Ah, the weekend!

Forgot to blog yesterday (thursday) and today we didnt work but had a meeting.  Thursday went good!  Nothing major happened.  I went to my doctor yesterday and he gave me a happy pill so hopefully I will be able to cope with my co workers a little better before too long!  Have a great weekend!

Whew!

I was off on Monday so no post.   Ran out of time yesterday (tuesday) so I will include it in todays post.

Tuesday went pretty well.  Had to listen to B complain all day about the subs she had working with her on Monday since A and myself were out.  Other than that it was good.

Wednesday - Today was crazy busy again.  I am on tables this week at lunch so I don't know if they ran out of food or not.  The kindergarden classes were in the cafeteria early once again.  They had to wait until everything was ready for them.  One of the Aides had to wash their table since there were still kids from the first shift sitting at it when they came down.  Karen posted the list of job postings and the only school that has an opening in Lincoln and I do not want to work there, so it looks like I am stuck for now.  Nancy said that she might bid on the manager job at blackhawk again.  I hope she does and I hope she gets it because to be honost I think she is a big part of the negativity at our school.  I will keep my fingers crossed.  Super sub applied for our school.  Kinda hope they give it to her, so she can get trained completely on the job.  She chose to not help wash tables again today.  That will all change if she gets on permanent.  She will have to learn the routine.  We had mashed potatoes again today and yes, I was the lucky one that got to make them.  The health inspector came and we got fined $100 for not having a weather strip on the back door.  Karen put in the work order for that months ago and it still is not done.  Someone at the office is not going to be happy.  I do have one thing to say, I wash the tables as fast as I can.  I am not going to slack on my quality for quantity.  They will need to get us more help or more time.  I am doing the best that I can.  Tomorrow is the last serving day of the week, we have a meeting on Friday.

Made it through another week of HELL

Got to work today and both subs were already there.  They got there at 7 and most of the work was done already.  I sliced ham for Monday.  A called and told B that she was not going to be at work on Monday and neither am I.  So, that leaves B working with 3 subs.  It is an easy day though so they will get through it fine.  B made her smart ass comments all day about me not being there on Monday, nothing directly but she made comments.  She said she told Jan that I guess I'll be working with 3 subs, whatever as long as I get Shelly back, she said this right in front of the other sub too, very unproffesional.   I have had this day off planned for almost 2 weeks now, it is not my fault that all this stuff has come up and she will be the only regular worker there.  She will have to put on her big girl panties and deal with it.  She wouldn't change her plans if the shoe was on the other foot, neither A or B would.  They are to self centered.  She also made the comment that evidentally Jan thinks she can do 2 lines with 3 subs so she should definitely get a manager's position when she applies for it next.  According to A, B will never get a management position.  I still don't understand why they didn't have me come in and work B's hours while A is out but they are having the subs come in at 7.  No big deal but kind of hurtfull but that is nothing new.  I will be checking the job postings daily and as soon as they are posted I will be bidding on another school.  B also left at 1:00 today since her step-mom is in the hospital.  I am planning on enjoying this weekend and my day off on Monday.  We will be going out of town and I refuse to let this place keep me from having a good time.  I am off on Monday so I will not be posting again until Tuesday! 

Just another day in paradise!

Well, today went pretty well all in all.  The two lunch shifts ran together again today.  The kindergarten classes were in line before the first shift was through the line so we had to make them wait.  Something has to happen with the lunch times because we can't get the first shift through on time since they added 3 classes to it.  After the first shift goes through we have to get the serving line ready for the second shift and remove the fruit/veggie bar because the second shift does not use it plus the tables need to be cleaned for the second shift.  I hope that the manager gets something figured out or this is going to a horrible year! 

In reference to my 9-8-10 post about the incident yesterday about everyone helping with the tables....we all went out to do tables today after serving and B says to me, Kelli go ahead and go do the count and have Sue start the dishes because otherwise I won't get out of here until 3 oclock.  So yesterday it wasn't ok but today it was ok.  This is where the no consistency comes in with this kitchen.  The same applies to if we offer condiments to the kids and which ones they and how many they can have.  It all depends on the mood of the manager.  This place is CRAZY!!

