4/17/10

Today was my first day off in my two on two off schedule and I planned on sleeping in a bit. However, around 7:30am I got a paged. The cop said over the loud speaker, "Dodd, report to the kitchen immediately if you want out of kitchen duty." I quickly rolled out of bed and got dressed. I walked into the office not sure of what to expect from this cop as he is a notorious bullshitter and way full of himself. He asked me if I wanted out of the dish pit, and of course I said yes. Then he asked me if I wanted an AM kitchen orderly position. Now that would entail going to work at 4am five days a week, working seven hours, and getting paid $20 a month. Not even close to worth it as it would interfere with my taking ACE classes that are usually scheduled for a 6-8pm time slot.

After I turned that down, he offered a bakers position. Working at 4:30am, less pay, and again interfering with my ACE classes. He even suggested that the added benefit of taking food home as a baker might make it worth it to me. Now that was a poorly laid trap by this very inept cop. You see, ANYTHING taken from the kitchen is stealing. Punishment includes; A 200 series shot for stealing (same series as a shot for fighting), going to the hole, loss of good time, and upon return, going to work in the dish pit. Not only that, that statement is from the cop who enforces these rules more strictly than any other cop on the kitchen roster. Besides, the only reason I have the opportunity to move out of the pit is because he is punishing someone he caught doing something he didn't like and he wants to stick them in the pit. When I told him no, I added, "The main line offers three squares a day that keep me plenty full, so no thanks."

Finally he offered the job I wanted: emptying food trays (banger), spraying food trays, or loading/unloading food trays from the dishwasher. I listed those three shifts because it will be decided which specific chore I get when I talk to the rest of the crew (three people total). It's the same schedule I already work (two days on two off) and I will be switching to the "B" schedule where I already know almost everyone I will be working with. The last benefit, while only a short term, is I get 4 days off in a row in order to catch up to the "B" schedule. It's a win win!

All in all, I am happy with the outcome of today's events. ACE registration starts in two weeks and available classes will be posted in one week. I know what I want to take, but that doesn't mean it will be offered the time around. I'll let ya know what I do next week.