Sunday 22 August 2010

Working For A Living

Quotation of the day: Oscar Wilde -- Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

As you probably know, i -- for my sins -- make my living as a cook.  I've been doing it for a long time, in lots of different eateries, from greasy spoons to high-class French restaurants to my current job at a chicken joint.  I used to like it.  In fact i still like it, but i've reached the point where it's all so easy it's not like work at all and a certain je ne sais quoi has set in.  Not boredom, certainly (i don't really understand the concept of boredom), but it isn't really fun any more. It used to be.

But!  Yesterday, i was reminded why i do love doing what i do.

Apparently there's a baseball tournament in town this weekend.  I discovered this when two teams showed up at the chicken joint fifteen minutes before opening time.  My morning heart attack. And then, fifteen minutes later, another team arrived.  To make it worse, the other cook arrived looking a fetching shade of green -- so hungover he could barely stand up.  He gave it a good college try but he couldn't make it, he had to go home.

So there we were: the place was almost full at 11:30, most of the waitresses don't start 'til noon; Saturdays haven't been that busy lately so i didn't have an excessive amount of chicken in the ovens, and the kitchen was short-staffed.  It was a great laxative.

But do you know what?  We pulled it off.  Sometimes i amaze even myself la la.  It was hard work, i admit (nothing wrong with that, of course)  and we all were drenched with sweat when it was over, but, running on pure adrenalin and with each of my hands doing the work of two, we did it.

And ... it is the most satisfying feeling in the world

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