably know, had a cameo in the movie. She was a waitress.

Sarah talks about the demands of life, and when you just can't take it anymore, you just want to jump on a bus and start life over as a waitress in a diner somewhere out west. You want to run away. I get it. I get it that waitresses have a different life and maybe don't have some of the pressures that those in the corporate world have, but hold on a minute!

To quote Sarah: "Of course you're not going to do it, but contemplating a plan of escape is an imaginary mechanism to let off steam from life's pressure cooker. No more overdue bills, arguments over cooking cleaning, carrying out the trash, charge accounts, or...care-taking of an elderly parent...When you think you can't handle it anymore, a life that revolves around asking customers if they want their eggs scrambled or fried holds a certain appeal." WOW! That's it? A life that revolves around only a question? Sounds like waitresses live in another world. (Waiters too but since she mentions diners, I'll generalize and say waitresses.)

Do we not have to deal with all those things mentioned above? Do we live in a bubble? Are we apart from the everyday life that other people live? Do we not have struggles and demands too? Unfortunately many people think so, because serving people food is still not considered a real job, hence our lives might be not so serious either. I don't want to argue that point-- it was the whole reason why I made my movie in the first place, and I am still getting that message out. I'm not angry about it, just tired. I've been fighting it all my life. I just want people to understand that the life of a waitress is very different than people think from what they see and read in many forms of media.

But maybe waitresses do live in another world. Maybe we do live fantasy lives? Hmmmm. Let's see... We don't usually stress over work when we are at home. Our stress is at work and stays at work. We can usually get days off for important family functions or events with a simple shift change. We always have cash in our pockets and don't have to wait in line at ATM machines. We don't have to work for a company for 5 years before we get more than 2 weeks vacation. We can go to work, make good money and still be home when our children get home from school. We can move to a new town and land a job within a day or so. (At least that has been my experience from over 25 years and in a "normal" economy.) We get to know our co-workers really well (without competition for a raise) and many times keep those friendships for years and even a lifetime. We usually have a lot of  fun at work with the customers who come in.We can take weeks off to travel the world if we want and still have a job when we return.

I could go on, but you get the point. Am I just saying the good things, yes. That's because there are other blogs that mention the down side of waitressing (serving) and most of them deal with the fact that we aren't respected, which leads to bad behaviour from customers. My friend Patrick Maguire has a great blog that addresses many of these issues in a mature and insightful manner. It's called: "I'm Your Server, Not Your Servant" which by the way, is very close to a line in my movie that was left on the cutting room floor as the scene was too long. But it will be in the remake, that's for sure!

So even though I was going to be doing some water blogging and research today, I was sidetracked. Why? Because I still, and always will be, on the soapbox for trying to get people to treat servers as the intelligent fun loving hard working people they are. Can people just stop acting as if servers aren't real people with real lives, real families, real jobs, real situations that everyone who walks upright faces? Or maybe we could practice the Golden Rule a bit more? (and that goes for servers with bad attitudes too!)

Am I being too hard on Sarah, or taking this too seriously? Maybe. But I took my life as a waitress seriously. I seriously had a wonderful life and still do! By the way, when I went to get Sarah's website address, I came across information that saddened me. Apparently Sarah made a fortune and lost it all. I will have to look into that deeper. Maybe she forgot some of the wonderful things her book taught...

But when that fantasy of running away to be a waitress in a diner happens, maybe you might see it as an exciting adventure and a great way of life. Maybe you might see it for what it really is. Being a waitress is a great life! "We don't live our jobs, we live our lives!" Another line from the movie. But that one made it to the screen...

For The Record

Blogging used to be a simple way to share thoughts with others. It's escalated into so much more but I never caught on so back to basics and sharing thoughts just for the record.
 
Water. Always been my thing. Always been on water patrol everywhere I went.

Waitressing. Loved it all my life. Yup, got the university degree, and from a great school by the way, but stayed out of the corporate world. Just didn't fit my life (and I'm not alone).

Movies. Fun to watch, but never wanted to be in the biz. Still don't and won't ever be.

Why these three things? No idea. Just the way it happened. Now my mission has to do with all three.

