Ripping Apart Lobster

Will wonders never cease. And will the coolness of my job ever go away? I don't think that I will ever be bored or underutilized or not a part of an amazing team of people. I really love not just my job, which really everyone should love their job, but the people I work with. I realise that everyone says that. I get that as the standard disgruntled employee response:

I ask, "What were your favourite aspects of the job?"

The happy employee who is leaving to return to school or got a better offer or is relocating will typically break down various portions of the actual job and give me a really detailed answer with the top four or five things that they liked to do. That's helpful.

The disgruntled employee (whether they made themselves like that or truly had a legitimate gripe, will invariably answer, "Oh, I really liked the people. There are some great people here." And that is it.

Unless you are truly a loner in the worst way, that is the easiest answer in the world. And in a place where the employee population swells for the "in season" portion, you'll always find people you enjoy and will miss. And I would say that of any place I worked and left. I miss the people the most. I work with everyone, being in HR, on some level and it is great. Even people that I would not normally gravitate toward in normal, everyday life are wonderful and all have something to offer. I can't honestly say I intensely dislike anyone where I work. Even those that I mostly don't care for on a personal level are still good to talk to and offer knowledge or something and so they are worthwhile and worth taking time to know more.

This afternoon, I helped Chef tear apart cooked lobsters. Yes, that most definitely does NOT sound like me, does it? Well, it doesn't. But I was standing there holding a conversation while he was doing it (and I appreciate that alone. Our Chef gets his hands dirty and does as much "grunt work" as any of his staff and never seems unhappy doing it. He is indeed a cut above; I don't often see that in managers. But in this industry, people do, as a whole, seem to be more hands on) so he finally offered one to me and I at first was reluctant to do this. It's really rather disgusting to look at. But then I found myself thinking what the hell - when's the last time a manager offered to have me do something so... unusual? OK! So I grabbed it and twisted and pulled and hey! The tail came right off and there's the torso and how weird was that? It wasn't hard, not at all. And pulling off the two claws is quite easy. I did a couple more and it was, well... it was interesting! I know it won't make me want to cook but I loved that Chef was more than happy to allow me - and offer me - the opportunity to experience this!

I think that is what I love and I think it is why the others like me. I'm always into the education. Show me something new, something I don't know. That is it! Education makes me deleriously happy and I know with Chef he is always happy to show me things, teach me the French words for things, give me an ongoing education. And maybe it is that I always show a lot of interest. I wonder if my predecessor did that?

I think when the off season comes, I will go out to the Grounds department and maybe donate a couple of hours of my time to see what they do, try what they do. The Director of Grounds and I have a wholly unique relationship and again, I think it is because I am so interested in what they do. There is clearly so much more to this whole grounds thing than cutting grass! Much, much more - it boggles the mind!

And so, as usual, I ended my day on a really high note!