Well folks, I have gotten a little behind on the blog and since I have explored this area a year ago, I decided to consolidate #TaylorPark to a few blog posts…

It was great to be back in #Colorado and see the familiar sites I left a year ago… To my surprise, the staff from last year returned… Billy the Chef was back, along with Robert who preps and helps cook during the busy times… Dave, the breakfast cook, was back and Matt the server…

Basically there was only new dishwashers and a few servers who I didn’t know and all of the servers except one had worked at #TaylorPark in the past… So the operations side of #TheNuggetCafe was looking really good… Especially with the addition of my girlfriend Tracey… Let me tell you, she is one great server! She is very particular about organization and cleanliness along with a very calm attitude, which is a requirement when working these #VacationJobs…

And let me tell you, #TheNuggetCafe puts the most stable people to the test… It is very high volume with customers who are very demanding and thankless when it comes to service in a restaurant… We all know the type and they are over abundant out here…

But after the first day, it seemed like Tracey had been doing this for years… She basically got the same training I did… that’s a quick tour of where everything is, a quick lesson on how to use the basic register and a sheet with abbreviations so you can hand write your orders for the kitchen… After the 10 minute training, you are given a notepad and sent out to the wolves…

Tracey killed it, as I expected and Chris now gets to enjoy a cafe which is very organized, clean and everything is set up the exact same way… Something a bunch of sloppy guys tend to overlook, even Chris… The Nugget Cafe got a woman’s touch this year and what a difference that makes…

So, we got everything we ever wanted up here… Free laundry, free living and free food… You can’t really spend much money because you are out in the middle of nowhere and working a lot… Tracey and I got the night shifts, which we wanted… We would start at 1:45 and be done somewhere between 10 and 11 at night…

There’s a lot of side work but Chris makes up for that by letting us run the #cafe how we like… He hardly ever manages us and that lack of control makes The Nugget Cafe work perfectly…

Every night we have #specials and now I had someone to compete with… Tracey, the Kitchen and I would entertain ourselves in this ever busy, relentless environment by creating competition between Tracey and I… Every night we would compete to see who could sell the most dinner specials and burgers of the day… Every shift the kitchen, Tracey and I would joke, compete and make the best of what we had… And let me tell you, it makes for one of the best working experiences I have had in my life… Then you have Chris joining in and sometimes it didn’t even feel like a job…

I would work some #breakfasts where needed but the day shifts were pretty much held by Matt, Ryan and Mike… Then on our days off they would cover the night shifts… It worked out perfectly because the guys wanted their nights free and we wanted our days free… So for once in my lifetime, I was working at a place where the servers didn’t fight and complain about their shifts… It was so refreshing!

I mean, it wasn’t all roses and daisies but it was very low drama for a #workplace in the #restaurant field… And I’m sure my age and knowledge over the years helps to create a better work environment, along with Tracey’s calm demeanor…

I felt at home, coming back to #TheColoradoDreamRanch… It was amazing how I worked with these guys who are completely #political opposites of me yet we all get along and are even happy to see each other again… It’s a good lesson in life that I will make sure I reference when I have such troubles in the future…

The Nugget Cafe hadn’t really changed… It was the same menu, same set up and the same prices… Why fix it if it ain’t broke? We would have special nights like #BBQRibFridays, #PrimeRibSaturdays, #FishFrySundays and #MeatloafMondays… Our #BurgerOfTheDay (or #B.O.D.) ranged from #TheAngryObama, which was a bacon cheeseburger with pineapple, bacon and jalapeños, to #ThePorkyPig, which was a tender Pork loin with bacon, cheese and a mild sauce… I wish I could remember all of the names we came up with for the B.O.Ds… Some were hilarious…

I was a lot more excited to be back than I thought I would be and Tracey liked this place a lot more than she thought she would… It was great to be back to my temporary #SummerHome and I was so happy to experience it with someone who I love and experience it with #TheMillenniumFalcon as originally intended…

It’s a great life folks and the setbacks do become important, needed lessons if you open you eyes and see them… I’m glad #TheTravelingMac hit such obstacles in the past and I’m glad I had to get my engine overhauled in such a fashion… Because without those setbacks, I would not be where I am now and thinking the way I do… Thank you #Universe! I have learned yet another needed lesson even though I resisted the lesson practically the whole way… lol!