![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Dumb Rule
Jun. 9th, 2026 08:55 pmYesterday was kind of a crazy day at work because I got zero sleep the night before, so I had many cups of chai and also more than one cup of coffee.
And then, right around the time when I was about to clock out for my lunch break, the baker walked over and said, "The health inspector is at The Ranch right now."
So that was an intense fun hour or so of dashing around getting everything as perfect as we could. Chef and Jeremy both showed up, of course --- and made both cooks get out of the kitchen because they don't have hats.
I did eventually take my lunch break, but it was after the five-hour point of my shift.
When I showed up tonight, Chef stopped me about a minute before I clocked in to ask if I would like a night off. Apparently, business is just that slow today.
I was thrilled, but of course I had to clarify that he was serious and I wasn't in trouble.
And he reluctantly told me that I am in trouble for yesterday, because I did not clock out for my lunch break before that stupid five-hour point. He knows this is bullshit, especially after I pointed out that I would have taken it sooner if we hadn't been busy getting ready for the health inspector, but the dumb rule comes from above him.
When I work nights I always make sure to order my dinner before 7:00, because that is the official cut-off for ordering employee meals (actually, it might be 7:30 --- but in my head it is 7:00 and I respect that). Since my shift begins at 6:00, the dumb rule is never an issue.
When I work mornings, we usually have zero grown-ups in the kitchen. In front of house or back of house. Literally no grown-ups whatsoever.
And even if they are around, no one cares when I take my break.
I'm pretty sure this is not the first time I have ever broken this dumb rule.
The rule is dumb because it is perfectly legal to clock in, pour myself a cup of tea, get a few things done while it steeps, order some breakfast, and then clock out to eat it . . . like half an hour after my shift begins. And then spend the rest of my shift on my feet in thee hottest place on the planet.
It's also dumb because when I work mornings I also work afternoons (7:00 to 3:00), so if I feel like it I can ask the cooks to make me breakfast and lunch in the same shift. Meaning, technically, the company has to pay me to eat one of them.
Technically, the company could pay me to eat both of them. I do not have to eat a meal during my break.
Ugh, what a dumb rule.
And then, right around the time when I was about to clock out for my lunch break, the baker walked over and said, "The health inspector is at The Ranch right now."
So that was an intense fun hour or so of dashing around getting everything as perfect as we could. Chef and Jeremy both showed up, of course --- and made both cooks get out of the kitchen because they don't have hats.
I did eventually take my lunch break, but it was after the five-hour point of my shift.
When I showed up tonight, Chef stopped me about a minute before I clocked in to ask if I would like a night off. Apparently, business is just that slow today.
I was thrilled, but of course I had to clarify that he was serious and I wasn't in trouble.
And he reluctantly told me that I am in trouble for yesterday, because I did not clock out for my lunch break before that stupid five-hour point. He knows this is bullshit, especially after I pointed out that I would have taken it sooner if we hadn't been busy getting ready for the health inspector, but the dumb rule comes from above him.
When I work nights I always make sure to order my dinner before 7:00, because that is the official cut-off for ordering employee meals (actually, it might be 7:30 --- but in my head it is 7:00 and I respect that). Since my shift begins at 6:00, the dumb rule is never an issue.
When I work mornings, we usually have zero grown-ups in the kitchen. In front of house or back of house. Literally no grown-ups whatsoever.
And even if they are around, no one cares when I take my break.
I'm pretty sure this is not the first time I have ever broken this dumb rule.
The rule is dumb because it is perfectly legal to clock in, pour myself a cup of tea, get a few things done while it steeps, order some breakfast, and then clock out to eat it . . . like half an hour after my shift begins. And then spend the rest of my shift on my feet in thee hottest place on the planet.
It's also dumb because when I work mornings I also work afternoons (7:00 to 3:00), so if I feel like it I can ask the cooks to make me breakfast and lunch in the same shift. Meaning, technically, the company has to pay me to eat one of them.
Technically, the company could pay me to eat both of them. I do not have to eat a meal during my break.
Ugh, what a dumb rule.