You know? I just want to help servers to be seen in a way that isn't degrading. I want to tell the public in a nice way, that they might want to consider changing their opinions about servers. (AND I heard it again on Friday night) "People are waitresses because they can't do anything else."  Really? But I loved my job and made good money, even though I always hated filling out my tax forms and wished I didn't have to put "waitress" as my job. I hate to admit it that I allowed others to influence my feelings, but I always felt inferior, and I'm not alone it that either. "A real job"? Tried them. Made less money. Had more stress. Had less fun. I was miserable. Sure if I stuck to them for years I would have made more money, but it was never that important to me. My freedom and quality of life has always been worth more. Call me crazy that's fine with me--always have been, but it's kept me from goin' insane. Sing it Waylon!

I want to help people know that water is a concern that has to be addressed. We really can't waste much more time on this fact. So how do we address it? Stars! With stars! Not the kind that twinkle, the kind that billions of people have to know what they do. The kind that everyone wants to follow, copy or be associated with. If you put a Hollywood star and a Nobel Peace Prize winner in the same room. Who do you think will get the most attention? Who draws the crowds?

So remake a movie that has already been seen all over the world. Put together a soundtrack that has music that crosses generations (which is easy to do these days), and open it on World Water Day or during World Water Week and get money for water orgs. After that, everyone can make their money.

I haven't written this down, but have told some people: when I got back from Ireland where I lived while I was writing the script, I happened to watch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when it was released on DVD. I ended up watching it twice in a row-- listening to the commentary the second time. I had 4 pages of notes. Nia and I were thinking and feeling the same things when we were writing our respective movie and how we hoped people would feel when they watched it! I was amazed and very happy at the time. I was on the right track, and now I know my movie hits a nerve--in a good way.

Is it crazy to think that any good clean movies, fund raising events (outside of politics) or generous group actions can come out of Hollywood anymore? I don't think so. Despite what so many people on the street say, I think there are a lot of good people there who are getting involved in social issues even more in innovative ways. Use up and coming stars. Use interns and film schools to supply the crew. Use the companies that are water conscious for product placement. Use existing music from musicians who care about water. Have the CD sales go to water. Advertize who is involved and showcase their generosity and concern. We seem to do it with all the bad, why not with some good for a change?

My friend cautioned me as what to write here in this blog, but I just want to shout: IT'S SO EASY, THIS WOULD HELP! IT CAN BE DONE! I ALREADY HAVE AN AUDIENCE! As a Hollywood movie this would be popular. It already is. Here's an idea. We already have: get this free action toy at _________when you buy a ________. Some plastic thing that is played with for a day and ends up in a land fill. Let's try: get this refillable water bottle at ___________ when you buy a  large salad  (promoting healthy eating while we're at it) during opening week. Let's use social media to promote and not spend millions on advertising. Word of mouth works we all know that! There are loads of ideas and ways to make this happen that would benefit so many people.

Being raised in the burbs of Chicago but born on a farm, my dream was always to live in a cabin in the mountains and have a horse. Well I've had that for years so I have to default to one of my other dreams. That was: to do something big that would help a lot of people. Never had a clue how, what or if that was even possible. Well it is and this is it. So crazy as it might be, I will persist. There will be someone who discovers Remake 4 Water and says, hey, she might have something there.

Changes

When you get into the any industry, you get the job and apply the skills you have been taught in the education system. Since most people don't go to school when learning the Hospitality Industry, they tend to learn on the job. Usually starting out in diners or family owned places, or even some corporations where they are willing to hire inexperienced servers, taking the attitude that skills can be taught but attitude can't be, you might get a job there.

Many people outside the biz think that anyone can be a server. So this is what happened last week at work. (I work very part time while I work on Remake 4 Water) One of the girls who is training to be a waitress, served glasses of water to her table by setting the tray down on an empty table then took the glasses off the tray (she has bussed tables for months as a hostess so she can carry a tray-with 2 hands). When I mentioned to her that she wouldn't be able to do that if the restaurant was full and she really needed to learn how to balance glasses on a tray, she said she couldn't do that.

Another waitress was working that same week and asked me to help her serve 4 cups of coffee. She complained that she kept spilling the coffee on the under liners. Sure! I love to help people learn, so I showed her how to stack them and keep the cups on the tray so if spillage occurs, it's on the tray. Then you put the cups on the under liners when you get to the table. "Oh that's too much work!" was her reply.

Honest.

