"We take pride being part of a well-functioning system but we can be
partly  blamed if the system malfunctions". I had that realizations
last Tuesday as I volunteered to serve the homeless again.

I always evaluate my work with a critical mind. I always take pride in
a job well done because I know that I did not only use my head in
doing the job, but I did it with all my heart inputted in the process.
And I bow my head in embarrassment as defects and negligence would be
noticed. Defects and negligence surfaced last Tuesday
and I am just embarrassed and, I am left wondering why such event must
happen.

It is like this: I am used to work in the kitchen as assistant to
people in charged with the food preparation. I can also work in the
dining hall as server (to serve the clients with food), wash girl (to
wash the tables with soap and water, then disinfect it with
disinfectant), or simply to gather the bowls, spoon and forks, etc.
that the clients used in eating.

Last Tuesday, a request by the in-charge in dish washing section was
forwarded to the Dining Hall Supervisor. He wanted me to be with him.
I have never been to the dish washing section and I took it as an
opportunity to learn. I was assigned to remove the utensils from the
plastic rack right after it has come out of the dish washing machine
and to place it in their proper places in the kitchen. I knew then
where the knives, pans, kettles, glasses, spoons, forks, and etc. were
kept. I was ready for my new experience then but alas, the one who
requested my presence could not be found as the dishes to be washed
came piling up.

What am I going to do? I asked loudly. The clock is ticking and we are
at the gap between the first serving and the second serving. All the
used bowls, cups, plates, trays, spoon, forks that came in to the dish
washing section right after the first serving will be used during the
second serving. We have only barely 30 minutes to wash and set all
these utensils! "Where is this guy?"

I was told to wait for the in-charge. I waited. I have to wait for the
utensils to come out of the dish washing machine before I can do my
part to remove them, and place them in their proper places. The
waiting was an anxiety-filled time because I knew of the need that the
dining hall is to demand from the dish washing section, from us!

The in-charge came from nowhere several minutes late. Rushing, he
placed the soiled utensils on plastic racks, after initially washing
them quickly with running water from the faucet. He instructed another
volunteer on what to do to make the process quicker.

As the soup container came out from the dish washer, I noticed that it
was still dirty. I returned the dirty containers back to the in-charge
telling him of what I noticed. He grumbled! I insisted!

The Dining Hall Supervisor came in to ask why it took us too long to
clean the utensils that they needed in the Dining Hall. I told her
what I observed. As she inspected the plates, cups and bowls, she
returned it to the in-charge after pronouncing them as "dirty"!

I could not believe what I am seeing. My "practicum" with Daya and
Baby Roca in California told me that what the in-charge was doing was
wrong, but I cannot say it openly. My actual practice at George and
Joy's places told me that the in-charge is not using his common sense,
but I cannot say it, for fear that I might be putting my foot in a
wrong place, for the fact that I am just a volunteer, and that I have
no right to change their methods of doing things in that kitchen.

We survived that period but with much grumbling both from the Dish
Washing Section in-charge and from the Dining Hall Supervisor. I hid
my dissatisfaction by simply keeping silent after the outburst of the
Dining Hall Supervisor, and by concentrating on the next job assigned
to me by the chef cook of the day, to be in the food distribution line.

As the dishes to be washed piled up again, the dish washing in-charge
was already in argument with two of the people in the kitchen. One of
them pointed to the fact that he came late after disappearing during
the serving time. The in-charge reasoned out that he was called for
translation. He was told then that he could have said no since he was
assigned in the dish washing section for that day and not in the
translation. I could sense that he did not take the reason of him
being late as one of the factors that caused our failure in dish
washing section. The in-charge insisted that something was wrong with
the machine. He used me as a proof that I noticed the utensils to be
dirty as it came out from the dish washer. As he was saying that I
returned to him dirty utensils, I gave him a set of ladle that I
collected right after coming out from the machine. That set was still
dirty!

The other guy told him that the reason the utensils came out dirty
was: the dishwasher was already very dirty! To solve the problem, the
dish washer must be cleaned first. It must be stopped, to be cleaned
thoroughly before using it again. I agreed silently on what was being
said because I remembered Daya telling me that dishes placed in a
dishwasher must be free from any food particles. According to her and
to Joy, food particles left in the dishwasher can cause smell to
develop as they decayed inside the machine. In our case, the food
particles left on the dishes were scattered to all the other utensils
placed on the rack. He was rushing on the first set, I remembered. The
dirt on one, simply contaminated the rest! But the in-charge refused
to stop the machine and chose to continue with dish washing the next
pile.

As I noticed the same problem of having dirty utensils coming out from
the dish washer again, I told the in-charge that I would be off at
12:15 as somebody, a friend, was already waiting for me outside. It
was an excuse because I told Inday Esther that I would be off at
12:30. I simply could not stand the sight of looking at dirty utensils
coming out from the dishwasher when a solution has been offered by
someone who is knowledgeable enough to solve the problem. The
in-charge reasoned out that "someone is doing things" to make it more
difficult for him to wash the dishes that day! True or not, I noticed
the negligence he got at the start of the session. I also noticed him
being stubborn. Being stubborn is not good especially if the whole
system malfunctions because of the "hardheadedness" of one man!

Being part of that system that day, I ended up dissatisfied. We should
have done it right if he showed up on time, gauge before hand how
thick or thin the soup was, what extra work must be done to get the
food particles out before making the dishwasher dirty!

But that was all gone now. I am left with ideas, processes, and
methods which I could not share because I might be misconstrued as
doing something beyond the capacity given me.

"I wish I could but I can't so I won't!" This was a statement I saw on
a poster of long ago that made me laugh because of the monkey's pause.
Now I am saying this with no laughter in my heart because I did not
know of any position to take, except my escape!

LVsheepOLE