The 2nd sub told me today that I need to watch out for the 1st sub because yesterday she overheard B and the 1st sub talking about me.  I told her that I don't care what they say about me.  I go in and do my share of the job every day and if they want to talk about me, go ahead.  I just hate that I work with a bunch of back stabbing bitches.  This job could be and should be fun but they make it so it is SO stressful and miserable.  I am going to talk to my doctor next week about all of this because I am sure that all of this stress is not good for me or my condition.  I wish I wouldn't let these people get to me but they do!  I am physically and mentally exhausted at the end of EVERY work day and the mental part is bringing me down.  It is starting to affect my home life and I find myself being mean and rude to the people that really do care about me and that is not acceptable to me.  So, something has to change.  I either need to get out of there as soon as possible or I need a pill to cope with all of this bull shit that goes on at work.  We are a team and should act like one but no, everyone back stabs each other and talks about everyone, it is just down right horrible.  I think that A and B both are just extremely miserable in their lives and try to make everyone else the same way.  Well, it is beginning to work on me and I don't like it one bit. 

I go in every day with a positive attitude and some how by the end of the work day, I am down in the dumps again.  I spend a lot of my afternoons at home crying over this place that has managed to consume my life and thoughts even though I am only there 5 1/2 hours a day.  How and why did this happen?  The only person that understands completely is my mother, she worked at this school since it opened and with these same women for 6 or 7 years and it had the same affect on her, so bad that she retired at age 55.  She loved the job but the morale was and is still horrible.  Well, nothing has changed and unfortunately I don't think it ever will.  She tells me that I need to get out of there because those two women are hard asses and bitches.  Hopefully I will get out soon!

A day of Hell!

Today was NOT good.  A is out until next Tuesday because her sister in law passed away and B is the acting manager, so we have 2 subs now.   First thing this morning B says to me, are you thinking about taking Monday off?  I said yes I am taking a personal day on Monday.  B says, A says you need to call Jan and asked me if I filled out a form.  I said A said I didnt have to fill out a form because it wasn't before or after a holiday and she was just going to tell Jan that I was taking a personal day.  B then said well I will call Jan for you.  She went in the office and called Jan and when she came back out she said Jan said that in the future she would like you to fill out a form because it helps her know who needs a sub and that A hadn't told her yet that I was taking a personal day.  She also said that there was a possibility that she would not be there Monday if her step mom has surgery so that would mean none of us regular workers would be there.  I responded with, I told Karen last week that I was taking off and she was fine with it so I don't know what they want me to do.  We are going to be out of town and already have tickets to a football game.  So I am sure that they are all upset with me but I have plans and I can't help it that all these other things are happening.  I take one personal day a year and it is usually in September.  I am being damned again.

So the day went on and we prepared the food as usual.  B, myself and the 1st sub did the first batch of spaghetti and the 2nd sub did the fruit for the day.  Then I started boiling more water for the next batch of spaghetti.  B put the garlic bread in the oven and then went into the office.  The garlic bread gets done and the 2nd sub and I bag and tray it while the 1st sub decides to work on fruit for the next day since she is not going to be here tomorrow.  Well that is all fine and dandy but we are not even done with todays food so why is she doing tomorrow's?  She could have checked the noodles to see if they were done but she chose to do grapes instead.  B comes out of the office and checks the noodles and they are done so she does the 2nd batch of spaghetti by herself while we finish the garlic bread and the 1st sub still works on tomorrows fruit.  B said that the 1st sub asked her if that was ok that she started the grapes for tomorrow and she told her yes.  You would think that the 1st sub would have enough common sense to know that when the spaghetti is ready to be scooped that she should stop tomorrows work and help finish todays but no she kept on doing tomorrows work.  All of todays food gets done so I go into the dish room and finish the dirty dishes and putting away the clean ones.  I get just about done and the 1st sub comes in and just sets her dirty dishes on the counter and walks away to go to lunch.  That is not how we do things, we don't leave dishes for someone else to do, we do our own as we take them in there.  I just left them sitting there and finished what I was doing and went to lunch also. 