Is this piddly stuff? Of course it is! But what it points to is the fact that there's trouble brewing. Are these the only examples? No and I bet that anyone who has worked in the industry sees it. Training has to be an important part of the process. Would you want to be paying $28 for a dinner and have a server who can't serve? I wouldn't! We won't even get into the soft skills or some other finer points.

I know there are loads of  blogs out there that complain about customers, but we need to look out from the inside now and then too! We have to teach people how to be good servers or the industry will continue to be seen as unprofessional, full of transients and people who don't care. I made "Did I Say Thousand Island?" with the intention of showing servers in a positive light and there are many in that light-- people who love their jobs and care about their customers.

It's not all from only one side of the table--and neither is the movie. By the way, the entire movie is available to watch right on that page. Later. I want to go and enjoy riding my horse before I go to work!

2 Broke Girls

I don't watch TV. Period. Haven't for years, so when I heard the title of the show and discovered that it was about waitresses, I thought it was yet another negative and demeaning show about restaurant workers, so I didn't  look into it.

But then the other night I thought hey, why not. It just hit me to go to You Tube and see if I could watch an episode. Living in Canada, we don't have quite the same access to shows as people in the States. Surprised that I could watch parts of an episode, and even more surprised when I looked at the clock and it was nearing 2 am, I was shocked! It really was entertaining, funny and very well written. Ok, so it's a different approach than my movie, it's a show with some realistic restaurant events and situations. Mind you, if  they happened in some of the places I've worked you'd be fired, but it's still fun to see it on the screen. 

Looking into it again today, I discovered that it indeed is being renewed and matter of fact is at the top! Yea for a restaurant show! 'Bout time! This can only help the idea that a restaurant show or movie is marketable, which is what I've been saying all along. Tie it with helping others especially concerning water and you win both ways. By the way, the number of celebs who concern themselves with water continues to grow. When I looked  a couple of months ago it was at 188 and today it's at 205.

I don't know if the 2 broke girls get their cupcake business going or not, and maybe they are cruder than "Did I Say Thousand Island" is as a whole, but it's fun to see a show that at least doesn't degrade servers in the usual ways of the media. Keep going! By the way, 1000 Island continues to be downloaded 1000's of times a day! When I emailed and asked the host server if the numbers were real, he said yup, most likely they are. Cool, eh?

Horses and Chimpanzees

The average age of the crowd that went to see War Horse last Tuesday was surprising. Maybe it was the day of the week, maybe the time of year, I don't know. But I would say the average age was over 40.

When I premiered "Did I Say Thousand Island?" in Colorado, people of all ages came to see it, but I have been surprised over time that I get the most emails from middle aged folks who say they enjoyed the movie. One of the largest demographic today is women over 35, and that bodes well for a remake of this restaurant movie. Aren't most servers female? Yes. Which brings me to another interesting fact. Two of the most popular offerings the public has had about the restaurant industry in recent years have been written by men who have spent only 10 years in the industry in one city. I'm talking about the book Waiter Rant and the movie Waiting.

I thought Waiter Rant was very well written, and the content was, I am assuming, true for a New Yorker who is a waiter by default, but it certainly isn't true across the board. Too much research that I did when I was making my movie just disagrees. Many waitresses and waiters actually do enjoy their job, and I can bet more would if it was considered to be a "real job".

"Did I Say Thousand Island?" shows servers as the fun and smart people they are and as I have been told many times, is a realistic portrayal of the restaurant industry. That must be why it's been downloaded over 55,000 times in 183 countries so far. For a no-name movie made by basically one person (with awesome help  from friends) that's pretty good. Here's a link to the latest press release talking about the new project going on with the movie concerning water.

Why did I put chimpanzees at the top? When I saw War Horse, one of the ads at the beginning was for Chimpanzee, a documentary/story about a wee monkey, and if you go and see it during the opening week, Disney will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Jane Goodall Institute. That's the exact idea I have been proposing with Remake 4 Water for a long time, so see? It can be done. The difference is that my movie isn't mostly a documentary, it's a story. It's a story about everyone--everyone goes out to eat. Remake 4 Water...c'mon. Let's Do It!

Returning to "My Community"

After returning home from my 6 week trip down east as they say here in Canada, I have come to realize something. I've been concentrating so hard on the "water" aspect of this mission, that the other part of my heart of this mission has fallen by the way side.

