ARRGH!!!

I just sometimes feel like they make it so difficult to start a business that it is a miracle anyone does it.

Last night I hopped in the bath with the food safety booklet that Ghislane brought me (she works for the Napa Health Department) and, not that I am surprised TRULY, I need to write a HACCP plan for smoked, cured or pickled items. I will be doing all three! So I have to write (3!!) HACCP plans.

Here is the template I am using, which my beloved sweetly put in excel form: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/rii/rii-hazards-blank-form.pdf

And I need to renew my ServSafe certification so I called to see if I could do the online test with a proctor (they have someone watch you take it) and it seems I will have to do the written one, which takes longer to get the results of. And I have to repay for it... which is only $75, but still!

AND... AND... and the fire inspector who does Martinez has a full voicemail box and the other number they gave me is going straight to voicemail, meaning everyone is on vacation for Thanksgiving, so I won't be able to get that thing crossed off my to-do list either.

But the positves are...

I got to chat with Stein yesterday and I think we are on the same page about uniforms (baseball jersey types with "Compass Star" on them and funny sayings). We went to this little Italian style deli in Alameda that seemed quite popular. I was pleasantly surprised to see the tables change over several times while we were sittign there, plus a lot of to-go sandwiches etc. I have my projections based on 40 covers in 4 hours and they easily saw more than that in the hour we were there (which was admittably the lunch hour rush). I also need to add a commerical toaster to my list of stuff I need... I am not sure how I missed that in the first place?

I was really encouraged by the experience because I had the hot pastrami sandwich and it was decent but nothing like mine. I am not sure how they can even make pastrami without imparting that peppery smokey flavor... it really isn't pastrami without that. Stein had the meatball sandwich and I noticed others got that as well, making me more determined than ever to serve my meatball sliders.

Today I am trying not to feel discouraged. It just seems like every time I move forward a bit, there are ten more things I need to do that I was blissfully unaware of just the day before. But my determination to do this thing is, if anything, stronger now than ever. Next week are my final Nutrition Class plus Supervisory management. Then I will just need to finish Cross Cultural Healing and I will be done (with the Culinary Arts Certificate and the Baking and Pastry Certificate), then I just need two online classes next semester to get my Associates Degree in Hospitality Management. Whew.