Serving went good.  We didn't run out of anything so that helped a lot.  For some reason the classes are coming down later and later every day.  Today the final bell had rung and I still had kids coming through my line.  The routine at our school is...whoever is on dishes goes out and helps with tables before doing any dishes once done serving.  The person doing the count will count the food and then go help with tables.  Well the 1st sub is on dishes this week and today she did not go help with tables, she went straight to the dish room.  So I told B that and she said well just let her do dishes and I will help with tables.  I said ok and went on doing the counting of food.  Now keep in mind that my class was late so I didn't get done serving until about 10 minutes later than usual so that put me behind.  Meanwhile, B was out helping the 2nd sub do tables and the milk man was talking to me about some expired milk that was in our walk in, I took care of that problem with him and went out to tell B about it and help with tables and before I could say anything she snapped off with..I'll tell you what, tomorrow everyone will help with tables, just 2 people is ridiculous.  So I grabbed a rag and started helping even though they were almost done.  Then when we were back in the kitchen I told B that I was sorry I didnt get to help more but I had to finish the count and get that done so she wouldn't be left with everything to finish.  She was nicer and said thanks, I appreciate that.  She did have to finish the dish room though because we don't have a break in between shifts anymore since we have 3 extra classes this year to catch up on dishes.  I don't know why they don't ask me to come in and work the hours of the person that is out so B can have some help.  I am going in at 7 in the morning because the 2nd sub would rather come in at 7:30 tomorrow and the 1st sub is coming in at 7 also.  Owell, we will get through this.   I am still trying to figure out what I have done to these people that makes them dislike me so much.  Maybe they would rather pay a sub than pay me overtime.  I don't know but the moral around our kitchen is horribly low.  I will be bidding on another position if they ever post them.  I do not like feeling like shit everyday when I walk in there and when I leave.  If I am as useless as you make me feel then why did you hire me?  Hoping and praying for a better day tomorrow!

Tuesday

Today was Chicken Strips or Hard boiled egg/cheese/crackers.  Everything went good with the amount of food we had prepared.  Today was the first day of the year that we used the Fruit/Veggie bar and it slowed the line down so much that there was barely enough time to get everything ready for the second shift.  All went well in the serving aspect of work today though.  However, there was other drama.  A's sister in law passed away this morning so she will be out for a few days(not sure when yet) and B says that her step-mother is in the hospital with heart trouble so she is freaking out about both A and B possibly being out at the same time.  B told me that I might be working with 3 subs, I said whatever happens it will all work out.  She just dwells and dwells on negative stuff.  I don't know if it is the job that wears me out or her negativity and hyperness.  No matter what happens with them being gone the kids will get fed.  I have already scheduled the 13th off as a personal day so I don't know what will happen if all 3 of us have to be out of the kitchen at the same time.  I am hoping that B calms down some before tomorrow as I don't know how much of her I can handle this week! 

Double Whammy!

Since I was unable to post yesterday (thursday), I will write about it today also.

Thursday was not a good day!  I felt like it was be mean to Kelli day.  It was mashed potatoe day and I didn't have to make them, A AND B made them and left me to do all 331 pieces of chicken by myself and by myself I mean tray them, cook them and wrap them.  I don't know what it is that I do to these two women that make them dislike me so much.  I know that B feels like she does more work than me but she does get paid 2 hours more than I do therefore she should be working those 2 extra hours she is there which means she should do more work than I do.  To me it seems that them teaming up against me is starting already.  I am hoping that they post some openings that I am interested in so I can get out of this hell hole.  Like I have said before, I like my job but the environment is horrible and I don't know how much longer I can handle the stress and negativity!

Friday was a decent day, as there is not a lot to do on Fridays.  Today however, we got both our warehouse order and Kellner order so it was pretty busy!  We ran out of hotdogs and had to make the last kid a cheese sandwich, so unfair but there is nothing that anyone but the manager can do about it!  We made every hotdog we had = 325 to be exact.  We do however have teachers that do not order and come in and take food which does not help the matter any.  Some things never change (and probably never will)!  Owell, it is a 3 day weekend and I am going to enjoy it!  Be back here on Tuesday! 

Hump Day!

Today went fairly well!  A was rather sad today as she had to have one of her dogs put to sleep last night, I felt really bad for her.  I dread the day that I have to that.  A made the muffins this morning so that means that B didnt have to run the mixer so I am anxious to see if B offers to do the mashed potatoes tomorrow.  Our "super" sub will not be there tomorrow so I am curious to see who they will send out, I am hoping it is someone good because tomorrow is a rough day, Baked Chicken or Chef Salad for the entree and side salads, Fruit, Bread with jelly.  Anxiously awaiting another day in the life of a school cafeteria worker!!

Wouldn't want to redo this day for anything!

Today was a JOKE!  The entree choices were Grilled Chicken Sandwich or Burrito.  The count was 375 and we made 85 Chicken Sandwiches and the rest Burritos.  Well guess what?  We ran out of Chicken sandwiches before the 1st shift was done so we cooked 62 more and still ran out and had to use turkey sandwiches.  Why does the manager have to make this job so damn hard?  She said that she couldn't believe that they took the grilled chicken over the burrito, I do, it happens all the time!  I don't understand why we couldn't have cooked all the chicken breast and use them if we needed them and if there was some left use them Friday on managers choice.  Guess this is why I am not the manager nor do I want to be!  B was in super freak out mode today also, she needs to calm down!  She wears me out!  Really hoping that tomorrow goes better than today!

