Busiest day of the year

Anyone who stays in Melbourne should know the popular vietnamese restaurant call "mekong"?
Well, let me just start off by saying...I'm one of the staff members and I've been working there for a year, the busiest day we've had is without a doubt during boxing day which is 26th of december..

I still remember the last year's boxing day... when I'm still a newbie.. my "senior" staff member warned us that we(the newbie) are gonna start boxing, it's not a normal busy that we usually experienced, it is very very very busy..blah blah blah..
but I thought their statement was exaggerated and I never understood the word "busy" because while I'm still a newbie, I'd always thought mekong is always busy during lunch and dinner time...so I take it as a joke.
but during that day right before I started working(afternoon shifter) and walks into the restaurant, I can already see right from mcD, that a bunch of customers are waiting to be seated... that was the time I started to realise how terror is the boxing day..soon I found out the meaning of "very very very busy", the staff members, pho ingredients, drinks, everything..were all doubled than the usual day...yet I didn't have the time to rest/wonder around..

This time I get to experienced right from the start till the end(8.30am-10pm)...and I work as a waitress taking order for the customers instead of serving food to the customers(that's my last year's job!)
On the usual morning day, it needs 1 waiter taking orders,1 making rice paper roll and 1 serving meals..but during boxing day we need 2 waitress taking orders, 1 making rice paper roll and 2 serving meals(as I said, staff members were doubled!)
So here's how it went..
Before I start flipping the plate from "close" to "open", there are some customers already waiting outside.. they keep starring at us~ hoping for the moment I flipped the plate.. lol.. and the moment I flipped it(we opened at 9am), a group of 8, 6 and 2 customers came in,
f*ck yeah! 16 customers @9am :p... that was the only time when we have the least people, and the only time that I can enjoy watching TV..
Later, I was ordered to look at the customers, at the same time trying to fill up fork and spoons, but I was unable to finish my fork & spoons job as the number of customers keep increasing as time passes..and by 9.30am(nearly half an hour from the start), the whole restaurant was already half full..
at 10am, it was 75% full...and right before 11am, it was already full house..however, I manage to get a seat for my lunch,~ so, I got no complains.. lol~~
there was the time, though I can't remember the time....
It's our only reserved table, we put a reserve plate on the table when there are no customer waiting outside and the table is clear and empty but the "reserve" plate got taken off in 2 seconds because another group of customer came....~XD. lol~ what's the point on putting the reserve plate anyway?

Soon, by 11.30am, the customers starting to wait outside, waiting to be seated..and the "very very very busy" moment continues non stop until 4pm.

the "very very very busy" moment:
1. Constant full house(full of people)..no empty seat or clear table..(imagine if it continues like this for 4.5hours)
2. non stop customers waiting outside, my supervisor keeps them busy, he didn't even have the time to go inside and take orders for the seated customers...well, sometime he has..
he was standing at the front door right from 12pm until 4pm.
3. Full of ordering form at the kitchen..poor poor chefs
4. Staff members doubles than the usual day..(normally its 6 members, but during boxing day, we have 10 staff members and 2 dishwashers)
5. Non stop packing up dishes for the waiting customers to be seated..jeez!!
6. no time for drink to clear my troat
7. Every 3 minutes there is a customer request for a new teapot
8. had to fill up teacups every 5 minutes..
9. as long as the customers are willing or satisfied with the seating and don't mind sharing table, any kind of seating pattern is ok...even zig zagly,horizontally, vertically, circumferencely.. big groups separate tables..or groups of 3 sharing with 1 , groups of 5 sharing with 3, groups of 6 sharing with 2, groups of 7 sharing with 1,groups of 4 sharing with 3, groups of 3 with 3..groups of 2 sharing with 2, groups of 2 sharing with 1 and 1..even 1 sharing with 1,1 and 1...etcetc..
10. keeps moving the chairs..in and out..
sometimes we have table but no chair..so how? you can't ask people to stand and eat mah..
sometimes we have chair but no table...so how? you can't ask people to hold it and eat mah..
no choice la~
11. Where's mah chilli?????
The fresh chilli and chilli oil...OMG~~~ that pissed me off soo much! the fresh chilli cup runs out in a flash, I was like..what? 2 cups left with half filling fresh chilli for 24 tables at 12pm when we had 20 full filling fresh chilli cup right at the beginning? I don't even bother to search tables that has fresh chilli.., it feels like hunting treasure =.=~ so, instead of searching the fresh chilli cup, I had to dig out a bucket of fresh chilli and fill it into a saucer plate for the customers..
and that chilli oil~~ seriously, the customers keep asking for chilli oil here and there.. we have 22 full filling chilli oil right at the beginning and it went down to only 2 containers , with 10% filled chilli oil before 8pm..(the rest are all emptied)
yes, only 2 left..and the filling is not even a quarter..which means we almost run out of chilli oil~
but did you know in the usual day, we had not find any emptied chilli oil container right from the beginning till the end? even we found some, but the maximum emptied chilli oil container was less than 3 and it can still maintain until 10pm..I'm really stunned by today's outcome... never expect it runs out soooOOOOOO quickly and I dare to say, there will be no chilli oil if someone doesn't fill it by 9.00pm (we couldn't take that "can I pls have chilli oil?" request anymore, so one of us started to fill at around 8pm)
all I can say is..my gaWd~ the fresh chilli especially, chilli oil and onion..
to find this 3 item is such a pain in the ass =-= ... why are we soo worried about that?
12. the floor is sooooooooooooo dirty!! We usually swept and mop the floor twice but today we only do it once..

and so on..
Boxing day is without a doubt, the BUSIEST day of the year, truly magnificent! None of the day can describe "busier" than this day~not even chinese new year, or whatever year..not even one
the "busy" continues non stop from 9.30am until 10pm...
It was really tiring >.<, I got hamstring pain in the end@.@~
however, I enjoy working during boxing day...because for me it was a great experience, this is a very special day where you get to see lots of staff members and it was fun, we even joke about 2 people having separate table XD..and I hate it when it's not busy..lol :D~~~

alright, I've type too much XD~
merry christmas guys!!