It occurred to me this morning as I was throwing away the brochure from a restaurant that I went to in Maine. I had intended to give them feedback from our visit (and it wasn't exactly positive) but decided not to, as it wasn't positive. But then I thought WAIT, if I do it in a kind way, it might actually help them. How can they fix a problem if they don't even know it exists? Then it hit me how no matter how much time I spend away from waitressing, I will never lose the love I have for the job and freedom based lifestyle, the people and the desire to do something about the negative attitudes and stereotypes that remain. Maybe it's a losing battle, but if you don't try, how can things change?

Whenever there's an article relating to anything in the restaurant business, it always receives so many comments. Why? People usually have an opinion because it might have happened to them, or they just want to be heard. Or maybe because the restaurant biz is the largest private employer in the US and probably world.  That's why I am working to get my movie remade so it's seen by more people. I had so many emails saying that it "should get out there more so people see it".

Now after attending the International Water Forum at the UN in September, I know I'm on the right track. What was the biggest issue with the Global Water Crisis? AWARENESS!! That's right. People just don't know there are water troubles. So by combining a "fun and engaging" (quoting a viewer) and realistic movie about restaurant life with the subject of water (which a restaurant can't run without), we can get the messages out! We're not stupid people in the business, and wouldn't you love that cranky and demanding customer to hear that! It's in the movie. That, and a lot of other messages. Do you really like doing separate checks when the people are all over the place!? It's in the movie too...

Why do people think we spit in their food? It's in the movies. Why do they think we hate our jobs? It's in the movies. Why do they think we're stupid and are total losers? It's in the movies. It's about time there's a movie that tells them the way it really is. By the way, we just added another country: people in 182 countries have seen the movie and it's growing everyday! Not bad for a 5 year old nobody movie made by a waitress. C'mon. Let's Do It! www.remake4water.org

July 4th and restaurants

Howdy!

Belated Happy 4th of July to you all (this is being posted after midnight where I am). By now the fireworks are just a memory of ooohs and aaaahs and I hope it was a grand event for you and your friends.

I was thinking today about this Holiday and how restaurants handle it. I've worked at all types of restaurants and depending on the climate of the restaurant, they treat these summer holidays differently. Well, at least they should.

At one place, we were on the main street and were a more casual dining place in the day and more elegant at night. There was, as I remember the right staffing for each shift according to the tendencies of the past. We all know how things can be inconsistent, but still, good owners and managers tend to look at past trends, throw in some common sense and go from there. Other places....not so much.

One year I missed a family reunion in Canada because of poor planning. I worked at a very elegant place in a resort town that is known for out door activities. The owner/manager thought we would be very busy and wanted a very full staff. I on the other hand knew we wouldn't be busy, but couldn't convince her of that fact. She was relatively new to the restaurant industry and that coupled with the fact that she wasn't wearing her common sense hat led to my missing a fun family event. People bbq on this middle-of-the-summer event. They don't tend to go to posh places in droves. It's a hamburger kind of Holiday.

Well I was also thinking today how this simple situation in the life of waiter or waitress could be a scene in the remake. A casual way to educate managers. I was out to lunch with a pal last week who had recently watched the movie and she told our waitress how she learned something not to ever do again when she went out with friends. It was the separate checks with couples all over the place scene. The movie is a way to educate as well as entertain.

That's all for now. Oh yeah, by the way, that 4th of July night when I was forced to miss the reunion? I waited on 2, yes count 'em, 2 people. The next night wasn't much better...;-) Ah well, that's the biz.

Waiters

Am I missing something? I don't get it. I can't say for sure because I'm not in their shoes. I can only say what I know from experience, but I just don't get it.

Last night I started reading "Waiter Rant". Some friends had given it to me a while ago and I have just now picked it up. Everything in its time. I was immediately zapped back to the opening minutes of "Waiting".

My immediate feeling is that Steve and Rob share the same opinion about the restaurant business. Why did they both feel the need to open their book and movie with the subject of sex? Specifically involving the utensil they both have that I don't. Obviously they were setting a tone for their work and I don't get it.

Did I coincidentally find, in all my 25 years plus of waitressing, places of employment where the waiters actually liked their job and respected their co-workers: both male and female? Did I just happen to get jobs at places where vulgar language and crude behavior were absent? Did I find the only restaurant environments where we swore and joked around, but we still had respect for each other even if it was only for a season or a year? Did people suddenly change all their language and behavior when I walked around the corner and came within earshot or eyesight? Somehow I find all that hard to believe. Ok, before you start swearing at me saying how I am 'full of shit', I will briefly tell you about a couple of the places where I worked.