Another Monday!!

Made it through another Monday!  Today went really well considering we fed 404 kids at lunch!  The entree choices for today were Cheese pizza or Turkey/Cheese sandiwich. A and B should be happy now, we have the sub that they requested.  Hopefully she will want to stay until they hire someone, which could be a long time.  I cut up half (6) of the watermelons we are having tomorrow, anxious to see if B does the other 6 tomorrow or if she leaves them for me or the sub.  I'm sure she will leave them for someone else to do because they are time consuming!  Must be nice to pick and choose which jobs you are going to do for the day.  This is nothing new so I am used to it.  Hope tomorrow goes as good as today did. 

Finally Friday

Ah Friday, the easiest day of the week for us in the kitchen.  The menu is simple and it is sack day so no trays to worry about!  Made it through the first full week of school, it was a little hectic at times but we always manage to get through!  The sub we have is different and somewhat lazy.  A said she requested a different sub but hasn't heard anything yet.  A and B have their mind set on a lady that worked while I was out when I had my heart attack.  Hopefully we will get her because they claim she is a good worker.  We will see.  Hoping for a great weekend and I will be reporting again on Monday!!

Mashed Potatoe Queen

Today went fairly well.  We had multiple entree choices because we did not have any lettuce to make the Chef salads that were on the menu but it all worked out.  B is just a freaker and needs to relax and calm down.  Today was mashed potatoe day and B says to me, Kelli how do you want to work this...do you want to do the mashed potatoes when they are on the menu and I will do the muffins since I am here early in the morning?  I said sure.  I actually don't mind because now there will not be any question if B is going to do them or if I am going to.  I just hope that B has to make muffins as often as I have to make mashed potatoes.  I am going to keep track and trust me, if there is a big difference in how many times we have potatoes vs. muffins, I will let her now.  B does not like doing the potatoes because it is messy and they are heavy to lift but that is part of the job.  I will suck it up for now and know that I will be doing the potatoes when we have them.  The sub did a lot better during the serving period today, she hurried on the tables and came back and washed trays, so she is catching on.  She does need to show some initiative when we are preparing for the day though.  It took her way too long to cup shredded cheese today.  In the time it took her to cup one bag of cheese I made 2 batches of mashed potatoes, cleaned up the mess and helped B bag catfish nuggetts.  There is always something to do in the kitchen and we do see her just standing around staring at things at times, that is where the initiative needs to come in, ask if she can help us or if there is something she can do.  B just does not like her and wants a different sub but that is up to A.  I hope they keep her because she does do some work (if told) and who knows what the next sub will be like.  All I know is....tomorrow is Friday, yipee!!!!! 

The best day so far.

Ahh Wednesday!  Today was the best day at work so far this school year.  The entree choices were Macaroni and Cheese or Ham Sandwich (we made ham/cheese and turkey/cheese).  We only had 49 Sandwiches total and ran out of course but we had left over yogurt/cheese/crackers that we used for the second choice and that got us through the lunch shift, barely.   As you know from my previous posts, I work with 3 other people in the kitchen.  From now on I am going to refer to the manager as A, my coworker as B and the sub as C.  I have come to the conclusion that B is going to nit pick every thing about C which is unexceptable.  C is new to our school and not sure what our routine is so she has to be told.  A and B appear to believe that C should know everything and what to do and when to do it.  C needs to be advised of our routine and procedures before they call and ask for a replacement.  They need to give C a chance before dogging her so bad.  C does need to take a little more initiative at times like asking if there is something she can do when she is idle, right now she just stands around when there is something she could be doing.   But on a brighter note, A is supposed to be getting us more trays so we can get through the lunch shift without worrying about having to wash trays in between shifts. So, things appear to be looking up for now which is a good thing.  Tomorrow we have mashed potatoes and B usually avoids making them and leaving them for me to do so I am anxious to see if she will do them tomorrow or "let" me do them.  They are messy to make and that is why I think she avoids them.  I don't complain about it though, I just go in and do my job to the best of my ability.   I just wish that every one would get along because it would make our days much more enjoyable.  This is not a hard or complicated job, it just takes team work.  But I guess this is what you get when you have 4 women with different personalities working together.  I try to make my day as drama free as possible, put in my 5 hours and go home to rest for the next day.  Hoping for a great day tomorrow. 

They say it has to get worse before it gets better, right?

