Food At Work Parties Can Become More Than I Can Chew

With the rigors and demands that come from work, every now and then, you need a little respite from reality. Usually, that would be vacation, but in this latest installment, we're going to look at something else. And you don't have to leave work to do this.

We had a potluck in the middle of last week, and it went well. Some people on my shift can't cook, so they must improvise with store-bought items or something someone else made. You can just imagine the menu (as it were) and what the table looked like. I made chicken and dumplings in the crockpot and also brought some jalapeno cornbread with real kernels of corn baked in. Granted, the food selections were eclectic, ranging from different breakfast items, such as pigs in blankets, to spicy grilled chicken, but, in any event, we had quite a bit of variety. All in all, every shift had a lot of fun and, since there wasn't much work going on at the time, a positive experience did come out of this.

And then, this past Monday, we threw a baby shower for one of the female dispatchers, prompting us to bring more food. I brought in some cheesy hash browns while the rest of my shift was just as eclectic as the last time. When Tuesday arrived, the celebrating didn't end, either. Other recognitions for our crew's accomplishments were rewarded with even more food from our dispatch team, followed by another round of food (catered barbecue) by our immediate supervisor. Looked like it was going to get out of control at one point.

All that said, this writer is tired and overfed. Cleaning a crockpot takes a bit of time and is often a tough thing to do after you've cooked what I just had. I've got more than enough cleanup in my kitchen just to get things respectable again, and I'm trying to get it all straightened out. So, I'm just looking ahead to work being work again, funny as that sounds. But we'll have more events later on.