The restaurant where I worked for 15 years was probably filled with the most colorful characters. Of course there were sexual innuendos flying all over the place, that's normal. That's the biz. It's not like the corporate world. You know that! Guys are always saying things... You know, like when you bend down to pick something up, and one of those guys are there and they say, "While you're down there." Or one time I had a chef say how he wanted to take my long braids and thread them through his belt hoops. It was all in good fun--whether he was serious or not, and he didn't actually say "Hey Patti how about you and I go out back and you give me a blow job". See the difference? Maybe you do and maybe you don't. But I do and it has to do with respect. Sure you have the underlying subject of sex running rampant all night long--it usually is, but we weren't vulgar about it. AND it wasn't the focus of our time there, we're busy working hard!

I didn't get far last night because I was thinking, "oh no not again". I'm going to have to read the book (research) and actually, I think it will be entertaining and fun in a way, but it will be going overboard with certain issues because it sells. "Waiting" was filled with unrealistic situations about sex that I have never seen nor heard about. I know the movie was very popular with the 18-22 year old boys, and maybe that's what they do. I'm not a boy, so I don't know about the obsession with their equipment. When I was at the theater watching "Waiting", with in the first 5 minutes, a middle aged couple walked out. I really wished I could have joined them--research kept me there. It was tough. I will say however that there were a couple of realistic scenes about what goes on in the back of the house, but only a couple and they didn't have to do with food, but rather with actions of the waitstaff and the "acting out front" that goes on in the throes of frustration.

"Waiter Rant" was a popular book and I am pretty sure I will say "oh yeah, that DOES happen" to many parts, but all the sex at work? (If it's in there--again, I didn't get far.) I'm not saying it NEVER happens, of course it does, and no I'm not a prude, believe me I'm not, but I never ran to the walkin or to a bathroom stall to have sex in the middle of a shift like in "Waiting", and I don't know anyone who has. You wait until AFTER the shift for crying out loud! What's wrong with you guys!

The back of Steve's book says and I quote, "and ways to ensure that your waiter won't spit in your food." Seriously? In all the hundreds of years of combined service when I interviewed servers for my movie, about 99% said they never had, never seen and never would, spit in someone's food. I was told about one waiter who was fired because he joked about it. FIRED! Joked about it! So all this stuff about spitting, is in the movies and in the minds of waiters turned writers. Waiters who respect their jobs and their bosses (maybe that's harder to find with some of the managers around), would not spit or worse in someone's food. Besides, they'd have to hang around and wait to watch the person eat. What do they gain and who has time for that? Yes I can hear it now from that miniscule percentage of people who actually have tampered with someone's food, how I'm the idiot and don't know what real servers do. Well, sorry but you're wrong. Have you done the research I've done? Have you worked for over 25 years in the industry and never seen anything remotely like that?

My experience is that restaurant people have more integrity and self respect than that! I worked at one restaurant in Wisconsin where even the 'F' word was never heard. One time in a panic, I let it fly and did I ever get in trouble. I was surprised to be honest, because it kinda is an accepted word in the fast furious and stressful world of serving. It just kinda happens. Nothing is meant by it usually-- just a reflex.

Yes this post is probably charged a bit more with emotion that I usually am, but I am so tired of people portraying servers as crude and lewd people. And when it's done by those in the industry just to sell their stuff, well.... Yeah yeah I know, there are people like that in the industry-- of course there are, but do you have to start out like that to set that same negative tone that those of us who actually like the industry are trying so hard to fight? C'mon guys. Or maybe it's just a guy thing. You know, I'm going to call some of my former co-workers and ask them some questions. I know they'll be honest, they have nothing to gain. And you know? I really don't care if I get any rebuttals that I am way off. At least I'll know that someone is reading this! Peace out...

Ch Ch Ch Changes

Wasn't that a great song? Well now we're undergoing changes here on the website. We're making it more sleek and taking away information that bogged it down. I guess we figure that at this point, the interviews and articles tell the story. See, I have a few friends who have been working on the site all this time. I may have made a movie pretty much by myself, but I am not about, at this point anyway, to tackle html code. I'm still fighting with Facebook for getting the code for my new website!

