A week's gone by

Hey all!

I have now been working for a week. I'm not quite an old hand at it yet, though. The way the kitchen works is everyone kind of jumps in on the different tasks, so I don't (thankfully) do everything on any given day. But as a result of that and working ahead, it could be weeks before I do everything in the kitchen.

For example, yesterday Vivian baked the breakfast special as I was cleaning up after the picnic. She made enough for three weeks, so no one has to bake it again for the next two. It'd be nice to just do it all in bulk and get it all done, but there's really no way to do all that. Some stuff, like the BlackBottomBanana cream pie I made, don't keep for more than a few days.

Fridays and Sundays are clean-out-the-fridge days. Friday there's a picnic, which I worked this week. God, it was insane. You cook chicken the day before (boil), and then the day of, you lug it (32 pieces in this case), side dishes, plates, coolers and everything else to this really nice picnic site and then cook it again, this time BBQing it over a hot as heck stove.

It really was hot, too. I drank lemonade the whole time but didn't think about the sugar effect. After getting a headache there, I returned, did the dishes and drank tons of water but still ended up tossing my BBQ chicken and Rice Krispies into the crew toilet. Not good.

Anyway, on that day, the other cook cleans out the fridge and gives the few crew members who aren't on the ride (about six) leftovers. We do that again on Sunday, after the guests leave. Every other day there is a fairly stable menu, and it's really good good. Salmon last night, steak tonight and ribs tomorrow. Lunches are also fairly nice, although I noticed a lot of the staff opts out of the BLT day. We have an alternative meal and there are always chicken strips for the Nic and Zac types.

This week has been hectic. My day off will be Saturday so since I started on Saturday, I worked seven straight days and am really whipped. I haven't counted my hours, but I really would pour them on if I could. I hope to be allowed to do so, especially since the other prep cooks have been here longer and are understandably ready for some time off.

I rode twice this week, plus did a riding test. Three horses total, each with his own quirks. I hope when it settles in to ride more times weekly, but who knows how it will pan out. With Saturday off I could feasibly go all day, but there will be times I want to go into town, too. I already have a Wal-Mart list going. I rode this morning but declined this afternoon so I could write more KSAs for jobs. Joy.

We've had two families here this week and they are so nice. Both have kids and I've enjoyed playing with them. Being in the kitchen is fun to do, but you miss out on seeing the guests. You really have to make time to do it, and I am trying. Last night we had a guy come in and sing songs and I sat with some of the guests to listen. It was cool.

There's a little library here with books previous guests have brought and left. Someone after my own heart has about four of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, so I have been catching up on my summer reading. There are some real books, too, and perhaps I'll make time for them.

But in the meantime, it's KSAs for me.