LA, CA Questions, Complaints and Everything Else: Ep. IX: To Infinity, and Beyond!

Thanksgiving in a styrofoam cup. Scoop of prepared instant mashed potatoes, covered with cubes of pressed turkey roll and turkey gravy. It was gross, but it was addictive. People in my elementary school would fight over lunch money on days where they served it.

Oh yeah, and the famous LA Unified Coffee Cake. This is also served by LA Community College District cafeterias in places where they have them. One of the few non sick-making items you could get at the Valley College cafeteria.

 

We didn't get any of that at all. We had lunch trays and went through the line cafeteria-style. It was "wholesome stuff" like mashed potatoes, corn, chicken, etcetera. I don't remember a dessert but there might have been one -- you gotta remember this was a million years ago . And I'm pretty sure the food was free, so nobody bothered with a lunch bag. Milk was 5 cents, though.

And the highlight of elementary lunch was that once you got to Fifth Grade you were eligable to work in the dishwashing room for a week at a time. I can remember getting the trays and cleaning them off in this big sink, and then we put them in the heavy duty dishwasher. Believe me, this was a big deal. My first job .

 

These stories are too funny. Ahh, cafeteria memories. I have never heard of Thanksgiving in a cup but I may try it this November. And VK, we had to be in 6th grade before we dealt with the big dishwasher. Nowadays, everything is disposable (trays too) and the milk comes in a bag. I'm totally serious. When the kids get ready for first grade ( and cafeteria) they practice poking the straw in the bag. It looks totally disgusting.

 

Our elementary school cafeteria was very far from our classes. All I remember is walking forever before we got there. We had pretty wholesome stuff too. It cost $1.25 and that included milk of any variety. On Fridays we could buy ice cream for a quarter. I didn't ever bring my lunch back then. I sort of liked the food especially the buttered rolls.

 

We were really poor so we always brown-bagged it. I was always jealous of the kids eating burgers and twinkies because we wouldn't have been allowed to eat that even if we had money (mom was into health food). Once she said "did you get your surprise?" when I got home from school...I didn't know what she was talking about. Turns out she'd taped a dime into the bottom of the tossed-out brown bag so I could buy ice cream for once. Childhood is hard.

 

I know the dessert jealosy. I'd get maybe two Oreos, but in my 3rd-4th grade school, I had a friend who got 3 packages of 4 cookies (sugar with the big hershey's kiss-like-thing in the middle) and shared 'em. Another friend had hippie-ish "natural" parents and never got dessert, only sliced carrots or something. She didn't even mind.

I finally got hot lunch when we moved to the suburbs and hot lunch was no longer nasty nasty crap (kids at that school I went to in 3rd-4th grade used the mashed potatoes as Play-Doh, and it *bounced* if you made it into a ball, for example). Middle school was the best--4 lunch lines to choose from, Dominos every Wednesday, Papa John's every Friday, Taco Bell burritos (I got chicken & rice) every other Monday, and the salad bar line got you an enormous amount of food 'cause it had more than just salad stuff.

In high school, I started sacrificing some food for some money, as my parents started giving me cash rather than writing the school a check for my lunches. I only got $2 for allowance, and wanted to be able to actually see a couple movies a month or to buy a cd, so I started getting just a bagel and cream cheese ($1.15) rather than a whole lunch ($2.10), then got to where I was going to the grocery store and buying Ritz crackers and PB to keep in my locker, and sometimes taking a banana from home and would eat 6 or so crackers+PB+banana slices for lunch and pocket the rest. I'd usually have a snack too when I got home.

 

/me hugs JediBith.

 

Ok ES wins for best school lunch. Domino's Papa John's Taco Bell?!? That's crazy and is probably why kids are fat now.

JB, I'm sorry you didn't see your money taped at the bottom of the bag. That's rough.

 

Word SR. Kids are way fat today because of just that. I know in high school I bought a ton of candy and soda during lunch and nutrition breaks...and gained lots a weight (for my height). Then I followed a NYears resolution and lost it. Now I'm stuck at this weight (too lazy to do otherwise) which is cool. I used to think that it was a bad idea to take out those coke machines at school..then once in college I realized that it was an awesome idea. They shouldn't have that crap at schools, especially elementary and jr. high when kids are growing and their metabolisms are adjusting. And that's the soapbox for today.

 

Thanks!

 

Thanks for letting me borrow this thread for a bit. I think it is very interesting and funny. It is sad too-JB, PM your address and I will send you a new shiny dime. I think ice cream was Fridays and I think they sold It's It or something. They also used to sell snow cones. That was jolly. Now you can buy mocha shaved ice. Whatever happened to simple cherry (sigh).

 

One of my favorites was something they called "American Pizza". Marinara sauce & cheese (usually American cheese) melted on a toasted English muffin.

We also had some decent (to a kid's pallette) spaghetti & meat sauce.

My least favorite thing was the milk. It came in one of those little wax covered cardboard containers & was never cold enough. I was always convinced that little bits of was were getting through the straw. It was YEARS before I could drink plain milk again.

 

My complaint: work is dead today, and my buddy isn't here, and all my boards are really quiet. I'm bored.

 

Well, JB, you could always go join the protest march today. That's exciting.

 

I'm sorry JB that I'm not there. Don't tell anyone, but I'm not sick or anything. I'm perfectly fine. I just didn't want to go to work. I didn't lie about it either really I didn't say that I was feeling bad when I called in this morning. I just said I over did it this weekend. Whatever that means.

 

Just to weigh in on the lunch topic, when I was in elementary school, I used to go home for lunch. My paternal grandmother lived with us and so would have lunch ready for me when I got home. It was great, warm lunch served with a smile, TV too! I was super lucky.

 

Ok DH that's the best. I wish I could have gone home during lunch each day though I don't think I would have wanted to go back.

In other news my bowling ball is pretty banged up now. I went bowling tonight with my old roommate and some of our common friends and my ball got scratched in three places. I guess it was bound to happen I just thought it wouldn't be so soon.

 

I know DH will really appreciate this: My co-worker, who sits next to me, is listening to her portable TV and the taped recording of a meeting she's doing the minutes for at the same time -- loud -- both --right next to my office (only very thin "walls" in between.)

 

Today I get to work and see an email saying "Internet access is strictly for City business use only. ITA has the ability to monitor internet usage". Everyone got that email, so it's not just me. I take it as a warning though.. from our Mayor. Our Mayor hates us because there are crazy engineers who are demanding a raise. Anyway.. I won't be able to post much during the day.

 

That is lame. They should let you use the internet for fun as long as you get your work done. I bet everyone would be happier and more productive in the long run.

 

That sucks big time JR. But don't worry about posting on the boards here. They hardly work anyway.

 

The man is really trying to keep us down! First, no raises. Second, they took away our high partitions. Third, they are cracking down on our start and finish times. And now this. Anyone looking for a registered engineer out there?

 

I think we have enough people who dislike their current jobs now to start our own company. Maybe we should make it a tech co. so we can fix whatever the heck is wrong with these boards! Slooooow and the avatars don't show up. Oh, and I get a 'The page cannot be displayed' right underneath the SW card pictures. What's up with that?!

 

Check your union/bargaining unit. LAUSD employees are allowed to use their computers for personal use (within limits) as long as it's on our own time.

 

I couldn't work for my own company. I would be lazy and never work if I were the boss. The company would fail and I would be jobless and broke.