Andrea's Rambling Notes - once from Japan, now from Canada

::Andrea's Rambling Notes - once from Japan, now from Canada::

My notes and my memories: sometimes about a mom - sometimes about a wife - sometimes about a woman - sometimes about our life

::Author::

Name::Andrea
From::Small city/town, B.C., Canada
I am a short girl from the west cost of BC, Canada and I am a proud Canadian. I went to Japan in 2000 because my Dad told me I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't. He was right. I lived a good life found my husband from the other side of the world and have a beautiful daughter. Basically we lead a pretty normal life filled with normal ups and downs. We both come from different cultures: me Canadian, him Chinese. Living in Japan was a real eye opener about who I am and about the people I associate myself with. I lived and loved in Japan but the time to move on came upon us and in May of 2006 we left and moved to Canada: a huge move for us all. We are now trying to start up again, remodel our lives and create our future for our family. I now feel like a tourist in the country of my birth, my eyes see different and my life will be forever changed. This blog is my notes and observations of our life, our changes, our adventures and new beginnings. Welcome.
View my complete

::Recent Entries::

::Personal Links::

My Japanese Culture Teaching Notes

::My Family's Sites::

Alisha - a site set up by friends and family of my little sis

Phrax - my step-brother

Blue Mountain Stable

::Index::

An Index of past posts - the Japan Years

::Archives::

::Image Event Album::

My Image Event Photo Album

::My FlickR Photos::

www.flickr.com

::Tech Sites::

Tech2all

Blog Flak

::Extra Internet Info::

Canadian Atlas

National Geographic

Wikipedia

World TimesZones - please check this BEFORE calling me!

Currency Converter

eigoNavi - a pretty good language converter

The Samurai Appliance Repair Man - a funny repair site for N

::World News::

Generation Woman

Japan Times

Counter Punch

Japanese General Union - a must! read before working in Japan

::RSS Feed::

Blogarama

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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

LUNCH TIME

Today’s Blessing started with a gift I just received from a student.
- Chocolate covered wafer sticks from Greece!!!! WAHOO!!!! Chocolate is always a blessing. This will be a little blessing every time I reach into the jar. ;-)
………

Ever work day at lunch a long line of us trudges downstairs to the company cafeteria to eat whatever slop they have available for us that day.

It is not the most inviting cafeteria around: the walls are dull, the tables and stools are old and it is either way too hot in the summer or way too cold in the winter. The food ranges from great to terrible. We would be offered three different set meals or noodles. The set meals ranged in price from 180yen to 230yen, with calories ranging from high to healthy.

I would always go for their healthy menu if I could. I used to have to rush to the cafeteria to get a healthy meal because there was such a limited amount. They finally clicked in that tons of people prefer to pay the little bit more for a better-cooked lunch and started cooking more of it.

The food wasn’t really that bad: I don’t like the soup noodles, called ramen, and tend to think the food is cooked with a bit too much oil.
Because I have no desire to make myself a boxed lunch every day, I could not complain.

The cafeteria staff are not members of our company. The whole restaurant is contracted out to a catering company. For whatever reason, complaints about the previous food or a finished contract, the catering company has changed.

It is only day two and I have not decided if this is for the best yet.

The old company was simple and almost boring, but considering that most of us have reached zombie state by noon, simple is good. We would walk into the cafeteria and see the plates for the day’s meals laid out on a table and walk by with a quick sideways glance. The calories were always in the same range for each line and we always new what the basic side dishes were. The price was always the same and we could grab our food in our sleep.
Many actually were sleeping.

The new company is trying for more of a restaurant feel and it is very over whelming.

Walking into the cafeteria yesterday was almost like a shock to the system: no one knew what line to stand in; no one had any idea how much things cost. The set meals were no longer set because they were offering us choices.

CHOICES!

Well that totally screwed us up let me tell ya.

We were all so lost they actually had a bowing robot (human but he looked like a robot) in a suit beside the menu list explaining everything to us over and over again.
I waited in the wrong line for the wrong set and had to go to the other EVEN LONGER line and wait all over again.

The calories are set higher and I am hoping that this does not show up on my waistline that I have only just started to make a tiny bit smaller. It is also a little more expensive. Mind you, I am only paying about two dollars and 80cents for a full course hot lunch meal. It used to be $2.30. I have no right to complain. ;-)

It is going to take us company zombies a few days, possibly weeks, to understand this new system.

On a positive note the new system means that our food is still warm when we get it, before it was always cold. (gross in the winter) And they are offering us desserts!! Ohh that is bad but ohh so yummy.

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Posted by (Top)Andrea::2/08/2006 :: 5 Comments:

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