Day #2 at work pretty much sucked.  Today's entree choices were Taco Burger or Sub sandwich.  The guessing game on what the kids would want was in full effect again today.  Our count was 351 and the manager had us do 300 Taco burgers and 61 sandwichs (which was not enough).  Our 4th person in the kitchen is a sub because one of our regular employees (my mother) retired in April so needless to say the sub is not quite sure how things work in our kitchen yet.  She is on the tables this week because that is the easiest thing to do.  Well, my co worker thinks that she is too slow doing the tables.  I don't think she is too slow, I think that we just have a lot to do when working the line especially when we have to continuously make more food for the second entree choice because we also have to wash trays in this time.  The assumption is that we can not have kids help us or another worker come in during serving time because we already have 4 people.  That is just bull$h!t!  If this is going to be the case then we need more trays (which our manager is supposed to be getting) so we don't have to worry about washing them in between shifts.  I don't understand why the manager does not want to help make this kitchen run more smoothly.  Everything goes fine up until serving time, then it is total chaoticness.  My point is make enough food, if there is left overs, freeze them.  I understand that the manager has to worry about cost and inventory but the way this kitchen is run is pathetic.  She doesn't understand it because she runs the register everyday and if she chooses to serve and have someone else run the register it is ALWAYS on a friday which is sack day so we do not use trays therefore, we do not have to wash them in between shifts, we just have to make more food.  I am hoping that this craziness that is going on will settle down once we get further into the school year, but highly doubt it as this is the way it has been in the past also.  I guess you have to take the good with the bad!  I have weighed the pros and cons of this job and it does have great perks (off in the summertime and breaks at Christmas and Easter) but I am beginning to question if it is worth it.  I am also wondering if other schools are run like this?  I was a sub when I first started (that is a requirement, they hire FT from the sub list) and do not recall this much chaos in one kitchen.  This is the newest school in the district and has very nice equipment and plenty of room but the management is horrible.   Nothing is ever done the same, it all depends on the mood of the manager ie....if she's in a good mood the kids get condiments with their sandwich, if she is in a bad mood they don't get them.  There are also things that happened in the past between me and the manager that I am having a hard time letting go, in my review last year she put that she questions if this is what I want to do because I do not seem to like my job, well I had a major event happen in my life last year that I had to deal with, I had a heart attack at the age of 38 so yes, I kept to myself and didn't say much while I sorted through things.  She also wrote that I need to loosen up and have more fun, nothing like the pot calling the kettle black on that one, she is the moodiest most negative person I have ever met so far in my life.  I also had a grandmother (my moms mom) that was ill and dying, my mom was out on leave to help take care of her so things were tougher in the kitchen.  We were scheduled to be audited by the state on 02-10-10 and it just so happened that my grandmother passed away that morning at 6:15 so I called Karen and she was very upset that I was not going to be at work and told me to do what I have to do!  I thought that was extremely rude of her, I just lost a family member and that I did not have any control over.  Needless to say, they survived the audit and I returned to work after my 3 bereavement days and my mother returned that following week.  With that said, please forgive me for not socializing more with everyone.  When they do talk, it is usually negative things they are saying or talking about other people and I personally do not like to talk about people.  Everyone has their flaws and as the saying goes...be kind to all you meet as everyone is fighting some kind of battle.  I am seriously considering bidding on another school if any openings ever get posted.  I would like to be closer to home and be around more positive people.  I am leaving it at that for now.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Today was the first day back to work with the kids there and it went pretty well.  The Entree choices today were Yogurt/Cheese/Crackers or Chicken Nuggets.  Everyday is a guessing game on what the kids will want and as usual, we ended up having to cook more chicken nuggets during the serving period which is not fun.  We also ran out of trays before the second shift came through the line which was not fun either.  Hopefully the manager will order some more trays for us which would help out a lot.  Right now we have a total of 4 of us in the kitchen.  We have two serving lines and one cash register, each requires a person to be there at all times.   The manager runs the cash register every day, and the rest of us take turns (change weekly) at the serving lines and washing the tables.  We have to be team players because not only do we have to be on our line but we also have to wash trays and cook more food during this time.  We used to have 3 kids that would come back and do the trays when they were through eating but for some reason we no longer get their help.   Needless to say we are pulled in many different directions in the 1 hour that we serve food.  It can be frustrating at time because our manager can be  pretty moody and negative towards us, her workers.  She has been known to lose her temper, throw things around in the kitchen, cuss at us and say mean things to us.  We do the best we can for what all we have to do but sometimes it just isn't enough for her.  The main reason I am doing this blog is to keep a daily journal on how the day at work goes so there can be some sort of documentation since in the past the manager has said and done some very unexceptable things to each of us.   So far, so good but it is the first day of school.  Wish me luck and the strength to make it through another school year!