Jenobi's World

During this time of closures in the Hospitality Industry due to the world pandemic, I have been lucky to still be working. I am employed in a union which gives me seniority because I am full-time, although where I work is different than my usual 6-3 job. Different in that it isn't feeding 60-80 hungry pro athletes, coaching staff, and auxiliary staff, but rather back to my beginnings, flipping burgers as a line cook. I am currently placed in the kitchen at one of the university pubs and the work is ingrown into my blood. I spent most of my career leading the kitchen in sports bars and pubs, creating similar menus and flipping my share of burgers on the grill. I feel like I have gone back in time, and obviously the "higher-ups" know this as they trust me to close the kitchen every shift I'm scheduled. This puts a wrench in my day a bit considering the business is so slow that I am planning on bringing a book to read during the day. I am so used to working early, wher...

It's been just over 2 months since the world as we know it here in Vancouver, shut down and I am wondering about the Stage 2 re-opening plan in the hospitality industry. I believe it can happen successfully but only if everyone abides by the new policies. I walked down Denman Street on Victoria Day and was confronted with "summer of 2019". This street is lined with small food establishments with a narrow sidewalk, partially filled with sandwich boards and patio seating, and a busy road with buses speeding by in the curbside lanes. Every open establishment had a lineup to order, and another waiting for orders, making the walking path impossible to take on without rubbing shoulders. Other pubs and restaurants I've seen open in my travels too and from work have patios open with alternating tables closed to permit the physical-distancing needed, although the lineups waiting for a seat were as long as the shopping lineups. Everyone out and about in these places was 35...

I have spoken many times here about my aches and pains, always pointing a finger at age and stupidity on my part. My neck has continuously taken a toll from falling asleep in weird positions, sitting at my computer in a non-ergonomic chair, laying on the couch too long watching TV; all of these my fault. My thumb joint on my left hand is another reoccurring hindrance, gradually getting worse. I have been wearing a thumb splint during the hours not working as much as possible, but to no avail the pain has gradually increased. The new thumb brace came today and I am wearing it as I type, happy to see it less bulky and more functional for work. I can easily put a glove over my hand and splint while cooking, which will help with immobilizing the joint while keeping the functionality of my hand. While waiting for my delivery, I noticed the knot in the joint getting larger and the focal point of the pain in my hand when the joint is in a resting position. In the past, I have had m...

It's Mother's Day and with everyone unable to hug their mothers because of the global pandemic, this day will be celebrated in unique ways, never done before. I would like to send out a big thank you to everyone who is a mother, step-mother, caretaker, and mother-figure in this world. The definition of Mother is much different from the role of a Mother. Although I don't want to take away from the actual biological relative, anyone can be considered in this celebrated group if they represent the specific duties of Motherhood . When I was young I would make a card, pick flowers and make a bouquet, make an IOU booklet of chores; anything a child could do to make her mom feel special. My mother was a stay-at-home caregiver, and wonderful at it. She always took the role of bad cop but did it without the negativity that is notorious in that role. When my father would say, "go ask your mother", it was a passive way of saying no but at the same time teaching me right...

It has arrived and it is glorious. Well, is it? I woke up later than normal with the sun in my eyes blinding me, and it was so warm in bed I needed to get up. I remember my mom saying it was so hot on the day I was born .  I think it won't hit a record today but it might be close. As I write this quick snippet of my day, names keep flashing by the top of my screen in the notification column and am surprised at the history I have had. I have obviously affected people in a positive way to have them wish me happiness on my birthday. Most of these names have been from my previous jobs, and as a kitchen manager, I have trained so many people, at my age, I am known to forget a face or two. Happily, they haven't and I feel blessed to know they remember me. Do I feel old? Well, my body does, osteoarthritis picking off joint after joint, but I persevere and keep getting up every day. I try to make everyone laugh and as you can see from my choice of picture above, I will never stop....

It's May the 4th (be with you) and I'm starting to think about my age again, as anyone does around their birthday. Normally we would all be preparing for a visit to see our Moms, Mother's Day is on Sunday, and I choose to remember my Mother , as she passed just under 15 years ago. My birthday has always been linked to Mother's Day and I don't really recall a time where I was ever jealous of a big holiday being close to my special day. I don't think I have ever made a fuss over my day of birth but I am old and may have forgotten some time when I was a toddler or teen throwing a tantrum over my birthday. This year is different. The world is different. There is a significant chance of possibly not seeing next year. I agree I am exaggerating about the latter, but it never came up when thinking about my anniversary of entering the world. The coronavirus fear has been trickling into the minds of everyone, and it hasn't avoided my glob of mush sloshing aroun...

I haven't much to say today but I do like these flowers, so I'll just post some pictures of these beautiful flowers. Rocky Mountain Columbine Bleeding Hearts Gerbera Daisies crocosmia lucifer

 I was introduced to a new line of thinking about the frontline workers, me being one of them in the federal description of the term. I have an issue with this description for many reasons, but when looking at the medical workers, I think most people haven't realized what they are going through. The dashboard for the provincial Covid-19 cases  currently states that 79 cases are in hospital and 33 cases in the ICU, in British Columbia. With that note, there are hundreds of open beds in hospitals awaiting more patients with the virus, but people waiting for surgeries are not allowed to utilize these openings, yet. Some people I have spoken with have said that these hospital medical staff couldn't be overworked with the small number of people in the hospital with the virus. I doubt they understand the work that goes into working with patients with Covid-19.  From what I have read each patient in the ICU gets their own specific team: nurses, doctors, specialists, cleani...