Month Half Over

Back to the kitchen stories to start things off – sorry~ The regular kitchen supervisor is on vacation this week and the replacement supervisor I have been waiting for was in the kitchen this morning. Everything I heard prior to this person’s arrival was true to the point. Just like yesterday, I was appointed the spokesman for the kitchen workers. I must accept that fact. How it happened, I am not too sure, but it has happened nonetheless. As soon as I walked in - this very focused kitchen supervisor told me the menu had changed and we needed to “fry eggs, cook ham, toast the bread, and slice the cheese.” The pre-made egg mcmuffins had not been delivered so we had to prepare our own version. We have done this before but in reality, it is not very difficult. Also, the egg mcmuffins were do it yourself versions which made life easier for everyone in the kitchen.

After I was told about the change, I immediately went to the grill cooks who were in the kitchen and because it was not a designated grill day, we were short two grill cooks. No, I did not step in nor is it likely that I will ever step in when eggs are involved. We were able to recruit two other workers for the grills. Even though these two inmates never worked on the grill before, there weren’t any problems because it is very easy to fry the eggs. In fact, the entire service went very smoothly. The new/fill in kitchen supervisor is very intense, but there is a positive attitude inside working to get out. Whereas, the weekend kitchen supervisor displays a negative attitude through and through. Frankly, I would rather work for someone focused and a little less positive then for someone unfocused and negative.

My way of dealing with this person was, “Yes, ma’am” all morning long. She did express her expectations for the week and I do like knowing where we stand. The key is to not screw up - such as running out of food or burning it. Also, the food must be delivered in a timely fashion with no delays. The manner in which this was expressed to me was very direct and I understood these expectations from the start.

It was a slow start this morning but afterward everything went well. I didn’t have the opportunity to “heat up” four items – instead only three - in the oven because of the change in the menu. There were dried prunes. The combination of beans and prunes may not have been well thought out when developing the menu. In my opinion, there is no reason for these two items to appear on the same day for any reason. I don’t eat the beans because I believe there is pork in it and I don’t like the taste. I do like the dried prunes and thankfully they were out of my reach while I was preparing the items for breakfast. I only had a few with my farina because I learned from the last time we served the prunes. Also, today being a yard day, I didn’t want to spoil my run in anyway. Yes, I am an old man when I can go on and on about prunes. How sad!

It was a good morning because I was so busy and by the time I looked at the clock, it was already 8:00 am. I hadn’t even eaten the first breakfast which was a good thing. The farina is now my favorite hot cereal more so than the cracked wheat because the texture is lighter and smoother. Again, I apologize for the mundane details of my life and discussing the minutia of hot cereals. I wonder what life will be like after my release? Will I buy dried prunes on a regular basis? Also, will I continue to eat hot cereals in large quantities? These are not exactly life-altering questions but it gives an example of how the “little things” move my life forward. I am all about moving forward especially now in a place like this. However, I do love my recovery which moves forward everyday.

After working in the kitchen was yard. I was determined to have a better workout today than I had on Friday in spite of our late start. “Yard” starts at 9:00 am and we usually get back to the dorm by 9:30 am. Today we got back at 9:40 am. I changed quickly and went out into the yard and ran much better today than on Friday. In less time, I did essentially the same mileage. I was still feeling a little odd in my left chest. It was uncomfortable at first and a little disconcerting because of where it was. My hesitation to go through the medical system here has made me self medicate. Thankfully, the motrin has helped or I would have had no choice but to go to the medical staff. I sure hope I stay healthy while I am in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation because being sick here has its serious downfalls.

Yard was very good and when I returned, I was ready to take a hot shower. Unfortunately, that was unavailable and I had to settle for a cold one. I could have done the “bird-bath” but I didn’t want to wait for the bucket. I toughed it out and took the very cold shower. You may be wondering why the shower was only cold, well I too wondered the same thing. I don’t know why the showers were hot yesterday and cold today? Also, later this afternoon, there were a few inmates in the showers and the water turned off completely leaving them standing there full of soap. Fortunately, my neighbor was walking by the showers at this time and retrieved the bucket from the mop room so they could at least rinse off. Apparently, that sink is on a different pipeline than the showers because the hot water worked fine.

I am not crazy about taking a cold shower, in fact it is way down on the list of desirable things to do. I have heard that one of the fire camp training centers – Jamestown – only has cold showers. Oh well, it is just another test on this journey and I must keep on repeating the phrase, this is only temporary” over and over a gain until I give my family that wonderful hug and kiss.

I read an article about a law firm that sued the state (actually the governor of California) over the lack of medical care in the prison system and they were successful. The article stated that the law firm is considering a lawsuit regarding the overcrowding of the prison system and how it is cruel and unusual punishment. I don’t know how “cruel” is defined by the constitution but I will say from first hand knowledge the entire situation is unusual. First of all, I am housed in a gymnasium (which by the way is the best housing in this prison) with 137 other inmates. The fact that it is a gym automatically makes it unusual to house inmates. I wouldn’t go as far as stating it is cruel (other than the cold showers and the scary medical care) but certainly it is unusual. I am not sure if this law firm is going to file this suit but just guessing, they probably will. Can they be successful? If it is successful it will send shock waves throughout the system.

I can’t believe half the month of October is over already. Along with the wonderful analogy of getting through Wednesday which is “hump day” for the week, I do focus on getting through the 15th or 16th depending on a 30 or 31 day month. October is a 31 day month so getting through today means the month is half over. This also means after finishing this month there are only two more months left in 2006 and then it will be 2007. Time marches by no matter what, and I do like the fact that this month is half way complete. Hopefully, before the end of the month I will be at my next destination and moving forward with my journey.