Snow day!

The snow day. Remember that feeling, from when you were still in school? I was reminded what that feels like today, when I received a text from work that I didn't need to come in. Snow day!!!

Funny work story. Last week a coworker named Poloma was frying up some bite sized somethings, and I asked what they were. Chicken something or other. "Want to try one?" Sure! I always jump at the chance to eat at work; kills time, soothes the belly, staves off the shakes (low blood sugar), kills time. She pointed me toward the pile of cooked chicken somethings. "Mmmm, chicken" Homer Simpson's voice said in my head. I popped one in my mouth and scurried back to my corner. Hmm. Cold? Weird- but oh well. Mushy. Mushy is odd. I froze. Are these even cooked? "Poloma, was it that pile you pointed to?" "No." Her eyes widen with disbelief. "OH CHRIS!!! You didn't! I was going to say, but I thought 'No, he knows'." I didn't know. I took the ball of breaded mush out of my mouth and spit into the trash can, as the buzz of hilarity and disbelief spread through the chicken. There were lots hands over mouths. The occasional "Chris! Oh my gosh!" And the expected trickle in of "What happened? ...Oh no!"

I, Chris Comiskey, who is so easily grossed out by so many things, chomped away on a piece of breaded RAW chicken. Gross.

I'm a worrier too...

Panic set in. I might get Salmonella poisoning. Somebody call 111! (New Zealand's 911). "Go wash out your mouth in the toilet!" Kat said. She wasn't referring to the toilet bowl; the bathroom/restroom is referred to as the toilet. Leo calmed the fears, "Dude, you'll seriously be fine. I used to work with this chick that ate raw chicken all the time. Her parents were, like, hippies or something." Phew. Thanks Leo. If that girl ate raw chicken, I'll be OK. Right? BETSY!!!!

"Betsy, I ate raw chicken and it was an accident and I'm stupid but I didn't mean to and I don't want to get Salmonella poisoning but I'm afraid I will am I going to die?!" Enter Betsy, the true voice of compassionate reason. "Oh sweetie, it'll be fine. Even if you do get salmonella poisoning, my mom got it and she was fine. It'll be OK." Phew. Now that helps. "...but, why did you eat raw chicken?" Um. I just. Well, I... Then Betsy got a good laugh out of the whole deal. A good laugh. A good, looong laugh.

I won't be eating any raw chicken today, because today is a snow day!

Relief

This blog will be presented in bullet format.

• Betsy is cooking dinner, and I'm blogging. She's making potatoes, carrots, and peas to go with the roasted chicken. She's awesome. I'm hungry.
• We went to McLaren Falls yesterday, and spent the night there. The A+ students among you will remember the name, and pictures. Getting away is nice. McLaren Falls is lovely. And very still; a stillness which isn't interrupted by the wonderful sounds of the animal life about. In fact, I'd say it's enhanced. The ducks are super friendly. They come around, mostly wanting some food. One animal (part duck, part black swan maybe? A swuck?), seems to come around merely to say hello.
  
• The swuck earned the spot as my favorite. He's an odd duck, but he charmed his way into my heart. During our first visit to McLaren Falls, I was actually scared of him; he sometimes seemed a bit mad, crazed. I couldn't really get past his appearance. This time, he seemed to really enjoy our company, without wanting anything from us. This is an endearing trait in the most disheveled, awkward Swauck you've ever seen. At one point he stopped his incessant tearing and ripping at the grass, and simply sat down next to us. Stay tuned for some pictures, and you'll get a glimpse of this eccentric, friendly creature, caught on camera for the first time.
  
• I feel refreshed after our stay at McLaren Falls. The absence of cars, noise, the TV, the internet, distractions in general, and dishes- was much needed.
• Being alone with Betsy for 24 hours was even better.
  
• Substitute teaching is called relief teaching in New Zealand. I'm looking into being a relief teacher, because I may need some relief from washing dishes. At that point, you could call me a reliever. Baseball joke. Get it?
  
• Relating to previous bullet point, washing dishes is getting a bit old. Some shifts feel like they're never going to end. Most shifts.
  
• On the positive side, I really get along with my coworkers. I like them all, and I'd go so far as to call a couple of them my buddies.
  
• There is one "coworker" that I really don't like. At all. We'll go into that more once I'm not working at Sidetrack anymore. The internet, after all, isn't private.
• Well, I best get going. I'm the chicken cutter.

The Art of Washing Dishes

Washing dishes may seem pretty simple, and in many ways it is. However, when I wash dishes, it's an art. Here are some strategies and principles to keep in mind, should you ever find yourself washing dishes commercially.

Note: These principles/strategies apply primarily during busy business hours. If business is slow, just keep moving and you'll be fine.

1) Plan Ahead & Be Aware. Don't mindlessly pack them in. What's needed? If the cafe or restaurant is perilously low on cutlery, more plates won't help. You'll only know this by keeping an eye out. What sort of dish/cup is piling up? Look at the stacks of mugs/cups on the coffee maker. Anything look low? Ask the servers/barristas if they're running out of anything. Try to arrange your next load to accomplish the specific need at that time, if there is one. More simply, make maximum use of each rack load. If you don't fill a rack to capacity, you've effectively just shrank the rack.

2) Be organized. Being organized helps the staff more easily pile dishes before running back to the front, which in turn helps you pack dish racks. Plus, you may be called away to bus a few tables, run some food, or even run some drinks. If this happens, you need the dish pit to survive until you return. If it's messy when you leave, you may return to the aftermath of a tornado. Being organized is being prepared for anything.

3) Always have a cycle going. The limiting reagent (a shout out to chemistry buffs), or the thing limiting your speed, is the 4 minutes or so the dishwasher requires to wash a load. There's no getting around this 4 minutes. The best you can do then, is always have a load going. If the washer is idle for 30 seconds, then it basically took 4 minutes and 30 seconds for the load. Be ready with the next load when a rack is being washed. Number 2 helps with this.

4) Give everything a glance before inserting it into the rack. If I put a dish in the washer with a hunk of crusted... something on it, it may not come out clean. That's gonna cost me time on the tail end. You give it a cursory scrub on anything that's hard, and the dishwasher will to the rest.

5) Be a sharpshooter. Sometimes you have to wash something by hand. If the cafe needs a brown mug NOW, you don't have 4 minutes. Wash two by hand, and have a bunch more in the next load.

6) Have big items on standby. Sometimes load A will finish and you're not ready with load B. Remain calm. Some items, such as giant mixing bowls, won't fit in the washer with anything else; but they still have to be washed. Have those ready, and when this moment comes, throw it in. This is utilizing Numbers 1 & 2, to make sure you accomplish Number 3.

A further update on my back- it's feeling very well. My knees, on the other hand, are beginning to ache. It turns out that lifting with your legs, to save your back, comes at a cost. This is especially true if you squat far enough that your knees move in front of your feet (according to Betsy, and apparently the guy at 24 Hour Fitness in Denver). For clarification on this, imagine a line coming up out of the earth, through your feet, straight up. If your knees cross this line when you squat, it's a bit hard on them over time. Who knew dish washing was so hard on the body? I have been developing strategies for lightening the load on my back, so now I'll do the same for my knees. I'll come up with something.