Just A Long Day

I have been totally unsuccesful at getting to bed at reasonable hours this week. And for much of the week, it didn't seem to matter, somehow- I was reasonably awake the whole workday, and then just crashed afterwards. Today, I was really tired.

This morning, I met the delivery truck on my own, because Steve, out kitchen steward, had a job interview in the city. He planned ahead well though, and made this a smaller shipment than usual, since it would just be me. This also meant that he gave me his whole key ring before he left, so I could open all the relevant areas of the kitchen. This latter fact turned out to be rather important, as I ended up needing to open some freezers that I wouldn't have thought I'd have needed access to. However, it also meant that I had to be accessible when he returned, as the key to his room is also the key to one of our storage areas, for some odd reason.

Then, the kids had their trip day today, so lunch was just staff, and we just put out leftovers. The only problem was that the number of staff we'd been told to expect was half or less than the number of people who actually showed up. It was ok, but it was, well- a little exciting, and people were full of random special requests, which got to be a bit of a pain. After lunch, we had some break time, and a lot of folks went out, but I needed to stick around camp so Steve could get his keys back. So I napped a little, returned Steve's keys, and napped some more. And then the kids stayed for dinner, so dinner was like lunch, but less practiced, and we had specialists and such waiting tables rather than the CITs, and they didn't know what they were doing of course, which added to the chaos. In the midst of all of that, another member of our kitchen staff had an asthma attack. By the end of dinner, I was exhausted. We left and the floor is still disgusting- between the insanity of dinner and the fact that yesterday our chef and one of the Rashei Edah (the head of an age group) had a flour-fight in the middle of the kitchen, and then the chef went around throwing flour at a whole bunch of people. It was very funny to watch, but made a real mess. It was odd- I very much sympathized with the people who were really ticked off by being floured, but I also found it very amusing, and a sort of sign of affection and the good humor that sometimes goes on in the kitchen- but that's possibly because I didn't get flour thrown at me.

One of the other little anxieties of the day was that when I finally went to write for sure that I was going to be out this shabbos, just so it was on the schedule (and I'd told most people that I'd be gone, earlier this week), I found that Steve was also planning to be away. So, I spent some time worrying, especially if Steve2 (who comes just for shabbos, and generally says he isn't coming and then decides that he is, last minutely) wasn't going to come, that I'd be leaving them short-handed, but really needing to get away. But it turns out that when I told folks that I'd be gone, our chef called Steve2 and let him know that he'd really be needed this week, so they have 4 people, and that should be fine. I'm glad- as much as I enjoy the kitchen here on Shabbos, I need a break and a real shabbos where I'm not spending an hour cutting strawberries, and half of dinner serving 20 tables worth of food, and such, and where the meals aren't dining-hall-loud.

In the meantime, I have a ride into the city on one of the buses with the campers, and it turns out they need a substitute bus counselor on that bus, so I'll work a bit, and help the camp and make a few extra dollars while I'm at it, rather than having to pay for a rather unreliable public bus. I'm not Totally sure what I need to do, besides making sure each kid gets met by their parents and such, but I'm told someone will explain it to me tomorrow. So I'm not sure when I'll get into the city and be done, but it should work.

So- I have most of my shabbos plans made, and I just need to figure out scheduling for Sunday. That's pretty reasonable for Thursday night.

Just A Long Day

I have been totally unsuccesful at getting to bed at reasonable hours this week. And for much of the week, it didn't seem to matter, somehow- I was reasonably awake the whole workday, and then just crashed afterwards. Today, I was really tired.

This morning, I met the delivery truck on my own, because Steve, out kitchen steward, had a job interview in the city. He planned ahead well though, and made this a smaller shipment than usual, since it would just be me. This also meant that he gave me his whole key ring before he left, so I could open all the relevant areas of the kitchen. This latter fact turned out to be rather important, as I ended up needing to open some freezers that I wouldn't have thought I'd have needed access to. However, it also meant that I had to be accessible when he returned, as the key to his room is also the key to one of our storage areas, for some odd reason.

Then, the kids had their trip day today, so lunch was just staff, and we just put out leftovers. The only problem was that the number of staff we'd been told to expect was half or less than the number of people who actually showed up. It was ok, but it was, well- a little exciting, and people were full of random special requests, which got to be a bit of a pain. After lunch, we had some break time, and a lot of folks went out, but I needed to stick around camp so Steve could get his keys back. So I napped a little, returned Steve's keys, and napped some more. And then the kids stayed for dinner, so dinner was like lunch, but less practiced, and we had specialists and such waiting tables rather than the CITs, and they didn't know what they were doing of course, which added to the chaos. In the midst of all of that, another member of our kitchen staff had an asthma attack. By the end of dinner, I was exhausted. We left and the floor is still disgusting- between the insanity of dinner and the fact that yesterday our chef and one of the Rashei Edah (the head of an age group) had a flour-fight in the middle of the kitchen, and then the chef went around throwing flour at a whole bunch of people. It was very funny to watch, but made a real mess. It was odd- I very much sympathized with the people who were really ticked off by being floured, but I also found it very amusing, and a sort of sign of affection and the good humor that sometimes goes on in the kitchen- but that's possibly because I didn't get flour thrown at me.

One of the other little anxieties of the day was that when I finally went to write for sure that I was going to be out this shabbos, just so it was on the schedule (and I'd told most people that I'd be gone, earlier this week), I found that Steve was also planning to be away. So, I spent some time worrying, especially if Steve2 (who comes just for shabbos, and generally says he isn't coming and then decides that he is, last minutely) wasn't going to come, that I'd be leaving them short-handed, but really needing to get away. But it turns out that when I told folks that I'd be gone, our chef called Steve2 and let him know that he'd really be needed this week, so they have 4 people, and that should be fine. I'm glad- as much as I enjoy the kitchen here on Shabbos, I need a break and a real shabbos where I'm not spending an hour cutting strawberries, and half of dinner serving 20 tables worth of food, and such, and where the meals aren't dining-hall-loud.

In the meantime, I have a ride into the city on one of the buses with the campers, and it turns out they need a substitute bus counselor on that bus, so I'll work a bit, and help the camp and make a few extra dollars while I'm at it, rather than having to pay for a rather unreliable public bus. I'm not Totally sure what I need to do, besides making sure each kid gets met by their parents and such, but I'm told someone will explain it to me tomorrow. So I'm not sure when I'll get into the city and be done, but it should work.

So- I have most of my shabbos plans made, and I just need to figure out scheduling for Sunday. That's pretty reasonable for Thursday night.