So one of my friends said that we need to make changes, and sell some DVD's. He so pleasantly reminded me that I haven't made a cent off of the movie and I deserve to after all the hard work I did to make a movie that I didn't want to make in the first place. Ok, I said. Sure, go for it. I'm just a messenger.

While doing the research that I am always doing for water and also restaurant articles, I came across this cool documentary that was released last year. It's called, "Dish: Women, Waitressing and the Art of Service". It has been in a bunch of Film Festivals and I'm glad because it seems to be on the right side of the table so to speak. I just discovered it last night and am looking into it. So check it out. Maybe it's counter productive to promote another's film on my blog, but the way I look at it, if people see it and like it, they might be inclined to watch ours. Besides, hers is a documentary--something people thought I should have made after my first one--and mine is a narrative: she's a filmmaker, I'm a waitress. Hey I was just doing as I felt I was told. You do know that I was in a total zone much of the time I wrote the movie. You didn't? Ah well, listen to the PRI interview and you'll see.

And if you read my other blog on the Remake 4 Water site, you can find out some ideas about water conservation. Let's Do It!

It's just EVERYWHERE!!!

Today I am working on my new website that I have for the project. It will be posted when I am done. (Now I know why so many people get other people to do their websites!)

So, I was getting links for webpages and came across this page about Ben and Jerry's new thing they are doing on Twitter. It just seems that everyone is getting in on the wave of helping others. Isn't it great! I see that Water For People has a new person who is climbing mountains to raise money. His name is Jake Norton and you can read about him here. He's using his skills and passion to help. It's really cool what he is doing. I think it's great because we are all in this together. It doesn't matter how people get water, just so they do!

I'm going to combine things so people are not having to find more money to give. They can give by doing something that they already do and might even learn something in the process. We are always learning!

Once I get my new website up, I will stop blogging here and just use one there. The new website is "remake4water.org". I choose org because I'm not looking to make money or ask for money, I need people. Just one. Just one person who sees the vision like I do (and not just friends, family or strangers whom I tell and they all say it's a swell idea). Just the right person with influence who will say, "Hey, that's a good idea. Yeah, Let's Do It!".

Do you know how many light bulbs were made before the one that worked was produced? Do you know how many publishers she went to before Harry Potter was published? Do you know how many restaurants the Colonel went to before someone agreed with him? (one source says 1009 restaurants!) Hey, I'm not trying to be that influential or big, but you get the idea! I am persistent. This CAN be done! Gotto go!

Another Country!

It's amazing how much we take something for granted until it's gone. You think I am going to talk about water. Nope. I am talking about computers, so I say greetings from my new computer! Yup my old one finally decided to leave the building. It had been edging towards the door then suddenly it crashed out. It's all good though as this new one is amazing. I can work much faster and easier now so the great news is that I am back working on the project again! I have missed being able to do so, and have loads of energy to put into it, so look out. There were other hurdles to jump hence the long delay, but when I was making the movie, I had 7 hard drive crashes and I kept going, so I know that nothing is going to stop me.

The movie isn't and never was a dream for me. My dream is about 32 years old. I have always wanted to do something to help people in some way and I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing. It all makes sense to me now. So I am putting my latest video here and sorry that it's me again, but until I find the right person and people to do this, I have to be the spokesperson.

I don't know if you have heard or not about Songs For Japan, but it's amazing what people are doing and giving and I was so excited to hear about it because it just proves my beliefs that people can and do want to help. Musicians have donated, the record labels have donated and now it's out on Sony. Here's the Wikipedia page to read more about it.

What's with another country? We just added another one to the Mininova downloads, so we are at 175 and that's just from that one website. We are also at almost 45,000 and Minova was out of commission for a while! Not bad for a 4 year old movie by nobody with nobody in it! This benefit movie can and will happen! The evidence that all the components to make this happen have happened before, so why not again and NOW! C'mon. Let's Do It!

Summit Daily News Article

Last Friday, the Summit Daily News ran an article about what has happened with the movie and what I am going to do with it in the future. You can read about it here. I am very grateful to them for running the article and want to point out that I am not going to remake the movie. I am going to find the people who are as passionate about the Global Water Crisis as I am and they are going to remake it. I don't want to be in the film business! I'm not a filmmaker, I'm a waitress who happens to believe in helping people with the most basic need in life--water!

