Life goes on...
In case you doubted wether or not things will get back to normal in New Orleans, just read this.
posted by Jenn @ 13:03
0 Comments
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Take the food and run
Shortly after noon, I decided to go to the cafeteria for lunch and hope the 12:00 sharp crowd had cleared out. At the elevator bank, I ran into a former collegue, and was thinking it'd be nice to sit down with her and catch up on things. As we enter the cafeteria, we discover long lines for EVERYTHING. Former collegue decided for the shorter line for the "square meal" area, and I was stuck waiting for a burrito (for me, without the tortilla).
In this line, I began hearing whispers of "free lunch". I racked my brain trying to figure out what's going on. It's not December, our annual "thank you" meal around Christmas time. I don't remember getting any such email on any of the staff or department lists. So I gave up, and asked the internist in line behind me.
"The registers lost power, so they're not charging for food. I just hope they don't run out of burritos before we get there"
So that explains a lot. Apparently bad news travels fast. That's why the grill was out of burgers, the "square meal" area was out of chicken fried steak, the Coke and Pepsi fridges were bare, and there was no soup.
After waiting in line for five minutes, a cafeteria worker started mingling in the lines to inform us the registers were back online and therefore the free lunch program was over. Immediately four people in the burrito line stepped out and back the way they came in.
Still the burrito line was moving slower than a crawl. Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Apparently, the staff was half the normal level, and was a new trainee. So it was taking a painful amount of time to get a burrito. Fortunately, a regular staffed person showed up to rescue the poor trainee, and even remembered that I don't need the tortilla.
It's a shame so many people took advantage of free lunch. If the registers were still down, I wouldn't have gotten anything more than I did for my lunch today. (Granted, I can't eat most of what the cafeteria offers....)
In this line, I began hearing whispers of "free lunch". I racked my brain trying to figure out what's going on. It's not December, our annual "thank you" meal around Christmas time. I don't remember getting any such email on any of the staff or department lists. So I gave up, and asked the internist in line behind me.
"The registers lost power, so they're not charging for food. I just hope they don't run out of burritos before we get there"
So that explains a lot. Apparently bad news travels fast. That's why the grill was out of burgers, the "square meal" area was out of chicken fried steak, the Coke and Pepsi fridges were bare, and there was no soup.
After waiting in line for five minutes, a cafeteria worker started mingling in the lines to inform us the registers were back online and therefore the free lunch program was over. Immediately four people in the burrito line stepped out and back the way they came in.
Still the burrito line was moving slower than a crawl. Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Apparently, the staff was half the normal level, and was a new trainee. So it was taking a painful amount of time to get a burrito. Fortunately, a regular staffed person showed up to rescue the poor trainee, and even remembered that I don't need the tortilla.
It's a shame so many people took advantage of free lunch. If the registers were still down, I wouldn't have gotten anything more than I did for my lunch today. (Granted, I can't eat most of what the cafeteria offers....)
posted by Jenn @ 12:58
0 Comments
