moving on up the career ladder

Tomorrow could be the first day of the rest of my life, or not. Yes, I am stepping up in the world--not ready for the highrise apartment in the sky though. I am trying to leave the world of the lunch lady behind me--after 7 years, it is surprisingly easy to do. I could tell you stories that go on behind the scene of the school cafeteria world. Lunch ladies are a breed unto themselves. They are surviving, utilizing a skill and a talent. It is hot, sweaty work with a lot of criticism and few rewards. Not all lunch ladies should be lunch ladies. If you aren't able to work, learn, cook, clean or take direction, this is not the job for you. Also, if you want to look like a woman, this is not the job for you. Your hair is in a net, your nails cannot be lengthy or polished, your clothes are extremely not attractive, but functional! You are given menus to create that usually don't make much sense. And if the food isn't popular with the kids, guess who gets blamed? Yes, the ladies and men in white. I think one of the hardest things to get used to in the kitchen besides the burns is the amount of work that has to be crowded into a short time. Arriving to work at 7:30 am, you get from that time until 10:00 to have the food cooked, panned up and ready to go because the little darlings eat at 10:00. Some menu items are easy to get through, it is just a matter of timing. Others are butt kickers. I have noticed over the years I was employed at this job, new hires (which are few) are not ready to do the work. If they get through the cooking part, the cleaning part eats their lunch. I would not be surprised if the dish machine that cleans all the trays used by the kids has not been adequately cleaned in over a month. A person is rotated weekly through the job schedule. When it is a person's turn to do baking, they are also responsible for washing trays and cleaning the dishroom. Every time my baking rotation came about, it took me at least 2 days of scrubbing the machine to get it clean. If a health inspector were to examine it now, he would probably find so much food residue left in the improperly cleaned machine, it would be a health violation. It is by this time really gross. What makes this job tough is that it is over at 1:30 pm. There is no overtime and unless you stay you rarely get a chance to clean properly. If you are short handed for the day, and this happens often, you can forget about doing a great job. The poor kitchen managers have to deal with rotten attitudes and workers who are worthless. Considering that you do not even have to have a high school degree to do this job, you can understand why the help is not top notch. I would like to offer kudos to my two Mabels. Mabel Hardin my great manager who was railroaded by a horrible principal and Mabel Forresterr, the best cook and trainer and friend ever. When she retired, the profession was hurt. I am sure I will talk about my Mabels another time. I admire them and respect them for all they have done with their lives when the odds were not in their favor. I have been a lunch lady for the last 7 years and have resigned my position. It is now time to move on and I am looking forward to it. My rheumatologist is most happy with my decision. My knees feel better already. Have you ever had a crappy job and finally were able to reap the reward of quitting the job?