Tomorrow is WWD--World Water Day, and I suggested on Facebook that people should do an experiment. When they are thirsty tomorrow, instead of immediately reaching for that glass of cool, clean and clear water, they should wait 5 minutes and see what it's like to not have water at their fingertips. I believe that too many people still waste too much water and don't understand that water is precious. The water crisis isn't just in 3rd world countries. Having lived in Colorado for so many years, I know about water restrictions, and even here in High River Alberta, we have different "levels of water conservation" in effect at certain times of the year. Don't think for a minute that water troubles are only for other countries!

So what are you going to do tomorrow to observe WWD? Even if you pause for a minute and think about the different ways you waste water, that's a start. Then you can choose from the many many non-profits that are focusing on this issue and give to them. Follow your stars and see who they support. But maybe just maybe, next year you can go and see a movie and know that all the money is going to help as many of those organizations as possible. What an idea. It will happen! C'mon, Let's Do It!

National Public Radio

It was 4 years ago to the day that I was first on NPR! How time flies eh? The movie has been out and about around the world and having a great time. I just talked to a friend in Germany yesterday and she was excited about this new project and will be spreading the word.

I have been doing a lot of research about water charities and celebrities and have found that there are about 170 celebs that are concerned about water. Surely I will find one or two who agree that my Project Remake is a good idea. By the way, I just received the latest Celebs Gone Good and now Taylor Swift is on the band wagon. They keep on coming and coming, and realizing how they can help and what influence they have.

While doing research, I have come across many sites that deal with the power of positive thinking, the law of attraction and other ideas along those lines and came across a wonderful tool to use to have the life that The Secret talked about, but didn't really give a way to actually do it. We all have some work to do on ourselves to make us the kind of people whom we were really meant to be, and to reach our dreams. The World Tapping Summit is an amazing tool and it was free, which is a good sign of helping others without gain, but now they are giving 100% of the proceeds from the purchase of the movie, (which is at half price to make it easier on our pocketbooks) to help Japan. It's the very same IDEA I have about my movie and what it can do. These guys started out at $5,000 and in a day or two bumped it up to $10,000 because of the response! See??? People DO want to help others. With Project Remake, they will be doing just that. AND, it won't be only when there is an immediate tragedy, because this is ONGOING!!!

C'mon! Let's Do It!!!

More for Water!!

As you know, I have been doing research for my proposal regarding Project Remake and continually come across interesting news. So, apparently there's some guy who is having his 17th birthday today, who happens to be from Stratford Ontario-- where I lived many many moons ago. We visited Stratford quite frequently when I was growing up because my grandparents lived there. I was just there again about 2 years ago, roaming around by the Avon river taking photos of the beautiful swans that grace the park, by the Shakespeare Theatre and of COURSE I had Ken's French Fries downtown! Yummy!

So anyway, this young man is having a special birthday today because he has asked people to give $17 to a charity that he is supporting, instead of giving presents to him. Do people actually give presents to stars? I really don't know. I also really didn't know about this young man until fairly recently because I am so busy with the project or am gone so much, and simply because I am over 50 and don't know too much about young people's stars. But apparently millions of kids DO know about this young man. This is from an article about him today: In the meantime he's clearly done his homework on finding a charity that does a great deal of positive work on the planet. "100% of all donations go directly to building clean water projects in developing countries with Charity: Water and we'll be able to see photos and GPS of the projects we helped build!" he notes.

So, how great is that!!??

Oh yeah, his name? Who is this you ask? Justin Bieber. So many fans have donated and by doing that and talking about it to their friends, they are spreading the word! People care so much about what their favorite celebrities are doing. See how a benefit movie--stars being benevolent--would really get attention?

OK, Let's Do It!!!

Project Remake News

I have been away, but I'm back. My job in the oil patch is on hold for a while, so I am working on Project Remake. You can find out more about PR if you click on its button on the home page. My goal is to have something in place by March 22 which is World Water Day. I am waiting to hear from Water For People which is based in Denver, Colorado. They do great work and I am asking simply for an endorsement for the project. My proposal has been forwarded to their marketing company in New York city, so I look at that as a good sign. But regardless of their decision, I will march forward.

My friend Paul Paz of Waiter's World suggested that I make a short video about the project, so I did and it's on You Tube. I need to find the right people who believe that this is a good idea and that it will help others as I sincerely believe it will.



Great events happening all around us, signs that people are doing things to help others get water. Katie Spotz rowed across the Atlantic to raise awareness for water through WaterAid International (and by the way is the first woman to do so!). Right now there are 4 British men who are going across on a raft! "An-Tiki" is the name of their raft--funny as they aren't exactly 22 years old like Katie! Matt Damon and Gary White who co-founded Water.org are also making headway in the fight, and Matt's brother Kyle is using his passion for athletics to help and very recently founded TeamWater.org. These are just a couple of examples, but the time is right for many reasons. Do you know about the MDG? No, not MGD for us restaurant people, MDG! They are the Millennium Development Goals. One of them is to end world poverty by 2015, and water has a lot to do with that! Do a Google search and you will find loads of info about it.

I will keep spreading the word and finding out about the wonderful movements going on to help fight the Global Water Crisis. In the meantime, if you are reading this, go to our home page and click on the Facebook and Twitter links to follow us. As things happen I will let people know. Thanks for reading this. C'mon, Let's Do It!!!

Project Remake

Greetings from Alberta!

It's beautiful as you can see and we are loving the winter. Jimmy really loves to race around in the snow! We are settled and I am meeting more and more people. I will get right to it. Looking at the last blog, and seeing the stats from Mininova makes me excited! Here are today's stats: 39,458 from 172 countries. It's been gaining momentum and with the new project, it will gain even more.

As many people know. I lived without water for 13 of the last 16 years, so water has always been an important issue for me. Back in the spring, an idea popped into my head and as much as I resisted it, I am now fully committed to it. Here I go again! I have no idea how or when, but my mission is to get the movie re-made with stars, and have profits go to non-profit organizations that fight the Global Water Crisis.

Restaurants depend very heavily on water and I believe it's a perfect fit. Look into Peter Wentz and the UNICEF "Tap Water Project". I also believe there are issues in the world today that are being addressed, and being more benevolent to our fellow human being is one of them. From the research I've been doing, the time is right for a "benefit movie" and I am going to see this through even if I have gray hair and glasses when it happens! From what I am seeing with both the decrease in giving because of the hard times that abound around the world (oh I am sad about my dear Ireland) and the movement about treatment to servers (go to "I'm your server, not your servant" on Facebook) I know the time is NOW! What a concept. Go to a movie--something you already do- and help fellow human beings without dipping into your pocket for additional giving.

That's it for today. OK. Let's do it!

Back in Canada

Greetings from the Great White North! Actually Spring is trying to make its way here so things are turning green.

It's been quite a while since I have blogged. One reason is because I have been without a computer for a long time, but now have one again so I might be here more often. Another reason is because I have been getting myself settled here in Canada. I was born here and spent time in Ontario- the Province of my birth and where most of my family lives- but then had to get back to the west where my heart is and has been for many years. It's been in the mountains in Colorado and now is near the beautiful Canadian Rockies. I had a chance to live in British Columbia in the mountains, but opted for a small cow town south of Calgary. I see the whole expanse of the mountain range from afar and it's pretty impressive. Just another experience to have under the ol' belt of life.

I have been away from the movie for a long time as I let it go out on its own. It has done well actually. Remember the Mininova thing--the free download? Well the movie has been downloaded over 28,000 times in 167 countries in the world! I didn't even know there WERE 167 countries! There are 195 or 203 depending on the source you get the info. So wow! Loads of people around the world are seeing the movie. My hope is that they are learning from it and treating restaurant people with more respect and politeness!

Ok anyone who might be reading this.....have a great day!

Just Hello

Hello from colorful Wisconsin!

It's a beautiful fall day and the leaves are falling off the trees and it looks like it's snowing leaves! It's such a great time of year.

The PRWeb press release has been out now for almost 2 weeks and it's being seen by laods of people in many countries! It's great to get the word out and hopefully raise awareness of how people treat those in the restaurant industry. Click here to see the release. The movie is still being downloaded at a fairly steady rate now from Mininova and it's on a lot of other sites as well. It's on it's own now and it just keeps growing!

I haven't been able to get a job in this climate of hard times it seems, but I think in my case it's because I tend to move a lot lately, so it doesn't look good on paper. That's ok because change is in the air and I am looking forward to it! Ok, gotta go and I will be back here now and then but for the most part, I'm done! Time to move on and do something else. Have a good one!